Iona Construction ?

[Son of Anarchy]

Out on sea trails today.

[nosapphire]

whereas the Spirit of Adventure (Saga) has been moored at Emden since 12th Sept.☹️

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, nosapphire said:

whereas the Spirit of Adventure (Saga) has been moored at Emden since 12th Sept.☹️

Saga have officially cancelled their cruises until April I believe, so I assume they are similarly not in a rush to take delivery, and their completion date was quite a bit later than Iona's as well.

[wowzz]

24 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Saga have officially cancelled their cruises until April I believe, so I assume they are similarly not in a rush to take delivery, and their completion date was quite a bit later than Iona's as well.

John, where did you see the cancellation information? 

[nosapphire]

57 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Saga have officially cancelled their cruises until April I believe, so I assume they are similarly not in a rush to take delivery, and their completion date was quite a bit later than Iona's as well.

Not quite correct.

Although Saga have not told their customers, they have issued press releases for their shareholders which state that the TOURS (the land based holidays) are cancelled to April 2021.

The same press releases state that they still plan to restart cruises this year.

Can't see it happening, myself - but that is the official line from Saga (and their press release of 10th September for shareholders goes a stage further - by saying they are planning to restart cruises November 2020, and also planning for another suspension because of lockdowns January to May 2021).

[wowzz]

10 minutes ago, nosapphire said:

Not quite correct.

Although Saga have not told their customers, they have issued press releases for their shareholders which state that the TOURS (the land based holidays) are cancelled to April 2021.

The same press releases state that they still plan to restart cruises this year.

Can't see it happening, myself - but that is the official line from Saga (and their press release of 10th September for shareholders goes a stage further - by saying they are planning to restart cruises November 2020, and also planning for another suspension because of lockdowns January to May 2021).

That was my understanding as well.

[terrierjohn]

39 minutes ago, nosapphire said:

Not quite correct.

Although Saga have not told their customers, they have issued press releases for their shareholders which state that the TOURS (the land based holidays) are cancelled to April 2021.

The same press releases state that they still plan to restart cruises this year.

Can't see it happening, myself - but that is the official line from Saga (and their press release of 10th September for shareholders goes a stage further - by saying they are planning to restart cruises November 2020, and also planning for another suspension because of lockdowns January to May 2021).

Sorry my mistake, I also thought the new cruise releases were from April, maybe it was me only looking for warm weather cruises.

[ann141]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

Sorry my mistake, I also thought the new cruise releases were from April, maybe it was me only looking for warm weather cruises.

Saga have got a cruise to the Canary Islands in february 2021, also a couple of cruises we are interested in March 2021, one to the Northern Lights, the other to some Spanish ports we have not previously visited.We won't book at present because the cruises may be cancelled and at the moment quarantine is required if visiting Spain but if things have improved by the beginning of next year(doubtful but we can live in hope!) we may book with Saga as I do like a winter cruise!

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, ann141 said:

Saga have got a cruise to the Canary Islands in february 2021, also a couple of cruises we are interested in March 2021, one to the Northern Lights, the other to some Spanish ports we have not previously visited.We won't book at present because the cruises may be cancelled and at the moment quarantine is required if visiting Spain but if things have improved by the beginning of next year(doubtful but we can live in hope!) we may book with Saga as I do like a winter cruise!

We like a winter holiday too.

Our 14 night Iona cruise in February was cancelled so will watch things closely in the new year.

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, ann141 said:

Saga have got a cruise to the Canary Islands in february 2021, also a couple of cruises we are interested in March 2021, one to the Northern Lights, the other to some Spanish ports we have not previously visited.We won't book at present because the cruises may be cancelled and at the moment quarantine is required if visiting Spain but if things have improved by the beginning of next year(doubtful but we can live in hope!) we may book with Saga as I do like a winter cruise!

We have a one week cruise to Scandinavia booked on the SoA at the end of March 2021. Personally,  I very much doubt it will go ahead. As a matter of interest I checked the fare for our cabin grade, for a booking made today. The price was some 30% higher than the price we paid back in January this year. 

I can't see many people rushing to pay £2000 each for a 7 day cruise in 2021, in these uncertain times.

If you want to book with Saga, book the 2022 cruises, whilst prices are still, in some cases, relatively competitive. 

[ann141]

21 minutes ago, wowzz said:

We have a one week cruise to Scandinavia booked on the SoA at the end of March 2021. Personally,  I very much doubt it will go ahead. As a matter of interest I checked the fare for our cabin grade, for a booking made today. The price was some 30% higher than the price we paid back in January this year. 

I can't see many people rushing to pay £2000 each for a 7 day cruise in 2021, in these uncertain times.

If you want to book with Saga, book the 2022 cruises, whilst prices are still, in some cases, relatively competitive. 

Saga have just reduced the price of some of the winter 2021 cruises though I agree with you that they are unlikely to go ahead, that's why we will book last minute if available.There are some interesting itineraries for 2022 but I don't want to book that far in advance at present. In the meantime I will be asking friends and relatives if they are a member of 'Possibilities' so that they can 'introduce me' to get a 10% discount!!

[wowzz]

5 minutes ago, ann141 said:

Saga have just reduced the price of some of the winter 2021 cruises though I agree with you that they are unlikely to go ahead, that's why we will book last minute if available.There are some interesting itineraries for 2022 but I don't want to book that far in advance at present. In the meantime I will be asking friends and relatives if they are a member of 'Possibilities' so that they can 'introduce me' to get a 10% discount!!

I'm more than happy if the price falls below the price I paid, as I get a credit for the difference !

[terrierjohn]

10 hours ago, wowzz said:

I'm more than happy if the price falls below the price I paid, as I get a credit for the difference !

Makes you wonder why they bother pushing the prices up, if they are going to honour that price promise, unless they rarely need to reduce prices.

[wowzz]

29 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Makes you wonder why they bother pushing the prices up, if they are going to honour that price promise, unless they rarely need to reduce prices.

I suppose that as availability reduces, prices will rise, and it may be that Saga decide it is better to sail at 90% capacity rather than do last minute deals that will spark refunds. 

By offering their price promise, there is no benefit, financially in not booking early, and it helps Saga's cash flow and forward price planning

 

[nosapphire]

The price promise is that (a) the lower price has to be the same grade of cabin, booked under exactly the same terms - so often while it looks as if the price has been reduced, it hasn't.

If the price promise does apply, then the credit can be in the form of a cabin upgrade or on-board credit - and these days, I would not be surprised for it to be in the form of a FCC instead.

They are also getting much cuter on their pricing strategy with various offers, making it much harder to see if the price promise should apply.

Having said that, I have never heard of anyone who booked early at the maximum 35% discount finding somebody on board in the same grade of cabin at a lower price - even the "run-of-ship" cabins will not be as cheap as the first to be sold.

It is indeed a clever move, as it encourages people to book very, very early and surely helps Saga both on cash flow and forward planning.

The problem nowadays is that not so many people are willing to book very early, not least as there is so much uncertainty about which lines are still going to be in business, and for the next 2 years at least, there seems to be a lot more competition for no-fly cruises from UK, so I suspect that many people who traditionally booked 18 months or more ahead will now be prepared to take the risk of no availability and/or increased prices and be waiting until  month or so before sailing date.

[majortom10]

P&O did a similar thing few years back but those that booked didnt read the very fine small print in T&Cs and the usual get out clause and ended up getting nothing and there was lots of disgruntled passengers and one of the reason why Carol Marlow departed P&O.

[Dermotsgirl]

If I recall correctly, the last information we had concerning Iona was that she would be delivered 'before autumn'.  Looks as if the date has slipped a bit, as it is decidedly autumn now 

[AnnieC]

9 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

If I recall correctly, the last information we had concerning Iona was that she would be delivered 'before autumn'.  Looks as if the date has slipped a bit, as it is decidedly autumn now 

Did it slip, or was it pushed?🤣

[ann141]

1 hour ago, nosapphire said:

The price promise is that (a) the lower price has to be the same grade of cabin, booked under exactly the same terms - so often while it looks as if the price has been reduced, it hasn't.

If the price promise does apply, then the credit can be in the form of a cabin upgrade or on-board credit - and these days, I would not be surprised for it to be in the form of a FCC instead.

They are also getting much cuter on their pricing strategy with various offers, making it much harder to see if the price promise should apply.

Having said that, I have never heard of anyone who booked early at the maximum 35% discount finding somebody on board in the same grade of cabin at a lower price - even the "run-of-ship" cabins will not be as cheap as the first to be sold.

It is indeed a clever move, as it encourages people to book very, very early and surely helps Saga both on cash flow and forward planning.

The problem nowadays is that not so many people are willing to book very early, not least as there is so much uncertainty about which lines are still going to be in business, and for the next 2 years at least, there seems to be a lot more competition for no-fly cruises from UK, so I suspect that many people who traditionally booked 18 months or more ahead will now be prepared to take the risk of no availability and/or increased prices and be waiting until  month or so before sailing date.

Thats what we intend to do before booking any future cruises.We feel we would sooner wait even if it means we pay more nearer the sailing date.However I think Saga work on a system of selling x number of cabins at 35% off and when they have sold  those they reduce the reduction to 20%  off and so on.If thats the case and people are reluctant to book early, it should be a while before the 35% off cabins are sold

Edited September 26, 2020 by ann141

[molecrochip]

2 hours ago, AnnieC said:

Did it slip, or was it pushed?🤣

It slipped. Further work was required which is being tested on current sea trials on way to/from Skagen anchorage.

 

She is purposefully at Skagen anchorage and then has to go somewhere else. As the song goes, it could be Rotterdam or anywhere.....

[zap99]

1 hour ago, molecrochip said:

 

 

She is purposefully at Skagen anchorage and then has to go somewhere else. As the song goes, it could be Rotterdam or anywhere.....

Is that a clue that she is coming to the beautiful south ?🤔.

[wowzz]

8 hours ago, ann141 said:

Thats what we intend to do before booking any future cruises.We feel we would sooner wait even if it means we pay more nearer the sailing date.However I think Saga work on a system of selling x number of cabins at 35% off and when they have sold  those they reduce the reduction to 20%  off and so on.If thats the case and people are reluctant to book early, it should be a while before the 35% off cabins are sold

That's entirely possible. In our case, we can afford a Saga cruise with 35 % discount,  but not at 20% discount, so we either book early, or not at all!

[Saab4444]

Somehow this has changed to a Saga prizing thread.... However, Iona is now on her way to Rotterdam.

Edited September 27, 2020 by Saab4444

[terrierjohn]

31 minutes ago, Saab4444 said:

Somehow this has changed to a Saga prizing thread.... However, Iona is now on her way to Rotterdam.

Moley, do we lnow why?

[molecrochip]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

Moley, do we lnow why?

Heading for the dry dock.