Saga Cruises first newbuild Spirit of Discovery floated out in Germany

Spirit of Discovery, the 1,000-guest cruise ship being built for UK cruise line Saga Cruises, has been floated out of its shipyard at Meyer Werft in Germany.

The 58,250-gross ton cruise ship has now been moved to a nearby quay where she will undergo further testing and fit out until the end of May.

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Spirit of Discovery is scheduled to undertake her first cruise on June 10^th, 2019, and will be christened on June 5^th in Dover after making her conveyance along the River Ems, from Papenburg to Emden for seatrials.

The ship will be unique in a number of ways, not least of which in that she will be one of the only ‘truly’ British cruise ships in operation.

Saga Cruises will register the ship in the United Kingdom and London will be her port of registry. For this reason, she will also be able to fly the Red Ensign, something that even the legendary Cunard Line ships are no longer able to do.

Furthermore, while the ship has been built in Germany, her design is thoroughly British.

UK based agency SMC was contracted for her architectural and interior design and more than 400 pieces of original British art will be amongst more than 1,000 total artworks displayed aboard.

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Leisure spaces include The Britannia Lounge with bold furniture pieces, The Supper Club with walls made from glass and brass trim colonnades doubling as screens, The Grill with daring floor-to-ceiling artwork and The Spa with a patina bronzed metal finish reception desk and bespoke concertina artwork as a backdrop.

A number of independent British suppliers, including Hush Heath wine producers of Kent, will also serve their produce to guests on-board the ship.

“This is a major milestone for Saga Cruises and for the future of the company,” said Nigel Blanks, COO, Saga Cruises. “Spirit of Discovery has been meticulously designed for our customers and to epitomise Saga’s unique British boutique cruising concept.”

“We’d like to thank everyone at Meyer Werft, and look forward to the keel laying of Spirit of Adventure, on June 3, as we start the construction of our next ship for the British market,” he added.

Spirit of Discovery is the first of a set of twin sister ships ordered by the cruise line, which has specialised in cruise travel for the 50+ crowd for several decades.

The second ship, Spirit of Adventure, will enter service in 2020.