Just back from our first Saga cruise….impressions

[BigCheese1]

Overall impression. Excellent. Not sure exact what we liked so much. Small ship? Good crew to passenger ratio? All inclusive (no extras for drinks, gratuities, some excursions)? Standard of rooms, furnishings etc? Transport to port included?

 

This may lead us to book Saga again in 2026 or look at Azamara etc…..

Some random points that might be helpful to newbies  listed below……

++++++++++++++++++++

> Poor Wi-Fi, this was a big disappointment. Hubby asked if there were any spots that were stronger, no - same all over. OK for getting emails, reading Facebook not watching YouTube say. Do some downloading before you get on!

> conditioner and body lotion both good quality as well as shower gel, hand wash + block soap.

> instant coffee (regular + decaff) + Yorkshire tea bags, sugar, canderel sweetener  in room. Fresh milk in fridge. Sadly,  don’t drink instant coffee but had taken some Rombouts one cup brew coffee drippy things with me.  Also took my own insulated coffee mug to take coffee away.

> our steward did not leave the in-cabin main menu list until the last day. Ask for one - you might fancy just a sandwich or cheese plate sometime. We did have a breakfast hanger but always made breakfast at either the dining room or the buffet.

> ice creams available (until 1545?) in the Living room were a nice lunch dessert.

> Home made shortbread available in the Living room, just ask.

> the watercolour students were given (no charge) an excellent beginners set of paints brushes etc in a nice wooden carry case.

> crisps offered in the North Cape bar.

> bottled water available as you got off for any excursions.

> the included excursions were good but mostly panoramic (coach trip, viewing point, coach, 20 mins small town).

> Proper afternoon tea (using an etagere) not every day in Dining room but I think most days in the buffet restaurant.

> for our Norway cruise we spent the grand total of £0 on board!

> Daily programme in our room when we got in there at 1pm. Saw which nights were formal. Then able to work out which were our not-so-busy days. Then rang 6363 straight away for speciality restaurants bookings. This was before the muster was called. Other than that there were big queues at the actual restaurants. We were offered 3 spots (1 each speciality). Didn’t rate Amalfi. Khukhuri was good and the Supper Room was excellent.

> embarkation and debarkation both very stream-lined and efficient.

> launderettes good but surprised they used Persil washing tablets. On QM2 I understand they use eco/sea friendly waxing leaves……

 

 

 

 

 

[JoJo1947]

4 hours ago, BigCheese1 said:

Overall impression. Excellent. Not sure exact what we liked so much. Small ship? Good crew to passenger ratio? All inclusive (no extras for drinks, gratuities, some excursions)? Standard of rooms, furnishings etc? Transport to port included?

 

This may lead us to book Saga again in 2026 or look at Azamara etc…..

Some random points that might be helpful to newbies  listed below……

++++++++++++++++++++

> Poor Wi-Fi, this was a big disappointment. Hubby asked if there were any spots that were stronger, no - same all over. OK for getting emails, reading Facebook not watching YouTube say. Do some downloading before you get on!

> conditioner and body lotion both good quality as well as shower gel, hand wash + block soap.

> instant coffee (regular + decaff) + Yorkshire tea bags, sugar, canderel sweetener  in room. Fresh milk in fridge. Sadly,  don’t drink instant coffee but had taken some Rombouts one cup brew coffee drippy things with me.  Also took my own insulated coffee mug to take coffee away.

> our steward did not leave the in-cabin main menu list until the last day. Ask for one - you might fancy just a sandwich or cheese plate sometime. We did have a breakfast hanger but always made breakfast at either the dining room or the buffet.

> ice creams available (until 1545?) in the Living room were a nice lunch dessert.

> Home made shortbread available in the Living room, just ask.

> the watercolour students were given (no charge) an excellent beginners set of paints brushes etc in a nice wooden carry case.

> crisps offered in the North Cape bar.

> bottled water available as you got off for any excursions.

> the included excursions were good but mostly panoramic (coach trip, viewing point, coach, 20 mins small town).

> Proper afternoon tea (using an etagere) not every day in Dining room but I think most days in the buffet restaurant.

> for our Norway cruise we spent the grand total of £0 on board!

> Daily programme in our room when we got in there at 1pm. Saw which nights were formal. Then able to work out which were our not-so-busy days. Then rang 6363 straight away for speciality restaurants bookings. This was before the muster was called. Other than that there were big queues at the actual restaurants. We were offered 3 spots (1 each speciality). Didn’t rate Amalfi. Khukhuri was good and the Supper Room was excellent.

> embarkation and debarkation both very stream-lined and efficient.

> launderettes good but surprised they used Persil washing tablets. On QM2 I understand they use eco/sea friendly waxing leaves……

 

 

 

 

 

Had no problem with WiFi but then I wasn't attached to my phone. When I did it was super fast. 

[Denarius]

44 minutes ago, JoJo1947 said:

Had no problem with WiFi but then I wasn't attached to my phone. When I did it was super fast. 

Neither did I. But then I only went online to check emails, look up things on the internet and occasionally check Facebook to see who was doing what with whom. Saga make it clear that it is not intended for streaming video etc. and I suspect that their firewall resticts access to streaming sites or resticts their bandwidth to ration it amongst all passengers.

[FannyLiz]

I too was most impressed with Spirit of Discovery’s wifi. I downloaded and read 3 newspapers daily, did online banking and put in my supermarket order etc all almost as fast as at home. This was true in my cabin and in all places in the ship, every single day right across and round the Caribbean and back. I did manage a little bit of Youtube of someone Ive been watching.

 

The room service menu should be in your cabin from the very beginning. I found the free room service meals especially useful after some onshore excursion days when all I wanted was a meal with my feet up. They were always beautifully presented, with the same choices as in the Main Dining room plus aditional room service specials. The food onboard was so good and so difficult to resist that I tried to limit myself a little in case they had to provide a larger car to get me home. I stopped ordering the petit fours on the evenings I had room service meals but they were brought anyway as “ we thought you had forgotten them” !  What could I do….?

[Janet-]

Room  service menu is on the TV

[BigCheese1]

Thanks for all the helpful comments.  Yes, I should have realised the room service was on the tv.  Maybe not all newbies might have realised this - should have been obvious to us.  Next time we'll definitely try it!  In fact we had no need in the end as we always caught one of the other eateries or just went to the Living room for canapes, something tiny. Petit fours - oh my! who knew - not us! Best we didn't really!

 

Yes I was trying to stream YouTube - there we go - lesson learnt, download anything you might want to view.

 

A friend of mine is doing similar on a P&O next week, he showed me the itinerary - some ports are designated as "sail by".  So glad we had the smaller ship where we could dock (easily thank to the 'sea walks' rather than tender and get off to do some trips).....

 

As I say overall - excellent.

 

 

 

[GerryL13]

On 8/19/2024 at 12:17 AM, BigCheese1 said:

Thanks for all the helpful comments.  Yes, I should have realised the room service was on the tv.  Maybe not all newbies might have realised this - should have been obvious to us.  Next time we'll definitely try it!  In fact we had no need in the end as we always caught one of the other eateries or just went to the Living room for canapes, something tiny. Petit fours - oh my! who knew - not us! Best we didn't really!

 

Yes I was trying to stream YouTube - there we go - lesson learnt, download anything you might want to view.

 

A friend of mine is doing similar on a P&O next week, he showed me the itinerary - some ports are designated as "sail by".  So glad we had the smaller ship where we could dock (easily thank to the 'sea walks' rather than tender and get off to do some trips).....

 

As I say overall - excellent.

 

 

 

All the menus are on the tv. I perused the menus each day to anticipate what I would have for lunch and dinner. I might eat fish or seafood for both meals, but I would not want to have beef for lunch if a luscious steak might be my choice for dinner.

 

Yes. No YouTube. When I prepare to board, I know I have to kick my YouTube habit for the duration.

 

[Windsurfboy]

Looking at menu on TV is great especially at lunch , is it dining room , lido , or just a sandwich in Living room.

[BigCheese1]

On 8/22/2024 at 1:07 AM, GerryL13 said:

All the menus are on the tv. I perused the menus each day to anticipate what I would have for lunch and dinner. I might eat fish or seafood for both meals, but I would not want to have beef for lunch if a luscious steak might be my choice for dinner.

 

Yes. No YouTube. When I prepare to board, I know I have to kick my YouTube habit for the duration.

 

Thank you both, Yes that'd would've made sense. What to have for lunch? Where to eat?  I have to say I found all eating places very acceptable. As I say, sometimes we just had nibbles in the Living room which was fine since we were never famished.  I think 2026 may find us back again (although I am tempted by Azamara and Viking  - we have done 1 Viking river cruise and it was great). 

[JMMKUK]

So pleased you had a good time. Really missing cruising this year.

 

I really don't understand the wi-fi issues. It is always terrible for me & fine for others. I don't use You Tube or try to stream anything else. Last year it wouldn't even complete the end of cruise survey. As a retired IT consultant the problem fascinates me but I have yet to find the links/differences between those who get useable wi-fi & those who don't.

 

Don't write Almalfi off. We went the night after a formal night & the special was a delicious Lobster & pasta dish.

[david05]

3 hours ago, JMMKUK said:

Last year it wouldn't even complete the end of cruise survey. 

I'm not sure that this is a problem with the wifi. We haven't experienced problems with the wifi for normal use but we have struggled on the last few cruises trying to complete the end of cruise survey. We gave up trying on the last two cruises when we couldn't even get it working late on in the afternoon (answer one question but won't move on to the next or only after a number of attempts). Could be browser issue or a problem at the survey company end but whatever it is very frustrating so I don't think we will even bother trying again. We haven't tried completing it once we are home as we have other things to do!

[Windsurfboy]

I think it's the whole ship is filling in survey at same time. Stupidly you can't go home and fill in at you leisure. 

[david05]

49 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

I think it's the whole ship is filling in survey at same time.

That's what I thought originally but we couldn't even get anywhere late afternoon when the staff had finished helping others in the library do their surveys. Whatever it is annoying and who wants the hassle on their last day. We did put a comment on one of the separate paper surveys but don't expect anything to change.

[GerryL13]

2 hours ago, david05 said:

That's what I thought originally but we couldn't even get anywhere late afternoon when the staff had finished helping others in the library do their surveys. Whatever it is annoying and who wants the hassle on their last day. We did put a comment on one of the separate paper surveys but don't expect anything to change.

Everyone on the crew recommends doing the survey on the tablets provided in the Library (or wherever they are staging them). I went to the Library on both (b2b) cruises and was able to complete the survey with no issues. They have a stack of tablets, and you likely won't have to wait long, if at all. Won't even try again on my own tablet.

[Polari]

3 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

I think it's the whole ship is filling in survey at same time. Stupidly you can't go home and fill in at you leisure. 

You can complete the survey online up to 48 hours after disembarkation.  We have done so at home after our last 2 cruises.   But of course if you don't complete onboard before 5pm you aren't entered into the prize draw ...... 

[FannyLiz]

11 hours ago, GerryL13 said:

Everyone on the crew recommends doing the survey on the tablets provided in the Library (or wherever they are staging them). I went to the Library on both (b2b) cruises and was able to complete the survey with no issues. They have a stack of tablets, and you likely won't have to wait long, if at all. Won't even try again on my own tablet.

Interesting. A group of bright and cheery young men  ( entertainment team ? ) came along to the library, where I was sitting, with tablets to do the survey. I did it on my own tablet. As the afternoon progressed the young men became less cheery and upbeat because the ship’s tablets kept dropping the signal and, more importantly, lost the information filled in before dropping out. My tablet too dropped out but kept the information I had entered so I didn’t have to keep starting again. Much frustation all round.

 

I wondered about doing it at home but know myself well enough to know I’d have put it off while unpacking and sorting out and probably forgotten it altogether. I think Saga realise this as well.

[LondonLad60]

18 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

I think it's the whole ship is filling in survey at same time. Stupidly you can't go home and fill in at you leisure. 

Deleted by poster

Edited August 30 by LondonLad60

[JoJo1947]

I don't bother doing it in the library. Did it in the cabin on my mobile . No problem whatsoever with the WiFi. Have also done it at home. Yes I know I might have won 😀

[BigCheese1]

On 8/29/2024 at 4:27 PM, JMMKUK said:

So pleased you had a good time. Really missing cruising this year.

 

I really don't understand the wi-fi issues. It is always terrible for me & fine for others. I don't use You Tube or try to stream anything else. Last year it wouldn't even complete the end of cruise survey. As a retired IT consultant the problem fascinates me but I have yet to find the links/differences between those who get useable wi-fi & those who don't.

 

Don't write Almalfi off. We went the night after a formal night & the special was a delicious Lobster & pasta dish.

Hi JMMKUK

Thanks for your thoughts. Yes I think we might well do a Saga cruise again. It was lovely to be able to go to Speciality restaurants at no extra cost and they were indeed ‘special’. We are off on the QM2 shortly and I am intrigued to see if they can match the Saga offering!

[Windsurfboy]

1 hour ago, BigCheese1 said:

Hi JMMKUK

Thanks for your thoughts. Yes I think we might well do a Saga cruise again. It was lovely to be able to go to Speciality restaurants at no extra cost and they were indeed ‘special’. We are off on the QM2 shortly and I am intrigued to see if they can match the Saga offering!

 

What are you sailing in on QM2 , Queens Grill matches Saga , but Brittania doesn't.  

 

But that's my personal opinion.  Interested to here other views.

[Tothesunset]

16 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

What are you sailing in on QM2 , Queens Grill matches Saga , but Brittania doesn't.  

 

But that's my personal opinion.  Interested to here other views.

Agreed. 

[BigCheese1]

12 hours ago, Tothesunset said:

Agreed. 

Tothesunset: Sadly only Britannia, but then it was a half to third of cost of the Saga holiday......  But as a 'standard' class I'm hoping it'll be perfectly nice!

[Glenndale]

16 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

What are you sailing in on QM2 , Queens Grill matches Saga , but Brittania doesn't.  

 

But that's my personal opinion.  Interested to here other views.

How you can compare a standard cabin on Saga to a suite on Cunard is beyond me 🙅‍♀️ 

Maybe a suite on Saga to Queens Grill compares, as we have already established that a Saga suite gives practically unfettered access to the specialty restaurants.

However I would soon tire of the specialty restaurants on Saga.

Have to agree to disagree. 🙂

[Tommart]

For what it's worth, Which? members rate Saga much more highly than Cunard. 

 

Saga scores 85% (third, after Noble Caledonia and Viking at 90% and 87% respectively), but Cunard only 73%, just above P&O at 72%.

 

Come Cunard passengers felt it 'didn’t live up to its upmarket reputation' apparently.

 

Which? readers tend to be from a particular subset of society - they hated Skegness and Clacton, for example, but loved Bamburgh.  Perhaps surprising that Cunard didn't go down too well.

[nosapphire]

37 minutes ago, Tommart said:

For what it's worth, Which? members rate Saga much more highly than Cunard.

That may simply prove that more Saga passengers are members of Which? than are Cunard passengers (we all know that many people - including me - have favourites so surveys are rarely objective).

Be interesting to know how many of those surveyed were passengers on both lines.