Not quite Live From SoD 12th - 26th September

[kentchris]

1 hour ago, Glenndale said:

Another bathroom related query, are there cotton wool balls and q-tips supplied?

There were none in our bathroom setup, just the toiletries. 

 

Thinking about more things provided which people on a short cruise wouldn’t need, the laundrette has three washers and three dryers, and non bio detergent tablets are provided. The washers have a useful 25 minute programme for clothes that don’t  need a serious wash. 

 

 

[kentchris]

33 minutes ago, kentchris said:

There were none in our bathroom setup, just the toiletries. 

Whoops, missed the shower cap which is easy enough when such things aren’t part of one’s life. There’s also the usual facial tissue dispenser plus another dispenser on the dressing table.

[kentchris]

At last the clocks go back to CET tonight so we get an extra hour in bed. Tomorrow promises to be a restful day in Kalundborg for anyone not taking an excursion: there’s a concert at midday in the parish church which is free for us to attend, and the town museum is free for us to visit on production of our boarding cards. It would be rude to turn down such a welcome. We’re promised an equally warm welcome in Aalborg on Tuesday where we unusually dock right in the town centre: a rally laid on by the local vintage car club, a stand offering us free hot dogs all day, and a local marching band to bid us farewell. 

 

Tomorrow’s ‘Today’ goes as follows:

[kentchris]

Oh, and we had what may turn out to be our last alternative restaurant meal, in the Club. We checked with East to West this afternoon and they’re fully booked for the last three evenings, and didn’t get around to checking with Coast to Coast. Seven visits in a fortnight, with only three actually booked, isn’t bad. If we’d put in a bit more effort in chasing cancellations and tables becoming available after 8pm we could have had a few more visits, but then might not have experienced the main restaurants and would have had a skewed impression of the available dining options.  

[silversurf1]

Lovely ship, food and staff.

But one big fail; the seemingly water stained, blue carpets by the lifts.

Did anyone else notice this? I haven’t seen it mentioned.

[kentchris]

We wondered about the carpets too, and could only think that because it’s so consistent that it’s part of the design.

 

Now arriving in Kalundborg where the ship’s weather forecast insists it’s going to reach 28C (at the beginning of the cruise it was going to be 32C). The Met Office suggests a max of 16C. Something else for the snag list on the final questionnaire. 

Edited September 23, 2019 by kentchris

[kentchris]

Today’s call at Kalundborg was the penultimate of the cruise. It’s quite an industrial port, including Denmark’s largest coal fired

power station, but the town itself has a charming historic centre and the area has a very long history: the museum (free to cruise ship pax) contains the oldest dated pine tree remnant in Denmark at over 8000 years old. The church is the only five towered church in Europe, and we were treated to a free recital from the organist on the organ and carillon which was very well attended by passengers as well as a few locals, and a fair number of bank notes went into the collecting box. The locals seemed genuinely pleased that we’d visited, and our visit ended with a performance from a local young peoples’ marching band who braved a chilly wind for over half an hour until we were under way. Quite a contrast to the imperial splendour of tsarist Russia, and refreshingly so. 

 

 

 

[IbizaLover]

When the marching band played Auld Lang Syne, it was lovely, especially as many people on the ship joined in and sang. 

[kentchris]

Final formal night tonight, following our call to Aalborg where we were warmly welcomed: a hot dog stand next to the tourist info within the secure zone offered free hot dogs (because Aalborg consider theirs are the best) from 10am until the gangway was lifted. All the ship’s company seemed to manage two hot dogs each, and passengers also did their bit to try to empty the stand - the queue only ended at all-aboard after which the dock workers took over. We were also treated to a local young people’s marching band who gave us a great sendoff. 

 

Having decided we liked the vibe in The Grill more than the GDR we had dinner on the self service side (the other side was full waiter service). It was a good choice, The Grill seems more relaxed than the GDR and there’s more chance to chat to the waiters as they’re under less pressure than downstairs.

 

[Ergates The Ant]

Thanks for posting the formal night menu, Kentchris.

It sounds as if the Grill partly operates as self service, but you also mentioned a full waiter service area. How does this work? There was very little on the menu I would eat, so I’d be opting for the simple favourites and /or the vegetarian option, hopefully embellished with some of the salads. Can you serve yourself to get the selection and quantities to your own preference?

 

[Mrs Miggins]

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.

 

 

[Glenndale]

Kentchris another bathroom related query, do Saga supply bathroom slippers or do I need to pack my own?

[sweep]

1 hour ago, Glenndale said:

Kentchris another bathroom related query, do Saga supply bathroom slippers or do I need to pack my own?

They supply slippers and bathrobes

[Glenndale]

19 minutes ago, sweep said:

They supply slippers and bathrobes

Thanks 👍

I'm just finalising my packing.

Edited September 25, 2019 by Glenndale

[hermioneb]

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. 

[Mrs Miggins]

13 minutes ago, hermioneb said:

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

Indeed there was but I would not choose this option since it had duck foie gras.  I expect if a plain sirloin had been requested then that would have been supplied.  However my main point remains that I feel the menu is limited compared with the other cruise lines I use.  

[Glenndale]

I don't think it would be a problem telling the waiter that you just wanted the fillet steak without the duck foie gras.

They are always happy to help.

 

[kentchris]

14 minutes ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Indeed there was but I would not choose this option since it had duck foie gras.  I expect if a plain sirloin had been requested then that would have been supplied.  However my main point remains that I feel the menu is limited compared with the other cruise lines I use.  

In The Grill the steak and foie gras were in separate serving dishes, and it could have been requested without in the GDR as suggested: modifications are easy enough to negotiate especially if they’re simple deletions.  

 

In answer to another question, one side of The Grill is self service and the other is waiter service on formal nights, the head waiter at each entrance will tell which side you’re on in case you want the other. We sat on the self service side and our waiter was very keen to serve us if we wanted, although apart from allowing him to serve us the sorbet and an extra glass of port we looked after ourselves.

 

On the penultimate evening there’s no soliciting tips of course, but a lot of concern that you’ll give their restaurant a good write up. Frustratingly there isn’t enough space on the questionnaire to provide that level of detail as there are no ticky boxes for that sort of thing and not a huge amount of space to write in comments. There’s also no formal method for commending individuals (some lines we’ve been on have forms): we wanted to draw attention to the guy who vacuums the stair carpets and wipes down the hard surfaces seemingly constantly. We were advised to write a note to the Guest Services director who would make sure it was seen by the housekeeping manager and Jonas himself. 

[kentchris]

15 hours ago, Ergates The Ant said:

Thanks for posting the formal night menu, Kentchris.

It sounds as if the Grill partly operates as self service, but you also mentioned a full waiter service area. How does this work? There was very little on the menu I would eat, so I’d be opting for the simple favourites and /or the vegetarian option, hopefully embellished with some of the salads. Can you serve yourself to get the selection and quantities to your own preference?

 

In The Grill there’s a good selection of salads at dinner as well as at lunchtime, and you can help yourself to whatever you want from the buffet. There have been no reports so far from vegetarians, so although I assume a vegetarian menu is available on request as on Sapphire there hasn’t yet been any confirmation of that, nor word of whether it’s available in The Grill as well as the GDR.

[lincslady]

I think a vegetarian thinking of trying SOD would be well advised to phone Saga - you might need to try to get hold of someone who really knows - to ask about the possibilities.  As I have said before, on Sapphire  there was an extensive - pages long - list of veggie foods, and these were certainly available at dinner in the dining room.  As they were ordered in advance it may be that they are only available at dinner and in the dining room, I don't know.   There are, to my mind, as many veggie choices on the regular menu as on other cruise lines, but if the special menus are available they did look really interesting.

[kentchris]

Just now, lincslady said:

I think a vegetarian thinking of trying SOD would be well advised to phone Saga - you might need to try to get hold of someone who really knows - to ask about the possibilities.

Agreed, until there’s some body of

knowledge here from people who’ve been there and done it the only option is to give plenty of advance warning and then check with guest services at the first opportunity once on board. 

[Glenndale]

Is there a notepad and a pen/pencil in the cabin?

[kentchris]

No notepad but there’s some writing paper and a couple of envelopes, plus a pen. 

[kentchris]

Quite a busy evening as the final cocktail party was tonight rather than as part of last night’s formal evening. The formal nights have been a bit strange because of the number of port calls and two overnights which have meant two formals on port days,  but everyone seemed happy enough to drink champagne in smart casual clothes tonight. 

 

Now time to set watches etc

back an hour which will compensate slightly for having to get up early for breakfast and for leaving our cabins. Then a bit of a wait to depart due to the large number of high tier Britannia Club members who disembark first. 

 

Edited September 25, 2019 by kentchris

[cinnamon]

I think we must have been lucky. Our shared transport was with a couple who were dedicated Saganauts. I guess our departure time of 8.50 am was due to their status. They live only about 2.5 miles from us.