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Saga Cruises launched Spirit of Discovery in July 2019, the first of two sister cruise ships (Spirit of Adventure in 2020). These are the first new-build ships for cruising ever for Saga, why had previously bought and refurbished existing cruise ships. The Spirit of Discovery holds 999 passengers and in this I discuss the 8 things that I think are best about the ship, and show and explain why. I also talk about one major watch-out and issue that could stop you from cruising.
Note: I travelled as a guest of the cruise line on a pre-naming cruise before making this video. Saga Cruises had no input in the video and content.
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Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 60+ cruises.
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0:00
you're about to discover the eight best
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things about the brand new saga spirit
0:05
of discovery plus one thing that could
0:08
be a deal breaker and stop you from
0:10
cruising on this ship hi I'm Gary
0:13
beverage and this is another of my tips
0:14
for travel so I want to share with you
0:16
the things that I thought were fantastic
0:18
about the spirit of discovery and
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importantly the one thing that could
0:22
stop you from cruising on this ship but
0:25
first of all a couple of facts and
0:27
figures about the ship the spirit of
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discovery is the first of two sister
0:31
ships being built by saga cruises Merve
0:33
discoveries the first one spirit of
0:35
adventure the second one
0:37
it holds 999 guests has 505 crew 10
0:43
passenger decks those stats mean that it
0:46
falls in many people's definitions
0:48
within the small ship cruising category
0:50
which is normally defined as less than a
0:52
thousand passengers the first great
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thing is the design it is a greater
0:57
leadership from the outside it's very
0:58
unique it's very different because it
1:00
was specifically designed for saga but
1:02
inside the designers which were SMC a
1:05
london-based design organization have
1:08
created a boutique hotel feel and
1:11
naturally what's other are going for so
1:12
the inspiration for the design was taken
1:14
from london-based boutique hotels it is
1:18
a very modern and contemporary look a
1:20
couple of things that I really liked
1:22
about this sort of more as a ship geek
1:24
is this a really great connection to the
1:27
ocean so they have an enormous and very
1:30
wide promenade deck if you walk around
1:32
the promenade deck four times you've
1:34
done one mile and that has disappeared
1:37
from many modern cruise ships at the
1:39
back of the ship there's also a
1:40
magnificent terrace area where you can
1:42
set up the back of the ship it's multi
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levels you can also have drinks there
1:46
during the day and in the evening and
1:47
look after the ocean so I love the fact
1:49
that design inside is a boutique
1:52
contemporary hotel feel but there's a
1:54
real sense of nautical connection and a
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connection to the sea you even see that
1:58
in terms of open spaces so for example
2:00
the Lido which is the pool area this is
2:02
also very open it's very large and again
2:05
there's great connection to the ocean
2:07
and there's a real sense of Britishness
2:08
around the design and the aesthetics so
2:11
for example there are 1,000 pieces of
2:13
artwork across the ship 400 of which
2:15
were created for the ship and all of
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them have been created by artists that
2:20
are based in the UK all of the suppliers
2:22
the cheese the salmon wine are again
2:25
from British supply the second thing
2:27
that struck me about the ship were the
2:29
dining options saga is all-inclusive so
2:32
all of the dining but especially dining
2:34
and regular dining is included within
2:36
the fare there are six dining options
2:38
across the ship the most important of
2:40
course is the main dining room which is
2:42
known as the grand dining room it serves
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British and international cuisine it's a
2:48
magnificent very traditional liner
2:50
looking type of dining room you then
2:53
have the grill and the veranda which is
2:56
up on the Lido deck and this is your
2:58
more informal dining so it's more buffet
3:00
although also importantly on formal
3:02
nights they have the same menu in here
3:05
as in the main dining room so if you
3:06
don't want to get dressed up for formal
3:07
nights you can have the same menu up in
3:10
the grill and the veranda area the fur
3:12
and of course being the outside areas
3:14
you can dine alfresco when the weather
3:16
is good there are three special G dining
3:19
options the first of which is one that I
3:21
know Sagar very excited about and
3:22
passengers are very excited about and
3:24
this is the club with Jools Holland
3:27
Jools Holland being a very well-known
3:28
British entertainer and musician so the
3:31
club is a steakhouse and in evenings
3:34
they have cabaret which is all curated
3:37
by Jools Holland then there's coast to
3:40
coast is a beautiful restaurant actually
3:41
it's the seafood restaurant and this
3:43
restaurant seats 74 diners it's a new
3:47
concept to saga it's only open in the
3:49
evening one which really appeals to me
3:51
is east to west and this is an Asian
3:55
restaurant so an asian fusion restaurant
3:56
beautiful decor it's only open in the
3:59
evenings and holds 76 diners also which
4:03
is included which is your sixth dining
4:05
option onboard the spirit of discovery
4:07
and that's 24-hour room service again no
4:10
charge so all of the learning options
4:11
are included within the fair for me the
4:16
third most amazing thing and great thing
4:18
about the ship is the Britannia lounge
4:20
Britannia lounge is a classic on all the
4:24
Sagar ships and this particular
4:26
lounge is spectacular when you walk in
4:29
there there's a real wow factor the
4:31
Britannia lounge is used during the day
4:32
for talks or various offense and the
4:35
evening it's where you can go dancing so
4:37
there's a dance floor you have the
4:38
Britannia deck outside which has some
4:41
really beautiful artwork up there and
4:42
it's on the front of the ship so you can
4:44
also give great views as the ship sails
4:46
through the beautiful scenery Britannia
4:48
lounge I've pulled out as one of the
4:50
best things about the new ship because I
4:52
do think it is one of the absolute best
4:55
parts of the ship it really is a
4:56
magnificent space the fourth thing that
5:00
I've identified as being really good
5:02
about the ship are the cabins and I want
5:04
to talk about a couple of cabins very
5:05
specifically all of the cabins on board
5:08
have balconies so there's no inside
5:09
cabins there's no ocean views it is
5:11
entirely a balcony ship on the brochure
5:13
on the website they I should identify
5:15
nine grades but I think you can better
5:16
spit those down into three key
5:18
categories you have solar cabins you
5:21
have balcony cabins which you have two
5:23
types standard and deluxe and you have
5:26
Suites where there are three types
5:27
midships forward and aft one of the
5:31
things I really wanted to talk about
5:32
solo cabins 20% a 109 cabins onboard the
5:37
spirit of discovery are solo cabins so
5:40
songul really cater for solo travelers
5:41
in a really big way
5:43
but also what's great is they cater for
5:45
different budget types within solo
5:47
cabins so they have a standard cabin
5:50
they have a superior cabin they have a
5:53
deluxe cabin and they even have solo
5:55
suites so catering for solo travelers is
5:58
a really big plus the other great thing
6:01
that saga do is cater phenomenally well
6:03
for people who have disabilities or need
6:06
accessible cabins the accessible cabin I
6:09
was really impressed with of course it's
6:10
a great size you have extra space if
6:12
you're in a wheelchair you have a wet
6:15
room style bathroom they have a ramp
6:18
which heads up and out onto the balcony
6:20
but the great thing about it is every
6:22
single accessible cabin has an inter
6:25
connecting door to a solo cabin next
6:27
door so it means if you're traveling
6:29
with a friend a family or even a carer
6:31
they can have a separate cabin connected
6:33
to yours and they don't have to share a
6:35
cabin bunk up with you so I think
6:36
there's real plusses here not only do
6:39
they have arranged
6:39
cabins for all budgets but they really
6:41
cater phenomenally well for solo
6:43
travelers with those many different
6:44
grades and for people with accessibility
6:46
needs absolutely they're travelling with
6:48
carers or friends so the cabins for me
6:50
definitely a real big plus the fifth
6:54
thing that I really want to talk about
6:56
is entertainment and their take on
6:58
entertainment cuz I think they do
6:59
something slightly differently they have
7:02
the Playhouse Theatre which can seat 440
7:05
at one time said they have production
7:07
shows in the evening they also have
7:09
guest artists at other times will act as
7:11
a cinema so that's fairly standard and
7:13
as you expect it's pretty high-tech
7:14
being a new ship the other thing which
7:16
they have which i think is great is the
7:19
library now the library is a really
7:20
interesting venue it's not only a great
7:22
looking venue where they also have 3500
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books or an enormous library they have
7:28
self-service teas and coffees here but
7:32
they have a couple of really interesting
7:33
things they have an enormous craft area
7:36
and they run classes jewelry making or
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paper crafts then they have a very large
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card room bridge and car playing is very
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popular onboard so dedicated card room
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which can hold up to 40 people at one
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time most in terms of entertainment and
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activities they have a very big
7:53
enrichment program so there's always
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guest speakers guest lecturers so
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entertainment definitely it is much more
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enrichment orientated and some really
8:02
great things that they do in terms of
8:04
social venues they have quite a lot of
8:06
places where you can socialize one of
8:08
the most interesting of all is the South
8:10
Cape Bar now this is the name of a bar
8:13
which originally appeared on one of
8:14
their first and earlier ships within the
8:16
cruise line which was the saga Ruby
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right back in 2005 another really great
8:23
space which is probably part of a hub of
8:25
the ship is known as the living room so
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during the day this is a coffee bar in
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the evening it becomes one of a cocktail
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bar and because it's right in the heart
8:33
of the ship and near the atrium it's a
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real hub both during the day and in the
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evening so the living room is a great
8:39
space beautiful seating areas really a
8:42
fun bar then of course you have the
8:45
Britannia lounge which I've already
8:46
spoken about and you have the terrace at
8:48
the back of the ship which I've also
8:49
spoken about the next thing that I
8:52
thought was really good and struck me a
8:53
the ship was just how much space and
8:56
effort was focused on the whole area of
8:59
wellness first of all they have a spa
9:01
which is huge in the spa you of course
9:05
have your traditional spa treatments
9:07
pretty big salon area a very large steam
9:10
room and sauna area a great hydrotherapy
9:15
pool area so lots of space dedicated to
9:18
the sort of the pampering side of
9:20
wellness right up on the top of the ship
9:22
they also have the fitness area and the
9:24
gym area there's also an outdoor sports
9:27
hereit and also they have a fairway golf
9:30
simulator so lots of space and focus on
9:33
wellness another really good thing
9:37
onboard the spirit of discovery is the
9:39
all-inclusive nature of the fair now
9:41
saga Fez had been pretty inclusive but
9:43
from 2020 they're going completely
9:45
all-inclusive so what does that mean
9:46
obviously your accommodation all the
9:48
dining as I've already mentioned to
9:50
Bertie's Wi-Fi and from 2020 drinks are
9:54
included they also include a pickup
9:56
service get picked up from your home and
9:59
taken to and from the ship insurance is
10:02
included and if you don't take the
10:04
insurance you can then also get a slight
10:06
discount on the fare of course you have
10:08
the extra of things like excursions spa
10:11
treatments if you buy stuff in the shop
10:13
but it's great to know that all the
10:15
fundamentals of the cruise experience
10:16
are included within the fare
10:19
so those are my view are the eight
10:21
really great and good things about the
10:23
brand-new spirit of discovery ship from
10:26
saga so what about the Downs has a thing
10:28
that could stop you cruising saga is a
10:31
uk-based company and they do all of
10:33
their marketing to UK passengers and
10:36
they create a very British experience
10:38
now that doesn't mean if you're not a UK
10:40
residents you can't cruise on saga so if
10:43
you want to cruise on saga and you're
10:44
out of the UK you need to make sure that
10:46
you connect through with saga in the UK
10:48
however the biggest issue that you face
10:51
is in order to cruise with saga cruises
10:53
you need to be over 50 years of age
10:56
however if you are 50 years of age and
10:59
your partner or friend is over 40 they
11:01
can cruise with you but you do need to
11:04
be over 50 before you can cruise on a
11:06
solid
11:06
crews if you want to find out much more
11:08
about cruising and songa cruisers I have
11:12
many more videos on the topic so why
11:14
don't you watch one of those right now
11:16
[Music]
11:20
[Applause]
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