Christmas and New Year

[piscean]

Has anyone cruised with Saga over Christmas and New Year?

What happens onboard….anything special….Christmas Carol’s, decorations, Santa, Christmas lunch, crackers, mince pies…..??

 

[david05]

Everything you mention except the main Christmas meal was in the evening and the same festive menu is (or was) served in all the restaurants, including the speciality restaurants. Entertainment may depend to some extent on the cruise director but on Adventure last Christmas the entertainment staff put on two hilarious pantomime in the Britannia lounge. Really enjoyed it.

Edited November 17, 2022 by david05

[nosapphire]

16 hours ago, piscean said:

Has anyone cruised with Saga over Christmas and New Year?

What happens onboard….anything special….Christmas Carol’s, decorations, Santa, Christmas lunch, crackers, mince pies…..??

 

Yes to all. You will definitely know it is Christmas.

In my personal opinion, the new ships cannot give as good an experience as the old ships, simply because they have a different layout and more passengers, so it does not feel quite as "special" - but as my experience was on SoD in 2019, with a lot of new crew and officers, things have probably improved (hope so- the New Year experience on SoD was generally agreed to be a very damp squib.Even the piper (bagpipes) gave up).

Having said that, the pantomime (Cinderella) put on in the SoD theatre by officers and staff was the best I have ever seen, anywhere. Laughed so much I could hardly breathe at times. Still makes me laugh now when I think about it.

But yes, they do make it very special for the entire cruise, not just with the expected extras but lots of pop-up events (Christmas fair) and running side events - (like the "decorate your cabin door" competition)(material supplied).

It helps the atmosphere that the crew themselves generally seem to be enjoying it as well, not just putting a happy face on because they have been told to.

[piscean]

Thank you David05 and no sapphire I love a panto so I’ll look forward to that….and all the other events.

[Windsurfboy]

They said I  might of won door decorating competition if only I'd decorated outside not inside of door😁

 

Edited November 17, 2022 by Windsurfboy
Spelling

[maesteggirl]

We were on the Discovery last Christmas and all you said took place. I had my photo taken with Father Christmas and sent it to our then 2 year old grandson - he was very impressed! We also had a box of mince pies, a Christmas pudding, box of chocolates and a bottle of English sparkling wine on both Christmas eve and New Years eve! An excellent cruise and we have booked Christmas 2023 on the Adventure.

 

[david05]

38 minutes ago, maesteggirl said:

We were on the Discovery last Christmas and all you said took place. I had my photo taken with Father Christmas and sent it to our then 2 year old grandson - he was very impressed! We also had a box of mince pies, a Christmas pudding, box of chocolates and a bottle of English sparkling wine on both Christmas eve and New Years eve! An excellent cruise and we have booked Christmas 2023 on the Adventure.

 

Oh I had forgotten the Christmas pud, we almost needed another bag for all the goodies!

[piscean]

Ooooh lovely I shall enjoy it all.

 

[JoJo1947]

Heads up because of fire risk front door of cabins can no longer be decorated. However inside yes you can bearing in mind your cabin steward .

[JoJo1947]

On 11/17/2022 at 12:26 PM, nosapphire said:

Yes to all. You will definitely know it is Christmas.

In my personal opinion, the new ships cannot give as good an experience as the old ships, simply because they have a different layout and more passengers, so it does not feel quite as "special" - but as my experience was on SoD in 2019, with a lot of new crew and officers, things have probably improved (hope so- the New Year experience on SoD was generally agreed to be a very damp squib.Even the piper (bagpipes) gave up).

Having said that, the pantomime (Cinderella) put on in the SoD theatre by officers and staff was the best I have ever seen, anywhere. Laughed so much I could hardly breathe at times. Still makes me laugh now when I think about it.

But yes, they do make it very special for the entire cruise, not just with the expected extras but lots of pop-up events (Christmas fair) and running side events - (like the "decorate your cabin door" competition)(material supplied).

It helps the atmosphere that the crew themselves generally seem to be enjoying it as well, not just putting a happy face on because they have been told to.

Sorry outside door decoration has been banned as fire risk.