Who has decided to take a summer staycation cruise?

[majortom10]

2 minutes ago, ann141 said:

A few of us on this board are sailing in October with Princess priced now at 14 nights balcony cabin all inclusive at £1899 which I think is a good deal.Some of us got it quite a lot cheaper, particularly if you didn t include the drinks package

Yes I saw that cruise when it was first advertised at £999pp without Princess Plus and would have booked it but we have a cruise on Queen Victoria we have had booked for 18 months at the beginning of November.

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, majortom10 said:

I will stick with my Princess at £125pppn for a balcony with unlimited wi-fi, gratuities and drinks package.

 

Yes, we have the same deal. In fact, our deluxe balcony cabin came in at slightly less than that, but we did book immediately the cruise came on sale.

RCI and NCL offer some seemingly attractive prices, but for those  of us that like the odd beer or two, the outrageous bar prices make them unattractive. 

Suddenly Saga becomes attractive - no overnight hotel stays, no car parking,  and no bar bills, plus there are only a thousand pax on board .   

 

[ann141]

7 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Yes I saw that cruise when it was first advertised at £999pp without Princess Plus and would have booked it but we have a cruise on Queen Victoria we have had booked for 18 months at the beginning of November.

We paid the £999 so a bargain!

[ann141]

8 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Yes, we have the same deal. In fact, our deluxe balcony cabin came in at slightly less than that, but we did book immediately the cruise came on sale.

RCI and NCL offer some seemingly attractive prices, but for those  of us that like the odd beer or two, the outrageous bar prices make them unattractive. 

Suddenly Saga becomes attractive - no overnight hotel stays, no car parking,  and no bar bills, plus there are only a thousand pax on board .   

 

We are interested in some of the Saga cruises but the ones we want are very expensive.One in particular to ports on the Black Sea in May 2022 is over £9000 for about 30 nights!!We may end up booking the January 2022 cruise to The Canaries but the price keeps increasing.However the amount we saved by not cruising last year and earlier this year means we may bite the bullet and book

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, ann141 said:

We are interested in some of the Saga cruises but the ones we want are very expensive.One in particular to ports on the Black Sea in May 2022 is over £9000 for about 30 nights!!We may end up booking the January 2022 cruise to The Canaries but the price keeps increasing.However the amount we saved by not cruising last year and earlier this year means we may bite the bullet and book

We have a Baltic cruise booked with Saga for September 2022, at, I think, a reasonable price. 

You do need to book at launch, to make sure you get the maximum 35% discount. The longer you wait, the more expensive the cruise.

We are planning a Med cruise with Saga for summer 2023, and will pre-register to get the best price.

[wowzz]

11 minutes ago, ann141 said:

We paid the £999 so a bargain!

But nearer £1200 when you add on the autotips !

[Host Sharon]

10 hours ago, ann141 said:

We are interested in some of the Saga cruises but the ones we want are very expensive.One in particular to ports on the Black Sea in May 2022 is over £9000 for about 30 nights!!We may end up booking the January 2022 cruise to The Canaries but the price keeps increasing.However the amount we saved by not cruising last year and earlier this year means we may bite the bullet and book

I and a friend have booked that. The key with Saga is to buy a fully-refundable pre-registration. That way you get the maximum discount. We didn't pay anything like £9000. DOn't forget to  factor in all the included extras that most line change extra for - WiFi, drinks, tips, transport, shuttles, tours, etc.

[BrianI]

51 minutes ago, Host Sharon said:

I and a friend have booked that. The key with Saga is to buy a fully-refundable pre-registration. That way you get the maximum discount .

How do you do that exactly? Do you have to do this before the cruises go on general sale?

Brian

[wowzz]

5 minutes ago, BrianI said:

How do you do that exactly? Do you have to do this before the cruises go on general sale?

Brian

In a word, yes. By pre-registering you are guaranteed that you will be able to purchase your cruise with the full 35% discount, before the cruises go on general sale.

[nosapphire]

47 minutes ago, BrianI said:

How do you do that exactly? Do you have to do this before the cruises go on general sale?

Brian

Phone them. £90 per person, will be taken off the deposit if you book, fully refundable if you do not book or change your mind (and Saga are usually very quick on refunds). Possible to pre-register even 2 years ahead.

 

41 minutes ago, wowzz said:

In a word, yes. By pre-registering you are guaranteed that you will be able to purchase your cruise with the full 35% discount, before the cruises go on general sale.

Not quite - you are guaranteed to get the chance to book before they go on general sale, but there is no guarantee about how much the discount will be.

If a lot of people pre-registered before you did, and want the same cruise, it is not unusual to find that the discount has dropped substantially by the time you are contacted. 

[wowzz]

15 minutes ago, nosapphire said:

Not quite - you are guaranteed to get the chance to book before they go on general sale, but there is no guarantee about how much the discount will be.

If a lot of people pre-registered before you did, and want the same cruise, it is not unusual to find that the discount has dropped substantially by the time you are contacted. 

Thanks - I didn't realise that. 

[majortom10]

12 hours ago, wowzz said:

But nearer £1200 when you add on the autotips !

For a balcony or less the gratuities are $14-50pppn so for 2 for a 14 nt cruise it makes it approx £300 and of course if you are in a mini suite or suite the gratuities are even higher. That is why the Princess Plus is such good value because you dont have to be a big alcohol drinker to get value for money.

[ann141]

5 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

I and a friend have booked that. The key with Saga is to buy a fully-refundable pre-registration. That way you get the maximum discount. We didn't pay anything like £9000. DOn't forget to  factor in all the included extras that most line change extra for - WiFi, drinks, tips, transport, shuttles, tours, etc.

Thank you.Do you have to have cruised with Saga previously to buy the pre registration? We want to try Saga but the deposit of 15% is putting us off and I don't want to book anything too soon for the beginning of next year in case Covid restrictions are still around.I don't mind having to book Princess excursions or only be able to eat with my hubby on our October cruise (I eat with him most days of the year!)but wouldn't want to do that on a longer or more expensive cruise.Add to that the fact I have had a few health problems in the past year, the fact my mother is terminally ill and I have a habit of changing my mind (We have changed our Seacation twice already!)so not keen on handing over a large sum. I have subscribed to Saga magazine so that I can get Saga Benefits and there seems to be a cruise offer each month.Also hoping that I can find/persuade someone to recommend me to get a further 10% off a cruise and I am sure we will end up booking a Saga cruise at some point. However the pre registration deposit sounds appealing and if it is available to people who haven't cruised with Saga previously we may take that option. 

[wowzz]

31 minutes ago, ann141 said:

Do you have to have cruised with Saga previously to buy the pre registration?

Not as far as I am aware.

[nosapphire]

20 minutes ago, ann141 said:

Thank you.Do you have to have cruised with Saga previously to buy the pre registration? We want to try Saga but the deposit of 15% is putting us off and I don't want to book anything too soon for the beginning of next year in case Covid restrictions are still around.I don't mind having to book Princess excursions or only be able to eat with my hubby on our October cruise (I eat with him most days of the year!)but wouldn't want to do that on a longer or more expensive cruise.Add to that the fact I have had a few health problems in the past year, the fact my mother is terminally ill and I have a habit of changing my mind (We have changed our Seacation twice already!)so not keen on handing over a large sum. I have subscribed to Saga magazine so that I can get Saga Benefits and there seems to be a cruise offer each month.Also hoping that I can find/persuade someone to recommend me to get a further 10% off a cruise and I am sure we will end up booking a Saga cruise at some point. However the pre registration deposit sounds appealing and if it is available to people who haven't cruised with Saga previously we may take that option. 

As far as I am aware, you can make the advance registration regardless of whether you have cruised with Saga or not.

That is one of the nicest things about Saga - Britannia Club members get perks with membership, but things such as bookings, excursions, speciality restaurant reservations etc. are equal to all - there is no priority list or "pecking order",  everybody is given equal importance.

Pre-reg is £90 per person, comes off the deposit if you book, or is fully refundable if you do not book. It guarantees that you get the option to book before the brochures go out to the general public, you will be called by Saga in order of advance registration, so if a lot of people made a registration before you did and they pick the cruise you are interested in, the discount may be less that the full 35%.

The deposit (if you do book) is 15% capped at a maximum of £1,000 per person,  I really recommend that if you book you take out the included insurance, as that gives extra cancellation rights prior to the cruise. If you have your own insurance, you can still take theirs and then cancel theirs before sailing with a refund of the insurance cost - obviously, provided you have not made a cancellation claim.

If you simply change your mind, Saga are usually flexible about rolling the deposit over to another cruise.

I also think that Saga are still doing the "love it first time" arrangement, if you have never cruised on a Saga ship before and you dislike the Saga cruise, then they'll fly you home (their expense) and refund the cost of the cruise - there are terms and conditions, think you have to make a decision within the first 48 hours, you can check this on their online brochure.

[terrierjohn]

16 minutes ago, nosapphire said:

As far as I am aware, you can make the advance registration regardless of whether you have cruised with Saga or not.

That is one of the nicest things about Saga - Britannia Club members get perks with membership, but things such as bookings, excursions, speciality restaurant reservations etc. are equal to all - there is no priority list or "pecking order",  everybody is given equal importance.

Pre-reg is £90 per person, comes off the deposit if you book, or is fully refundable if you do not book. It guarantees that you get the option to book before the brochures go out to the general public, you will be called by Saga in order of advance registration, so if a lot of people made a registration before you did and they pick the cruise you are interested in, the discount may be less that the full 35%.

The deposit (if you do book) is 15% capped at a maximum of £1,000 per person,  I really recommend that if you book you take out the included insurance, as that gives extra cancellation rights prior to the cruise. If you have your own insurance, you can still take theirs and then cancel theirs before sailing with a refund of the insurance cost - obviously, provided you have not made a cancellation claim.

If you simply change your mind, Saga are usually flexible about rolling the deposit over to another cruise.

I also think that Saga are still doing the "love it first time" arrangement, if you have never cruised on a Saga ship before and you dislike the Saga cruise, then they'll fly you home (their expense) and refund the cost of the cruise - there are terms and conditions, think you have to make a decision within the first 48 hours, you can check this on their online brochure.

How soon can you pre register to get on their pre registration list?

 

Edited May 4, 2021 by terrierjohn

[Eddie99]

... and how, exactly, do you do it, please?

Is there a link?  Do you phone?

TIA

[ann141]

1 hour ago, nosapphire said:

As far as I am aware, you can make the advance registration regardless of whether you have cruised with Saga or not.

That is one of the nicest things about Saga - Britannia Club members get perks with membership, but things such as bookings, excursions, speciality restaurant reservations etc. are equal to all - there is no priority list or "pecking order",  everybody is given equal importance.

Pre-reg is £90 per person, comes off the deposit if you book, or is fully refundable if you do not book. It guarantees that you get the option to book before the brochures go out to the general public, you will be called by Saga in order of advance registration, so if a lot of people made a registration before you did and they pick the cruise you are interested in, the discount may be less that the full 35%.

The deposit (if you do book) is 15% capped at a maximum of £1,000 per person,  I really recommend that if you book you take out the included insurance, as that gives extra cancellation rights prior to the cruise. If you have your own insurance, you can still take theirs and then cancel theirs before sailing with a refund of the insurance cost - obviously, provided you have not made a cancellation claim.

If you simply change your mind, Saga are usually flexible about rolling the deposit over to another cruise.

I also think that Saga are still doing the "love it first time" arrangement, if you have never cruised on a Saga ship before and you dislike the Saga cruise, then they'll fly you home (their expense) and refund the cost of the cruise - there are terms and conditions, think you have to make a decision within the first 48 hours, you can check this on their online brochure.

Thank you 🙂 

[seapals2]

On 5/2/2021 at 2:16 PM, davemorton said:

Im not quite sure where you are getting the cost of £25 for a lateral flow test, but that seems to be wildly inflated.  I can buy a box of them for £7 each, so imagine the discount I could get if buying millions of them. 

Our local pharmacy offered us a couple of boxes when I called in to collect prescription.  FREE 

[MX-Drew]

10 hours ago, seapals2 said:

Our local pharmacy offered us a couple of boxes when I called in to collect prescription.  FREE 

You can order them for delivery to you free on the government website.

[Angel57]

19 minutes ago, MX-Drew said:

You can order them for delivery to you free on the government website.

I ordered them for free online (very easy) and they came via Royal Mail the next day. 

[Windsurfboy]

5 hours ago, MX-Drew said:

You can order them for delivery to you free on the government website.

 

What website address

[MX-Drew]

3 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

What website address

https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests

[majortom10]

UK Governments  own website, address is easy enough to find.

 

[Windsurfboy]

Thank you MX-drew, 

 

yes I was being Lazy,  Majortom,  were all allowed to be lazy sometimes