Cabins on Deck E ( SOA and SOD.)

[mklions]

We have been looking to book our 1st Saga cruise for next October, 18 nights sailing to the Canaries and Cape Verde.

The cabins on Deck E are coming in over £300pp cheaper than the same basic balcony cabin on other decks.

I've been told the cabins are the same size ( though on the Saga website the deck plan on standard cabins on other decks do look slightly larger) so why are they so much cheaper? and would you advise for or against a cabin on Deck E?

Thanks,

MKlions.

[david05]

The lower the deck the cheaper the cabins when cruises go on sale but this can change as the discounts fall. So E deck always starts off the cheapest and, in addition, the forward cabins on E deck are cheaper than than the rest because the superstructure means you have a slightly obscured view from the cabin. I have never had an E deck cabin so I don't know if there is any difference in size but I suspect it is marginal if at all. I've never heard of any complaints about E deck cabins and I've met people who always book E deck. No doubt someone who has been on E deck can tell you more.

[Truro001]

Hi. As with most things we all have our own preferences in life and this certainly applies to what we want with regard to cabins on cruise ships. It has been our experience that all the standard cabins on both Saga ships are exactly the same size so it comes down to your personal choice as to whether you prefer a cabin on a higher deck, a lower deck, a forward cabin or an aft cabin. You might have a preference as to whether you want to be close to the theatre, dining rooms or swimming pool. To date we have stayed in standard cabins on B deck, C deck, D deck and E deck. We have not noticed any difference in the size of the cabins. Our personal choice is for those cabins aft of the library on E deck. The reason for our choice? Those cabins offer easy access to the library (coffee machine), the main dining room, the speciality restaurants, the promenade deck and the outside seating area on deck 7. We have never been aware of any noise from the restaurants on the deck below E deck. The added bonus of course is that when the cruises are first released the prices of the cabins on E deck are considerably cheaper than identical cabins on higher decks. (On a 30 night cruise the increase appears to be in the region of £1,000 per deck).  This pricing difference obviously changes because the discounts are reduced as more cabins are sold. Personally, I would always opt for a good deal on deck E (35% or 30% discount ) and then put the savings towards our next cruise booking. On our our next cruise we are on D deck simply because the discounts available on this occasion meant that the cabins on D deck were cheaper than the cabins on E deck. Hope the above helps in making your decision. 

[nosapphire]

We prefer deck E aft for exactly the same reasons as Truro001. We prefer grade L when available, but as these are not normally offered until a bit later in the voyage, usually have grade K. We have also been on decks C and D, and can confirm that there is no difference at all in the cabin size, facilities or comfort.

.We have been forward on deck D, but not on E - looking at the ship when on board, I very much doubt if the restricted view cabins at the front of deck E have any noticeable restrictions at all.

The only time we have noticed any noise is when we have the balcony doors open and there is a large group of walkers on the promenade chatting as they walk - which is a very transient noise, nothing to worry about.

The only difference is, I suspect, that cabin stewards start off on the lower decks/cheaper cabins and work their way up as they become more experienced, but the standard of cleaning and attention is still high.

My only fear is that Saga realise how popular deck E is and put the prices up......

[mklions]

54 minutes ago, nosapphire said:

We prefer deck E aft for exactly the same reasons as Truro001. We prefer grade L when available, but as these are not normally offered until a bit later in the voyage, usually have grade K. We have also been on decks C and D, and can confirm that there is no difference at all in the cabin size, facilities or comfort.

.We have been forward on deck D, but not on E - looking at the ship when on board, I very much doubt if the restricted view cabins at the front of deck E have any noticeable restrictions at all.

The only time we have noticed any noise is when we have the balcony doors open and there is a large group of walkers on the promenade chatting as they walk - which is a very transient noise, nothing to worry about.

The only difference is, I suspect, that cabin stewards start off on the lower decks/cheaper cabins and work their way up as they become more experienced, but the standard of cleaning and attention is still high.

My only fear is that Saga realise how popular deck E is and put the prices up......

Pardon my ignorance, but what is grade L and K.

MKlions

 

[nosapphire]

31 minutes ago, mklions said:

Pardon my ignorance, but what is grade L and K.

MKlions

 

grade of cabin.

For example, standard twin cabin has 6 grades - F,G,H,I,J K, with L and K(on deck E) being the lowest grade, and F (on sun deck) being the highest grade.

The view probably gets better as you go up, but the cabin itself is still the same.

When booking a standard cabin, forget the actual cabin grade class as that is pretty immaterial.

Just concentrate on the price and whereabouts on the ship you want to be.

 

 

[arlowood]

4 hours ago, mklions said:

We have been looking to book our 1st Saga cruise for next October, 18 nights sailing to the Canaries and Cape Verde.

The cabins on Deck E are coming in over £300pp cheaper than the same basic balcony cabin on other decks.

I've been told the cabins are the same size ( though on the Saga website the deck plan on standard cabins on other decks do look slightly larger) so why are they so much cheaper? and would you advise for or against a cabin on Deck E?

Thanks,

MKlions.

HI there

 

If you are considering the 20th October cruise on Spirit of Adventure then I would suggest you contact Saga before you go ahead with any booking.

 

I have seen a post today (on one of the Saga FB groups) from a disgruntled customer who had just received an email from Saga indicating that the planned dry dock maintenance slot for SOA needed to be extended and as a consequence they were cancelling the 18 night cruise to Cape Verde and the Canaries and offering a 14 night Canaries only cruise in November as an alternative. Those willing to accept the switch would receive a discount starting at £100 per person in a Standard Cabin up to £500pp in the most expensive suites. Alternatively they could switch to another cruise with no admin fees.

I have found the original post but the OP or the moderators have removed the copy of the Saga email from the post.

[mklions]

54 minutes ago, arlowood said:

HI there

 

If you are considering the 20th October cruise on Spirit of Adventure then I would suggest you contact Saga before you go ahead with any booking.

 

I have seen a post today (on one of the Saga FB groups) from a disgruntled customer who had just received an email from Saga indicating that the planned dry dock maintenance slot for SOA needed to be extended and as a consequence they were cancelling the 18 night cruise to Cape Verde and the Canaries and offering a 14 night Canaries only cruise in November as an alternative. Those willing to accept the switch would receive a discount starting at £100 per person in a Standard Cabin up to £500pp in the most expensive suites. Alternatively they could switch to another cruise with no admin fees.

I have found the original post but the OP or the moderators have removed the copy of the Saga email from the post.

Yes that is exactly the cruise we have been looking at.

I spoke to saga this morning to send over a formal quote and the lady we spoke to never mentioned anything about dry dock maintenance for SOA.

I will need to do some more digging, thanks Arlowood for the update.

[Truro001]

Just a thought - I notice that the 2023 sailing on the SOA to the Canary Islands and Cape Verde can no longer be booked on line whereas it is still possible to book the Oct 2024 sailing. Is it possible that the email to which Arlowood refers concerns the Nov 2023 sailing and not the Oct 2024 sailing that mklions is currently considering? 

[Kohima]

The email was definitely referring to the 2024 sailing. It should have been removed from the online booking options by now, but hasn’t.

[Truro001]

Further to my last posting it looks as though the SOA has no sailings between the 7th November 2024 and 21st November 2024. It might well be the case that it is because it is scheduled will be in dry dock. If this period were to be extended it could well have an impact on the October cruise. It has been my experience that changes to itineraries are not passed on to the lovely people at Saga who actually answer our calls. The 2022 Black Sea cruise was a classic example of the front office not being aware of what the back office was doing. 

[FatBoy20]

24 minutes ago, Truro001 said:

Further to my last posting it looks as though the SOA has no sailings between the 7th November 2024 and 21st November 2024. It might well be the case that it is because it is scheduled will be in dry dock. If this period were to be extended it could well have an impact on the October cruise. It has been my experience that changes to itineraries are not passed on to the lovely people at Saga who actually answer our calls. The 2022 Black Sea cruise was a classic example of the front office not being aware of what the back office was doing. 

Looks like 14 day Dry Dock with two days to & from Bremerhaven? each side of this. Hence shortening 18 day Cruise to 14days.

[mklions]

Thanks for your valued replies,

I will need to investigate further, no point booking for next October if the ship is going into dry dock.

Surprised the sales agent at Saga did not know this earlier today?

Just out of interest when do the Jan/Feb 2005 sailings come out for booking?

MKlions

[arlowood]

14 hours ago, mklions said:

Thanks for your valued replies,

I will need to investigate further, no point booking for next October if the ship is going into dry dock.

Surprised the sales agent at Saga did not know this earlier today?

Just out of interest when do the Jan/Feb 2005 sailings come out for booking?

MKlions

An earlier post on another thread reported that a flyer had been received suggesting that the Jan to April 2025 cruise programme would be released "soon". However others have commented that Saga's interpretation of "soon" can be a bit lax.

As an example the release date for the Jan to Match 2024 season was Jan 2023 and the April to December 2024 season was released on 1st March 2023 (I remember it clearly as it was released just before we left for a holiday in Cyprus. As Sod's Law dictates we received our pre-registration phone call while we were relaxing after dinner at our hotel. Not ideal but we managed to get things sorted.)

So don't hold your breath - it could be released before Christmas but more likely early 2024

Edited October 7, 2023 by arlowood

[Truro001]

Hi mklions. arlowood is quite correct in that the release dates for Saga cruises appear to be a “movable feast” and difficult to predict. I note that we booked our February 2024 cruise in November 2022. It could therefore be the case that those who have pre registered might receive an email as early as the beginning of next month. It might be worthwhile to pre register for Jan - Mar 2024 before the list closes. You lose nothing by registering and of course you get to know what cruises are available before they go on general release. 

[Truro001]

I really meant to write " Register for Jan - Mar 2015" ..................

[FatBoy20]

11 minutes ago, Truro001 said:

I really meant to write " Register for Jan - Mar 2015" ..................

Apparently it will be Jan - April 2025

[mklions]

On 10/6/2023 at 3:24 PM, arlowood said:

HI there

 

If you are considering the 20th October cruise on Spirit of Adventure then I would suggest you contact Saga before you go ahead with any booking.

 

I have seen a post today (on one of the Saga FB groups) from a disgruntled customer who had just received an email from Saga indicating that the planned dry dock maintenance slot for SOA needed to be extended and as a consequence they were cancelling the 18 night cruise to Cape Verde and the Canaries and offering a 14 night Canaries only cruise in November as an alternative. Those willing to accept the switch would receive a discount starting at £100 per person in a Standard Cabin up to £500pp in the most expensive suites. Alternatively they could switch to another cruise with no admin fees.

I have found the original post but the OP or the moderators have removed the copy of the Saga email from the post.

Just looked at the Saga website and this 18 night cruise on the 20th October appears to have been removed, so thank you for the info. I was only talking to Saga yesterday and they were willing to take my booking which is a bit bizarre.

I don't see too much else for Oct/Nov 2024 that appeals so I will see what they offer for Jan/ Feb 2025.

We like to go away either side of Christmas to break up the winter.

We are booked at the end of this month sailing from Southampton to the canaries on P&O Ventura in a suite and again in a suite on P&O Brittania in late Jan on a Caribbean cruise. We only sail P&O if we can get an aft suite but to be honest Saga is becoming more appealing the more we look and there all included perks for all guests are very enticing. ( especially the home and return pick ups to the port)

Mklions.

[FatBoy20]

19 hours ago, FatBoy20 said:

Apparently it will be Jan - April 2025

I stand corrected it is still Jan - March 2025 but will include Nationwide shared Chauffer Service!.

[Tabicat]

We were on C deck midshipman for our Scandinavian Christmas and New Year cruise.  As it was winter the sea was a bit rough for one day going and one day and night on the return.    Fairly stable on our deck.  A bit wobbly in the Brittania Lounge however.     Got talking at dinner to people who were on A deck, which cost considerably more. They had a very bad time.  As they said "the more you pay, the more you sway!!!"