Saga cruises

[Midlandslass]

I've had a look around this forum and barely a mention of Saga.
I surmise that this is a lot to do with their reputation for being a bit of an old folks home at sea, please correct me if I'm wrong
Have any of you sailed with them and would any of you consider sailing with them on their new ships?
I have taken 2 cruises with them, the first a 4 night taster cruise and the 2nd a 15 night Northern Lights cruise earlier this year.
I was pleasantly surprised and have booked cruises on their new ships and to be fair I have seen more scooters on Cunard than I saw on Saga.
The food was excellent and so was the entertainment.
I have cruised on 12 different lines and taken over 60 cruises and my favourite lines are Oceania and Cunard so I have a good appreciation of the different offerings around for us cruisers.
I would love to hear everyone's views

[Manoverboard]

I, we, have also cruised with umpteen Cruise Lines plus Riverboat Operators.

You mentioned Saga's reputation, following our Riverboat Cruise with them in 2016 I posted …

" I had a preconceived idea of a Saga Cruise, crammed to the rafters with old folk and an imbalance of slow moving widow ladies ... that was exactly how it was. "

I also posted …

" We will not book another Saga Cruise but will be happy to sail again with Amadeus or Uniworld with Titan.

Glad we went but have no intention of returning any time soon. "

If you care to read the full Report then click the link.

You did ask


.

[gilly88]

saga turned me down for cruise insurance, so I turned them down for their cruise!

[Midlandslass]

Sorry but maybe I didn’t make it clear that I was referring to their ocean cruises arm and specifically their 2 new all balcony ships.
I have no idea how old you are but I would think that many of the posters on here are over 50 and eligible for Saga.
As a widow myself I don’t understand why you lump us into a ‘slow moving group’?

[gilly88]

midlandslass: I'm sure no offence was intended, and indeed it is true that a fair few of the posters on here are probably over 50 and would qualify for saga cruises. I would think their new ships would be perfectly acceptable to even the fussiest of cruisers, I would have liked to try them given the opportunity. my age was not the reason they turned me down for insurance. I was 59 at the time, but I was, and still am, being treated for a condition that they were not prepared to cover. you could try the cruise critic website, to se if their are more opinions on saga in particular, a few more people might have been on their newer ships.

[Midlandslass]

Hi gilly,
It was just an attempt to start a discussion on whether people had ever tried or considered Saga with their new ships on the horizon, so to speak. No worries, it does seem a predominately P&O board, but I don’t stick to one line I like to compare offerings.
Each line tends to have their strengths and weaknesses.
I’m sorry you were turned down for insurance, I have a worldwide annual policy which serves me well at the moment and haven’t taken Saga’s insurance.
Happy cruising.

[Manoverboard]

Sorry but maybe I didn’t make it clear that I was referring to their ocean cruises arm and specifically their 2 new all balcony ships.
I have no idea how old you are but I would think that many of the posters on here are over 50 and eligible for Saga.
As a widow myself I don’t understand why you lump us into a ‘slow moving group’?

It didn't actually matter to me that you were referring to Ocean Cruises rather than Riverboats.

Saga is Saga and their operational standards will surely be the same regardless of the mode of transport. Taking Viking as a comparison it is perfectly clear that their Cruises as well as their Riverboats are each providing a five star experience.

My illustrative term re widows was originally intended to raise a smile within a Cruise Report rather than to cause offence. My Saga Topic was raised three years ago and you are the only person who has raised an objection to it.

[Mervyn and Trish]

We will certainly consider the new Saga ships. We haven't been on the older ones because we really do like a balcony and they're a bit thin on the ground. However, they are significantly more expensive than the main stream lines so we want to have a closer look at what they offer before committing. So we're keeping an eye out for ship visits once they're in service. In any case we are committed until 2021 and in 2022 plan a trip with our grandchildren so they're out the equation until 2023 at the earliest.

[towny44]

We have never sailed with Saga, mainly because their prices are always way above what we are prepared to pay. However we have done a couple of Saga land tours in S America and have only the highest praise for the standard of service they provided, and we did not feel it was at all like an old folks outing.
We will be keeping an eye on the pricing for the new ships on any sailings from Southampton, because with all balconies they should tick all our boxes. I look forward to reading your review once you have experienced the new ship.

[gilly88]

midlandslass: happy cruising to you too

[barney]

As Towny says, it's the price that has always put me off. Seems very expensive and if I wanted to spend that sort of money on on holiday and probably look at the six star lines.

[Gill W]

Hi gilly,
It was just an attempt to start a discussion on whether people had ever tried or considered Saga with their new ships on the horizon, so to speak. No worries, it does seem a predominately P&O board, but I don’t stick to one line I like to compare offerings.
Each line tends to have their strengths and weaknesses.
I’m sorry you were turned down for insurance, I have a worldwide annual policy which serves me well at the moment and haven’t taken Saga’s insurance.
Happy cruising.

I think it's great that one our newer members has started a new discussion - thank you Midlandslass for injecting some new life into the forum.

In answer to your question, I must admit that, until recently, I hadn't been that interested in Saga. In the past, I mainly stuck to P&O, but there's only a certain amount of times that you can sail on the same ships, and I'm increasingly interested in trying new cruise lines.

I really like the sound of the new ships, and would certainly consider sailing on one of them, if I considered the itinerary and price was right. I think the price may look a bit high on first glance, but I understand there's quite a few things included, such as drinks with meals and travel to the port. I understand that the best prices are available for the earliest bookings.

I'll be interested to read reports of the new ships.

I noticed that the Cruise Critic forum has a Saga thread in the ''Other Cruise Lines' section.

[Kendhni]

Can I just say that one of the most depressing parts of my life was finding out I was old enough to be on the Saga mailing list

[barney]

Can I just say that one of the most depressing parts of my life was finding out I was old enough to be on the Saga mailing list

Getting old is very much better than the alternative Ken.

[Stephen]

We will certainly consider the new Saga ships. We haven't been on the older ones because we really do like a balcony and they're a bit thin on the ground. However, they are significantly more expensive than the main stream lines so we want to have a closer look at what they offer before committing. So we're keeping an eye out for ship visits once they're in service. In any case we are committed until 2021 and in 2022 plan a trip with our grandchildren so they're out the equation until 2023 at the earliest.

Good point Merv.

Never considered Saga, partly because the ships looked like old bath tubs and the cruises have always been very expensive. We also wouldn't mind doing a visit on one of the new one's, as you say, to see what is on offer.

[Manoverboard]

As I said at the start of this Topic our Saga experience was les than ideal and I also mistakenly assumed that their new ships were probably going to be makeovers of somebody else's ' older ' ships.

Not so … they are brand new and seem to be worthy of consideration, destinations permitting, perhaps the OP will do a report for us on the Spirits of Discovery & Adventure as and when.



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[CaroleF]

We have only had one experience of one of Saga's Ocean cruise ships. A few years ago we had an invitation, at a small cost, to go to Dover to join one of the Saga ships - can't remember which one, may have been Sapphire, not sure. The idea was that the ship wouldn't actually leave port but we would see what the ship and accommodation etc. were like. So we were invited for tea one afternoon, tour of the ship, then dinner in the evening followed by entertainment and then breakfast the next morning before departing.
Most of the people who were there were of our age - then in our sixties - but some were younger, all were new to Saga. For us the pluses were - the food, it was really excellent, every meal I would say beat P&O. The staff were very pleasant and all was done most efficiently.
The minus was the accommodation. We were in an outside cabin, no balcony and the space inside was minute. I know some of the balcony cabins on Oceana, for example have very small shower rooms but this one was even smaller. There was just enough room to sit on the loo without knocking into the basin. There was a double bed but in order for one person to get into it they had to crawl up from the bottom, no room at the side. The thing that really put us off was the smell as we went down the corridor to our cabin, a definite oil smell, most off putting. We got friendly with a couple who were in the Owner's Cabin - they weren't sure why - and they asked us to go and look at the cabin before dinner. It was very large with lots of freebie drinks, I don't know if Saga still do that in suites. The very odd thing was the balcony. You opened the door to the balcony but the balcony didn't extend to the edge of the ship if you see what I mean. There was the usual balcony furniture but then there was a rail and people could walk past - most odd.
Now I know that was one of the Saga's old ships and it may not even be with them now. I have looked at their brand new ship and it does look good from what I've been able to see - be interesting to see a proper tour of the ship. However, what would really put us off from booking a Saga cruise is the price - it's so expensive. I can't comment on the ages of people as our one experience was for younger people who hadn't been with Saga before.
One thing, can anyone tell me how to stop Saga sending us literature through the post. We must receive at least 3 lots each week and as yet I haven't found a way to stop it. If Saga's prices were a bit lower we might consider giving them a try but not as they are at the moment.

Carole

[Midlandslass]

spirit of discovery 1.jpg

Spirit of Discovery was floated out this morning, funnel about to go on in picture.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Adonia reborn!

[Midlandslass]

A look around Spirit of Discovery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw1VYSLd_eQ

[Stephen]

Watched the whole video.

I thought considering the prices Saga charge the furnishings looked cheap.

Not for me.

[Mervyn and Trish]

We've booked a four-nighter next year to have a quick look. But you're right. It needs to be good to justify the price. In fairness with transport to and from home, inclusive drinks, included tips and included speciality dining, it's better than the headline price and I can't see needing to spend much, if anything, on board.

[towny44]

We have looked at their new all balcony ships ourselves, but notice that there are only about 6 accessible cabins in total, and their itineraries do include a number of tender ports. So unless they provide roll on/off facilities they don't appear to cater for our needs, and as Merv says the prices are high and well into the luxury cruise line category.

[Manoverboard]

We've booked a four-nighter next year to have a quick look. But you're right. It needs to be good to justify the price. In fairness with transport to and from home, inclusive drinks, included tips and included speciality dining, it's better than the headline price and I can't see needing to spend much, if anything, on board.

Their excursions are expensive and probably also the Spa so I guess you will be spending something …. sadly

I thought contemporary rather than cheap but some of the chairs didn't look particularly resistant to heavyweights.

With the right itinerary we would give it a whirl even in spite of our previous experiences with Saga on one of their more elderly vessels.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I can't see needing to spend much, if anything, on board.

Their excursions are expensive and probably also the Spa so I guess you will be spending something …. sadly

The good news is our little sortie is up the river to Rouen, where we moor overnight and can have a wander on foot. So I think excursions can be avoided. And I can do my nails and hair before departure so the Spa is off the list!