JMyrtle

Nothing to transfer to, the two options on offer are for Southampton or Newcastle, we live ten miles from Dover, don't drive and there are No 2022 departures listed for Dover at all except for one 28 day sailing in the autumn so after a year of being messed about we are now being left high and dry - literally! 

We are also booked on this Iceland cruise in June and have already accepted the fact that if it sails at all it will be a "scenic cruise" only with no shore visits permitted. 

We have already had six cruises (four last year and two so far for this one) either with Fred or Saga cancelled since last March, the first at thirty six hours notice. 

Since then we book, they cancel, we rebook and so it goes on to the point where I have given up with Saga as there is no hope of us meeting their requirement to get both inoculations in order to travel any time soon as we are under seventy years of age. 

This will be our third attempt at Iceland so I hope it  finally goes ahead as its getting beyond a joke now particularly as even with the discount we seem to pay more each time we rebook. 

It's not the cancellation that's so annoying, that is perfectly understandable. 

What is annoying is that every time the cruise is re-scheduled there is less on offer for the same money and this time the replacement bears no relation to what was originally booked.

It offers far less itinerary wise and is also more expensive, particularly when "Fred" are offering a ten night cruise to Copenhagen and Stockholm amongst other ports for less money than seven days in the fjords and three ports with Saga. 

Sorry should read November 2020 cancelled again, edit option seems to have disappeared. 

. Well that's that then! 

 August 2018 booked on final sailing of Sapphire in mid March 2020 eight nights thru the Kiel Canal calling at Oslo, Gothenburg, Copenhagen and Kristiansand. 

On board beer festival, oompah band and guest celebrity Dame Esther Rantzen, expensive but a once in a lifetime experience. 

January 20 Dame Esther cancells because of Norovirus and thirty six hours before departure Saga calls to say we are not sailing.

Rebooked for March 2021 no Kiel Canal, no beer festival, no oompah band, no Dame Esther, one less night and one less port but the same price. 

November 2021 cancelled again, fully understandable but this time replaced in March 2022 by seven nights to the Fjords, Burgan, Stavanger and two days at anchor somewhere between the two. 

And to add insult to injury a substantial price increase as well. 

Enough is enough, are we finally cancelling, of course we are! 

Hi everyone it's the "aging headbanger" here. 

Thank you for your kind comments, as you say we all have different views and perspectives in life. I was married to a senior army officer for nearly twenty five years so any suggestion of say a formal night or cocktail party has me running in the opposite direction, been there and bought the tee shirt as they say. 

I second the comment on Ryanair, a few years ago we needed to get to Belfast in a hurry for a funeral and they were the only choice, National Express is even a better option though the journey door to door is twenty four hours! 

In answer to the question about set dining  two of our Fred cruises are on Bolette, one of the new ships and on both we have an evening dining time of 6. 30 pm but it doesn't matter because I am type two diabetic kept in remission by diet so we prefer  self service as its easier and quicker. 

I'm hoping that if and when we finally sail self will be available again as its not good for diabetics to take a long time over an evening meal on a regular basis and with the main dining room menus it is nearly impossible to avoid carbohydrates which I need to do to control my blood sugar levels. 

Like I said we don't need transport to the port, we always book a deal on Fred with including drinks and a balcony isn't much use at night so Fred suits us best. 

We are nearly seventy years of age but  don't care for bingo or string quartets either,  jazz is OK but I prefer five bar blues however we are more into  Black Sabbath than Abba. 

We could easily afford Saga' s new ships just don't see the point of wasting the money when Fred is perfectly acceptable for our requirements. 

Ah well we always go for a deal with Fred so our drinks and tips are included in what we pay, that's how we afford four or five cruises a year

We also live fifteen miles from Dover so we can always get a lift or a local taxi and as I have said before we have no use for a balcony cabin as we don't spend any time in the cabin and if it's rough the further up the ship the worse it gets so we prefer to be inside on the lowest deck possible. 

The comment about comparable bookings was an observation on their experience, people don't spend money needlessly and there is very little benefit of paying Saga's prices compared to Fred's. 

We received our refund within three days and found a weeks all inclusive including drinks and tips going out of Dover in April with Fred Olsen for less than the five day cruise refunded by Saga in December 

We now have four crises booked for next year, one with Saga and the other three with Fred, and with  all three "Fred's"  we are paying for both of us what we would have paid each on Saga. 

My travel agent agrees with me that Saga have priced themselves out of the market for most of their existing customer base and apparently it is noticeable that Fred's bookings are up and Sagas are down for next year

Whatever or whoever we have chosen let's hope commen sense will prevail or the necessary pressure applied so we can actually set sail next year, I'm too old to spend years I may not have left  wasted sitting at home

Again full marks from Saga, a telecall from Paul yesterday morning. 

I asked for a refund which will be in our account by the end of the week. 

I recd an email  this morning with the same wording as posted above even though our stated method of contact is by post as I have no printer. 

We also recd a letter along the same vein when our last Saga cruise was cancelled a couple of months ago and being the trusting little souls we are we waited for the promised automatic refund - zilch! 

So as like nosaphire has suggested we rang Saga only to be told vey curtly it was up to us to contact them, wait two weeks (which is the travel industry default) for the refund to be processed and a further week for the transaction to go thru, which rather destroyed my trust in Saga somewhat

Needless to say I will be telephoning for a refund this time. 

I agree  completely about masks and just to throw a further "spanner in the works", we are mainly of a certain age so how many of us are exempted from wearing  a mask for health reasons? 

I could claim an exemption because I am asthmatic but I don't bother because I hardly ever find myself in a situation where I need to wear one but 24/7 on a ship? I don't think so. 

I also hope this doesn't spell the end of the road for Saga as they are a major employer down here and believe it or not the extreme eastern tip of Kent is one of the most socially deprived areas of the country. 

Well by March that will be a year since our Scandinavian cruise was cancelled the day before departure.

Wise advice on refunds, we accepted a credit note for a deposit paid to Cruise and Maritime only to discover we could not claim off our credit card when they went into admIn as a credit note is classed as a refund. 

I will wait for the post but we had a delivery yesterday and living in the "back of beyond"  we probably won't see Gary the postman again until Thursday or Friday. 

Thank you, I had feared the worst when I tried to pay the balance on the due date and was told they would be in contact when they needed it 😔

This will be the sixth cruise Saga have cancelled for us since March, five for this year and one for next. 

Each time they cancelled something we rebooked it for later this year or next but I'm loosing the will to live now. 

Let's hope the three rebooked for next year go ahead as two are now with "Fred" but booked thru Saga and Fred seems much more clued up. 

Sorry local media led me to belive that the de Haan family still had a substantial interest in Saga (not particularly popular in Folkestone I have to say) 

However I think we both agree whether it be Roger de Haan or Euan Sutherland someone should be out there rallying the troops from the front not skulking in their Middleburg Square headquarters hoping no one can find them. 

Saga makes a big noise of being the caring family firm but they have a local reputation for not treating their staff very well so why would they treat their  passengers any differently. 

About time to. 

We are also registered with Fred Olsen and we receive an update from "Mr Fred" in the form of a short video every Friday, it's a shame Mr de Haan of Saga doesn't deem it necessary to do the same! 

I hope you are right

I agree totally I wish Saga would get off the fence and make a decision. 

Nothing has been updated since August, and that's just not good enough. 

It's just as well interest rates are so low, as I expect others just like us took money off deposit earlier in the year that's now sitting in current accounts earning nothing wondering if and when it's going to be spent. 

We are totally dependent on the Saga xport as I no longer drive and my husband has never learnt. 

We are yet to receive the Saga magazine so I cannot comment on that. 

What we have received is Sagas revised cruising brochure for 2021/22, it would appear that there are no longer "partner cruise lines" and quite frankly Saga's prices for their own cruises are absolutely laughable so the only place for the brochure is the recycling bin. 

There is also no sign of the usual Christmas Markets cruise on either ship for December 2021 so it looks if our last Saga cruise will be Scandinavia in March 2021 on S. O. D. 

A shame but I can do two "Fred's" for every Saga even taking in to account the all inclusive, you can always get a deal if you book late and fine dining outside cabins and shore trips are of no interest to us.

Dover is our home port so we can be there in half an hour so Fred on an anchor fare will do us just as well. 

I hope it sorts itself out soon, any business turning down money when it's offered is a bad sign. 

After being on hold for over half an hour I finally got thru to Saga this morning as the balance for the Christmas cruise on the 16th of December is due tomorrow.

Their payment advice is that " if you wish to pay your balance they will take the money but are not actively persuing payment at this time because of the current situation, once things are clearer they will contact you by telephone to request payment" 

That statement was repeated several times during the conversation, the person I spoke to checked with his manager and they were also unaware of the Sunday Times interview and have no knowledge of tests being sent to passengers or arrival at the port by Saga car only although it is correct that there will be no buffet only waiter service at meal times and tests will be carried out before boarding. 

There is also no change to the Christmas cruise itinerary, the departure port is still Sou'ton and destination ports are still Antwerp and Zebrugge. 

So there we have it, I hope, until next time! 

We also have a problem with Saga and their Christmas markets cruise sailing  from Sou'ton  on the 16th of December calling at Antwerp and Zebrugge for Bruges on S. O. D.

The last contact from Saga was to tell us not to pay the balance (which is due on this Thursday) until further instructed although again fellow passengers have posted that they have since found out that the payment date has been changed to the 17th of October. 

Also if you go onto Cruise critic's own website this cruise is shown as leaving from Portsmouth and docking only at Terneuzen which seems to be a commercial port near The Hague. with no mention of Antwerp, Bruges or Christmas markets what so ever. 

I very much doubt that there will be Christmas markets anywhere in Europe this year but I don't care I just want to go away, anywhere

As you can guess so far I have been unable to get any sense out of Saga what so ever and I'm blowed if I'm going to pay over £2000.00 for " a pig in a poke", tomorrow I will email Saga and say no more money until you confirm there has been no changes to port or itinerary, wish me luck! 

We have had another change of cabin from 2527 to 2539 so we are slowly moving further down the ship towards the middle. 

2539 is near the lift but that won't worry us as we are " night owls" not going to bed until 1 or 2.00am. and the lift concerned goes straight up to the bar! 

I hadn't even thought about the Christmas markets being cancelled but of course you are quite right I am sure they will be. 

Others have said it will hardly be a holiday with no buffets, social distancing and probably no shore trips, all that's left is unlimited room service and alcohol, which as a diabetic I should best avoid

Well I for one won't be paying any more money, and certainly not the wrong side of £2K until I know exactly what I am paying for. 

I get more depressed by the day, I'm desperate to get away. Anyone else feel the same? 

I probably over think thingsbut :-! 

As nospphire has said what about people with long journeys, will there be no " pit stops" on the way, and not everyone leave from their own home, they may be relying on friends or family to drive them to the port and arranged to visit for a few days ?

When we arrive at a port, we need a pilot to navigate use in, once there the local police usually do a drugs sweep with sniffer dogs, immigration comes on board to clear the ships documents and if there is the weekly fire test the local fire Brigade will come aboard as well.. 

The Captain normally welcomes on board official guests for lunch and dont forget the minefield of shore trips, are we all to be confined to the ship for the whole cruise, the 16th Dec cruise is to go to Christmas markets, that's the whole point of going. 

Saga is turning this into " a three ringed circus with Liberty Horses", or did they perhaps get confused and think they were talking to the Daily Mail?. 

I didn't think today was the 1st of April!

What about people of working age, not everyone on Saga is a pensioner and may share their household with someone of working age or has commitments elsewhere?

This is like  something  worthy of central govt, not thought out and totally unworkable. 

Next thought, there is supposed to be a shortage of test kits and labs to process them so govt guidance is only to be tested if you are showing symptoms.

 Where are all these needless test kits going to come from, who is going to test them and what happens if the test doesn't arrive with you in time, you send it off and it gets lost in the post or the results don't come back in time. 

I don't know about anyone else but we only had two postal deliveries last week and I'm still waiting for a letter posted locally last Monday.