Britannia Suite vs Saga Cabin

[TigerB]

11 hours ago, lincslady said:

I don't know if this would make a difference for anyone, but it would for me - tea and coffee making faciities in your cabin, as well as room service.  Great if you like to wake up and have  an early cup of tea, without waiting for a knock on the door.

 

So, you cannot make your own brew in your cabin on Saga then? 🤔

[TigerB]

8 hours ago, Selbourne said:

...we have had 3 cruises on Britannia, all in suites (one was an aft corner wrap). Unless we change our mind following our two P&O cruises this year (Iona and Ventura), we would take a standard cabin on Saga over a Suite with P&O.
 

 

Was the aft suite you had on Britannia in the days before your wife needed an accessible cabin?  We would love to try an aft suite but, with a roll-on shower being a necessity, it just isn't possible. Have you tried the accessible side facing suites on Britannia? If so, are they worth the much greater cost than the accessible balcony cabins? For us, the accessible balcony cabins are big enough, albeit the balconies are small, and I wonder if we would benefit much with a suite.

[TigerB]

3 hours ago, wowzz said:

If you go for the cheapest cabin grade,  at launch, and exclude Saga insurance, you might just hit your price point.

 I suppose that at least with Saga, you can be virtually certain that if you book at launch with 35% discount,  your fare will bever be undercut. 

 

We are in the same boat (pun intended) as Selbourne - wanting to try Saga but hoping to get a really good price; we would be happy with what you paid, and would bite their hands off if it was sub £450 for a couple. Although, there's probably more chance of getting six numbers this Saturday!

Also, like Selbourne, we will need an accessible cabin; so booking as soon as the itineraries come out would be the only option for us. With that in mind, and thanks to previous good advice from Selbourne, we have now pre-registered for all of 2025 and 2026. Fingers crossed!🤞

 

I'm glad you got sorted.👍

[lincslady]

1 hour ago, TigerB said:

 

So, you cannot make your own brew in your cabin on Saga then? 🤔

Sorry, I assume I expressed myself badly here?  Yes, of course you can - one of the differences between Saga and P and O.

[davecttr]

4 hours ago, lincslady said:

Sorry, I assume I expressed myself badly here?  Yes, of course you can - one of the differences between Saga and P and O.

Confused. What are the Tea/Coffee making facilities in the P&O cabins for then?

[lincslady]

I apologise - I did not think they had them on P and O ships.  Mainly because of people complaining about room service a while ago, I suppose.

[Fionboard]

45 minutes ago, lincslady said:

I apologise - I did not think they had them on P and O ships.  Mainly because of people complaining about room service a while ago, I suppose.

Maybe you have not cruised with P&O.  They have always had tea and coffee in cabins.

[Angel57]

18 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Maybe you have not cruised with P&O.  They have always had tea and coffee in cabins.

I remember back in the 90s when they withdrew the cabin steward bringing in your morning tea and coffee on a tray and a cheery “good morning madam” and replaced with a kettle and shock horror - 2 mugs, there was uproar! Ha ha - wouldn’t be without it now and how times have changed!

[Selbourne]

7 hours ago, TigerB said:

 

Was the aft suite you had on Britannia in the days before your wife needed an accessible cabin?  We would love to try an aft suite but, with a roll-on shower being a necessity, it just isn't possible. Have you tried the accessible side facing suites on Britannia? If so, are they worth the much greater cost than the accessible balcony cabins? For us, the accessible balcony cabins are big enough, albeit the balconies are small, and I wonder if we would benefit much with a suite.

Yes, the suites were when my wife was in a wheelchair and struggling, but could manage with shower stools etc. We were conscious at the time that others were more in need of accessible cabins, so we would have felt guilty depriving those who could only cruise in one. Now we have no option. 
 

We have had suites on Britannia (3 times - 2 forward, one aft), Ventura and Arcadia (both aft corner wrap). We had several problems with the aft suite on Britannia (soot on balcony, vibration, plumbing noises from other cabins due to, unbelievably, a mechanical plant room being in the suite, and noise from the Live Lounge two decks below) but all the other suites were fine. 
 

Since we have had to use accessible cabins, in all honesty a suite becomes somewhat pointless. With accessible balcony cabins being 50% bigger, the space difference becomes marginal. We had a bad experience with breakfast in the Epicurean on our last cruise as there was a very noisy family and also a screaming baby. Hardly the relaxing start to the day that it’s intended to be! We also get priority boarding now being Caribbean tier, so the suite perks become negligible. We would also be reluctant to pay suite prices on P&O these days as we don’t feel that the overall product is worth it TBH. 
 

We have never had a mid-ships suite and, even if we were still prepared to pay suite prices, we wouldn’t book one. You get none of the advantages of the forward or aft suites and you have far more people passing in the corridor at night and some are also below pool decks where you can be disturbed by staff cleaning decks early morning and dragging chairs around (happened to friends of ours and it put them off suites completely). Many book them as they feel that they are more stable in bad weather, but when we were last on Britannia in very high seas I deliberately walked around all of the ship to see how different it felt in different places. I couldn’t detect much difference at all forward, aft or midships on the main suite decks. The only place where it was calmer was very low down in the ship, midships, where, of course, there are no suites!

[zap99]

2 hours ago, davecttr said:

Confused. What are the Tea/Coffee making facilities in the P&O cabins for then?

Perhaps the 'own brew' is a type of beer. Some cruise lines, or hotels don't encourage that. Kettles are in P&O cabins, but they only like them to be used to make tea,coffee etc.

[Denarius]

12 hours ago, zap99 said:

And some have sailed on neither since before lockdown.

And I do not fall into that category. Since lockdown I have sailed on Spirit of Adventure in March 2022, Spirit of Discovery in July 2022, Azura in September 2022, and Spirit of Discovery in February 2023. So I am quite capable of making a recent comparison.

[TigerB]

7 hours ago, lincslady said:

Sorry, I assume I expressed myself badly here?  Yes, of course you can - one of the differences between Saga and P and O.

 

Ah! You confused me with your original post, with you writing that the difference between the two is the kettle and tea makings in one and having to wait for the steward in the other. Naturally, I thought you meant Saga didn't have a kettle and tea makings because, as others have written, P&O does.

[TigerB]

45 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Yes, the suites were when my wife was in a wheelchair and struggling, but could manage with shower stools etc. We were conscious at the time that others were more in need of accessible cabins, so we would have felt guilty depriving those who could only cruise in one. Now we have no option. 
 

We have had suites on Britannia (3 times - 2 forward, one aft), Ventura and Arcadia (both aft corner wrap). We had several problems with the aft suite on Britannia (soot on balcony, vibration, plumbing noises from other cabins due to, unbelievably, a mechanical plant room being in the suite, and noise from the Live Lounge two decks below) but all the other suites were fine. 
 

Since we have had to use accessible cabins, in all honesty a suite becomes somewhat pointless. With accessible balcony cabins being 50% bigger, the space difference becomes marginal. We had a bad experience with breakfast in the Epicurean on our last cruise as there was a very noisy family and also a screaming baby. Hardly the relaxing start to the day that it’s intended to be! We also get priority boarding now being Caribbean tier, so the suite perks become negligible. We would also be reluctant to pay suite prices on P&O these days as we don’t feel that the overall product is worth it TBH. 
 

We have never had a mid-ships suite and, even if we were still prepared to pay suite prices, we wouldn’t book one. You get none of the advantages of the forward or aft suites and you have far more people passing in the corridor at night and some are also below pool decks where you can be disturbed by staff cleaning decks early morning and dragging chairs around (happened to friends of ours and it put them off suites completely). Many book them as they feel that they are more stable in bad weather, but when we were last on Britannia in very high seas I deliberately walked around all of the ship to see how different it felt in different places. I couldn’t detect much difference at all forward, aft or midships on the main suite decks. The only place where it was calmer was very low down in the ship, midships, where, of course, there are no suites!

 

Thanks Selbourne for your, as always, informative post about accessibility.👍

You have made my mind up for me, I won't wonder anymore about the accessible suites; the grass isn't always greener...

[Denarius]

1 hour ago, Angel57 said:

I remember back in the 90s when they withdrew the cabin steward bringing in your morning tea and coffee on a tray and a cheery “good morning madam” and replaced with a kettle and shock horror - 2 mugs, there was uproar! Ha ha - wouldn’t be without it now and how times have changed!

They certainly have!

The kettles were already in the cabins when I first sailed with P&O (Oriana, 1997). This surprised me as the lines with which I had sailed previously (Cunard and Costa) did not provide one. Unless my mind is playing tricks, there was also a coffee pot and coffee bags containing ground coffee as well as sachets of instant coffee.

Edited March 31, 2023 by Denarius

[Selbourne]

26 minutes ago, TigerB said:

 

Thanks Selbourne for your, as always, informative post about accessibility.👍

You have made my mind up for me, I won't wonder anymore about the accessible suites; the grass isn't always greener...

DaiB may provide a different viewpoint. He uses accessible suites. 

[Host Sharon]

I am paying £215pp pn for my saga cruises in 2024. That is with a 30% discount in a standard cabin.

[TigerB]

7 minutes ago, Host Sharon said:

I am paying £215pp pn for my saga cruises in 2024. That is with a 30% discount in a standard cabin.

 

Now, that's what I'm talking about!👍

#Yorkshire😂

[zap99]

54 minutes ago, Denarius said:

And I do not fall into that category. Since lockdown I have sailed on Spirit of Adventure in March 2022, Spirit of Discovery in July 2022, Azura in September 2022, and Spirit of Discovery in February 2023. So I am quite capable of making a recent comparison.

Jolly good for you.🤣

[arlowood]

4 minutes ago, TigerB said:

 

Now, that's what I'm talking about!👍

#Yorkshire😂

Booked a 12 night Baltic cruise at the beginning of the month (courtesy of the Saga pre-registration scheme). Total cost in a standard twin comes in at £430pppn which obviously includes all the Saga "perks". Chauffer transfer, WiFi, drinks, speciality dining, included port excursions etc. However you need to book early when the new seasons are launched.

 

Our price includes a 35% discount on the standard price. If you book later then that discount can drop progressively

[lincslady]

I think Saga's sales method is a very fair one; obviously most people  are used to waiting for the late offers and those from some of the Agents, so it is a bit of a surprise to find that the only way to get a fairly reasonable price for what is a good and very inclusive product is to book as soon as possible, and direct with Saga.   Easy for some people, not so much for those with very busy lives who never quite know what they will be doing in maybe two years' time.

[zap99]

10 minutes ago, arlowood said:

Booked a 12 night Baltic cruise at the beginning of the month (courtesy of the Saga pre-registration scheme). Total cost in a standard twin comes in at £430pppn which obviously includes all the Saga "perks". Chauffer transfer, WiFi, drinks, speciality dining, included port excursions etc. However you need to book early when the new seasons are launched.

 

Our price includes a 35% discount on the standard price. If you book later then that discount can drop progressively

Book early and grab a bargain?. £10,000 for 12 nights.

[kalos]

47 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Book early and grab a bargain?. £10,000 for 12 nights.

🤨🤐

[Holcha]

We like Saga for many reasons but as with everything in life it is not perfect.  If it were then why have they not been able to fill their ships in the last twelve months.  We receive post from them every few days offering 2023 cruises, but prices are quite high.  So is their price structure working?  These ships are small so I would have thought they would fill up quickly.  Aurora balconies do not seem to have the same issue (well not on our Oct 2023 cruise).

 

I did say to OH after our Iona cruise that we could have two cruises on P&O, and possibly other cruise companies, for one on Saga.  He prefers Saga, but because I love being on a ship, P&O offer us the option of more than one cruise a year.   So we try to do both now.  We have to accept the fact they are not the same experience. To be honest there are some positives on P&O that we feel Saga could do better at, but I don’t want to start a war on here as we are all different and so are P&O and Saga.

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, arlowood said:

Booked a 12 night Baltic cruise at the beginning of the month (courtesy of the Saga pre-registration scheme). Total cost in a standard twin comes in at £430pppn which obviously includes all the Saga "perks". Chauffer transfer, WiFi, drinks, speciality dining, included port excursions etc. However you need to book early when the new seasons are launched.

 

Our price includes a 35% discount on the standard price. If you book later then that discount can drop progressively

When I was looking at pricing, there was a Baltic cruise that was the most competitively priced out of all of the ones that I looked.  I think it was about £460 per day for two people, so not sure if that's what you mean? 

Edited March 31, 2023 by Dermotsgirl

[Dermotsgirl]

This morning I booked a Saga cruise for next spring, a 14 night British Isles cruise.

 

The cabin we were originally looking at had a 30% discount, but the one on the next deck up had a 35% discount, making it the same price. We went for the 35% discounted cabin as mentally it felt like a better deal.

 

So that's two Saga cruise for us, one this summer and one next  spring, both British Isles cruises.  We've always enjoyed previous British Isles cruises that we've done, and both of these cruises include ports that we haven't previously visited.

 

Saga seems to be ticking the boxes for us a the moment, smaller ships and cruising not too far from home, and we think all the included extras are worth it for us.

 

I'm feeling pleased