Onboard Bookings?

[Tigrou]

Does anyone know if Saga have a facility onboard to make future cruise bookings and, if so, what incentives are offered?

 

[Glenndale]

We haven’t booked on board but there was a future sales consultant on board Sapphire in February. 

Sorry, but no idea if they offer any extra incentives, maybe someone else can help.

[Glenndale]

I had a chat session this morning with a Saga rep.

There don’t seem to be any advantages by booking on board.

Any price advantage is gained by booking early according to the rep.

[Tigrou]

Thank you Glenndale, much appreciated.

 

It's a shame they don't offer any incentives to book on board as other lines do but at least I know.  I've seen a couple of other Saga cruises I'm interested in but don't want to commit until I've experienced my first one.  Having mostly sailed with Disney Cruise Line, I'm used to their policy of a refundable deposit but unfortunately they're one of very few who do it.

 

[cinnamon]

Ri think it’s disappointing there’s no benefit to Booking onboard. We too want try Saga first before committing to another bit what’s the point if having a crew member for future sales if there’s no perk other than available on land. 

However, we do like to Fly/cruise still to the Med. The long haul to get there and back makes it so much more expensive and I gather  Saga are determined to stick with UK only departures. 

 

As to refundable deposits, I didn’t think that U.K. law allowed it. 

[Glenndale]

I was a little disappointed to get that response, however I have known shoreside operations with other lines to give out unreliable information.

The only way to get the definitive answer is to ask onboard.

 

With regards to refundable deposits, I don’t believe there is anything in UK law prohibiting the return of deposits. 

[Tigrou]

I can't see how or why UK law would prohibit refundable deposits.  I suspect it is entirely down to the cruise line and what they can get away with in each market.  

 

I can book direct with Disney Cruise Line in the UK, in sterling, and it is a refundable deposit just the same as if I booked in the US and paid in dollars.  With Celebrity, however, a UK booking incurs a non-refundable deposit whereas in the States it is refundable.  But I can book Celebrity through a US travel agent and get a refundable deposit, and often a better deal. 

 

In the US, Celebrity have recently started to offer the option of a lower fare, without any included 'perks', in exchange for a non-refundable deposit.  It will be interesting to see how this goes, whether other lines follow suit, or if it isn't accepted by the US market.  The Americans are used to being able to swap and change without penalty up until final payment date, and generally don't realise it isn't the same in other countries.

 

[lincslady]

I have been told that it is easier to reserve a cabin in a part of the ship that you want if you book on board than by phoning Saga or using the website, but do not know for sure.  

 

On our recent cruise on Sapphire all on board got a flyer from the Cruise Consultant offering 25% off whatever the current lowest  price was for two cruises which were obviously not selling well - Iceland in July and Norway in August/September.  You had to book and pay a deposit while on board.  That is obviously an excellent reduction.  I don't know how often this happens; have not seen it on previous cruises.  On checking after returning home, it meant at least £700 per person off.

 

This is one of the reasons why I do question Saga's pricing and availability policy,  which to me seems even more convoluted than other lines.

[Glenndale]

Saga Possibilities offer a 10% saving on a cruise if you introduce a newcomer to Saga cruises.

The newcomer also gets a 10% discount. 

Just a heads up.

[Tigrou]

The online booking and pricing seems quite straightforward to me, more so than on other cruise lines.  It shows you how many cabins in each category are available and the current discount percentage.  As I understand it, it starts at 35% of the 'brochure price' then decreases as cabins are booked within that category.   When you choose a category, it then shows you exactly which cabins within that category are available.

 

Admittedly, I wasn't able to book online as it wouldn't accept my discount code so I had to phone up.  Plus there was only one cabin left in the category I wanted so I had no difficulty choosing!

 

[lincslady]

Tigrou - can I just say that that was the only cabin available that you were told about!  I have found through experience that Saga do seem to try to get rid of the least desirable cabins first, when the cruise is only two or three months away.

 

Perhaps I am just being cynical, but keep an eye on things, and maybe chat to others when you are on board.  Or have a look at Cruise Agents who may be selling Saga.

[Tigrou]

18 minutes ago, lincslady said:

Tigrou - can I just say that that was the only cabin available that you were told about!  I have found through experience that Saga do seem to try to get rid of the least desirable cabins first, when the cruise is only two or three months away.

 

Perhaps I am just being cynical, but keep an eye on things, and maybe chat to others when you are on board.  Or have a look at Cruise Agents who may be selling Saga.

 

Maybe so, but there are only 4 in the category, and 2 of them I wouldn't have wanted the location.  The other 2 are one above the other and, not having been on the ship to make an informed decision, it didn't really matter to me which I got.  I've often checked back out of curiosity and I've never seen that category show as available since I booked, so it does seem as if I genuinely got the last one.

 

I always research cabin locations and generally draw up a shortlist so I know which to ask for if I have to book by phone - although I much prefer to book online.  I haven't yet found an agent who does online booking for Saga, they always say phone for a quote.  Booking direct with Saga I qualify for a discount and I don't know if that would be honoured through an agent.

 

Perhaps it's something Saga have done previously but with Discovery the availability online looks to be straightforward.  For example, a cruise I'm considering next Spring shows 47 standard singles and 26 superior singles as available.  Which seems reasonable given that there are 70 and 34 in total respectively.  It tallies with the discount having dropped to 25%, and it doesn't give the impression that they're hiding cabins from me.

 

 

[lincslady]

Glad to hear that, Tigrou.  I think the main problem has been that Saga, on the old ships anyway, sell quite a lot of cabins on a 'guarantee' basis,  and for some reason this has certainly caused problems for those of us trying to book a specific cabin.

 

I wonder if this is not going to happen with the two new ships, and certainly hope so.