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Embarkation usually starts at 1pm.

We also take our own coffee bags for the cabin.  I can’t function properly until I’ve had my first cup of decent coffee in the morning!

We enjoyed our cruise on Azamara Journey, and would be happy to cruise with them again if we were looking for a fly cruise. The food in the speciality restaurants on Saga ships is on a par with the speciality restaurants on Azamara.  The food in the Main Dining Room on Saga ships is better than Azamara.  The service is good on both cruise lines. Entertainment is varied and generally good on Saga ships.  We particularly like the Classical quartet, not so keen on comedians and magicians, but there is something to suit everyone!

We’re hoping that Saga will introduce some more interesting itineraries for 2025, and even a few fly cruises - fingers crossed!

The cruises advertised are:

7 November SD120. £6512

5 January SU105. £3418,

 20 January. SU106. £2764

3 February SU107. £7999

17 February  SD129. £4056

4 March. SU108  £3573.

Only guarantee cabin prices are shown.

I’ve just seen Saga’s full page advert in today’s Telegraph, advertising 6 winter cruises.  The prices for guarantee cabins are lower than those on Saga’s website.  One would hope that any saving is passed on to clients who booked previously or haven’t seen the advert.

Thanks for posting twotravellersLondon, this makes interesting reading.  We had a very enjoyable Baltic cruise on the Balmoral a few years ago, with a daytime transit of the Kiel canal.  It is the only ship in Fred’s fleet which can sail through the canal, so it would be a shame if it was “impaired”.  
We have taken several cruises with Fred in the past but have nothing booked at present.  We were stung last year by booking early to get the Oceans discount, only to find that prices reduced nearer the sailing date.  We tend to book no-fly cruises with Saga nowadays.  We love their new ships and all inclusive prices, and by pre-registering we know we will get a good discount when the cruises are launched.  There is so much competition now, and Fred’s ships are getting on a bit.

With debt increasing I guess Bonheur will have to make a decision on the future of the cruise line soon.

Did Saga say when they will start phoning people who have pre-registered for the Summer 2025 season?

We weren’t asked for anything else, but I took the cruise documents with our booking reference number and the receipt for the balance payment, just in case.  Have a great cruise.

That’s good. We’ll be sailing from Portsmouth for the Canarian Christmas cruise.

I’ve also seen this advert for Winter Sun in the Canaries, departing on SoD on 7th December.  It will be interesting to hear from anyone who has already booked this cruise if the price promise is applied.

Yes, umbrellas are provided in the cabins. They are rather large though, so we tend to take our own.

We received an Oceans email from Fred today offering second guest travels free discounts on cruises departing 18th September (Adriatic 26 nights), 26th September (America and Canada 34 nights) and 3rd October (Canada19 nights).  Also twin cabins available for solos with no single supplement.   It just goes to show that it doesn’t pay to book too far in advance.

The cheapest cabin I could find today was £1099 with the discount, based on two people sharing.

I’m so sorry to hear this Eglesbrech. I hope you recover soon.

We’re not on this cruise, but will be very interested in your review. We haven’t been on Balmoral for a few years now. Our last cruise on her was to the Baltic including 2 days in St Petersburg, with a daytime transit of the Kiel canal.  We dined in the Spey restaurant and the food was excellent.  It was a very enjoyable holiday.

13 hours ago, Scorpio41 said:

The coffee in the living room is like that. Lovely coffee.

I agree.  The Living Room serves the best coffee.  The coffee available elsewhere on the ship is nowhere near as good.  

Probably!  After being stung last year by booking early, we have decided that unless we’re interested in a very unusual itinerary, it’s better to wait until a few weeks prior to departure in order to secure the best deal.

We were on board SoA earlier this month, and I can confirm waiter service was offered in the Grill in the evenings, except for one night when there was a special buffet.

An interesting analysis twotravellersLondon.  I can’t begin to imagine how a debt of £110 million can be repaid.

We are currently sailing on Saga’s ship Spirit of Adventure.  Drinks, tips, WiFi, speciality restaurants plus transport from home to port are included in the price.  The price we paid for a balcony cabin compares favourably with the price we paid for a Junior Suite last year on Bolette (the lowest grade of balcony cabin on Bolette and Borealis). We try to book with Saga as soon as cruises are advertised, in the knowledge that we won’t subsequently see the cruise advertised at a lower price.

We have met several ex-Fred cruisers on board, who are now Saga converts, for various reasons. 

However Saga do not offer fly cruises at present, or departures from Northern ports, so won’t suit everyone.
Fred. Olsen needs to address it’s pricing policy, otherwise I think it will struggle to survive.
 

£899 for 10 nights sounds like a good deal Kenny. 

Thanks for posting about your dolphin watching tour. The shore excursion team should advise that it’s not suitable for passengers with mobility issues. 
I’m glad you managed to have a decent meal at the end of the day!

I look forward to reading your updates. I note that you have two good speakers on board - a wine expert and a former chef to the Royal Household.  We will embark SofA on 22nd April, but have no information on who our speakers will be.

48 minutes ago, maesteggirl said:

This may be of interest to those of you wishing to upgrade transport to the ship.

I contacted Saga today to upgrade our shared transport to private transport for our forthcoming cruise in April.

The cost to upgrade has increased from £1.75 per mile to £2.50 per mile. This applies to single journeys over 75 miles and up to 250 miles.

The cost came into force last week.

This is a big increase! Thank you for sharing.

4 hours ago, arlowood said:

 

Newbie question folks.

 

Looking for some input from those experienced Saga cruisers who have dealt with the pre-registration process before.

 

We enjoyed our first Saga ocean cruise last June on SoD and learned about the pre-registration process while on board. Signed up for the 2024 summer brochure and received the outline details by email yesterday.

 

I know that we will now receive a call at some point to find out if we are interested in any of the itineraries on offer. However I'm not sure what the procedure is when that call materialises.

 

Are we required to commit immediately to a chosen cruise (or cruises) and pay a deposit over the phone or will Saga note our choice and send a follow-up email with a link to make the deposit payment?

 

My concerns arise from the fact that we are off to Cyprus on 5th March for 7 days and I'm worried that the call may come while we are there. Also not sure what contact details Saga will use. I'm fairly sure that I've given them my mobile number but they could also have my home number which clearly won't be answered if they call during the time we're in Cyprus.

 

If I get their call on my mobile in Cyprus, I'm not sure I would be comfortable with disclosing bank details over the phone to complete any deposit payment. I would much rather do it back in the UK by bank transfer or over a more secure phone connection.

 

It could all be a bit academic if we are well down the pecking order in terms of pre-registration priority. However any advice or comments would be welcome.

When Saga contact you they will take payment for a deposit over the phone if you decide to book.  We pre-registered a couple of years in advance, and were contacted 13th March 2022 to book this year’s cruise. If you pre-registered last June it’s unlikely that you will get a call before mid March, but to be on the safe side you  could contact Saga and let them know your holiday dates and preferred contact number so that they can make a note on your records.  Enjoy your holiday!