david05

There is no longer any random checking at the port - in June covid passes were still required which is why they did some random checking.

9.30 pm except for formal nights when the show starts at 9.45 pm. Enjoy your cruise.

But is Portsmouth any better for the taxi pick up? On the one occasion we used Portsmouth before the new terminal the taxi pick up was a lot worse than at Southampton which is why I am wondering what it is like with the new terminal in operation.

Cost? Does anyone know what it is like now getting to the taxi to take you home. When we exited the tent we had a long, difficult trek to our taxi, some of it uphill which was quite difficult for the trolley pushers!

^Our Cruise Price Promise Please note: This applies as long as the discounted holiday is the same package offered under the same terms of sale (which means the full terms that apply to your holiday contract, including your cabin grade and whether your cabin is allocated at the time of booking or at embarkation). Ad-hoc services are excluded. In calculating any possible saving due, we’ll take into consideration all offers and discounts that were applied at the time of booking and compare the overall price that you’ve been charged with the current price. We will pass on the value of the saving in the form of a higher-grade cabin, or other added value benefit. This is what Saga say so it might trigger the price promise.

Dance instructors were on board our last cruise in June.

OK understand. On Discovery there is also another smoking area on one side of an upper deck (13 or 14?) and this was the only smoking area available available on our last Adventure cruise? The lack of a smoking area at the back annoyed the smokers as the upper deck was closed in bad weather, although one or two did duck under the tapes to get access to the open deck for a smoke.

This was true on Adventure but on a recent cruise on Discovery there was also a smoking area at the back of A deck (as was the case in the pre-covid days) but the smoke/smell was not noticable to us on the other rear open decks.

Saga do not allow smoking on balconies.

My memory of Lisbon is being stuck in endless traffic jams - much better to do your own thing, maybe take one of the tuk tuk tours (from outside the cruise terminal). We have not done any included tours in the other ports. If the ship is docked away from the town you can usually ask to be dropped off in town after the excursion, just make sure you know where the shuttle bus goes from to get back to the ship.

You will certainly find some people wearing shorts at breakfast on Saga. Most wear whatever they are going to wear during the day at breakfast.

Included excursions vary a lot but most are coach trips with photo stops but sometimes with a short break to have a bit of a stroll. Generally we have found the city based ones to be the worst and those which head into the countryside better. Which ports are you going to with included excursions?

Dover Castle, especially if you are an English Heritage member when it's free entry.

It's important to let Saga know in advance because the drivers don't always ring beforehand. We had no phone call prior to our last 2 pickups.

Whilst often the case, it is not always the case. Availability of transport may be a factor but I have known included excursions to be fully booked.

You probably wouldn't fall asleep in one of Hazel's talks because they are so interesting. Hopefully you will get the opportunity to see her in action on a future cruise.

We watched the talks and can confirm this. Hazel's talks were, as always, useful and informative.

See post #146. You can always eat in the Grill with smart casual clothes on a formal night. For ladies a smart dress, or elegant blouse or top with trousers or skirt. For gentlemen a smart open neck shirt and trousers are required. A jacket is optional but no polo shirts, t-shirts, shorts or denim in the evening. You may find that most of the passengers will dress up for the Christmas and New Year evening meals but there will always be some who don't and don't expect to get a window seat in the Grill if you are dressed in smart casual!

It has. We arrived at Tilbury just before 12.30 on 22 June and were eating lunch in the Grand Dining Room before 1 pm and the same arrangement was in place for the following cruise.

On SoD the main dining room is open for lunch on embarkation day from noon until 1pm for back to back passengers and early arrivals. The buffet is sometimes open beyond 3.30pm if a late sailing.

The 2 we did with coach travel were full apart from a couple of seats at the very back. I think all of the tours on this cruise were pretty much fully booked, unlike some of the previous cruises we have done with Saga.

On SoD there is some sooty black spots but nothing like previously and the seat cushions in the secret garden don't show any signs of sooty discoloration, unlike previously when they had towels to put on the sears. Just need to be careful but nothing really to worry about.

On SoD there a library books but not as many as previously. Basically it is the bookshelves in the narrow part of the library and not the coffee station end. The usual mix of fiction and non-fiction and something of an eclectic mix - if you are interested in Scottish vernacular furniture they have just the book for you 😄. There are plenty of passenger exchange paperbacks along the wall where they had the computers in the library.

You should be notified. We received an email and excursion booklet through the post about 7 weeks before the cruise but it doesn't harm to check MySaga from a couple of months out.

In general no. Whenever you book you can have the private car for a journey up to 75 miles and a shared car for 75 to 250/300 miles (which you can upgrade to a private car at a cost). In the initial post-covid period Saga extended the private car service to 250 miles in an effort to minimise risks and they withdrew this when they felt it was no longer necessary but this is the only time I am aware of when they changed the level post booking.