Holcha

Yes I was logged in booked internet package okay then it froze so couldn’t continue.  Tried several times. 

14 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

That MBear2, is the perfect example of todays customer relations and bad manners. All my working life has been in customer relations, and would never dream of speaking to a customer in that manner no matter what.😲

I despair, I really do😒

Avril

Totally agree but I have just come off the phone with a wonderful young man at P&O, who was the complete opposite of MB’s experience.  I booked a cruise for Aug 25 on Iona for us and our son, daughter in law and grandson in an adjoining cabins.   He was a credit to P&O.  Such a rarity these days.
 

First time cruising with family so could be interesting!

We were also on this cruise and enjoyed it.  We used Sindhu, Glass House and Beach House more than MDR.  We found speakers good, enjoyed the entertainment, and most of the staff were excellent.  We were a little disappointed with some of the excursions as not as well organised as previous ones, however for the most part the tour leaders were very knowledgeable.  We were also disappointed not to have had a little more info from the Captain during the three rough weather days.  We have booked Aurora again for next September.

Thank you Sarah for the beautifully written experience of your day (and of course your entire cruise). We have done this excursion with P&O twice, and I love it.  Wish we were there now.  Sitting here looking at the dull grey sky and rain, your posts are bringing a warm feeling and smile to an otherwise chilly depressing day.  Looking forward to your posts for the rest of your trip. Best wishes, Sue

We like Saga for many reasons but as with everything in life it is not perfect.  If it were then why have they not been able to fill their ships in the last twelve months.  We receive post from them every few days offering 2023 cruises, but prices are quite high.  So is their price structure working?  These ships are small so I would have thought they would fill up quickly.  Aurora balconies do not seem to have the same issue (well not on our Oct 2023 cruise).

I did say to OH after our Iona cruise that we could have two cruises on P&O, and possibly other cruise companies, for one on Saga.  He prefers Saga, but because I love being on a ship, P&O offer us the option of more than one cruise a year.   So we try to do both now.  We have to accept the fact they are not the same experience. To be honest there are some positives on P&O that we feel Saga could do better at, but I don’t want to start a war on here as we are all different and so are P&O and Saga.

We have had 10 cruises on P&O since 2013 and 2 on Saga in (2021&2022).  Saga cruises were booked during lockdown as we hoped for a better experience than the last P&O cruise.  Everything was excellent on the first Saga cruise with the exception of the wardrobe in standard balcony on Adventure, however I was prepared for second cruise but it is still frustrating leaving things in cases under the bed!  Yes I do take too much.  Our replacement P&O (from 2020) we had on Iona in October was not too bad, but the increased number of passengers did feel strange to us after Saga.  I think you have to go with an open mind, but most things on Saga are superior.   We have Aurora booked in October and Saga next April. It is difficult to weigh up the £ difference as two completely different experiences.

So pleased to hear your Aunt is home now.  All good wishes for her operation and speedy recovery.  Also good wishes to you and your family as this has been such a stressful time, do take care.

Sorry to “drift” a little but I would like to thank you for all your posts during past 12 months re travel insurance.  We have finally booked insurance for our October 8 cruise on Iona.  Your comments really helped me decide where to go and the questions to ask. I appreciate very much your efforts in this regard.

Thank you Sarah for giving us so much information about Iona.  We are booked on her in October but we were bit wary of her size, as we love Aurora, etc.  However your reviews and information on the restaurants, etc have now allayed some fears and we are now very much looking forward to our cruise.  This is our replacement for a T/A Caribbean from March 2020.

Your reviews, along with those of Damien and Graham on Iona are very much appreciated as combined they provide a great amount of detail.  Thank you and I hope you are feeling steadier soon.

Just to advise, the restrictions regarding mask wearing, social distancing in theatre etc have not been changed.  Still no books in library.  Details for contract tracing on tours have been recorded, however we have not heard of anyone being contacted with regard to COVID.  We were concerned before we embarked but are very pleased with the cruise and did not feel the restrictions spoiled our holiday.

Still insisting masks are worn when not eating drinking in Living Room, etc.  I will attempt to give an update in a few days.  ATM mask wearing in Britannia but we haven’t attempted to remove when not drinking. 

Please accept my most heartfelt apologies for overstepping the mark with regards to comments.  Have no fear, I shall not comment nor post on this thread again.

Good Morning

Yes Denarius, the “books” in the library are in fact cardboard lookalikes, and are obviously for decoration only.  When we were on SoA last year there were no paperback books for sale in the shop however there are a few for sale now.  Not sure if these were available when you were on.

Exploring independently is allowed, so great relief there.  Today will be our last do the five covid tests.  Not heard of any more positives since the 3 on Monday.  Testing is slick and the results are very quick.

Mask wearing enforced if you are not actually drinking or eating in the Living Room, but not required between courses in the dining rooms.

A huge disappointment to us was when we went to the Supper Club.  Reservation was 6:30 and we expected music around 7 as previously experienced.  The pianist did not arrive until 8:30.  We queried this assuming again COVID related, but no, apparently passengers had complained about the music, specifically that they couldn’t talk.  A little background piano music surely wouldn’t hurt.  There are four other establishments with no live music when dining so what is the problem.  I did formally register my disappointment rather than a formal complaint.  Clearly it is impossible to please us all.

If I see rules being reduced further I will let you know.  Enjoying everything else very much.  Interesting speakers, variety of music etc. and wonderful crew.

The books looked like reference books but I didn’t check closely.  Will have another look tomorrow.  It could be something ornamental to resemble books but will look closer.  Not like a library I have seen on other ships where you check a book out - didn’t see anyone to ask.  Will do better investigation tomorrow.  Sorry for any confusion.  Bar stools still have notices advising not to use.

The staff try very hard to enforce correct mask wearing however we see many who do not cover their noses all the time.  It is very frustrating as 3 positive cases today so you would think people would be extra careful.  Also clear that many do not understand social distancing, and queue far too close.  So yes, nosapphire I also get wound up.  There are some lovely people on this cruise but there are also some who don’t think the restrictions apply to them.

Third line “hold” should be “should.  “Not Britannia should be to the Britannia.   Sorry for typos.  Hope it makes sense now.

We are currently on SoA.  We did not receive the email regarding independent exploration but have checked and it appears (at this point in time) we hold be able to do so.  We are just about to go not the Britannia lounge for our first of five LFTs.  One test each at the same time for five days. Crew are ensuring that any guests who are not actually drinking but sitting for example in the Living Room must wear their mask. So when coffee is finished put it back on!  Not seen anyone sitting at bars yet, but will let you know.  There are books in the library, but nothing that would interest us so pleased we brought four each with us.  Will keep you posted Denarius.  Crew brilliant and food excellent.  I think crew are also confused with some of the changes when we asked about contact isolation, but believe it is still 5 days.   

We have also been watching the available cabin numbers increasing, along with all other comments on here and other sites.  We believe Saga will look after all passengers as appropriate.  We also think numbers of positive cases will decrease in the coming weeks, and therefore are a little more positive.  Will start getting things ready now and thinking of some lovely warm sunshine on the balcony and hopefully elsewhere on the ship.  Best wishes to all currently on both SoA and SoD.

Thanks Denarius.  I agree with you.  How many of us can say we have never had a cough or sniffle whilst cruising in the past.  Fortunately we were not imprisoned.  I value your comments as I have seen many of your previous comments on P&O CC board which have always been fair and balanced.  Not sure yet what we will do as numbers should go down in the next couple of weeks and if fewer passengers on ship may not be too bad. We want to go ashore independently in Valetta and Zadar so if things change by the time we get there we may be ok.  Will give it another week or  so before making final decision,  the 2023 brochure arrived today so will peruse and dream.  Thanks again for your update.

1 hour ago, Denarius said:

Am currently on SofA docked in Gran Canaria. We are permitted to go ashore on ships tours only. Immediately next to us is P&Os Arcadia. Their passengers are going ashore independently. We are subjected to almost daily covid testing which has identified a handful of non symptomatic cases. As far as I am aware no one has actually been diagnosed because they were showing symptoms. P&O are apparently taking a more reactive approach. They tested at Southampton and then before Madeira ( local requirement) but nothing since. They may have infected people aboard but they are not ill and di not know they are infected; just like onshore in the UK. They are living with covid whereas Saga are looking for it. And as it is now believed that the mortality risk from getting omicron is less than that from getting influenza, surely that is the most sensible approach.

Agree with you. We had only cruised with P&O and thought standards had dropped.  The Baltic cruise on Saga was superior to P&O but also far more expensive, although we did feel we had value for money with all that was included.  The staff were brilliant and we liked the food.  If the Croatia one was shorter and therefore cheaper we may not be so concerned. In any case if we do go on it I will certainly put our thoughts on here. 

Afternoon tea would not appeal to me - maybe DH but not in Cabin.  Also while I like  couple of wines, I am not an expert and probably couldn’t tell the difference.  We had only done P&O until last year, had our Caribbean cancelled in March 20 then a subsequent Iceland in 2021 cancelled so now have cruise booked on Iona for October and Aurora next year and Ventura 2024. Thought we would be so happy with Saga we wouldn’t want to go back, but I think we will take our chances.  Based on P&O board reviews of Iona maybe we will be happy with larger ships.  Time will tell,

Thank you for this information.  We are booked on SoA on 24th this month for 22 nights,  Booked Sept.20 as celebration for our Ruby wedding anniversary.  Not being able to explore independently is frustrating, but being confined to cabin for most of the cruise due to sitting “near” someone is more of an issue.  We try to distance ourselves as much as possible.  Yes, we have books to ready, cards to play etc. and we like sea days - but not 22!  Our first Saga cruise was last September and again COVID restrictions meant no independent port visits, but we knew well ahead of the cruise how things would be. The staff and the food were all wonderful but we found the tour buses frustrating as no social distancing and no enforcement of masks covering noses!   We insisted on table for 2 which wasn’t always popular.  Having said that we were not aware of any COVID cases but Omicrom had not arrived then.  This cruise is the most expensive one we have ever booked, so are just waiting until nearer the time. Appreciate all comments about the current situation. 

Hello. This is my first post on CC but I have been a lurker on P&O since March 2020 and Saga since Sept 2020 when we booked SOA to Baltics Sep 2021 and Med Croatia 24 April 22.  We are due to pay for Med tomorrow and have been worrying if we are doing the right thing.  It is for our Ruby anniversary, so a special one.  We loved SOA last year but found some COVID restrictions hard after a few years cruising with freedom.  Your photos have put a smile on our faces, with many happy recollections. In our view Saga’s best points are the onboard staff, especially in the grill, the food in all venues, room steward, and cleanliness everywhere.  Nice to see Resty’s photo too.  The only downside for me was the size of the wardrobe in the standard balcony but I have bought magnetic hooks as 22 nights is quite a long cruise for us!   Thank you so much for your brilliant photos, very much appreciated.  Now to get the diet started!