Saga Cruises has confirmed plans to extend its fleet of new build ships with a second new cruise ship. Spirit of Adventure is expected to be delivered in summer 2020, joining the Spirit of Discovery which sails in July 2019.

Both ships will be built by the renowned Meyer Werft shipyard – a recognised leader in cruise ship construction.

Spirit of Adventure will be a sister ship to Spirit of Discovery and similar in external design, carrying less than 1,000 passengers, balconies for all cabins and retaining the intimacy and personal touches Saga are renowned for.

“Our first new ship, Spirit of Discovery, will be in service in June 2019 and with pre-sales being very strong, this confidence in demand has supported our decision to expand the new build fleet and purchase our second new ship, to be delivered in August 2020,” said Lance Batchelor, chief executive officer, Saga plc, which owns the cruise line.

RELATED: Saga Cruises to sail epic South African ‘farewell’ cruise for Saga Pearl II in 2019

RELATED: New Regent Seven Seas cruise ship Explorer to cruise roundtrip from Cape Town in 2018

Robin Shaw, chief executive, Saga Cruises, said: “Our loyal customers have played a key role in the design process for our first new build ship ‘Spirit of Discovery’. To date almost 7,000 passengers, who had pre-registered to sail on her have already gone on to book one of our new itineraries. This is a phenomenal conversion of over 80%.”

“Thanks to this strong demand, the desire of Saga members to keep doing the things they love and the forecast growth in the cruise industry, I am absolutely delighted that we are today confirming that we have now agreed to build a second new ship, ‘Spirit of Adventure’ for delivery in Summer 2020,” he added.

Bernard Meyer, managing partner of Meyer Werft said: “We are very happy and honoured to continue to work with Saga Cruises. Their decision to build now two vessels with us makes us very proud.”

The 58,250 GT vessel will be approx. 236 metres long, 31.2 metres wide, making her the largest cruise ship ever built for Saga Cruises alongside Spirit of Discovery.