Saga Taxi Transfers - Current Situation

[Kohima]

No, it seems to be potluck as to whether or not they contact you or just turn up. The drivers who are directly employed by Saga usually do. If you have any special requests, such as large amounts of luggage, it’s best to contact the Saga transport service directly.

[paulatsea]

16 minutes ago, Kohima said:

No, it seems to be potluck as to whether or not they contact you or just turn up. The drivers who are directly employed by Saga usually do. If you have any special requests, such as large amounts of luggage, it’s best to contact the Saga transport service directly.

Thanks Kohima  - a phone number was given on the final documents to use if the driver does not arrive - I assume that’s the transport service number ? 0800 988 5165 ?

 

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by paulatsea

[Lady Meer]

2 hours ago, paulatsea said:

Do the drivers always contact you before they arrive ?

sorry if this has already been mentioned.

 

 

In January our driver rang us the day before to arrange a time and give us his contact number but it seems this is not necessarily the norm.

[david05]

5 hours ago, Lady Meer said:

In January our driver rang us the day before to arrange a time and give us his contact number but it seems this is not necessarily the norm.

Definitely not the norm. We are now on Adventure and our driver did not contact us beforehand but arrived 1 hour 15 minutes early yesterday. Needless to say we were not ready! He was also at the wrong address as we discovered when we took the luggage outside (fortunately he was only a couple of roads out!).

[paulatsea]

3 minutes ago, david05 said:

Definitely not the norm. We are now on Adventure and our driver did not contact us beforehand but arrived 1 hour 15 minutes early yesterday. Needless to say we were not ready! He was also at the wrong address as we discovered when we took the luggage outside (fortunately he was only a couple of roads out!).

!! So he phoned you when he arrived ?

Did you ask if he had been tested ?

Assume they are still testing everyone in the car ?

Glad you made it onboard - I hope we do !

Edited August 29, 2022 by paulatsea

[david05]

4 minutes ago, paulatsea said:

!! So he phoned you when he arrived ?

Did you ask if he had been tested ?

Assume they are still testing everyone in the car ?

Glad you made it onboard - I hope we do !

Yes he phoned to say he had arrived. We did wonder if he had tried knocking on someone else's door with no result! We didn't ask if he had tested and he was tested along with us on arrival. We noticed at the port that quite a few seemed to have travelled in shared cars but no sign of any failing the lateral flow test.

Hope you do indeed make it on board Discovery. Good luck.

[paulatsea]

3 minutes ago, david05 said:

Yes he phoned to say he had arrived. We did wonder if he had tried knocking on someone else's door with no result! We didn't ask if he had tested and he was tested along with us on arrival. We noticed at the port that quite a few seemed to have travelled in shared cars but no sign of any failing the lateral flow test.

Hope you do indeed make it on board Discovery. Good luck.

Thanks David - 

[Kohima]

Yes, Paulatsea, the number you are given is the one to ring for any transport queries (rather than the general cruise number). Always call if you are likely to have oversized luggage, multiple cases, walking aids, wheelchairs etc so that a suitably sized vehicle can be allocated.

[paulatsea]

8 minutes ago, Kohima said:

Yes, Paulatsea, the number you are given is the one to ring for any transport queries (rather than the general cruise number). Always call if you are likely to have oversized luggage, multiple cases, walking aids, wheelchairs etc so that a suitably sized vehicle can be allocated.

Thanks — all set - waiting for the car . 
do you tip the driver ?

[Kohima]

Tipping is a matter of personal preference and service rendered. A personable, helpful driver may well appreciate a tip!

[JoJo1947]

On 8/29/2022 at 8:57 AM, paulatsea said:

Do the drivers always contact you before they arrive ?

sorry if this has already been mentioned.

 

 

Some do some don't as it's not their brief to do so. 

[Denarius]

5 hours ago, paulatsea said:

Thanks — all set - waiting for the car . 
do you tip the driver ?

Drivers do not receive tips from Saga. Many (but not all) passengers tip them. £10 or £20 seems to be the norm depending on length of journey

[twotravellersLondon]

30 minutes ago, Denarius said:

Drivers do not receive tips from Saga. Many (but not all) passengers tip them. £10 or £20 seems to be the norm depending on length of journey

 

We understood that drivers' gratuities were included in their fee paid to drivers by SAGA although like many others we have decided on a bit extra depending on the circumstances.  So it would be interesting to know where the information that, "Drivers do not receive tips from Saga." can be found. It could encourage us and others to be even more generous in the future!

Edited August 31, 2022 by twotravellersLondon

[Denarius]

20 minutes ago, twotravellersLondon said:

 

We understood that drivers' gratuities were included in their fee paid to drivers by SAGA although like many others we have decided on a bit extra depending on the circumstances.  So it would be interesting to know where the information that, "Drivers do not receive tips from Saga" can be found. It could encourage to be even more generous in the future!

I got it from a thread on this site. I have tried to find it without any sucess, so possibly I just read it without commenting. I had previously assumed that tips to drivers were included in the fare but it was pointed out that the Saga brochure said that it included only "All on-board gratuities and service charges" and this did not include tips to drivers.

[twotravellersLondon]

41 minutes ago, Denarius said:

I got it from a thread on this site. I have tried to find it without any sucess, so possibly I just read it without commenting. I had previously assumed that tips to drivers were included in the fare but it was pointed out that the Saga brochure said that it included only "All on-board gratuities and service charges" and this did not include tips to drivers.

 

Many thanks. We've recently given a little "thank-you" to two different drivers for SAGA and one seemed to be delighted while the other seemed to be a little embarrassed... so that left us a bit uncertain.

 

I've just checked the Aug 2022 - June 2023 SAGA No-Fly Boutique Cruise Brochure that arrived earlier this month and it states on page 2; "Your driver will ."load and unload your luggage... With gratuities included, you don't have to worry about tipping either."

 

Different people have different views on tips and so really it's a personal choice to give a little extra or not if it seems that the driver would be happy to receive it!

Edited August 31, 2022 by twotravellersLondon

[paulatsea]

I phoned the travel service number just to make sure it worked !

Confirmed the driver would be on time.
 

The driver arrived 20 mins early - phoned me first to check all ok.

Very nice driver- smart and polite and a lovely Mercedes.

 

Pretty much straight to testing - then check in - then onboard all within about 30 -40 mins.

Very efficient and well organised.

 

 

N.B The driver had not taken a test before picking us up - he said they were not required to do this anymore - which is not what saga told me.

 

Luckily we all tested negative.

 

I tipped him £10

 

All aboard now - lovely!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kohima]

Confusion obviously continues as to the rules but glad all turned out well. Enjoy your cruise.

 

[JoJo1947]

On 8/31/2022 at 4:45 PM, twotravellersLondon said:

 

We understood that drivers' gratuities were included in their fee paid to drivers by SAGA although like many others we have decided on a bit extra depending on the circumstances.  So it would be interesting to know where the information that, "Drivers do not receive tips from Saga." can be found. It could encourage us and others to be even more generous in the future!

They are not included and neither are tour guides,drivers. I asked!

[twotravellersLondon]

On 8/31/2022 at 4:44 PM, twotravellersLondon said:

Many thanks. We've recently given a little "thank-you" to two different drivers for SAGA and one seemed to be delighted while the other seemed to be a little embarrassed... so that left us a bit uncertain.

 

I've just checked the Aug 2022 - June 2023 SAGA No-Fly Boutique Cruise Brochure that arrived earlier this month and it states on page 2; "Your driver will ."load and unload your luggage... With gratuities included, you don't have to worry about tipping either."

 

Different people have different views on tips and so really it's a personal choice to give a little extra or not if it seems that the driver would be happy to receive it!

 

27 minutes ago, JoJo1947 said:

They are not included and neither are tour guides,drivers. I asked!

 

 

Not knowing if you also saw the above post, it would be interesting to know who you asked.

[nosapphire]

Saga cruise website is quite specific: "All on-board gratuities and service charges".

I have always taken that to mean gratuities are included ON the ship, not when travelling to or from the ship.

The Ocean cruise FAQ say:

Q: Do I need to pay tips for excursions?

A: We don't include them in the price....

 

I can remember some years back somebody kicking up a real stink in Morocco, we had stopped for an (included) tea break in a small place and the premises owner placed on each table a saucer, explaining "maybe something for the servers". Most of us each put in one or two Euros, but two people were furious, ranting on and on about how all tips were included and this was pure greed etc., etc." I think they even complained back on the ship.

(Even if tips WERE included, if you can afford the cruise then another Euro is not going to break you).

 

We have always assumed that ON the ship gratuities are included, OFF the ship it is up to you.

Unless the tour guide and/or driver was exceptionally bad we always tip - the good ones just get a better tip.

When we do use the included transport, we tip according to drive - frighten the wits out of us = no tip. Pleasant journey = better tip.

And we invariably give our cabin steward some extra at the end of the cruise, anyway (and if we have a fixed table, the waiter and assistant waiter too).

 

 

[JoJo1947]

13 hours ago, twotravellersLondon said:

 

 

 

Not knowing if you also saw the above post, it would be interesting to know who you asked.

Staff

[JoJo1947]

11 hours ago, nosapphire said:

Saga cruise website is quite specific: "All on-board gratuities and service charges".

I have always taken that to mean gratuities are included ON the ship, not when travelling to or from the ship.

The Ocean cruise FAQ say:

Q: Do I need to pay tips for excursions?

A: We don't include them in the price....

 

I can remember some years back somebody kicking up a real stink in Morocco, we had stopped for an (included) tea break in a small place and the premises owner placed on each table a saucer, explaining "maybe something for the servers". Most of us each put in one or two Euros, but two people were furious, ranting on and on about how all tips were included and this was pure greed etc., etc." I think they even complained back on the ship.

(Even if tips WERE included, if you can afford the cruise then another Euro is not going to break you).

 

We have always assumed that ON the ship gratuities are included, OFF the ship it is up to you.

Unless the tour guide and/or driver was exceptionally bad we always tip - the good ones just get a better tip.

When we do use the included transport, we tip according to drive - frighten the wits out of us = no tip. Pleasant journey = better tip.

And we invariably give our cabin steward some extra at the end of the cruise, anyway (and if we have a fixed table, the waiter and assistant waiter too).

 

 

You're corrects it's on board only 

[JoJo1947]

On 9/7/2022 at 1:41 PM, twotravellersLondon said:

 

 

 

Not knowing if you also saw the above post, it would be interesting to know who you asked.

Car service

[twotravellersLondon]

On 8/23/2022 at 5:10 PM, Cruise Prolific said:

I understand that Saga have reverted back to Shared car transfers for future sailings rather than the Private car transfer that has been used since their sailings resumed post pandemic  

 

Just a quick update on the current situation... we were allocated a shared car for our next cruise and we changed it to a private car. It works out at 7.8 p per person per mile more..

[Vivaldi]

1 hour ago, twotravellersLondon said:

It works out at 7.8 p per person per mile more..

 

The actual extra cost is £2.50 per mile, but Saga takes into account the fact that a private car service is offered up to 75 miles, so you need to pay £2.50 per mile for all miles in excess of 75 to get the private car service.