‘Spirit of Discovery’ made inaugural port call on Wed. | THE DAILY HERALD

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From left: Pioneer Terminal and Port Services Manager Hubert Leo Chance and Operations Manager Leo Lambriex, “Spirit of Discovery” Captain Nick Sunderland and Roger Lawrence of Port St. Maarten.

PHILIPSBURG–Port St. Maarten welcomed Spirit of Discovery, the new flagship of Saga Cruises, to St. Maarten on Wednesday during its inaugural call.

The luxury cruise ship is the largest ship to ever sail for Saga Cruises, a United Kingdom (UK)-based cruise line.

Jude Houston of the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT), Port St. Maarten representatives and Pioneer Terminal and Port Services Manager Hubert Leo Chance were present on Wednesday morning to exchange welcome plaques and pleasantries with Spirit of Discovery Captain Nick Sunderland.

“The name is very much fitting for the ship’s 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,” said TEATT Minister Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher on Wednesday.

“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 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 new and exciting experiences that are different and give a unique sense of place, in order to catch the interest of the cruise visitor,” said Port St. Maarten in a press release on Wednesday afternoon.

Spirit of Discovery was delivered to Saga Cruises on June 24 and began operations on July 10. The vessel has a maximum guest capacity of 999 persons and a crew complement of 505 persons. The ship weighs 58,250 gross tonnes, is 774.3 feet long, 102.4 feet wide and has 10 passenger decks. Spirit of Discovery was built by shipyard Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. Currently, the vessel has 850 passengers on board who are mainly from the UK. She is on a 35-night cruise.

The ship left Southampton, UK, and made a six-day trans-Atlantic crossing with her first stop in Barbados. From there she moved on to her next port of call, Dominica and then to St. Maarten. The next port of call is San Juan, Puerto Rico. She will also be heading to the US mainland and then Bermuda, where she will spend New Year’s before crossing the Atlantic Ocean and returning to Southampton.  

Saga Cruises was established in 1996 and the company’s target demographic is persons over 50 years old who reside in the UK.

Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/93413-spirit-of-discovery-made-inaugural-port-call-on-wed

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