Saga cruises included excursions any good

[Kinniegirl]

We are new to Saga, were P&O cruisers

 

It appears on our cruise there are 6 included excursions, what are they, just a ride round in a coach,

stops at various places ?  

We can’t find out any information on them hoping someone can give more information 

[FatBoy20]

When the Bookings for Excursions opens there will be full description of each trip. There will be some variations but most will be a 2hr Coach Trip with possible photo stops.

[david05]

Included excursions vary a lot but most are coach trips with photo stops but sometimes with a short break to have a bit of a stroll. Generally we have found the city based ones to be the worst and those which head into the countryside better. Which ports are you going to with included excursions?

[Kinniegirl]

Gibraltar, Syracuse (Sicily) Dubrovnik, Split, Cagliari,Lisbon

,could be useful and wonder then if dropped off to mooch after?

[Windsurfboy]

On ours they were purely panoramic,  which means 2  to 3 hours in coach couple of photo stops and a loo break, coaches were pretty full. We gave them a miss after second , which promised some walking but it was purely coach. If this type of excursion is your thing fine. If not then Saga's attitude is go on paid trip or do it yourself.  This is the only part of a Saga cruise that for us let's it down.

 

I 're iterate , everything else on Saga cruise is excellent 

[Wacktle]

Good and bad. We recently had an excellent one in Belfast, which took us around areas that we hadn't seen before and wouldn't have seen if left to our own devices, eg. Falls Road, Shanklin Road, Stormont, as well as the City Hall. The loo stop was at a wonderful university building! On the same cruise, the tour of Dublin was not great. It was Good Friday and the guide didn't know that some places were closed. She relied heavily on the driver's knowledge. The worst we had was in Rotterdam in October 2021. We drove round in circles, passing some buildings 3 or 4 times and having the famous bridge pointed out several times, even though the ship was docked right up to it . Afterwards we learned that other groups had visited the cube houses, whilst we only saw them from a distance. The only stop was at a so-called picturesque harbour, which was anything but ...in my opinion. So, it's a mixed bag, and maybe also dependent on the guide you end up with.

[sleepingcat]

For us there was too much coach, stops, climbing on and off,  and not enough of anything else.  We did two and cancelled the rest.  the best excursion on our canaries cruise was the one we paid for which was a whole day of fantastic guided visits on La Gomera.

[Denarius]

The included excursions are mainly of the panoramic coach tour type, aimed I suspect at passengers of limited mobility who might otherwise find it difficult to see much of the ports in question. As such they serve a useful purpose, but if you are able bodied you might find it more satisfying to take a paid excursion more specific to your own personal interests or to explore independently. The ship usually docks in a suitable place to facilitate the latter, otherwise a free shuttle bus is provided.

[Kinniegirl]

Gibraltar, Syracuse (Sicily) Dubrovnik, Split, Cagliari,Lisbon

,could be useful and wonder then if dropped off to mooch after.

 

thanks everyone for your info would like hop  on and off tours that we’ve done in the past when it too hot to walk 

[david05]

12 hours ago, Kinniegirl said:

Gibraltar, Syracuse (Sicily) Dubrovnik, Split, Cagliari,Lisbon

,could be useful and wonder then if dropped off to mooch after.

 

thanks everyone for your info would like hop  on and off tours that we’ve done in the past when it too hot to walk 

My memory of Lisbon is being stuck in endless traffic jams - much better to do your own thing, maybe take one of the tuk tuk tours (from outside the cruise terminal). We have not done any included tours in the other ports. If the ship is docked away from the town you can usually ask to be dropped off in town after the excursion, just make sure you know where the shuttle bus goes from to get back to the ship.

[FannyLiz]

On 7/24/2023 at 2:16 PM, FatBoy20 said:

When the Bookings for Excursions opens there will be full description of each trip. There will be some variations but most will be a 2hr Coach Trip with possible photo stops.

How will I know when bookings for excursions open ? Will I get an e-mail, a letter or will it appear on the Saga app ?  It’s now 63 days before my cruise departs and I understand it could come at anytime.

[seasickphil]

We got an email from Saga regarding shore excursions on June 22nd, our cruise departed on 21st August. So you should get an email sometime soon, regarding shore excursions.

[FatBoy20]

8 hours ago, seasickphil said:

We got an email from Saga regarding shore excursions on June 22nd, our cruise departed on 21st August. So you should get an email sometime soon, regarding shore excursions.

Also check on "Manage my Booking" as they are released up to 8 weeks before sailing.

[krueg2828]

On 7/24/2023 at 11:50 AM, Kinniegirl said:

Gibraltar, Syracuse (Sicily) Dubrovnik, Split, Cagliari,Lisbon

,could be useful and wonder then if dropped off to mooch after?

We just got back from Split and Dubrovnik a few months ago.  We booked a private tour and we met the guide in front of Diocletian’s Palace which is an easy walk from where we docked…he took us to Klis Fortress via bus afterwards.  Both were Game of Thrones location shoots, if you are interested in that.  I would rather book a walking tour of Diocletian’s Palace instead of sitting on a bus.

 

We also walked the walls of Dubrovnik.  It was so beautiful and interesting as well as walking within the walls below.  Again I think this would much nicer than sitting on a bus.  I would book a walking tour here....we did the Game of Thrones tour here as well.

 

On 7/24/2023 at 8:35 AM, Kinniegirl said:

We are new to Saga, were P&O cruisers

 

It appears on our cruise there are 6 included excursions, what are they, just a ride round in a coach,

stops at various places ?  

We can’t find out any information on them hoping someone can give more information