nosapphire

Had they not included those words (no compensation), your insurer may have asked to you get another letter as proof that you had not already received compensation from P&O before they would pay out (if you have "missed port compensation" included, that is).

Bearing in mind today's problems with UK air traffic control system, they may not be flying just yet. Although - I got is seriously wrong in my reaction when somebody suggested that some passengers may have to be ofloaded - so daresay the air traffic will be sorted by the time I post this. Shame that the cruise ended this way, but maybe we should start a thread for the most sensational mis reporting by the press agencies. + Oh - they've fixed it. But the BBC are now telling people to claim compensation - which does not apply when it is out of the airline's control.

Can't see that happening. The number of liferatfts allow for one side of the ship to be pretty much unuseable and still get everybody off. Don't make the mistake of thinking that the emergency capacity is the same as the tender capacity, and don't forget the liferafts are not just the big ones used for tendering. Although if the itinerary has to be changed too much to allow for repairs, then the entire cruise may get cut short. In the (rare) instances when there has been a drama at sea or in port, invariably weather related (those mooring lines do go off with a bang when they snap) it leaves me feeling safer, rather than anxious, because it immediately becomes apparent how well trained and competent the officers and crew are to handle an emergency.

The included tours are nearly always just a panoramic 2hr coach tour, and it depends so much on who you get as a guide and driver. On one tour our guide stopped the coach about 4 times to get off and take anybody who wanted to for a walk to view something not quite visible from the coach, while other coaches on the same tour nobody got off. The next tour we just drove very slowly round and round with the guide pointing out things that a lot of people could not see anyway because the coach was a very large long-distance coach, extremely comfortable but with very limited view through the windows.

We are like you, and prefer to be seated by ourselves for meals. We usually phone Saga well ahead of the cruise and ask if we can request a fixed table for 2 at dinner. There is no guarantee that the table size will happen, they pass the request to the ship and so far we have been successful (we like the tables by the kitchen/service station/storage cupboard too). A fixed dinner table works better if you prefer to eat early (we do). We go to breakfast early in the Grill, and are usually finished before it all fills up, we do not always have a lunch but if we do, we go early to the Grill again before the main rush. Bear in mind that although the tables for two are close together, people who take them by choice probably also prefer to eat separately, and we have found that a few polite pleasantries to say hello when sitting down, and again to say goodbye when leaving are all that is expected. If everywhere is really busy and it is share or go without, there is always room service included in your fare; I promise myself each cruise that we will use it, so far not managed to - but the room service menu looks so inviting.

Dover is a lovely old terminal. Was Saga's home port, and more than once treated to a Spitfire flypast as the ship sailed. I thought it a shame that Tilbury is not used more often, while the location itself may not be the most appealing, the terminal has a lot of history and more could be made of it. Our Saga cruise embarkation/disembarkation ran like clockwork at Tilbury.

Apparently airlines are not legally allowed to tell other airlines about disruptive/banned passengers, so seems certain that cruise lines cannot do so. Just discovered that there is a Private Members bill trying to work through parliament to ban severely disruptive passengers from flying with airline for a set time (similar to banning drivers) which would be a good idea if it gets through. https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-05-24/debates/3407B285-62FE-4645-B065-17A7AD5D7DCA/AviationBanningOrders(DisruptivePassengers)

We were on the Discovery in June this year, and the smoking area is the back of deck 11. Which is also known as A deck. Saga using letters and numbers for the decks has caused a lot of confusion - it was worse when the Discovery came onto service and the lifts and stairs signage used one version, and all the passenger paperwork used the other. Nobody knew where they were.

Saga have a dedicated smoking/vaping area on deck 11, outside at the rear. Smoking/vaping is not allowed anywhere else. They do seem to enforce it - once had person in next cabin smoking on the balcony, told Reception who were horrified and said it would be reported. No more smoking after that, so presumably somebody had a stern word. They seem to do most of their cruises now from Portsmouth, with some from Dover - Tilbury seemed to be a bit of a one-off this year. Shame, as that is the closest port for us. You can pay extra for a private car (the extra applies to the difference between 75 miles and 250 (soon to be 300) miles, but it is expensive at, I think, £3.30 per mile. Or drive yourself, secure parking at the Port included in the fare.

You'll have a lovely time, but accept the risk that you may come back hooked on Saga. Our neighbours have been ocean cruising for years, mainly with Marella but also various others. They always dismissed Saga as overpriced. This year they tried the Adventure for an 18-night cruise, mainly because they did not want to fly this year. They have already booked their next Saga cruise...and said that Saga will now be their "go-to" cruise line. Their comment was, "we have never before been so well looked after - well worth the money".

Unless you are over Platinum level, I very much doubt that being a Britannia Club member has any bearing on pick-up times. The main priority is making sure everybody gets on board in good time, so FatBoy20 has summed it up perfectly - your pick-up time depends not just on how far away you are, but potential traffic delays, roadworks, other pick-ups and vehicle availability. Giving priority according to Britannia Club tier would just complicate things - and would be contrary to Saga ethos of "everybody merits the same good service".

If you are using Saga transport, then you will be told when to expect pick-up, and it is unlikely that you can change this (especially if shared transport) so embarkation time depends on car pick-up time. The closer to the port you are, the later the pick-up time. If you are travelling independently. my recollection is that you are told when the last boarding time is, and when boarding is expected to start, and you arrive at a time of your choice between these two times. This may have changed, as our last cruise we used Saga transport; somebody with more up-to-date information may be along soon, or you can ask Saga directly.. Previously, with self transport, we arrived fairly early (about 13-14:00, checked in, were given a card with a number on it, and then waited in the departure lounge until "our" number group was called for boarding. But we never received a fixed embarkation time, so can be pot luck whether you arrive at a quiet time, or just when two coaches have unloaded.

I like bubble and squeak!

On an earlier thread n this board, someone spent some time name-dropping all the brand name clothing that he possessed but was not acceptable for dinner attire. Not 100% sure, but think it was the same person who sneered at the passengers wearing formal attire from M&S (no idea if he pulled their clothes off to look at the label or not). Seems that some people would like the dining room to be accessed by label - the higher the cost of your clothes, the more acceptable you should be. Sad. Or annoying - take your pick..

We asked for a mattress topper (on the Pearl II) once. Evidently they had run out, In the afternoon, we opened the cabin door in response to a knock, to be confronted by a brand new, full-size double mattress clutched by our breathless, sweating cabin steward who had manhandled it all the way from the storage bay to our cabin.. Placed on top of the existing mattress it was wonderfully comfortable, albeit a loooong way from the floor. Saga cruises do go the extra mile to try and fulfil passenger requests. (and yes, our steward did get a much bigger end-of-cruise tip than usual).

The mere fact of them pushing past suggests bad manners - we usually have a fixed table in the MDR for dinner, and still wait in the queue until it is our turn to enter. I'd be willing to bet that the couple in question made themselves so obnoxious that it was easier to give them a fixed table and not have them throwing a tantrum and disrupting everybody else. Fortunately, the majority of us have far too much respect for the crew, other passengers, and the ship itself to behave in such a bad manner.

Bounce? Bounce? These ships are far too dignified to bounce. Speaking for the Discovery, when there is a swell she develops a ladylike sway, which is more noticeable on the upper decks, but bouncing is not on her agenda. Our last cabin (Norway) was E541(L grade), which is almost as far back as you can get, and for the Baltic another aft cabin D048 ((J grade), and (very)full water glasses remained full until we drunk them - no perceptible movement. Probably the steadiest (and quietest) ship we have been on.

When we reached Bronze membership, think the letter came many, many weeks later, the luggage tags and lapel pin never came at all. But the bottle of wine was in the cabin on the next cruise (in those days it was Champagne, now it is Balfour Hush Heath, which to our mind is much nicer). ++++ My Saga has never worked properly for me from day one. In our case, it usually says, "you have no holidays or cruises booked with us" - even when they do show up, they then vanish after a week or so, which makes it annoying as I have to keep using the "manage my booking" log in each time for each cruise. Mind you, my details have been "temporarily unavailable" on and off for 2 months now, in between I get "there is a problem, please try later". I will get round to asking if they can fix it, but as this has been going on and off for 9 years, I have my doubts. It would be quite annoying were it not for the fact that Saga are one of the few companies that have Freephone numbers for pretty much everything - so I can always phone and talk to one of their cheerful telephone operators instead.

Probably not - WiFi on board relies on satellite, which varies dramatically depending where you are, and how many other people are using it,so the internet ranges from acceptable to glacial, more commonly towards the glacial end. Saga also specify that (I quote from the Today programme on Discovery in June): "We are also unable to offer connection to video calling facilities such as Skype and and Face Time, and sites such as Instagram, Twitter and You Tube due to the high bandwidth required". I suspect Alexa would be included in the not-acceptable list. Added: I signed into the wifi at the beginning of the cruise and did not have to sign in again. I closed my wifi down each time I had finished using it, both to stop my device trying to update anything, and also for security; when I turned the wifi back on, it automatically connected to the ship wifi.

Maybe it depends on the browser. On mine, both Chrome and Firefox give the above ONLY under the Discovery fine dining section. https://travel.saga.co.uk/cruises/ocean/our-ships/spirit-of-discovery/fine-dining.aspx but on the Adventure section, no mention. https://travel.saga.co.uk/cruises/ocean/our-ships/spirit-of-adventure/fine-dining.aspx and likewise, the main webpage makes no mention https://travel.saga.co.uk/cruises/ocean/the-saga-experience/dining.aspx and, as said, the current 2024 brochure does not mention it.

I am not the slightest bit surprised that people new to Saga are getting very confused about fixed tables - the Saga information does not make it at all clear. The latest brochure simply says, "..or book a fixed table if you'd prefer the same one for the duration of your cruise". No mention of limits, or pre-arranging. The individual ship description for Discovery, under dining does include, "If you’d like a fixed table for the duration of your cruise, please call our cruise advisors to book one. Kindly note there is a maximum of 150 fixed tables available on each cruise". However, this is NOT mentioned on the details for Adventure. Neither is it mentioned on the FAQ or general description. Speaking from experience, it is perfectly acceptable to ask (the Maitre'D) while on board for a fixed table - if it is possible they will arrange it. They won't shoot you for asking.

You would have a much harder job if you WANTED to be seated by yourself at dinner. The solo travellers that I have met on numerous Saga cruises all say that Saga cater very well for solos ("brilliantly" is a word that gets mentioned quite often), it is exactly as twotravellers says. Tables of 2, 4, 6, 8 - and I have seen tables of solos get on so well that they have asked for "their" table to be changed to a fixed table so they can carry on sharing (they often end up as the jolliest tables in the room). Don't worry, Saga ships - crew and passengers - are very friendly, and very much geared up for solos.

No need to worry. We did not have to cross the river, so you probably will get picked up earlier. I don't think Saga themselves arrange the pick-up times, they give details to the transport company, who then allocates vehicles and drivers, and tell Saga what times they will pick people up so Saga can relay the information. The companies and drivers are all experienced in this, so will know exactly where the pinch-points are, when they are likely to be, and the best way to get around them. (We had a magical mystery tour on the way home - our driver cheerfully said "minimum of an hour, bad accident this morning, I'll go round the back ways to avoid it" and he did, very successfully.)

As far as I could see, Saga have not changed in their "all are equal" attitude. Britannia Club members get some perks according to their tier (which is quite clearly explained on the website), suite passengers get in-cabin perks (so I believe - we're always low grade) but when it comes to dining, booking speciality restaurants,booking excursions etc. everybody is treated in the same way - people with mobility problems may get allocated seating, but otherwise we are all in the same queue. I have always thought that this was one of the nicest things about Saga, and long may it continue..

Just done a 7night cruise, and we did not want to take full formal wear for such a short cruise. We were allowed (with no raised eyebrows) into the MDR on formal night with himself wearing a dark jacket, dark trousers (not a suit, but closely matching), plain white shirt and tie. Clip on, since you ask. Many men wore similar attire. I add, we were quite prepared, and amenable, to be asked to go up to the Grill. Much probably depends on the senior staff on the ship at the time.