Saga Rose Greenland Voyager August 2007

[bcscot]

Since some others have joined this wonderful conversation, I would like to add my brief message. I, too am ship daft, and it gets worse every day. Thanks to Cruise Travel magazine, which arrived this week, I fell in love with Saga Rose, and have been devouring any information about her. So I'm sad -- but not surprised -- to hear that she will be retired in 2010. I say "retired" because I cannot bear the thought of classic ships being beached and cut apart. My husband and I have a HAL cruise planned for October of this year, and it will financially irresponsible of us to book a cruise on Saga Rose, but when it comes to ships, reason flies, doesn't it?

 

Thank you for letting me eavesdrop on your memories. I've never sailed on a classic ship (unless you count the original Love Boat, the Pacific Princess), but my husband and I were married aboard the moored Queen Mary in Long Beach in 1978. My sister, also ship daft, recently married in the same wedding chapel on the Queen Mary. If we can't sail aboard the Saga Rose in time, or the Saga Ruby, we'll save our pennies for the Victoria. If the designers have listened to us at all, they'll make sure that Victoria is stately and traditional, and that there won't be a rock wall or bungee jump in sight.

 

Here's to the ships of the 1930s!

 

Mrs Muir

 

 

I hope that Mrs Muir & her husband enjoy their cruise on the Ryndam at the end of this month & do not have any 'Smelly-Class' problems. The Ryndam is a lovely ship & should be in good condition having just come out of dry dock in Victoria. I would love to do that Sea of Cortez cruise.

 

Fancy getting married on the Queen Mary! Wow.

 

Graham.

[bcscot]

We are posting either in tandem or in stereo again Ruby!

 

This is the Canadian 'Thanksgiving' long weekend so Sir Donald D'Maniac may be away visiting family as seems to be the tradition around here. We Brits have no such tradition except for a church 'harvest thanksgiving' service after harvest.

 

Graham.

[Kapricorn]

This is the Canadian 'Thanksgiving' long weekend so Sir Donald D'Maniac may be away visiting family as seems to be the tradition around here. We Brits have no such tradition except for a church 'harvest thanksgiving' service after harvest.

 

Graham.

 

Hi! I'm still around, but this has been a busy Thanksgiving weekend for me. Today was nice and sunny, and I have just now enjoyed an hour's stroll along the water.

 

As you'll have noticed, my user name is now Kapricorn. I wanted it with a "C", but it was already taken (though by someone who has not posted a single thing).

 

D'Maniac.

[bcscot]

Welcome back Donald. I hope you are able to chew up your turkey with no problems.

Kapricorn? Hmmm. That will take a bit of getting used to.

 

Graham.

[Saga Ruby]

Today was nice and sunny, and I have just now enjoyed an hour's stroll along the water..

 

It is so hot and muggy here in Tejas - I'm envious of your stroll along the water and the nice day. The moment I stepped outside, I felt like I was wrapped in plastic wrap. Texas skyscrapers would not be possible without air-conditioning.

 

It's good to hear that you're not re-enacting a dental scene from "Little Shop of Horrors." I loved the musical and the movie but Steve Martin was so ghoulish that it scared me!

 

Congrats on becoming Kapricorn - I admire those willing to change names in the middle of a forum. I see you were able to bring forward your message count so the Transporter Room worked in your favour.

 

Graham, as Admiral Ma'am, I must ask - how do you know Mrs. Muir is going on Ryndam? Are you visiting another forum behind our backs? Were the kazoos not enough?

 

Ruby

[Kapricorn]

It's good to hear that you're not re-enacting a dental scene from "Little Shop of Horrors."

Ruby

 

My teeth are just fine now, and I enjoyed chewing on the slices of turkey. :)

 

Right now it is 11C (52F) in Vancouver, a nice and comfortable temperature for a stroll. So, it is 32C (90F) in your place of the woods! Is that a normal reading for this time of year?

 

D'Maniac.

[bcscot]

Ruby: I just happened to browse back to the first couple of pages of this thread (its fun to do that) & I read Mrs Muir's post saying she was going on a HAL cruise this month. At the bottom of her post, she has a thing like Kapricorn has, saying what her next cruise will be! Elementary my dear Admiral Ma'am!

 

Graham.

[bcscot]

Donald: Your new name is just fine, but I am a little slow on the uptake when it comes to new names, so it takes me a while to get used to someone changing their name on me! I suppose we now have an idea when your birthday is!:)

 

Graham.

[Saga Ruby]

. . . it is 32C (90F) in your place of the woods! Is that a normal reading for this time of year? D'Maniac.

 

Heck no these temps are not normal! We were in the mid 70s during the night and you know the current temp. We set a record last night for the highest overnight low (did ya get that one?). Uggghhh.

 

We are usually in the low 80s and low 60s in October in time for the great State Fair of Texas, so ever'body is groaning about the cursed weather.

 

Graham - whenever I feel the urge to go back over these 44 pages, I lie down until the feeling passes.

 

Ruby

[Kapricorn]

Donald: Your new name is just fine, but I am a little slow on the uptake when it comes to new names, so it takes me a while to get used to someone changing their name on me! I suppose we now have an idea when your birthday is!:)

 

Graham.

 

Yep! My birthday is on the very last day of the year.

 

D'Maniac the Kapricorn.

[Saga Ruby]

Yep! My birthday is on the very last day of the year. D'Maniac the Kapricorn.

 

Wouldn't that be Sir Donald of Kapricorn? Anybody?

 

Ruby

[Kapricorn]

Wouldn't that be Sir Donald of Kapricorn? Anybody?

 

Ruby

 

Eh? No more d'Maniac? I really don't care for the "Sir." Us Canadians are a humble lot.

 

Donald (er, ah, hmm, not sure now what to sign off as ...)

[Rickey 88]

Rickey 88, can you tell Conte and me some of the details of your Nile cruise? How long and what ship? All Egyptian crew and chef? How many passengers? Any positives or negatives? Thoroughly satisfied or a wish that doodah had been a bit different?

 

Ruby

 

As everyone knows, there are Nile cruises and there are Nile cruises....

running from 3 or 4 days up to 8 or 9. In the off chance that we might never get to Egypt again (little did we know, Madam, that we would be there this past year with your royal self!) we elected for a 14 day Abercrombie & Kent tour, which included nine days on the Nile.

 

One could do this in a much shorter time and for less money, but I strongly recommend that you consider A & K if the treasury can stand it. Their accommodations are of the best, the "Sun Boats" are reknown on the Nile, and most important, their Egyptologists are outstanding. Our guide was one of the best - and even arranged a meeting with Dr. Zahi Hawass while in Cairo. There was very little "let's stop at this souvenir shop", the sites visited ranged from Dendera down to the dam at Aswan, and we did fly over to Abu Simbel for a day.

 

Egypt is a most interesting country and has so much to offer. A short visit from a cruise ship only gives one a small taste of what there is....

 

Do consider a Nile cruise and do spend at least four of five days in Cairo before you start down the river.... You won't regret it! :D

[bcscot]

Well, I have just finished a wonderful meal of mature French Camembert cheese, French olive tapenade & French bread. Oh yum. The French certainly know a thing or two when it comes to food. Mmmh, light years ahead of beefburgers & French fries, French fries & poutine or French toast, North American style; in my humble opinion of course!

 

Donald: In Scotland, we celebrate your birthday every year, in great style!

 

Graham.

[Conte Di Savoia]

As you'll have noticed, my user name is now Kapricorn.

D'Maniac.

 

Donald, I see you've left the Celebrity fleet and been rechristened Kapricorn. Have you undegone a total refurbishment? I hope you haven't changed your classic lines!

Conte

[Saga Ruby]

As everyone knows, there are Nile cruises and there are Nile cruises....Egypt is a most interesting country and has so much to offer. A short visit from a cruise ship only gives one a small taste of what there is....

 

Do consider a Nile cruise and do spend at least four of five days in Cairo before you start down the river.... You won't regret it! :D

 

Having done the roundtrip 6-hour dash from the port of Safaga to Luxor, I agree with everything Rickey 88 has said. The Nile part of Egypt deserves to be given proper attention, as much as those who visit Key West on a cruise say they have been to America. Sometimes you need to spend more time in a country.

 

I learned more about Egypt from Down the Nile than I did in the few hours I spent in Giza and Luxor. Having seen Rickey's photos of his A&K tour, I have thoughts of going back some day and doing a tour properly.

 

Ruby

[Saga Ruby]

Donald, I see you've left the Celebrity fleet and been rechristened Kapricorn. Have you undegone a total refurbishment? I hope you haven't changed your classic lines!

Conte

 

Pssst! I heard that Kapricorn is going to expand its itineraries and start sailing to Hawaii next year. And the dining room has had particular attention paid to the accoutrements of table service.

 

What have you heard?

 

Ruby

[bcscot]

Donald, I see you've left the Celebrity fleet and been rechristened Kapricorn. Have you undegone a total refurbishment? I hope you haven't changed your classic lines!

Conte

 

................!!!:D !!!

 

Graham.

[Kapricorn]

Donald, I see you've left the Celebrity fleet and been rechristened Kapricorn. Have you undegone a total refurbishment? I hope you haven't changed your classic lines!

Conte

 

LOL, Conte!!!

 

No refurbishment necessary, and my "classic lines" are intact. I had my annual physical check-up last Friday, and my doctor said: "Seem healthy, perfect weight, very fit, look good." He might as well be describing a cruise ship such as one of the Saga sisters? ;)

 

Donald.

[Saga Ruby]

I stood so long in the snow in my tatters and rags, looking into that bright and shining room full of gents and ladies in their glittering finery. They were so enjoying their festivities in that beautiful estate house full of warmth and good spirits.

 

I keep hoping that they will show me pictures of the Queen's boudoir on the Britannia but woe is me, always on the outside looking in.

 

Ruby

[bcscot]

Yes Conte. You seem to be full of 'Eastern Promise'. Don't tease the lady!!!:D

 

I was enjoying reading the thread about the 'Funchal' farther down the page. She is another old classic but I am not sure that I would want to cruise on her! I watched her dock infront of Prinsendam in Lisbon this year. She reminded me of the Ocean Islander. It was interesting to see how helpless & cumbersome the old ships are during docking, requiring to be pushed & pulled around by tugs, as opposed to the new ships with their side thrusters & azipods, turning on a sixpence.

 

Funchal is one of the few cruise ships that sometimes cruises from Scotland, sometimes sailing from Greenock(!). Fred Olsen Lines' Black Prince is another old classic that also sometimes sails from Greenock. Their new 'Boudicca' (another old RVL ship), will be sailing from Leith, beside Edinburgh, next year. That would be nice. Leith is where the Royal Yacht Britannia is moored (Conte!!!).

 

Graham.

[Conte Di Savoia]

I keep hoping that they will show me pictures of the Queen's boudoir on the Britannia but woe is me, always on the outside looking in.

Ruby

 

Admiral Mom, I'm working on it! Stop with the guilt already! I'm also in the midst of having the house painted, wallpaper put up in expectation of the arrival of the Texas relatives for a big family wedding here in New York this weekend. Guests are arriving from Bonham, Anna and Benbrook. You know how those Texans are. They expect everything to be just so.

[Saga Ruby]

Admiral Mom, I'm working on it! Stop with the guilt already! I'm also in the midst of having the house painted, wallpaper put up in expectation of the arrival of the Texas relatives for a big family wedding here in New York this weekend. Guests are arriving from Bonham, Anna and Benbrook. You know how those Texans are. They expect everything to be just so.

 

Admiral Mom extends her sympathy to our original passenger on the Nostalgia Cruise. An arriving horde of Mongols, er, Texans would be daunting for anyone. For your comfort and convenience (a direct quote from Disney), the Purser's Office has been directed to mark your account as "Inactive" until such time as you rejoin our Cruise.

 

Hey! I had friends in Anna back in the 80s when Anna was literally not on the map. My friends handed out hand-drawn maps for the party at their beautiful new home. And Benbrook has sentimental significance so tell your relatives that a native from Foat Wuth says, "Howdy, y'all!"

 

Ruby

[Conte Di Savoia]

One of the highlights of our Saga Rose British Isles Cruise was Edinburgh and its port Leith. Edinburgh is definitely on our list for a much longer revisit. Saga Rose arrived in Leith after our only morning at sea. The port of Leith is entered through a lock (not loch) which protects it from the extreme tides in the area. It required two tugs, one fore and the other aft, to maneuver us in and out of the lock.

 

Leith is now the home of the retired Royal Yacht Britannia. Although she was built at the John Brown & Co. Ltd on the Clyde, Leith won out in the competition to be her home. Clydesiders were very disappointed to say the least. She is docked at a pierside shopping mall which dominates the harbor area. Although this might at first seem like a tacky idea, it is, in fact, very well done and ensures that she is easily accessible and that there are enough people to financially support her upkeep. Saga Rose docked close by. We overnighted in the port of Leith and therefore Saga Cruises offered a special event onboard Britannia. It was one of the three formal nights of the trip. For the bargain rate of £99 each we could be piped on board for a formal reception exclusively for Saga Rose passengers. We had to draw the line somewhere and passed up the opportunity to spend $200 per person for a couple of glasses of champagne and a few canapés. We would wait until the next day to tour the ship with the general public. Nothing like mingling with the locals!

 

The entrance to the ship is through the mall. Before stepping aboard the visitors walk through an exhibit chronicling the history of the ship and its travels as well as its many famous guests. It was launched in 1952 and retired at the end of 1997. The visitors are given a headset with pre-recorded tour. This was very well done and went into great detail as one moved from one place to another. I don’t know if the champagne drinkers from the night before had as good a tour.

 

The first stop was the bridge from which vantage point we could see our ship. Stepping out onto the wing of the bridge gave a wonderful view of Britannia’s funnel within a funnel which was designed so that soot would not stain the buff paint. Along the promenade there is a garage for the Queen’s Rolls. In later years it became unnecessary for the Queen to bring this additional transport with her, but for the purpose of this exhibit it was restored to its original appearance.

Towards the stern of the ship there is a sun deck with the binnacle from the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert (1901). The Royal Family enjoyed relaxing on this deck under the watchful eye of a Royal Navy sailor. The story was that any sailor in uniform must salute the Royals and they must acknowledge in return. The family, however, wanted to be more casual when in this venue, so the sailor would appear without his cap, and therefore out of uniform, and so no saluting was required. Leave it to the British to find a workaround so as not to be prisoners of their own rituals.

Just off the sun deck is the Sun Lounge. It is very understated.

 

The Queen rejected early very formal designs for the interior of the ship. The final concept was meant to feel like an English country house, more relaxed and casual. My favorite spot was the Drawing Room done in English floral chintz and electric fireplace. Imagine drinking martini’s here with the Queen Mum. The State Dining Room was decorated with various objects obtained in the ship’s travels to exotic ports in the Pacific and Africa. The Queen’s bedroom was very simple, rather small but comfortable.

 

The engine room was a work of art. The self-guided tour said that it appears today as it did every day that Britannia was in service. The brass and copper piping was always as kept bright and shiny as in this picture. Kudos to the Royal Navy!

 

Finally, upon exiting the ship, the visitors pass by the Royal Barge, actually the launch used by the Queen while in port. I have a fondness for wooden boats and this is one of the most beautiful. Look at the detail of the dolphin which decorates the cabin.

One of the English passengers (“I’m English, not British”) with whom we became friendly, was outraged that Britannia was decommissioned. I agree that the Royals should have been permitted to keep this wonderful vessel active, but rest assured that she is very well and lovingly cared for.

[bcscot]

Well done Conte. That was an excellent review with wonderful pictures. Thank you. That binnacle looks amazing!

Inspite of the fact that I used to work in Edinburgh & have visited the Britannia, I did not know that the port of Leith was accessed by a lock. Very interesting.

I look forward to reading about the rest of your cruise, but in your own good time.

 

Graham.