Pre registration- 2026 cruises

[Clarecruisers]

I seem to recall that those who pre registered for Jan - Apr 2025 were sent an email  towards the end of September 2023. I was  wondering if anybody has been given any indication as to when we might receive details of the cruises being offered for the same period in 2026.

[FatBoy20]

I think the Jan-April 2025 Cruises were released in January this year with the rest following at the end of March.

[Clarecruisers]

Was that for pre registration? We received the email just before we boarded a cruise during the second week of October 2023. In fact we then had a call from Saga when we were on board. I was certain that was for the period Jan - Mar 2025.  Must be in need of a holiday ………

[nosapphire]

We pre-registered fairly late for the 2025 season (June 2023) - can't recall when we received the email details, but for the January-March 2025 season we received "the Call" on 16th October 2023 (which would match your experience).

The April-December "call" came on 13th March 2024.

In both cases, the cruises we were interested in were already down to 25% discount - we booked one the first time, but needn't have rushed as it stayed at 25% for quite a few months.

We decided that the discount was not good enough, so took a refund on the pre-reg the 2nd time.

 

[Windsurfboy]

I just find the approach to Preregistration pricing strange.  Should be a guaranteed discount for all Preregistration.  To go through the bother of Preregistration then end up with an offer of 25% instead of 35%.  25% off (75% of theoretical price) is 15% higher than first offering of 35 off (65% of theoretical price). 

 

I certainly would call this a waste of my time and money Preregistrating.

[david05]

I don't think it is a waste of time if you want a standard cabin, unless you know you can be flexible regarding the date and destination of a cruise. For the more unusual cruises (if any now!) or the Christmas cruise to the Canary Islands, pre-registration can be particularly advantageous. However, it has become increasingly necessary to pre-register early to get the best deal. The longer cruises - 30+ days - hardly seem to be worth bothering with an early booking if you are happy to take a guarantee cabin nearer departure.

[Windsurfboy]

Pre registration  earlier and earlier to get best deals helps no-one and frustrates anyone who doesn't get best deal who think Preregistration a year in advance should be enough.

 

The £90 pp Saga get is peanuts.  The pre registration and phoning up is a labour intensive,  expensive, slow process. Just give everyone who preregisters say at least six months in advance  the full 35% and let them do it online

Edited September 19 by Windsurfboy

[Clarecruisers]

Many thanks nosapphire. It is good to know that my memory wasn’t playing tricks with me. If Saga  keep roughly to the same timings we should receive an email regarding early 2026 cruises within the next 4 weeks. It would appear from other comments on this thread  that preregistration works for some but not for others. Personally, we find it works well for us. We get the cabins we want at a price that have never subsequently been bettered - even at guaranteed cabin prices. I think that david05 has hit the nail on the head. The system only works to best advantage if one wanted a standard cabin and preregisters long in advance of your planned cruise dates. 

[nosapphire]

Pre registration works well if you are waiting for a specific destination that you really don't want to miss, and/or have a wish for a specific location on board - then you are certain to get booked, and hopefully at a better price.

It is also pretty essential for anybody that needs an adapted cabin.

If there is no particular requirement, and no real desire to commit early, then pre-registration can be a waste of time.

I still have 2 pre-regs for 2026, so be interesting to see what comes up.

At least Saga are very good about refunding the pre-reg fee if you simply decide you can no longer be bothered to stay in the queue.

[Kohima]

You could add to the list anyone who would need assistance as there are only (I think) 50 places available on each cruise.

[nosapphire]

4 hours ago, Kohima said:

You could add to the list anyone who would need assistance as there are only (I think) 50 places available on each cruise.

Thanks. That I really did not know - and it may be something that will apply to me in the not too distant future. So better keep up with the pre-registrations then.

[maesteggirl]

We did not pre-register and tried to book the Canaries Xmas cruise for 2025 on the day it was on sale to Britannia members. My husband needs assistance and all places had gone! We ended up booking the Caribbean instead so yes if you need assistance it is wise to pre-register.

[Denarius]

8 hours ago, maesteggirl said:

We did not pre-register and tried to book the Canaries Xmas cruise for 2025 on the day it was on sale to Britannia members. My husband needs assistance and all places had gone! We ended up booking the Caribbean instead so yes if you need assistance it is wise to pre-register.

I did not know that cruises went on sale to Britannia Club members before they were available to the general public. I am a silver tier member but cannot recall being told of this or being invited to book early, probably because I have always registered in advance and paid my £90. How does it work? Do they ring you like they do with advance registrations, or do they just give you a date from which you can book?

[Kohima]

For 24 hours only before general bookings open!

[nosapphire]

email with a link.

In days of yore, Britannia Club members received a brochure in the post some time before they went on general sale. Then they stopped giving Britannia members any advance booking priority, then restarted again with an email link giving (as above) a 24 hour head start.

 

[Windsurfboy]

The question one may ask does it make commercial sense to give any Tom Dick or Harry that's paid £90, precedence over a top level Brittania member who accumulated many hundreds or even over a  thousand days on a Saga ship. Not much of a loyalty scheme. 

 

It all goes to show it is just too long winded. It could be made much simpler. 

 

No harm in everyone seeing  cruise calendar and prices online at same time. 

 

Then simply give people codes which define when they can book on line , or by phone.  Sapphire and Diamond first say 2 weeks before general.  Gold say 10 days, other Brittania members and preregistered non members a week before. 

[FatBoy20]

12 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

The question one may ask does it make commercial sense to give any Tom Dick or Harry that's paid £90, precedence over a top level Brittania member who accumulated many hundreds or even over a  thousand days on a Saga ship. Not much of a loyalty scheme. 

 

It all goes to show it is just too long winded. It could be made much simpler. 

 

No harm in everyone seeing  cruise calendar and prices online at same time. 

 

Then simply give people codes which define when they can book on line , or by phone.  Sapphire and Diamond first say 2 weeks before general.  Gold say 10 days, other Brittania members and preregistered non members a week before. 

That would be even more long winded. Leave it as it is & if not to your liking just book after general release day.

[Windsurfboy]

39 minutes ago, FatBoy20 said:

That would be even more long winded. Leave it as it is & if not to your liking just book after general release day.

 

Sorry to disagree, but at moment it's over a month waiting for a phone call which always comes at wrong time. This would be shorter at own convenience and benefit loyal Brittania members. 

[Cruise-Cat]

10 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

Sorry to disagree, but at moment it's over a month waiting for a phone call which always comes at wrong time. This would be shorter at own convenience and benefit loyal Brittania members. 

The main bottleneck seems to be telephone bookings. Some system whereby people could access online bookings (in the right order) would make it far more streamlined. For example, maybe an email with a booking code valid from a particular date could work.

[Kohima]

Saga and sophisticated  IT ?? !!

[Glenndale]

It was a very clever marketing ploy, generating the desire to book early in order to get the best discount.

Unfortunately, whilst this worked well when they had the 2 smaller ships, selling over twice as many berths means that they are now being forced to discount almost every cruise.

People are not stupid, they will take their time in booking and wait for the discounts, which are especially good for the more expensive higher deck cabins.

[FatBoy20]

1 hour ago, Glenndale said:

It was a very clever marketing ploy, generating the desire to book early in order to get the best discount.

Unfortunately, whilst this worked well when they had the 2 smaller ships, selling over twice as many berths means that they are now being forced to discount almost every cruise.

People are not stupid, they will take their time in booking and wait for the discounts, which are especially good for the more expensive higher deck cabins.

But unless it is a Guaranteed Cabin the Price is never lower than Pre Registration Launch. I have a Cruise booked next April for  £2900 pp @ Launch now on Sale @ £4500!.

[Windsurfboy]

33 minutes ago, FatBoy20 said:

But unless it is a Guaranteed Cabin the Price is never lower than Pre Registration Launch. I have a Cruise booked next April for  £2900 pp @ Launch now on Sale @ £4500!.

 

Now £4500 but won't be selling.  If there's a lot left over will be discounted via guarantee. 

 

Far better to have £2900 at start , which I assume makes a reasonable profit, then a more reasonable increase say 10% and leave it at that.  Things will sell without guarantees. 

[Glenndale]

3 hours ago, FatBoy20 said:

But unless it is a Guaranteed Cabin the Price is never lower than Pre Registration Launch. I have a Cruise booked next April for  £2900 pp @ Launch now on Sale @ £4500!.

Sorry, I obviously wasn’t clear. By discounting I was referring to the guarantees. It’s usually the higher deck cabins that remain unsold and with the guarantee discount are cheaper than the original selling price minus the 35% discount. Also on top of the guarantees you can also find an extra discount for being a magazine subscriber or a Britannia club member.

[Denarius]

17 hours ago, FatBoy20 said:

But unless it is a Guaranteed Cabin the Price is never lower than Pre Registration Launch. I have a Cruise booked next April for  £2900 pp @ Launch now on Sale @ £4500!.

Which is why there are now so many guarantee cabins. It avoids having to honour the price guarantee.