Saga Rose Greenland Voyager August 2007

[Saga Ruby]

Speaking of fish:I was going over some 1936 menus from the Swedish American Line. They really liked fish. The menus were loaded with every kind of sil, rollmop, sardine and herring that you could think of. Ross

 

My tablemates on Saga Rose were ordering plaice quite a lot. I hadn't heard of that fish so wanted to see what it looked like. Each and every time it was served, it was batter-fried, so it looked like Chicken McNuggets. What is plaice and why do the Brits like it batter-fried?

 

Karen - your Dream cruise to South America sounds like a great holiday and the timing is spot-on for good weather. Admiral's note - if you go to Egypt or Dubai or the Middle East, be sure it's in November, December, January. The weather is devoon as opposed to the gruesome heat in other months.

 

D'maniac - are you packing while watching rain in Vancouver? Or do you keep a duplicate set of clothes and notions which you can grab and then walk out the door? Do you have a closet just for cruise clothes?

 

Conte - I'm dyin' here. I want so much to hear about Saga Rose from your point of view. I'm wiggly like a kindergartner - "are we there yet?" We await your news and views.

 

Ruby

[Kapricorn]

D'maniac - are you packing while watching rain in Vancouver? Or do you keep a duplicate set of clothes and notions which you can grab and then walk out the door? Do you have a closet just for cruise clothes?

Ruby

 

Yesterday I selected my evening wardrobe and today I will rummage around in my closet for daywear. Tomorrow I will select the socks and underwear, and polish my shoe, as well as setting aside my toiletries to be packed on Wednesday morning. I like to space these chores over three days.

 

I like to think that I am a pro at packing, but last year I forgot to bring black socks for the evenings, so I ended up wearing white sports socks with my dark suit. :o

 

Donald D'Maniac.

[Saga Ruby]

. . . and polish my shoe, as well as setting aside my toiletries to be packed on Wednesday morning. Donald D'Maniac.

 

So how do you decide which shoe to polish?

 

Ruby

[kazover40]

cgtnormadie Thankyou for your welcome.

 

The queenies are quite delicious however cooked! Thise Swedes they love their fish! I adore Gravalax.

 

I an really quite excited about our cruise to the Chillean Fjords. Not really keen on NCL, hubby and I still love formal nights and will dress up regardless. I hope he polishes both shoes lol It was such a fantastic deal and and we have a Owners Suite! So will be utterly spoilt with a butler and concierge!

 

We are joined by a Belgian gentleman we met on a Fred Olsen Baltic Cruise and have been firm friends ever since!

 

Ruby I have never battered a plaice in my life, it is a very nice flat fish, similar to a Sole. Just a quick grilling is all it needs. I suppose it would be quicker to just batter and drop in the deep fat fryer, but not really an English thing as far as I am aware!

[Kapricorn]

So how do you decide which shoe to polish?

 

Ruby

 

I polish the one on which people are always stepping. :D

 

Donald.

[Saga Ruby]

Karen - You should talk to CGTNORMANDIE (Ross). He always has the Royal Suite on the Jewel of the Seas and will shortly be occupying same on a repo from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale. As far as I know, I'm the only member of the Nostalgia Cruise who books inside cabins. With the single supplement and the ships I cruise on, it ain't worth the money. The Owner's Suite on the Dream will be grand.

 

Ross will be onboard the Jewel during Halloween and refuses to accept my suggestions for costumes - (1) get the headwaiter to make up a foil swan that fits sideways on the head, have strands of green crepe paper hanging down and call it "Leftovers," or (2) the guy wears camo pants, the gal wears camo shirt with tights, and call it "Upper and Lower GI."

 

D'maniac - I assumed the shoe that gets polished is the one with the white sock so as to emphasize the dichotomy of the outfit. Or to remember right foot from left foot while dressing for the formal dinner.

 

Admiral Ma'am is at sea about plaice. I saw only batter-fried fish, Karen says it is a grilled fish, now Ross is talking about sil and rollmop, words which I have never read before in my life and was certainly not served on the Queen's china in my maritime experience. I heard a rumour years ago that orange roughly was originally called "slimefish" by the Kiwis who pulled them out of the ocean. The title of "orange roughly" was purportedly made up by a p/r agency.

 

Ruby

[dougnewmanatsea]

Speaking of fish:

I was going over some 1936 menus from the Swedish American Line. They really liked fish. The menus were loaded with every kind of sil, rollmop, sardine and herring that you could think of. They also had a ton of caviar too.

Well the Swedes certainly love their fish! As do the Danes, the Norwegians, the Finns, indeed just about everyone who lives on the Baltic. They could have a competition about who likes fish the most ;) !

 

Herring is seemingly the fishy thing to have in that part of the world - pickled, marinated, smoked and just about anything else you can think of. The Dutch of course are very big on their herring too even though that's the North Sea, not the Baltic. I believe they still serve herring on "Dutch Night" on HAL (though I think it has been done away with on the 7-night and shorter cruises).

 

I have never battered a plaice in my life, it is a very nice flat fish, similar to a Sole. Just a quick grilling is all it needs. I suppose it would be quicker to just batter and drop in the deep fat fryer, but not really an English thing as far as I am aware!

I have seen plaice used for fish and chips in England, though less common than haddock or cod... But fried plaice is probably most popular in Denmark of all places, where it seems to be a real staple!

 

I heard a rumour years ago that orange roughly was originally called "slimefish" by the Kiwis who pulled them out of the ocean. The title of "orange roughly" was purportedly made up by a p/r agency.

I don't know about orange roughy but Chilean sea bass is actually a trade name for Patagonian toothfish!

 

And then while not a fish, how about a canola oil? There is no such thing as a canola at all - canola oil is in fact just a more appealing-sounding trade name for rapeseed oil.

 

I am sure there are many other examples; I would not be surprised if "orange roughy" is one as well!

[Conte Di Savoia]

Conte - I'm dyin' here. I want so much to hear about Saga Rose from your point of view. I'm wiggly like a kindergartner - "are we there yet?" We await your news and views.

 

Ruby

 

I'm feeling pressure here!! I'm trying to compose the whole thing so it sounds literate. I just finished reading your diary. Don't expect the same standard from me! What a great read.

[Saga Ruby]

I'm feeling pressure here!! I'm trying to compose the whole thing so it sounds literate. I just finished reading your diary. Don't expect the same standard from me! What a great read.

 

First, many thanks for the "great read" comment. Admiral Ma'am does appreciate it. But, uh, you don't have to write a cruise diary, I'm just lookin' for comments. You could do a "star" system on food, service, ship, staff, or numbers from 1-10. If you want to write out a narrative, we welcome it. Whatever floats your boat, so to speak.

 

I am personally interested in whether you had fish once, often, never - it's a subject that is entirely subjective but I have questions when you're ready.

 

A complete digression - I noticed that you had 55 posts on Cruise Critic from 2003 to March of this year when you first spoke up and saved this thread. After all these pages and many discussions, you still have 55 posts showing on your member masthead. Have you found the secret to eternal youth? Is there an oil painting in your attic?

 

Ruby

[CGTNORMANDIE]

RUBY...YOU ARE TOO FUNNY!!! LOL!!!

 

Plaice is from the Flounder family...a flat white fish.

 

We will not be dressing up for Halloween this year...we will be in Le Havre and will not sail until 11:00 PM...I doubt the little ghouls, ghosts and goblins will be up that late...LOL!!! We will just have to gather around the the baby grand and sing Cole Porter tunes...while sipping on some of that nice French Champagne that I intend to buy in Le Havre...LOL!!!:D

 

R

[Conte Di Savoia]

I am personally interested in whether you had fish once, often, never - it's a subject that is entirely subjective but I have questions when you're ready.

 

A complete digression - I noticed that you had 55 posts on Cruise Critic from 2003 to March of this year when you first spoke up and saved this thread. After all these pages and many discussions, you still have 55 posts showing on your member masthead. Have you found the secret to eternal youth? Is there an oil painting in your attic?

 

Ruby

 

I have no idea why I'm still at 55 when I should be no less than 60. Perhaps Doug can answer that question. Speaking of 60 (which I just turned this past June) I found that it gains me a senior rate when entering historic sites in the UK. I was happy at the current exchange rate to save several pounds when we visited Hampton Court Palace, but then I became depressed. I was never asked for proof!!

I am finally ambitious enough to work on my term paper. I just selected some pictures to include as illustrations for the treatise.

 

I remembered your comments about the dry fish on board. As a result I didn't have much of it except for the haddock in the fish and chips and the Dover sole at the gala farewell dinner. The sole was good. I generally stay away from fish on board ships because it has been frozen and that always takes its toll on the consistency. Shrimp fair much better. Another nostalgia moment here, if I might. On the Italian Line it was traditional to serve fresh fish at the dinner after the arrival in Gibraltar. The chefs would buy it fresh off the boats which pulled alongside while we were at anchor. Nothing could compare to it.

[Saga Ruby]

Hmmm, a treatise with visual aids. Are we talkin’ Powerpoint? DVDs? Hand-outs?

 

Yay! Photos of Saga Rose! Yay! A delish close-up of some Dover sole and an ice sculpture of ice cubes posing as queenies? Oh wait - are there pix of ports also?

 

I'm trying to control my inner kindergartener.

 

Ruby

[Kapricorn]

Ruby, it seems as though the post counts on member mastheads are automatically updated with each posting, including the masthead on the very first posting by the member. You will notice that yours on this post is the same count as your first post on this thread.

 

Conte, I am looking forward to reading about your experiences on Saga Rose, after my return from Alaska on September 26. However, no pressure ... if it's not ready, then please take your time.

 

Tomorrow morning I will pack my suitcases and head over to the Zaandam for lunch. Does anyone wish to hear about mine (and Graham's experiences on the Ryndam)? I always send my cruise agent a post-cruise report.

 

Donald d'Maniac.

[Saga Ruby]

Ruby, it seems as though the post counts on member mastheads are automatically updated with each posting, including the masthead on the very first posting by the member. You will notice that yours on this post is the same count as your first post on this thread. Does anyone wish to hear about mine (and Graham's experiences on the Ryndam)? I always send my cruise agent a post-cruise report. Donald d'Maniac.

 

Of course we want to read reviews! Take notes and tell us how it all turned out when you return. Please semaphore Graham that we will expect a report when he gets back.

 

Your point is well-taken about the number of posts on the masthead - you are correct, sir! A tip of the hat for figuring that one out. Sorry, Conte - I withdraw the "Dorian Gray" reference. For now.

 

Bon voyage, D'maniac! Don't forget to pack that polished shoe! All the best!

 

Wow. This thread going over 12,000 views. Who woulda thunk it? Thanks, everybody.

 

Ruby

[Conte Di Savoia]

The cruise on Saga Rose was meant to be a nostalgia trip. That was clear from the onset and all the postings on this site heightened that expectation. The new “old” Dover pier was the first nostalgic slap in the face when it became apparent that I had been there before. This was where we had landed in 1963 when my family had taken the ferry from Calais to Dover on our train trip from Paris to London. The old Dover ferry, whose name I don’t recall, was in wonderful British Deco style and I remember having a wonderful tea as we crossed the channel. We disembarked at this pier cum rail station where we boarded the English train which was even more elegant.

The station has now been turned into this modern terminal. Cars and lorries pull up where the tracks had once been. As I look around the lounge at our fellow passengers I’m reminded of the riddle of the Sphinx: What walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon and three in the evening? Man. There are many night walkers. We’re not on the pier more than fifteen minutes when someone is already down on the floor. The Saga crew is expert at getting the passenger back up. Having second thoughts, I look at my partner. What have we done?

 

All arriving passengers are given a number in what I learn will be the routine for all tour disembarkations as well. No one moves unless given a number. The British are almost as orderly as the Germans and every one is cooperative with the system. I would prefer to embark in a New York minute and get settled into the cabin but decide to do in Dover as the Brits do. Finally it’s our turn and we embark walking up the gangway which is lined with wonderful pictures of old Dover with historic ships docked alongside. And then we reach Saga Rose and step back into the past.

 

Reception is what it always was. Wood paneling which, now patined, still covers the walls, “Purser” still written above the desk. One deck high, there is no grand staircase here or Hyatt-style glass enclosed elevators whisking passengers up ten decks. We are taken down to our cabin, 403, which is forward on A Deck, not Deck 1 or 2 or Acapulco Deck, but traditional A Deck. We pass the crescent of the forward stairwell, which is unchanged, except for the patterned carpet which detracts from the original Scandinavian simplicity of the space. As we walk along the corridor I realize we are actually walking uphill as the shear is pronounced approaching our cabin which is far forward. Only the crew lives more forward than us. I had purposefully chosen a room in this location. The one I had thirty-one years ago was far to the stern behind the dining room and I recalled there was considerable vibration. I would rather hear the waves slapping against the hull than be awakened by sudden shuttering.

 

Our steward, Noel, greets us and gives us a key, a real metal key to open the door. We step into the cabin. There is a corridor lined by four closets with beautiful wooden doors and the main room with two fixed berths and two wooden dressers. The luggage has arrived before us. They apparently were given a lower number than us when we arrived together at the pier. The cabin is so far forward that the bulkhead is curved inward. As a result the two portholes are recessed creating a space in which I can curl up to look out. Portholes let in a lot less light than the picture windows on newer ships. The cabin is dark despite being an outside one. Turning on the lights helps, but it is, except for the reading lamps above the beds, fluorescent which casts a sallow look over the room. Our lounge chair is very 70’s: chrome with upholstered back and seat and it is armless. The bedspreads are in a large checkered pattern which doesn’t particularly work well with the carpet. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, cabins/staterooms/suites on the new builds are IMO a vast improvement over those on mid-century ships. In my mind this view is confirmed. The cabin is, however, immaculate. I wanted nostalgia and this was it. If you look at the corridor picture above you might notice a green call light at the top of the door frame. Remember when you would ring for the steward or stewardess? The light is still there on Saga Rose but the buttons to activate it are missing from the cabin. The bathroom is not vintage, having been replaced by Cunard, I believe. The fixtures are all modern. The counter is marble and there is no wooshing vacuum powered toilet here.

We unpack our clothes and found ample space for everything. Unlike Ruby, we overpack. The luggage (four large pieces), disappear. We’re off to tour the ship. 1965 here we come!!

[Saga Ruby]

Ahhhh. Reading your notes is like jumping into a cool pool on a hot day. Wunderbar.

 

I'll remain quiet while you work on posting your treatise. I really like the photos - the Victorian cruise terminal made me smile.

 

Thanks, Conte.

 

Ruby

[CGTNORMANDIE]

GREAT MEMORIES CONTE DI!!!

I especially liked the old green "call lights" for the stewards...now that brings back a flood of memories.:)

 

Ross

[Conte Di Savoia]

It seems everyone except us originals are off cruising. I'm working on the next installment which should be ready shortly.

[Saga Ruby]

It seems everyone except us originals are off cruising. I'm working on the next installment which should be ready shortly.

 

It could be said that I am maintaining a dignified silence in anticipation of your next installment. Celebritymania (D'maniac) and Graham are sailing in Alaska so the Nostalgia Cruise is currently short two correspondents. I look forward to their return so we can learn about their cruises. In the interim, maybe we're back to the original two of us, Conte.

 

It could also be said that my daughter the doctor from SFO is visiting for two weeks and I'm having a grand time playing Mom. Or that my son the Delta pilot may have a rare one-day layover in Dallas next week and the Three Musketeers will be together again for one day. Color me happy.

 

Now. About that next installment . . .

 

Ruby

[Conte Di Savoia]

Ruby, it sounds like you have a wonderful weekend coming up!

 

Here's a bit more of the saga.

 

As we pulled away from the pier with the White Cliffs of Dover over my shoulder and bluebirds in my head, I imagined RAF planes flying overhead in pursuit of the Luftwaffe. This is an historic site and that is the image I always think of. Glenn Miller is out there somewhere. We sail out past the jetty and head north towards Newcastle.

 

The next important decision is which bar will be our regular watering hole? We decide on the tranquil North Cape and head there for our first martinis. It’s surprising to me how many ships cannot make a proper dry gin martini and it turns out that Saga Rose is no exception. This is particularly surprising because the English, at least in the Hercule Poirot series, seem to love them. Winston Churchill’s recipe for a dry martini is my favorite (pour the gin into a glass while glancing across the room at the bottle of vermouth). The stewardess stares at us obviously not understanding what this strange drink might be. We explain in detail how it should be made. She smiles agreeably (the staff is always smiling) and returns in a few minutes time with our drinks. Not so dry really, but we will continue the lesson before ordering a second round. There are olives in the drink as well as a small plate of more olives lapped in garlic. They are delicious as are the “crisps”, what we recognize as potato chips. Subsequently we are adopted by Reul, one of the stewards in the North Cape, who learns exactly the degree of dryness we expect and always brings over two helpings each of additional olives and crisps. As the Filipinos are schooled in American English, we agree that the Brits are confused about their potato nomenclature. Reul will keep us well stocked with potato chips for the entire cruise.

 

We prefer to dine late while cruising, so we leave the now empty North Cape Bar and head off to the dining room at about 8:15. Although our table is in the more forward part of the room, I tell my partner we must make the grand descent down the stairway located abaft of the dining room. Although a Norwegian ship, Sagafjord was built by Societe des Forges et Chantiers de la Mediterranee near Toulon, France. The conservative Norwegian owners must have been lured by the Gallic sense of drama and allowed them to add this feature which was so traditional on the great French liners. This grand descent disappeared from most cruise ships until Celebrity and HAL began reintroducing it. Now it has become required. Not a bad idea IMO.

 

The dining room has changed since my last voyage on the ship in 1976. At that time there were no windows at all. The original designers turned their backs to the sea, denying its existence. Cunard had other thoughts and brought the room into line with QE2 by adding windows. It’s much brighter now. More controversial are the new chandeliers. In NAL days there were no chandeliers in the two deck high central dome. Cunard added crystal ones, but these were replaced last year with peculiar clouds of plastic fiberoptic lights and fluffy white ribbons. They look like shimmering clouds that sway silently with the movement of the ship. No one was able to say why the original chandeliers were replaced. The Maitre d’ess said 50% of the passengers liked them and 50% did not. Include me in the latter group. Overall, however, the dining room looks better now than in NAL days.

 

The Filipino dining room staff is very pleasant. I’m impressed that they immediately learn our names and will address us personally throughout the cruise. In conversation with our dining room section captain, I mention that I sailed on the ship thirty-one years ago. “You should be the captain of the ship!” He addresses me as “captain” for the rest of the cruise. Unfortunately, unlike Ruby, I do not make any effort to speak Tagalog.

 

Saga trains their staff very well. They are all scripted in the same way. After the waiters bring the appetizer they will always say “Enjoy your first course.” I have training in this technique in customer relations and have some misgivings about it. It’s widely used by Disney where I first experienced it. I realized by the third time I was asked at Disney World “where are your from?” that maybe they really didn’t care. It took a few days, but we did get the waiters to be more open and relaxed with us. It’s the American way. The service in the dining room was uniformly excellent although occasionally the waiter wasn’t certain who ordered which dish. The wine stewardess. Eden, took very good care of us and suggested that we pre-order our wines so that the wine could breathe. Opening a wine bottle without decanting only allows it to gasp, not breathe. When we asked to have the wine decanted, she had to ask her superior if that was possible. It was.

 

Now, as to the food. This is the hardest area to evaluate. De gustibus non disputandem est, as my Latin teacher used to say. There’s no arguing about taste. The chef caters, as he should, to the British palate. I happen to enjoy the British kitchen and think that the reputation of bland uninteresting cooking is unjustified. I had a hard time selecting from the menu not because I didn’t like what was offered, but because I liked many of the choices. There was plenty of lamb, game, duck, excellent roast beef and to die for Yorkshire pudding. The soups were also superior. I even ordered and ate haggis. I’ve never had haggis before so I have nothing with which to compare this preparation but it wasn’t awful offal. We occasionally had to ask for translation of some unfamiliar items. Gammon is ham, for example. I learned to like “mushy peas”, a semi-pureed concoction. There were some things to stay away from. For some reason the Brits cannot master Italian food. The Italian Dinner one night was passable, but nothing that would threaten even a novice Tuscan chef. The zabaglione we ordered for dessert was the only item we had to return to the kitchen.

 

The night is still young, at least for us. Next stop, the Ballroom.

[Saga Ruby]

Each time I sail from Dover, I am vigorously humming "White Cliffs of Dover" in my head. Nice to know that I am not alone.

 

You have made reference to Saga Rose when she was Sagafjord. In reading your comments, I think about all the interior decorative changes the actual ship has been thru as she has changed hands over the decades. "At that time there were no windows at all." So many of the Saga Ruby passengers talked about how nicely "original" Saga Rose is, but there seems to have been a polyglot of styles over the decades which have left bits and pieces here and there. The fiber optic lights in the dining room - they might have looked good "on the rack" but not on the ship.

 

Perhaps it was because of the Tagalog lessons, but all of the crew became quite nice to me. Evidently the word had spread about my attempts at their language. At one point early on, my waiter, Modesto, came up to the doors at the GDR and put out his elbow to escort me to my chair. So it's interesting to read about how the "normal" passenger is treated, greeted, fed, and watered.

 

I certainly am enjoying your treatise. Brings back old times. Oh wait, that was less than a month ago!

 

Ruby

[dougnewmanatsea]

Just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying Conte's travelogue, as I enjoyed Ruby's of course. Even though this ship is off limits to me it is at least nice to be able to live vicariously through you!

 

The new chandeliers in the dining room... What were they thinking? Just odd.

 

Ruby mentions how ROSE is often spoken of as being "more original" and in fact there is (a bit) more of the original ship left on ROSE but as Ruby points out it also means that her interior decor is not as "consistent" as the more heavily refitted RUBY. To be fair neither one is anything like the original ship but there are more vestiges of the original on ROSE. I guess it depends on whether one prefers consistency or originality.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

NICE REVIEW CONTE DI SAVOIA!!!

 

Please keep it coming...your observations are very interesting...and most enjoyable.

 

Ross

[Saga Ruby]

Conte - I wanted to mention how sporting you look with Dover "over my shoulder." You're a lot more nautically dressed for sailaway than I was. Thanks for posting the photo - I may post my "chef" photo when the spirit moves me - after my adult kids leave.

 

The photo of you ondeck in Dover almost shows the Saga car park behind and below you (beyond the dockyard clutter). Several passengers I met onboard said they park there. I would not have an enthusiasm for putting a car out in the wind, sun, and sea air of the Dover docks for 18 days while I'm off exploring. And all those sport fisherman lining the far seawall might hook my car instead of a fish!

 

As a person who lives in Middle America, it is a strange concept to me to be able to drive a personal car to a port or even better, taking a cab, getting out, and off you go on a maritime adventure. D'maniac does that so well in Vancouver - 10 mins. from house to ship by cab. I'm green with envy.

 

Ruby

[Saga Ruby]

Conte, while you are gathering your notes and pix for your next chapter, I wanted to know what you heard onboard ship about The End for this particular ship. You have read what was swirling around when I was onboard a month ago - what did you hear?

 

I hope your jet lag has evaporated by now and you are enjoying autumn in New York.

 

Ruby