Windsurfboy

In both my pick ups the driver or the local company has rung me night before confirming drivers name and his mobile number.

We've been in more than 5 metres on both Queen Victoria and Elizabeth and hardly felt it. I wonder either SOD feels waves worse (isopods and fancy stabilizers not as effective ). Or Saga has just become very very risk adverse.

Thanks , We pre registered in May 2022, my plan once I get the email brochure , will email or web chat Saga to give them appropriate phone number. If there's nothing we like will tell them to roll preregister over

One should always check th he price via Cunard vs directly. Sometimes there will be no difference, or Cunard is cheaper answer is obvious buy the package. Sometimes the difference may be thousands. Not everyone can ignore a saving of a few thousand, and even many of those to whom a few thousand makes no difference may begrudge paying a few thousand more for exactly the same ticket. The advantage of a package may be convenience and piece of mind. However practically Cunard can't conjure flights out of the air or find seats on a fully booked plane any more than an individual can. But an individual can move faster. It's a myth that Cunard will delay the ship, they may well for a plane full, but not for just a couple, the economics don't stack up. If you miss the ship yes you will have to arrange own way to next port, either by taxi or by using same public transport that Cunard would have to use. So given a potential saving of a few thousand. If like many you have time you can opt to go early to mitigate risk and put it towards holiday. If you do not have time, can take money , but don't skimp on insurance, an in unlikely event of problems be prepared to sort it out yourself and claim money back from insurance. Or Forego the saving for the peace of mind of a package. It's up to you

Just tried to update to my S.A. phone number, guess what Saga website only allows 11 numbers , so no room for a country code. At the rate things are going might not matter, only here for another 5 weeks

Glad all OK. If it wasn't then the best course of action demand a transcript of the call, which is your right under data protection. If agent promised accessible not partial accessible then you have a firm contract with P&O

This ignores my point number one , which is if you are booking yourself which you would only do for substantial savings, then use these to travel at least few days in advance, ideally more . We would go a week in advance to de-jetlag. The odds of weather shutting everything down for that long is extremely remote. If you have a week of bad weather then no one can help not even Cunard. Refund job, insurance. Only case I can remember is not weather but Iceland volcano which shut everything down. Travel on day or day before use Cunard , even if you use Cunard , make sure you get all details of ticket, type , number etc , so you can talk to airline directly if push comes to shove..

TigerB did you notice on a 2 week cruise does epicurean menu change.

Thank you

Do you know before booking window opens

The outstanding advantage of going direct is the ability to make instant decisions. You arrive at airport, find plane cancelled, only other plane is another airline in 2 hours. You need to be able to either ring airline , or stand at customer service desk and say , "put me on that plane". Not ring up 3rd party hoping they pick up out of hours and wait for them to contact airline and get back to you. Of course Cunard will pick up pieces if it all goes wrong, but by then it's too late.

Our approach to risk is never travel on same day. If you are going to arrive one day early you might as well arrive 3 or 4 days early or longer and have a extra holiday. But we have the time to take that approach. I don't mind talking to airlines directly, I think I understand rules ( Uk/EU 261) as well if not better than most travel agents.

Sorry I meant pounds

Of course one must always compare Cunard to direct scheduled airline. Its all about risk management vs saving and choosing exact flight you want. If you are going a week before, saving wins, on the day, security of Cunard wins. Talking as a European, (Even if you book through Cunard) only CONTROL you have is always book a EU or UK airline, and have a thorough knowledge of UK/EU 261. This gives you very extensive rights if flight is cancelled or delayed when other airlines are still flying. Armed with this knowledge you can normally get airline to rebook you, even on another carrier same day. If they refuse buy another ticket with someone else , they will have to reimburse you. This is where you may have to make decisions on the spot. Getting hold of third party TA or even Cunard out of hours could hinder this. Yes some will say they don't have spare cash for another ticket. Then don't cruise. Some may well say other airlines , Singapore, Qatar, ... have better service. Thats true, but not as answerable to CAA.

From UK one way fares are extortionate for most direct flights , so it's miles , or Cunard. Return flights, we'd always go at least a few days earlier so book directly with airline. Book directly as has been said before, if you book with TA , it doesn't have same protection as booking with Cunard. If things go wrong much easier to deal with airline yourself than via 3rd party , often time matters. If you have to fly on the day, then go with Cunard. However don't automatically expect them to hold ship for more than an hour or so the economics don't stack up unless there's a planeful. But they will be responsible for getting you to next port.

At 2euros per head the fixed price taxi (mini bus) shuttle is good value, although need to wait for at least 4 pasengers. We saved energy by using shuttle as we were planning on walking up rock and back. On way back had to use bus from WW2 tunnels and then shuttle as legs wouldn't work.

But the dog ate my boarding pass, and I'm 2,349,00th in-line for the throne so surely I can arrive early.

Love your description of the interlopers in crows nest. Glad to see dress code being enforced. Personally I don't think football shirts are appropriate anywhere in a cruise ship after 6pm

Thanks

What time do yu have to leave cabin?

I know this is going off piste, not linked to orginal post. But on Saga the only reason for a suite is space, no meaningful benefits compared to other cabins. Primarily because the benefits in any Saga Cabin are so good, what more could you want. In all cabins can order any drink in your room. Perhaps this is one reason suites on Saga aren't the first to sell out unlike many other lines.

Good luck , no bad cabins on Saga Guarantee cabins , will not be as cheap as initial price at launch. If you find you like Saga , then the £90pp to preregister puts you towards front of queue for best price. It is 100% refundable, comes off your deposit and you can ask for it back at any time , hence it is a good investment. You can select a cabin at below the guarantee price. Can preregister on board or by phone.

I agree we always go midships. Despite their fancy azipods , or perhaps because of them , I don't find the Spirts good in rough seas. The Cunard queens ride rough seas much better. Yes they are 78000 tons vs 59000 for Saga, but that shouldn't make that much difference. Perhaps an old fashioned single screw and matching hull design has been perfected over years The Spirts are super smooth and quiet up till 4 meter waves, then things go bad quickly. May be another software glitch, adaptive control systems need to be set up correctly, or they can over correct.

On the cruise I'm on on same deck at same discount. The aft suites are 15% bigger but only 8% more. The forward suites are the bargin nearly twice as big but only 22% more. But those who feel the sea, midships is a must

The flaff was for the butler not me, every time he replaced a bottle I had to sign a form, one copy for him one for stores.