Medeba

18 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Need to be sure we like Saga first

That's what we have decided to do before booking a 2023 cruise.  But,  I may be persuaded otherwise if any of the revised itineraries include Svalbard.

1 hour ago, FatBoy20 said:

Phone Call last night & booked SoD @ 35% off.. Pre-registered Sept 2021. Happy days!.

I too had my call last night and got quotes for three cruises.  The discounts were either 30 or 25%.  Now need to make a decision!

Still waiting.....

Think it will be a while yet 😔

On 3/11/2022 at 1:08 PM, LandC said:

We’re still waiting for a call from Saga!

So are we!  We pre registered late September 2021.  Looks like Saga aren't calling in register order.

1 hour ago, Fletcher said:

UPDATE - A Covid outbreak has forced SoA to abandon its Caribbean cruise and return to Southampton.  All guests are being offered a full refund.  The earlier Caribbean cruise on SoD was also hit by Covid with many ports of call cancelled. 

https://www.cruisemapper.com/news/10086-saga-cruises-spirit-of-adventure-covid-cases

You may be interested to have a look at "Bit of a Blog" by NorbertsNiece who has been reporting live on the SOA situation.  SOA is now safely back at Southampton.

My thanks too for a very interesting blog, Linda.  Have a safe journey home.

And I was hoping to go to Svalbard.  Bit underwhelmed with the cruises on offer but will get pricing on two.

So sorry you have missed out on your cruise, John182.  Can't begin to imagine how you felt when your driver tested positive.  I too hope you get a free cruise as well as a refund.

On 2/14/2022 at 9:52 AM, blag said:

I contacted my TA with regard to taking advantage of this promo for an existing, fully-paid-for, cruise.The cruise is included in the list.

My TA spoke on my behalf with Azamara, who advised her that, because the price I have paid is much lower than the current price (in the promo sale), there is no advantage or benefit to me, and that stuff like increased OBC  cannot be applied.

Hi blag

Sorry for the delay in getting back; I have been away.  My TA has confirmed that Azamara has given us $1000 extra OBC for both of our back to back cruises but no further price reduction (which I wasn't really expecting tbh).  I think this OBC is in addition to the $900 per booking we already have but I'm getting that checked out.  I will enjoy having a shopping spree!  I'm sorry you didn't manage to get the new OBC applied.

6 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Ponant has a strict pricing policy:  there is a rack rate; when a new cruise is posted it is 30% off; as cabins sell the discount goes down to 25, 20, etc. until the final few cabins go at rack rate.  This is transparent, fair and IMHO the way all cruise lines should operate.  But: (1) it takes great discipline to 'leave money on the table' from last-minute bottom-feeders; and (2) it is probably in violation of 'truth in pricing' laws because when the 30% discounts are offered no one has paid the rack rate – although I would argue it actually meets the spirit of those laws better than most cruise line pricing (especially the Oceania and Viking River constant '2-for-1' pricing that fools so many newbies).

Host Jazzbeau.  This is the pricing policy adopted by Saga Cruises.  With regard to your warning about "2 for 1" pricing, in 2018 I got a "2 for 1" cruise with Azamara in an oceanview stateroom and it really was the real deal.  Not seen the offer since, though.

10 hours ago, blag said:

Please post the outcome! 

Blag.  I have found out that my TA is out of the office until Tuesday, so feedback may be delayed a bit.  I have already had two price reductions on my back to back cruises so we shall see.

1 hour ago, blag said:

Please post the outcome! 

Will do.

3 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

The UK website off from 8-22 Feb has an offer of $1000 OBC per stateroom & up to 15% off on cruises from 25 March - 19 November, but it’s not all cruises (E.g Quest Oct 29 Athens to Dubai is not included). 

I thought this promotion only applied to new bookings so I have written to my TA to ask.

38 minutes ago, mumcat said:

We are booked on a cruise in mid-July 2022. The final payment is due 90 days prior to sailing but a few fellow passengers have said on Roll Call that several weeks ago they received notification that the final payment date has been amended to 60 days prior. We have not received any notification at all and my emails to our Regent agent have been ignored.  The change seems to be happening on a rolling basis . Has anyone else had this change applied to their cruise sailing in 2022?

Yes, we had an email about the 60 days for our April cruise.  Our TA required payment about 3 weeks before that. 

3 hours ago, LandC said:

Medeba, I’ve checked my records.  We had an email on 26th August 2020 with a PDF of the brochure for 2022 cruises.  Saga phoned us on 1st September.  So we had 5 days, but I guess this will vary according to how many staff are available to make the calls. 
 

it’s important to note that there are no prices on the  brochure.  When called you will be advised of the price for your chosen cruise, which will depend on the discount available at the time, eg 35%, 30% or whatever.

 

Thank you.  That's very helpful.

On 2/7/2022 at 1:43 PM, LandC said:

We received a mail shot from Saga this morning advertising 2022 cruises, along with a flyer stating 2023 cruise brochures will be available on 29th March.  It states people who have pre-registered will be contacted “soon”. 
 

We pre-registered about 18 months ago, and are waiting with baited breath for an email with details of the 2023 cruises, and a phone call from Saga! 

How long does Saga give you to digest the email before they ring you?

In June 2019 we stayed one night pre cruise in Civitavecchia at the Alibrandi Palace.  We would have no hesitation staying there again.  However, I would definitely look at the reviews on Trip Advisor first before making a booking.

1 hour ago, NorbertsNiece said:

Our itinerary :

 

5th Feb Depart Southampton

6th / 7th Feb sea days

8th Feb BERGEN

9th / 10th Feb sea days

11th Feb TROMSØ

12th Feb HONNINGSVÅG

13th ALTA

14th ALTA

15th ALTA

16th sea day

17th NARVIK

18th sea day

19th Feb KRISTIANSUND

20th / 21st Feb sea days

22nd Feb Southampton

 

 

.

Hi Linda

Glad you're having a great time. The Northern Lights Cathedral in Alta is a definite must see as is the Arctic Cathedral in Tromso.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that you will see a good display of the Northern Lights and, if you get a chance, I would go on an excursion to see them.  We saw a beautiful display of green lights from the ship in Tromso but other passengers saw a spectacular display with different colours on an excursion.

I'll continue to follow you on your journey.  I would love to be on this voyage to Norway; it's so beautiful in winter with lots of opportunities for great photos.

3 hours ago, ceejilly said:

Having committed to a B2B cruise from Venice to Athens, my thoughts are now turning to the obvious….what is the departure port???

 

I’m aware San Basilio (Venice) is not accepting cruise ships,  my thoughts then turned to Trieste whether they are taking on the burden but my TA has entered yet another contender, that being Ravenna with flights landing at Bologna!!

 

Twenty four hours later I was informed that as per Azamara’s current itinerary it states Venice will be the departure port but not San Basilio but rather at the Porto Marghera industrial complex.  Maybe not as bad as it seems as transfers to Venice start quite close to the causeway bridge linking the two.

 

I'm confused, is there anyone out there with better advice than what my TA has?

Thanks

 

CeeJilly

 

Hi CeeJilly.  You might find it useful to have a look at the discussion "Venice Marghera" which was started on 15 January in the Azamara forum.

5 minutes ago, Shippy said:

Which 2 ships ??

Navigator and Voyager.  There is a CC news article about this dated 20 January.

I think the booster requirement is a good idea.  However, with the European cruise season soon to get started, I'm hoping that the EU directive requiring covid positive passengers and any close contacts to be quarantined ashore will be changed to quarantine being allowed onboard.  The Spanish government is particularly active in requiring passengers to quarantine ashore and there have been several cases reported in the Canary Islands and on mainline Spain over the past month or so.  With many insurance companies not covering close contacts who test negative it adds a further dimension to cruising at the moment.

Loving the blog, Linda.  Must take up a fair bit of your time but it's much appreciated.

Hi Megabear2.  Thank you so much for everything you are doing. 

We are insured with the Civil Service Insurance Society (providing the security of Ergo Travel Insurance on behalf of Great Lakes Insurance).  Whilst we got written affirmation that cruises were covered under the policy we did not also ask about cover for accompanying partners with negative results or close contacts.  Having looked at the policy again, I believe that partners are not covered.  So, perhaps you would be kind enough to add CSIS to your list.

24 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Here’s the latest from Saga, Ann - just received.  Earlier post shows the earlier emails, but this response was an answer to this email:

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

What you appear to be confirming, then, is that if a passenger is required to be disembarked but does not produce a positive COVID-19 test result SAGA will not cover any of the costs?
 

I need to be very clear on this point, because most insurance policies, and even, I believe, your own insurance, will cover only the costs of those actually testing positive - and not anyone else who is required to be disembarked."

 

 

Good Morning,

Thank you for your email.

We would not disembark you if you have not produced a positive Covid test, are you referring to a travelling companion? if one of you tested positive for covid and the other did not? if so claims are reviewed and accessed by the insurance company so we aren't able to say yes or no to this as it would depend on the situation and circumstances we cannot advise if a claim would pay this or not as its case by case.

Also, if you tested positive this doesn't mean you will be debarked this will happen only if they needed additional medical help otherwise they will remain onboard and be debarked when retuning back to the UK and stay in the isolation cabins until ok .

If either of you contract COVID whilst onboard you will be moved to the isolation zone and will be debarked off the ship if you medically need to be and taken to hospital. You would be escorted by a member of the ship, and flights will be arranged home when ok to do so. Yes, you will be allowed in that country. In the most part you will stay onboard unless very unwell, and brought back when the ship returns at the end of the cruise.

If I can be of any further assistance then please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Kind Regards,

Jemma O’Leary
Saga Holidays & Cruises

I am now really confused.  I thought the Spanish government insisted on passengers being disembarked if they tested positive.  The reply from Saga seems to suggest that is no longer the case.  Is anyone able to clarify?

1 hour ago, cinnamon said:

My Goddaughter and I intend to have as much fun as we can whilst maintaining a social distance from our fellow travellers.  We'll choose a quiet bar for a drink, buffet or MDR tables away from others where possible and be masked whenever we are not actually eating or drinking.

 

However, if I do see people obviously flouting safety rules I will report it to an officer rather than a regular crew member.  I do understand that waiters and the like are not keen to upset passengers and try to avoid confrontation but in the current situation, surely the cruise line needs to take responsibility for the health of us all.......passengers and crew members.

 

Incidentally,  on previous cruises on different lines with good (included) internet I have posted Live From blogs.  If I can use the 4G on my phone whilst ashore I may write an Almost Live Blog on here, if there seems to be enough interest.  As I haven't sailed Marella before, I'm not  sure how many CC members there are who read these posts.

Have a great cruise.  I will definitely read your reports from the cruise if you are able to do them.