On 28 June, after almost four years of planning and construction, Saga Cruises’ first new cruise ship in its history debuted in her homeport of Dover. Spirit of Discovery is the first of two sisterships to be built by Meyer Werft at Papenburg Germany, and, at 58,119gt, is the smallest cruise ship to be built at that yard since Celebrity Cruises’ Zenith in 1992. As a result of the Saga order, Meyer reactivated the small building hall for ship building rather than module construction.
In its 22 years Saga has owned just five ships, all purchased second-hand, and chartered a sixth for a single season. The two new ships represent the largest investment ever made by the company, estimated at around £600 million. Saga passengers like ships small, so, although substantially larger than the ships that they replace, the new sisters have a passenger capacity of just 999, making them among the most spacious ships in the market.
The layout of Spirit of Discovery follows the modern trend of having most of the public rooms at the lowest levels, with cabins above. All cabins, the smallest of which measures 215ft2, have balconies, and around 20 per cent of them are designed for single occupancy. There is a full range of cabins, right up to suites of 855ft2.
For a modern ship, the British-registered Spirit of Discovery has pleasing lines, particularly at the stern, where, instead of cabins, there are deep-tiered open decks with plenty of seating. Internally the layout is not that dissimilar to the slightly smaller ships of Viking Ocean Cruises, although the décor is very different.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 2019-Ausgabe von Ships Monthly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 2019-Ausgabe von Ships Monthly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
PROPULSION REVOLUTION
Jim Shaw summarises the efforts being made by the world’s shipping industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships, and how these efforts are reshaping marine propulsion and vessel design in light of new IMO 2020 regulations.
THE HISTORIC FERRY BORE
Thomas Rinaldi profiles the historic motor ship Bore, now a combination museum and hotel ship docked permanently in Turku, originally built in 1960 by Oskarshamn shipyard in Sweden as the car/passenger ferry Bore for the Steamship Company Bore.
On duty from the Thames to Mesopotamia
Russell Plummer recalls the contribution made by excursion ships and ferry paddle steamers, large and small, during the two World Wars.
Space Ships
Patrick Boniface describes the ocean ships that recovered the space ships involved in the Apollo and Skylab missions of the 1960s and 1970s.
Hebridean Isles West Coast Stalwart
Marking her 35th anniversary in 2020, Caledonian MacBrayne’s long-serving stalwart Hebridean Isles can be found as one of two regular vessels serving Islay on Scotland’s west coast. Mark Nicolson looks at a vessel which is a popular sight wherever she goes, with her name appropriately reflecting the areas served by CalMac.
Spirit Of Discovery
Saga Cruises’ first new cruise ship in its history, Spirit of Discovery, made her debut in July. William Mayes went on board to assess the facilities on the new ship, which is arguably the most significant new cruise ship for Britain since Oriana of 1995.
Bravo!
Memories of the decrepit-looking cargo ship Bravoaltona arriving at Avonmouth in September 1976, and an awareness of a fleet of former Dutch ships with names commencing Bravo, led Malcolm Cranfield to research two different Greek-owned fleets.
The World's Biggest Ships
A decade and a half ago Ships Monthly reported on the world’s biggest ships and most have continued to grow, as Jim Shaw reports.
ACL G4 Class Profile Of The New G4 Class Of Con-ros
Matt Davies goes behind the scenes on Atlantic Container Line’s new G4 ships, which are the largest con-ros in the world.
A Great British Ship
SS Great Britain is a ship worthy of the name ‘Great’. When launched in 1843, she was the biggest ship in the world, had an iron hull and was fitted with a steam-powered propeller. James Hendrie describes her career, which ended with her being placed on display in Bristol, the city where she was built.