hermioneb

I am almost sure you could get it from the machines in the library. 

We, too, enjoyed our cruise on SoD last year and have. booked on SofA to go round the British Isles in September. I am curious to see what the new ship is like and whether the chairs are more comfortable! 

18 minutes ago, shoreham01 said:

Not a bad price, but only three ports.....other cruise lines offer at least four ports on short cruises

Yes, I agree there are only three ports, but I suppose it is because one day is spent joining the flotilla of “little ships” commemorating Dunkirk.

In case anyone is interested, there is a new 7 day cruise announced for 19th May 2020 on the Spirit of Discovery.  https://travel.saga.co.uk/cruises/ocean/where-we-go/norway-cruises/norwegian-trilogy.aspx. It is in place of the one which was called Scenes of Dunkirk, which didn’t seem to very popular.  

They didn’t worry us, but we are always awake early, so it wouldn’t put us off sailing with Saga in the future.  I do understand, however,  that not everyone appreciates being disturbed by announcements when they are on holiday.  I would not have thought it would be difficult to have the non-crucial announcements on one of the tv channels as well as in the public spaces.

Just wondering if the problem was with the ship pitching or rolling?  It is the rolling I have a problem with, but usually the stabilisers deal with that nowadays.

That is extraordinary, because I am very conscious of the ship moving; we had no problem at all when crossing the Bay of Biscay in August, when there was a bit of a swell.

Oh dear, that sounds very worrying. Was the sea particularly rough? 

Thank you very much for the warning about guarantee cabins. I am prone to seasickness, so I think I will take your advice. We had a guarantee cabin on the Spirit of Discovery and all was fine, because all cabins have a balcony and the ship seems very stable. 

Thank you very much, Glendale.  I appreciate your view as I recall that you have sailed on both Oceania and Azamara as well, and therefore will be aware of the sort of thing we like.  We are contemplating a guaranteed cabin on Sapphire and are a bit nervous about it, but your post has reassured me.  I certainly don’t think we will be looking at a suite, unfortunately!

We thoroughly enjoyed our first Saga cruise on board Spirit of Discovery in August and are looking at other possibilities.  We have also enjoyed cruises with Oceania and Azamara, but they are becoming too expensive for us, unless we spot a last minute deal.  I was just wondering how any of you who have been on Sapphire would compare it with Spirit of Discovery.  I appreciate that it is just about to leave Saga, so would that mean it is getting a bit worn looking? Is the food the same standard? Does it cope with rough seas well?  Is there enough space both on deck and inside? Any views would be much appreciated. 

Glendale, it sounds as if you have got a good deal! It seems that Oceania are offering several cruises with their O Life Ultimate perks for next year, but I haven’t seen any for ex -UK cruises yet.  Today I received notification of a couple of Mediterranean cruises which work out at about £320 per day with O Life Ultimate.  You are quite right that comparisons are difficult as there are a limited number of Azamara and Oceania cruises departing from UK ports.  As we are still happy to fly to the Med., but no further, I will go on looking at Azamara and Oceania in case a good deal comes up, but would be very happy if Saga have some fly cruises in the future, as I think the Spirit of Discovery is a lovely ship.

No, you are quite right, I forgot about insurance and door to door travel, though perhaps that would be included with azamara if booked through Saga?  I suppose the American lines are looking much more expensive now, with the current dollar to pound exchange rate.

Glendale suggested that someone should compare the costs of similar cruises of the 3 lines.  I thought I would have a go. It was difficult to find anything very similar, so I looked at cruises between May and September next year, all of which depart and return to either Southampton or Dover and were between 10 and 17 nights duration. Looking at the cheapest available balcony cabins on Azamara and Oceania and adding the cost of gratuities and all inclusive drinks to Oceania, the figures per day worked out as follows:  Azamara between £309 and £350 per day.  Oceania between £393 and £448 per day.  Saga between £259 and £294 per day, priced as available now.  I hope I have worked it out correctly!

I do strongly agree with you about the suitability of some of the chairs on board the Spirit of Discovery.  I do wonder how they are chosen.  It seems extraordinarily to fit out a new ship with chairs that are not very comfortable, particularly bearing in mind the age of some of the passengers. I hope that the chairs on the new ship will be better.

Nor did I, I am glad to say!

Kentchris, thank you very much for taking the time to write all this.  I did enjoy following along with your cruise, and it brought back happy memories of our fourteen night cruise in August.  I suppose the question now is ....will you be booking another trip on the Spirit of Discovery?

4 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

The last posted menu shows exactly how limited the menu selection is.  There is nothing that appeals to me.  On our cruise there was a Sirloin steak always available option but I don't see it on this menu.  DH did have that on one occasion and it was fine.  

Overall I found the food in the MDR just OK but not sure that is good enough to encourage anyone to try Saga,  

I will say that the cheese board was excellent.

 

 

Maybe sirloin steak was not shown on this particular menu because there was fillet steak available. 

I am quite fussy about yoghurt, but had no complaints about the one on the buffet in either the GDR or the Grill.

I was given a glass of port two or three times in the MDR when I had cheese. The Russian buffet looks marvellous. 

33 minutes ago, Ergates The Ant said:

Apologies from me, was just responding to a previous comment on the dining options. The lack of proper alternatives in the Grill was my biggest concern.

Haven’t sailed on Oceania or Azamara, as not keen on older ships with less than up to date bathrooms.

Sorry to have gone off topic.

Although I would agree that the R ships are older and have small bathrooms, Oceania Marina and Riviera are not that old, and are roughly a similar size, which is why they are a fair comparison to the Saga ship.  I thought the SoD is a beautiful ship.   I understand the worry that Saga offer a more limited menu, although there was only one evening during our fourteen night cruise when I couldn’t find something that I thought was delicious. 

There has been some discussion on another thread on this board about the description of luxury cruising.  I was reading this article https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles.cfm?ID=2816 and it defines Azamara and Oceania as “upper premium/luxury lite”.  I personally feel that the new Saga ship fits perfectly into this category and wonder what other people think.  Having now cruised on the ships from all three, I think that the Spirit of Discovery compares well on several points, particularly the comfort of the lowest grade of cabin.

54 minutes ago, janecambridge said:

🤣 The very reason my husband won’t use main dining room for breakfast.

On the occasions that we had breakfast in the MDR we were always able to have a table for two.  

On 9/14/2019 at 4:48 PM, Ergates The Ant said:

Would also like to see some MDR menus if at all possible.

Looking forward to another SoD cruise by proxy!

All information gratefully received!

Here are some MDR menus from our cruise to Spain in August. First is for a formal night, then a normal evening, finally a lunch menu.  

8 minutes ago, Glenndale said:

Hermione, food on Oceania is hard to beat but Saga food on Sapphire was good. 

So Cinnamon is it a possible alternative to your favourite Azamara? 

Thank you Cinnamon for your excellent blog, pleased that Kentchris has picked up the baton

Yes, I would agree that the food on Oceania is my favourite, so far.  Unfortunately, unless the dollar exchange rate improves it seems that both Oceania and Azamara, our previous favourite lines, are becoming too expensive for us.  As that is the case, we are delighted to have found that we liked the SoD very much, too, though I hope that one of the Saga ships will do fly cruises in the future, leaving the other one for those who don't want to fly.  Lovely to have another option, and one which we enjoyed very much.  Thank you again, Cinnamon.