LandC

I think there are too many Canaries itineraries.  People who have some flexibility on dates would be better off waiting for a guarantee offer. 

 

I agree with your points Windsurfboy.  Also why are no paper port maps available.  Taking a photo of maps on smart phones is not practical (or safe).  
 

Personally, I would like to know if Saga plan to introduce some more fly cruises for those of us who don’t enjoy too many sea days.

We have sailed with Noble Caledonia a couple of times, most recently in June this year when we did a circumnavigation of Iceland. They have two Sky vessels, just over 100 passengers.  They offer some unusual itineraries and due to the size of the ships, they can dock in places which would be unsuitable for larger vessels.  They are not a luxury line but have a loyal following.  

We’ve sailed with Azamara.  Fly cruises with interesting intensive itineraries.  Four ships with max 680 passengers. They are not a “luxury’ cruise line like Seabourn, but food is good and they also have speciality restaurants.

23 minutes ago, Cruise Anorak said:

Thank you all for your replies, I am thinking of booking, but trying to get my head around the price for a solo cabin

Best advice I can give is to book a single cabin as soon as cruises are launched, as the price goes up as cabins are sold.  Even better, pre-register for 2026 for £90, and Saga will phone you prior to the cruises being advertised to the general public. If you book the £90 is deducted from your deposit, or can be refunded or moved to the next year if you decide not to book.

I agree with you, the volume of mail shots is getting ridiculous.  Saga seem to offer guarantee cabins on most cruises now, not just the Canaries itineraries.  I hope you are offered a complimentary cabin upgrade for your booked cruises!

51 minutes ago, Spence55 said:

They did offer some fly cruises many years ago. This seems to be an innovative way of filling capacity on an existing cruise still scheduled to sail from and back to Portsmouth. Perhaps they have overestimated the demand for month long cruises. Given the time of year I can imagine it will appeal to many who recall the Discovery’s BoB incident last November. 

 

This is interesting.  I understand that Saga are offering guarantee cabins only for this 21 night fly cruise, and the price is around £5,000pp for 2 people sharing a standard cabin.  This is the same price as Saga were advertising for guarantee cabins for the 30 night cruise about a month ago, but it is likely to appeal to people who are still prepared to fly.  
 

If successful I wonder if Saga will consider splitting the Caribbean and Central America Discovery 49 night cruise next January into sectors?  There are still plenty of cabins available on that cruise.

I know, it’s confusing isn’t it.  The website prices are sometimes wrong anyway.  I think it’s best to phone Saga to get a quote for the Britannia members discount.  Our friends did this recently and got an extra £500 pp off a Caribbean cruise departing later this year.

It’s a new one.  There was a data breach in Norway relating to passport details of people on the 26th June cruise on Spirit of Adventure.

15 minutes ago, Balaena said:

What is EH discount

English Heritage membership.

3 minutes ago, Cruise-Cat said:

Interestingly, I noticed that the USA & Canada cruise now has two categories of cabin guarantee - regular and deluxe (albeit about double the cost of standard!)
I haven’t seen this before 

Nor have I.  Cabin prices have already been reduced more than once. This 29 night cruise departs in September so Saga must be keen to fill more cabins quickly.

2 hours ago, Cruise-Cat said:

Booked a September cruise in early May and told that EH discount was no longer available 🥲

I tried to use my Boundless (CSMA) membership to get a 5% discount a couple of weeks ago and was told it was no longer accepted. I think the Defence Discount Card is still accepted.

It would be helpful if Saga were to publish details on their website of current Affinity memberships.

My understanding is that if people are not in their cabins when emergency occurs, they should go straight to their muster station where life jackets will be provided.

We commented on the lack of paper maps on our recent cruise on SoD, both on the mid-cruise and end of cruise questionnaires.  Never heard back from the Explore Ashore team or Saga HQ. 

We were on SoD on the Italy and Western Mediterranean cruise, which returned to Portsmouth on 28th May.  Our Captain was Franko Papic, a Croatian, who was also good, we saw him around the ship a lot.  I assume he has taken over from Captain Darin Bowland.

This is very helpful. Thank you Medeba.

17 hours ago, Daisybops said:

I’ve made the right choice - thank you. 
 

We want to take the wine home, so that’s ok. We’re not actually going to Porto. Any of these places to buy ? 
 

 

Praia da Vitoria, Terceira, Azores Horta, Faial, Azores
Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores Cruise by Vila Franca Islet, Azores
Cruise by Cristo Rei & Abril 25 Bridge Lisbon, Portugal
Leixões, Matosinhos, Portugal

There is also a very good wine shop in Lisbon called Garrafeira Napoleao, in R. dos Fanqueiros, which is about 15 minutes walk from the cruise terminal. It is very well stocked and we are usually offered tasting samples! 
 

Enjoy your cruise.

32 minutes ago, Lady Meer said:

The room we enquired about (pre-registered) is actually cheaper on the website than we were offered.

That’s strange.  Can you give more details please?

I had an email from Saga stating that Summer 2025 cruises will go on general release next week. 

8 hours ago, LandC said:

Saga are calling people who pre-registered in 2021 and earlier. We pre-registered in January 2022, so are hoping to get a call soon.

We’ve just booked one of the Scandinavian cruises in July 2025.   A Standard cabin on D Deck worked out at £272 pppn with a 35% discount.  Prices seem to have gone up a fair bit!

10 hours ago, Kohima said:

The calls have already started this evening.

Saga are calling people who pre-registered in 2021 and earlier. We pre-registered in January 2022, so are hoping to get a call soon.

I wonder when Saga will start making the calls.

44 minutes ago, Kinniegirl said:

We thought we had a phone number to call if your vehicle didn’t turn up, but only have Saga number

do any of you clever people know it

TIA

01293874810 or 08009885165

These are the numbers I’ve stored on my phone

I hope one of them works!

3 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Just tried to update to my S.A. phone number, guess what Saga website  only allows 11 numbers , so no room for a country code.

 

At the rate things are going might not matter, only here for another 5 weeks

When did you pre-register?  Folks will post on here when they get the call. If you are still in S.A. then an option would be to ring Saga and ask when you are likely to be contacted. 

2 hours ago, Medeba said:

Just seen on other social media that Captain Darin Bowland is now working for Ritz Carlton Yachts and Saga is advertising for a replacement. 

That’s a shame, we liked him. He was due to be on our next cruise on SoD in May.