Spirit of Discovery is a 58,250 GT cruise ship operating for Saga Cruises. Built by Meyer Werft, the ship was delivered on 24 June 2019 and began operations on 10 July 2019. Upon delivery, she became Saga's first ever new-build ship. She is Saga's largest ship to ever operate in its history, a title she will share with her sister ship, Spirit of Adventure, after she was delivered in September 2020. History Planning and construction In October 2015, Saga Cruises, which had previously purchased secondhand vessels, ordered its first new build from Meyer Werft for a scheduled 2019 delivery. The order also came with an option for an identical sister ship scheduled to be delivered in 2021. On 29 March 2017, the ship's name was announced as Spirit of Discovery. On 1 March 2018, the first steel was cut for Spirit of Discovery at Meyer Werft. Construction officially began with her keel-laying and coin ceremonies on 28 June 2018. On 12 May 2019, she was floated out and later completed her conveyance across the river Ems on 26 May 2019 to begin her sea trials in the North Sea. Spirit of Discovery was delivered on 24 June 2019. Shortly after her delivery, she incurred an incident when she collided with bollards at the Great Sea Lock upon leaving Emden on the evening of 24 June. She only sustained several superficial abrasions and scratches, but the bollards received significant damage. She arrived in the United Kingdom on 28 June. On 5 July 2019, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall christened Spirit of Discovery at the Port of Dover, making her the first ship to be christened in Dover in more than a decade. Operational career Spirit of Discovery sailed her maiden voyage on 10 July 2019, which circumnavigated the United Kingdom and included calls in Ireland. Throughout her inaugural season, she sailed throughout Northern Europe, Spain, and the Mediterranean. In January 2021, the ship is scheduled to sail her longest voyage thus far, a circumnavigation of South America. Design and specifications Describing how Saga retained its brand's experience with the debut of Spirit of Discovery, David Pickett, newbuild director of Saga, explains: Our ship is of quite an unusual size in the modern marketplace. There are not many ships of 999-passenger capacity. It was the right size for us, as the Saga experience is typified by small ship style, high standards of customer