| Another year as cruising continued following the Covic-19 shutdown in the UK from March 2020 until May 2021. An unexpected return on the 9th March 2022 as Spirit of Adventure returned after curtailing the Caribbean cruise due to increasing cases of Covid. She already had it since January, kicking back to back cruisers off after a Canaries cruise yet allowed people to stay on after the following Canaries, Northern Lights and Caribbean. Some people were on all three! She sailed on the 23rd February at 12.45am and cases were already up to almost 7% by the time they reached Ponta Delgada on the 26th February, with new passengers testing positive. The following night she turned around, heading for Horta to do a medevac. Meanwhile cases among passengers and crew was over 7% but Head Office insisted they carried on to Antigua, where test kits were waiting. Cases continued rising until finally, on the 3rd March when it was over 10%, they made the decision to cut the cruise and return to Southampton after refuelling at Horta on the 5th. The research ship Discovery was ahead of her. In the afternoon, she sailed with crew only for lay up in Dover. |
