First Saga Cruise

[Glenndale]

I've generally only posted links to websites and photos.

There is probably a maximum file size but if your word doc is just text you should be fine 🙂

Give it a try.

Just searched help and someone suggested saving your word document as .rtf and then using select all and copying and pasting into the text box. 

Edited July 19, 2021 by Glenndale

[LondonLad60]

1 hour ago, Glenndale said:

I've generally only posted links to websites and photos.

There is probably a maximum file size but if your word doc is just text you should be fine 🙂

Give it a try.

Just searched help and someone suggested saving your word document as .rtf and then using select all and copying and pasting into the text box. 

Hi Glenndale

 

The document is only 22KB, so size shouldn't be an issue. I'll give it a last proof read and try posting it.

 

Bob

Edited July 19, 2021 by LondonLad60
To correct the spelling of the original poster's name

[LondonLad60]

Here (hopefully!) is the cruise review that I put together for some friends who were considering a first cruise with Saga. Any comments or queries will be more than welcomed. Apologies in advance for any inadvertent spelling or grammatical errors. 

 

Bob

Saga cruise review.docx

[Glenndale]

Thank you Bob, it seems you covered just about everything.

When we travelled on SoD it wasn’t all inclusive with regards to the bar but drinks were very reasonably priced.

Of course Saga now include sightseeing tours in many ports.

A pity about the Norovirus but I would contend that it’s not the ships fault. They obviously go above and beyond with regards to cleaning and other measures.

[Windsurfboy]

Thank you a great review. You do yourself an injustice,  this review is well with a thread of its own. Your benchmarking versus P&O is very useful. 

[ann141]

Thank you.Very interesting to read

[LondonLad60]

On 7/19/2021 at 5:31 PM, Glenndale said:

Thank you Bob, it seems you covered just about everything.

When we travelled on SoD it wasn’t all inclusive with regards to the bar but drinks were very reasonably priced.

Of course Saga now include sightseeing tours in many ports.

A pity about the Norovirus but I would contend that it’s not the ships fault. They obviously go above and beyond with regards to cleaning and other measures.

Hi Glenndale

Sorry for the delay in replying.

I didn't mean to infer that the Norovirus was the ship's fault. The whole crew, from the captain down  couldn't possibly have done any more - we were given daily updates, often twice a day, and the ship couldn't have been cleaned more thoroughly or more regularly. Having been on  several cruises with P&O where there were Norovirus outbreaks I know that once it takes hold it can be extremely difficult to control, never mind to eradicate. Fortunately, neither my wife nor I were affected at any time.

[LondonLad60]

On 7/19/2021 at 6:26 PM, Windsurfboy said:

Thank you a great review. You do yourself an injustice,  this review is well with a thread of its own. Your benchmarking versus P&O is very useful. 

Hi Windsurfboy

Sorry for the delay in replying.

Thanks for your kind words regarding my review. It had the desired effect on at least one of the couples I sent it to, as they booked a Saga cruise for this month, which obviously didn't go ahead. I'll have to ask if they rebooked a later one.

 

Bob

[Glenndale]

48 minutes ago, LondonLad60 said:

Hi Glenndale

Sorry for the delay in replying.

I didn't mean to infer that the Norovirus was the ship's fault. The whole crew, from the captain down  couldn't possibly have done any more - we were given daily updates, often twice a day, and the ship couldn't have been cleaned more thoroughly or more regularly. Having been on  several cruises with P&O where there were Norovirus outbreaks I know that once it takes hold it can be extremely difficult to control, never mind to eradicate. Fortunately, neither my wife nor I were affected at any time.

No problem, I didn’t take it that you were blaming Saga.

I have been on cruises with Norovirus too, fortunately never had it. What does surprise me is how many passengers continue to use the public toilets knowing that Norovirus is rampant on the ship.

I enjoyed your review, thanks for going to the trouble of posting it here.

Happy future sailing 😀

 

[Windsurfboy]

1 hour ago, LondonLad60 said:

Hi Windsurfboy

Sorry for the delay in replying.

Thanks for your kind words regarding my review. It had the desired effect on at least one of the couples I sent it to, as they booked a Saga cruise for this month, which obviously didn't go ahead. I'll have to ask if they rebooked a later one.

 

Bob

 

Your review has really  made me look forward to my first Saga cruise in May. In a mad moment during lockdown we booked a 32 day cruise to black sea as an introduction to  Saga. Now  it can't come soon enough.  From what you say, I'll  be happy where-ever the cruise ends up going, even if as I  expect the odd port or two may be changed. As long as they have plenty of the hush heath bubbly for my wife , a good red wine , port and cheese for me.

 

[Kohima]

What an excellent review, LondonLad. You have mentioned all the key things which I imagine people, who are new to Saga, would wish to know. It’s a tribute to Saga that you managed to come away with a good impression despite your cruise being affected by the norovirus.

[LondonLad60]

13 hours ago, Kohima said:

What an excellent review, LondonLad. You have mentioned all the key things which I imagine people, who are new to Saga, would wish to know. It’s a tribute to Saga that you managed to come away with a good impression despite your cruise being affected by the norovirus.

Thanks Kohima.

[Windsurfboy]

Thanks once again just one final question, you mention the Hush Heath bubbly,  what did you think of the wines especially the reds. 

 

On a scale of say ( which I've just made up no science to it)

 

Just drinkable

A pleasant wine,

A pretty decent wine to match good food

Memorable  have to buy some for special occasions when I get home

 

How would you rate them.

 

 

[LondonLad60]

2 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Thanks once again just one final question, you mention the Hush Heath bubbly,  what did you think of the wines especially the reds. 

 

On a scale of say ( which I've just made up no science to it)

 

Just drinkable

A pleasant wine,

A pretty decent wine to match good food

Memorable  have to buy some for special occasions when I get home

 

How would you rate them.

 

 

I'm not by any means a wine buff - I go for quantity rather than quality! I would say that most, if not all the wines we had would fall into your categories 2 & 3 - there was nothing just drinkable, but also nothing that made me think, "Oh wow, I must get a case of that when I get back".

 

Having said that, we only had the wines that were included in the package. From Saga's site: "A choice of house red, white, rose and sparkling wines will be available throughout your cruise, at no extra charge. In addition, there'll be a hand-picked connoisseur selection to purchase both by the glass and by the bottle." So I'm sure you'll find something to suit.

 

Oh - and I'm sure you won't be disappointed with the cheese!

 

Hope this helps.

[RockyRose]

Thanks to everyone on the forum that have shared their experience on the Spirit of Discovery, this is our first time on a Saga cruise.  We have previously sailed with P&O and so it has been brilliant learning about what happens, please keep sharing, we were due to go on the Italian charms but are now going on the Scottish Highlands and Islands followed by the Wales and green West Country..

 

Rocky Rose

[Windsurfboy]

Once again thamks Londonlad60

[LondonLad60]

50 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Once again thamks Londonlad60

My pleasure. May seems a long way off at the moment, but when you return from your cruise I'd love to hear your thoughts on Saga. My wife and I are on Spirit of Adventure going to the Baltic in June so it will be interesting to compare notes.

Edited July 28, 2021 by LondonLad60
Updated

[Windsurfboy]

I'll definitely try and remember,  as we get free internet might do it on board.

[bishopbill]

On 7/19/2021 at 5:12 PM, LondonLad60 said:

Here (hopefully!) is the cruise review that I put together for some friends who were considering a first cruise with Saga. Any comments or queries will be more than welcomed. Apologies in advance for any inadvertent spelling or grammatical errors. 

 

Bob

Saga cruise review.docx 21.58 kB · 122 downloads

 

[bishopbill]

Hi very interesting review, thanks, my wife and I have now completed 7 Viking cruises and have another 3 booked so you can probably tell we love Viking and have just completed the Viking England shores a few weeks ago and again loved it.  We  have never tried any other cruise line so we thought we would try another line and the new Saga Scottish isles on the Spirit of adventure seemed great.  Price wise Viking is not that expensive as everything is inlcuded, I have priced other crusies against it and adding all the extras there is not much difference.

 

Really looking forward to checking out the Spirit cruise ship and hope to meet others on the 27th August.  If the trip goes well we will obviously try more Saga cruises.

[Glenndale]

4 minutes ago, bishopbill said:

Hi very interesting review, thanks, my wife and I have now completed 7 Viking cruises and have another 3 booked so you can probably tell we love Viking and have just completed the Viking England shores a few weeks ago and again loved it.  We  have never tried any other cruise line so we thought we would try another line and the new Saga Scottish isles on the Spirit of adventure seemed great.  Price wise Viking is not that expensive as everything is inlcuded, I have priced other crusies against it and adding all the extras there is not much difference.

 

Really looking forward to checking out the Spirit cruise ship and hope to meet others on the 27th August.  If the trip goes well we will obviously try more Saga cruises.

We have booked our 2nd Viking cruise for next month, but if Saga had released their 6 night cruises earlier it would have been 'no contest' between the 2 lines.

To be fair to Viking we enjoyed our cruise and felt that their Covid safety protocols were excellent.

We were not blown away by the Chef's Table though, but of course food is always going to be subjective.

We enjoyed the main restaurant and Alfredi's but loved Coast to Coast and East to West on Discovery.

The main restaurant on Discovery is every bit as good as Viking's, with a first class cheese selection. 

As far as Viking being all inclusive, we had to drive ourselves down to Portsmouth and pay for parking, buy our travel insurance and any drinks from the bar were chargeable. With Saga all of those are included.

I hope you have an excellent holiday on Adventure. 😀

[Denarius]

On 7/30/2021 at 12:52 PM, bishopbill said:

Hi very interesting review, thanks, my wife and I have now completed 7 Viking cruises and have another 3 booked so you can probably tell we love Viking and have just completed the Viking England shores a few weeks ago and again loved it.  We  have never tried any other cruise line so we thought we would try another line and the new Saga Scottish isles on the Spirit of adventure seemed great.  Price wise Viking is not that expensive as everything is inlcuded, I have priced other crusies against it and adding all the extras there is not much difference.

 

Really looking forward to checking out the Spirit cruise ship and hope to meet others on the 27th August.  If the trip goes well we will obviously try more Saga cruises.

As a solo cruiser, the problem I have with Viking (and many other lines) is that they do not really cater for us. The Viking ships have no single cabins and sole occupancy of a twin brings a 100% single supplement, making their cruises extremely expensive for us. The new Saga ships however, each have 109 single cabins at an effective single supplement (measured against the equivalent twins) of 40% or 50% depending on the cruise which makes Saga much more competitive as far as solo cruisers are concerned.

[Glenndale]

18 hours ago, Denarius said:

As a solo cruiser, the problem I have with Viking (and many other lines) is that they do not really cater for us. The Viking ships have no single cabins and sole occupancy of a twin brings a 100% single supplement, making their cruises extremely expensive for us. The new Saga ships however, each have 109 single cabins at an effective single supplement (measured against the equivalent twins) of 40% or 50% depending on the cruise which makes Saga much more competitive as far as solo cruisers are concerned.

The Viking welcome back cruises are NOT attracting any single supplement.

[Jammy Bun]

7 hours ago, Glenndale said:

The Viking welcome back cruises are NOT attracting any single supplement.

Which made me think... maybe me and my OH should book a single cabin each... mmm... preferably with adjoining balconies!  What a bargain that would be.  

No - I'm kidding - we're not going anywhere just yet.  

[LondonLad60]

I've just seen that my cruise report document has hit the 200 download mark - considering I originally wrote it for a few friends I'm both surprised and flattered in equal measure! Thanks to all who have downloaded it, and especially to those who have kindly commented on it on this thread. I hope everyone else has found it useful and informative, or at least, legible! 

 

Bob