I have never sailed with Saga but my first ever cruise, way back in 1977, was with my parents on Vistafjord as Saga Ruby was called at her launch. She was then a newish and very stylish liner in Norwegian America Line's fleet of two (with Sagafjord).
Our cruise to the Baltic kick-started my love of cruise ships and cruising. My favourite memory is of sitting on deck on a lounger and being tucked up in a wool blanket (woven with NAL lettering) by the deck stewards and being brought mugs of steaming bouillon. It could have been 1877 rather than 1977. This must have been on our second cruise on her to Spitzbergen and Norway, since we had temperatures in the 90s in the Baltic!
I didn't cruise for many years after that, but when I was able to start travelling again, I chose to sail on Caronia - as Vistafjord was then named. She was then sailing under Cunard colours. This was an amazing experience - a one-class cruise ship, but Grill-Class throughout. I was seated on the staff-captain's table and the service was amazing - place-cards at table every night so we all got to rotate around the table and talk to each other. In Cadiz the most spectacular Flamenco dance troupe came on board to perform. It was on Caronia that I first sailed into Venice, standing on the proper wrap-around promenade deck under the bridge as the mists cleared to reveal this Medieval masterpeice. In Dubrovnik, the scars of the then recent war were still evident. From the top of the Rock in Gibraltar, the red funnel of this tiny 26,000 ship was barely visible, even on a bright autumn day.
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| Caronia at Venice |
As Sir Hugh Casson once said, "Ships alone invite and receive an affection that is almost personal in its intensity.’ Why is this? Why do tears well up in my eyes at moments such as the QE2 leaving the UK for the last time? They are only large chunks of metal after all, but perhaps the throb of the engines is like a beating heart, as they carry people to places they may have only previously dreamed of seeing.
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