LandC

It sounds like the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, which doesn’t surprise me. The fact that people can pre-register separately for Jan - March and April - December 2024 indicates that Saga intend to release the Jan- March cruises first, but this could change of course.

We’ve also pre-registered for April - December 2024 cruises. Saga phone people who have pre-registered before they publish the brochure, so it may not be made available to the general public until next year.

I asked the Saga World Rep. about this when I was on board Adventure earlier this month. He said they hoped to release January to March 2024 cruises this October, followed by April to December 2024 cruises later this year.

Oh no Eglesbrech! I read a post on another social media site from a passenger on Balmoral a couple of days ago, saying that the ship was having to go slow and miss ports due to technical issues, so Fred. Olsen have known about this problem for a while. I agree that the compensation offered is poor. There are cruises on Saga’s ships departing in the next few days, but they start at Southampton and Dover, so may not be of interest. I hope you manage to find a replacement holiday which suits.

Sorry to hear that safarigal. It looks like Bolette’s cruises from 26th October to 20th December have been removed from the website. This is the first time that I have seen this happen.

We like a gin and tonic on our balcony before dinner, and order a 1 litre bottle of gin and cans of tonic from our cabin stewardess. You will find an order form for alcoholic drinks in your cabin. I hope you enjoy your cruise!

Thank you for the information twotravellersLondon. Fred’s current pricing strategy does not encourage people to book early. Saga, on the other hand, offer their best prices on launch of new itineraries, and prices increase as cabins are sold. We have sailed with Fred several times, but can now see no advantage in booking early in order to use our Oceans discount, as prices reduce considerably near to the departure date. Fred had an advantage (as far as we are concerned), in that he sold fly cruises which Saga does not currently offer. We hope that will happen again; we will have to wait and see.

We sent an email requesting increased OBS for our recent cruise. We eventually got a very polite reply refusing our request. You may have more luck with your request for a complimentary cabin upgrade - after all it doesn’t cost Fred anything! We’ve now decided to wait until 2-3 months prior to departure before booking our next cruise, as the 5% Oceans discount just isn’t enough of an incentive to book early. However, we have 3 cruises booked with Saga (we booked as soon as cruises were advertised and got 35% discount), so we won’t be considering Fred again for at least a couple of years.

Portplush, this is what has happened this year (and last year): The 2023 itineraries were released in March 2022. People who had had pre-registered by paying £90 got an email with details of the itineraries (but no prices), and were then phoned by Saga staff in order to book their preferred cruise. The biggest discount is 35% and this reduces as cabins are sold. You will be advised of the discount available on your chosen cabin when you are contacted. Cruises are not available to book by the general public until everyone who has pre- registered has been contacted, and the full 2023 brochure was not available until April 2022. If you were told that the brochure would be out September/October this year, I wonder if Saga have decided to release their 2024 itineraries earlier than usual?

That sounds like a good plan. We were on the Norwegian Fjords cruise on Bolette earlier this month. We found that the prices went up slightly after we had booked, but then came right down about 3 months prior to departure, with extra OBS (but it was a fairly standard itinerary). We met a lady on board who had been on many of Fred’s cruises. She said in her experience the best time to book was 2 weeks before departure, in order to get the best deals on a Saver fare. Not sure I would want to wait that long, but it worked for her!

Is that the Bolette cruise sailing from Southampton? It’s an interesting itinerary. The prices seem rather high at the moment (especially for suites!). However if I have read it correctly there is an OBS offer of £250 pp. We now decide on a cost pppn that we are happy to pay for our chosen cabin grade, and take it from there. Hope that helps!

We received a mail shot from Fred today, offering us an extra 5% off, in addition to our Oceans discount, if we book another cruise. Apparently this is being offered because we sailed with Fred earlier this month, and is only available for 30 days. We won’t be taking up the offer.

I understand Saga have provided private cars for July departures. We are booked on SofA next month. I contacted Saga last week about another issue, and asked if private transfers would also be provided for August departures. I was advised that a decision has not yet been made.

The speciality restaurants can be booked either by phoning from your cabin, or turning up at the restaurants between certain times, which will be specified in your newsletter when on board. Private car means you will not have to share. We have friends who are going on this cruise - I’m sure you will enjoy the ship.

I agree with you lincslady. We have sailed on both ships, and love them both, but prefer the food in the speciality restaurants on Discovery.

Hello blairbuie, You could try sending an email to reservations@saga.co.uk Or, use the live chat facility on Saga’s website. I hope you get a positive response!

We last went on a Saga river cruise 4 years ago. The evening meal was at a set time, and dress code was smart casual. Others may have more recent experience, but this Message board is mainly used by those of us going on an ocean cruises, so you may not get many replies. I find the live chat facility on the Saga website useful. You could try that if you don’t get a reply to your email.

Sorry to hear that and I hope you recover quickly. We are due to embark Bolette on 2nd July for a Norwegian Fjords cruise. We have only booked one excursion - on the Flam railway. People are required to wear masks inside buildings and transport in Norway, so we hope this will offer some protection! I look forward to reading your further observations when you are feeling better.

There is a chargeable laundry service on board, and we have used it, it’s very efficient. Your cabin steward will take the items and return them to you, usually 1 - 2 days later. There is also a retractable washing line in the shower for small items - don’t for get to take some pegs. It is possible to buy small amounts of foreign currency on board, best to check beforehand as some countries (eg Iceland) are now virtually cashless and only accept payment by credit card. Even for the public lavatories! Enjoy your cruise!

I have a copy of today’s Daily Telegraph. The report appears on the back page of the Money section as Letter of the Week. In summary, a reader wrote to the paper to request assistance in getting a full refund for the cruise, which they had been promised, after leaving the cruise when they learned of the change in COVID protocols. They had tried in vain for several weeks to get the money from Saga. (They had only received a partial refund up to that point). After the paper stepped in, Saga apologised for an “administrative error”and have now paid the remainder of the money.

Oh dear! This creates a very poor impression. Perhaps Saga will now examine how it can streamline it’s decision making and communication processes.

I agree that Fred’s launch prices are too high. Unless the itinerary is very unusual I now wait and see if an offer is available nearer the departure date.

I read something about Fred changing Rosyth departures a while back, but can’t remember the circumstances. If the departure port is changed, surely the cruise line would be obliged to issue a refund if clients did not wish to accept the change? Hopefully others will be able to comment.

Sorry to hear that Holidayfun141. Were you on the 5 night cruise to Ireland? That crossing can be choppy. I haven’t read of anyone transferring a payment for a cruise to a land holiday. It’s probably best to ask Saga for a definitive answer.

Sorry to hear that wowzz, it’s very disappointing. I’m surprised that Saga didn’t offer you an incentive such as a discount on the replacement cruises, or the option to move your payment to a later cruise with additional discount. It seems very short sighted. I doubt that many people who were booked on your cruise will be interested in the replacement cruises at that time of year.