Saga Cruises, Spirit of Adventure, Northern Europe Review

Spirit of Adventure, Northern Europe

Returning to Spirit of Adventure after a gap of just under four weeks, this time we headed north to Svalbard.
This was my 23rd cruise with Saga and my 193rd cruise overall. I still believe that Saga has the best crews afloat and we usually find a good number on board who we remember, and more surprisingly remember us. This was our first cruise for a while with long-time Saga cruise director Jo Boase and it was really good to have her back.
Although there had been an executive chef change between cruises, leading to some significant menu changes, the food was as good as ever, and perhaps more varied. The varying cheese selection at dinner remains excellent, although I'm sure that each day there used to be a choice of twelve cheeses. Now there are ten, but the variety is still astonishing.
The 18-night itinerary took us to six Norwegian ports and Longyearbyen on the island of Spitsbergen. While in Svalbard we also had a day of scenic cruising close to some glaciers, and managed to spot three polar bears. A large number of whales were also seen (but not by me). Captain Kim Tanner was good fun with his announcements.
For this cruise we had a de-luxe cabin on D Deck, with lots of extra space and a walk-in wardrobe.
Saga's car service collecting and re-delivering from home is a good benefit, and the range of included drink isn't bad. That will improve next year when almost everything will be included.
All in all, another great experience.