Kenmure

At the moment Falmouth says leaving at 6.45 pm tomorrow for Brest.

Use cruise mapper for a more accurate location. It is free.

The Falmouth webcam shows a calm looking morning. A wise decision to go there.

Got the call yesterday. Pre registered August 2023. 35% off Portugal and the Azores.

Loads of peppermint tea sachets at virtually all the drink stations. We even ask them to put a supply in our cabin.

On SOD all suites have a separate bath and shower. Beware though the baths are very deep with only a grab rail high up behind you when you sit in the Bath. We had difficulty getting out of the bath. On SOA suites have a bath and shower but we don’t know the depth of the bath or where the grab rail is. Some deluxe cabins on SOA only have a bath and shower combined. The bath is not as deep as the ones on the SOD so no trouble getting out of it. All standard cabins have a stand alone shower but no baths. Full details are all on the deck plans. Check the legend symbols.

Thanks. Looks lovely.

We look forward to reading more.

Both saunas are free as well as the steam room. Also robes and towels are available for users free of charge.

https://travel.saga.co.uk/cruises/ocean/our-ships/spirit-of-adventure/wellbeing.aspx This will show the size of the pool. Much bigger than a hot tub. No booking required and no payment. No masks. No smell of chlorine. Very very warm. Open about 12 hours a day. Robes and towels provided. Lots of jets around the pool of different strengths. Lovely place to relax. Never seems to be busy. When I’ve been there only 3 or 4 people in it.

We were on a cruise in September and at that time there was no testing before embarkation or at any time.

Thanks that is all useful information.

We are going on a back to back cruise shortly. Did you have to take a lft before the second cruise, were you allowed off the ship in the UK port on the turnaround day. Also when you say there were quite a few covid cases was that about half a dozen or more than that?

Yes we use this service because no matter what Saga will get you to the terminal and if delayed they usually delay departure if you are using their service.

Your guess is as good as mine. However our last one hadn’t tested as he said all testing had finished so he was a bit surprised when he got to Southampton to have something pushed up his nose! Fortunately he proved negative, but we have learnt from that one! Generally he was bad news as although he came from Southampton he didn’t know where the ship was berthed and had to be guided by my wife who had Googled it whilst travelling!

When you get your final travel pick up details you get a dedicated phone number which deals with on the day queries. This is usually for reporting the late arrival of the driver. The ultimate happened to us once when the driver didn’t turn up at all! Of course we had been in ongoing touch and eventually they managed to get anther company to fulfil the pickup. That took about two hours but fortunately we are only 70 miles away from Southampton.

As far as we know at present the driver has to test negative before pickup. So the first thing is to check the driver has done this before you leave. If the driver hasn’t done one there are two alternatives. Refuse to travel with that driver and give that driver a lateral flow testing kit. While the driver’s doing this you can phone the Saga travel number and register your annoyance! That means you can rest assured that the driver won’t be why you’ve been sent home as it will be you who was positive. Which brings one to the already asked question as to whether you should self test before you leave. Well if you do and you are negative, great. If you are positive it’s a different matter. Why? Insurance! if you get to Southampton and Saga tests you and you are positive they have irrefutable evidence for the insurance company. If you cancel at home due to a positive lateral flow test the company is going to ask for more evidence which can only mean getting a PCR test done immediately which is nigh on impossible now. Perhaps it’s best to travel and keep your fingers crossed!!

Thanks for that! Our experience on our last cruise in March didn’t have a very good start. First the driver turned up in jeans and was an Uber driver who said all testing had finished! When we got to Southampton he asked us which dock we were going to. It ended up with the wife finding the answer on Google as we progressed. When we found that he had hadn’t been tested before he picked us up he said he was quite fit. Luckily he was negative and we got on board. However we hit a perfect storm and ended up having 7 lateral flow tests and denial to continue with a back to back cruise added to no independent travelling in ports. Having said that we enjoyed all the brilliant treatment we had on board. Five star! We are nearly up to 500 nights with Saga and are booked for more. The journey to the port was a one off. Other times it was fine. Enjoy!😃😀😀😀

Glad that all is well. Look forward to your cruise blog. As we have travelled with Saga on three trips during Covid we are interested to know whether the following still apply. Does the driver taking you to the port have to have taken a test which proved negative before picking you up? Also is the driver tested at Southampton when you were? Glad to hear you have booked the speciality restaurants…… a treat to look forward to!

In the ‘good old days’ when formal evenings just meant more than dressing up and were usually preceded by a cocktail party of some sort (hopefully these will now return) it was well worth bringing along the full Highland garb which was much appreciated by many. Of course ‘full’ means the lot – Prince Charlie jacket and waistcoat, Tartan kilt with kilt pin and belt trimmings, Ghillie brogues, white hose with tartan flashes and of course the Sgiandubh. (That’s the knife you stick in your sock!). One can say without doubt that this lot nearly takes up a suitcase alone which is lucky as being a Saganaut you are likely to have your luggage transported to your cabin door for embarkation. With stricter security time eventually caught up with me with regards to the last item. Luggage had ‘disappeared’ on arrival and we were safely ensconced in our cabin when I received a phone call from security saying there was a problem with my luggageand I was to report to the loading bay. When I got there I was asked to identify my case and to open it. I was asked if I was carrying a knife and I produced it from the case. This was immediately confiscated and said it would be given to Saga officials and they would decide what to do with it. I went back to the cabin but even before we had sailed there was a knock at the door and there was the security officer with a broad grin on his face saying ‘I believe this is yours, sir!’ Not wanting this to happen again I decided that the best thing was to put it in my hand luggage in future. In the meantime I found that I was not the only person with this problem. Fortunately there was a way round it with a false Sgiandubh with no blade just the sheath attached to the handle. Ideal. Next cruise left the real one at home and packed the false one in hand luggage. Through the x-ray machine it went, but then it stopped. Much staring at the screen by security. Taken to one side a told the problem. “No problem!” I said. ‘It’s a false one!” I was then asked to open my case. I lifted it out held the sheath pulled the handle….. and out came the blade. I’d packed the wrong one! Same result… knock on the cabin door “I believe this is yours, sir. Please keep it in your safe when you are not using it.” I replied “I hope I don’thave to use it as I would be in deep trouble! So advice on the Swiss knife. Definitely in hand luggage and then negotiate if necessary. Best of luck!

We first picked up this article on Friday through the Latest News section of the digital Daily Telegraph on Friday. This was then included in the Money section of the same publication on Saturday. We had particular interest in this as we had also sailed on this cruise to the Canary Islands and were especially concerned about the cancellation on sailing day of independent exploring which was only announced by the Captain after the Cruse Director completed muster stations thus making it impossible to leave the cruise at that point. That problem along with other matters was sent by email on 27 April. It was only discovered by us that it had not been answered within 28 days (the timescale promise) as the matter had been escalated to the CEO’s Office. We then received a prompt reply from Nigel Blanks’ PA addressing matters including the cancellation of independent exploring. We were very surprised to read the article which to all intents and purposes insinuated that this couple had made their decision to leave the ship in Southampton the last straw being the cancellation of independent exploring. This would mean that they had been told of this position prior to the Captain’s announcement when it would have been impossible for anyone to take the same action. However if one analyses the article the statements made it makes it impossible for them to cite some of the onboard incidents such as dancing in the Britannia lounge and daily Covid testing. These statements were highlighted in our answer to CEO’s PA especially concerning the timing of the no independent exploring announcement. This was sent to the PA on Saturday morning with a prompt reply say she would be ‘out of office’ until 14 June! Not wishing this matter to go ‘cold’ we then, with an explanatory note, forwarded our email to CEO Nigel Blanks at 0919 today and got an immediate reply that he was out of office until 6 June! However by 0955 I received a reply from the CEO. In it says ‘I can assure the journalist has somewhat fabricated what has been reported. The couple in question boarded the ship, were told that they needed to wear a face mask when not eating or drinking (except when in their own cabin) and refused to adhere to these protocols. It was agreed that as they were not prepared to follow our protocols that the best thing to do would be to cancel and receive a full refund. Having not unpacked [in the article it says they had unpacked] they immediately left the ship, we arranged a car to return them back home again. All other references made in the article around testing, mask wearing and independent exploration had nothing to do with the couple in question…..’ He went on to say they will be….’ considering our options to challenge the article and the factual inaccuracies…’ We were also told that ‘I hope this reassures you that no pre notification of our decision to suspend independent exploration was given to anyone.’