Azamara fan goes Saga (Gaga?)

[cinnamon]

In the last few years we’ve been fans of Azamara and I’ve written a couple of Live From blogs here. However, the pricing is now mostly over our budget, except for repositioning cruises with a lower price pppd. We have had Ocean view cabins on our last few to keep the costs down. Last August we saw the new Saga ship Spirit of Discovery advertised. She was named by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in July. 

 

Saga is a very British cruise line for the over 50s. In practice I believe the average age may be well into the 70s. 

If you’ve followed my musings on Azamara in the past, do pop over to the Saga board where I’ve started a blog. Naturally I’m likely to compare the new all balcony cabins ship with our beloved Azamara Quest or Pursuit.

We’ll be boarding later today.......after our included taxi service direct to the embarkation port. 

[excitedofharpenden]

Have fun Corinne!

 

Phil 

[sailco]

Thanks for posting. I've found the Saga board and will be following your travels.

[Mrs Miggins]

I’m on this Saga cruise too and hopefully meeting Cinnamon for dinner tonight in one of the 3 speciality restaurants.  

I will say that Saga back office is brilliant.

I waited for nearly 3 weeks for an Azamara Wichita quote for a friend who expressed an interest in our already booked B2B Journey cruise next June.  Had to ask several times.  I also asked for clarification on what benefits I might lose if I upgraded to a balcony cabin from an OV since prices have dropped since our cruise was booked onboard.  Eventually the answer was ‘ask your travel agent !

[Haworth]

This should be an excellent read, SAGA looks to be an interesting option when compared to Azamara and Viking

[Lottie A]

I’m following along on the Saga forum as I should have been on Corinne’s Saga cruise but we had to cancel. Will be very interested to see how it compares to Azamara.

 

I’m on Fred Olsen’s Braemar at the moment and despite initial misgivings at the passenger demographic we are having a fantastic time. It’s very lively, lots of younger (for Fred Olsen!) passengers and the food is really good and service is just wonderful. Already booked another Fred Olsen cruise. 

 

 

[Literary Lynne]

Hi Corinne and Lottie

I am following along with Corinne on the Saga board - thank you for the heads-up and I'm really looking forward to hearing how you enjoy the cruise. Reading someone else's review on that board, it sounds as though there was some excellent entertainment and interesting lecturers, so it would be great to hear your thoughts Corinne. And Lottie on Fred Olsen's Braemar - it will be really refreshing to hear both of your comparisons with Azamara. So glad to hear that you are having a wonderful time, Lottie.

 

Lynne😀

 

[Azamazingal]

Lottie and Pam

What coincidences.

We are booked on Spirit of Discovery next July

And our first Oceania cruise next April (with lots of extras).

But we have recently finished a B2B on Braemar and will be re-boarding later this month.

Nothing planned for Azamara though.

Al

 

[Lottie A]

1 hour ago, Azamazingal said:

Lottie and Pam

What coincidences.

We are booked on Spirit of Discovery next July

And our first Oceania cruise next April (with lots of extras).

But we have recently finished a B2B on Braemar and will be re-boarding later this month.

Nothing planned for Azamara though.

Al

 

Hi Al...how are you? We have had a great time on Braemar...and I thought Trivia on Azamara was serious stuff! It’s life or death on Fred! 🤣

Booked another Fred Olsen cruise today and I’m not home yet. 

[berkshireboy]

15 hours ago, Azamazingal said:

Lottie and Pam

What coincidences.

We are booked on Spirit of Discovery next July

And our first Oceania cruise next April (with lots of extras).

But we have recently finished a B2B on Braemar and will be re-boarding later this month.

Nothing planned for Azamara though.

Al

 

 

Is that the Corinth Canal cruise?  If so we are also booked on that - and counting down the days.

We love Azamara but also love Fred Olsen.

[berkshireboy]

13 hours ago, Lottie A said:

Hi Al...how are you? We have had a great time on Braemar...and I thought Trivia on Azamara was serious stuff! It’s life or death on Fred! 🤣

Booked another Fred Olsen cruise today and I’m not home yet. 

 

Hi Lottie

So pleased you have enjoyed Fred - I was a little concerned that you might not think it was for you.

And yes the urge to win one of those Fred Olsen key rings can be cut throat at times!

[Lottie A]

1 hour ago, berkshireboy said:

 

Hi Lottie

So pleased you have enjoyed Fred - I was a little concerned that you might not think it was for you.

And yes the urge to win one of those Fred Olsen key rings can be cut throat at times!

Well, a few bottles of Cava have come our way for winning the 10pm Trivia but the little blue winners tickets are being donated by me to a lady who simply must have a Fred Olsen folding hat! 😄

I think Fred have an excellent value product and I am pleasantly surprised at the great service and food quality. We have really enjoyed the cruise....although the medical emergency in The Bay of Biscay last night with a helicopter evacuation was an unhappy event for all of us passengers onboard. Very well handled by the officers and crew though. 

 

[Wacktle]

Hi Corinne and Lottie,

We've been on 2 Saga cruises to date, both on Sapphire, and 3 on Azamara. We also feel that Azamara are now out of our price range. We've got 3 cruise bookings on Saga's Spirit of Discovery; one for this year and 2 for 2021. Comments via Spirit of Discovery's Facebook group are encouraging, but I'll be following your comments with interest as you're likely to provide a well-balanced view.  Thanks in advance,

Joan

 

Edited September 6, 2019 by Wacktle

[smtcan]

Hi Corinne

I have just read your Saga blog with interest although I doubt if we will ever cruise Saga - we prefer a more international experience.

We have cruised with you at least once, on a Celebrity TA I think, and shared a tour in the Azores.  We have booked our first Azamara cruise for early next year after many cruises on other lines, mainly Celebrity.

I hope you enjoy the last few days of your Saga cruise.

Sheila

[cinnamon]

6 hours ago, smtcan said:

Hi Corinne

I have just read your Saga blog with interest although I doubt if we will ever cruise Saga - we prefer a more international experience.

We have cruised with you at least once, on a Celebrity TA I think, and shared a tour in the Azores.  We have booked our first Azamara cruise for early next year after many cruises on other lines, mainly Celebrity.

I hope you enjoy the last few days of your Saga cruise.

Sheila

Hi Sheila, yes I think we’ve cruised together twice. 😉. 

Saga is definitely very British. We do miss the international feel we’ve had on other lines but we’re we’ll aware how it would be. 

I hope you enjoy Azamara, we have one more booked next year on Quest. 

[Lottie A]

On 9/6/2019 at 1:02 PM, berkshireboy said:

 

Hi Lottie

So pleased you have enjoyed Fred - I was a little concerned that you might not think it was for you.

And yes the urge to win one of those Fred Olsen key rings can be cut throat at times!

Well berkshireboy I enjoyed Fred’s Braemar so much I have just booked a late deal on Balmoral in October. 😄 

[berkshireboy]

18 hours ago, Lottie A said:

Well berkshireboy I enjoyed Fred’s Braemar so much I have just booked a late deal on Balmoral in October. 😄 

 

You clearly enjoyed your cruise!  Braemar is our favorite Fred ship but we enjoy cruises on all four.  Being the largest of the fleet your cruise on Balmoral will be different but I'm sure that you will enjoy it just as much.  The crew on all four are superb.

[Lottie A]

28 minutes ago, berkshireboy said:

 

You clearly enjoyed your cruise!  Braemar is our favorite Fred ship but we enjoy cruises on all four.  Being the largest of the fleet your cruise on Balmoral will be different but I'm sure that you will enjoy it just as much.  The crew on all four are superb.

Aren't they just! The list of crew members I mentioned by name went on forever.

 

I have just completed the Fred Olsen post cruise evaluation survey and I couldn't find one single thing to be negative about, except the fixed time dining. I had to mark everything else as excellent and people who know me would say I'm not usually that easy to please! 😄 

[berkshireboy]

1 minute ago, Lottie A said:

Aren't they just! The list of crew members I mentioned by name went on forever.

 

I have just completed the Fred Olsen post cruise evaluation survey and I couldn't find one single thing to be negative about, except the fixed time dining. I had to mark everything else as excellent and people who know me would say I'm not usually that easy to please! 😄 

 

I don't mind the fixed time dining too much, especially as show time is worked around it.  I also love the anytime dining on Azamara so I'm not difficult to please [my wife might comment on that statement!]

 

We are back on Braemar in a fortnight on the Greek Islands and Corinth Canal cruise when Braemar will be the largest cruise ship ever to pass through the Corinth canal. We booked this two years ago when it first went on sale and it has been fully booked ever since.

[Lottie A]

16 minutes ago, berkshireboy said:

 

I don't mind the fixed time dining too much, especially as show time is worked around it.  I also love the anytime dining on Azamara so I'm not difficult to please [my wife might comment on that statement!]

 

We are back on Braemar in a fortnight on the Greek Islands and Corinth Canal cruise when Braemar will be the largest cruise ship ever to pass through the Corinth canal. We booked this two years ago when it first went on sale and it has been fully booked ever since.

Wow... that is going to be a tight squeeze indeed for Braemar! Captain Victor and Staff Captain Davro seemed very competent during our Bay of Biscay storm and the emergency medical evacuation by helicopter at the height of it, so I’m sure all will be fine. Be interesting to see some pix though. 

Have a great cruise and if you get the chance please say Hi to the lovely Jean in Bookmark Cafe from Mam Lottie. She is an absolute star! 

[Lottie A]

Berkshireboy, just one more thing. On your cruise if there is a show by the young Host called Chris then I strongly advise you to go. He is only 22 and is part of the Ents team. He certainly doesn’t look like he can sing and I had to be dragged along by friends protesting strongly, as I was convinced it wouldn’t be my thing at all but he was absolutely wonderful. A fantastic operatic voice...one of the best I have ever heard and I do love Opera. He also did some crooner classics and West End Shows. He had a standing ovation for at least 5mins and was miles better than any guest entertainer. I can imagine him singing with Eric...it would be just incredible. 

[berkshireboy]

23 hours ago, Lottie A said:

Wow... that is going to be a tight squeeze indeed for Braemar! Captain Victor and Staff Captain Davro seemed very competent during our Bay of Biscay storm and the emergency medical evacuation by helicopter at the height of it, so I’m sure all will be fine. Be interesting to see some pix though. 

Have a great cruise and if you get the chance please say Hi to the lovely Jean in Bookmark Cafe from Mam Lottie. She is an absolute star! 

 

Have put a note in my "to do list" to say hi to Jean in the Bookmark Cafe from you.  Have also noted your comments about Chris in the entertainments team and will ensure that we go along to see him. 

[Mrs Miggins]

Back from the Saga cruise.  We did have a very good time and met some lovely people but are rather relieved to be going back home to Azamara next June.  Then of course we will be "the old buffers" rather than the 'spring chickens" on Saga.

However Spirit of Discovery is a very good ship.  Our lowest grade cabin was splendid with a wider balcony and, of course I hate to say it, lovely bathrooms with big glass showers.  Will certainly return in a few years.