Arab turmoil gives Spirit time off for dry dock and a fresh coat of paint

When Spirit of Adventure docks in Civitavecchia on Friday morning, 350 passengers will troop off to board coaches for Rome airport to fly home, or perhaps to spend a few more days’ holiday in the Eternal City.
For once, there will not be a procession of coaches bringing a new shipload eager to start a new cruise.
The scheduled 14-night Relics of Rome cruise has been cancelled. It would have taken passengers on excursions to the magnificent amphitheatres of Leptis Magna in Libya and El Djem in Tunisia, plus the ports of Annaba and Bejaia in Algeria before spending a day in tha capital, Algiers.
In addition, the itinerary would have included a morning on Gozo and a day-and-a-half in Valletta, Malta, and visits to Ibiza and Barcelona, but Arab unrest in north Africa has put paid to the whole trip.
Instead, the ship’s operators have decided to put the ship into dry dock for some essential maintenance. The work will be carried out in Gibraltar before the ship – with a freshly-painted hull – embarks on an 11-night cruise departing from Malaga on May 13, and arriving in Scotland on May 24.
Thanks to her compact size, Spirit of Adventure can travel up the Guadalquivir River into the heart of Seville so passengers can enjoy an overnight visit to the city, home of the Moorish Alcazar palace and the world’s largest Gothic cathedral.
Other ports of call include Leixoes (for Oporto), La Coruna, Tresco in the Isles of Scilly and Portland in Dorset. From Greenock, the ship sets out on two exclusive charters for the National Trust for Scotland. The first is a week-long cruise to explore the archaeology of the Western Isles, Shetland and the Orkneys, while the second visits a number of UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Gulf of Bothnia.
The dry-dock will prepare the ship for her final year’s cruising before she is replaced by the slightly larger Quest for Adventure, currently sailing as Saga Pearl II.
Spirit’s final scheduled voyage will depart from Aqaba on May 1 2012 and arrive in Limassol, Cyprus on May 8.
That may not be the end, however. Captain David Warden-Owen is canvassing passengers on board this week to gauge the popularity of a cruise he would like to make to the Holy Land.
Whether a crew would be available to sail with him might be another issue. I’m sure he is saying his prayers.