UK cruise line Saga’s latest vessel Saga Pearl II, currently the former Club Cruise owned Astoria, looks like undergoing a £20m refit in the UK prior to entering service in mid March 2010.
It seems that Harris Pye Marine Ltd (UK) has beaten off competition from Germany’s Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven and another UK repairer, A&P Tyne, to win the refit of Astoria. The work will be undertaken in the drydock in the South Wales port of Swansea, which hasn’t been used for the past 10 years. Astoria is already in the Welsh port.
Astoria has been bought by Saga Cruises to replace its ageing Saga Rose, which leaves the UK operator’s fleet towards the end of this year after completing a final 37 day cruise from Southampton on 30 October, Saga says that it has already received interest in buying the vessel from 20 parties, with options for the vessel’s future including being used as a floating accommodation vessel offshore West Africa, being turned into a floating museum in Southampton with UK Lottery funding, or being used as a hotel ship in the Middle East.
