Life on Board Spirit of Discovery

Friends and relatives can contact you on board.

They will need your cabin number and the telephone number for the ship: +44 1303 887222

International calls made from the ship will be charged to your on-board account which can be expensive (approximately 50p per minute). Mobile phone signal may be intermittent, especially once the ship has left port.

A dress code applies from 1800. The dress code is smart-casual each evening. Ladies may wish to wear a smart dress, or top/blouse with trousers or a skirt. Gentlemen can wear a smart, open-neck shirt and trousers, with jackets optional.

Please note: polo shirts, t-shirts, shorts and denim are not considered smart-casual attire in the evenings and should not be worn.

Formal evenings

A longstanding cruise tradition, formal evenings are one of the many highlights of our cruises. Guests are invited to wear any medals earned during military service. The number of formal evenings varies depending on the length of your cruise:

• Four to seven nights – one formal evening
• Eight to 11 nights – two formal evenings
• 12 to 21 nights – three formal evenings
• Cruises of 22 nights or more – there will be one additional formal evening per week

On formal evenings, formal attire is required in all restaurants apart from selected seating in The Grill. Smart casual attire can be worn in selected seating in The Grill, all bars, including the Britannia Lounge and the Playhouse theatre. Guests are also able to take advantage of the complimentary room service.

The ship is fitted throughout with UK 230v sockets. There are also USB charging ports in all cabins, and II5v shaving sockets in all guest bathrooms.

For purchases made off the ship, our Reception does offer a limited foreign exchange service of selected currencies, but we encourage you to purchase any foreign currency before your cruise.

A charge of £3 applies if you use personal cheques to settle your on-board account and/ or purchase foreign exchange during your cruise. There are no additional charges for paying by credit card, debit card, traveller’s cheque or cash.

There are self-service launderettes on B (Starboard side) and D (Port side) decks forward. There is no charge for the use of these facilities and washing powder and fabric conditioner are supplied free of charge. We also have laundry, pressing and dry-cleaning services.

Please refer to the laundry request option on your interactive TV or form in your cabin, for details and prices. Due to safety reasons, please don’t bring your own iron on board.

There are lifts forward and aft which travel between Deck 4 and Deck 13. Lifts will not operate in an emergency, and you will need to manage the stairs unaided.

The currency on board is sterling, and we operate a convenient cashless system using your cabin key card for any purchases made on the ship. You will need to settle your on-board account at the end of your cruise, and the easiest way to do this is by debit or credit card.

Simply register your card with Reception any time before the end of your cruise. You will be able to view your on-board account on the interactive TV in your cabin. By registering your card, you are agreeing to Saga obtaining pre-authorisation, and your bank may reduce the balance of funds/ credit available to you. Saga will release this pre-authorisation at the end of the cruise. With some banks it can take several days before the pre-authorised funds are made available to you again.

All our ships have free Wi-Fi, which can be a bit intermittent at times due to the nature of ocean cruising. If you plan on reading your books on a tablet, we advise that you download these before leaving home.