CeaJay

I wish Saga had given me the option of being offloaded to a 5 star hotel with a full refund.  I would have bitten their hand off

Just a quick update re the complaints I raised with Saga after our recent cruise.

As expected Saga are not prepared to offer us anything so w are raising a dispute through ABTA as a first attempt.  Saga state that they have protocols in place to prevent higher levels of Covid on board.  I did point out that the protocols aren’t working as they had to turn around their last Caribbean cruise.

 I would be interested to hear from anyone who was on the Rythm of the Caribbean cruise who had Covid related issues

We were tested about 6 times before we tested positive (asymptomatic).  Everyone was told to return to their cabin to wait for the result to be phoned through.  You would think there would be a consistent company wide covid testing protocol.

On disembarkation day we all had to stay in our cabins until our tag number was called.   A Bit frustrating as we had our own car and weren’t called until 11 AM. I had inadvertently packed one of our key cards and went to reception on the last evening for a replacement.  I was given a replacement but was told I wouldn’t need it for disembarkation.  They scanned both cards as we left……

39 minutes ago, CeaJay said:

I suppose that there are too many people who have tested positive to relocate them to Deck B.  This is where we were put when testing positive for covid on the SOD Caribbean cruise Jan/Feb.  We spent a total of 2.5 hours off the ship in a grey and murky Azores on the way back to Southampton. Not our idea of a dream 30 night island hopping  holiday of a lifetime (we had the Saga inclusive insurance).  I wish SAGA had even offered us a promise of a reply to our letter of complaint within 7 days let alone a refund of some kind.  I dread to think how many guests took Covid home with them.  There was so much coughing and sneezing during the last 3 or 4 days and no testing either before the last stop as Captain Kim said it wasn’t required for the Azores. Surely if they new there was Covid on board it would have been the responsible thing to do.

Sorry that should have read D deck for isolation cabin

2 hours ago, NorbertsNiece said:

Just overheard in queue for LFT testing. Words to the effect ..... you tested positive yesterday you must stay in your room.

 

🤦‍♀️

 

Line ahead of me unhappy regarding disinfecting of chairs sat in and PPE of medic who performed LFT on the couple.

 

Testing paused. Medic's PPE removed and she's seated waiting on a new set.

 

We were offered the opportunity to DIY but declined. Now tested and back in room.

I suppose that there are too many people who have tested positive to relocate them to Deck B.  This is where we were put when testing positive for covid on the SOD Caribbean cruise Jan/Feb.  We spent a total of 2.5 hours off the ship in a grey and murky Azores on the way back to Southampton. Not our idea of a dream 30 night island hopping  holiday of a lifetime (we had the Saga inclusive insurance).  I wish SAGA had even offered us a promise of a reply to our letter of complaint within 7 days let alone a refund of some kind.  I dread to think how many guests took Covid home with them.  There was so much coughing and sneezing during the last 3 or 4 days and no testing either before the last stop as Captain Kim said it wasn’t required for the Azores. Surely if they new there was Covid on board it would have been the responsible thing to do.

I contacted SAGA about our list of concerns via their website on our return to the UK.  It took a further 3 attempts to receive an acknowledgement from them to confirm that they received our first communication!  
 

They advise that it will take them 28 days to reply.

I heard someone discussing their time in cabin confinement during this cruise today.  Apparently we should have been allowed one hour per day for outside exercise.  This particular guest insisted on this and the management allowed him to go out on the veranda on deck D to exercise.  

We also went to listen to some music on Wednesday and guests were still moving the furniture around and sitting next to each other not maintaining distancing.  Very disappointed in this as we brought it up at our meeting with guest Services.

Also wanted to let everyone know that we took the included SAGA insurance.  Never having cruised before we thought it would be more comprehensive and include scenarios that we had not considered. If it had been clear that cabin confinement was not included we would have purchased an add on.

If  SAGA offered us the nine days as a credit we would be happy to accept that.

The captain announced that no covid testing will take place as the Azores only require proof of vaccination for entry.

Haven't heard if we will be able to go ashore independently yet.

We had a positive meeting with the Guest Services Manager this morning.

He assured us that the on board credit of £150 per person and the spa treatments were just an acknowledgement of the disruption we experienced.  We itemized all our grievances with him and we were told that Saga would be in touch with us.

There will be testing tomorrow so it does look like we will be calling at the Azores.  We are exempt from this testing as we have only just come out of isolation.

I will update when I have any more info.

Allegedly we are all being tested tomorrow so we might stop at the Azores on 16th after all.  I will write an update as soon as I know anything.

You get tested just before stopping at a port.  We were tested five times during our first seven/ eight days and were negative.  We tested positive on 2nd February the day before visiting Tortola so missed all the island stops.  After asking at guest Services yesterday about the possibility that Saga might give us some recompense, there was a letter saying we could have a couple of spa treatments or £300 on board credit.

We haven't had the letter we asked for outlining the period we spent in isolation.

I also have to say that the crew are not allowed to spend their downtime outside of their cabins. Just work, eat and then back to their cabins. I don't know how they stay so cheerful.

I will be very surprised if we make our stop at the Azores.  We couldn't stop on the way out due to having 4/5 cases.

We have now been released. The final words from the captai  yesterday lunchtime was his tip of the day which was don't catch covid!

We spoke to guest services about our situation and they said SAGA  are looking into so will let you know what happens

Thanks for the sympathy guys.  We have been fed and watered.  However two nights running a guy turned up at 7.30 PM. Asking to clean our room.  It would mean us sitting in the dark on our balcony while he sprayed the counter surfaces.  No offer to change the bed linen though.  We have the Saga insurance but can't see anything that covers cabin confinement.  The captain has announced that 7 more guests have tested positive today, but they are only halfway through.

SOD has been denied entry to last Caribbean port of call due to high covid cases.  They haven't tested all guests for at least 3 days.  My husband and I have been in confinement since 2 nd of FEBRUARY.  He has been told they can't hold us for more than 10 days.  It has been the cruise to no where for us.  We have have been confined for all the ports of call.

We have been doing LFT’s periodically as we visit a relative in a care home so fingers crossed we will be ok for next week

I read in the news that it is possible to return a positive PCR result if you have had Covid in the last 90 days.  So that is a bit worrying. You might be someone who has had Covid 3 months ago but have been asymptomatic.

Does anyone know why SAGA do both the LFT and the PCR test?  Do they only process the PCR test if the LFT shows a positive result?

We decided to cancel our taxi for next week and Saga kindly let us change to the free parking option.  We hadn’t thought about the taxi driver having to be tested.

We only live around two hours from Southampton so not a big inconvenience for us.

Had my covid booster on Wednesday and it is now showing in the NHS travel pass.

Could anyone tell me if the water in cabin bathrooms is likely to be softened?  I want to take a garment steamer with me and I can’t use hard water in it.

Got some paperwork through from Saga regarding our January 2022 cruise.  We opted for a private transfer (at our expense) but it showed as FOC on departure and return on the breakdown.  It looks like they have extended the private taxi transfers into next year.

Mr&MrsH

Thanks for the links 😻

Mr&MrsHendrick I agree with Windsurfboy it would be lovely to hear a bit more of what you thought about your cruise and any tips you might give a first time cruiser.  We are booked for the Caribbean cruise in January and are first timers too.

Thanks Janet that’s useful to know 

Thanks for that info.  I’ll bring my own to avoid a personal meltdown 🙀