Duchess of Cornwall confirmed as Godmother for Saga ship
HRH The Duchess of Cornwall will be the Godmother of Saga’s newly-built boutique cruise ship, Spirit of Discovery.
The naming ceremony will take place in Dover, Kent, on July 5, making the cruise ship the first to be named at the Port of Dover for over a decade.
She will also be the first to be docked at Dover Western Docks following the £250 million redevelopment of the area.
The Duchess of Cornwall and Saga both support The Silver Line, a charity founded by TV presenter Dame Esther Rantzen after she experienced intense loneliness following the death of her husband.
HRH is the patron of the charity and The Silver Line is Saga’s first national charity partner.
Lance Batchelor, Group CEO of Saga, said: "I am delighted that The Duchess of Cornwall has agreed to be Godmother of the Spirit of Discovery. The launch of our new ship is a key moment in both the history and future of Saga. Carrying fewer than 1,000 passengers, she is a boutique ship that offers our customers and members the highest standards of accommodation, furnishings, cuisine and entertainment. I am immensely proud of what we have created with shipyard Meyer Werft."
Sophie Andrews, CEO, The Silver Line, said: "Our team is absolutely delighted to see this coming together of our Patron and our charity partner, Saga. The Silver Line helpline receives more than 10,500 calls every week from vulnerable and isolated older people, many of whom have nowhere else to turn which demonstrates the depth of loneliness felt by huge numbers of the UK’s older population."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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