Saga Cruise's newly refurbished Saga Pearl II has made her first visit - as Saga Pearl II - to Cobh. She arrived in Cork Harbour at 0800 on 8 June. In her previous guise, as Astoria, Saga Pearl II has visited the Port of Cork on a number of previous occasions.

Astoria and her sister ship Astor were  built in Germany in 1980/81. Astor is still run by Transocean Tours, mainly cruising Northern European waters, and she is due to visit the Port of Cork in August 2010.

Saga Cruises purchased the Astoria in August 2009 to replace their aging Saga Rose. Astoria/Saga Pearl II  has been in Swansea and Swansea Dry Dock since September receiving a major overhaul, including the addition of cabin balconies, a library and a cinema, as well as a major engine overhaul.

Saga Pearl II's inaugural cruise under the Saga badge was an 18-day trip to the Norwegian fjords in March 2010. She also visited Dunkirk for the 70th anniversary commemorations.

She carries a maximum of 446 passengers and a crew of 252. With an overall length of 164.3m, she has an unusually high cruising speed of 20.4 knots.

Supplied by Dan O'Regan

For more pictures see our Saga Pearl II gallery