Seatrade Cruise News is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Bookings open for Saga’s 2023 cruises

Cruise_Spirit_Adventure_Portsmouth.jpg
Saga’s 2023 cruise season starts with Spirit of Adventure's 78-night South American voyage from Portsmouth
Saga has launched its 2023 sailings, which range from a 78-night South American cruise to a five-night British Isles voyage, and include new ports of call.

 Highlights include a small boat trip into the Qooroq Ice Fjord as part of the line’s Greenland sailing, a 4x4 drive to Volunteer Point, home to 1200 King penguins and 500 gentoo and magellanic penguins on a South American cruise, a seaplane flight over Bergen on the Norway itinerary and a visit to Mount Etna on the Sicilian cruise. 

Stated Nigel Blanks, CEO, Saga Cruises, ‘We are offering a range of cruises from our 78-night South American itinerary, through to the shorter week-long British Isles and Fjords options, which are a fantastic introduction to cruising for those wanting to try it for the first time.’

He added, ‘Our beautiful boutique ocean cruise ships, Spirit of Discovery and Spirit of Adventure, have been designed with our guests in mind from the décor and the wrap-around promenade through to the numerous restaurants and entertainment facilities.

‘Every cabin has its own private balcony with uninterrupted sea views and everything from the chauffeur service to meals, Wi-Fi and gratuities are included in the price.’

North and South America

Spirit of Adventure will sail a 78-night South American itinerary departing from Portsmouth on January 12, calling Devil’s Island in Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Colombia, the Chilean Fjords, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, and the Panama Canal transit.

The 28-night ‘Autumn Colours of New England’ cruise onboard Spirit of Discovery departs September 26, 2023 and sails from the East Coast of the USA and Canada to Newfoundland. Key moments include arriving into New York’s port, passing the Statue of Liberty and cruising along the Hudson, the autumn display in Acadia National Park from Bar Harbor and the fishing village of Peggy's Cove in Halifax.

Caribbean 

A 30-night ‘Springtime in the Caribbean’ cruise departs Portsmouth on March 5, 2023 onboard Spirit of Discovery and includes a stop for the first time since 2017 in Montseratt; the 30-night ‘Island hopping in the Caribbean’ cruise onboard Spirit of Discovery departs November 7, 2023.

Adriatic

Saga’s 'Venice and the Treasures of the Adriatic' sets sail from Portsmouth on April 9, 2023 on Spirit of Discovery and on October 9, 2023 on Spirit of Adventure. The new 22-night itinerary journeys from Dubrovnik along the Dalmatian coast to the Istrian Peninsular. Highlights include Rovinj, a new port for Saga, a Mediterranean fishing port that faces Venice across the Adriatic and where passengers will be dropped by tender into the heart of the town.

Mediterranean

Saga’s 18-night ‘Classical Italy and the Western Mediterranean’ cruise leaves Dover on June 4, 2023 and now includes Portofino, where Spirit of Discovery will anchor alongside allowing passengers to take a tender to the harbour. The cruise also calls Lisbon and Portimão, Portugal; Palma, Majorca; Civitavecchia, Livorno Italy; Monaco, Cartagena, Spain; Gibraltar, Spain before concluding in Tilbury.

The ‘Ancient Cities of the Mediterranean’ programme departs March 31 for 22 nights on Spirit of Adventure and is repeated onboard Spirit of Discovery on September 4. The voyage returns to Antalya, Limassol and Rhodes, along with visits to Malaga, Valletta, Heraklion, Palermo, Cagliari and Lisbon. Highlights on the stop in Limassol include a visit to UNESCO listed Paphos, home of the Dionysus mosaics, churches, medieval monasteries, museums, antiquities, a harbour guarded by a small castle and the underground Tombs of the Kings. In Rhodes, the tour takes in the Filerimos Monastery and Grand Masters’ Palace, the Church of our Lady and a tour on foot to the 14th century medieval Palace of the Grand Masters.

The 15-night ‘Highlights of Spain and the Balearics’ departs May 6 onboard Spirit of Discovery and on September 24, 2023 on Spirit of Adventure, while the ‘Lisbon and Spain’s Atlantic Coast’ itinerary onboard Spirit of Adventure departs May 14, 2023 and takes place over 12 nights.

Also among the range of Mediterranean cruises are three 15-night ‘Islands of the Western Mediterranean’ itineraries departing April 22 and July 6 in 2023 on Spirit of Adventure and from August 20 on Spirit of Discovery.

Porto da Praia will return to Saga’s programme on the ‘Cape Verde and the Canary Islands’ cruise which sees Spirit of Adventure leave from Portsmouth on November 13 for 21 nights taking in Funchal, Santa Cruz, San Sebastian, La Gomera, Porto da Praia, Porto Grande, Santa Cruz, Arrecife, and La Coruña, Spain. Tours to Funchal, Santa Cruz, Arrecife, Cádiz and La Coruña are included.

There are  a further six cruise options to the Canaries between February and Christmas 2023. 

Baltic and Nordic region

There are a range of seven-night cruises on the Norwegian Fjords, including: ‘A Norwegian Trilogy’ onboard Spirit of Adventure departing May 7, 2023; ‘Fjord Explorer’ on Spirit of Discovery departing June 22, 2023 and; ‘Norway’s Cities and Fjords’ departing July 21, 2023 with Spirit of Adventure or July 30, 2023 with Spirit of Discovery. These will all call at Flam, for an excursion on its railway and Geiranger as well as Nordfjordeid, a new port for Saga, which is nestled at the end of the Eidsfjord. The town has a new Viking museum and exhibition, with a full size replica ship and there’s the option of an excursion to the ports of Loen and Olden.

Across the Norwegian Sea is a ‘Landscapes of Greenland and Iceland’ cruise onboard Spirit of Discovery departing June 29, 2023 for 17 nights. Leaving from Tilbury, it takes in Isafjördur, Grundafjördur, Reykjavik, Iceland; Qaqortoq, Narsarsua and Nanortalik, Greenland; Scrabster, Scotland.

Saga’s Baltic cruises will visit Kotka in Finland and Wismar on Germany’s coast with its historic UNESCO listed town centre, plus the ports of Tallin, Stockholm and Copenhagen. ‘Baltic Capitals’ is a 14-night cruise that departs Dover on June 5, 2023 onboard Spirit of Adventure.

British Isles and short cruises

A five-night ‘Capitals of the Emerald Isle’ itinerary departs April 4 onboard Spirit of Discovery while Spirit of Discovery operates the ‘Western Maritime Ports’ itinerary departing May 1, 2023 for five nights. Spirit of Adventure's 'Hidden Gems of the British Isles’ comprises a 10-night cruise departing May 26, 2023 and August 11, 2023. The vessel will sail the six-night ‘Late Summer Escape’ itinerary from Dover on September 11, 2023.