Saga River Cruises completes hat-trick of new vessels

Built exclusively for Saga guests, the company engaged previous newbuild partners Cubik3, based in Hamburg, Germany.

Ms Friend says, “We previously worked with the team on both Spirit of the Rhine and Spirit of the Danube. Cubik3 has a great knowledge of the ships and the space it has to work with. It also understands our guests, so already knows little things like seating height and depth would be very important to our guests, as well as UK-style plug sockets and the space to make a cup of tea. These little details make a difference to our guests and didn’t need to be explained.”

She says the interior design brief was to create a warm and relaxing space for guests, taking inspiration from the sights, tastes and experiences of the namesake river.

“The Moselle is synonymous with tiered vineyards, stone castles and timber-clad houses,” continues Ms Friend. “The team drew on the poem Mosella by the Roman poet Magnus Ausonius, which is a celebration of the verdancy of the river. The accent colour palette is a mix of rich wine colours - reds, greens and golds. The team also looked to English artist JMW Turner and his painting Beilstein and Burg Metternich. This image was a key focal visual in the overall design with pastel blues, pink and green.” 

The painting of the castle and town known as the ‘sleeping beauty of the Moselle’ was also the inspiration for the name of the ship’s speciality Beilstein restaurant.

“The flow as you move through the ship gives a sense of light and space, important when working with smaller ships, as well as a premium feel from the richness of the materials used,” says Ms Friend.

“We have some unique art installations through the ship which bring the theme of the ship to life. We’re very excited about the art installations for the public spaces. Each of the ships has a piece that shows the river in the main lobby. We’ll be doing this again for Spirit of the Moselle.” 

She describes each of the ships as having the same hardware blueprint, with French balcony cabins on the upper and middle decks, a panoramic lounge, main restaurant and speciality dining room. There are also cabins on the lower deck with high level windows.

“The layout is the same, so guests know where to go and get their favourite tea, or where to sit and enjoy a book in the library,” explains Ms Friend. “However, the interior design of the ships couldn’t be more different. The ships carry the personality of the river with them. The Rhine has the most exquisite flora and nature depicted by the butterfly designs throughout the ship, the Danube carries the beautiful birdlife of the delta and the Moselle, the rich architecture and foliage of the wine towns.” 

Ms Friend says to maximise the smaller size of river vessels, the lounge was split into three distinct areas. The main bar and lounge form the social hub of the ship and alongside is a self-serve coffee bar plus a library featuring the Turner print that inspired the interior design. There have also been some small design changes on the latest newbuild.

“We’re always listening to guest feedback and make small tweaks where we can,” adds Ms Friend. “For example, we have introduced multiple water stations to this ship and have made sure there are enough dotted around the ship to avoid high traffic areas and are looking to add these to the other ships. We’ve also increased the height of the bar stools so they’re a more comfortable height for guests sitting at the bar.”

Turning to the cabins she says, “After a day of visiting new towns and the cities, the cabin needs to be somewhere guests can relax. We’ve made sure there’s plenty of storage space, UK-style plugs and space to make a cup of tea. The layout and furnishings are practical, yet comfortable, so guests can rest and be ready for a new day exploring their destination.”

Spirit of the Moselle joins the fleet in July 2025 and will sail along the Main and Rhine rivers during its inaugural season and visit destinations including Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Bamberg and the UNESCO-listed Rhine Gorge.

Sign up for Riviera’s series of technical and operational webinars and conferences:

• Register to attend by visiting our events page.
• Watch recordings from all of our webinars in the webinar library.