FannyLiz

Coming back from the SoD Caribbean cruise in late November, as we got closer to UK and the weather turned grey and miserable, most people seemed to wear a light sweater or long sleeves even during the day. It wasn’t cold but felt more comfortable that way. I was glad of a very light big scarf to wear round my shoulders many evenings throughout the voyage. Certainly no winter clothes necessary but do take a light sweater or similar.

That I do not agree with. I enjoyed his twice daily briefings on our position and met him three times when he was perfectly polite and welcoming. I strongly suspect he had orders from above to keep quiet about the faults on the ship and their repercussions and I do not think it sat comfortably with him.

I was on that Caribbean cruise, my first ever cruise and I travelled solo after being recently widowed. I was much impressed by the service, food quality, accommodation, wifi, excursions and every other “ hotel” aspect of the ship. Yes it was expensive but I think I got value for money and really appreciated not having to pay for anything else at all onboard and having transport to and from the ship and insurance all taken care of. What I did not find satisfactory was that we were kept in the dark for much of the time as to what was happening. I understand that even the Captain was not sure when we were going to leave Lisbon and we had several false alarms. What we were never told was why we were there in the first place and what exactly was being done while there. Was it faulty hardware, software etc ? Similarly we were not told why we were missing Madeira and arriving early in Portsmouth. Clealy not the weather as we passed Spirit of Adventure going in the opposite direction and so heading into any storm we were apparently racing to miss. Because of the lack of information there were quite a lot of chinese whispers going round onboard and I still do not believe that our missed ports were weather-related. I have not made any claims against Saga as I had my month of being pampered and enjoyed that aspect rather than the rather cursory whiz round an island or town which is all that is possible on a cruise holiday and which I found more unsatisfying than I expected. I can sympathise with those who enjoy their brief time onshore and agree that a bottle of English sparkling wine is a rather meagre compensation.

Perhaps the person who said it had been u/s on the previous cruise was thinking of the centre aft one as well - ? I have great faith in marine engineers but would prefer a lift was dealt with by specialised lift engineers and assume they, and their spares, are only available in port.

Is that the centre aft lift ? I was waiting for that on the Caribbean cruise when it broke down. We were having very rough seas and, from the noise being made, it sounded like something major had come off its supports inside. I strongly suspect it will need a period in port to sort it and perhaps, with the tight schedule that cruise ships run, this is not yet possible. Certainly the crew member ( not domestic staff) that I spoke to, said that it was not something they could sort internally or on that cruise.

Depends on your purpose. I found, on the recent Caribbean cruise, that the free wifi in all the public rooms and in my cabin was pretty good. I could download all the daily papers and library books and podcasts without problem, , upload a nightly blog with dozens of photos, make very clear What’s app voice calls to family in UK and friends on SoA and the usual emails and utilities business. I’d expected poor wifi on the ship from all I had read but was much impressed. This was true right across the Atlantic and back. I didn’t try downloading films, Zoom etc as I didn’t need to. ( I have ultrafast broadband at home )

At the time ( ie in Lisbon) I understood that the software etc problems were best sorted in Lisbon rather than Portsmouth. The ship had been given the green light to sail so independent assessors must have thought it was safe to do so.The time taken to get to Lisbon gave the Siemans engineer in the USA time to gather what he needed and, given the almost city centre location of Lisbon airport, it was easier for him to fly there than via Heathrow and Southampton. The repairs in Lisbon clearly took longer than anticipated as we were prepared for sailing on several occasions. I’d rather have been in a warm and dry Lisbon with interesting things to do within walking distance than a cold wet quayside in Portsmouth dependant on shuttle buses to leave the port. We would still have had to miss ports whichever alternative was taken. Surely a biggest part of the problem is the very short turn around period in home ports. Understandable obviously but it leaves no leeway for this sort of occurrence .

My only 2 transfers (home and back, 75 miles each way) have both been via a local taxi firm. Both cars were a smart and shiny Mercedes, both drivers were prompt, helpful and the journey comfortable. The driver outbound was using a watch and mobile phone to guide him to the port and I made Saga aware of this. It is their responsibility to pass that to the taxi company, who have a very good local rating. I don’t think they have a responsibility to pre-test every driver. Frankly, for the ease of having my journey timing and arranging the responsibility of someone else I’d have happily gone in a bus. The news of the Saga CEO’s departure featured in the ship’s daily newspaper on SoD as soon as it was made public. I don’t read the Saga magazine but you can check if you wish as it is freely available on the Saga app and via your local library digital services.

One of the good features that many of us remarked upon during the recent (7 th Nov to 7 th Dec) Caribbean cruise was that the portions of food were not huge. As part of a multi- course meal they were absolutely spot on. Anyone feeling unsatisfied or unable to decide between the several choices, could have another portion. The order for this was taken without a comment. This policy meant that there was minimum food waste, surely a good thing on all counts, and diners left the table feeling satisfied, not stuffed. As to variety and repetition of menus, my observation in the MDR was that, in 30 days, there was one repetition of each dish and this was never in the same menu as it had been earlier. In the Grill, where I ate lunch, the variety of made up salads each day, cleverly using ingredients from previous days, was impressive and delicious. The house wines were perfectly acceptable and there was a good selection of branded spirits available without charge. I don’t recall anyone having to pay for any drink.

Writing as someone who has just completed their first cruise ever, 30 days to the Caribbean with Saga, I can’t see any way Saga could improve. If their standards are slipping then they must have been phenomenal before ! Food was consistently excellent ( with the exception of one rather tough steak in the Club), and the variety was superb. Service went above and beyond in every aspect and department and the staff were amazing: efficient, friendly, intelligent, hard working and with remarkable memories. I didn’t participate in many of the activities or entertainment but that was my choice. There was plenty to do and watch and, from the accounts of those who did take part, it was all good. Transport to and from the port was efficient and stress free as was the almost automatic insurance. HQ staff were always friendly and patient on the phone. Little luxuries, the turn down service, daily fruit bowl, ice creams, Werthers Originals, blankets and towels on loungers and so on added to the sense of being spoiled. Yes, I was disappointed that we missed several ports but would rather that than being storm tossed or frightened. I would have appreciated more explanation as to why they were missed but this could be because the ultimate cause is still sub judice until the end of the MAIB investigations. As to the Saga magazine, as Saga insurance customers we used to read it online and, if I wish, I could still do that. Many of the organisations and clubs I belong to are doing away with expensive printed magazines in favour of digital copies. I would rather Saga do that than cut back on holiday services.

I was just looking at Windy and thinking the same. Must be confident they have everything sorted if they are going to sail through that.

Thank you ! You have explained something that was really puzzling me. One afternoon I turned on the ship’s navigation map to find a large scale road map of the Ruhr, a long way from either the Caribbean or the sea.

I made that clear in my post. I don’t want to disagree. As you say, it’s what we were not told that has lead to all of this speculation and dissatisfaction . Had we been told why various decisions were taken then I think most of us would have accepted that Saga had our safety uppermost in all the decisions they took. It would even now, do less harm to explain than if they maintain their silence but, it is possible, that the enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the storm accident is sub judice and we cannot be told.

I use VesselFinder and Marine Traffic apps and they both showed 14 knots when we first slowed down. They showed that being maintained until we were passing the Isle of Wight when we slowed, I assume because we were slightly earlier than expected. I didn’t look at Cruise Mapper ot the TV.

When we got to Portsmouth at 2 pm shuttle buses were laid on to Gunwharf Quay for the Christmas markets. There was no specified all aboard time so people could get a taxi back after the last shuttle. I did get the impression that, on a cold, wet and windy day, this was not a great attraction for the majority. Our speed, after the Meet the Captain, went down to 14 knots which was maintained almost to Portsmouth. We slowed down as we were early to pick up the pilot and presumably, take up our berth. It did make a difference to comfort and, presumably, to fuel consumption.