Wacktle

Thanks for all the info and photos. 

I was particularly interested in the wine menu. With 10 nights on SoD and 5 on SoFA, we have never seen or been offered one! We don't eat in the MDR, so maybe they think Grill diners don't enjoy wine? 

I have also noticed that dinner menus in The Grill don't offer cheeses. Why? As a fussy veggie, I found the menu in October very limiting and would have loved a cheese plate. Can anyone help on this?

On 11/16/2021 at 12:27 PM, Windsurfboy said:

Go with a Russian company. Better value smaller groups , all guides are licensed and have passed exams. We used SPG ,  but many others available. Everyone  we spoke to thought private tours far better ships tours.

 

You can go individually,  we had a car driver and guide, with all entrance fees  for 2 full days only about 50% more than ships tours.

 

They do mini bus tours of max 16. Or if you go on a roll call for your cruise see if say you can get six like minded people then a private tour will be better and cheaper than ship tour. We looked at all the itineraries , and cherry picked our own tour .

 

Tour company will sort out visa for you

I totally agree with Windsurfboy. 

We used Alla Tours when we visited St Petersburg with Cunard and did an excellent 2 day tour in a small, very modern minibus. The guide was excellent, even clearing a path through the crowded Hermitage for her group and even shepherding the females of her flock into vacant loo cubicles at one stop (!!!). I confess we were dubious but a Russian friend investigated the company for us beforehand. The ticket did act as our visa and we wizzed through immigration. As a further reassurance, we were not asked for any payment until the end of the first day. We saw and visited sites that would have required several ship's tours, some of which would have overlapped. It was one of our best cruise decisions.

The only issue we had was that the jobsworth staff on Queen Victoria tried to prevent passengers who weren't on Cunard tours from leaving the ship before their tour passengers, even changing the disembarcation route and then standing with arms outstretched to clock the way. They failed as there were numerous people booked on private tours with Alla, SPB and Red October. 

8 hours ago, Kenmure said:

Regarding the buffet in the evenIngs our last 2 cruises on the Spirit of Discovery in Autumn 2019 and January 2020 both had an excellent buffet in the Grill in the evenIngs.

I agree. On our 10 night France and Spain October 2019 cruise on SoD, there was most definitely a buffet in The Grill every evening, even on formal nights.

1 hour ago, LandC said:

It is possible to get your collection time changed.

When our driver telephoned, he suggested an earlier pick-up time because he thought that Saga's time allowed little leeway in case of motorway delays, etc. We departed an hour earlier. 

20 hours ago, LondonLad60 said:

I hope I'm wrong, but I think while covid is still very much in evidence I don't see self service in the buffet coming back any time soon.

 

Bob

There is a buffet in The Grill at breakfast and lunch, but it is served by staff behind (or in front of) the counters. I agree that a self-service buffet may never return, but that is not the point.

21 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Can't you ask for a salad? 

Possibly I could have, but everyone's idea of "salad" is different and choosing from a buffet selection is much simpler.

I was surprised to receive the survey, having not cruised with Azamara since 2016. I get more communication from them now than when we had cruises booked. I would love to do another Azamara cruise but am still wary of flight and admin arrangements. I'm waiting to see how it fares under the new owners.

23 hours ago, MonsieurD said:

The Grill is set up for waiter served dinner with the same menu as in the Main Dining room.

On our 5 night cruise this month, we found this menu very limited. Our last Saga cruise was on SoD in October 2019 and we enjoyed the buffet dinners in The Grill most evenings. As someone who eats masses of salads and veggies, we are considering cancelling our next cruise if this policy remains in place. We assume it is a cost-cutting exercise, rather than a Covid precaution, because the "served" buffet worked perfectly well at breakfast and lunch. 

On 9/7/2021 at 9:57 AM, white lady said:

Has anyone done a river cruise with Tui. Booked for Christmas markets this year & wondering if anyone had any experience 

If you are on Facebook, there's a dedicated TUI River Cruises private group. Yes, they are already sailing, and, from what I've read, they sound good.

Thanks Janet.  Do you know whether the bar staff will make other cocktails, using the included spirits, e.g. a vodka martini?  

Has anyone got photos of the bar drinks menu(s)?  Thanks.

The wine expert on Saga's October 2019 cruise said that the wine list on board at that time included some amazing bargains. 

It took me longer than 20 minutes too. I thought the questions about whether I would go on a river cruise with a long list of companies funny, as most of them don't do river cruises. The question about the reasons for doing a river cruise also made me smile as it suggested that an ocean cruise would have been an alternative; I'd love to see an ocean cruise ship sail down the Rhine !!  It was very difficult to rank some of the items. Anyhow, it was good to be asked.

We have always had a people carrier shared with only one other couple, but the level of comfort has varied. On one journey, when snow was on the ground, the other couple wanted the heating on full. They were dropped off first, and for the next hour or so, requests to turn down the heating fell on deaf ears, and I had to keep my feet raised off the floor to avoid my shoes melting!  For another journey, the other couple hadn't advised Saga about how many walking aids they were taking, and we had hand luggage pressed against our legs for the journey. Other journeys have been ok, but I would rather they refer to it as a door-to-door transfer. 

Sorry to have missed seeing the ship in Liverpool. I was there today. Disney Magic was in port and I'm sure passengers were wandering about on their own? We'll soon be on SoA ourselves and hopefully leaving the UK following today's announcement. 😊

16 hours ago, Glenndale said:

We have booked a deluxe twin on E deck for a cruise next year. Glad you’re enjoying it. 

We always enjoyed the Club lounge on Discovery listening to the resident singer.

We've also got a deluxe on E deck for a Norway cruise next year. We accepted an upgrade (for a very small extra cost) having had our Fjords cruise cancelled in 2020 and 2021. I'm hoping the lifeboats don't intrude too much.

Thank you HostSharon for your reports. I'm looking forward to the next installments.

20 hours ago, Jammy Bun said:

Well, I hear what you're saying, but will take the chance.  Covid hasn't gone away, and I don't want to tie up any of our cash until we are absolutely sure.     It's another reason we love Viking - they don't play the silly fluctuating price games that the others do, so it's just a matter of keeping an eye on availability.  

 

 

I can only echo what windsurfboy says ... there's is no silly pricing with Saga. The discount levels are transparent when you look on their website, and go down from 35% to zero as the ship fills up. The discounts aren't something to ignore... one of our cruises has increased by about £900 pp, and it's not a long one!

On 7/18/2021 at 4:01 PM, Jammy Bun said:

Thanks for your reassurances!  I'm not going to book just yet, but if the Covid situation settles down by late Autumn, we may just give it a try.  We'd both still prefer Viking, but definitely not keen to go through an airport this year.   The included insurance is also a bonus in the present climate.

Looking forward to seeing some actual 'real life' footage of the interior of the new ship - we've watched Saga's promo videos, but are pretty sure most of the images are very clever computer generated ones. 

Anyway, thanks again, you've all been very helpful.

Don't leave it too long to book. Prices really do go up, and by quite a lot, for some cruises. 

14 hours ago, delondin said:

We have never cruised with Saga and came to this forum to get a feel for the dress code. I am pleasantly surprised to hear that they are more formal than not. I feel that it is nice to dress for dinner especially if the meal is worth it. I feel that it is very sad if the meal is top class and staff make the effort and then the guest is wearing shorts. I found this disappointing on Oceania. 
 

Too often we would make the effort to dress for dinner to be in the cocktail bar next to guests in shorts that they had been wearing since the morning. Each to their own but it is nice to have a standard that everyone is aware of before they book so we can all be singing from the same song sheet. 

Well said 🙂

On 3/15/2021 at 9:49 AM, Host Sharon said:

I am a long-time P&O cruiser who has been totally converted to Saga. You can read my blog on Spirit of Discovery in 2019 here. http://sharonp-shipsinmylife.blogspot.com/2019/

 

 

Thank you Sharon. Your blog was really interesting because we were on the same cruise, but did different things. It was a lovely itinerary.

I had a query about missing documents and contacted Saga via online chat on Friday afternoon. I waited 25 minutes for a response but knew they'd be busy, given the new cancellations. When the agent did respond, my query was answered quickly and efficiently, as usual, and the missing document was in my email Inbox a few minutes later. I prefer the online chat facility because there's a transcript if needed later.

13 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

I think my cruise has 11 ports and 6 inclusive excursions.  Does anyone know if you get to choose which excursions.  Some of my ports are cities I would want to wander around some I'd prefer an excursion is it our choice

As far as I can tell from the Saga brochures and its website, the included excursion will be a basic sightseeing tour, offered on a take it or leave it basis. You will receive a booklet with payable excursions a few weeks before departure, and they'll also be bookable at that time via MySaga.

On 2/8/2021 at 4:57 PM, Glenndale said:

Yes, I've seen their advice, but as I said it is easy to replicate.

I would hope that there will be a better way of authenticating a persons vaccination status.

Unfortunately not everyone is honest.

Thanks for the info about the vaccination evidence. A friend has sent me a photo of one, so I now know what it looks like. However I suppose other vaccination documents,  e.g. yellow fever paper certificates, could also be forged. Hopefully all will become clear one day soon. 

On 2/7/2021 at 12:09 PM, nosapphire said:

As far as proof of vaccination goes, that does baffle me slightly - it is only on ocean cruises that proof is required, for Saga land based and  river cruise holidays, customers simply self-declare.

The vaccination card issued by the NHS will be accepted as proof, but they may have to change the terms about 2 doses if the single dose one gets approved.

 

Nosapphire (and anyone else who's had their vaccination),  what sort of vaccination card have you been given, and did you have to ask for it? My OH has his first jab on Sunday and mine is yet to be arranged, so it would be helpful if we know what to expect. Thank you.

On 2/5/2021 at 4:04 PM, FredT said:

For those who are interested but have not found the little tab on the Star Clippers site.   This is updated by the company as of February 2, 2021.

 

Governmental legislation/regulations regarding restarting cruise ship operations internationally will still take more time to finalize and implement. Star Clippers is working on the protocols necessary to restart our sailing cruises and a summary of these will be published on our website prior to the ships resuming service. 

Therefore, Royal Clipper saildates are cancelled until 1st May 2021

Star Flyer saildates are cancelled until 22nd May 2021

Star Clipper saildates are cancelled until 11th September 2021.

Thank you