Jammy Bun

The shared transport provided by Saga for our recent 270 mile journey home was dreadful. Travelling backwards on upright hard seats, knee to knee with two strangers was an experience I never wish to repeat.

Contentious issue I know, but we Brits don't have the same tipping culture as most North Americans. I fail to see why I need to tip the guy who has delivered the food (part of his salaried job) but don't have to tip the guy who prepared the meal and put it on the tray!

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 😳

Last time we disembarked at Tilbury we arranged for a private taxi to meet us and bring us home (almost 300 miles). It was SO easy - he was waiting right outside the shed where the cases were. In your case, I would suggest that Addison Lee might be worth contacting, we've used them in the past to take us from central London to Greenwich, and more recently for shorter journeys within central London. Each time was a good experience, booked in advance with a fixed price, nice cars and pleasant drivers.

I'm interested in both. Do you have to sign up once onboard, or just turn up and hope there's enough space for everyone?

And yet they gave a discount for being a Saga magazine subscriber! Not complaining, it was a nice surprise.

Yes! Looking forward to it, slightly apprehensive but also excited to explore another ship. 😊😊

Sorry if it was confusing. We’ve had a few Viking cruises now, and one of our favourite areas is Explorers, both levels. I imagine a planetarium will take up a chunk of space upstairs, hence trying to avoid it (though we’ll happily give it a try if it’s there). and yes, we have been to a real planetarium! And also the smaller version on Queen Mary transatlantic. thanks for your response.

Could someone tell me which ships have the planetarium… about to make a booking and want to avoid if possible! thanks 😊

Thank you everyone - I would never have thought of picking up the phone! I presume the TVs aren't interactive for any type of bookings then?

Thanks, I'll bear that in mind, but I hate booking anything so far in advance - circumstances change - and we will have to see what we think of Saga first. In my head it's too formal and old-fashioned for us. OH hasn't taken a jacket or tie on holiday for 6 years! We've got away from the regular conversational topics of "I'm on such-and-such a tier" and "I only paid £xxxx" of the British cruise lines, and have very much loved the Viking approach where loyalty tiers are non-existent and the price of your cabin remains the same whenever you purchase. Sorry, I sound like a Viking rep 😆. Other cruise lines are available 🤣

Just booked first Saga cruise (SoA Canaries, next month). How do we make bookings for the speciality restaurants? It says ‘once onboard’… so does this mean joining a queue, or are we able to do it on the tv in the cabin? Or even on an App? I presume with an older demographic it’ll be easier to eat later…

If you're on this cruise would definitely plan to meet up for a drink and compare Viking v Saga thoughts! We've only done a transatlantic on Cunard - wasn't my cup of tea (though the afternoon tea was pretty memorable 😆)

Thank you - that's a good tip. (And I don't suppose diamante is essential at breakfast 🙃)

Thanks for all your responses. We've booked the cruise, and whilst I don't think we'll love it as much as Viking, it certainly seems like we'll find lots of things to enjoy! I think we'll end up dining in the Grill and speciality restaurants most of the time - just don't like the look of the Grand Dining Room. Looking forward to art and craft sessions, and hopefully some interesting speakers. Only six weeks to wait!

Aaaah. No chocolate then 😉

We've just booked! What on earth is unusual about the fridge? 😁 No Mini Toblerones ? (I will miss the heated floor - it was great to dry smalls overnight. 🤣)

I'm booking direct probably anyway - we just went to the travel agents and were told the price will be identical if we book with them. No OBC, no nothing! So I may as well DIY.

You sound just like us! Hooked on Viking... apart from the flights. We've done one which sailed from Greenwich, one which ended in Greenwich, and one which ended in Tilbury... Bliss Fingers crossed we enjoy Saga almost as much,

Thanks... yes, I'm aware that Saga is better than P&O. 😊 We've cruised a lot, many different cruise lines - gave up on P&O in 2015, the cut backs had started and they were getting larger and larger ships. The last 5 years have been purely Viking, as their product suits us perfectly - no formality and an elegant Scandi ship full of light, top class friendly crew and delicious food at all hours of the day. Whilst I wouldn't want to see track suits in the dining room, I think the dressing up on all the British cruise lines is one of their worst features (just my opinion). People acting out a bye-gone era I suppose... Hey ho, better go and see if OH can get into his old DJ. And dust off the diamante 🤣

Thank you! Not sure what the advantage of having access to My Saga is... can you elaborate?

Thanks for your prompt reply - I'm just weighing up the available cabins - and then need to decide whether it's worth going into the local travel agents to see if there's any benefit to booking through them.

Regular Viking cruisers, but the thought of indirect flights from where we live is deterring us from booking an extra February cruise. I've decided this might be the time to try a Saga cruise to the Canaries. We've done similar cruises many times in the past, with P&O, so know we can cope with the potentially rocky seas! I also know I'm going to have to suffer formal nights... hate all that pretentious dressing up. It's OK, we'll grit our teeth and do it. Could someone please tell me what the dress code is in the restaurants on non-formal occasions. Does my OH have to take another jacket - or a tie? I don't remember when he last wore a tie! We have Saga shares - is there any perk for being an investor (OBC on Cunard/Princess/P&O if shareholder)? And we'll celebrate a big wedding anniversary while we're away - should we tell Saga, do do anything? Thanks for any more tips... I'll probably ring them later today, there's loads of availability on the one I'm looking at.

We've used Addison Lee - not to Tilbury, but to Greenwich - and would highly recommend that company. As a proportion of what your cruise is costing you, the price of a private car door-to-door and not having to drag your cases around, is surely worth it! In January this year our cruise ended in Tilbury and we paid about £350 for a local taxi to come and pick us up... we live in Lancashire. It was worth every penny! The trains are a nightmare at the moment and I can't see things improving any time soon. Treat yourself! 😉 Good luck!

Agree re the need for more interesting European itineraries! And, for us, more departures from the UK would persuade us to remain with Viking. Living in the North of England, we very rarely have direct flights to the ports that Viking currently uses for changeovers. A flight to Barcelona from our local airport would be 2 hours - using Viking we are routed through Amsterdam or Frankfurt and it takes all day. We've still got a 'Risk free' voucher to use and I'm struggling to summon up any enthusiasm (though I do realise this is a 1st World problem! 🙃) Do you think Viking reads these boards?