PORT ST. MAARTEN – Spirit of Discovery, the new flagship of Saga Cruises, was welcomed on Wednesday to the destination during its inaugural call. The luxury, smaller-ship ocean cruising vessel is the first ever new-build ship and the largest ship to ever sail for Saga Cruises, the Kent-based, United Kingdom (UK) cruise line.
Representing the Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher, was Jude Houston of her Cabinet, Port St. Maarten Management representatives, and Ship Agent Pioneer Terminal & Port Services Manager Hubert Leo Chance, were on hand Wednesday morning to exchange the traditional welcome plaques and pleasantries with the Captain of Spirit of Discovery Nick Sunderland.
In her message related to the inaugural call of Spirit of Discovery, “The name is very much fitting for the ships first visit to the destination. St. Maarten is definitely a destination to discover which offers memorable and enriching destination experiences. I hope the passengers have a wonderful stay and come back to enjoy a longer time with us at one of our resorts,” Hon. Minister Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher said on Wednesday.
Port St. Maarten Management: “We are now at the beginning of the high season, and there is a welcome increase in cruise visitors to the destination as is evident on Wednesday with five ships in port including the inaugural call of the vessel Spirit of Discovery.
“For the 2019-2020, we must continue to work diligently to ensure that we offer a unique and authentic cruise destination experience when compared to other destinations in the region and beyond. Every stakeholder has to offer something new and exciting experiences that is different and gives a unique sense of place in order to catch the interests of the cruise visitor.”
Spirit of Discovery was officially delivered on 24 June 2019 and began operations on 10 July 2019. From 2020, both Spirit of Discovery and Spirit of Adventure will be all inclusive.
The vessel has a maximum guest’s capacity of 999 and a crew complement of 505 and 10 passenger decks; gross registered tonnage 58,250, is 774.3 feet in overall length and has a maximum beam of 102.4 feet.
The vessel had 850 passengers onboard who are mainly from the United Kingdom.
The Spirit of Discovery is on a 35-night cruise. The ship left Southhampton, UK and made a six-day Trans-Atlantic Ocean crossing with its first stop in Barbados. From there is moved on to its next port, Dominica and then Port St. Maarten. The next port call is San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The passengers are in their 70s and 80s. The vessel will also be heading to the U.S. and then Bermuda where it will spend New Year’s before crossing the Atlantic Ocean back to Southhampton.
Saga offers various products and services including cruises out of the United Kingdom. Saga Cruises was established in the 1990s. The company’s target demographic is the UK’s over 50s.
In 2018, the UK’s over 50’s totaled 24.9m and represented close to 40% of the entire UK population. The growth of this demographic is expected to continue reaching c.30m individuals by 2044.
This demographic holds 75% of the UK’s household wealth. The pursuit of more active lifestyles continues to be a key trend. Fifty-four percent of the UK’s total expenditure on leisure, culture, food, recreation and heath is made by this segment.
The Spirit of Discovery was built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. The delivery of two new, purpose-built cruise ships in July 2019 and August 2020 will complete the transformation of the companies Cruise business.
These ships will increase their total capacity by 74% – from 1,150 to 1,998 passengers, and according to Saga, they will have “best in class” onboard facilities and state of the art technology.
Source: Souliga Newsday https://www.soualiganewsday.com/index.php?option=com-k2&view=item&id=28896:spirit-of-discovery-boutique-cruise-vessel-makes-inaugural-port-call&Itemid=450
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