[1] The ship was powered by a single 2-cylinder, horizontal marine steam engine that drove a screw propeller.

The propulsion system was capable of generating 1,790 indicated horsepower (1,330 kW), for a top speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).

The ship was fitted with a three-masted sailing rig to supplement the steam engine on long voyages.

[1] By this time, the Austro-Hungarian Navy had begun a series of overseas cruises, and Saida was immediately sent to tour the West Indies, Brazil, and South Africa.

After a brief respite, the ship got underway again later that year to visit South America and East Africa in another cruise that lasted until 1887.

She repeated the voyage in 1895–1897 during a circumnavigation of the globe, the sixth time an Austro-Hungarian vessel had accomplished the feat.