MS Astoria
Encyclopedia
The cruise ship Astoria, now known as Saga Pearl II, has been operating for more than 28 years, making cruises world wide. The vessel has a sister-ship Astor
MS Astor
MS Astor is a cruise ship owned by the Germany-based Premicon, under charter to the Germany-based Transocean Tours. She was built in 1987 under the name Astor by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft , Kiel in West Germany for the Mauritius-based Marlan Corporation, although originally ordered by the South...
. Both ships were operated by Transocean Tours
Transocean Tours
Transocean Tours is a Germany-based cruise line that operates three ocean-going cruise ships on the German and British markets, as well as five river cruise ships on the German market...
. In August 2009, Saga Cruises made a successful a bid for the ship at auction. The ship was renamed Saga Pearl II and embarked on her first cruise in March 2010.
Astoria
Astoria is a cruise shipCruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
with a long history. The ship was built in 1981 in the ship yard of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
. The builder was one of the highest quality builders of the time. The ship was ordered by the newly formed German company Hadag Cruise Line, which quickly sold it to South African company Safmarine
Safmarine
Safmarine is an international shipping business offering container and break-bulk shipping services worldwide....
, because the ship was not profitable enough. The vessel Astoria operated in the Atlantic ocean making cruises between South Africa and Europe. This continued for many years, before in 2002 it entered service for Transocean Tours
Transocean Tours
Transocean Tours is a Germany-based cruise line that operates three ocean-going cruise ships on the German and British markets, as well as five river cruise ships on the German market...
, the company specialized in cruising in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The vessel now operates closer to the shore, making low-cost cruises for German, Norwegian and Swedish passengers.
In November 2008, a world cruise had to be aborted after serious mechanical problems were identified during a refit in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. The ship remained laid up in Barcelona until June 2009 when she was towed to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
. After an auction in August, Saga Cruises
Saga Cruises
Saga Cruises, also known as Saga Holidays is a British based cruise line, a division of the Saga Group. Only passengers of 50 years of age or older are allowed on board Saga's vessels as they are designed specifically for this demographic's needs....
acquired the ship after an unsuccessful attempt to do so earlier in the year.
Saga Pearl II
In late 2009, the ship sailed to SwanseaSwansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
where she underwent a £20million three-month refit in the re-opened Swansea dry dock. She sailed on her first cruise as Saga Pearl II on 15 March 2010 to the Norwegian Fjords.