Cruise Critic review of Spirit of Discovery

[brimary]

Will try and remember to compile and post a brief review.

[brimary]

19 hours ago, lincslady said:

brimary - I see from your posting history that you have done some Silversea cruises.  We did, a few, but some years ago, and then found we much preferred Seabourn.

 

I think this is your first Saga cruise; it will be interesting to read what you think about the experience, and how much  you enjoy it as compared with Silversea.  I tend to keep a sort of diary on board, and can then refer to it later to do reviews -  I don't feel anyone should have to report from on board, unless they want to.

Lincslady.....Thanks agree with your comments and will report after the cruise having compiled appropriate notes during the cruise.Sadly our cruising history has been all with Silversea for past 20+ years having followed a friends recommendation to try our first cruise in 1998.We were smitten by our first experience and I am looking forward to comparing a new luxury ship with our favourite Silver Wind but slightly concerned at 999 passengers on Saga as opposed to 290 on the Wind but we shall approach with eager anticipation and an open mind.

[Cruzcritik]

11 hours ago, kentchris said:

Have you actually experienced this or are you reporting someone else's experience? We were on board for two weeks last month and dined in the grill on the final formal night of the cruise, on the self service side, and didn't spot anyone in smart casual. Obviously with a new ship there are ongoing snagging issues with the hardware and adjustments being made to the way the human side of the operation is managed,  but relaxation of the dress code wasn't in evidence then.

Yes we saw about half a dozen on the last cruise and asked about it, all were eating casual although many guests made the effort. Our cruise on Ocean Viking last year has no formals and was far more relaxed, I wonder if people are trying Saga out after Ocean Viking and prefer the casual side of things. Either-way it did not take away from a great evening.

Edited October 24, 2019 by Cruzcritik

[lincslady]

brimary - you are I are stuck with this beige/camel colour for our 'labels' on here.  I hate it,  I don't know about you, but wish they could find a shade of blue or green instead.

 

(Pathetic or what?)

[brimary]

20 hours ago, lincslady said:

brimary - you are I are stuck with this beige/camel colour for our 'labels' on here.  I hate it,  I don't know about you, but wish they could find a shade of blue or green instead.

 

(Pathetic or what?)

Lincslady....I am obviously not as observant as you but now you have mentioned it I hate it too.Any ideas as to how we obtain one of the brighter colours we deserve?Anyway if our first cruise on Saga in ten days time lives up to high expectations I shall live with the beige/camel !! Are we the same colour on Silversea board ?

[Glenndale]

Ladies, choose a colourful avatar and you can be whatever you want.😀

 

[lincslady]

Thanks, Glenndale - if you can tell us how to do it, I can then shut up and return to the original topic!

 

And yes, brimary,  it is your own special initial on any forum.  I originally had a nicer colour, and then it suddenly changed, I  know what why.l

[Glenndale]

2 hours ago, lincslady said:

Thanks, Glenndale - if you can tell us how to do it, I can then shut up and return to the original topic!

 

Choose your profile, on the left hand side there is a camera icon.
Hover over it and 'Upload a Photo' will show.
Click on this and select your photo from images on your PC following the rules for size - can't remember offhand what it is.
Select uploaded photo as profile picture. Think that's about it.

[lincslady]

Thanks - I am hopeless with photos on the computer; maybe my DH can help later.  And hope brimary can organise one.

[brimary]

Too technical for me..stuck with the camel.Never mind boarding the Spirit of Discovery 

in 7 Days.

[lincslady]

Never mind the camel,  brimary - let's just not get the hump.

 

Looking forward to a report on your upcoming cruise.  😊

 

 

[lincslady]

The subject of getting to the ship cropped up on another board -  the fact that you might have to go well out of your way to pick others up, etc.  If we lived within say, an hour's drive of the port, I think we would take the car and park for free.  Leave home when you feel you need to, and arrive about 12.30 or so, to board fairly early and not arrive sometimes at 2.30, with no time for a sandwich etc. before boat drill.  Also, disembark at your leisure and not have to wait until possibly 11.  Although a car to yourselves if living within 75 miles makes a difference.  As we live some 180 or more miles away the included transfer works for us fairly well, and better than alternatives.  We have never had a problem driver, or problem fellow passengers so far - maybe we have been lucky.

[Wingco39]

On 10/28/2019 at 4:35 PM, brimary said:

Too technical for me..stuck with the camel.Never mind boarding the Spirit of Discovery 

in 7 Days.

It’s no problem folks it’s easy to do, just ask any 5 year old 😂

[lincslady]

I  think one or two people have been on SOD recently - any chance of a review, please?😊

[brimary]

On 11/15/2019 at 7:12 PM, lincslady said:

I  think one or two people have been on SOD recently - any chance of a review, please?😊

Very brief review of recent Canaries cruise comparing 22 years with Silversea with our first cruise with Saga on the SOD.

Ships....no comparison,prefer the Silver Wind 290 passengers to SOD 999 passengers.

crew..Excellent on both but SS know you SOD do not. Size of ship not conducive to personal relationships on Saga.

food....Excellent on both but more variety,choice and options on Saga.

entertainment.....average on both lines.

daily programme.....more variety on Saga 

Pool deck area.....prefer the SS ships as the Pool deck is well managed.Nobody around on Saga means you obtain your sun bed and carry it to wherever.Other Pool Services on Saga hard to come by..eg a bottle of water.

embarkation .......perfect on SS.Shambles on Saga..sat in a room full of people for two hours awaiting your number being called.On SS email to them a week before to arrange embark time from 10.30.onwards results in perfect embarkation with no queue or eating involved.

excursions....SS half fill coaches Saga fill coaches up with obvious consequences.

Overall enjoyed Saga but prefer SS smaller ships which offer a much more personal and vastly superior service and will be our line of choice for the future .

 

 

[lincslady]

Thanks, brimary.  I have to agree about number of passengers -  we have been used to 450 on Seabourn, and 700 on Sapphire seemed like a big jump.  I think they have been having problems on turnover days, she seems to have sometimes arrived late and therefore left  late; hopefully that will be sorted out.  We have been lucky, in getting on board very soon after arriving at the port on Pearl and Sapphire.

 

We used to cruise with Silversea, but preferred the overall ambience of Seabourn, and indeed of Saga.  Glad to hear the food was good,  I thought it would be.

 

I wonder if you were happy with the transfer from home to the port?  I do feel that although cruising  from the UK means more time at sea, that is more than compensated for by not having to get to an airport and fly.  (I do know that Silversea does some cruises from Tower Bridge).

[Glenndale]

3 hours ago, brimary said:

......

embarkation .......perfect on SS.Shambles on Saga..sat in a room full of people for two hours awaiting your number being called.On SS email to them a week before to arrange embark time from 10.30.onwards results in perfect embarkation with no queue or eating involved.

 

 

 

Sitting around for 2 hours to embark is no joke, we had to wait around 30 minutes ourselves.

Waiting to disembark for 3 hours is also unacceptable.

As I said in another post Saga are still in 'small ship mentality' they really need to sort this out.

[Mrs Miggins]

Think the price point is also different.  Saga was certainly cheaper on our 7 day Norway cruise than our usual Viking or Azamara per day cost.  Never been on Seabourn or Silversea but my impression is that they are even more expensive.

Our Saga cruise was good value but will not be rushing back just yet - they need to sort several things out first.  

[Wingco39]

Embarkation is a hit and a miss with SAGA. We’ve just embarked on SOD (5 December) but to be fair it was no problem, but we did arrive early about 1pm having stayed overnight in Southampton. It did strike me that the big hall/waiting room was akin to an airport waiting lounge and followed the same methods ie when your ticket number is called you rush forward for the walk to the ship. Now if I had paid what this cruise cost for an airline ticket I would have been considerably better off waiting at the airport in a special first class lounge with provided drinks and snacks and a short walk to the aircraft!! At Southampton once your number is called eg “everyone with a 5 on their boarding please come this way”. There then follows an unnecessary long walk up a long covered ramp and then down another long covered ramp which doubles back on the first one to reach the short passage onto the ship. Now I know that SAGA will respond explaining that this ramp arrangement can be adjusted for different tides and ships but for SOD the entrance was virtually at dock height and a short single ramp was really all that was required - it was a long walk for passengers with walking difficulties and older people. I’m sure with a bit of wit SAGA could come up with a better answer and get round the port authority ramp. When we arrived early most of the staff were unsure what they were supposed to be doing and there was a general ambiance of disorganisation which took a while to organise. It looked like passengers with gold or sapphire grades loyalty were actually given the same seating in the shed but with a bit of amber rope round to define their area and as many helpers as they needed to carry their belongings when they were ready to board. Passengers who had requested Special Assistance had reserved seating and were boarded as a pusher became available to manoeuvre their pushchairs up the two long ramps. Now I know this boarding regime is bound up with security issues as the first thing you have to do is have your photographs taken and a keycard has to be issued with an ID number that matches your photo. When you come aboard from one of your excursions you hand over your card and the security staff immediately get your picture on their screens to check its really you!!  But, more photo check ins were required and would it not be possible to have two boarding doors on board so that people could board as soon as their ID card was issued and their photo taken. Maybe need to network the on board Security and booking hall systems so that passengers boarding could be immediately identified by their photo. 
So, embarkation could be streamlined to negate two hour waits but someone in SAGA needs to get a grip of the problem to change the waiting shed introduction to what is described as a Boutique 🚢 Cruise !!

 

[brimary]

Lincslady....sorry forgot to mention transfer from home to port.A major positive on outward journey from home to Southampton.Different story on return journey.We were with a couple from Pontefract ,eight miles from us in Wakefield.We passed our Junction to leave the M1 which is one mile from home and arrived home 1 hour 32 minutes later. .So a chalk and cheese experience to what should be a big plus service for Saga.Also forgot to mention Suite comparison.

SS much larger but we travel Vista with no balcony.On Saga the suite was small but adequate but all suites had a balcony.

[lincslady]

Yes, there are downsides to the door to door transport, as well.  The obvious one being that as most passengers avail themselves of the door to door transport, particularly on the homeward journey there is a logistical problem with getting the vehicles and drivers parked up at the port, which will not take many at a time.  Meaning some have to wait until 11 a.m. or possibly later to disembark.  I have to say that the port building at Dover is much pleasanter than Southampton for waiting in.  i don't know if there is a simple answer to this, but hope Saga may be working on it.

 

Wingco - you are brave to embark on a long cruise as your first on Saga!  |f you have time on your sea days, it would be good to hear how you are enjoying it (or otherwise).   I find it takes me a while, even a whole cruise, on a new line to really get the best out of it.

[Wingco39]

Linkslady have cruised with SAGA a few times on Sapphire and enjoyed the product despite the hassle boarding. So this time on SOD? Well so far so good, a beautiful ship and helpful cheery staff. Food is excellent and we’ve been eating in the Grill buffet (huge choice and you see what your getting) same as the main dining room which is waiter service. The proper theatre is a huge asset and it doubles as a cinema later at night. So far have not been too impressed with the evening shows though. We’ve seen a juggler/comedian - boring! and some young ladies playing stringed instruments accompanied by a pianist giving us their renditions of popular songs with a classical twist- very screechy I thought and gave it my undivided attention for all of six minutes. We missed another show which was a dance show but again feedback from other passengers was very mixed. However, it’s early days and there are, I believe, some very good vocalists on board so we look forward to hearing them. There’s always music in the Britannia lounge and the usual afternoon tea, Ice cream and snacks in the Lido, so some of the Saga traditions have carried over thank goodness. I’ll write more later as my experience of the ship grows. 

[lincslady]

Good to read it is going well so far.  As a previous Saga passenger you will, like me, understand the little idiosyncrasies of Saga, some of which do need to be changed.  Hope you are not getting the early morning voice in the cabin on sea days!

 

I wonder if your Captain is Nick 'be wise sanitize' Sunderland?  It seems you will be having one or two good speakers on board, for the many sea days.  Have you tried the specialist restaurants for dinner?  Most who have seemed to approve.

 

Look forward to more comments in due course.  Very jealous of the warm weather you will be getting soon!  Wet and windy here, plus the dreaded voting day tomorrow.

 

 

[brimary]

On 12/7/2019 at 11:13 AM, lincslady said:

Thanks, brimary.  I have to agree about number of passengers -  we have been used 

We used to cruise with Silversea, but preferred the overall ambience of Seabourn

 

I wonder if you were happy with the transfer from home to the port?  I do feel that although cruising  from the UK means more time at sea, that is more than compensated for by not having to get to an airport and fly.  (I do know that Silversea does some cruises from Tower Bridge).

Looking at the 2020 and 2021 Silversea itineraries they have cutback the number of Tower Bridge voyages to below 5 next summer rather than the 10/20 alternatives that used to be offered.Do not understand because they were the most expensive per day cruises on Silversea and always full .Interested in your Seabourn comments,do they do any UK/UK cruises? May explore further if they do .

[lincslady]

Hi  brimary - Seabourn have in recent years just had one cruise a year ex UK - next year it is on Quest (450 passengers), ex Southampton with a lot of Irish and Scottish ports, and is I believe usually pretty full, even though very expensive per day - presumably those who might otherwise go with Saga!  It is 15 nights, for just over £5,000, and on top you would need your insurance and travel to and from port.  For that you get a guarantee verandah cabin (about 300 sq.  ft. plus balcony) and top quality drinks etc.  So even though we think Saga is pricey, Seabourn is even more so, though admittedly more luxurious.