Saga’s new Spirit of Discovery made a grand entrance into her official homeport this morning in Dover ahead of of her naming ceremony at the port next week, when she will be officially christened by her Godmother HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.

To celebrate the call, the port officially unveiled its new multi-purpose berth 4, taking a major step towards the full launch of its Dover Western Docks Redevelopment (DWDR) in 2020.

Barbara Buczek, Chief Commercial Officer at the Port of Dover said: “It’s an amazing sight looking onto our Western Docks and seeing the Spirit of Discovery sitting proudly on our new berth. Today will go down in history, as we welcome the first ship to be named here in a decade, and have officially unveiled the first stage of our £250 million redevelopment especially for the occasion. Our thanks go to Saga and the Dover Western Docks Redevelopment team for working so hard to bring this special day together. I’m excited to see what the future brings for our cruise business.”

Sonia Limbrick, Head of Cruises at the Port of Dover noted: “The Port is welcoming more and more cruises every year, and adding a prestigious ship like the Spirit of Discovery to our collection is only going to take us from strength to strength. Today highlights the excellent partnership we have with Saga, and we are delighted to be hosting such a momentous naming ceremony next Friday”.

The Spirit of Discovery will be officially named on Friday July 5 by her Godmother, HRH the Duchess of Cornwall, before she sets sail on her inaugural cruise from Dover on Wednesday July 10, as part of a series of 11 cruises from Dover this year.