david05

Wow that's excellent value, a local taxi company to us charges £315 for a 4-seater car to Dover, 163 miles.

I think you are correct and, as Tothesunset said above, on shorter cruises you are restricted to one or two bookings overall (you could however ask to go on a wait list in case there is space once everyone has had a chance to book). I think this arrangement is better than allowing the early arrivals to book everything (speaking as one who is usually towards the back of boarding)!

But Saga only act as the broker so the insurance is actually with another company and we have varied experiences with insurance companies - some deal quickly and fairly with claims, others not so welcoming when you have a claim!

It used to be the case that if you were on board for more than a month you had to attend a new muster but I don't know if you had to go to a muster for a second cruise when the total was under a month. However, my recollection pre-covid was that you did have to attend but whether or not this was required under maritime law I don't know. In any event, perhaps post-covid there was a relaxation in requirements for a while.

Thinking about it, I wonder if our experience was a result of post-covid caution ie not requiring b2b passengers to mix closely with a lot of new arrivals and they have now reverted to requiring all passengers to attend the muster at the beginning of every cruise.

That's a recent change, on a back to back last year they didn't require you to attend the muster for the 2nd cruise. We did because we didn't know this and it caused some confusion because the system wouldn't accept the card. It was only when the muster guy looked at it he realised we had been on the previous cruise and told us that we shouldn't be there but should be relaxing in our cabin! Like you the TV was not blocked and the TV didn't default to the safety video so there was no need to watch it again.

We have previously taken printed copies of our covid pass as it was easier to show a paper copy as opposed to finding it on the phone. However, for our forthcoming cruise we have just downloaded it to our phones to show if we happen to be one of the chosen few!

You have to watch the safety video in the TV. Shortly before sailing, or at least before the evening meal if a late sailing, the Captain does the usual announcement and then you are called to your muster station in deck order. You do not take your life jacket and all they do us check you in and you head back to your cabin. The stairways do get crowded during the exercise! At least that is what happened at the end of 2022, perhaps someone who has been on recently can advise if there have been any further changes.

When Saga did this for us pre-covid, I was nervous as they left it quite late and I worried if they had received the forms in the post (with hindsight I should have sent them by the signature service). So I'm happy to do it myself.

I didn't realise I had to sign up to social media to discover if something was truly bad 😀. The pictures at post #12 give a true indication of how bad it was at the beginning of the year and I'm pleased that it now seems to be much improved.

If you are referring to the self-service coffee machines they are in the Grill, the Library and the Secret Garden. Although they presumably have the same coffee they don't always taste the same!

OK Thanks

I know you didn't eat in the Grill but do you know if they were running it as a buffet every evening. I know they did this at one time but the most recent cruises we have been on it was waiter service, except for the occasional themed buffet evenings. We are amongst those who prefer the Grill over the MDR but we do want waiter service in the evening. Khukuri is the probably best speciality restaurant we have ever tried on board a cruise ship.

So, if I have understood this correctly, everyone should still have their covid pass but you probably won't need to show it before being allowed to board.

I have been somewhat apprehensive that Saga might start withdrawing some things to save money and, like you, I hope Saga are not going down that route. Pre-covid I seem to recall the newspaper and puzzles were in the library but I can understand people finding it easier to collect from reception. I think the library was favoured as it was considered more convenient for those coming or going from their cabins. The lack of the afternoon tea trolley in the Living Room is particularly unwelcome. We are on Discovery in a couple of months so it will be interesting to see what is happening then.

I wouldn't say we had had a problem because our health incidents were well ahead of a cruise. However, Saga seemed to be saying that one was not covered by insurance for "x" months ("x" depending on the ailment) but would be again if all was well after that period (which it was). This is very different from what happened before when the insurance was still valid except you were no longer covered for the recent health problem. My wife once travelled shortly after she had broken her wrist and the insurance was fine except she was not covered for any complications or anything else that might happen to her wrist whilst on holiday.

Friends of ours were on this cruise. They loved the ship but hated all the queues and will probably not sail on her again because of this.

The bathrooms are smallish but more than adequate. The showers do have doors. There is a brief glimpse of a bathroom here

We have had an interconnected cabin and noticed no difference with regard to eg sound proofing. So if you can't change it hopefully you will be OK. We did make sure the door was locked on our side!

Good question. I can't see any reference on the Saga website to cabins with shower over a bath in the cabin details or on the deck plans on the website. Perhaps it is just SofA, very strange.

Didn't know that and must remember if I can ever afford a deluxe cabin 😀 as a shower is an essential for us also.

As far as I am aware all cabins have a shower (suites also have a bath).

I agree that it was previously a well stocked library and I particularly liked the large number of classic books available but I don't want to read these all the time. I do always have a well stocked kindle and get through quite a few books on every cruise. The kindle was needed because, as we are usually late borders, we invariably found that by the time we got to look in library the most popular newish books had already been borrowed and it was pot luck whether you would find them available when you looked later in the cruise. On recent cruises I have, however, found some good books to borrow from the passenger exchange so I am grateful to those who bought books on board and passed them on for others to enjoy. It wouldn't spoil my enjoyment of the cruise if a well stocked library didn't return but I wish Saga would make it clear what they are or are not doing with regard to the library.

The fake books, as well as some sculptures etc, were put in to fill the space when no books were allowed when cruising restarted. So what seems to have happened so far is that some have been removed to allow some books to reappear but not all. It will be interesting to see if more shelves become available for books as time goes on or if this is the new norm.

As long as there are a reasonable number of sea days, and your cruise will probably be OK, there should be hosted bridge. Saga should be able to tell you or your agent if a bridge person is expected to be on board. Usually on sea days there is a beginners class at 10 am, an intermediate class at 11 am and duplicate bridge from 2 pm to about 4 pm. The standard for the duplicate session is usually very variable ranging from a few very good pairs to others who are not so good players but enjoy their bridge.