Saga Pearl II

The ship was built in 1981 in the ship yard of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Werk Ross, Hamburg, Yard no. 165. The ship was ordered by the newly formed German company Hadag Cruise Line, but was quickly sold to South African company Safmarine, because the ship was not profitable enough.

However, Safmarine discovered that the Astor did not have enough speed to maintain the liner schedule.[4] So a new ship was ordered that could meet the required schedule and the Astor sold.

Arkona Baltic cruise 1989

On 29 August 1985, the Astor was sold to Deutfracht Seereederei an East German shipping company. It was renamed the Arkona. The vessel was used to give favoured party officials, cruises for part of the year and was charterd to western operators for the rest of the year. After the reunification of Germany in the early 1990s the state shipping company was privatised and became DSR. DSR acquired Seetours of Bremen.[5]

Cruises on the Arkona were marketed under the Seetours franchise.[5]

P&O Princess Cruises acquired Seetours in 1999 (Seetours was rebranded as AIDA Cruises in 2004[6]). The Arkona was renamed Astoria in 2002 and bareboat chartered to Transocean Tours of Bremen. Under Transocean Astoria specialized in cruises to Norway and Europe. The vessel then operated 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. The ship remained laid up in Barcelona until June 2009 when she was towed to Gibraltar. Following an auction in August, Saga Cruises acquired the ship after an unsuccessful attempt to do so earlier in the year.

Saga Pearl II at Southampton in 2011 with yellow funnel

In late 2009, the ship sailed to Swansea, Wales 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.[7][8]

Quest for Adventure in Split, Croatia, in September 2013

She was renamed MV Quest for Adventure in May 2012 and became the flagship for Saga's Discovery-style Adventure Cruises. She did not undergo a refit at that time but continued in her new role with the same facilities, captain and crew.

In December 2012, MV Quest for Adventure underwent a refit, where she received her new Saga livery funnel. This was like her fleetmate Saga Sapphire's funnel. However, the port side of the funnel was left blank and did not display the "SAGA" logo.

Saga Pearl II in the Port of Tallinn in 20 September 2014

The Quest for Adventure had the name Saga Pearl II restored to it on 21 November 2013 and received the "SAGA" logo on the port side of her funnel. In 2018 Saga reverted to the traditional yellow funnel livery, Saga Pearl II was the second ship to receive the yellow funnel, in late 2018.

In 2019 Saga Pearl II will be replaced by the Spirit of Discovery, Saga's first new build. For her last voyage Saga Pearl II sailed from Portsmouth (UK) on 16 February 2019 for a 54-day cruise to South Africa. This was a coming-home cruise, as it is where the ship spent many of its earlier years, when it sailed the South Atlantic waters for Safmarine.[9]

In 2019 Saga Pearl II was sold to Aqua Explorer Holdings, who are located in the British Virgin Islands. Currently, she is based at the Greek port of Perama, where she is recorded as being laid up and also is now known as Pearl II.[1][10][11]