JoJo1947

1 hour ago, Glenndale said:

We always have a fixed table, you need to be seated by 7pm but usually leeway until 7:15. There are certainly no rules about vacating by 7:30, it would be a very uncomfortable meal to consume 3 courses plus coffee in 1 hour 😅

On our cruise people had to take their table at 6 30om.  You need to be on that cruise to understand it was different because it was a full ship!!

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

I'm not saying that there shouldn't be the option of panoramic excursions at every port for those who need them. Just that all the included , free, excursions don't have to be panoramic 

Then again everyone can do an included one as it stands .  We'd have to pay more for our cruise if they included more and I'm not willing to do that   There seems to be regular posters that moan a lot 

You try being dragged down backwards getting off the ship. It's scary.

On 6/27/2023 at 5:34 PM, Fourwheelsonmywagon said:

I am nearly 4 times more likely than someone who does not use a wheelchair on board to be required to pay 50% more as there are so few standard adapted cabins, which IS blatant discrimination. Why make 80% of the adapted cabins deluxe or suites? Are wheelchair users for some reason more likely to want an expensive cabin? Or maybe Saga would prefer they didn’t book at all.

I’ve contacted the Maritime and Coastguard Agency who have confirmed there is no safety issue in carrying me in an unadapted cabin but, as always with discrimination issues, unless you’re prepared to take it to court yourself there’s very little that can be done other than complain,

if you were prevented from travelling with Saga for no good reason, would you just say nothing? Blanket policies such as this are almost always discriminatory. Would you feel the same if the first sentence above read that women are 4 times more likely to be charged more?

And, in the unlikely event that I actually managed to get an adapted cabin, how is that fair to someone who can’t travel at all without one?

I'd accept their rules and move on. Take them to a tribunal.

Perhaps I've been on cruises where there are more pax and  I've haven't made up that tables had to be vacated by 7.30pm when majority pax arrive 

What you need to remember its very good for the less mobile and I can't see anyone here considering this! It gives everyone a chance of a trip out. One day you might just appreciate this. I'm with Nigel Blanks 

On 6/24/2023 at 8:26 AM, FatBoy20 said:

A new Cruise Terminal is due to open in Portsmouth this summer. It will do away with the "tents" currently used but you will still need a shuttle bus to the Ship.

It's way overdue 😂

6 hours ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

Booking excursion, I believe we have to book even for the included ones.

Will we be notified when they are available book or will we have to keep checking in my Saga?.

Yes and yes. Usually anything between 6-4 weeks prior to sailing. They go out for everyone on the same day so if you get the booklet you know they are also in My Saga

5 hours ago, tiggis said:

Do Saga publicise this? It seems rather unfair that only people 'in the know' can book tables. I assume the regulars head straight to one of the restaurants on embarkation to make their choice and (though perhaps I'm being unkind) snaffling the best tables, while the rest of us go where we are put each evening. Of course, if you like meeting other people (as we do) then random allocation can work well. But again, what if a large table find they get on well together - can they then reserve to be together for the rest of the cruise?

Yes you can ask for a table for two before sailing but there is no guarantee. Also there's a welcome onboard news letter in your cabin on embarkation telling you when to visit the MDR to book a table for the whole duration of your cruise. However you have to eat early and vacate it before 7. 30pm on a full cruise so if you like to eat early do that. Bear in mind some of the tables for 2 are almost touching the next tables with very little space. The first night of your cruise you are told where to eat and time for a smoother service. However should it be a speciality restaurant you don't like you can change it 

37 minutes ago, Fourwheelsonmywagon said:

I use a portable folding wheelchair part time, I have found it essential on cruises or I am too tired to participate in activities or excursions.

I do not need an adapted bathroom (or any other adaptions) and I live in a 2 storey unadapted house. I have cruised with other companies who allow me to book an unadapted cabin, not least because I consider that taking an unneeded adapted cabin when there are so few available is morally wrong.

Saga will allegedly not let me do this. They insist that if I want to use a wheelchair on board at all I must have an adapted cabin, which somewhat reluctantly I agreed to since the alternative was not being allowed to travel at all. Unfortunately however only 2 of the 10 adapted cabins on board are standard grade (compared with 75% of unadapted cabins), both standard adapted cabins were of course already booked and so Saga wanted an additional 50% for an upgraded cabin. Needless to say the booking wasn't completed.

 

I'm amazed at this blatant discrimination, which I've never come across before. Is this truly their policy or was I being misled?

 

Further research is that there are 50 'assistance' places, so 40 of those passengers must be accomodated in unadapted cabins. They allow 10 wheelchairs on board, but presumably can count to 10 regardless of where the passenger is to be accomodated. They say there is nowhere in a standard cabin to store a wheelchair which folds to the size of a medium suitcase and which has previously been accomodated in the much smaller cabins of their rivals and even in a cabin on a cross channel ferry! Apparently they are only allowed to refuse to accomodate me in an undapted cabin on safety grounds, can anyone think of a single safety risk that wouldn't be equally present if they put me in an adapted cabin?

If you need a wheelchair to use around the ship and it's Saga's policy why moan about it here. It's not discrimination as needing this around the ship is h&s policy including adapted cabin. What other cruise lines are irrelevant.You've also have to consider it as a trip hazard stored in the cabin and that includes injury to crewThem's the rules like it or not. However I either use a lightweight wheelchair or rollator off ship so I have an ordinary cabin. Saga store it and at each port it's outside the gangway  ready for collection. Great service. Assistance at Port Saga have 50 places and you will be assisted at Muster and emergency on board. It can be a long walk for some from terminal to ship and wheelchair assistance is booked . I use it as do others who don't use disability apparatus on board. It's not just for people in adapted cabins . 

On 6/15/2023 at 10:01 AM, tim_london0 said:

Why do people even expect a turn-down service?

 

this is 2020, not 1920.

 

Thanks for the review BTW 😀

 

 

Tradition 😀

20 hours ago, twotravellersLondon said:

 

Speaking personally... we're not.

 

Caffeine is additive and has side effects including; anxiety, sleeplessness, agitation, palpitations, diarrhoea and restlessness. These effects are amplified when taking certain over-the-counter travel medications. Many medical symptoms are made worse by caffeine.

 

Those who try to cut down on caffeine can experience withdrawal symptoms.

 

So... we both like coffee... but we restrict our intake to the recommended 300 mg a day... three cups of real stuff... max. None after about 12-noon.

 

Some people may well be in a 'coffee culture' but 30% of folk in the UK don't drink coffee on a regular basis and the average UK intake is only about 2 cups a day. Despite the efforts of the multinational "coffee-brands" these days the UK isn't even featured in the world's top ten coffee drinking countries.

 

But... no need not to enjoy coffee in moderation and no need not to look for the best coffee available.

 

 

Blimey rather over the top lecture 🙄

Obviously changed their booking conditions.

21 hours ago, Cynthia Darch said:

If we rebooked a booked cruise for a longer time and of course more money, are we able to do this without penalty.

Thank you.

As long as it's dearer and in the same year.

43 minutes ago, LandC said:

I agree.  The Living Room serves the best coffee.  The coffee available elsewhere on the ship is nowhere near as good.  

Have to disagree its horrible 😀 although decaf is slightly better

18 hours ago, Cynthia Darch said:

Thank you for this, any idea when they would pick you up from Southampton for Dover and how long it takes mid week.

How long is a piece of string 😀 ring Saga re included transport

On 3/10/2023 at 12:18 AM, Host Sharon said:

Also note, as from April 1, any cruises booked through an agent won't count towards the Britannia Loyality Club.

There are some Agents Saga have association with that will honour Britannia club nights

16 minutes ago, Denarius said:

Is formal attire required in the speciality restaurants on formal nights, or is smart casual acceptable as in The Grill

Yes it is. The only place to avoid formal nights is in the grill. There is a separate area 

Yes

The phone line to book a restaurant is busy on embarkation days. We book formal nights as the MDR is so busy then. 

A lot depends on the length of the cruise. Short it's one booking and you can go on a reserve list. I went on a 5 night cruise with my daughter and could only book one but on the day I had phone call for reservations offering a table that night. So we did visit all 3. Book a table on formal night it's easier to get in. Book as soon as you get on board in person. You don't need to go to to all restaurants as there's a central booking desk in the club. If of course you have a suite ask your butler to book them 

On 5/4/2023 at 10:11 AM, silversurf said:

Anybody else having a problem with this?
Friends, travelling within a month are taking antibiotics for a throat infection. They have been told they can’t be insured within a month of taking them. Another had a small wound on his arm which need dressing every week for a few weeks and been told that they can’t be insured until the dressing is removed for good.

The insurance company seem to pick up on every little thing, so is this included insurance fit for purpose?

After all it is for people over 50 and many considerably older, who often have minor ailments as well as as more serious conditions.

That's correct on both as far as Saga included insurance is concerned. Last year I cut my leg and had to have new dressings prior to sailing. Included insurance wouldn't cover me. In stead I phoned Saga independent insurance and they did. It's tougher to get included 

19 hours ago, GerryL13 said:

If you are on back-to-back cruises, you are still required to report to your muster station on the following cruise. The tv is not blocked, but they know who has reported ... and who has not.

Ours has been until you finish watching the muster vid. That way no one can skip it

Have done a few back 2 back and each cruise was treated separately and it was compulsory to attend and watch the muster procedure.

Then you possibly had an email a few days ago from NHS