Summer 2025

[wowzz]

38 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

The prices on Saga are absolutely eye-watering!  22 nights to the Med - £6K - 15 nights £4K   Even if you add the extras, it's nowhere near anything that P&O offers.

Jean, I wondered how long it would take you to reply! 

You can say exactly the same about Viking, Oceania, Almazara etc. There are plenty of people out there who are prepared to pay for more space, better food, superior service etc. You are happy to accept lower standards and an interior balcony at a commensurate price.

You are happy with your choice - others are happy with theirs.

[Selbourne]

19 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

As a point of interest I wonder how Saga do handle the shared transport for wheelchair passengers who cannot climb minibus steps. My wife can transfer to a passenger side seat in a standard car but could not board any MPV type vehicle with stepped entry.

I asked about that John as my wife is in exactly the same position. If I understood correctly, it seems as though they can provide wheelchair adapted vehicles if necessary. My wife can transfer into a car, but her wheelchair takes up most of the boot, so we fold the back seats down for our luggage, so I’m not sure how that could work sharing! In the end, we decided that we would probably prefer to drive in our own car (so that we are comfortable and can stop when we like) and get the free parking. The only negative is that most Saga cruises go from Dover, which is a dreadful journey from where we live as it involves the M25 and is considerably further than Southampton. Some Saga cruises go from Portsmouth, which would be better. 

[Spike11]

50 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

It’s true that the prices aren’t comparable Jean but, by all accounts, neither is the overall experience. Hence my question in my earlier post, as I don’t believe it’s a case of comparing like with like. 

You asked whether Saga are worth double the price. Difficult to answer. We are in the fortunate position of being able to cruise several times a year, but do of course have to work to a budget. We try and pick one saga cruise a year (usually with a special itinerary that we can’t get elsewhere), and use P&O for the others. Saga is expensive, but the ship is relatively small and the amount of public space per passenger is high - both of which add to the cost (and the quality of the experience). The quality of the food in the MDR on saga is really excellent - a huge jump up from P&O, and a jump up from Fred Olson in my opinion. There also tend to be a lot more staff about on Saga ships, so service is generally much better. I also think that the interior design of the Saga ships is of a very high standard - though I do also like what P&O have done with Iona. We view our Saga cruise as a special luxury treat once a year, but also really enjoy the P&O cruises. Not sure whether that is of any help to you!

[Selbourne]

24 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Yes agree.  there is no way we would pay that for a cruise, but then, we dont pay for a suite on P&O for the same reason.   I looked at Cunard for 2025.  They have a nice Med cruise, but again, quite expensive, although nowhere near Saga, but the prices on board for drinks etc - mind blowing.  Guess we will stick with P&O and Fred.

I guess it’s like most consumer products Jean. Take cars for example. All will get you from A to B, essentially doing the same job, so many people are quite content with the budget brands as they cost less. Others will happily pay considerably more for a premium car, as they prefer the improved quality, refinement etc that they offer. Many dismiss premium cars as being for ‘badge snobs’ etc yet have never driven one themselves to understand the difference!
 

P&O are now positioning themselves as the budget cruise line, whereas Saga price point makes them premium. Having driven hundreds of cars from many brands, I know that I’m happy to pay more for something that I know is better. I’m just keen to know if those who have cruised both P&O and Saga feel the same! 

[Selbourne]

4 minutes ago, Spike11 said:

You asked whether Saga are worth double the price. Difficult to answer. We are in the fortunate position of being able to cruise several times a year, but do of course have to work to a budget. We try and pick one saga cruise a year (usually with a special itinerary that we can’t get elsewhere), and use P&O for the others. Saga is expensive, but the ship is relatively small and the amount of public space per passenger is high - both of which add to the cost (and the quality of the experience). The quality of the food in the MDR on saga is really excellent - a huge jump up from P&O, and a jump up from Fred Olson in my opinion. There also tend to be a lot more staff about on Saga ships, so service is generally much better. I also think that the interior design of the Saga ships is of a very high standard - though I do also like what P&O have done with Iona. We view our Saga cruise as a special luxury treat once a year, but also really enjoy the P&O cruises. Not sure whether that is of any help to you!

Thank you. That is exactly the sort of response I was hoping for, so it is indeed extremely useful. We haven’t ditched P&O but have decided that we will cap our expenditure per cruise to match what we now perceive it is worth. As a result, we have booked a number of inexpensive P&O cruises to a number of different regions. We are trying Cunard (Britannia Club) next year to see how that compares. Price is comparable to a suite with P&O, but the Club dining arrangement looks better for us than just being able to have breakfast in Epicurean (the sole dining benefit of a suite with P&O). We shall see what we make of it. 

[jeanlyon]

I agree.  I suppose as we are stilll waiting to do our October cruise which has been moved from 2020, we will go with an open mind.  I don't hear terrible complaints about Aurora yet and we have a Fred booked on Bolette for april 2024.  I have never looked at Azarmara, Oceania etc, mainly because we don't fly and sailing from Southampton suits us well.

 

We have really enjoyed our holidays in the UK and have another one coming up in May, driving to Scotland and seeing some more places we have never been to.

Edited April 27, 2023 by jeanlyon

[zap99]

12 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I guess it’s like most consumer products Jean. Take cars for example. All will get you from A to B, essentially doing the same job, so many people are quite content with the budget brands as they cost less. Others will happily pay considerably more for a premium car, as they prefer the improved quality, refinement etc that they offer. Many dismiss premium cars as being for ‘badge snobs’ etc yet have never driven one themselves to understand the difference!
 

P&O are now positioning themselves as the budget cruise line, whereas Saga price point makes them premium. Having driven hundreds of cars from many brands, I know that I’m happy to pay more for something that I know is better. I’m just keen to know if those who have cruised both P&O and Saga feel the same! 

I drive a premium car, but like P&O. We fly club, but won't spend extra, a lot extra to cruise with Saga. Is Saga better than Viking ?. That is the right comparison. Value for money is important to us. Is Chewton Glen better than Balmer lawn ?. Discussions on the Saga thread are getting busy. 2 today and one last week. Perhaps that is where Discussions should be, not IMVHO clogging up the P&O threads.

[Selbourne]

4 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I drive a premium car, but like P&O. We fly club, but won't spend extra, a lot extra to cruise with Saga. Is Saga better than Viking ?. That is the right comparison. Value for money is important to us. Is Chewton Glen better than Balmer lawn ?. Discussions on the Saga thread are getting busy. 2 today and one last week. Perhaps that is where Discussions should be, not IMVHO clogging up the P&O threads.

Comparisons with P&O are very relevant though when weighing up options. Sounds as though trying to get answers on the Saga thread may be a bit futile though 😉 

[Britboys]

I don't think you can make a simple comparison between P&O and Saga. As I've said before, if you usually cruise aboard Aurora or Arcadia in a balcony cabin, then the price differential is considerably less than if you you usually cruise in an inside or standard outside cabin. If you cruise on the larger P&O ships, the gap is even wider.

As someone who cruises on Aurora in a standard outside double for sole occupancy, on a fare with free parking as a minimum, there is no way I can justify Saga solo prices even though I absolutely accept that every standard on board is much higher on Saga. Like others, I'm not bothered about free wifi and as their included excursions are mostly panoramic coach rides with a couple of photo stops, wouldn't be interested in those either.

Maybe one day I'll try Saga as a really special treat...

[tring]

3 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Could be an interesting day for the booking staff today.  General sale going live at 8.30am and the Cunard Coronation special at 1.00pm.  Judging by the sale problems yesterday and the fact the Cunard sale isn't showing in their websites the booking team might be needing tin hats and ear defenders. Fingers crossed for a smooth one.

 

You have me intrigued now.  What is the Cunard Coronation Special and where is it going?  It seems a bit late to be selling a cruise for next week.

 

[wowzz]

10 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Comparisons with P&O are very relevant though when weighing up options. Sounds as though trying to get answers on the Saga thread may be a bit futile though 😉 

I agree - comparing cruise lines is always informative, and there is every justification for comparing P&O to Saga on this forum, in the same way as there would be in comparing P&O to Princess. 

After all, it appears that there are far more people interested in moving from P&O to Saga than vice versa.

[wowzz]

7 minutes ago, tring said:

 

You have me intrigued now.  What is the Cunard Coronation Special and where is it going?  It seems a bit late to be selling a cruise for next week.

 

5 day cruise to Liverpool and back  - late substitution for cancelled TAs due to tech difficulties

[Selbourne]

1 minute ago, tring said:

 

You have me intrigued now.  What is the Cunard Coronation Special and where is it going?  It seems a bit late to be selling a cruise for next week.

 

QM2 broke down and a return trip to New York was cancelled. As a filler, post repair (hopefully) a 5 night cruise has been dropped in at very short notice (only announced yesterday). Only goes to Liverpool and back, but extremely cheap. 

[yorkshirephil]

18 minutes ago, tring said:

 

You have me intrigued now.  What is the Cunard Coronation Special and where is it going?  It seems a bit late to be selling a cruise for next week.

 

It is an extra 5 day cruise from Southampton to Liverpool with an overnight in Liverpool then back to Southampton. The ship has had engine issues and her original cruise was cancelled. £199 inside, £249 sea view and £299 balcony. If it were going from Liverpool and returning there I think we would have booked, that would have been ideal for you if you fancied it.

Edited April 27, 2023 by yorkshirephil

[tring]

1 minute ago, Selbourne said:

QM2 broke down and a return trip to New York was cancelled. As a filler, post repair (hopefully) a 5 night cruise has been dropped in at very short notice (only announced yesterday). Only goes to Liverpool and back, but extremely cheap. 

 

Shame it doesn't go from Liverpool to Southampton and back - we would be on her if that was the case 🙂

 

I did hear about the TA cancellation as well as the next one, which I assume is the return journey.  Lots of Americans very miffed about missing a return to the US when they had already flown out.

 

[Selbourne]

4 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

It is an extra 5 day cruise from Southampton to Liverpool with an overnight in Liverpool then back to Southampton. The ship has had engine issues and her original cruise was cancelled. £199 inside, £249 sea view and £199 balcony. If it were going from Liverpool and returning there I think we would have booked, that would have been ideal for you if you fancied it.

Balconies are quoted as £299 but when you enquire the cheapest seemed to be £349. Still very reasonable though. 

[tring]

4 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

It is an extra 5 day cruise from Southampton to Liverpool with an overnight in Liverpool then back to Southampton. The ship has had engine issues and her original cruise was cancelled. £199 inside, £249 sea view and £199 balcony. If it were going from Liverpool and returning there I think we would have booked, that would have been ideal for you if you fancied it.

 

Great minds think alike and posted at the same time.  Yes 20 minute taxi journey over to the cruise port or public transport using our bus passes would have done the job nicely.  We could have included the ferry ride instead of staying on the bus, (which goes through the tunnel).

 

Barbara

 

[Josy1953]

We are another couple would have liked to go on the 5 day on QM2 if it had been going from Liverpool but Southampton is just to far to drive for a 5 day cruise.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Jean, I wondered how long it would take you to reply! 

You can say exactly the same about Viking, Oceania, Almazara etc. There are plenty of people out there who are prepared to pay for more space, better food, superior service etc. You are happy to accept lower standards and an interior balcony at a commensurate price.

You are happy with your choice - others are happy with theirs.

We are off into town shortly. We will probably pop into Wetherspoons for lunch. If we were going to Guildford we would probably go into the Ivy. Different days, different Choices. Are we prepared to pay double or triple for the Saga " experience ". Not at the moment. Possibly when I grow up.

[tring]

Just looked at the QM2 cruise.  There is a full program of events going on in Liverpool the first two weeks of May because of Eurovision.  Hotels at extortionate prices, presumably mainly for the later run up to the final on Sat 13th.  Worth anyone doing that cruise checking on the web regards the program for Eurovision for when she is docked though.  There is loads to do in the city now anyway, so will never be short of something within easy walking distance at any time.

 

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by tring

[Megabear2]

39 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Balconies are quoted as £299 but when you enquire the cheapest seemed to be £349. Still very reasonable though. 

Who did you enquire from? It's not listed as available on the website yet and the four t/as who called me quoted that sum of £349 for a single.  Its QM2 so balconies with glass or unobstructed are not that many.  I've told my t/a I'll take anything at all up to a budget twice what I've been quoted for single occupancy.   The Grills will, I'm sure go in minutes.  It's time for me to go home - I've got everything crossed here!!

Edited April 27, 2023 by Megabear2

[tring]

I was looking at a QM2 mini cruise to Hamburg and back next May which almost coincides with our Gold wedding anniversary, as we would like to see the ship.  However she leaves the day after our anniversary, so spending that day doing and long drive, then spending a night in a hotel near Southampton does not appeal a lot.  We have booked a big celebration cruise for later in the summer, but thought we would do a little something to cover the actual date as well.

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by tring

[paulatsea]

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Your feedback seems to be consistent with every review I have read about Saga and is the reason why we are keen to try them. We are in their pre launch registration system. As you have done both Saga and P&O can I pick your brains (and any others who have cruised with both)?

 

Whilst we have a number of concerns about the direction of travel with P&O and the gradual erosion in the quality of the ‘included’ experience, their prices seem to be reflecting that. We have four P&O cruises over the next 11 months and all 3 that have been booked recently are costing under £100 per person per night for a balcony cabin booked under a Select fare with free parking etc included. Admittedly these are on Britannia and Ventura, rather than the more comparable Aurora and Arcadia, but whilst we love Aurora we don’t like Arcadia and we like the additional and more modern facilities of the newer ships.
 

The cheapest Saga cruises, even with maximum discount, seem to be coming in at around £225 per person per night. Most are more. I appreciate that a lot more is included as standard with Saga, but we aren’t particularly bothered about free transfers (as we’d have to share) or wifi (never pay, use it free in ports) and we don’t really like doing excursions, so the main additional benefit is the free drinks. Even drinking more than we do on P&O, this would probably only ‘save’ us around £60 a day. So, netting all of that off, Saga will still cost us around double what we can now get P&O cruises for. We are happy to pay more for a better experience than P&O now offer, but based on your experience would you say that the overall quality difference (included food, cabins, general cruise experience) warrants double the price?

 

EDIT - Just after posting I remembered that speciality dining is also included on Saga. Due to the drop off in MDR standards on P&O we do use them more on P&O nowadays, which obviously erodes some of the cost saving versus Saga. However, the price difference is still substantial (albeit not double) so my question still stands. Thanks. 

Hi Selbourne - we had a private transfer for just us - I think it may depend on the distance but we are within the 75 mile range (I think it’s that) and also I think you can pay extra to have private without sharing but things might have changed.

With p&o we have been on Iona once on the cruise only no stops trip which was effectively adults only due to vaccination requirements at the time and 1/2 full - just after cruises restarted. It was a good price so we thought we would try it. We had a good cruise but we didn’t like the ship size and layout.

Apart from that we only go on Aurora and Arcadia. We like Aurora much better so usually go on her.

 

The price we paid for saga was about £1700 pp for 7 days. We wanted to try it ( just once as a treat) as it’s too expensive normally for us but with the upgrade it turned out to be very reasonable !

The cruise had been postponed twice so by the time we went the price was reasonable given its all inclusive, 2 included excursions and private transfer(which was brilliant in a Mercedes E class with a good driver).

 

The standard of the cabins and the ship generally are very high - noticeably better than what we are used to -  the service everywhere was excellent as was the food and drinks.

The deluxe balcony was fantastic - very big with walk in wardrobe, balcony doors and another side window. Very quiet at all times and we were near the lifts which we could not hear at all.

Very well cleaned and serviced with turndown.

The excursions were very good and well organised and we always had berths close the the port exit.

 

We found the pre dinner entertainment very limited - we like to listen to some music etc while having a drink but there wasn’t anything that we found.

The disembarkation at  Dover was chaotic and badly organised. I don’t know if this was a one off.

 

I would say it’s not worth double the Aurora price in my opinion as we have always had a very good experience with p&o on Aurora for a good price even taking into account drinks and excursions - we always go select balcony  so always get parking and some OBC.

It’s probably worth double Arcadia price if that makes sense !

If you cruise a lot it might be worth doing a 5 day one on Saga to see what you think as they don’t seem too exorbitant.

 

I hope that helps.

 

paul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by paulatsea

[paulatsea]

1 hour ago, tring said:

 

You have me intrigued now.  What is the Cunard Coronation Special and where is it going?  It seems a bit late to be selling a cruise for next week.

 

It’s a special one off due to the technical problems causing the transatlantic cancellation .

[Megabear2]

Hoorah  - I'm going home!!!!! I have a balcony on the QM2 Coronation cruise for £449. I'm so excited.

 

Thanks to everyone who crossed everything for me, clearly the power of the P&O CC forum worked its magic!