Ireland and the Cornish coast part 1. Saga cruise - Spirit of Adventure. Embarkation and Fowey.

We’re off again with Saga on Spirit of Adventure. This is part 1 of a series of videos from a cruise entitled Ireland and the Cornish coast, an 8 night cruise to Fowey, Galway, Donegal, Cork and Falmouth, from 7th to 15th May 2026. As usual we were picked up from home. This time via a subcontractor - South Wales Chauffers, and our driver Manzoor gave us a smooth ride. We left at 9 am, picked up a couple from Blackwood, stopped at Membury services and at 12:50 had this view of the ship as we came into Portsmouth. Embarkation was as efficient as always. As we entered the port staff asked whether we had our passports and if our luggage was tagged. Of all our Saga Cruises, this check-in was probably the busiest we’ve experienced. I suppose it depends on how traffic affects everybody’s arrival time. Still it was a pleasant and cheerful process. The ship is not next to the terminal at Portsmouth, so we were asked to board shuttle buses for a very short ride to the gangway. Just under half an hour after arriving at the port, we were on board. There was a queue of people waiting for someone to escort them to their cabin, but as we knew the ship very well we just made our own way up, and as we didn’t wait for the lifts but used the stairs, we were in our cabin in no time. Our cabin was D551 on deck 8, port side. I have a cabin review here on this channel, taken from a previous cruise on Spirit of Adventure. https://youtu.be/dDMYuhZVrV0 There is also an embarkation review here. https://youtu.be/SHV3m_nzVzo We went up to the buffet for lunch feeling excited as our cruise had begun. I had the salmon. One of the first things we did after lunch was to visit the library to select our cruise reading. I love the library. It’s peaceful, cosy, has a coffee station and is convenient for the atrium. As we departed Portsmouth, the Victory Morris Dancers performed on the dockside. We sailed passed the Aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth which had returned to Portsmouth at the end of April after the upgrade to her propulsion system. She certainly is an impressive ship - with a range of 10,000 nautical miles and able to carry up to 72 aircraft. On day 2 we had our first breakfast in the buffet and our first port of call - Fowey. We decided not to go ashore in the morning but to stay on board. It was a lovely relaxing morning. We sat in the craft area of the library. Kathryn loves the daily crossword that is provided by Saga, and I enjoyed a coffee and a read. The ship was really quiet, most people seemed to have gone ashore. The weather was beautiful, so I had my first Pina Colada of the holiday. It felt like we were on our own private luxury yacht! In the afternoon we had an organised tour, and after meeting in the Playhouse theatre we made our way down to Deck 4 forward for the pontoon, because a tendering service was in operation. It was a short ride to the tender pier. We walked from the pier along Fore Street to the church for a performance of songs of the sea shanties by Mevagissey QuayNotes. After the performance, we wandered through the pretty streets of Fowey and went to the promenade to get a great view of the estuary and of the ship. We talked about the entertainment options for the evening and decided to go to the playhouse to see the Bel Canto Sopranos. For dinner we had booked the Supper Club which is a steak house. At 8:30 pm, having finished our dinner we went to the living room for a drink and a read while enjoying some laid-back music from the Argentum Duo. At 9pm we went to the main theatre for the performance of ‘A night at the Popera’ by the Bel Canto Sopranos. They were excellent, and in particular I loved the way that Angie engaged the audience and made us part of the show. Well, our 1st full day of the cruise came to a close and it was a thoroughly enjoyable day. Date of visit to Fowey - 8th May 2026