DreamflightPat

On 7/31/2019 at 8:24 AM, Medeba said:

Just wanted to thank all you Saganauts for your postings on this forum.  As an experienced cruiser, but a first time Saga cruiser next April, I'm finding the information very useful.  The new ships have attracted us to Saga and remind us a lot of the Viking Ocean ships.

Just wondering which cruise you are on next April.   Like you I am an experienced cruiser but am doing one on Saga next April

On 7/24/2019 at 6:09 PM, IbizaLover said:

I would say that of the four cruise lines we have sailed with, Saga have been the most formal on their formal nights. Not a bad thing though, and my husband really enjoys it, and I get a chance to dress up for once, although as others have said, it doesn’t have to be long dresses.

So pleased to hear that Saga does do formal nights.   I like Cunard because of this also.  If people don't like it there are plenty of other cruise lines to choose from.  I am doing my first Saga cruise in April and really looking forward to it.

On 4/29/2019 at 10:12 PM, shoreham01 said:

Hello everyone, we have just booked our first Saga cruise having previously cruised with Celebrity, Princess and P&O.  We have a long wait for our cruise on Spirit of Discovery 19th April 2020.  We do have to wait for the insurance people to phone us to confirm they will accept our health conditions but the Saga agent seemed very hopeful that all would be OK.  If they don't accept us we will cancel as it is too expensive to get insurance elsewhere.  We have never been to Great Yarmouth or Amsterdam so this taster cruise sounds perfect.  The only other taster cruise we have taken was with P&O a few years ago which was awful and ensured we would not travel with them again so hope we have made good decision with this one.  It is a shame there is no dedicated roll call for Saga as we really enjoyed the build up to our other cruises and made contact with lovely people before we travelled.  

I have just booked this cruise.  Am really looking forward to it.   Have cruised with many lines including Cunard, P& O, Celebrity, Princess, Regent, Seabourn and Pullmantur.  Have heard a lot about Saga and can't wait to experience it.

Now that more facts are becoming available, it is becoming increasingly apparent that she jumped. Although I am happy for her that she was rescued, she should in some way be held accountable. Thousands of people were inconvenienced both emotionally and financially. At the very least, she should be banned from cruise ships and do some sort of community service. If I owned the company that she is supposed to be going back to work for, there is no way I am letting her work as a stewardess on an airplane. She needs help.

Totally agree with your comments. I am an ex stewardess and flew for 39 years. She is just a woman who loves the limelight and likes her drink. Sue her.

You can still get 8 tops with anytime and get to meet different people every night.

I travel on my own and always request a table of 8. It is so interesting to meet people and get to know them. I have also done lots of trips with anytime dining and having to go through the same introductory conversations every night gets boring and you don't get to know people. Amongst my cruises I have done to half world cruises and absolutely loved being with the same people every night for two months. We have become firm friends. It is good that there is a choice of cruise lines. Don't come on to Cunard and try to change them. Thank you.

I'm happy for this lady and hope she is ok and everything works out for her. . But these rescues from cruise ships seem to be happening more and more. Should it really be on the American Taxpayers to foot these bills? The cruise lines take the passengers on the ships and when they get really sick use the USCG to take care of the problem.

 

USCG spent about 680 million dollars last year on rescues of all kind, over 5100 people great job but averages over $100,000 per person. It costs about $1,600 to fuel a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, patrol boat costs $1,147 hour to operate. The USCG C-130 turboprop planes, about $7,600 an hour for fuel alone.

 

Why should the American Taxpayers foot these bills the cruise lines are making millions in profits. In the last two weeks four of these rescues off cruise ships that I have heard about, so my guess several more. The Silver Muse, Holland America Veendam, and Anthem of the Seas 2 times April 29 and May 12. What is the issue with Anthem, two times in two weeks, and RCCL is rolling in profits?

 

Again not attacking the guest just questioning the way things are done that allow cruise lines to take and take and give back very little it seems.

I am from the UK and can't understand why a lot (I am not saying all) Americans don't have travel insurance. If I book a cruise in the UK you have to state your insurance company etc and can't travel without it. Maybe someone can explain it to me please.

Hope they enforce the new suggestions. The main dinning room has slowly become the main cafeteria. There is a reason it is called a "dining room".

Totally agree with your comments.

My copy of the Cunarder has just been delivered by Postman Pat.

 

You can now eat in the Golden Lion on the QV in the evenings ($4 for starters, $8 for mains) between 6PM and 9PM.

 

So that, I would suggest, is the reason why the dress code has been removed from the pub.

I have never eaten in the Pub of an evening as prefer the Dining Room. I certainly won't be eating there now if I have to pay. Have already paid for an evening meal. Rant over😀😀😀

Hi everyone,

 

A week to go until we board QV and wouldn’t you just know it, I’ve developed (comparatively mild) labyrinthitis. My dr has given me some tablets and has assured me I’ll be fine to sail, but the tablets are strictly to be taken with no alcohol so the G&T and wine I’d normally be having are going to have to make way for something less squiffy for the evenings/dinner (hey I might even loose weight on the cruise heh).

 

 

I was hoping some of you could tell me favourite non alcoholic drinks when on board. Any particular mock tails you enjoy or can recommend? If you ask nicely will they serve an Arnold Palmer in the MDR?

They do have non alcoholic wine. I have had this on long cruises at the dinner table when I didn't want wine every night. It is served in a wine glass and everyone thinks you are drinking wine. Quite palatable.

My wife and I are planning a Trans Atlantic (TA) cruise for 2019. Last year we did a TA on he QM2 in early May and were fortunate to have had very mild weather that allowed us to enjoy the promenade deck and the stern hot tubs all but one day. For this next TA cruise we were thinking of pushing the date back to June, July or even August to have even better odds of having mild weather. Of course we know that the later we push it back the greater the chance that we run into a tropical storm or even a hurricane. We also realize that weather on the North Atlantic can be a crap-shoot. Does anyone have any suggestions on this timing issue?

 

Thanks

Harold

I crossed in July a couple of years ago and we had the fog horn going for two days in the middle of the crossing. You can never tell with weather can you?

Are lanyards for ship ID cards the norm on Cunard cruises? They sound a good idea.

You rarely see them worn on Cunard ships. Personally, I don't like them, just reminds of cheaper cruise lines (I know I am going to get flamed for this comment):):)

Just back from 45 nights on QM2 and very glad to be home. We have been ill every time we have travelled on her, the medical department must be making a fortune. It is a sick ship. A beautiful ship but it will be the last time we travel on her.

I think you will find it is not just confined to Cunard. I have been on other lines and it is always the same. It is not the line's fault it is the passengers that take these bugs on board.

Depending on the length of the cruise,for formal evenings, I take long dresses [not what I would call gowns but definitely more dressy than maxi] and I also take formal pants and the most beautiful tops and jackets. I know when I wear a two piece outfit, I look better dressed than the majority of the ladies around the ship, long dresses or not.

 

Keep to the sense of the occasion and feel good in what you wear.

Totally agree with you. I will always dress up in the evenings. If you don't like it go and sail with someone else. I have just come back from a Princess cruise in the Caribbean and I had so many remarks in the evening about how nice I looked. I answered, you could look the same😀😀

I tend to disagree. Mind you I have only been on QM2 once across the Atlantic but have been round the world on QE. I always dress in the evenings and I found that most people did on the trip I went on.

Does anybody know how to get a cruise that was booked directly with Princess transferred to an outside travel agency. I have done this many time with cruises booked with Celebrity and then have transferred the booking within 60 days to another travel agent using a form provided by Celebrity, but can't find any form or information on Princess website on how to transfer booked cruises to another travel agent.

 

Robin

I tried doing this last year and as I live in the UK they said I had to transfer the booking within 24 hours of making it.

will be boarding this Saturday, and hope to get on early. What time have they begun boarding in Ft. Lauderdale?..only second princess cruise and would like to get on early....😎😎😎

Will be boarding on Saturday as well. Having a transfer from hotel in Miami to the ship.

Following on from the recent post about missed ports being compensated (BTW we missed Stockholm on a Baltic cruise a few years ago, and received no compensation, though we didn't ask for any), what about compensation where a cruiser becomes ill during the cruise and is confined to their cabin?

 

This has just happened to us on the Christmas Queen Victoria cruise to the Canaries. My wife became ill after 6 days with a very high temperature and cough that developed into bronchitis. She had to visit the doctor on Christmas Day and was confined to our cabin for several days. She therefore missed all the Christmas festivities; she was offered the Christmas dinner, but was unable to eat anything other than a few crackers. She's still ill now, almost 3 weeks later. We're making a claim against our travel insurance, but we can only get about £50 back against the cost of the visit to the medical centre and prescribed antibiotics. Cunard have said (when we spoke to the purser) that she cannot claim for the time ill and confined to our cabin. However, friends of ours have been in similar situations with Celebrity Cruises (though norovirus instead of bronchitis) and they received fairly substantial sums of money in compensation for their ruined holiday.

 

We feel that Cunard are fault here, either by letting someone board with something particularly nasty, or, more likely, by having the illness already on board. I love Queen Victoria and we've sailed on her many times, but at times it felt like a plague ship - coughing could be heard throughout the ship, by both crew and guests (and it was a particularly hacking cough, so not just your day-to-day cough), and when I visited the shop to buy cough medicine and paracetamol, I noticed virtually every other person in there was buying the same. We were told by a member of staff that they had had the same cough several weeks ago, seen the doctor and only been given 1/2 a day off. We had been looking forward to this holiday since spring when we booked it, paid a lot of money for it, and have basically had our whole Christmas ruined!

 

We're going to write to head office anyway, but it would be interesting to know other people's thoughts on compensation, and if anyone else was on the same cruise, and whether they noticed that levels of illness on this cruise seemed to be particularly high.

I am sorry but I am failing to understand why you think a cruise line should compensate you for illness. It is not the cruise line that has caused the illness but most probably other passengers who have brought germs on with them. Do you expect a hotel or an airline to compensate you it you go down with some thing. I do hope you are feeling better now.

Sorry I cannot remember which island we missed, the point I was making was that there was no attempt to stop along the west coast of Portugal or Spain.

We found 10 days at sea in a row too much :)

Do you have any evidence that no attempt was made to go to another stop? I ask because it is not always easy to find ports that can take a big ship at short notice. It's like parking lots, once they are full they are full.

100 days and counting:cool:

 

Have you joined our roll call?

Yes I am on there, thank you

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I don't have as much faith as others. We are on 1/13/18 sailing and cruise lines will do most anything to avoid taking ships out of service. The Caribbean Princess is already operating with less than full strength. Hopefully, she will get through the season without further issues.

Am on same trip as you.

I believe it is possible to use these towards the cost of a cruise, but I would love to hear from anyone who has done it.

I have done it on 3 occasions. You can put £800 worth of Tesco points towards your cruise. You can't book through a travel agent though and you cannot use it as a deposit. Have also used it on two Princess cruises and a forthcoming one on Royal Caribbean. Well worth it.

Call your credit card company and dispute the charge. Not your fault they understaff the guest services desk on disembarkation day.

 

Have a great cruise wherever the ship may take you!

Disagree with you. You should go down to guest services at the beginning of the cruise not wait until the last day. Anyway, it is better to leave the auto tip on because there are people behind the scenes that then get something, they all help to make your cruise a great experience not just front line staff.

As a cabin crew member for 39 years, I would suggest you do not drink alcohol, maybe one glass of wine with a meal. Don't take sleeping pills or anything like that. Drink plenty of water to keep hydrated. Put on eyeshades and buy the wax type of earplugs, or put the earphones in and have slow relaxing music.

On our previous cruises, the theater show for late diners was before dinner. Apparently Cunard does not do things this way. So, other than spending time in their cabin or a lounge, what do people do from 6:00 to 8:30? We’ll be pleading our case with the maître d’ for a switch to early dining.

 

Thanks.

So prefer late sitting, especially if you have been ashore during the day. No rush when you get back. I like to spend a little time on the balcony, leisurely get ready and then go for pre-dinner drinks. Go the late show after dinner.

Hi All,

 

We are the QE sailing this Wednesday, have been allocated deck 4, stbd forward.

It says these are metal balconies, not glass? Has anyone stayed in these cabins? If so what are they like, any restrictions? Also any noise from the theatre below?

Thanks

I personally hate the metal balconies. I like to sit out on mine and be able to see the see or the port. Heard nothing from the theatre. Will not book one again. Just my personal preference. Have a good cruise.