Saga to build second cruise ship
Saga Cruises has announced plans to build a second new cruise ship.
Spirit of Adventure is expected to be delivered in summer 2020, joining Spirit of Discovery which will sail its first cruise in July 2019.
It will be similar in external design, carrying less than 1,000 passengers, with balconies for all cabins.
Chief executive Lance Batchelor said with pre-sales for Spirit of Discovery were 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,"he said.
Saga said it had booked 6,449 passengers for the first 19 cruises on Spirit of Discovery by September 18.
"Our calls with the advanced registered members are converting into sales at around 80%," it said.
Both ships will be built by Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany.
The news was announced as Saga reported its financial results for the six months to July 31.
Pre-tax profits for its retail broking and travel businesses were up 10.4% to £82.8 million, but pre-tax profits overall dropped 6.3% to £103 million due to costs associated with re-financing and ‘net fair value losses on derivatives’.
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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