Saga’s first new build ship, the 999-passenger Spirit of Discovery, will launch in summer 2019. Speaking at a trade event in London last night, Robin Shaw also confirmed the company would make a decision on building a second ship by December. He said this would be dependent on the trade’s continued support.

“We’ve got an option for a second ship, and need to decide by December. But we can’t do it on our own; we need the trade’s support. We’ve got some very aggressive growth targets with Saga.”

Shaw remained close-lipped on itineraries for Spirit of Discovery, stating only that the new vessel would go to destinations such as Greenland. However he added that the line, which has previously only sailed ex-UK, may look to offer fly-cruise itineraries at some point in future.

“Initially we won’t do fly-cruise but it’s not totally off the agenda. In the future I could see us possibly doing it in a while for one of the ships,” he said.

Shaw said Spirit of Discovery, which he described as “a new chapter for Saga”, had been designed with customer feedback in mind, prompting the creation of 110 single cabins – 15% of the ship’s accommodations. The ship will also have a theatre for the first time, which will seat half the ship’s capacity.

“We’ve never had a new ship to design and build before. We’ve got a blank sheet of paper… We’ve done our research on existing customers and those that cruise with other lines. One thing that came out of it is that people want to do more and experience more on a cruise. They want a bit more and a bit more adventure.

“We’re so confident that we have a well-thought out ship. Other lines will design their ships around what will get us the best revenue onboard, we’re not like that.”

Shaw added that Saga Pearl would be retired shortly before Spirit of Discovery launches, and that if, and when, the second ship is launched, it would replace Saga’s other vessel Saga Sapphire.