nosapphire

One likes to think it was checked before leaving Portsmouth... although this could be a 2nd check to be extra sure.

Missed ports are a fact of cruising - alas. Weather, strikes,political unrest.... There was an earlier thread with discussion about cruise insurance, many of which include payouts for missed ports. Although if a particular port was the whole point of the cruise, not much consolation there. Many lines will also try and soften the blow by offering freebies (drinks with dinner,etc). It might console to know that missed ports and alternative arrangements probably cost money for the cruise line - to say nothing of all the midnight oil making the alternative arrangements. As far as noro goes, outbreaks on all lines happen (more frequently than I really like to think about), often nobody knows until you spot the "hazmat team" entering a cabin. Never been turfed off mid cruise for cleaning - maybe they are calling in a company to do a full ship fogging?. It is so annoying, as Noro is probably the one thing that could be contained if everybody washed their hands after certain activies before touching anything on the ship.

Not only is it good PR, it should also maintain confidence in Saga as a company who generally want to do the right thing. They may not always get it right (nobody does) but it shows that they understand that it was not something to be dismissed as a trivial matter. And yes, hopefully they have also given something extra to the crew, who are Saga's best assets.

The Adventure is exactly the same as the Discovery, which is an extremely steady ship, which itself highlights the extreme situation of the recent incident. The direction of the swell makes the most difference, and on any ship any sway is more noticeable on the higher decks. If the weather is forecast to be uncomfortable announcements will be made in advance (expect a reminder "one hand for the ship, one hand for yourself" which means - hold on to the handrails when moving around). Reception hold a supply of seasick tablets in case of need. There is no real way of predicting this far in advance whether the seas will be rough or not; weather is very changeable; we have never had any really bad weather in or around the BoB, but had some horrific conditions in both the Atlantic and the North Sea. The reported incident is highly unusual, normally diversions will be undertaken to avoid the worst of the weather; it being so unusual is why there is so much discussion about it.

It is probably true to say that we do not know the full facts. I assume that is what JoJo1947 intended to say, rather than implying insider knowledge of other facts hidden from the rest of us. The only way the "full correct facts" could be established would be an independent investigation - whether or not that will happen, no idea. But it would be interesting to know if it really was a case of no port in a storm - or just a case of no port that suited HQ in a storm. A company having been in business for many years is no particular guarantee of anything at all - especially when senior management changes. No matter how reputable or "cuddly" the company, I am sure that in a toss-up between the balance sheet and the customer, it will not be the customer who is prioritised. Saga are no better or worse than any other company - yes, they are very reputable - but still a business, in it to make a profit out of you and me.

It seems that one area where Saga may be making problems for themselves is lack of information given out at the time. I remember when I was a commuter, and quite frequently the train would shudder to a halt and we would sit there.. and sit there.... If there was no communication, tempers started to rise. If the driver came on the tannoy to tell us, then we all grumbled to each other ("typical" was a very - er - typical word used). Even if the driver said something like, "Sorry, I have a red light, It have no idea why, I am trying to find out" it immediately defused the situation. While a halted train is nothing like a ship in a storm, the same principle applies - keep people updated and the majority will understand. (The best train reason for a sudden stop I heard from the driver was, "There are two swans on the track. They probably think we are still on strike. I got out to shoo them off and they stood up and hissed at me. I am back in the cab waiting for assistance from the RSPCA".) **

I received that email 2 hours ago, saying "general sale tomorrow" First thing this morning the 2025 cruises were live on the website (search all ocean cruises,list by departure date, go direct to page 5). Seems it is possible to make a booking now, so they must already be on general sale.

It would be interesting to know the real reason for proceeding into the forecast bad weather. Did the winds/swell change direction and/or increase when already underway and too late to change? Were they picking the best of 2 options because of another storm behind? Was it an error of judgement? Were they placing greater importance on getting the next cruise away on time? Was it an experiment to find out whether they could keep sailing without too much fallout (financially) from passengers? IF Saga have any sense, they will make a serious gesture of goodwill, along with some form of explanation to all affected passengers, purely on a commercial basis to keep them all onside. If somebody starts a legal claim which snowballs into a class action from one of the always advertising "shark" companies, even if Saga are found to have taken the best/only possible action under the circumstances, much damage will be done to their reputation.

Taken directly from the leaflet enclosed in the Amlodipine pack: "Grapefruit juice and grapefruit should not be consumed by people who are taking Amlodipine. This is because grapefruit and grapefruit juice can lead to an increase in the blood levels of the active substance amlodipine, which can cause an unpredictable increase in the blood pressure lowering effect of Amlodipine." I think the problem is the unpredictability. Some people may be fine, some people may be affected. And some people may seem fine and then it suddenly builds up and affects them. Presumably the doseage you are on also makes a difference. (Although there is already a long list of possible side effects, so if they are not affecting you, it may be that the occasional grapefruit won't either. Or it may.)

This is a pure guess, but are they trying to avoid the front due to move in to the area on Wesnesday? (Info courtesy of Scuttlebut sailing news). It certainly does sound as if questions need answers. Either there was a valid reason, in which case one would expect the Captain to have announced it. OR - there was pressure from Head Office on (fairly) new Captains to keep to schedule - which is not what we really expect from Saga. My sympathies to those who have endured what must have been a very miserable time, and wishing a trouble free speedy recovery for the injured.

As I have oft said, Saga sometimes move in mysterious ways... The Winter 2025 offering is January-March 2025. No idea what they will call the rest of 2025. When I pre-registered I wanted April 2025, and was told I was registering for January to April. So a bit grumpy to find it is January to March. https://travel.saga.co.uk/cruises/ocean/2025-cruise-season.aspx

Having seen a similar situation on the Saga Saphire (lot of sss' in that sentence) Windsurfboy has hit the reason. The weather was pretty wild, and the self service restaurant needed steady feet to get a tray (or even a cup) back to the table. Several of us could cope OK. Many decided self-service was not an option for them, and others heeded the announcements that it would be best to use the MDR and sit down in comfort for full waiter service during the rough weather. A minority wanted to use the self service, but being totally unable to collect their food themselves, decided to sit down and demand a member of staff go and get it for them. One chap arrived, was actually caught by a staff member as he lost his footing on arrival, and we heard him say (while being held upright by same staff member) "I won't be told where I can eat my lunch". What could Saga do? risk somebody breaking their neck because they wanted to eat where they wanted to eat? Only one answer - close the verandah restaurant.

For what it is worth - Hardings operate the shops on a lot of cruise ships (not just P&O) so that information may be very useful to many others.

Currently Saga are still inviting people to sign up for the Winter 2025 cruises. When they think they have exhausted the pool of possible pre-registrations/sign-up-for-information, they will go on general sale. Doubt that the remainder of 2025 will be that soon. It will follow the same procedure - there will be invites to pre-register on-line, sent to people on the Saga mailing list, and probably flyers in some newspapers. Then there will be the "will go on sale soon" notices, reminding people that early bookers get the best discounts to encourage miore people to sign up. Like you, I am also waiting to see what comes up, but I am used to the fact that Saga release their itineraries late in comparison with other lines. Or, to put it another way - other lines release their itineraries early in comparison with Saga. There is a thread on the P&O website with many people amazed about the idea of booking a cruise more than a year in advance, so maybe Saga have the righ approach for many people. Release too early and many people will be uncertain about committing so far in advance.

According to our local fire brigade, fires caused by overheated appliances using lithium batteries are very common, and investigation reveals the usual reason is a cheap unbranded or fake charger, charging cable, or sometimes replacement battery, frequently purchased from one of the on-line marketplaces. This does not mean that a fault cannot develop in a "proper" appliance - just that it is not a common cause. And, of course, most of us are reading/adding to this forum using a lithium battery powered device. . Attached link to an extremely interesting Govt website, which shows how much work is being done trying to control imports. https://www.gov.uk/product-safety-alerts-reports-recalls

Perfectly safe to turn the water off if you want to - won't affect the heating side at all, as this is a sealed system, water does not enter (or need to enter) unless you manually turn on the filling loop - which normally is only done when the system has been drained for work, extra radiators, etc.. We have had a combi for years, and usually turn off the water but leave the heating on low if we go away in winter (have to leave the water on in summer so neighbour can water the plants).

Spend it on board, or take it home with you. Any credit balance remaining on the on-board ac is put back on whatever card you registered on board. (You can tell that there are a LOT of people following this brilliant blog - for which I thank NorbertsNiece).

Now up to those who pre-registered end of June.

Think that stopped a few years ago.

Saga pre-registration has improved from the early days, at least now there is an itinerary. In the very early days, nothing was received in advance of the telephone call - the poor call operator had to go through every cruise listing the dates and all the destinations for each. Then they started sending out pre-advice, which simply listed the cruise title, the ship, sailing date and number of nights. No details of the ports, so again the call operator had to recite all the ports of call to you. As you can imagine, the call took ages, and often resulted in being so befuddled that you booked a cruise that was not actually the one you meant to book. Then they started posting brochures, with all the details except the price. Now they simply email a link to the brochures, which you have to either read on screen, or cut and paste in order to print out. But still - they do not put any price. Most of us realise that the further back in the queue you are, the more likely that the max discount has reduced by the time you book (exactly the same as using the main brochure). So why not include a price, the full price and the 35% reduced price, so we can at least discount those cruises that are more than we are prepared to pay. Saga sometimes work in mysterious ways.

Years ago we spent a short break in Bruges, Belgium. The guide book stressed that tips were neither common or expected anywhere. When we left our table after dinner at the restaurant (excellent meal, paid for at the table, full wait service), we were reaching the coat rack when we heard distressed cries of, "But Messieur. Madame..." and turned to see our waitress pursuing us. "Aah" she said, as we placed our hands on our coats, "You were getting your wallets". What could we do? Follow the guide book, not tip,and have the waitress dissolve in tears in front of us? Or give the tip that was very obviously expected?. We tipped.

All 3 nations, plus NZ, much in evidence as Saga house wines (we drink the same at home). Seems to depend who did the shopping, as there seems to be a different selection ship to ship, cruise to cruise, and sometimes dinner to dinner.(We were very happy last time to spot some Barefoot wines coming round). All 2025 cruises will, apparently, be from Portsmouth.

@Dermotsgirl has given a very accurate, interesting and balanced report on her experiences, well worth reading. Just to respond to two postersabove about the Saga included wines. The house wine is the wine that is found in the upper-middle shelf at many supermarkets with a choice of red,white,rose, and usually more than one brand of each available. Don't like one, try another.Certainly not premium wine, but perfectly acceptable to most. (Personally, as we only drink wine at dinner, I could happily forgo the included wines anyway). Soft drinks, including soda waters, are also included, and I think some alcohol free wines/beers. Small bottles of water to take ashore are provided at the gangway on port days (regardless of whether on a tour or independent). There has heen some lively discussion on the Saga board about the coffee, mainly it being all machine coffee (albeit the type of machine that grinds the beans fresh for each cup) and is quite polarised between those dismayed about no barista-style coffee and those that find it pretty good coffee. Don't forget that also included is 24 hour room service, including the dinner menu at dinner time (although in anything except a top suite, you'd probably have to order the entire meal to arrive at once, not course-by-course). As for the car, you can have private transport for a rather exorbitant cost of (currently) £3.70 for each mile over the 75 mile range (each way). Let Saga know in advance if there are special requirements for transport - they use a big variety of vehicles. If you drive yourself, parking is included, and they make all the arrangements for you. The speciality restaurants are rationed only to make sure that everybody on board has the opportunity to book; if this was not done, some people would pre-book early on for several nights making it very hard to fit in other passengers. As the cruise goes along, booking becomes easier. The "funny system" for seating came about when the standard for most cruise lines was a single MDR with two fixed dinner sittings , usually 18:30 and 21:00. Saga started off with the premise that they would never have two-sittings for dinner; all passengers would be able to sit down together in the MDR. This worked well in the days with much smaller ships, a single dining room, a single dining time, and passengers who all expected to share a table of either 6 or 8. The ships got bigger, people expected extra dining venues, flexibility, and tables for 2, so it became more of a juggling game to manage all the different requirements yet still be able to offer a single dining time. It still works very well for those happy to share, as they get taken straight in; the ones waiting for a table are those (including me) who want a table for 2. Sometimes, I do rather miss the whole-ship-sitting-down-together-ar-the-same-time situation, as it did give a great feeling of cohesion. (Although the Saga adverts "dine wherever and whenever you like" do irritate me greatly, as it puts a spin on it that does not quite match up to the reality).

We booked the Israel cruise before this flared up, and even at the time of booking we regarded it as a 50-50 possibility that the main ports would not happen. We've assumed that when planning the cruise, Saga have already planned in a variety of "what if..." situations, so have back-up arrangements in hand if (as seems likely) the cruise has to be changed. We can but wait and see. A minor inconvenience for us. A bigger inconvenience for the cruise line. And nothing at all compared to what the oridnary citizens there are suffering.

Yes. Usually it is because either the price dropped after you booked (being the price of an identical package) or because they have started selling cabin guarantees, so are shuffling people up to free off the cheap cabins. When it happened to us (3 times, once on PearlI, twice on Sapphire) it was by way of a 'phone call to ask if we wanted the upgrade. The next cruise is booked as a guarantee cabin, we booked lowest grade and as the guarantee prices dropped after we booked have been given a higher grade (in this case, still a standard cabin, just a higher deck) but just a letter telling us we have been upgraded - as it was on a guarantee basis, refusing the upgrade would have been treated as a cancellation. Oh - forgot. We got an upgrade on the Ruby as well, that was a fly-cruise (we joined the last section of the round Africa cruise), and we found out about the upgrade on check-in. Our cases were still labelled for the old cabin, which was not too far away so we retrieved them some time later. As it was explained to us in one case, when it is because of "shuffling", they start with the people who booked earliest.