LondonLad60

My last cruises on Arcadia were before the main Covid lockdown, but as I recall, one side of the buffet was always closed to passengers in the evening and was solely for the use of officers and entertainment staff. The only servery open was on the passengers side, which led to long queues, shortages of some items and frayed tempers. Of course, things may now be different.

We were on SoA's recent Med cruise, returning today. We were on board at 12:25, and ate on the Veranda as the Grill didn't open until 13:00. Our cabin wasn't ready, and I can't remember for sure, but I think a PA announcement was made when all cabins were ready.

3 hours ago, Banjo an said:

We are Saga first timers and are on the Caribbean cruise in November. When will we hear what time our pickup time is. We notice there are price reductions for this cruise in the latest brochure.

You should receive a letter with your pickup time approximately three weeks prior to departure.

We live to the west of London, approximately 100 miles from Dover. On our last cruise in June we were picked up at 11:20 and on board at 13:40. Pick up time for our Sunday cruise is given as 11:05 to 11:35, so hoping for a similar boarding time.

13 hours ago, FannyLiz said:

Down at the very bottom of the NHS app Home page is a heart icon labeled Your Health. ( 2 nd from right of 5 icons). Click on that and the first option is Get your NHS Covid pass which enables you to download the usual documents. I understand that appointments for the autumn booster for those eligable will be offered from tomorrow  ( Monday 19 Sept) so another entry on the certificates.

Edit to add: I Hhad my flu vaccination at Boots on Wednesday. Might be a good thing to think about before you cruise .

Perfect. Many thanks FannyLiz. I actually had my seasonal flu jab yesterday.

20 hours ago, Banjo an said:

Covid does seem to be on the increase again so we will be taking our covid passes on our next cruise in November

To be on the safe side I thought I'd update my covid pass. I logged on to the NHS app on my mobile and the option to get a covid pass is no longer on the main menu. I've tried looking on the gov.uk website to see if a pass is still required but I was sent around in ever decreasing circles. Fortunately my current pass is valid for the duration of my forthcoming cruise (departing next Sunday) but after that, who knows? 

42 minutes ago, FannyLiz said:

I’m booked on the SoD Caribbean cruise in November. Should I take US or Caribbean dollars in cash or can I assume I can use my credit or Caxton card for anything I buy in port ?  I have euro coins and notes left over from previous EU visits.

Just about everywhere I've been in the Caribbean has taken US dollars. Martinique uses the Euro - can't remember if they take USD. If you pay in USD some places will give you your change in Caribbean dollars. Credit card can be used in most places.

As I understand it, WhatsApp itself isn't  blocked - I used it for messaging in June on a Med cruise. However, the video call facility was blocked when I tried using it back in January.

A pretty fair review, although it does read as though it could have been written by someone in Saga's PR department. Nit picking I know, but not ALL passengers on Saga ships are necessarily over 50 - the lead passenger on any booking must be over 50, however, other passengers on the same booking must be over 40. Perhaps this could have been mentioned? 

My daughter thoroughly recommends Papa Boat Tours on St Lucia. However, last time we were in St Lucia (autumn 2019) there were two separate berths - the Papa tours only operate out of one, and of course, we were berthed in the other. The aptly named Rum Therapy bar is also worth a visit - when we were there most cocktails were two for the price of one.

6 hours ago, david05 said:

There is no longer any random checking at the port - in June covid passes were still required which is why they did some random checking.

Ah - thanks for clearing that up.

Although covid passes are no longer mandatory, I would take mine anyway, as at check in on my last Saga cruise back in June, there was random checking.

I have only seen the theatre full on one occasion, and that was for Jools Holland's first show on SoD last August. According to friends who went to his second show the following evening, the theatre was just over half full.

13 hours ago, Ladycommonsense said:

My final question before we embarck Spirit of Adventure on Monday as newbies ……may we please ask what time does the show in the theatre start as we want to fit it in with what time we dine. So sorry if this been covered so many times before, but as I said we are newbies in fact, we are very very keen newbies 😜

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. As it's your first Saga cruise, perhaps you would like to write a review when you return? I'm sure many on here would like to know your thoughts on Saga. 

39 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

Sadly, such information-sharing, without the consent of the individual, would breach the General Data Protection Regulations. 

 

 

That was what I was wondering. Thanks for confirming.

This isn't about a specific incident, it's just a general query. If a passenger on a Saga cruise misbehaves to the point where they are put off the ship, I assume Saga would put them on a blacklist, and they wouldn't be allowed to cruise with Saga again. I am wondering, would Saga share the miscreant's details with other cruise lines? Similarly, if a passenger is put off during a P&O (for example) cruise, would Saga be made aware of it? In this case I would have thought that such details would be shared with all Carnival lines, but what about other lines? Could there be a potential data protection issue here? No particular reason for asking - I'm just curious.

4 hours ago, Chrisdriving said:

Booked another cruise on Arcadia for 2024 after the dry dock in November, chap who took the booking was adamant both Arcadia and Aurora have 10 years left with P and O due to their popularity with certain demographic of customer.

Cannot see it myself but would hope he is at least partly right in them both staying for a good while.

Both are having a huge amount spent on them in next refits for the benefit of P and O and it’s customers.

Or, as was mentioned in an previous thread, could they be tarting them up to make one or both of them more attractive to potential buyers...?

They are also provided near the exit gangway on port days.

We were on an 18 night Med cruise on SoD in June - there was a number of sea days, and there were dance instructors on board.

"The closer to the port you are, the later the pick-up time"

I don't think this is always the case. We live approximately 100 miles from Dover, and our pick-up time for our June cruise was 11:15. Friends of ours on the same cruise live over twice as far away (approx. 210 miles), and their pick-up time was only fifteen minutes earlier than ours, at 11:00. I may be wrong (and I'm happy to be corrected), but I think that one's level in the Britannia Club may have some bearing on pick-up times.

2 hours ago, Scorpio41 said:

Socks with sandals? Asking for a friend. 😉

Noooooo!!!!

8 minutes ago, twotravellersLondon said:

 Do you mean in addition to the included gratuities which are already part of the cruise price?

I know what you mean, but on every Saga cruise we have been on, there have always been at least a couple of crew members that have deserved a little extra. How much extra to add is a personal thing...

Not being funny, I've never been in the fortunate position to be able to tip a butler! It's an obvious thing to say, but we tip various crew ( steward, bar crew, waiters) depending how far beyond  the extra mile they have gone. Only you can decide how far beyond they have gone.

If you like cocktails, bar staff may be happy to mix you something that's not on the list. On our last cruise we got to know one particular barman, and my wife would ask him to mix her one of his 'specials'. She was never disappointed.

31 minutes ago, Norfolksaver said:

Thank you for the reply

this will be our first ever cruise and I have found this forum has answered so many of our questions.

Hope you enjoy it. Please let us know your thoughts when you return!