''Spirit of Discovery'' is a 58,250 GT

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

operating for

Saga Cruises Saga Shipping, also known as Saga Cruises, division of the Saga plc, is a cruise line headquartered in Folkestone, England. Saga Cruises exclusively markets to and operates for people aged 50 and over. History 1997–2005: Development In 1 ...

. Built by

Meyer Werft Meyer Werft is one of the major German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. Founded in 1795 and starting with small wooden vessels, today Meyer Werft is a builder of luxury passenger ships. 700 ships of different types have be ...

, the ship was delivered on 24 June 2019 and began operations on 10 July 2019. Upon delivery, she became Saga's first ever new-build ship. She is Saga's largest ship to ever operate in its history, a title she will share with her sister ship, ''Spirit of Adventure'', after she was delivered in September 2020.

History

Planning and construction

In October 2015, Saga Cruises, which had previously purchased secondhand vessels, ordered its first new build from Meyer Werft for a scheduled 2019 delivery. The order also came with an option for an identical sister ship scheduled to be delivered in 2021. On 29 March 2017, the ship's name was announced as ''Spirit of Discovery.'' On 1 March 2018, the first steel was cut for ''Spirit of Discovery'' at Meyer Werft. Construction officially began with her keel-laying and coin ceremonies on 28 June 2018. On 12 May 2019, she was floated out and later completed her conveyance across the river Ems on 26 May 2019 to begin her sea trials in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. ''Spirit of Discovery'' was delivered on 24 June 2019. Shortly after her delivery, she incurred an incident when she collided with bollards at the Great Sea Lock upon leaving

Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of E ...

on the evening of 24 June. She only sustained several superficial abrasions and scratches, but the bollards received significant damage. She arrived in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on 28 June. On 5 July 2019,

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the acc ...

christened ''Spirit of Discovery'' at the

Port of Dover The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime pa ...

, making her the first ship to be christened in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

in more than a decade.

Operational career

''Spirit of Discovery'' sailed her maiden voyage on 10 July 2019, which circumnavigated the United Kingdom and included calls in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Throughout her inaugural season, she sailed throughout

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

. In January 2021, the ship is scheduled to sail her longest voyage thus far, a circumnavigation of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Design and specifications

Describing how Saga retained its brand's experience with the debut of ''Spirit of Discovery'', David Pickett, newbuild director of Saga, explains:

Our ship is of quite an unusual size in the modern marketplace. There are not many ships of 999-passenger capacity. It was the right size for us, as the Saga experience is typified by small ship style, high standards of customer service and a friendly ship where there is a strong relationship between customers and crew. The ship is 236 m long, 100 m less than mega ships. We have a high crew to passenger ratio. Saga Cruises is a premium brand.

''Spirit of Discovery'' also houses several specialty restaurants, a theater, and fitness and wellness facilities, features not included on the fleet's previous vessels. Additionally, Saga designed ''Spirit of Discovery'' for an all-inclusive cruising experience, in which the cost of the cruise covers expenses incurred from beverages, gratuities, specialty dining, room service, internet access, and local chauffeur services. ''Spirit of Discovery'' also offers 100 passenger cabins designed for solo travelers and employs 523 crew members. Saga partnered with

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

to employ Siemens SISHIP SiPODs for the ship's propulsion and power distribution systems. The ship is powered by four nine-cylinder 32/44 common rail

MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

engines equipped with

selective catalytic reduction Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is a means of converting nitrogen oxides, also referred to as with the aid of a catalyst into diatomic nitrogen (), and water (). A reductant, typically anhydrous ammonia (), aqueous ammonia (), or a urea () s ...

, each producing , for a total of . To better recover waste heat, the ship is also equipped with a centralised heating water system that reduces pump power by 65 kW to save 200 MWh per annum. ''Spirit of Discovery'' is built to

Polar Code The International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters or Polar Code is an international regime adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2014. The Code sets out regulations for shipping in the Polar regions of Earth, polar reg ...

References

{{Reflist 2019 ships Cruise ships Ships built in Papenburg