Saga Cruises announced that the company has completed the sale of it’s cruise ship Saga Sapphire to the Turkish tour operator Anex Tour. The ship will reenter service in 2021 under the name Blue Sapphire operating for the new cruise line Anex Tour in the Eastern Mediterranean. The sale was revealed by Saga Cruises in 2019 after Anex Tour announced it would acquire the vessel.

Saga Cruises Managing director, Nigel Blanks, said “Saga Sapphire has been hugely popular with our guests over the past eight years. She will be missed, but we’re delighted she will be playing a starring role in Anex Tour’s new cruise offer. Launching Sapphire was an important moment, and laid the foundations for our purpose-built boutique cruise offer. We are now looking forward to an exciting new chapter for Saga Cruises as we prepare to welcome the Spirit of Adventure to our fleet in the coming months.”

Anex Tour Chairman, Neset Kockar, said “I am thrilled to have our first cruise ship which is getting prepared to sail in the eastern Mediterranean after a thorough renovation. Expanding our product range in line with the needs of our customers has always been a top priority, and it is my pleasure to offer one of the most unique experiences to them.”

The company will replace Saga Sapphire with the newbuild cruise ship Spirit of Adventure which is expected to be delivered by the German shipbuilder Meyer Werft in autumn 2020. Therefore Saga will have more efficient and modern ships to operate once things get back to normal.

The new ship Spirit of Adventure with a capacity for 999 guests will be 236 meters/774 feet in Length and 31.2 meters/102 feet at the beam.