janecambridge

Did I read somewhere that if you purchase a La Reserve wine pairing dinner and you have a Prestige drinks package,you do not pay 18% grats.? We had a house select package as part of Ultimate life.We upgraded to Prestige and have booked La Reserve,Have been charged gratuities.We have an advert on Currents stating there is 20% off La Reserve if you have any drinks package.

When I queried this at reception,the answer from the purser was the drinks O life choice package is excluded from the discount.They showed me an internal print out.Of course I have no access to this.

On our 4 night cruise,the 2nd voyage, we too booked all restaurants on embarkation.We went straight to the restaurants to join queues before going to cabin! 

Thank you for all the comments.Most helpful.

We have booked another  SOD cruise for next November,2 weeks.It is touring the Canary Islands,something we want to do.I looked at other cruise lines, just to make sure we were happy with Saga again and to be quite honest, I cant be bothered with all the drinks packages.To buy one so my husband can have a nice coffee seems petty to me. Also buying a package of 4 wines or 5 bottles beer etc is not relaxing.We do like a few drinks a day when cruising and Saga having all inclusive is simpler and  better  choices. Also the pick up is very helpful and organised for us.

Having just read this topic,I phoned SAGA, that in itself was a trial  as the number they give is basically for buying insurance,I was told that I cannot access my booking for my next cruise myself only through my agent.It is a breach of contract between them, for Saga to interact directly with customer.But the Britannia nights scheme is NOT  affected when booking through an agent. 

I do like to be able to see my own booking on a cruise,but at the end of the day I believe my agent should do some work!! 

Certainly having a currency not US dollars, we found it cheaper to book onboard.Also you don’t have to do it on first day.May be worthwhile to see for a day or two if that is what you want  to do.

.Our first cruise was from concierge to an upsell  of a PH.My husband got the call from our agent  and had to reply straight away,so he did.Not an ideal position on the ship,but a very nice suite.But I have since always made  it clear I don’t want an upsell.I am intolerant of noise above me and believe that the cabins available for upsell  are unwanted cabins.I can’t spend my days and nights under scraping chairs  or people jogging on machines  in the gym.I choose the cabin carefully for peace of mind.

Its a very personal thing I guess.Some people like to be near the lifts or central in the ship.

P.S sometimes a torn meniscus can periodically slot back into its rightful position.If it is permanently torn and out of position,it is extremely painful,continually. I get where you are coming from Mura.😢

Thanks once again and most of the things you pointed  out,we agree with.

We are off on a Oceania cruise in November for a week,We got a good discount,lots of onboard credit as we were treated bad on a 16 night South Pacific cruise, in the last 4 days in a premier suite.(another story).Something we saved hard for as two special occasions. Will be interesting to compare after our SOD cruise.

We are about to sign up again, with SAGAS early discount offer for cruises in 2021.We got  a good deal doing this before for our 2020 cruise.35%. (Not 40% as someone said on another blog).

Honestly ,we would prefer SOD and possibly SOA, to Oceania and Regent and Cunard now.Regent and Oceania are too expensive and Cunard has so many ‘add ons’ to pay for.( May possibly do Clippers again though😉).

We had a good chat with the Captain on our cruise and it sounds like some of the things we pointed out that were negatives,are being changed.

I am pleased, Cinnamon that  he took time to speak to you.He obviously has a passion to get things right on his ship.

Is luxury not a perception.? 

23 hours ago, Glenndale said:

As I said I very rarely use the buffet, the only buffet I will use is the Oceania one where food is served to you and not self service.

😉

I do use the buffet on ships other  than Oceania, but request a paper napkin to use on utensil handles.

On 9/15/2019 at 3:58 PM, Glenndale said:

 

I have in the past sat on shared tables at breakfast where other guests have had at least 3 courses when all I wanted was a poached egg and a cup of tea. Never again.

 

🤣 The very reason my husband won’t use main dining room for breakfast.

On 9/13/2019 at 1:42 PM, Tigrou said:

 

My closest friends are in their late 60s, my siblings are in their 60s, my husband would be in his mid-60s, my sister-in-law and husband are late 70s, and my friend and neighbour is 89.  When I'm with any of them I don't give a thought to their age, it is irrelevant.  A few of them teased me about booking a Saga cruise, saying it was only for 'old' people.  Now I'm sure I'll get told "we warned you", as I know they would all have had very similar reactions to mine.

 

Not sure what “ old people” means, but every cruise we have been on out of school  holidays, has the majority of passengers looking over 75. So what! Most of them are very knowledgable and great fun.

Great blog Cinnamon,thanks.Interesting  to read all the comments as we were on the ships second sailing.We are just 60 and never felt the ship was full of infirm or otherwise.Certainly not a care/nursing home.Peoples age and mobility does not bother me.Rude, arrogant, judging ageists would.Every sailing on every ship is different.

The specialist restaurant bookings do need to get sorted out.Maybe pre book before embarkation as you do on Oceania?

We liked Captain Sutherland’s greetings every morning,Such a cheery chap.

Im not sure if it’s the norm,but we never got a questionnaire when we returned home regards the transfer from home and back service.

We did 4 nights and got a table for 2 in each restaurant.But you must head to the restaurants straight away on embarkation.We went there before finding our cabin! 

All the specialist restaurants had empty tables.I think they have a limit on guests, regardless of need.All were good,food excellent.Seafood restaurant was very noisy.

They are super.Very good.

Glendale,

No prizes at trivia.Maybe in the future?

Do you suggest I am great unwashed? 😱

We have sailed Mariner and Riviera,Oceania,and I can honestly say I think SODiscovery just tips them.There are extra staff and that is obvious in all areas.I love no flights and transfers for my holidays.The specialist restaurants did not bring me any reasons to fault them whereas I often find fault in Oceania’s specialist restaurants.

We thoroughly enjoyed it.We don’t sail with friends and always  dine at a table for two, so getting together with others from cruise critic was really good fun.We felt we already knew most of them even though we had never met.We would not have booked on a willy milly basis,not knowing anyone.There is plenty of room around the table.$25 is nothing when you receive OBC.

On 8/13/2019 at 8:45 PM, GeorgesGal said:

 

Hi, Jane, so nice to hear from you, and thank you for your kind words.  We certainly enjoyed your company as well; perhaps some day our paths might cross again.  Marianne and I have a cruise booked for next March on the Sirena, the only ship in O's fleet we haven't yet sailed - Caribbean 14 days.  Want to come along?  Of course, the small ships don't have Privee.... .  I think we will survive, though.  There are no bad dining options on any O ship

Donna, we would love to come with you in March if you can pay,😂..

we have just had a short  cruise on SAGA on their new ship and it’s fantastic.We will need to toss a coin to see which ship we will choose. Although we have a week in November this year on Marina and 2 weeks next November with SAGA again.Counting the weeks is not good as life flashes by.! 

Wishing you and your sister a lot of future fun.

P.S Those  who haven't done Privee,go to your roll call and find enough people to make up 10 for this great evening.Well worth it .

And Donna, we loved you and your sisters company.x

On Spirit of Discovery, we were in a standard balcony cabin and we were told to put out luggage AFTER 9pm and before we retire to bed. So ours went out at midnight.

The deluxe cabins we saw, were wider than the standard and had more room at end of bed.The standard are quite tight at end of bed, especially if you are of broad build.Shower room and shower were fine.Balcony bit small for our liking but for a cruise with all port days it would be fine. After our recent cruise,we looked at upgrading to a deluxe for our next one,but the price jumps up.

We just cruised the 4 night cruise with Jools Holland.What a great ship.We are Oceania fans and there was a lot to compare with.

We loved the kettle in cabin,the shampoos etc,free fruit in cabin on arrival. But sadly no clock.

Room service 24hrs and food from main dining room when it’s open.

TIP....plug hairdryer into socket by patio doors.It doesn’t work in shower room.

Great ice cream machine by pool and various flavours in lounge, with sprinkles and sauces.

Plenty of sun beds but not enough shade on hot days.Various wind barriers on higher outside decks with small comfortable seating areas.

Free spa facilities were very good.

All the speciality restaurants were excellent.Grill had lovely assortment of meals and the verandah had freshly ordered meals at lunchtimes.No complaints  with any food.Lots of willing to help staff.Verandah chairs are very deep and if you are not tall,you will need a cushion from an empty seat to relax.Also few places to sit when staff and visitors eating there.

Our cruise was inclusive drinks which meant free wine and beer with meals.A lot of people including ourselves,thought it was all inclusive,But what you buy is very cheap so no problem.

The lifts buttons are very badly lit.It is hard to see what button to press.This was a big complaint.

Our biggest complaint and I hope they do something about it,is the design of the Club.It has a big ‘hole’ in the middle to look down into main dining room.This meant that the wonderful young couple on piano and singing were drowned with happy eater noises then cleaning up until 11.30pm.Spirtit of Adventure is the exact same design as Discovery except for 2 details and one of these is the ridiculous design of the Club.It has a floor over the main dining room.We mentioned it to Captain on a day he was wandering around the ship.That evening (and two after)  he had the Staff captain up there with other staff,monitoring it.It was agreed there was a problem.

The cabin was a bit tight but comfortable and kitted out with binoculars and a blanket.Plenty of cushions for the seats on balcony.Kept very clean twice a day.I feel there is a need for towels to not be replaced regularly if hanging up.

Did not try afternoon tea ( always too full) or eat in Main dining room.

A wonderful captain.Probably the happiest captain we have ever encountered.

Tenders were comfortable, being individual seats.

A really great aspect was the amount of British products used.British cheeses,crisps,ice creams and wines,including sparkling wine from Kent.

As said in initial post here about chairlift, we dont need a chairlift for the pool,nor did I see anyone who did.The steps are well designed into the pool and have handrails.Most passengers were quite mobile.The showers are poorly marked so no one used them prior to pool use.

There were those that didn’t cleanse hands at relevant times,coughed into hands then used utensils in buffet and also those that picked at food with hands,but that you get on most ships.(Oceania don’t allow anyone to touch the buffet untensils,they serve for you.As I am used to this,I tended to use a paper serviette when handling them).

Overall we were very pleased with the new ship and did not in any way feel like it was only it’s second sailing.The staff were amazing.

pick up from home was prompt and we picked two other after us.Although  they say half hour maximum,it rather depends on the drivers Sat Nav or Tom Tom.We know we went a very long way to get to next pick up.Coming home, unfortunately we were an hour late getting picked up from ship as problems at Dover.Then Dartford tunnel a nightmare.As we were running late we were late dropping off our first drop then  we had to go out of our way again to swop cars and our driver take next passengers to Dover.So 2 hour trip took nearly 5.Both our drivers were very professional and cars comfortable.

We have booked a second cruise,two weeks on the ship next time.We would like to upgrade to deluxe cabin for the extra room,but the price goes up considerably.

Just to warn that if you are from a country not using US dollars,if you pre pay the upgrade for drink package,you may not get a good currency conversion.We always pay on board. 😉

Thank you all.

I phoned Oceania and despite the young lady being a bit confused,probably a newbie, we have booked La Reserve.There were 2 available dates for the odyssey/ bourgeois menu and one date for the Champagne menu on a week cruise.I have been able to pay with onboard credit for the date I wanted.

She had no idea about any discount if we booked prestige beverage package,went away to ask and said yes, there is a discount.

looking forward to it and glad of all the tips on here.

Happy sailing everyone.