Denarius

Ravenna is an interesting historic city in its own right. I have visited there on a cruise as a featured destination with no mention of Venice, which is some distance away.

Is the five masted sailing ship in the next to last picture the Golden Horizon, operated by Tradewind Voyages but originally built for Star Clippers? At first I thought that she was the Royal Clipper, but the RC is square rigged on all five masts whereas the GH's rear mast just carries a spanker like the ship pictured. I thought that Tradewinds had ceased operating, if this is she then it appears that they have not.

What are you doing instead? Are you staying in Split overnight? If so, you will find that the place has a different feeling in the evening after the day trippers (and cruise passengers) leave. The seafront promenade and old town are awash with local people strolling, eating and drinking. There are street entertainers etc and almost a carnival atmoshere. Highly recommended.

Yes, it is called the Cobblestones Hotel. For anyone who is interested it is on the main coast road in the centre of town. It has a lovely little rooftop bar restaurant, to get to which you need to go into the hotel's courtyard then up through the hotel on the left as you go in. I do not recall there being a lift but that does not mean that there is not one, just that I neither noticed or looked for it.

Nothing made me feel unsafe, and I have been there several times over the years. But you have to accept it for what it is, a working port which makes little or no concessions to tourism as few stay there; St Vincent has no tourist beaches so most visitors are just passing through to nearby islands which do. If you can get there, the Catholic church at the far end of the centre is worth a visit (very unusual architecture, and does a lot of good work for the local poor), as is the Anglican one nearby.

I registered in March (2023) so you should hear fairly soon.

Exactly. In the old days tipping was customary and was effectively part of the stewards and waiters wages. But some passengers did not tip, and as cruising became more popular the newer passengers (it is believed) showed an increasing tendency not to do so, lowering the income of the said employees. So some cruise lines started to charge automatic tips by default but left an option to remove these. And passengers took advantage of this option, some to tip directly but others to avoid tipping at all. So the automatic tips were incorporated in the headline fare and not separately identified, meaning that everyone effectively paid them and the staff were remunerated accordingly. It was made clear that tips were neither required nor expected but inevitably some passengers began to tip again, possibly because tips were no longer separately identified. We have indeed gone in a full circle.

I think that it is very much a matter of horses for courses. In my experience Saga very much harks back to the older days of cruising when an ocean cruise was very much seen as a sociable holiday and interaction with your fellow passengers in the lounges and on shared tables at dinner was very much a part of it. Indeed, this onboard camaraderie appears to be one of the reasons why many people especially solo travellers sail with Saga. As one of the latter I welcome the abundance of shared tables, but accept that others may prefer to avoid them. But only they can decide whether relative unavailability of tables for two is of sufficient importance to them to put them off booking with them.

Got my call yesterday. Booked Canaries on SofA departing 5/1/25. 35% discount.

Try this link https://travel.saga.co.uk/cruises/ocean/2025-cruise-season/advance-reg-2025.aspx?pid=&ctiq=44017344&ecti=MK6qHuH46gvVe6CVzbReNA%3D%3D&scid=eml-t|trv|cruise|operations|NHE-SC6784|control|20231010|body|button&dcid=DM244320&bid=769285184 PS It is important to know that you cannot book these cruises by ringing Saga. They will ring you if you have made an advance registration, otherwise you have to wait until they go on general sale.

This time there is just a link to a webpage, where previously there was a downloadable pdf brochure.

AS well as the Dermotsgirl review, suggest that you read the blog on the Saga board by NorbertsNeice, who is currently reporting live from the Spirit of Adventure. Pics (incl menus) are particularly good.

Canary Islands 15 nights

Just got my email re 2025 cruises, which states Included chauffeur service: Saga's 20‍25 ocean cruises include a private chauffeur service up to 75 miles each way, or a shared service nationwide.

Further thoughts on this. Saga have in recent times been co-ordinating their tours and small ship sailings with those of Titan, which they own. Titan have always offered home transport as standard as long as I have been travelling with them (since 2011) but from my personal experience only offer shared cars. I think that Saga started offering it after they took over Titan. The current Titan brochure states. "Our friendly drivers will pick you up from home (anywhere on the UK mainland) and take you to the airport, port or your UK hotel. Depending where you live our VIP pickup includes a home transfer and flight from your local airport to London.* * An extra supplement will apply if you decide you'd rather not take a domestic flight and travel via road." It could be that Saga will disconinue private cars and bring shared cars in line with Titan.

Could be. I seem to recall that when the included shared mileage was increased from 250 to 300 the mileage rate for extra miles was also increased. Could also be logic in simplifying the scheme to include a shared car from anywhere (on the mainland?) but an extra mileage charge if you want a private car.

I suspect that over a certain distance they will offer the "car to local airport - flight to London - car to port" option instead. I doubt if they would offer a transfer which necessitated changing drivers on the way.

I think it depends on your own priorities and what you personally want from a cruise. No different really than booking a holiday on land where the choice may be between a small intimate hotel and a large resort one. Do you favour a more intimate and sociable setting with more opportunity to interact with your fellow guests, but where entertainment and dining options may be limited? Or do you prefer a greater choice of dining and entertainment, with the acceptance that you and your fellow guests are likely to be as ships in the night? There is no correct answer, its all down to personal preference.

Saga do not issue boarding cards. All you need is your passport. This will be scanned at check in and then returned to you; your booking is automatically linked to your passport. At most ports all you need to go ashore is your cruise card. At a minority of ports however, you may be required to carry your passport. Whether or not you are required to carry your passport will be stated on the daily programme delivered to your cabin. If you are required to carry your passport you must carry the actual document; a photocopy is not usually acceptable.

I agree totally. I have been cruising for 30 years and have taken over 50 cruises with several different lines, initially with my late partner and more recently as a solo cruiser. When we first started sailing, cruise ships typically carried 600 to 800 passengers. Whilst facilities were few compared with todays mega ships, there was an camaraderie onboard. You felt that you were one of a crowd, not a stranger within it. Then ships got bigger and bigger, entertainment options multiplied, but somewhere along the way that camaraderie was lost. Saga ships have that camaraderie. Passengers actually talk to and socialise with one another rather than just dashing from show to show. And that's what imo makes Saga special.

This thread appears to have been hijacked by coffee afficinados. May I respectfully suggest that the quality of coffee is not a major factor for most people in deciding which cruise line to sail with.

Probably leave the ship at about 2pm arriving at the airport by 3pm, but it could be up to an hour or so earlier depending on other flight timings. If you are on a scheduled flight the check in at the airport usually opens between two and two and a half hours before your flight. If you are on a charter your luggage is taken direct to your flight and you do not see it after putting it outsde your cabin until you pick it up at your destination airport - so don't pack anything in it that you might want to retreive before then!

You have to vacate your cabin at the same time as other passengers but can stay on the ship and use the public facilities including the restaurants, or come and go as you please, until it is time for you to be taken to the airport. There is usually somewhere you can leave your hand luggage safely until it is time to leave, or sometimes as an alternative you can book a day cabin at an extra cost.

The "small print" of Saga's price promise reads "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." The highlighting is mine but is significant. You only get additional benefit if you could have subsequently booked your cabin at a lower price than you are paying, as the purpose of the guarantee is to ensure that you do not lose out by booking early. I am on SU106, sadly not in a suite but in a standard single cabin. I booked early and the price I paid is less than the current price. So I will not get additional benefit, neither would I expect to get any unless the price falls to less than I am paying.

Although I am not personally affected I have been following this thread with interest. IMO opinion your second paragraph hits the nail on the head. It appears to me that there are two separate issues involved which are in danger of being confused. The absence of in flight entertainment and the absence of premium economy seating. As regards in flight entertainment, whilst this is common nowadays it was not always so. And even today it is not offered by budget airlines like Ryanair, Jet2 and Easyjet. I cannot see anything in P&Os literature which says that it will be provided although past experience may have led many to believe that it would. I do not believe that its absence is a reasonable reason for cancellation without penalty. Premium economy seating is IMO a different matter. Passengers paid extra for a facility which they were led to believe would be available, and made their booking on that basis. For some it was just a matter of personal preference, for others it was in their view a physical necessity. Whilst it may be debatable whether in legal terms a breach of contract has occured, in moral terms it undoubtedly has. As you say, only a relatively small number of passengers are affected by this and it would not have been unreasonable for P&O to give them the opportunity to cancel without penalty. Many would not have done so - for them the absence would not have been seen as a deal breaker - but would appreciate having been given the opportunity. Those who did would have been dissappointed to have lost their holiday but gratefull that P&O had dealt with the issue sympathetically. As it is, P&O have had a lot of bad publicity which could have easily been avoided.