Bloodaxe

20 hours ago, LandC said:

I tried to use my Boundless (CSMA) membership to get a 5% discount a couple of weeks ago and was told it was no longer accepted. I think the Defence Discount Card is still accepted.

It would be helpful if Saga were to publish details on their website of current Affinity memberships.

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

2 hours ago, brian1 said:

Spot on Damian.Thanks for putting my similar thoughts into eloquent words.I sort of qualify having only sailed P&O once,but we only sail for itineraries and that one fitted the bill.This thread is unique so keep posting Bloodaxe,you have contributed a lot in the past.

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.

43 minutes ago, kalos said:

 

I tried posting on a knitting forum once but they barred me for using wrong thread 🙃

 

@Bloodaxe I don't think anyone has said "you should not post" but possibly find

it strange that you pass comment on food etc going on what you have read  about

P&O ships  Some folk over the years have been known to post a few years before 

sailing .

 

 

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

6 hours ago, zap99 said:

May I respectfully ask why you post on a P&O thread If you have no intention of sailing with them ?

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.

6 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

If you've never sailed P&O, I respectfully ask how you can know what the food is like onboard?  I read reviews of all sorts of places but unless I've actually tried them myself I'm not exactly qualified to comment or judge on the offerings.

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

1 hour ago, lincslady said:

You really aren't, zap; around 70 is possibly slightly  below the average, but there are lots of very active people at your ages on board always.  The 'new' ships are attracting a younger set of passengers.

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

28 minutes ago, LondonLad60 said:

IMHO I think you got the better end of the deal there...

He was excellent but we missed meeting Jason again, we sailed with him several times in his Azamara days and he was on our Saga last year, both great Captains.

On 2/22/2024 at 11:30 AM, JoJo1947 said:

This list is not correct, we were on the May 23rd Norway cruise and expecting to have Captain Jason but he was already on leave, it was Captain Kim Tanner.

On 4/6/2024 at 2:18 PM, Anchor Light said:

Yes, he's amazing. It should be noted that he was trained by the 'old guard' who unfortunately have moved on.

Totally agree, Many years ago he actually told us how much he had learned from Philip his mentor.

4 hours ago, grapau27 said:

We have

Robins.

Blackbirds.

Thrushes.

Wrens.

Wood pigeons.

Finch's 

Blue tits.

Sparrow's.

All nesting around our garden.

We also have a hedgehog and a couple of wild rabbits.

 

Excellent, All the more reason not to trim hedges at peak nesting time

41 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Our last house had a conifer hedge and in the 40 years we lived there we never had any birds nesting in it, we often had blackbirds nesting in the hawthorn hedge, but never the conifer one.

Robins, Blackbirds and Sparrows are regular nesting in ours well way from the house.

It's very dense and helps to protect them from the Sparrow hawk and Magpie.

15 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

The sides just have a tiny bit taken off.

It is the tops which are over 15 feet high that are trimmed.

The birds nest inside the conifers are unaffected.

I am very bird friendly and we have numerous varieties of birds in our back garden and the conifers are a big source of food like aphids etc

 

That's fine but the Birds are still going to be affected if sitting on eggs or feeding young, no offence intended Graham just my thoughts, pleased that you care for the birds has we do.

6 minutes ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

That's has maybe I still say it should not be done in nesting time, plenty of time before August, not just my opinion shared by the R S P B.

No need for the capital's. I have my opinion you are entitled to yours.

. 

1 minute ago, grapau27 said:

 

That's has maybe still say it should not be done in nesting time, plenty of time before August, not just my opinion shared by the R S P B.

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

Good morning.

It is a lot milder 12°C and sunny here.

Our tree man came yesterday and trimmed all of our conifers in our back and front garden.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day today.

Sorry but it is not a a good time of the year to trim trees, we never touch ours until we are sure the young birds have flow the nests.

Autumn is the best time anyway to cut back the Summer growth and any dead wood

22 minutes ago, twotravellersLondon said:

 

 

It's changing now.

 

For 2024 cruises it's a private car up to 75 miles of the port each way or a shared chauffeur service up to 300 miles.

 

For 2025 cruises it's up to 75 miles of the port each way or a shared chauffeur service nationwide.

 

But we don't think that they do all of the islands.

 

 

Correct, excludes places like the Isle of Man and other off shore Islands

2 hours ago, Adawn47 said:

I did look into them but I think the maximum distance for free pick up was 200 miles and roughly calculated the were further away than that.

Avril

Not any more Avril, it is 300 miles this year and unlimited in 2025 for shared pick up, usually 2 couples max.

We are further away than you and ours is included this year.

4 hours ago, Adawn47 said:

I'd not thought about Virgin, but then again I've always used travel insurance companies. so that was where I was looking. Habit I suppose.

I could look at a few days away here and search cruises for 2025. I can then look into Nationwide after their move.  We'll see.

After the last  couple of years we just need something to look forward to.

Avril

Avril have you thought about Saga Cruises, much more expensive than P an O but more up market, prices include home pick up and insurance on the love!y smaller adult on!y ships.I think you would love them.

I was surprised with what the included insurance would cover, we used them last year and are booked for this and next year.

They suit us fine since we no longer wish to fly to join our favourite line Azamara

11 hours ago, uktog said:

Heads up from Journey- not yet sure the reason why, breakfast in discoveries is now a full buffet not a la carte. Maybe it’s because the ship is absolutely full 

Would not be happy with that, been on full ships many times and always enjoyed our breakfast in Discoveries, seems like another step in the wrong direction.

26 minutes ago, Tabicat said:

Our last cruise involved a shared car (people carrier)  We were the first pick up and the driver told us there were two more to pick up on the way, both in the same town.  Well we got to the first one and waited for about twenty minutes before we told the driver he should phone.  He did and was told by the lady inside the house that she would be out shortly.  It was a further fifteen minutes before she emerged and then she made him undo her case as she had forgotten to pack something.  Then we had to pick up the next lady.  Luckily she was ready, but decided en route that she wanted to stop for a "comfort break" 

Next time we will pay the extra for a car to ourselves

Hardly Sagas fault, no accounting for some peoples actions.

3 hours ago, DohaBreeze said:

That's really good to hear. We made our own way last year - the day before as we were arriving and leaving from the same port. Didn't feel we could do that this year as we leave from Portsmouth and arrive back in Dover. We have a long journey from North Yorkshire and am hoping for a pleasant journey down on the day 🙂

Last year's sheared transport we were picked up in North Yorkshire at 0830, arrived in Dover by 13.30, return home very similar, great service

Not a Britannia member but I have booked this evening, 

Brochure came through the door this afternoon, could not find the prices on line so thought I would try ringing to ask.

Was told someone would call me back, surprisingly the call came around 7 PM.

For the cruise I wanted standard cabins on E Deck were 25% off but D Deck was 30% off, booked D Deck for less than E deck.

2 hours ago, nosapphire said:

In addition to the very concise (and factual) clarification from twotravellersLondon..

Why do so many assume that the only bids will come from existing cruise operators?

Every possibility that an outside investment company decides a ready made cruise line is just what the portfolio needs. Lazard will have notified a variety of companies, not just existing holday/cruise/travel companies (all of which have their own debts to manage).

And there is, of course, always the possibility that Saga decide none of the bids make financial or operational sense - so nothing happens.

 

 

That is certainty a possibilIty, Royal Caribbean sold Azamara to Sycamore Partners Investment Company who were not into travel as far as I know.

They immediately purchased and refurbished another R Ship to increase the fleet to 4.

We have not cruised with Azamara since 2019 for various reasons including health problems.

It was our favourite line from 2008 until then but I am getting the impression that we would no longer enjoy it has much has we did.

We have cruised with Saga since mainly due to home pick up and not needing to fly to the ship.

It is OK but we do miss the International mix of fellow cruisers on Azamara.

It was a surprise to find ourselves sailing with Captain Jason ex Azamara on Saga, he remembered us and we had a nice chat.

37 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

They should stop preregistering,  the £90 is trivial, and offset by cost of staff for long phone calls. 

 

Release all details and prices on line, you can look at every thing and make decision , how much you are willing to pay.

 

Adopt system others use. Open up bookings  using online normal online system or you phone saga  but in stages according to Brittania club status. Say each level 2 days apart.  

They would be more likely to gain new customers like myself if good prices and full details were available to everyone from the release.

They could still offer loyalty discounts and other benefits to regular repeat clients.