The latest addition to the Saga ocean cruise fleet, Spirit of Adventure, floated out of the covered building dock at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany this morning (24 July).

The cruise line is expecting to take delivery of Spirit of Adventure, its second purpose-built boutique cruise ship, in the autumn ahead of her planned inaugural sailing.

She will shortly undergo sea trials and her interiors will be fully outfitted ready to welcome the first guests onboard.

Spirit of Adventure features 554 all-balcony cabins and can accommodate 999 passengers, with the ability to reach speeds of more than 18 knots.

For her first voyage, Spirit of Adventure will leave Southampton on the 5 November to sail the Mediterranean, before returning to the UK. The details of the naming ceremony will be provided nearer to the date of the inaugural cruise.

This comes a year after the Meyer Werft shipyard floated its sister ship, Spirit of Discovery, in May 2019.

Saga Cruises managing director, Nigel Blanks, said: “This is a very exciting day as it brings us another step closer to being able to welcome Spirit of Adventure to our fleet.

“Over the past 18 months, we have been focused on creating a British boutique cruising experience for our guests that is not available elsewhere on the market.

“The arrival of Spirit of Discovery last year was the first milestone in this plan and the ship has been extremely well received by our guests.

“I’m confident that Spirit of Adventure will see an equally warm welcome and I cannot wait for guests to join us onboard and enjoy all she has to offer”.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Saga has said that it has been working closely with the relevant government departments and industry trade body CLIA to ensure it has in place the most stringent health and safety measures to ensure a safe return to cruising once advice from the FCO changes.

Saga was forced to suspend a special trade preview of Spirit of Adventure, scheduled for 11 August, due to lockdown restrictions. Saga Cruises head of trade sales Iain Powell said it was “unclear” if the line would be able to reschedule the event.

Visit travel.saga.co.uk for more information.