It was the day of the naming in Dover for the brand new Saga ship, Spirit of Discovery, on the 5th July 2019.  Rather disappointingly, there was no horn blowing once the bottle smashed and the fireworks would be the 10th as she sailed on the maiden voyage.  No one I spoke to knew the naming was happening that day.  Considering this was a brand new ship for a company based up the road in Folkestone and which would spend summers there, both the port and Saga turned it into a damp squib for the locals instead of a huge celebration.

For summer, there was surprisingly very little cruise ship traffic. Sapphire Princess and Britannia were due to pass around 9pm en route to Southampton but both were late.  Britannia had technical trouble and a medevac, so wouldn't be docking until 11.15am.  No idea what kept the Princess but she gradually increased her speed to 24.9kts and finally came into view at 11.10pm.  I got her through the hotel window instead since it as the best view apart from the cliffs.  As I had an early coach the next day, I didn't bother waiting up for Britannia.