Glenndale

2 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

They won't win in long term if limited menu means people choose other cruise lines 

Yes exactly.  We have 3 booked on Queen Anne and with the ability to order off menu I'll be happy 😊 

11 hours ago, Alchymist said:

 

 

The food was disappointing, with meat cookery especially poor and what seemed like a smaller menu than hitherto = 6 mains, of which 3 were vegetarian. One table companion in the Supper Club had a ribeye steak which she could not cut and eat and I had a grossly over-cooked rack of lamb, which appeared as individual chops.

 

I had a ribeye steak the other night in The Club, mine too was inedible, full of gristle.

No seafood platter in Coast to Coast, choice and quality being downgraded sad to say

On 12/11/2023 at 3:57 PM, arlowood said:

If you like a particular itinerary then Saga often introduce a Guarantee Cabin option nearer to the sailing date. This means that you will not be able to select a specific deck level or cabin number but will be guaranteed that your cabin will be of a minimum grade (Standard Twin, De-Luxe Twin etc). The cabins are then allocated shortly before you cruise or on the day of embarkation. These Guaranteed cabins are usually offered at a good discount on the normal price but there is no flexibility. You must accept where they put you and if you refuse the cabin allocated then that will be treated as a cancellation on your part.

 

I have no direct experience of this arrangement but I have seen several posts where people have been very pleased with the cabins they received.

Except I have never seen the ability to chose a guaranteed deluxe cabin.

12 hours ago, lincslady said:

Anyone on the current cruise?  I haven't seen any reports so far - maybe I have just missed them - but it would be interesting to hear how it is going.  I see she was in Lisbon yesterday, and is now heading for the Canaries.  Hope it is going smoothly and everything working as it should.

After we left Portsmouth on Friday pm we had a couple of quite bumpy days and missed A Coruna instead heading for Lisbon which was to be our final port of call.

Tenerife on the 13th and final port will now be Madeira. Seas are a lot calmer now.

We’re on the outgoing cruise on 7th December. Think we’ll probably have to head for a safe harbour.

They are also offering counselling should they desire it.

Unfortunately Saga does tend to veer towards ‘nanny state’.

I cannot understand why they rushed north when they would have known the weather fronts coming into the Bay.

Far better IMHO to stay for the final call in the Canaries and then seek shelter.
Being into port a day or two late in the circumstances would not have been the end of the world.

I recommended Saga to friends, who were on this cruise, they managed to escape with minor injuries. Can’t help but feel a little responsible 😕

We’ll be on board Discovery on the 7th Dec.

I’m not worried, why would I be? It would be a logical ‘perk’ for an expensive suite. 

🙂

On one 7 night cruise we took on Discovery ( a couple of years ago) we dined 5 nights in the specialities. 

1 hour ago, JoJo1947 said:

The Butler books it 

So not constrained by ‘the rules’?

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

Sorry didnt read it properly. 

 

Your Queen Anne prices seem very good bargain. My recent average for Cunard on ,QV, and QM is 500ppn for a standard QG midships. 

That’s probably why those cabins are sold out now 🙂

I love the aft facing cabins. 

Like Saga it seems that it is best to book early if you want a Grills cabin.

We’ve sailed in the Deluxe Saga cabins and they are very nice but no comparison to a QG.

Sorry to take this thread off topic. 

2 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Price wise I think a Saga suite at 30 or 35% discount,  early booking is similiar price to Cunard QG, maybe slightly more but you get more.

 

Of course once you get down to 15% discount or below Saga gets dear and a deluxe costs more, similiar then to Cunard QG

Did you see the price comparison to a Deluxe on our Canary cruise?

Agree service on Saga is good, but then, so is service in QG.

All very subjective though.

I prefer the smaller ships, but I am looking forward to seeing what Queen Anne has to offer.

Oceania used to be our line of choice, but as we are no longer prepared to fly with all that entails, we are limited in our choices.

For me yes, but obviously not for everyone. 

I rarely drink alcohol, I don't use the spa, in QG speciality coffees are included in the Grills lounge.

Driving down to Southampton is around 130 miles and we leave the car with SIL in Ocean Village.

In QG drinks are provided in the room, which my partner enjoys, especially sitting on aft facing balcony.

There is OBC given which usually covers gratuities and enough for a couple of bottles of wine, plus as a shareholder I get additional cabin credit,

Saga wouldn't insure me so I bought an annual policy, which works out about the same as Saga's included insurance as we do at least 4 cruises per year.

No need for speciality restaurants as QG allows off menu ordering as long as they have the ingredients on board and you give sufficient notice.

e.g.

We have a 14  night Canary Isle cruise booked in QG for Dec. 2024 £4700 each, currently a deluxe cabin on a 14 night Saga cruise in Dec. 2024 is £5225 (35% discount). Our QG grade cabins are all sold out.

Of course it's not all about the money, we still travel with Saga and hope to book a couple of cruises with them when they release their 2025 offerings. 

It's all about personal choice and what works for you.

7 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

They also get larger rooms

Yes, of course, and they have a butler.

They've also paid a lot more than people in the standard cabins.

I'm not saying that I disagree with them having more perks, just think it should be made clear.

One reason we have 2 Queen Anne, Queens Grill cruises booked for 2025 for around the cost of a deluxe room on Saga.

I've long suspected that suite guests get preferential treatment with regards to booking the speciality restaurants, but no proof. 

1 hour ago, Harry Peterson said:

Thanks for all the information. A question, please, if you don’t mind? I’ve not noticed much so far in the way of external lecturers/speakers - is there a separate schedule, or have I just not noticed? I’d be looking for some kind of talk a couple of times a day or so, which is what P&O used to provide until the cut-backs.

The talks are held in the Playhouse. I can see 3 on the Today that Linda posted. 1 on Syracuse, 2 on Dubrovnik and 3 on the Brighton Bombings.

On 10/4/2023 at 1:40 PM, Host Hattie said:

We don't normally book on launch day but we're booked on Queen Anne for June 2025.

We’ve booked the North Cape on QA for June 2025 🙂

1 hour ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

They do not but they do have a proper cafe that serves good coffee and tea all day long.

I know that, but I don’t understand your comment on the standard cabins on Saga not having bean machines?

44 minutes ago, Bloodaxe said:

We had a regular table for 2 which we had requested on with our booking, it was fine and not that close.

The closest was in the speciality restaurant which did surprise us.

We did enjoy the cruise and will probably book again soon.

I’m pleased to hear that you enjoyed your cruise. Now we no longer fly we have found Saga to be a good fit for us.

51 minutes ago, Bloodaxe said:

But the bean machines are not in the standard cabins unfortunately.

I don’t remember Azamara having bean machines in their standard cabins either nor in their club continent suites.

18 minutes ago, LandC said:

The cruises advertised are:

 

7 November SD120. £6512

5 January SU105. £3418,

 20 January. SU106. £2764

3 February SU107. £7999

17 February  SD129. £4056

4 March. SU108  £3573.

 

Only guarantee cabin prices are shown.

 

Thanks for that. It looks like our cruise hasn’t been included in this ad. 

Would someone please give an indication of the lead in prices for standard, deluxe and suites please. I suspect that one of our future cruises on the 7th Dec. will be one of the reduced cruises.

On 9/17/2023 at 4:01 PM, Windsurfboy said:

Be annoyed if it blocks WhatsApp messaging, understand no phone or video calls. Suppose resort to email

 

We are going to Caribbean so roaming expensive.

Whatsapp messaging on Saga has never been a problem for me, I’m currently on SofA and using it successfully. I can understand Saga blocking video calls which use excessive bandwidth.

On 9/16/2023 at 11:07 PM, JMMKUK said:

So I was blocked but you weren't? I went to reception & they said it had been blocked for everyone. Now I'm getting paranoid.

I only use it for messages, not calls, video or otherwise. I’ve never had a problem using it. In fact I whatsapped my son today (at sea) and received a response.

10 hours ago, Wacktle said:

We're on Spirit of Adventure now and are using WhatsApp daily. Sometimes it's a bit slow, but it's not blocked.

It wasn’t blocked on our April Eastern Med cruise either. In fact I have always had access to Whatsapp on my Saga cruises.