Saga Cruises has ordered a second ship from Meyer Werft as the Spirit of Adventure is expected to be delivered in Summer 2020, joining the Spirit of Discovery which is set for a 2019 delivery

The Spirit of Adventure will be a sister ship to Spirit of Discovery and similar in external design, carrying less than 1,000 passengers.

Lance Batchelor, chief executive officer, Saga plc who announced the decision at the company’s interim results today said: “Our first new ship, Spirit of Discovery, will be in service in June 2019 and with pre-sales being very strong, this confidence in demand has supported our decision to expand the new build fleet and purchase our second new ship, to be delivered in August 2020.”

Robin Shaw, chief executive, Saga Cruises, said: “Our loyal customers have played a key role in the design process for our first new build ship ‘Spirit of Discovery’. To date almost 7,000 passengers, who had pre-registered to sail on her have already gone on to book one of our new itineraries. This is a phenomenal conversion of over 80%. Thanks to this strong demand, the desire of Saga members to keep doing the things they love and the forecast growth in the cruise industry, I am absolutely delighted that we are today confirming that we have now agreed to build a second new ship, ‘Spirit of Adventure’ for delivery in Summer 2020. This is an incredibly exciting time for Saga cruises and I am immensely proud of my team, both onboard and ashore, and the customers that will continue to help shape the look and feel of our future fleet.”

Bernard Meyer, managing partner, of Meyer Werft said: “We are very happy and honoured to continue to work with Saga Cruises. Their decision to build now two vessels with us makes us very proud.”