Tabicat

Yes 

That happened on the old Saga Saphire 

when they were worried at the end of the cruise about norovirus 

All the books and games were taken away 

And all public toilets were out of use, we had to go back and use the ones in our cabins 

Luckily it was only for two days 

It was all handled very well

Was on Spirit of Discovery last Christmas/ New Year and in the library there were plenty of board games 

Chess, scrabble and more 

Also jigsaw puzzles

Should have said 

"were the dance teachers" 

Not "we're" 

Don't you just hate predictive text? lol

They are from Canada 

We're the dance teachers on Spirit of Discovery.  Christmas and New Year Scandinavian cruise

Agree with you 

I always think if they cut down on the brochures they send out (we seem to get about two on a daily basis) they might be able to charge less for the cruises

Was on the Christmas/New Year cruise on Spirit of Discovery  

The dance teachers were Goran Simpraga and Roanna Yapp from Canada  

Very good teachers and brilliant show dancers  

Does anyone know if they will be on any Saga cruises next year?

On the cruises I have been on, although there are mostly older travellers, there are also people in their late fifties 

Been on Spirit of Discovery and Spirit of Adventure 

Was on the Saga Spirit of Discovery cruise for Christmas and New Year  

The dance teachers were Roanna and Goran who were very good teachers and also brilliant dancers 

Talking to some of the solo lady cruisers and they said on the old Saga Saphire  there were always "gentlemen hosts" who were in the ballroom every night to partner the ladies who liked dancing but were on their own. 

As so many ladies are on their own, or perhaps their husbands just don't like to dance, it would be a good idea to re-introduce them

16 hours ago, Tothesunset said:

One thing I don't understand. You get off the ship at, say, 9.30 for the 3 hr trip home. The other passengers need a loo stop after a couple of hours. Fair enough. But do they really need to spend 45 minutes having a cup of tea, a faceful of food and a wander round the retail outlets? They've only just had breakfast for crying out loud. 

 

L'enfer c'est Les autres

Absolutely agree  

Some people can't seem to go an hour without "having a coffee" or eating 

You see them on most cruises - half an hour after breakfast they are in the lounge stuffing biscuits and cakes.  Then mid afternoon after a three  course lunch they are ready for tea and cakes. 

I suppose their thinking is "well its all included so we will make the most of it, don't want to miss anything"

Agree with you

Just now, Tabicat said:

 

 

Our last cruise involved a shared car (people carrier)  We were the first pick up and the driver told us there were two more to pick up on the way, both in the same town.  Well we got to the first one and waited for about twenty minutes before we told the driver he should phone.  He did and was told by the lady inside the house that she would be out shortly.  It was a further fifteen minutes before she emerged and then she made him undo her case as she had forgotten to pack something.  Then we had to pick up the next lady.  Luckily she was ready, but decided en route that she wanted to stop for a "comfort break" 

Next time we will pay the extra for a car to ourselves

21 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

We had a shared transport last time, comfortable big merc 8 seater for 4 , nice company to chat to. Added 30 mins max.

 

Certainly not worth the extra £600 for private transport

1 hour ago, unicron73 said:

hi

first time cruiser

going from sidmouth to dover for norway cruise

does anyone have a rough idea of journey length,pick up time and how many stops on route

my bladder will need several stops on route

thanks

A white one will be ok 

On our Christmas and New Year Scandinavian cruise many of the men wore white or black DJs on the formal nights.  Also dark suits with bright bow ties and pocket handkerchiefs were a plenty

On 3/7/2024 at 4:07 PM, Auburn 22 said:

New to cruising, 

Formal  night  is a white  DJ too much ?

As I don't  have  a black  one !

We were on the Spirit of Discovery Christmas and New Year cruise. 

Found the temperature on board to be warm.  No need for heavy jumpers indoors

On 2/5/2024 at 2:00 PM, cleopatra1 said:

Can anyone tell me what the ship inside temperature is like in public areas, dining rooms and bars?  Do people generally feel hot or cold as I assume it’s all air conditioned?  I need to know whether to pack extra jumpers and trousers or lighter things.  I’m on the SoD Canaries Discovery 17th February. 

On 2/25/2023 at 12:35 PM, 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 😳

Was on Spirit of Discovery for the Christmas and New Year cruise 

Very varied age range on this one between late fifties to eighties

We were on C deck midshipman for our Scandinavian Christmas and New Year cruise.  As it was winter the sea was a bit rough for one day going and one day and night on the return.    Fairly stable on our deck.  A bit wobbly in the Brittania Lounge however.     Got talking at dinner to people who were on A deck, which cost considerably more. They had a very bad time.  As they said "the more you pay, the more you sway!!!"

Was on Spirit of Discovery for Christmas and New Year.  There were dance classes by the brilliant Goran and Roanna from Canada.  They were also in the Britannia Lounge for the early evening dance sessions and both of them danced with solo ladies. 

However some ladies cruising solo said they missed the Gentlemen Hosts that used to be on previous Saga ships

The dance couple on our Saga Spirit of Discovery Christmas and New Year cruise were very good teachers. Brilliant dancers too.   Goran and Roanne 

Got me thinking .......... does anyone know if Jeffrey and Cheryl Dobinson are still working on the cruise ships?  I knew them many years ago but lost touch. 

I think they opened a dance school in Southampton but still did some work on cruise ships

Not as dressy as they once were.  Some men wore dinner suits with bow ties but many wore suits with ties.  Didn't see any ladies in full length dresses as most wore cocktail dresses.  A couple of men on our last cruise were in full dress tartan kilts which looked very smart.  On the non formal nights most men had on smart trousers and jackets, some with ties, and the ladies had smart dresses or trousers and glitter tops

The dance teachers on board our Saga Spirit of Discovery Christmas and New Year cruise were fantastic.  Goran and Roanne 

Does anyone know if Jeffrey and Cheryl Dobinson are still teaching on the cruise ships? 

Knew them years ago but lost touch. I think they opened a dance school in Southampton 

We didn't get an excursion brochure.  We got a few photocopied pages with excursions available to buy and the inclusive ones. 

However I do feel Saga waste a lot of money posting holiday and cruise brochures so much. 

We seem to get them sent at least once, sometimes twice, a week.   They must be very expensive to print and most just get put in the recycling bin.  Once we have that years brochures we don't need them to keep sending them. Also the postage is very expensive. 

I always feel if they didn't waste something money like this, the cruises could be a bit cheaper

Just realised I made an error on my reply to FannyLiz about the lift.  

It was the right hand aft lift, not the centre one

Yes that is the one