FatBoy20

Have you been on a Saga Cruise?. Yes they are more expensive but look at what you get for your money. I have been on both P&O & Saga since Covid & its like comparing Travelodge to a five star hotel!. With regard to the comment "Book at the right time etc" this applies to all Cruise Lines but at least Saga give you a guarantee that if the price drops below what you pay an upgrade of OBC is given. Don't knock until you have tried it!.

But you need to tell Saga in advance of the Birthday/Anniversary if you want this. Telephone/E-Mail Saga Postsales.

Also check on "Manage my Booking" as they are released up to 8 weeks before sailing.

But how by making the Library smaller can you increase the size of the Living Room two decks below or am I missing something?.

The Living Room is two decks below the Library!.

Some of the Saga tables for 2 are well spaced.

Saga have announced that for 2026 the two pre-registration block dates for booking are Jan-April & May- December (In previous years it has been Jan-March & April-December).

If P&O are offering only 20% off a future cruise for the ones that get off you have no hope of them funding an extra week in a Hotel & then a flight home. Dream on!.

321 Passengers required to leave & offered 20% off a future cruise. P&O very generous as usual I would want a full refund for this one as well!.

The short answer is no but full information is given on the covering letter you received which included the luggage labels.

The Tables for 2 in question re by the Waiter Stations & not the Kitchen!.

Some confirm pick up day before & your paperwork will give you a telephone number to call if a no show which is very unlikely. They will be picking up others either before or after you if you are in a shared vehicle.

20 Mins before Show should be OK.

Also in the Britannia Lounge the Show starts at 945pm each night.

On Sunday leaving SOD at 0930, Shuttle Bus, Collect Luggage & to Taxi took approx 25mins. Very slick.

I suspect that the major problems with Saga using Southampton was cost & limited space for the Taxi drop off/pick up (300 plus vehicles each time).

The Terminal Saga use at Dover is in the old Dover Marine Railway Station. The Taxi drop off is at the end of the building & you enter the Terminal. Approx a 50 metre walk inside brings you to the escalator/lift to the upper floor to go through Security. You then check in & walk to the air bridge to the Ship (all under cover). The Air Bridge exits usually at Deck 5 (The Living Room) & then you are escorted to your Cabin. Hope this helps.

The Cruise Berth at Portsmouth is alongside the RoRo Berths used by Condor & Brittany Ferries so no room for a Terminal adjacent to the Berth. On Sunday @ 7am when SOD docked she was followed in by Condor (one freight & one passenger/car ship) & one Brittany Ferry. A Condor passenger/car was also loading & sailed about 7.30 so very busy. The shuttle bus takes approx 5 minutes to load (max 20 passengers & two wheelchairs) in tandem with the phased disembarkation. If there was a walkway to the New Terminal it would take closer to ten minutes to walk in all weathers!. The Cruise Terminal is built on the back of the Ferry one with the exit into the Ferry Terminal. The reason for the move way from Southampton was cost & I guess Portsmouth offered a good long term contract price.

Saga phase the disembarkation into groups so no waiting for shuttle bus & also no chaos in the Baggage Collection Area. With all due respects a large number of passengers coming off SOD on Sunday last would find it very difficult walking the distance to the Terminal.

Gangway from Bus to Ship is covered. But far too long a walk to Terminal even if a safe route could be installed.

The distance to New Terminal from Ship is only about 25 metres less than " The Tent" & with the demographic age of Saga Passengers would make at least a 400 metre walk without Shuttle Bus a no go!.

Not totally finished but far smoother & quicker exit than the previous "Rent a Tent". Still requires Bus Shuttle to & from Ship.

Because of the numbers involved in Saga's Transport System (200 plus cars each cruise) then the embarkation times have to be phased for between 1pm & 4pm to avoid everybody trying to boarding early.

When Covid hit Saga paid a high percentage of Wage Retainer to its Staff thus avoiding the shortage of Staff other Lines found when opening up because they only paid to end of Contract.

Iceland & Norway are both very expensive.