Truro001

It is my understanding that the EH discount is only available once the cruises have gone on general release. It cannot be applied to bookings made during Advance Registration.

Following the recent release of Saga’s 2025 cruises to those who have pre registered it has been interesting to read about the experiences of those already contacted. I note that there has been mention about the amount of discount that people have been offered but little mention as to which category of stateroom that discount applied. There has also been some mention of confusion as to how the staterooms are priced in that sometimes a higher category stateroom can cost less than a stateroom in a lower category. I found that drawing up a spreadsheet detailing the discounts per stateroom category against the full price of the cruise made it very easy to determine the best deal available. It has been my experience that on a typical 30 night cruise the FULL PRICE of a standard cabin increases by approximately £1,000 for each deck above E deck. The difference in the FULL PRICE of a cabin on E deck and a cabin on A deck can therefore be in the region of £4000. We all have our own preferences as where on the ship we like to be located and the category of stateroom preferred ie Standard, De Luxe or Suite but I am concerned primarily with the pricing of the standard staterooms. On Day One of the release the arithmetic is quite simple because all categories are offered with a 35% discount. The staterooms on E deck are always very popular so the 35% discount soon drops to 30% and so on. Conversely, the more expensive staterooms on A deck don’t appear to sell so quickly and maintain the higher discounts for longer. This is precisely the reason why, over time, the higher category staterooms can work out cheaper than lower category staterooms. When receiving the phone call I simply enter the full cost of the cruise per stateroom category and it immediately becomes clear whether a cabin on Deck B with a 35% discount is cheaper than a stateroom on deck E with a 5% discount. (It is often the case). A stateroom on E deck with a 35% discount will always be the cheapest option and I have never yet seen a “guarantee” stateroom advertised for less than this price. No matter what stateroom might eventually be allocated a “Guarantee” cabin simply guarantees a Standard stateroom which could be on E deck and anything above that should be considered a bonus. They are perhaps the ideal choice for someone who would ultimately be happy to be on E deck but has missed out on the higher rates of discount applicable to E deck. We once opted for a guarantee cabin on a cruise that was only half full and were allocated a cabin on E deck. We were quite happy with the allocation and although others might have fared better when opting for a Guarantee cabin it should not be assumed that you would automatically be allocated a higher category cabin. I note a guarantee cabin on the forthcoming “Contrasts of Canada and the USA” cruise is £8183. Currently the cheapest cabins you can select yourself are on D deck with a quoted price of £10,883 (5% discount on the full fare of £11,455) and a cabin on B deck at £10,884 (20% discount on the full fare of £13,605). A guarantee cabin is therefore a good option. However, if one had been quick and booked that cabin on D deck with a 35% discount the price would have been £7445. Makes you think!

We were given Yellow Fever exemption certificates when we visited our local travel clinic at Reids which is an independent pharmacy in Truro. When checking in for our cruise the certificates were inspected and accepted without question. It appeared that many passengers on our cruise were also in possession of exemption certificates.

It has been our experience that one needs to pre register if you want any chance of securing a large discount on the cabins that are in highest demand. The demand for the cabins on E deck will always be much higher than the demand for suites so the need to pre register varies as to the category of cabin required. We had pre registered for our last cruise but by the time we were called the discount offered on E deck cabins was already down to 20% whereas A deck cabins and suites were still being offered with 35% discounts. Guaranteed cabins offer a good deal but only if one has not been able to achieve a good discount on release. The price of a guaranteed cabin is never below the price of an E deck cabin with a 35% discount. I offer as an example our own experience with the cruise that was due to sail to the Black Sea in 2022. This was our second cruise with Saga and we had not pre registered. Our reservation was for a standard cabin on B deck on which we were offered a 20% discount. This cruise was rebranded as a cruise to the Eastern Mediterranean when the Black Sea element of the cruise was cancelled and passengers were offered various alternatives. One of the options was a full refund. I believe that those passengers who decided to keep their bookings were not offered any reduction in the cost of their cruise. We cancelled our booking and received a full refund. We later decided to rebook the cruise but this time we opted for a guaranteed cabin which equated to the cost of a cabin on E deck with a 30% discount. We were obviously more than happy to have saved ourselves just over £6,000 but of course we could have saved roughly the same amount if at the time of booking we had been been able to book a cabin on E deck instead of B deck. My point being that IF we had been able to book a cabin on E deck at a 35% discount it would still have been cheaper than the price of a guaranteed cabin. We quickly learned the lesson that if we want to be in with a chance of getting a good discount (30% 35%) on a standard cabin on E deck we need to pre register. Failing that it is a case of paying substantially more or opting to go the Guaranteed cabin route much closer to the sailing date. As with most things in life it comes down to personal circumstances and preferences.

Despite having the obvious reservations regarding security issues I had to make an online payment using a credit card whilst on a long cruise with the Spirit of Adventure. I had no problem whatsoever. The onboard WiFi isn’t great but in my opinion it is quite adequate as long as you aren’t trying to be too ambitious.

Thank you for the update. That timescale would appear to the same as last year.

This is proving to be quite an informative thread.The confirmation of booking paperwork for this cruise specified the need for a yellow fever vaccination certificate. This was later confirmed by the e mail stating that on boarding we would be required to show either a vaccination certificate or an exemption letter. I did in fact check on various travel health websites and it seemed clear to me that if visiting Cape Verde, Senegal and Gambia a yellow fever vaccination was only required if coming from, or passing through, a country where there is a risk of yellow fever. The fact that we will be visiting all three of these yellow fever risk countries, one after the other, would suggest that Saga are quite correct in requiring passengers to either have the yellow fever vaccination or produce an exemption letter. There seems to be plenty of information on medical websites as to the possible risks associated with over 60s having the vaccination. The exemption letter we were given was specific to the yellow fever vaccination which would seem to indicate that the issue of such letters is relatively common. It has been suggested by others on this thread that if still in doubt contact Saga for clarification. Personally, we are quite happy but if it helps put one’s mind at rest then it certainly makes sense to seek clarification from Saga. We did exactly this with regard to the need for visas on this cruise. The confirmation paperwork stated that Saga would arrange for my visa for Cape Verde but as my wife holds an Irish passport we would have to obtain that visa ourselves. I contacted the Cape Verde authorities and they told me that not only do Irish passport holders not need a visa to visit Cape Verde but British passport holders do not need visas either. I raised the matter with Saga who then contacted their agents in Cape Verde. I subsequently received confirmation that cruise ship passengers holding either a British or Irish passport do not require a visa when visiting Cape Verde.

Good choice! E deck towards the back is always our first choice.

Hi again. The certificate is a single A4 sheet of the Vaccination Centre's headed notepaper. The heading is "Yellow - Fever Exemption from Vaccination". It simply states our names and the date of our trip (3rd Feb - 4th March). The certificate states " On Medical grounds, I advise that Yellow Fever vaccine should not be given to the above named person". It is signed by the supervising clinician and stamped with the official stamp of the vaccination centre. The Certificate is valid for the period of a single trip as per the dates above. Hope that helps. We had our first Yellow Fever vaccination nearly 50 years ago when the the certificates were valid for just 10 years. Now that the certificates are valid for life it would have made life much easier if we hadn't shredded those old certificates so many moons ago. I must admit that we now feel quite chuffed - no jab and £140 less than anticipated. Sounds like our £25 was a bargain. See you onboard.

Hi Bernphotos. We look forward to seeing you on board. We have just returned from our local vaccination centre where we had made appointments for our Yellow Fever jabs at a cost of £85 each. (Our local GP surgery will no longer vaccinate for Yellow Fever). Anyway, we were told on arrival at the vaccination centre that it was not advisable for persons aged over 60 to have the Yellow Fever vaccination because the side effects far outweigh the benefit of the vaccination itself. They therefore gave us each a vaccination exemption certificate at a cost of just £25 each.

We have been to several talks given by officers in which this particular problem has been raised by concerned passengers. We have variously been told that the problem is due to the poor quality of the fuel when the ship was last refuelled, the internal design of the funnel, incorrect computer settings and also adverse atmospheric conditions. Plausible answers but still no solution.

Spirit of Adventure - Venice and the Treasures of the Adriatic (22nts) Both the Spirit of Adventure and the Spirit of Discovery seem to emit a significant amount of soot which is something we have not experienced with other cruise ships. On this cruise the situation has been particularly bad. Sooty deposits from the funnel are clearly visible on the decks to the rear of the ship with deck 13 being the worst affected.The crew do an admirable job of washing down the decks and cleaning the handrails and customer services seem quite willing to arrange for clothing soiled by the soot to be be cleaned at no cost. However, there have been numerable occasions where we have decided that it was simply too unpleasant to sit out at the rear of the ship. When on the terrace we have noticed sooty particulates falling into our glasses and onto food and have often come away with blackened hands and sooty deposits on our clothing. Surely this must constitute a health and safety hazard. If sooty deposits are getting onto food and drinks they are being ingested and this must surely have medical implications. Sadly no solution to this problem appears to be forthcoming.

Spirit of Adventure - Venice and the Treasures of the Adriatic (22nts) The Specialty restaurants are always very popular and with a full complement of passengers on this cruise it has sometimes been a challenge to make a reservation. We attribute this primarily to the lack of a clear and published policy regarding speciality restaurant reservations. When boarding we were told that due to the numbers on board we could initially only make one reservation in each of the speciality restaurants and could make further reservations after the first week of the cruise. This we felt was fair. However, we later met other passengers who were told that they could only go to each speciality restaurant once throughout the whole cruise and other passengers appear to have made numerous reservations on day one for the entire cruise. We also met other passengers who appeared to be able to go to the speciality restaurants on every night of the cruise! Do Saga actually have an official policy with regard to how and when passengers are able to make speciality restaurant reservations? If not, they should publish a speciality restaurant reservation system that is fair to all. Being a trite cynical I can’t help but wonder if, quoting George Orwell, “all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”.

I really meant to write " Register for Jan - Mar 2015" ..................

Hi mklions. arlowood is quite correct in that the release dates for Saga cruises appear to be a “movable feast” and difficult to predict. I note that we booked our February 2024 cruise in November 2022. It could therefore be the case that those who have pre registered might receive an email as early as the beginning of next month. It might be worthwhile to pre register for Jan - Mar 2024 before the list closes. You lose nothing by registering and of course you get to know what cruises are available before they go on general release.

Further to my last posting it looks as though the SOA has no sailings between the 7th November 2024 and 21st November 2024. It might well be the case that it is because it is scheduled will be in dry dock. If this period were to be extended it could well have an impact on the October cruise. It has been my experience that changes to itineraries are not passed on to the lovely people at Saga who actually answer our calls. The 2022 Black Sea cruise was a classic example of the front office not being aware of what the back office was doing.

Just a thought - I notice that the 2023 sailing on the SOA to the Canary Islands and Cape Verde can no longer be booked on line whereas it is still possible to book the Oct 2024 sailing. Is it possible that the email to which Arlowood refers concerns the Nov 2023 sailing and not the Oct 2024 sailing that mklions is currently considering?

Hi. As with most things we all have our own preferences in life and this certainly applies to what we want with regard to cabins on cruise ships. It has been our experience that all the standard cabins on both Saga ships are exactly the same size so it comes down to your personal choice as to whether you prefer a cabin on a higher deck, a lower deck, a forward cabin or an aft cabin. You might have a preference as to whether you want to be close to the theatre, dining rooms or swimming pool. To date we have stayed in standard cabins on B deck, C deck, D deck and E deck. We have not noticed any difference in the size of the cabins. Our personal choice is for those cabins aft of the library on E deck. The reason for our choice? Those cabins offer easy access to the library (coffee machine), the main dining room, the speciality restaurants, the promenade deck and the outside seating area on deck 7. We have never been aware of any noise from the restaurants on the deck below E deck. The added bonus of course is that when the cruises are first released the prices of the cabins on E deck are considerably cheaper than identical cabins on higher decks. (On a 30 night cruise the increase appears to be in the region of £1,000 per deck). This pricing difference obviously changes because the discounts are reduced as more cabins are sold. Personally, I would always opt for a good deal on deck E (35% or 30% discount ) and then put the savings towards our next cruise booking. On our our next cruise we are on D deck simply because the discounts available on this occasion meant that the cabins on D deck were cheaper than the cabins on E deck. Hope the above helps in making your decision.

Hi again. I think you will find people are very divided on what to do with regarding giving the driver a tip. It is obviously very much up to the individual. We have always been very impressed with our drivers and they have all provided an excellent service. To date we have never had to share a ride and in view of the fact that our journey to Portsmouth is well over 200 miles and takes approximately 5 hours we would normally tip the driver £20 as a token of appreciation. However, as I said, it is entirely up to the individual and we have never felt that that a tip was expected.

Hi Cynthia. You will not necessarily get a call from a local taxi firm. We have been on 3 cruises with Saga in the last 2 years and we have never had a call from a driver confirming a pick up time. Mind you, on all 3 occasions the driver arrived precisely in the middle of the half hour time slot specified in the travel notes.

We have been on E deck above the Club and was not aware of any noise from below. In fact we have just booked another cruise and didn’t hesitate to select a similar cabin on E deck.

We were once allocated an L grade cabin on E deck when we booked a “Guaranteed” cabin for a cruise on the Spirit of Adventure. We were delighted with the cabin because it was in a quiet area but close to the library (coffee machines) and had easy access to the open area at the back of deck 7. There appeared to be no difference whatsoever to the cabins we had on B deck and C deck during previous cruises. When we next booked a cruise I particularly asked for the same cabin but was told that it was not available because the L grade cabins on E deck are held back in case they are needed for guest entertainers of members of crew. In fact we seem to remember that at least 6 cabins further aft than our own were occupied by shop’s officers or members of the piano quartet.

It would appear to me that as far as the standard cabins are concerned the cabins on each deck are initially offered at a 35% discount. Cabins in E deck are the cheapest and as a “rule of thumb” the price of a cabin on a 30 night cruise will increase by approximately £1,000 for each deck above that. Obviously the 35% discounts for the cheaper cabins on E deck are quickly snapped up. It therefore follows that a more expensive cabin on D deck still offering a 30% discount can prove to be a better deal than the cheaper cabin on E deck offering only 15%. Timing is everything. In our opinion there is no appreciable difference in any of the standard cabins so we always look out for the best price offered. That means we can go on more cruises!

FYI. I received my call last night. (Registered in June 2022). For the Christmas cruise on the Spirit of Adventure I was offered a 35% discount for the standard cabins on A deck, B deck, C Deck and D deck. The discount for a standard cabin on E deck was 30%.