Vivaldi

It is understandable that people would want to counteract the sensationalist reporting of some of the media, with their "if it bleeds it leads" approach to the news. However it would be a pity if that leads to the opposite position and the simple view that "we take the risk travelling on the Bay at this time of year" and "too many scaremongers won't help". Dermotsgirl, I think you have hit the nail on the head saying that "anyone who was on the ship will tell you ". It seems highly significant to me that there appear to be no reports from anyone on the SofD on that journey to the effect that the storms were "not that bad" or "nothing to worry about". If anyone knows of such reports, it would help if they could quote them or include a link to them. All the reports express fear and alarm, and it would be quite wrong to attempt to play this down in any way.

How do you know?

My thoughts are very much with the passengers who had to endure these awful conditions, and I hope that those with injuries recover quickly and without lasting consequences. "Cruise passengers 'scared for their lives' in storm" is the most-read item on the BBC website currently, and the story also features on the Sky News website. General booking has opened for the Jan-March 2025 period, and since my 80th birthday falls in that period I had been very interested in celebrating it on a Saga cruise. However, until I am convinced that Saga does indeed put the comfort and safety of its passengers first, before any commercial considerations, I'm not going to proceed with any booking. I doubt I'm the only one with such concerns.

In an early post, NorbertsNiece did say that there were 949 passengers on board. The maximum capacity is 987. It's been a brilliant blog NorbertsNiece. Very many thanks for it -but after you get home what will I have to look forward to each morning when I put the computer on?

Greatly enjoying your blog, for which many thanks. Two questions if I may: You seem to have dinner more in the Grill than the main dining room - what advantages (if any) does the former have for you? You haven't mentioned Afternoon Tea. Is this because there is no GF version available? Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

I'm sure you're absolutely right about the car-to-flight-car-to-port bit. I'm not so confident about the "changing drivers on the way" bit, though. We had one "interesting" trip to the port a few years ago where we were the second couple to be picked up. The driver (and I think the other couple) started from Liverpool and came across to us in Lincolnshire - quite why it was organised like that, I haven't a clue. The driver told us that he couldn't take us all the way to Dover since he would exceed the hours he was allowed to drive, so we stopped at a motorway service area en route and another car and driver picked us up there for the last stage of the journey. Perhaps there had been a last minute glitch which meant that this was the only way Saga could get us all to the ship on time. Not ideal, but we still had an absolutely splendid cruise.

Even from places like Wick? I imagine the chauffeur service will be restricted to the mainland, but some places are so distant from the ports Saga uses that it would necessitate more than one driver to manage the journey, if there are limits on how many hours a driver can work. A car journey from Aberdeen or Wick to Dover would be gruelling. The small print will be interesting!

On embarkation day the Grill is open from 1 to 3.45pm. I'm not sure how rigid they are about shutting it all down at precisely 3.45, though, or whether any latecomers could still find something to keep them going until dinner.

To avoid any disappointment, I'd just add that the doors to the theatre are closed at 9.30pm (or 9.45pm for later shows) and admittance is not allowed after that. So if you arrive there at 9.31pm you won't be able to get in (I speak from experience!). Hope you have a really great cruise, and, like others here, I'd be very interested to hear what you think of the SofA.

I am on a Saga cruise at the moment, and there have been no dancing lessons at all offered to date. Just some line dancing, which is not what you want. Whether the lack of lessons is unique to this cruise, or a general (non)feature of Saga cruises at present, perhaps others can say.

I have never given an additional tip on a Saga cruise, but have made sure to show my gratitude by personally thanking those who have been helpful, and by praising their efforts on the end-of-cruise survey. As will be clear, I am not a fan of the tipping culture and would much prefer people to be paid a decent and fair amount for their services. Expressing how much someone's work has added to one's enjoyment of the cruise can be done verbally and, in my experience, has been much appreciated. No doubt mine is a minority view and I'll be regarded as a terrible miser.

Just to add a little to that: there is some variation in the price difference between Saga's Premium list and UK retail prices. For example: Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc is £10 at Tesco and £14 on Saga. The Hedonist is £14.99 at Waitrose Cellar and £17 on Saga. Don Cristobel Malbec is £11.60 at Tanners Wines and £12 on Saga. Taittinger Brut is £43 at Tesco (£36 for Clubcard holders) and £43.99 at Waitrose (down to £31.99 until the end of the month) but just £34 on Saga. Even allowing for the fact that someone buying a premium bottle is unlikely also to be downing glasses of included wines at the same meal (!), the Saga prices range from fair to bargain. As Windsurfboy rightly says, excellent value.

Please correct me if I am mistaken, but I get the impression from your posts that you have not yet been on a Saga ship and wonder whether your view that Oceania's cuisine is far superior might carry more weight if you had actually sampled Saga's offerings. If you are basing your view on the appearance of a single supposedly down-market dish on Saga's menu on one occasion then that doesn't strike me as conclusive evidence of Oceania's superiority.

The Saga dress code used to be over-complex, with three different designated days: casual, smart casual, and formal, and different requirements for each. To me, the current arrangements are spot-on, and this does seem to be the general view. I particularly like the formal evenings and feel that formal dinners become special occasions, rather than just another meal. Perhaps younger generations will demand that Saga changes its views, but I hope that that will happen only after my cruising days have come to an end.

If you want to celebrate your wedding anniversary in one of the speciality restaurants, have you thought of ringing the after-sales team now on 0800 504 505 and mentioning this request? They could refuse, or they might say that they will try to do something without being able to guarantee success, but it is (in my view!) well worth a shot.