sweep

On 2/10/2020 at 3:30 PM, janecambridge said:

that we are fed up with Oceania and their outbreaks of Norovirus.Being a nurse who has done a lot with cross infection issues,I was shocked on my last two Oceania cruises.

I thought Oceania had very few cases of norovirus mostly because there is no self service. I must say I’m very surprised 

I suppose it depends on your TA how well it works. We were very disappointed with ours - they didn’t give us any info about embarkation, no time, maps or anything. Saga however were happy to give us the information. 
I found the chat function on the saga website very useful. 
Definitely think you should go ahead with your cruise. SOD was very impressive. 

On 10/9/2019 at 10:59 PM, Glenndale said:

Thanks for your review.

We will be doing a Baltic cruise on SoD next June and are looking forward to some new ports.

We have never visited Skagen, Saaremaa or Esbjerg.

I like the fact that Saga doesn’t visit the same old ports that so many cruise lines do.

We visited Skagen on our SOD cruise. We caught the local bus and then the sand tractor to visit the point where the North Sea and the Baltic meet. It was really easy to DIY and for a fraction of the cost of the ship’s tours

I contacted Saga about the fact that our bags were not scanned when we came back to the ship on a port day. The reply stated that other lines mainly do this to prevent alcohol from being taken on board but that Saga were not worried about this. 

Another major difference we noticed was that there were no security checks when getting back onboard apart from the room card.  I am not complaining since that meant no queues.  We were in Norway.  Does that happen on Mediterranean cruises?

This really bothered me on my cruise. I couldn’t believe the lack of security! I commented on it on both the mid cruise and final questionnaires but no one ever responded to my concerns.  

On 10/4/2019 at 6:04 PM, Glenndale said:

One thing that I meant to mention was the fact that the card keys actually have the cabin number on them.

Whilst I am not suggesting that Saga passengers are a bunch of ‘crims’ I think that from a security aspect it is very poor.

 

I just scrubbed out my number - easy solution

On 9/28/2019 at 10:21 AM, Host Sharon said:

Oh dear- I hope it's not that casual or my two booked Saga cruises may be my last. 

On reflection it was only that one night when it was really bad and then only by a minority of people. It was a port day so perhaps they were pushed for time

3 hours ago, Londoner51 said:

We’ve opted to park on the quayside, so can we opt to take our luggage ashore ourselves rather than wait on board for hours?  I really don’t fancy sitting around for ages at the end of a holiday.

We parked on the quayside and indicated this on the disembarkation form.  We were in the first group to leave, our luggage was there waiting for us and we were in our car and on our way home shortly after 8.30. Very straightforward 

Thanks Glenndale. I contacted Saga about this issue yesterday using Saga Chat.  They replied by email just now stating my 15 nights onboard has been credited. 

I commented on my End of Cruise questionnaire about the fact that you weren’t able to access My Saga if you booked through an agent.  I hope everyone else affected does the same.  

47 minutes ago, janecambridge said:

Having just read this topic,I phoned SAGA, that in itself was a trial  as the number they give is basically for buying insurance,I was told that I cannot access my booking for my next cruise myself only through my agent.It is a breach of contract between them, for Saga to interact directly with customer.But the Britannia nights scheme is NOT  affected when booking through an agent. 

I do like to be able to see my own booking on a cruise,but at the end of the day I believe my agent should do some work!! 

If it is a breach of contract then how come other cruise lines are able to do it? Looks like they are trying to fob you off

1 hour ago, Glenndale said:

Kentchris another bathroom related query, do Saga supply bathroom slippers or do I need to pack my own?

They supply slippers and bathrobes

I frequently book my cruises through a TA. You are immediately given access to the cruise line’s web site and can book excursions, speciality restaurants, ask questions etc.  I never dreamt it would be any different with Saga.  I’ve not seen it stated on the T’s and C’s and it was someone on CC who alerted me to the fact I couldn’t deal directly with Saga.  The news about the ‘nights aboard’ would have been the last straw except for the fact that Glendale has shown me what to do. 

I really feel Saga need to look carefully at this if it wants to attract new people

We bought a nice bottle of Sancerre for £19

10 minutes ago, Glenndale said:

I have spoken to Saga and this is not strictly true.

If you book through a TA you have to call Saga on 0800504505 with your 8 digit booking reference beginning 10 and ask them to credit you.

Clumsy way of doing things I concede but you will be credited.

Really they should be giving people this information.

You cannot do this on board sadly but on your return.

I was not aware that this is the case and have had to ask for our 15 night cruise in February to be credited.

Thank you so much Glendale.  How stupid Saga are in not telling you

I’ve just read on a social media site that Saga will not credit you with ‘nights aboard’ if you’ve booked through a travel agent. 

If this is true it is preposterous.  It is bad enough that you don’t get access to ‘My Saga’ and have to sort everything out through your TA but if this is true I won’t be travelling with Saga again

25 minutes ago, cinnamon said:

I agree with Mrs Miggins.  We haven't sailed on Oceania but can make comparisons with Azamara. We’ve also not been on any of the true luxury lines like Regent or Seabourn. Way over our budget. 

SOD compares very favourably with Azamara in terms of cabins (especially bathrooms), public rooms, library, craft and card rooms and general space. Plus I loved the aft terraces. The entertainment was mostly a bit better too, partly due to having a proper theatre, not just a show lounge. The White Night on Azamara is wonderful though. There were no similar ‘parties’ on SOD that I was aware of although we had cold North Sea crossings when we could have been outdoors more had the weather been better. 

 

However, the food was much less varied (geared to British rather than International tastes). I don’t think they’re appealing to the Baby Boomers who have to be their future market. 

We also missed the International feel in the crew but service levels were similar. 

We don’t want to stick to sailing from the UK at present and will watch out to see if they start fly cruises once SOA is established. 

Agree with the previous two posts. We have cruised a lot with Oceania and we feel O’s food is so much better in terms of quality, variety and presentation.  Although we don’t drink a lot I like a cocktail on holiday and the one I tried on SOD was dreadful but cheap!

There were lots of things I liked better on SOD though.  There were really good lectures on board, I enjoyed the crafts which were free, the entertainment was varied, the library the best I’ve ever seen.  I loved the design of the ship, the feeling of spaciousness and the variety of the different seating areas.  Like Cinnamon I really enjoyed the aft terraces particularly for our Scandinavian cruise.  

Saga could so easily improve their food offerings.  To fill the two new ships they will have to appeal to a much broader (and younger) market. 

13 minutes ago, trams said:

Would those who prefer to dine alone decline an invitation to dine with captain or any othe ships Officer on formal night?

The standard answer to this is we don’t dine with the crew 🤪🤪

39 minutes ago, cinnamon said:

But two tops are few and far between in The Grill. 😏

39 minutes ago, cinnamon said:

But two tops are few and far between in The Grill. 😏

We never shared a table at all in our 15 day cruise. As we entered we just said ‘table for 2, no sharing and it was always honoured.  In fact out of all our numerous cruises this was the best one for tables for 2.

In the grill there were very few tables for 2 at the beginning but then, a few days in, a lot more appeared.  It turns out they split some of the tables for four into two 2s.  I guess they have this flexibility depending on what people on that particular cruise want.  

We were careful when and where we went to eat. For example there were some days when we left port at 5pm so we guessed there would be an early rush for tables. We chose to eat in the speciality restaurants on those nights.  

The tables for 2 were very close together and we frequently chatted to our neighbours. However we were able to be served at our own pace and we could gauge the friendliness of our neighbours as to whether or not we struck up a conversation.  

Thank you for your very readable blog Cinnamon.  Your opinions were very similar to ours on lots of things.  So would you cruise with Saga again?

We feel that on balance we probably will but that we won’t rush to book straight away.  The itinerary will have to really appeal.  The most disappointing thing for us was the food.  It was good but nowhere near the spectacular that we were expecting from previous posters and that we are used to on Oceania cruises.  I feel Saga need to change a little to entice us baby boomers.  

Will look out for you in Longacres!

1 hour ago, Ergates The Ant said:

The disembarkation sounds a bit of a fiasco! 

Saga have had a week to coordinate passengers and transport, very much takes the edge off the much hyped included transport to the port!

Were there are passengers disembarking without Saga transport? Were they having to wait for hours as well?

i would certainly prefer to drive to Southampton and park, and was initially pleased to see that Saga cruise parking is provided by my preferred parking company.

Then very disappointed to discover that unlike the self parking / keep your car keys arrangement we usually have with Celebrity and RCCL, Saga has a meet and greet system. Not happy with that, don’t like handing over keys for someone to take our car off site. One of several reasons why we gave up sailing with P and O!

Were there are passengers disembarking without Saga transport? Were they having to wait for hours as well?

We parked our car at Dover and disembarkation was so easy. We were in the first group to be called and we were off the ship within 10 minutes of it being cleared.  We were on our way home 5 minutes later.  So easy

50 minutes ago, Ergates The Ant said:

I was getting quite excited at the sound of the new Saga ship, and already looking at the itineraries.

However, I’m now getting a bit concerned at reports about the self service buffet.

We are not big foodies, rarely eat starters, and like a fairly relaxed meal.

We usually eat in the buffet, as we can pick a table for two, preferably with a view, choose a selection of the food on offer ( my OH and I have very different tastes) and leave promptly when we are finished.

The seemingly very restricted opening times sound very tiresome indeed.

Someone mentioned being escorted to a table. Does this mean one can’t choose where to sit, one of the reasons we don’t enjoy the MDR?

If the food is the same as the MDR, ie only 3 choices and only one vegetarian offering, it can hardly be described as a buffet. Maybe better described as a DIY version of the MDR!  Does this mean I can’t have my usual medley of a variety of things to try?

Actually I didn’t think the buffet was too bad.  On other ships we never choose to eat in the buffet in the evening but we did a couple of times on SOD. 

Yes the menu is the same as the MDR but with the addition of a carvery option which was advertised in advance.  We worked out where the tables for 2 where and just took ourselves there. On the sail away from Stockholm we actually sat on the verandah to eat as we wanted to watch the scenery.  

You could just eat as much or as little as you wanted.  It was easy to mix and match and, invariably, your plate was carried to your table for you.  There were always salads available too. 

3 hours ago, cinnamon said:

 

Yes, the lectures are on tv too so we’ll watch it tomorrow. 

 

That’s good.  There were lots of complaints about this on our cruise and on the last day they seemed to have it sorted.  

Enjoying reliving our cruise by following your blog.  Thank you. 

2 hours ago, cinnamon said:

We are in the cheapest possible cabin on E deck 7. Low down (which I like, less movement) and near the aft which again has less movement than forward. In fact, I would choose the last few aft cabins every time for the convenience of being near the terrace. I love the fact that the ship does not have expensive aft cabins, like most new builds. Instead, the view is available to all. One deck down there is a drinks machine too for tea and coffee. 

The interior of the cabin is just the same as any others unless you pay for the larger Superior ones or a suite. Just 1 or 2 flights down to the restaurants, reception, theatre etc. We do use the lifts for The Grill though as that is 5 flights up. 

We went with a guarantee cabin which was even cheaper! My logic was that there weren’t any ‘bad’ cabins.  We ended up in B539 so I think we did pretty well.  

I agree being aft is great as you can make use of the aft stairs and all those lovely seating areas for sail away.  

2 hours ago, cinnamon said:

Back in our cabin we now have U.K. sockets at the desk and by the bed. Yay!  

I still find it hard to understand why no previous occupant in the first 6-8 weeks or so on this ship had spotted it before and managed with only European ones. 

Is the ship full? On our cruise there were only 900 people.  Perhaps your cabin hasn’t been used much??

1 hour ago, cinnamon said:

Friday, 1.10 pm.

We arrived at Dover port at 12.40. Security was fairly simple with no requirement to take the laptop out of our carry on. The queueing system for check-in is a little chaotic. About 6 different lines with no indication of which to join and pot luck which will move fastest as apposed to a central queue. Only a few minutes to wait for us though. A photo is taken of us and the passport but no record of our Credit Card. We will need to register this onboard. 😏

 

The downer so far is that boarding will commence at 2.00 pm. We have been given number 3. This related to time of arrival rather than cabin class. However, I think the Britannia Club members have priority. 

 

The second slight disappointment is the need to buy refreshments in the bar of the terminal. When I asked if we would be able to have a late lunch onboard I was told it would be afternoon tea. 😒. That’s a long time away!

We had a buffet lunch when we got on board and that was a 2pm embarkation too.  

We drove down to Dover the day before and, as there were problems with the M20 being closed on embarkation day, there were only very few people waiting to board so it was really quick.