Delivery of Saga Cruises’ new ship Spirit of Adventure delayed until October
Spirit of Adventure, the second newbuild for British cruise line Saga Cruises, will not be delivered until October, the cruise line has announced. Spirit of Adventure was meant to be handed over to the line in July, but due to work stoppages amid the pandemic and problems with the shipyard’s supply chain, the ship has been delayed by several months.
Saga Cruises previously announced the delayed delivery, but did not provide a new timetable at the time.
“The Group has been working with industry bodies and the Government to establish operational practices that would enable a return of operations in both Tour and Cruise businesses as the current restrictions are lifted,” Saga said, in a statement. “The Group’s new mid-sized ships are ideally placed to offer ‘safe sailing’ and all these measures will be in place by the end of August.”
Spirit of Adventure’s inaugural cruise will now depart from the UK for the Mediterranean in early November.
Carrying 1,000 passengers, she will be a sister ship to Spirit of Discovery, but with several updates, including a bolder interior design with more vibrant colours and artworks.
To ensure this, the cruise line used two different design agencies: SMC Design for Spirit of Discovery, and AD Associates for Spirit of Adventure.
Spirit of Adventure will also have a new Nepalese restaurant that has a Gurkha theme in food and design, reports Riviera Maritime.Spirit of Adventure will also feature the popular new cabaret supper club, but it will be smaller and more intimate, not two-tier like that aboard Discovery.
Both ships are the first newbuilds ever for Saga Cruises, which has made a name for itself as the go-to premium cruise line in the UK for those over 50 years of age (the cruise line doesn’t allow anyone younger to book).
“Both ships have been designed to epitomise Saga’s British boutique cruising concept and they are the first small, luxury ships to be built by a British company, for the British market, in more than four decades,” said Robin Shaw, CEO Saga Travel, the parent company of Saga Cruises, previously.
He added: “Each of our new ships has been exclusively designed for the British market and we have incorporated luxury interiors to meet our past and present guests’ feedback.
