With just three weeks until Saga Cruises returns to the sea this Sunday aboard Spirit of Discovery , the ship is busy as it prepares to relaunch.
Spirit of Discovery was originally launched on 10 July 2019 and had not been sailing until recently when Covid-19 locked down the country. Her first sailing once restrictions are lifted will depart from Tilbury on Sunday 27 June for a six-night cruise of the Scottish Highlands and Islands. She will then complete two six-night itineraries from the Northern Isles to the Firths* on 3 and 25 July, with a 14-night Great British Isles Adventure cruise in between from 11 July.
Nigel Blanks, CEO of Saga Cruises, said: “We are very much looking forward to welcoming our guests on board Spirit of Discovery on June 27, when we set sail around the British Isles. We know they are very eager to come aboard and our crew is excited to give them an unforgettable cruise experience. We have waited a long time to sail again and we want to make this trip as special as possible for everyone.”
When full, Spirit of Discovery will have 554 cabins accommodating 999 passengers, but this will be further limited on initial sailings to comply with Covid protocols.
Currently, 540 crew members are set to join the ship in the coming days. Many of the crew are returning sailors, so regulars will recognize friendly faces.
Once on board, crew will re-familiarise themselves with the vessel and their roles, and receive extensive Covid protocol training before guests come aboard. The ship will also undergo a number of sea trials, allowing crew to practise and refine key elements such as breakfast, lunch and dinner service, theatre performances, daily cleaning routines and port replenishment.
And they needed to be well trained, as it took nearly five days to load the ship with all the supplies needed for the first circumnavigation of the British Isles. During a normal port call, resupplying the ship took about 10 hours as food, drink and supplies needed to be brought on board.
Over the past year, while the ship was docked, maintenance crews also took the time to invest in further improvements, including installing hand-washing stations at the entrances of all restaurants.
The Spirit of Discovery and her brand new sister ship, the Spirit of Adventure, will begin their first voyage on July 26. Both ships are small by today’s ship standards, but clever design and limited passenger counts combine to give passengers a real sense of space and comfort.
Spirit of Discovery’s design is modern and stylish, with soft, sophisticated tones, and every design element has been carefully considered to provide passengers with a variety of ways to while away their time on board. There are five restaurants on board, including The Grand Dining Room, The Grill, Coast to Coast (seafood specialties), East to West (Asian fusion) and The Club by Jools (steakhouse), all of which offer complimentary dining.
The Living Room offers coffee, snacks and full bar service, while the South Cape Bar is the ship’s main bar. Outdoor facilities include an observation deck, a wrap-around promenade and terrace, a swimming pool, sports courts and deck games. Recreation and wellness facilities include The Playhouse (a 444-seat theatre with fully unobstructed view seating, home to Saga Cruise’s resident performing companies), the iconic Britannia Lounge with a dance floor and live entertainment, The Library with refreshments, craft and card rooms, The Spa with hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room and treatment rooms, The Salon, a gymnasium, shops and a medical centre.
Art lovers will also be in for a treat as specially commissioned artworks by British and UK artists and design studios can be found throughout the ship, inspired by the geography, landscapes and colour palette of the British Isles.
did you know?
- Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall is the godmother of Spirit of Discovery. The naming ceremony took place on 5 July 2019 in Dover, Kent, where Spirit of Discovery was the first cruise ship to be named in more than a decade.
- Spirit of Discovery weighs 58,230 gross tons, is 774.3 feet long and 102.4 feet high.
- Spirit of Discovery has 10 passenger decks and can accommodate up to 999 passengers, so each passenger has about the same amount of space on board as a double-decker bus. (NB Saga is capping these initial sailings lower to adhere to strict Covid protocols.) It has 540 crew members and 554 staterooms, 109 of which are single cabins.
- Saga Cruises has been awarded Lloyd’s Register Shield+ health and hygiene certification, exceeding the levels required to achieve this award.
- All Saga Travel guests must receive two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine at least 14 days before departure, and Saga Cruises has strict protocols in place, including pre-boarding testing, enhanced cleaning regimes on board, careful social distancing on board, and upgraded state-of-the-art air conditioning systems.
- All guests receive free UK travel to and from the port, including door-to-door shared chauffeur service up to 250 miles each way, parking near the port, domestic flights, trains or coach travel.
- There are no hidden costs on board – Saga Cruises provides all meals and signature drinks, including selected wines at lunch and dinner, wifi, onboard gratuities, fitness facilities, 24-hour room service, sightseeing tours of selected ports, entertainment activities (from lectures to recitals), porters, shuttles to the nearest town centre and travel insurance with up to £5 million of coronavirus cover.
- Saga offers a price promise, which means if they lower their price Or if a new special offer comes out after a customer has booked, they’ll calculate the difference and automatically give the savings back. If a customer doesn’t like their vacation the next day (which is unlikely), Saga will offer them a return flight and a full refund.
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