SaraSailing

1 hour ago, JoJo1947 said:

We were invited twice to join an Officer's table on the Christmas/New Year  SoD cruise. Standard cabin and not hundreds of nights on board.

You did well! Most people on the captain's table are in the higher echelons of suite or days sailing. Or, the captain dinner is touted as a prize for those who stay loyal. 

Interestingly, Silversea (pre-covid)would start inviting people to officers' tables pretty quickly. We've had some wonderful, some bizarre, and some hilariously bad experiences - and probably not easily predictable. Our top favourite is a Filipino head of house keeping, who we've sat with twice. She is epic. Also, on Silversea, very few people are aiming for the captain's table - it's the free laundry at 100 days that is the true prize! 

But yes, I think this is a return to 'normality', whatever that means now. (As an aside, our local co-op replaced the hand wash station with a lottery stand, which feel faintly ironic.)

Dolphin watching today in Gibraltar, will post once the photos are up.

1 minute ago, Wacktle said:

Enjoying your blogs.

From your photo, the Captain could do an "Elvis"?

 

 

I know, it was a funny catch - but I'm sure his sense of humour can handle it!

DAY 4 - SOUTH OF PORTUGAL

 

The weather took a distinct turn for the better, the sun shone and people appeared on deck (some for the first time). 

Whilst the Lido and the Verandah are popular in terms of service, and the upper decks for sun, the rear terraces are a lovely place to sit in peace. Deck 11 is a smoking area, which is a shame, as the smell pervades the back of decks 10 & 12. It's not even pleasant to walk through - it would be nice for it to be more contained, or at least kept in a smaller area. 

In terms of daytime entertainment, I believe Oz Clarke did his second talk before leaving the ship in Gibraltar. And there was the usual range of crafts, cards and deck games. I avoided all of them, though I might watch some talks on the TV replay instead. 

 

The captain uses the tone and style of a children's entertainer (but the sort that secretly hates children). The usual run of things would be a captain who gives clear positional, weather and safety info, then a cruise director who can talk more about entertainment. We've heard from the cruise director once, as the captain is the only star of this show. Lunchtime highlight was captain's announcement: "Do I need to introduce myself again?", followed by a chorus across the Grill: "NO!" There's a pantomime air that I haven't experienced from a captain before. Dressed for formal dinner captain looks like a Disney prince, so good on him for staying in character!

Formal dinner, and we dined with a couple - the man was a uni peer of my father, and also shows up on my mum's first year physics dept photo, Whilst we've hardly seen them more than three times in the interim, there is a photo of two year old me hogging a swing in a garden in north London, whilst their son (also two) waits politely. Sorry, Jonathan.

With the prevalence of gluten free flours (and therefore legume flours/proteins) I'm getting very special dinner treatment. I do pick from the menu at breakfast time, so they know what I'll need. But things I've never thought of before - like a prawn tian - need to be done separately for me. It feels a bit embarrassing, but everyone is very nice about it, and the outcome of too much exposure is a big deal. If I were being sensible, I'd probably eat lunch in the dining room too, so that I can pre-order.

Had a sighting of a whale spout in the morning, but not sure how many people saw it. Then after dinner I stepped onto my balcony to be deafened by a hoarde of gulls screaming and riding the air stream. They stayed with us for hours, and it was an amazing sight.

Here's a random set of photos. Lunchtime cheese is lovely, desserts are super sweet, beyond what my palette can enjoy. A rainbow! Lots of sea. A bit of dinner. And the gulls (if the video makes it, sound on!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

5 hours ago, Scorpio41 said:

Thank you for taking the time to share your cruise with us. I hope you and your parents have a great time.

 

Patiently waiting for the next update. 

Laptop about to fade out, so I'll wait for photos to replicate and post tomorrow...

4 hours ago, Vivaldi said:

Delighted to see that you are posting a report of your cruise. The reports you posted of your first Saga cruise were very balanced, detailed and informative, and I won't be the only regular on these pages to be keen to read your posts. It will be particularly interesting to learn whether there have been any improvements (or otherwise) in the onboard experience since that first cruise.

 

The standard single cabin is shorter than the superior one, and consequently has one fewer chair between the bed and the balcony. The superior single is, I believe, identical to the standard double. 

 

Have a great cruise, and I look forward to reading about it. Thanks!

 

Lovely to hear from you!

The good thing is the exterior is getting a lot more maintenance now. I think they are still catching up, but the woodwork is in much better condition.

We have the same guest relations director - Diego, who is a star. And the level to which the dining room are caring for my daft allergies is amazing. For dinner I have a private chef who deals with my food away from everyone else (because all the sauces are gluten free, therefore pea protein, therefore really not pretty outcomes). The crew that I met last year have been super friendly - as well trained as on a much smaller ship.

(I do have to say, in between I went to Alaska on my favourite Silver Shadow, and it was as brilliant as ever.)

I'll post today's formal night photos (such as I have) tomorrow. Which is Gibraltar and a dolphin watching trip.

I think the ship is much better suited to this climate, so not expecting quite the same drama!

DAY 3 - OFF PORTUGAL

 

The formal night had been postponed until Saturday, as a precaution, as worse weather was expected. But it really wasn't bad, and plenty of people were up and about. 

There are lots of activities on board, and so far I've avoided all of them. I'm happy with sea air and limited responsibility. It's been a great time to catch up on sleep, though today I was awake enough to watch my first post-dinner movie.  

We forgot to take photos of the scallops and black pudding starter, but the scallops were beautifully cooked - no mean feat in a dining room that size. Also not photographed, I managed to get some chilli sauce with my lunchtime prawns. It had to be fetched from the dining room, but was well worth the wait - deeply smoky and spicy.

 

The shampoo photo was to help my parents track down one via their cabin steward - there are a lot of different bottles, and they specifically wanted the only one they were missing.

As an aside, did find out rolling ship, plus hair conditioner, plus wet shower floor is pretty slippery.

DAY 2 - BAY OF BISCAY

 

As with most ships, we skirted round the outside. Not exactly rough, but fairly big swells, windy and wet. I basically ate and slept.

 

Met the chef, who told me something I didn't know before - a lot of the batters and sauces use gluten-free flour. And a lot of gluten free flour contains pea protein - to which I am very allergic. So no fish and chips for me unless I put in a special request the day before. He's also asked for all my dining room meals to be cooked with butter or olive oil, which I didn't even realise until I saw my menu on Friday night. I'm not sure what oil I'm avoiding, but I'm glad. I don't use seed oils at home, so it is a bonus to reduce how much I get of them when away.

 

Here's a photo (upside down) of a slightly soggy pizza. Flavour is decent. But not a patch on Silversea's pizza, and definitely not close to Nick Nairn's amazing pizza up in Port of Menteith.

 

26 minutes ago, LandC said:

I look forward to reading your updates. I note that you have two good speakers on board - a wine expert and a former chef to the Royal Household.  We will embark SofA on 22nd April, but have no information on who our speakers will be.

Hello! Yes, Oz Clarke (who I watched on TV when I was a kid). He's pretty visible around the ship and always seems to have time to talk to people. The destination expert seems good, and we have a few other speakers. Not seen the royal pastry chef yet, but I've slept a LOT!

 

DAY ONE - PORTSMOUTH

 

The shared "VIP" transport picked me up just after 11am, and a speedy 2 hours to drop off at the port. Portsmouth staff were pleasant, helpful, friendly, and super efficient: from drop off to being in my cabin was 35 minutes. 

It's lovely to get straight into cabins, no waiting around with hand luggage until permission is granted. It's a nice Saga touch to be escorted to your cabin - and especially nice as my guide turned out to me my cabin steward too. 

I'm in a superior single this time. To the best of my guessing power, it seems the superior cabins are just a touch longer than standard, but otherwise identical. The seating area by the window is nice, the dinky balcony perfectly adequate and there are plugs and usb sockets everywhere. The TV is slap bang in front of the foot of the bed, which suits my post-dinner movie habit. The shower room is compact and bijou. Or small, if you prefer. The shower is fine for showering, but leg shaving is a contortionist's art form. The wardrobe is big for one, but the same size in a double cabin, which would need more careful allocation of space. I do miss the walk-in deluxe wardrobe, but the deluxe cabins are seriously tight in the window seating area, so it's swings and roundabouts.

 

I just had time for a quick wander around before my parents arrived on the shuttle bus from the terminal. Next time we really must ask to share a car, as I'm on their route to the port. As it was, we both shared with different people. The green sofa clashing with the carpet is still an assault on the eyes at the top of the grand staircase from the Living Room to the bar.

 

One thing Saga do is allocate place and time of dinner for the first night, to spread everyone out. Despite our linked bookings, we'd been given two different times in two different restaurants - which was quickly sorted out by the dining room staff (I did go and ask at lunch time, the people trying to move bookings after the start of dinner service didn't do so well.)

We were definitely ready for our fist lunch in The Grill, and then suitcases showed up and we could unpack. Then we were waved off by the Portsmouth harbour staff and a brass band,

 

 

(One day I will learn to use my camera the right way up!)

(Honestly, the photos magically right themselves everywhere but on cc, so I don't know which ones are right or wrong until I get them here.)

Seemed like no time until dinner. I'm always a bit nervous on the first night as I've got a couple of odd allergies - I always feel better once I've seen the chef and agreed how to handle ordering, and what hidden risks there might be. I think I was in bed before 9pm, still recovering from the post-viral effects of the Christmas illness. 

 

Much to my own surprise, I'm back on a Saga ship and hoping the drama of last February in Norway isn't going to try for an encore.

I think today is day 4. We've made it through the Bay of Biscay and are turning the corner of Portugal.

The rest to follow in the comments...

5 hours ago, forgap said:

Your posts are getting me excited for our trip!  Quick question…when you have your expresso and hot water delivered, do you then make an Americano with your expresso shot, thus making a standard cup of coffee? 

Yes, exactly. 🙂

Day 5: Bergen

 

Forgot to mention earlier, but I'd emailed the SS London office to let them know what a mess our transfers were in Copenhagen. So, on our second night in Oslo (day 3) we got a visit from the guest relations manager on the ship. A nice man called Duncan. He was very new to cruising, having come from the airlines. He'd been authorised to offer us an upgrade, as an apology.

Those of you who know about these things might have already twigged - there are only two wheelchair accessible suites on the ship, and they are mirror images of each other. We were already in the one that suits our needs best. So, perhaps offering an inaccessible suite as a way of making up for inaccessible transfers wasn't the brightest idea anyone has ever had!

We actually had a tour of all the suite classes on the Shadow one time. We can easily get in and out of each cabin, but only our suite and the one next door have a bathroom that can even be accessed in a wheelchair - the doors are ultra narrow, there's a high step in. the shower is too small for a wheelchair, there is a shelf under the basin where your knees need to go, etc. This could actually be changed really easily, and would probably make the bathrooms more modern and pleasant for everyone.

Anyway, the suite they were offering was the royal suite, at the front of deck 7. Fortunately, my in-laws loved it, and they were happy to take the upgrade on our behalf. After all, you can't really let an offer like that go begging, can you?

Their biggest concern was the effort of packing and unpacking. But Duncan explained that all they need do is lock valuables in the safe in their old cabin, and the butlers would do the move during dinner. That night we were at the hot rocks by the pool - by the time we got there, their suite number had shifted on the system. All they had to do was pop down to reception and pick up their new keys, then collect anything from the old suite in the morning. So smooth. SS butlers do amazing work. 

**

Another aside: Kristiansand has a small cruise port shopping area, in containers. The outdoor clothing is top quality at very low prices.

**

Anyway, back to day 5 in Bergen. It was my third visit, and my husband's second. And my FiL had been countless times, having worked in the oil industry. If you don't know it, it's a busy tourist town, with lots of shopping. The town centre is not far from the dock, although a lot of the more wobbly guests felt there should have been a shuttle bus. I'm sure that last time SS took us there, there was, but it was a while ago. 

When Saga took us, it was the beginning of the disasters - there were free 'tours' that went to a few places, and stopped in town - where a lot of people like to stay off for longer. Various buses lost passengers, drove off with bags still onboard, didn't make pickup points clear, and the Saga escorts had no idea of how many passengers they should have. It was also on one of these buses that a man travelled who tested positive for covid the next day (though he'd passed a test that day). And that was the start of the super spreader journey. 

This time it was a national holiday, and the port area was dominated by a huge fun fair. 

 

It's always fun to see what super cruisers are in town.

 

The wooden houses of Bryggen are gorgeous, and house lots of tourist shops - though my three favourites are the silver shop (all made by artists in Alta), a tiny shop up one of the wooden alleys that sells much cheaper jewellery and other souvenirs, and the shops to the end of the walk into the fish market with an excellent select of Dale of Norway clothing, as well as all the outdoor clothing you could want. You can reclaim tax on a lot of this.

 

There is a funicular railway up Mt Floyen, which we've never yet got on. In February I walked halfway up, before remembering it probably wasn't the best thing for an injury I'm carrying. But the views are worth the trip.

Then it was canapes in the royal suite. This suite has an extra entrance lobby, so it can be extended into the suite next door. But in itself it is huge. A kingsize bed in a massive bedroom, wardrobe bigger than the accessible one, a lobby with outdoor clothing closet and a guest loo, and a living room with double balcony, dining table and a bar. 

Cruise Mapper gives you an idea of the layout, though this is a mirror image.

And finally, sailed out to beautiful sunshine, a bit of a theme for the whole trip.

 

Day 4, Kristiansand

 

I've never been here before, so it was something new. 

 

We were greeted by singers in traditional costume, right outside our balcony.

 

 

We explored the area around the cruise dock - which was mostly flat, rather than going further into the hilly old town.

 

A nice sunny day (despite those clouds) meant we got to enjoy the waterfront walk past the marinas, the old fort, and several parks. 

 

My mum sent me a message to say she remembered a funny sign in the port, which I found...

... in Norwegian, this means 'feeding the birds is forbidden'!

When we got back after a good length walk/push, our butler suggested he served canapes for us and the in-laws in our suite. He put a lot of effort into making it all look pretty - the sparse plate is because I'm allergic to hummus.

 

And, of course, another lighthouse as we sailed out. 

23 hours ago, forgap said:

Our cruise in August takes us from Tromso to Reykjavik with an additional 5 days in Iceland.  I appreciate your tips on what to do on boarding.  We tend to be private people and hate to impose so using the butler will be a challenge.  I really like the tip on sneaking coffee into the room.  Do they have French presses on board?  I’ll see if my husband can tolerate someone sneaking into the room while he sleeps!  
 

 

 Oh, I love Tromso. Arctic cathedral and cable car are walking distance (or local bus) from the town centre. So no need to do the official tour unless you want to. 

And 2019 we went around Iceland (then down to London). Lots of lovely small places to visit. 

Essentially, unless you are in a Silver Suite or above - they get pod coffee machines - you get coffee by ordering it. That's why my espresso and thermal jug of hot water works so well. Or you pop up to a lounge to order. At the moment, you use a phone in the Observation lounge to order from the pool area, or you can go to the Panorama lounge, or the pool during the day. But room service is free, 24-hours. I use my system because I don't like waiting (even though they are usually quick). 

On the Shadow, and the bigger ships, there is also an Arts Cafe. On the Shadow it's next door to my cabin, so I often pop out with my reusable cup. 

And, in terms of being private, your butler enables that - they can interface with everyone else on your behalf. And they love a challenge. Because of covid protocols, we had to get our temperature taken every morning - so we called our butler when we were up, and had a quick chat about the day. One thing we do often is get canapes before dinner in our cabin - you can get them in the bar and panorama lounge, but your butler will happily bring them to you. As we were with the in-laws, we invited them down to us, or we went up to them some nights. 

Day Two/Three. Oslo.

I haven't been to Oslo since I did a lot of work there, 25 years ago. So, I remembered the city centre, playing croquet on an island, visiting the viking ship museum (closed at the moment), and getting in the back door of a night club because my norwegian colleague convinced the bounce my friend was a famous drummer. But that's a long time ago!

We cruised in all morning, which was a lovely chance to look at the scenery and unwind after all the hassles of flights and transfers.

The ship was docked right opposite the opera house and Munch gallery. 

 You can walk on the sloping roof of the opera house, you can just about see people doing that from the ship. The tour from the ship (which my in-laws did) included seeing a little bit of rehearsal for the ballet Swan Lake, done in water. They said it was a fascinating tour. Just  walking past the outside you can see into the costume dept, and they have all kinds of things on show in the windows. 

The Munch gallery is another interesting building, with lots of looong steep escalators inside. Obviously, everyone wants to see The Scream, so they show one of the three they have each hour, and you can circle back to see which one is up. The gallery is very well laid out, with zones of different themes, so you can follow as much or as little as you like.

 

This is "Melancholy" which was probably my favourite. And there was a little set of selfie photos he took, when he was older. One whole room is copy of parts of Munch's house outside Oslo, which is interactive and quite fun. I don't have a huge tolerance for walking slowly, but we managed a good few floors. 

 

Here are a couple of views back to the ship from the opera house. One day I will learn to take photos the 'right' way up. 

Night two was the first formal (roughly one a week, we had two in our ten days). Slightly quiet because we overnighted in Oslo, so a few people took the opportunity to eat in the city centre. I love watching everyone dress up, though I know others will avoid formal nights at all costs. I like the little rituals, like the slightly posher pillow chocs. There was an exceptionally good pickled fish appetiser, which totally reminded me of the lunch buffet in my Oslo office. There is no official photographer taking pictures to sell back to you (phew), but my MiL managed to snap a few.

I'm not even sure how and why this filter go applied, but it's kinda arty!


And, I love a good sunset and lighthouse.

On 5/31/2022 at 1:15 PM, Silver Spectre said:

Thanks for posting. If you are taking photos on a iPad (or iPhone I believe) there is a right and wrong way to take landscape photos for CC. Apple doesn’t care, but CC does, and their website just won’t fix it.

Yeah, that was my guess. I suppose I just have to find out which way is 'up'!!!

On 5/31/2022 at 10:55 AM, forgap said:

Thank you for posting!   Although we have never sailed with Saga, we will be on Whisper in August for our first SS cruise.  I am eager to read your impressions!  (And, I enjoy your writing style.)

Hi,

Thank you - I am a poet, and I'm told it shows up even in my reports. I also have that terrible ability to see all sides, so I'm rarely adamant about anything for long!

I don't know which cruise you are doing in August, but they all look wonderful, and cover a lot of places we've been over the years.

So, first, congrats on picking the Whisper. The size is perfect. Something that SS (in my not so humble opinion) have not yet achieved on the bigger ships. Though I am being picky, and we will sail on them when it's the only suitable option. But most long term staff love the Shadow/Whisper sister ships best, and we do too. 

 

Here's my (totally unsolicited) advice:

1. Use your butler. As an aside, we actually started sailing with SS the year before the Stewards become butlers. Speak to your butler as soon as you can after finding your suite. Make sure your fridge is stocked with exactly what you want to drink. They know us now, so we always have a bottle of champagne, orange juice, cranberry juice, alcohol free beer, club soda, and a single can of Sprite. On the counter we keep still and sparkling water. Once your butler knows your preferences, it will happen by magic. The same for morning/evening routines: We like an early coffee, so we ask for two double espressos and a thermal jug of hot water to be snuck in at 6:30am while we sleep - then whatever time we wake, we can have hot coffee! And I love a sugar-free cocoa when I go to bed - so same routine, at turn-down, the butler leaves me a jug of cocoa and a jug of hot water, so I can mix them to what I want when we come in. 

2. Unless you are in a Silver Suite or above, find the free laundrettes. Knowing where they are and when they are busy makes life much easier. Before we hit the 'free-laundry' ticket, I used to nip in early for the short wash, flip it to dry during breakfast and collect it all before heading out for the day. 

3. On your first day explore everything and talk to everyone. Get to know the team structure and who's who. Ask all the questions. 

4. If you have food allergies, make sure to note something on the health info in advance. Then the first day there will be a time to meet the restaurant manager and exec chef to get the notes updated to be accurate. I'm allergic to most legumes, so I tick the 'lupin' allergy, as that is the closest. It's been helpful, as a lot of canapes have humus or green peas, and one of those could wreck me for days (from experience before I got careful).

5. Use the my.silversea site, if you haven't already. It's not great on some browsers, so if you have issues, log in first, then type https://my.silversea.com/mybookings/ in the browser to get to see your booking. You'll need to upload your covid vaccine pass (we do this once early to get it ticked off, then refresh just before we sail, because the UK pass is valid for 30 days). You can also pick pillows, bed configuration, link to other friends travelling, and book shore excursions and speciality dining. We're SUPER limited for accessible excursions, but when it is only transport related and important I do try to get it sorted. The Terrazza and Grill are free to book, and you should do both at least once. I love the Grill, and will generally book that two or three time - just steak (fish/tofu) that you cook on a hot rock on deck. The activities thing to book these isn't the slickest (my masters is in system interface design!) but one useful thing is that the formal dining nights are marked with a little bow tie. I'd always be in the main restaurant those nights, because I love to people watch - but if you hate the idea of dressing up a little bit, those are good nights to pick an alternative. It's good to do those things in advance. You'll also find your flight info and cruise ticket appear there. 

6. Do exactly what you want - if you lovely being crazy busy, do all the things. If you like sitting out back and watching the world go by, don't feel guilty about not going to a lecture. We mostly just go for a walk/roll in the area around the ship, and take time to slow down, enjoy the air, and listen to pod casts, use the gym, and relax.

If you have any questions, let me know!

Day 1, Copenhagen.

Easy transfer to airport with Blacklane (though disappointingly short distance included). The fee for this would have been three times what our normal drive costs, but nothing like as much as what we paid. 

Flights had been booked for us at 7am, which is a terrible time of day for us. I hadn't noticed, because I'm used to having my agent on top of things like this and communicating options well in advance. When I asked, I was told it was because the flights are included, we get the cheapest! Here's the thing. With good communication, we'd have paid a supplement for a later flight, or gone the night before and stayed in Copenhagen. So, I quickly booked the LHR T5 Sofitel for the night before. Which is fine, but getting up at 4am is never nice. (London always blame Miami, like they were different companies, not one seamless whole.)

As an aside, the food and service in the Sofitel restaurant is much better than you might expect. Reception, on the other hand were totally overwhelmed all evening, and housekeeping had taken their phone off the hook. 

Arriving in Copenhagen, the land agents again agreed that we'd requested (and triple confirmed confirmed) that we needed an accessible transfer. This means a coach with a lift, or simply a large people-carrier taxi. The coach wasn't accessible. The land agents looked flummoxed, and it was my husband who had to point out the large taxis, and ask SS to pay the (low) cost to the holding hotel.

At the holding hotel, there was an area for us to wait, and place to leave bags. We straightaway asked the new land agent if the transfer to the ship would be accessible. No. Could she organise a taxi like the one we arrived in? No, that would take her too long, apparently. Luckily, the SAS Radisson concierge was a good old school crossed keys man, and he sorted it all out. We took a short walk/roll around the centre of Copenhagen. When we left, the land agent did manage to tell our driver who would pay him when we arrived at the pier. 

Taxi driver was great, embarkation was super quick and efficient, and we were onboard in no time.

Saga's embarkation at Southampton was pretty good too, considering back in February everyone was having to pass a double covid test before being allowed out of the car.

 

From the plane window...

 

Copenhagen - i wish I knew why they come out upside down here!

 

 

Onboard

 

First sunset at sea

Okay, so it's my last day, but I'll add comments for each day. 

In February I sailed for the first time with Saga, on their not exactly successful voyage up and down Norway. Now I'm back on the Silver Whisper (my second favourite ship) for the Norwegian fjords.

What have they got in common?

• Door-to-door service: Saga include this in the standard fare and send a car - the driver is meant to have covid tested that morning (mine hadn't, of course, but luckily he tested negative too - 40 people were denied boarding because they, their partner or their driver tested positive at the port). Silversea charge something eye-watering, and make you book it yourself - this is because we're coming from all over the world, I guess. The Blacklane service we were given by SS was easy to book, flexible, great standard, nice driver. 
• All-inclusive. Saga fairly recently switched to including alcoholic drinks all day, not just with meals. It's part of what I like about properly all inclusive cruising, not having to show a pass or sign a recent, not having to think about the cost once on board. SS have been all-inclusive as long as I've known them, and the service is attentive (more so the Cunard, where I've had to beg to be able to buy a drink before). 
• Included tours - usually the "highlights of" which can get a bit same-y. This time I'm with my husband, and it's fair to say almost no included tour had wheelchair accessible transport. Most locations do have wheelchair lifts in some coaches, and the cruise company can ask for them if they know they are required. I don't think Saga or SS cover themselves in glory with this. But at least SS help my husband onto a tender in his chair (very quick and efficient), whereas Sage have the 40cm step test to be allowed on. Given the tenders are also lifeboats, I'm not sure what they intend to do with anyone who fails the step test in an emergency. 
• Laundrettes. Though on SS we have the 100+ day free laundry ticket. But, once you've travelled with easy access to washing clothes, it's hard to go back. 
• Direct booking. Saga is pretty slick in terms of handling phone calls, though trying to get a refund for money they owe me is still proving challenging - they also don't know much about details, for example they told us the cold weather jacket would be Gore-Tex, it turned out to be some nasty plastic, non-breathable thing, with a very cheap fleece underneath. SS's London office are having issues at the moment, and aren't providing their pre-covid level of service. 

 

What is different?

• Honestly, quite a lot. Not the price, though. For an equivalent suite, the pricing is pretty comparable. Though Saga stalwarts tell me you can get better prices if you book as soon as the brochure drops. 
• One thing that was really noticeable on Saga is the the head of Guest Relations sits in a public area, rather than hiding behind reception in an office. 
• For me, I'm always going to pick metal railings (SS) over glass partitions (Saga) on the balconies - the difference with what you can see is huge.
• Cabin range - Saga is all-balcony, even in the smallest cabin. Having outside space and easy access to fresh air is important to me. SS often put the reasonably priced accessible cabins down on deck 4, with no balcony. One reason why we'll still with the Shadow/Whisper for as long as we can. SS starts with a junior suite, and goes up from there. A quick glance at an accessible cabin on Saga showed their one clever feature was raising the balcony to the height of the door step, so it would be much easier to get out. SS tend to have double ramps, which are a struggle. 
• Spicy food. Whilst Saga tend towards fairly bland food on the whole, SS offer lots of spicy choices, and easy access to sambal olek for an extra kick. I'm not looking for ridiculous heat, but having some spicy options is nice. 

On 2/26/2022 at 10:03 PM, Lady Meer said:

Hi 

 

It was good to meet you both onboard. I’ve just read your review and it was similar to our impression. Except, we had a settee in our room and would have preferred 2 chairs! Had we known at the time we could have swapped! 
 

Brenda

 

 

Oh goodness! That made me giggle. Maybe that's what we need, an onboard furniture swap-shop!

The things we survive become stories to tell, and I've bored everyone rigid with my photos of huskies and lights.

52 minutes ago, Kohima said:

In short, Sara, I don’t think you have had the typical Saga experience. As ever the waiting staff were fantastic and Diego, the Guest Services Director was valiant in absorbing ‘feedback’!
However dog sledding with the Holmen Huskies and seeing the Northern Lights were unforgettable highlights so I am trying to keep those as my memorable moments.

I totally agree! Sorry you were subject to quarantine, though that timing was perfect, if it had to be. I hope you have some excellent photos.

I heard second-hand that the captain has gone off for a break after the experience. Can't say I blame him. 

1 hour ago, sleepingcat said:

Hi @sarasailing, thanks for all the review, discussion and photos.  Ive yesterday posted our review of the 20 January departure cruise to Canaries. I notice that our assessments are very similar to those of another reviewer who has just posted (let's hope Saga takes notice).  Still not really sure if we would book Saga again, it probably has more to do with itineraries than anything else. 

 

Good you are safely back home, happy sailing next time. 

I'll take a look.

I do hope Saga continues to evolve in a way that improves their future prospects. As an independent British company, I'd love to see it.

Well, here's a bit from my excellent trip the the Holmen Husky Lodge near Alta (once we'd been taken to the wrong place first, because the driver had the wrong information). Once we reached the lodge, the staff there were amazing, and really looked after us. 

After walking through the kennel area to get a feel for the noise, we were divided into two groups. The first group headed off in pairs for a 6km ride with a musher and seven dogs each. The rest of us retired to a large teepee for coffee kept warm by the fire, and a chat with the kennel manager. The lodge has a very serious racing team, and the most enthusiastic, healthy, fit, hungry dogs go into that area - the rest work with tourists. They breed a small number of new pups each spring, and old dogs will get adopted locally. 

The ride through the woods was beautiful, and the dogs and our musher kept us entertained. One of our lead dogs, Leia, was very opinionated and feisty, but her harness partner Tre took it all in his stride. 

Then there was dinner prepared by a local restaurant and sent up to the main lodge - simple, generous and tasty. 

We were super lucky that the clouds cleared and we had several hours of Northern Lights dancing across the sky - faintly visible to the naked eye, but showing up beautifully on film. 

We slept in little teepees, each equipped with a wood pellet stove. Very cosy. 

Breakfast the next morning was traditional bread, meat, cheese and jam. The most gorgeous fresh bread, I think with cumin seeds. 

And there was time for husky cuddling before the coach came to take us back. The dogs have been well socialised, they love their work, and they love interacting with people. Their kennels are in pairs, each well insulated. They are bred as outdoor dogs, and they thrive in those conditions. 

Here are some random photos (which might be upside down, sorry, they don't start off that way), and a video of the first sleds setting off (sound on to hear the barking).

50 minutes ago, Vivaldi said:

Given the nature of its clientele, Saga's approach has always been to put safety first, whether that is in relation to covid, bad weather or whatever.

 

You are right of course, and my opinion is only mine. I'd hate to be the policy maker!

And the whole approach to safety slipped in terms of travelling to a place that was predictably too cold for the ship. At least we were in port for long enough for the fire misting system to be repaired before we went back to sea.

Of course, there's a positive to everything, and one couple got moved to a suite after the leaks affected their cabin!

2 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

At moment  my biggest worry about  Saga is approach to covid. They and other cruise lines want cake and eat it;- cruise to be like before covid ,  but want zero Covid . Then overeact to any cases.  

Yes, please make up your own mind - the world WILL be different in May! We all love different things. I'm due to be cruising with Silversea in May, just around the south of Norway, so I'll try to give a critique of that too. Much as I love SS, the Wind (before it became an expedition ship), the Whisper and the Shadow particularly, they are not perfect - as my many run-ins with Shore Concierge indicate. But what I have found with SS is that when I escalate within the UK business, or within the ship hierarchy, I find genuinely interested and helpful responses (less so from Miami and the machine of the business).

My argument with covid policy is my logic brain. If everyone on a coach or in the theatre wears a mask to protect each other, then those people wouldn't need quarantine. And if quarantine worked, the virus wouldn't be popping up in random places. We also have to recognise that the huge majority of people are not getting seriously ill, the triple jabbed are showing much less tendency to long covid, and the virus is now endemic. There's also a strong argument for exposure to the virus a month or two after the third jab, while protection is high, to boost immunity further. It is always sad when people die of a disease, and this is no different. But we're coming into parallel with flu now. 

I think part of the issue for us was that the ship is heading to the Caribbean, and some islands still have a very low tolerance for cases. Whereas mid-cruise Norway released pretty much all restrictions, and it was wonderful. So some of the policies applied to us were to benefit the following cruise. 

But lots of quarantine takes infrastructure. Particularly for room service, for example (which seriously struggled). And maybe more thought about how to improve the experience of people in quarantine. On the plus side, Saga offer a LOT of movies on the cabin TV - I watched something almost every night when I went to bed, and the day I spent in my cabin I got through all of Back To The Future!