heathermk57

6 hours ago, maesteggirl said:

2024 brochure on general sale today. We have just booked the Greek Islands in April with 30% discount and Canaries Christmas with 35%off. 

I've just booked the Greek Islands too. 🙂

1 hour ago, Jammy Bun said:

I am onboard at the moment.  Very British - if you’ve liked P& O or Cunard in the past, you’ll like Saga.  Average age on the cruise I would guess mid 80s.  We’re in our mid 70s and feel incredibly young.  At this point in our lives it’s not for us.
This was an expensive experiment… Back to Viking in the summer, for a less old fashioned holiday.  May try Saga again when we’re older, infirm, or when one of us is widowed 😳

Just out of interest, which ship are you on?  I am in my mid-sixties and unfortunately and unexpectedly recently widowed.  I'm neither old fashioned nor infirm and wish I was lucky enough to still have my husband to travel with.  However, I am hoping I will enjoy the experience on Spirit of Adventure in Norway. 

I've been allocated D034.  Does anyone have experience of this cabin or nearby ones?

• Thank you for the replies.  Having done a bit more research on the cabin locations I've gone ahead and booked a guarantee. It will be interesting to see where I end up, but as far as I'm concerned I will be on the ship which is the main thing! 👍

Hi.  Thanks for the response to my previous query.  I'm just wondering, is it worth taking a chance on booking a guarantee (single) cabin on Spirit of Adventure?  

On 1/7/2023 at 1:58 PM, Denarius said:

I have sailed in (standard) single cabins on both SoD and SoA; they are identical apart from the decor. The cabins are of a good size - as big as twin cabins on some lines - and have all the facilities found in twin cabins. They are plenty big enough for a solo traveller, and storage is more than adequate for one. They have a double bed not a single - Saga must think that there is life in the old dogs yet 🙂  - and a small sitting area with a chair and table. All have balconies.

As regards location. it's very much a matter of personal choice; whether you want to be closer to the open decks or the public rooms, or somewhere inbetween. I tend to avoid cabins situated immediately below open decks or public rooms because of the potential noise, so would avoid A deck if possible.

Thank you for the information. I'm dithering a bit but hoping to make a decision soon! 

Hi 

Happy New Year to all.

I'm thinking of cruising with Saga for the first time at the end of February on the Northern Lights cruise.  I'm an experienced cruiser with RCCL and Celebrity.  I will be looking to book a single cabin for the first time this time.  I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience of the single cabins on the Spirit of Adventure please?  Is there a favourite deck or location for instance?  There seem to be a few different locations available at the moment. Thank you for any guidance or words of wisdom. 

21 minutes ago, Petelang said:

 

 

 

My wife and I were on the Eclipse for this cruise. Our tour began with a land tour starting in Rio for Carnival and then to the Falls at Iguazu, subsequently joining the ship at Buenos Aries. We were in a group of about 30 people from mainly UK but some from USA. Before setting out we had some concerns owing to the Diamond Princess situation but figured South America was as far removed from the virus as you could possibly get. All was going well until the day I joined the ship when I had a nasty case of the trots, first sign of it on arriving at the cruise port. Once aboard ship this continued and was bad and I had no alternative but to visit the ship medical centre. There, after an interview assessment, blood pressure, temps and pulse check they diagnosed a case of Gastro enteritis and issued me with meds and confined me to cabin for at least a day. I even had to be escorted back to my cabin by the cabin stewardess to ensure I went there directly. I was told to eat bland diet, only via room service and stop there. I had subsequent calls from nursing staff to enquire of my welfare and the next day symptoms had abated and after 18.00 I was released from quarantine to go about ship as normal. Two days later I started to suffer other symptoms, violent vomiting and shivering fever so a repeat visit to sick bay. This is where things get very interesting. I was subjected to numerous tests. A flu virus test (twin nasal Probes) urine, bloods and all the usual checks. I was placed in a ward and infused with a cocktail of antibiotics and saline transfusion, the diagnosis was a water infection. Further antibiotics given and whilst this time I was not enforced quarantine, I was not fit to roam about so self isolated in the cabin for a further 24 hr period. The attention in the medical bay took nearly four hours and during this time a lot was happening including one lady, elderly looking, being taken by wheelchair to x ray for a "check to see if you have double pneumonia" as I clearly heard said as they passed me in the corridor. There were quite a lot of patients reporting to sick bay. It was busy there and my suspicions were raised that perhaps quite a few people were starting to feel ill. After a couple of days I began to feel much better, indeed almost recovered except for appetite and digestion was still not right. Meantime the news worldwide was of the world closing down. Life around ship seemed normal and our port calls at Ushia and Porto Montt were no problem. Our regular waitress Yulia, a truly lovely person disappeared from duty and we were told she was poorly. A couple of days later her assistant also reported sick but only briefly. Yulia was not seen again right up to our departure. Then we were stuck aboard denied San Antonio shore and rerouted to Valparaiso and the announced Onward cruise to USA. We were completely informed by Capt Leo. One could not fault communication at all and I have seldom known such transparency which did build trust amongst passengers. There was however a marked increasing the sanitisation and cleaning. Everywhere you went, surfaces were being washed, disinfected and scrubbed. The daily messages about cleaning hands reinforced at every opportunity. I jested that if one stood still long enough, you would be sanitised (clearly not a bad thing in hindsight) but it must have impinged significantly on the crew duties to make such steps and it again hints that this may not have been just prevention. Towards the last week in theatre and quiet areas of the ship, the number of deeply rooted coughing incidents markedly increased and it cannot have gone unnoticed. Despite best intention of officers and crew, many passengers are their own worst enemy and we all witnessed people of questionable personal habits, in public food areas, washrooms, just everywhere not starting to take the situation seriously. But it is completely impossible to isolate yourself on a cruise ship. The lifts were packed, people queued, the buffet was like a market with jostling and shoulder to shoulder activity. Four days prior to docking my wife developed a full on cold like condition. Feverish, bad cough and totally washed out, aches and pains. We were naturally concerned that, if unwell, she could be denied a return home and be stuck in the US so I insisted she see the medics. I took her down to the med centre and was astonished to see rows of chairs in a makeshift enlarged waiting room at the lobby lifts. The small waiting rooms were crammed. A waitress was wheeled in after collapsing on the job by her manager and taken to a treatment room. My wife was there for two hours and I returned to see what was happening. One woman was hooked up on drips and a ventilator in a ward room in the dark (with the door wide open) many crew were waiting to be seen. My wife was given a flu test, antibiotics, cough medication (powerful stuff, made her feel hyper) and she too was confined to cabin for a 24 hr period. Her condition remained that way until we returned home and for several days after. We suspect it as be Corona but in the UK you can't get tested anyway.

I know there were some good reasons for the high activity in the medical area as they were issuing top up medications that had been taken on in Valparaiso but the evidence here suggests that much more was going on.  My overall opinion is that the ship had no way of knowing if this was covid 19 due to the inadequacy of the testing available. However they had taken all the possible precautions assuming it was not covid. Maybe that's a bit naive but Capt Leo would have been faced with the possibility of not being able to disembark the majority of well passengers and risk a greater outbreak with the lives of many more being at risk. With three doctors on board I'm sure there has had to have been discussion between all officers and Miami and find a route to gets many people off the ship as quickly as possible to safeguard the majority. One thing we all need to consider for the future. Many people who cruise are elderly, infirm and not in the best of health. Many have compromised immunity, yet a big ships like a big petri dish. If there is a sickness aboard it's going to spread by the air conditioning,  personal probity and the unfortunate habits of humans. I think the future is bleak and only those fit to go should be allowed aboard. Of our group of 30, at least a dozen have symptoms of what could be severe colds/flu or the dreaded covid. As we know, some only display mild symptoms, where's it will kill others. It's a lottery. We are lucky, we've come through it all and are now recovering. 

I still thank Captain and his crew. Hero is too strong a word but they certainly did the best by us all that could be expected. In his position, responsible for 4000 souls at sea, I cannot see he had any alternative but to maintain morale, drive his crew in a commitment to keep as many people well as it was possible to do. I think Celebrity were ethical and as generous as any US company could ever be in view of the risk of corporate legal action and whilst the outcome is not perfect, it's certainly better than the Titanic. The timing of the Celebrity announcement about the four affected was timely just as we were flying home but this could have been carefully planned, at least having got most people off ship, but I suspect this was conspired.

I hope this doesn't bore you all to sleep but you really could write a book about this cruise.

Thank you for your post, I'm glad to hear that you are recovering. My husband and I did the Buenos Aires to Santiago leg last year on the Eclipse. We could hear someone in the adjoining cabin coughing for the majority of the cruise and towards the end my husband developed a bad cough. I was OK until I got home to the UK when I developed awful flu symptoms and took to my bed for several days, taking sick leave from work. If COVID-19 had been a 'thing' at that time I would certainly have believed that I had it. I remember coughing so much that I just wanted to stop breathing. We were due to join the Eclipse again in Vancouver on the 9th May this year but of course we will not be doing that now. But a cancelled holiday is nothing when we consider the terrible times that so many people are going through. I truly wish everyone speedy recovery, enduring good health and hope for the future. 

13 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

You should be able to do it directly.    One of the questions was are you processing for yourself or as an agent of the traveler.    If requesting a refund it will be refunded to the original form of payment.    If your CC was directly charged to Celebrity as mine is even when using an agent you will get it back to your credit card.

We are in the UK. We paid all monies to our travel agent as the cruise was part of a package. The travel agents are at full stretch here at the moment so we will wait to hear from them in due course. 

You are sadly lacking in ambition. From 2030, Royal will be re-platforming the whole cruise experience. Going forward, they will engage in a creative partnership with a well known Silicon Valley company to virtualise the whole cruise experience. Why get out of your chair at home? With the latest 370 degree (sic) VR technology, everything will come to you. Imagine you're on board ship. With the fully gimballed Celebrity VR chair, experience the gentle rocking of the ocean; for $50 more, get the software upgrade that lets you experience the rolling of a Hurricane in your own home. Computer controlled tanning and wind machines simulate Caribbean or Mediterranean sun, all controlled by an app on your phone. Finally, Amazon's drones will bring every drink and meal to your chair side. As Royal's CEO boasted, this will be the first cruise line really to bear down on costs, with no cruise ships and no staff, save for the "industry leading" IT team driving this new world of cruise experiences.

:'):')

Royal and Celebrity both need to fix their websites in order for people to have a frustration free vacation.

Absolutely agree! We were enormously frustrated with both Royal and Celebrity websites on our most recent two cruises. Also I go on a cruise to get away from 'technology'; I guess I am no longer one of their target customers. :( :(

It was really nice to have 2 days and a overnight there which left us time to tour . Pat also had trouble descending after her surgery , but it got better with time . The steps on the down side were steep ! And while I love photos there is not substitute for being there in person . :) :D

It's always more difficult descending isn't it, because of the pressure on the knees. I hope Pat was OK afterwards. My husband hit his head on the way up (we had been warned by the guide) and I wasn't sure I would like the low bit going through but we were fine and enjoyed the views. We were there during the morning of the first day on our shore excursion and then went back in the evening on our party bus. Seeing the rocks at different times of the day was nice. :) Loving your photos. :)

Happy birthday ! ( DW is also 60 ) . The tour sounds like get fun and it was so nice to spend the night and have a 2nd day in Aruba !

If you still can't post using Jackie's instruction and you would like for us to try to post it , Email it to us at scubacruiserx2@gmail.com .

Thank you. :)

 

The mountain symbol is the middle one which is displayed after you hit the + sign.

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Thank you. I have the photo on the laptop at home, I'll play around later and see what I can do. :)

The first day in Aruba was my 60th birthday. :) We did a tour of the island in the morning then did the Kukoo Kunuku bus in the evening which was enormous fun! (I tried to upload a photo but I don't know how to resize it to make it 'postable'). :o

Thank you for bringing back so many lovely memories of our cruise!

I went down to the Eclipse Theater early to choose seats on the floor at the end of the aisle and when Pat arrived I went down front for an equipment check . I used more manual settings on my camera this trip and these 2 photos show the difference by just changing the shutter speed .

1/125th of a second

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and 1/15th of a second

Paul's Hofner Violin bass , check

John's Rickenbacker 325 and Epiphone Casino , double check

MIA were the Vox amps

Greeting us and introducing the show were the Master of the Ship Captain Leo and the Cruise Director Eddy

And now in glorious black and white - A Hard Day's Night !

Video - 8 Days a week :

We really enjoyed the Beatles tribute. :D

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles.cfm?ID=1470

Hope this helps. Premium coffees and teas are included in the Classic package, but not "specialty" coffees and teas. :)

The show features some strong and athletic performances as well as great singers and dancers .

But we think that the flying while spectacular and the inclusion of songs like Uptown funk and Thriller gave Amade the feeling of a variety show , instead of a tribute to Mozart .

I agree on that point. We went in to have a look - I am a fan of Mozart, but not acrobatics. I can appreciate the skill and hard work required, but the show was not to my taste so we left. We try to make sure we're on the end of a row if we have any doubts so that we can sneak out quietly. :halo:

Hi. Thank you very much for your review. We were also on the cruise and this is bringing back some lovely memories now that we're home and I'm back at work :(

We missed the CC get-together unfortunately as we had pre-booked an Inside Access tour which clashed. We toyed with the idea of rescheduling but then decided to stick with it. It was very interesting, but now I understand why the Captain wasn't on the bridge. :) I'll continue following your thread with interest. By the way, we were in SV cabin 6315, two decks below you on the aft.

Thanks for posting and glad to know everything is good. :) Only negative thing for me is the Movies on deck - one of the reasons we have chosen Celebrity for recent cruises was because they didn't have 'Movies under the stars' .:( Never mind, I'm sure we can find a quiet place on deck late at night which is much more our 'thing'. :)

See you on the 19th! One thing's for sure, this will be our first Caribbean cruise and we will have a great time anyway. :D

So sorry to hear your sad news. I have followed this thread with interest and was very grateful for the information you have shared. A fitting tribute indeed. My condolences to you both.

If you want to upgrade prior to sailing you need to phone. We usually have OBC so use that to upgrade once on the ship.

 

 

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Thanks very much for your help. We don't have OBC unfortunately. :(

Upgrading is easy $11.80/pp/pd.

 

You can do the upgrade before you board, or once aboard with any bar or bartender.

 

Easy-peesy!

Hi. I wanted to upgrade from my included Classic package to Premium as well and would rather do it before I board. I can't find an option to do it on my reservation, do I have to phone them? Thank you. :)

Thank you, I understand that and knew that offer was there but I'm still confused. Here is what I was talking about: In March if I were to put $250 down on a future cruise they were offering $250 onboard credit for the cruise I was on when I booked the future cruise. Didn't matter if it was interior, ocean view or balcony.

Yes, we just got that on the Serenade. We took the instant OBC because in the UK we lose our deposit if we cancel. So in effect we've already had the deposit back and there is no net gain or loss if we do cancel before final payment.