A steel cutting ceremony has been held for Spirit of Adventure, Saga Cruises’ second bespoke-built boutique ship.

This follows the first new build ship, Spirit of Discovery, which will be launching in July this year.

The event took place at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, to mark the start of construction of the 999-guest vessel.

Spirit of Adventure is due to start sailing from Dover in August next year.

Chief operating officer for Saga Cruises, Nigel Blanks, said: “Today marks a special moment in Saga Cruises’ history – the first steel cutting of Saga’s second purpose-built cruise ship, Spirit of Adventure.

“Built by the same expert team at the Meyer Werft shipyard, she is a beautiful sister ship to Spirit of Discovery.

“With her striking design, distinctive new venues and innovative speciality restaurants, Spirit of Adventure will certainly have a unique personality and will fulfil our promise of boutique luxury, perfectly!”

Spirit of Adventure’s bold and contemporary look is being masterminded by top British design agency AD Associates, whose talented collective boast an impeccable travel and hospitality portfolio.

Spirit of Adventure will be a 58,250 gross tons vessel measuring 774.3ft in length and a beam of 102.4ft.

She will sail with itineraries featuring the Norwegian Fjords, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.