Wacktle

27 minutes ago, uktog said:

I did a booking three weeks ago and my travel agent tells me she is still waiting an invoice to share with me. Used to have it instantly 

Not at all encouraging, sadly.

11 hours ago, Dynacruiser said:

The onboard crew does not deserve this.  They work very hard to make us enjoy our vacation, but the pre-cruise experience deters folks from buying.😪

 

I like the look of many of the 2026 itineraries. However, you are exactly right in that I am dissuaded from booking due to this pre-cruise chaos and lack of instant cabin availability online. 

All I would like is to see quickly which cabin numbers are available without inputting a pile of information, to have an actual price without any "free" OBC or this'n'that and, hopefully, direct UK flights to make a total package. With all that information available on my laptop, I would contact a TA with a shortlist and make a booking, as I did many years ago.  

I don't think so. We haven't been fortunate enough to stay in one, but have looked at the balconies from the deck. I certainly wouldn't call them "verandas" but your terminology may differ to mine.

If you do a Google search, you will find some recommendations on here. In 2016 soemone posted "But, if you are willing to spend the money, I would go for the Deluxe suites 301-314. They have large windows and your own balcony that is quite private. We've been in these twice now. I would avoid 313-314 as they open on to the deck, have kind of an odd shape, and for some reason used physical keys instead of a card." 

I do remember seeing a huge key hanging from the door of one of those that opens onto the deck.

I wouldn't say that they are all private. The balconies nearest the bow are easily overlooked from the deck, and I don't think they're private from each other either.

Someone on here does mention a launch (lifeboat?) above one of the cabins, and I can see that from photos I have of the ship.

On 8/23/2024 at 11:44 PM, Cruise-Cat said:

One major positive with Nationwide FlexPlus Aviva annual policy is that if you have a pre-existing medical conditions upgrade then it covers you for medical conditions arising during the year - so no last minute panics if you get a new diagnosis.

Not all insurance policies are like this.

Yes, the really helpful agent (Matthew) stressed that when we went through medical screening last week. It's excellent.

Cruise-Cat and Windsurfboy ...both excellent suggestions.

19 hours ago, Cruise-Cat said:

I've noticed that other cruise lines offer unassigned or a variation thereof.  Many other cruise lines also offer "Late Deals" in order to fill cabins.  

 

Also worth bearing in mind that many cruisers will not be quite as forensic about the pricing - those "In the Know" will be patting themselves on the back for getting 35% discount by pre-registering

 

Marella (which we have used) charge extra to book a cabin. I think some lines have lower fares for those who don't want "extras" such as a specific cabin, free shuttle buses, etc.

Several years ago, friends booked late onto a 7 night Norway cruise that we'd booked at 35% discount. They had no idea that their fare was £900pp more than ours.  

It's a European cruise line.

We've assumed the offers are because they offer the same cruises over and over again, and also that the younger passenger cannot do the longer cruises. Our preference is for short cruises as we dislike sea days and also get stir crazy after 6 nights. (I know many of you won't comprehend that.) Thereore we would book a Canaries or Caribbean cruise if we could fly out and back. Consequently our "further afield" bookings have been, and will be, with other lines.

Human error, yes. Several years ago we contacted our usual TA to book a Mekong river cruise and stay package, having been to the operator's presentation at a local hotel. The price quoted to the TA by the operator, and relayed to us, was half of that expected. We queried whether it was for one or two persons and were assured it was for two. Again we queried it, maybe stupidly? Eventually the operator agreed they'd goofed and offered us a price midway between the error and real price, provided we paid in full now. As the balance due date was near anyway, it was a no brainer and we bagged the bargain. We're not sure what would have happened if we'd accepted the half-price originally quoted. 

31 minutes ago, Thatname said:

We’re going to be cruising Saga for the first time, on the Spirit of Adventure. 
 

I have a question about suitcases, do we have to find somewhere in the cabin to store them, or will crew take them away for storage if we ask?

 

Thanks 

We store ours under the bed.

We did the Fjords cruise in 2022 and, on the advice of others online, took no Norwegian currency. We bought very little ashore, and I used a Halifax Clarity card which has no extra charges. We did take sterling and euros, just in case. We are also on next week's cruise and may see you onboard.

50 minutes ago, uktog said:

As it was we joined a line of guests at business class checkin all needing reroutes. The couple in front got the last reroute for today. We accept there’s always the one who just misses but we feel had we reached the airport at the advertised time we could have been home today. As it is we are both nursing ship acquired colds and are still 24 hours from leaving. 
 

Sadly the appeal of Buenos Aires had evaporated for now. 

It sounds a nightmare. I hope you both recover soon and get home safely, and can recoup your unplanned expenditure,

2 minutes ago, SummmerInKefalonia said:

Ok if they make the links available and if someone wants to share them here I can make a list with all the itineraries in a pdf to compare.

How can you make a list of the itineraries when the website isn't showing them all?  Also, if you've pre-registered, you will have already have the same emailed link as we all have had today?

4 minutes ago, Medeba said:

Yes, you're right.  I think we have all got used to referring to an e-brochure (like last year's pdf) but you do have to look at each individual cruise listing: such a pain!  The pdf was so much easier to look at all the cruises and compare the itineraries.

Try clicking the individual cruises ..... I hope you do better than me! (See above)

4 minutes ago, SummmerInKefalonia said:

If someone can share the links I could help to list them all together...

For the ones I'm looking at, there's not a lot of point. Only one cruise that I've selected so far takes me to the 2025 page; the rest take me to the generic 2024 search page. Having worked in IT for many years before retirement, I cannot believe this incompetence.

9 minutes ago, Medeba said:

This mess with the E-Brochure is a disgrace.  But, on a selfish note, I have found two cruises that I'm interested in.  Would have been nice though to be able to see all the cruises planned but faulty links make that impossible.  Just wondering what the prices are like. 

There isn't really an e-brochure, unless I'm missing something? I seem to have to click on each cruise that I could be interested in to see its detail. To compare any, it looks as if I'm going to have to take screenshots and paste them into a document. What a palaver!  If anyone's found a solution, please tell me.

We also got the free Saga shuttle to Porto. A scenic ride and very efficient.

I advise that, if you want to do the Flam railway trip, book it yourself. We did it through Saga and were crammed into carriages like sardines, and this was when Covid was still an issue. Our guide shouted at those who tried to board an empty carriage. She lied to everyone, saying that it didn't matter which side of the train we sat because it turns round at the top. It doesn't! We were NOT allowed off the train at Myrdal, despite the excursion details saying we would be. People we sat near at dinner that eveing had enjoyed a leisurely trip by going it alone. 

I had the bed under the corner cupboard. I'm only 5 feet tall so no problem at all for me. Not sure what you mean by extra storage unit. Each bed has pull out drawers underneath so when pushed together, one set is just inaccessible.

We've had a cabin with a 3rd bunk, which was annoying so we ensured we didn't book it again.  Next time we did have a cabin with the corner cupboard. Neither of us can remember it being a problem. However we did have the beds as 2 singles because it provides extra drawer space. Photos of both cabins attached.

Maybe they're waiting to see which ports are actually going to allow cruise ships to dock at all.

15 hours ago, Bloodaxe said:

On our recent cruise we were advised to take copies of our passports and not the originals when going ashore.

On the night before we arrived in France copies of our passports were left in our cabin.

I was just going to say the same. Maybe we were on the same cruise (11 Sept, 5 nights). 

9 hours ago, twotravellersLondon said:

 

Given that we only do about four saga cruises a year, we don't use the app and so this is not a problem for us.

Only 4?!!!  

22 hours ago, FannyLiz said:

Thank you everyone. I’m coming to the conclusion that while it is easier to get access to Manage My Booking from the app this relies on the app working and that is not a given. I’ve put a bookmark directly on my screen so will see whether that is anymore reliable. I did wonder about the app being used for onboard transactions as no- one has mentioned it in any posts. I shall add my twopennorth to the feedback to the developers however.

I'm not sure why you want to use the App when, what you appear to want to access is available via MySaga or Manage My Booking. You don't need the App to access these. Go directly to it/them via your browser. You'll just need to set up a simple login ID and password. If I'm missing something ...??

On 8/29/2023 at 9:48 PM, Mrs Miggins said:

I loved Star Clippers.  I am a non smoker and never experienced any issues.

We've never had an issue on Royal Clipper with ciggie smoke either. We're both non-smokers.