Bloodaxe

Has the other poster has said they are very British, we also tried Saga because of not wanting to fly anymore.. Saga fits the bill OK but we really miss the International mix of people on our previous cruises mainly with Celebrity and Azamara.

A few years ago with Titan we were being taken down to Gatwuck to fly to Italy to join a Azamara cruise. It was a contractor's Mpv, part way down the M1 we stopped at a service station and the driver said his driving hours were up and another car was going to take us down to Gatwick. After a long delay a !imo turned up, he said he had been stuck in traffic which then happened again has we set off. We were worried about making our flight but once the traffic cleared the driver pulled out all the stops and we just made it. He told us that he had trained in the military and it showed in his driving. What he also said was that last week he had been driving Donald Trump around and one of us was sat in the same seat. I wondered if it was true but he said he was chosen because of his Military background. ,

Not just Titan, they seem to be increasing the use of private contractors and our last two trips had rear facing seats.

Graham and Kalos your mention of your 5th anniversary of your heart problems promoted me to make a comment. It is also the 5th Anniversary of the loss of our only Son to a massive heart attack at the age of 47 Prior to that we had been very lucky to travel the world, I took early retirement from my full time job at age 50 and then worked part time until 65. We visited many parts of the world, including the States many times, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, sometimes just flying off somewhere and hiring a Car. We started cruising on my 60th birthday mainly because we wanted to see Alaska. That was the start of many cruises all over the place including South America and Antarctica. Now in my late 70s we are cruising closer to home most recently with Saga mainly because of the home pick up and return. My message really is do these things while you are still young and fit enough, especially if you wish to go long haul to places like Australia.

Pie and mushy pies in a dish is a street food in Australia, they call it a pie floater and the pies down there are great some of the best I ever tasted. I remember Billy Connolly having one in Sydney on his T V program years ago.

I would try one of the short 5 or 7 night cruises to see how you like it, Saga fits the bill for us at our time of life, now in our late seventies Having travelled the world independently in our younger years we tried cruising in our sixties and have never looked back. We came to Saga recently after deciding we no longer wished to fly to join a cruise and Saga home pick up suits us just fine.

I hope so. We also prefer that location and have D 561 booked for our cruise next year, the vents were news to me..

My last Azamara cruise was in June 2019 so obvious my opinion is out of date, it was also before Azamara split from RCCL. Shortly afterwards we had a family disaster and then along came covid. When we decided to start cruising again we gave Saga a try and it now suits us just fine. What I miss the most is the international mix of passengers on Azamara we made friends with people from all over the world.

We sailed with Azamara many times from 2008 until 2018 they would still be our line of choice If we still flew. The R Ships are our favourites just the right size. Azamara now have 4 and Oceana have the other 4, now about 24 years old but still in great shape..

Has I have said before we on!y came to Saga when we no longer wished to fly. If we did return to fly cruises Saga would not be our choice, at that price point much better small ship options are available with unusual ports of call.

Totally agree, my main disappointment with Saga passengers is not the ages but that they are all British. I really miss the international mix that we were used to in our previous favourite line Azamara. I know that is only to be expected, we came to Saga because we no longer fly and the home pick up suits us at our time of life.

Can be either, the last twice ours has been a plain Black one with no markings, they are increasingly using contractors and notTitan

The Peak District is almost in the centre of England mainly in Derbyshire, it's the start of the Pennine chain of hills that extend up through Yorkshire and Northumberland into the Scottish Borders. It's known has the backbone of England, I grew up in Derbyshire and spent my teenage years Cycling in the Peak District most weekends.

Azamara rarely cruise round trip from UK ports, you would probably have to fly one way. It was our favourite line for years until we did not wish to fly anymore, we now use Saga mainly for the home pick up and return.

In the 1950s my family used to take our Summer holiday at Southsea near to Portsmouth and Southampton.on the Solent. I remember watching all the great liners of the day sailing bye on the way to and from Southampton. We also did a boat trip around Southampton docks and our small board passed under the bow of the Queen Mary, we were told how a destroyer was accidentally cut in half during the war About 50 years later I visited Queen Mary at Long Beach before joining a cruise to Alaska, great memories of great Ships.

If the 2nd day is a sea day that is usually a formal evening. certainly on a short cruise.

That's obviously the case, I thought that I would be OK with any of the Saga cabins but I now realise I may not on Adventure.

This was news to me I thought all cabins had walk in showers, it would probably put me off from booking a guarantee if we could end up with a shower over the bath.

.It's nothing new, was happening years ago on Azamara

They also stopped the discounts to Saga magazine members last year.

Thank you, I only chip in occasional if I am interest in the subject under discussion, this time Saga had been mentioned. I have not been a Saga regularly and it is far from perfect, it just fits our needs at the present time in our lives.

I accept that I should not comment on P and O food, that was not my intention. I was just saying that based on some of the reports of people who sail both lines Saga seams to be superior in the main dining room. It is noticeable that one regular poster mainly uses the speciality restaurant's. I will stick with Saga, each to their own did not mean to offend anyone

Just out of interest but I will not bother anymore. I have always made it clear that I had not and probably would not sail P nd O.

Fair comment just going on the experience of others, Its very unlikely that I will be trying it for myself.

Just back from our 2nd Saga cruise, fits the bill for us has we no longer wish to fly, at 78 and 74 we have another booked. Never sailed P and O but reading some of the reviews Saga is much more to our taste especially the quality of the food. When you consider what is included they are good value if you book early to get the best price