P&O Cruiser does a Saga Cruise

[Windsurfboy]

2 hours ago, nosapphire said:

Woo.

Advert in the paper today makes me wonder if Saga is reading this thread..

"The only thing we squeeze are the lemons"

"Both our boutique cruise ships offer a choice of spacious speciality restaurants"

With a picture showing tables yards apart.

(Shared tables, though, so maybe not).

 

 

We always had plenty space between tables on Saga in the speciality restaurants which we used about every 3rd day.  Our fixed table in MDR was about a foot or more from next table, banquette seating enabling people to get in and out . A lot of 2s on Saga are banquette. 

[July morning]

My husband and I never want to be the one sitting on the banquette we both want the chair😂 luckily only at lunch

[lincslady]

I like sitting with my back to the room, so I can see everything!

[Interestedcruisefan]

16 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

We always had plenty space between tables on Saga in the speciality restaurants which we used about every 3rd day.  Our fixed table in MDR was about a foot or more from next table, banquette seating enabling people to get in and out . A lot of 2s on Saga are banquette. 

Do people have to pay extra for speciality restaurants on saga or are they included?

[twotravellersLondon]

 Included... usually three in a two week cruise but may be possible to have additional bookings later in the evening and a speciality restaurant booking to be offered as a good will gesture if something had not gone well.

[Denarius]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Do people have to pay extra for speciality restaurants on saga or are they included?

All included. On the first couple of days of the cruise they usually restrict the nunber of bookings anyone can make so that everyone has the chance to make one.

[Interestedcruisefan]

34 minutes ago, Denarius said:

All included. On the first couple of days of the cruise they usually restrict the nunber of bookings anyone can make so that everyone has the chance to make one.

I was wondering if not enough people were using them due to the extra cost hence the MDR was having to pack tables close together?

 

Or MDR food almost too good for people to want to do speciality?

[Dermotsgirl]

29 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I was wondering if not enough people were using them due to the extra cost hence the MDR was having to pack tables close together?

 

Or MDR food almost too good for people to want to do speciality?

As others said, all included in the fare, and fully used every night.

 

The food in the MDR and Grill was excellent, but I imagine most people enjoy a change of scene/cuisine, and why not when there’s nothing extra to pay. 

[nosapphire]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I was wondering if not enough people were using them due to the extra cost hence the MDR was having to pack tables close together?

 

Or MDR food almost too good for people to want to do speciality?

I wouldn't call the MDR tables "packed" together; some are closer than one may like, but Saga have to cater both for those who want tables for two (and there are a lot of very valid reasons for wanting to be somewhat separate) and those who want to share (and a lot of Saga passengers do want to share).

They have always had a policy of being able to seat everybody for dinner at the same time - they have never had a two-seating time system, and once seated there is no expectation that you will eat (shoots or otherwise) and leave so the table can be used again.

 

[FatBoy20]

6 minutes ago, nosapphire said:

I wouldn't call the MDR tables "packed" together; some are closer than one may like, but Saga have to cater both for those who want tables for two (and there are a lot of very valid reasons for wanting to be somewhat separate) and those who want to share (and a lot of Saga passengers do want to share).

They have always had a policy of being able to seat everybody for dinner at the same time - they have never had a two-seating time system, and once seated there is no expectation that you will eat (shoots or otherwise) and leave so the table can be used again.

 

Saga do reset some tables after the "Early Birds" have eaten (MDR opens at 6.30pm) However the total number of covers is about 1100 which is 100 over capacity.

[Dermotsgirl]

54 minutes ago, FatBoy20 said:

Saga do reset some tables after the "Early Birds" have eaten (MDR opens at 6.30pm) However the total number of covers is about 1100 which is 100 over capacity.

I’m not sure if they are geared up to do this in the MDR at least.

 

On the occasion that we arrived at the MDR and found that they didn’t have any tables for 2 left at all, I asked if we could come back later, but they were unable to give any approximate time at all, and of course there’d have been no way of contacting anyway if a table was made ready.

 

I also noticed that they do seat allocation with a paper plan, rather than a computerised way of doing it. 

[nosapphire]

Paper could be much faster than the Saga computer....

They will reset MDR tables if the diner leaves early enough, but as no diners are chivvied along they won't know in advance whether people are planning to eat quickly and depart early enough to allow a 2nd seating.

++++++++

Incidentally, keep meaning to suggest that for the Grill, if you enter from the aft (open deck) end, there is rarely anyone there allocating tables, so you just come in and look for a table to suit - we always came in this way (our cabin was aft, so quicker for us to use the outside stairs).

It sounds as if you always entered from the inside stairs end, which is where the Maitre'D hovers.

(Although, if you have to use the lift, the open deck entrance is no use to you at all).

 

 

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, nosapphire said:

Paper could be much faster than the Saga computer....

They will reset MDR tables if the diner leaves early enough, but as no diners are chivvied along they won't know in advance whether people are planning to eat quickly and depart early enough to allow a 2nd seating.

++++++++

Incidentally, keep meaning to suggest that for the Grill, if you enter from the aft (open deck) end, there is rarely anyone there allocating tables, so you just come in and look for a table to suit - we always came in this way (our cabin was aft, so quicker for us to use the outside stairs).

It sounds as if you always entered from the inside stairs end, which is where the Maitre'D hovers.

(Although, if you have to use the lift, the open deck entrance is no use to you at all).

 

 

That’s a really good idea - we’ll try that next time.

 

You are right, we entered from the inside stairs end. Our cabin was fairly forward, so it just seemed the natural place to enter the Grill. In fact, it took several days for us to realise that there was a way into the Grill from the other end! 

thank you for the suggestion 

 

[Dermotsgirl]

Just a footnote to this thread - 

 

There will now be no 'part two' as we have cancelled next years cruise.

 

There are many reasons for this, but the main two are as follows.

 

1) It's an expensive cruise, and although we enjoyed much of  last years cruise, the aspect we enjoyed less effected our cruise enjoyment quite a bit.  Although we had decided to 'work' at getting the next cruise more to our liking, on reflection, at the Saga price point, we should be going into a situation that is 100% to our liking, and something that doesn't require 'work' from us.  In short, a lot of money to pay, for something that may still not be right for us

 

2)  I've been ambivalent about cruising since 2020, and that still hasn't changed.  I just haven't got the enthusiasm for it anymore. 

 

There are other reasons too, but the above are the two main ones.

 

In many ways, I'm quite sad about this, as cruising was a big part of my life from 2001 to 2019, and we have some fabulous memories. But times change, and I've changed too.

 

We are not going to actively think about booking any more cruises for the forseeable, and will continue to to do short breaks in the UK, which we have been really enjoying.  

 

Maybe one day a cruise itinerary will come along which makes us feel excited and that we want to do it, but probably not for a few years yet.

 

I'll still be on the forum to see how everyone is doing, and to keep up with cruise news, as I still have that interest, so I'm not going to disappear or anything! 

 

 

 

 

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, Dermotsgirl said:

Just a footnote to this thread - 

 

There will now be no 'part two' as we have cancelled next years cruise.

 

There are many reasons for this, but the main two are as follows.

 

1) It's an expensive cruise, and although we enjoyed much of  last years cruise, the aspect we enjoyed less effected our cruise enjoyment quite a bit.  Although we had decided to 'work' at getting the next cruise more to our liking, on reflection, at the Saga price point, we should be going into a situation that is 100% to our liking, and something that doesn't require 'work' from us.  In short, a lot of money to pay, for something that may still not be right for us

 

2)  I've been ambivalent about cruising since 2020, and that still hasn't changed.  I just haven't got the enthusiasm for it anymore. 

 

There are other reasons too, but the above are the two main ones.

 

In many ways, I'm quite sad about this, as cruising was a big part of my life from 2001 to 2019, and we have some fabulous memories. But times change, and I've changed too.

 

We are not going to actively think about booking any more cruises for the forseeable, and will continue to to do short breaks in the UK, which we have been really enjoying.  

 

Maybe one day a cruise itinerary will come along which makes us feel excited and that we want to do it, but probably not for a few years yet.

 

I'll still be on the forum to see how everyone is doing, and to keep up with cruise news, as I still have that interest, so I'm not going to disappear or anything! 

 

 

 

 

Sounds like a wise decision to me. We also didn’t miss cruising during the shutdown, which was a surprise. We have started again and are enjoying them, but the main reason that we cruise is because they are very well set up for those with disabilities. If my wife was able to fly then we would do far less cruises and more touring holidays / city breaks by air. 
 

We were poised to book a Saga cruise, but as a result of your experiences and feedback, plus their eye watering prices, we have gone cool on the idea. Never say never, but our post Covid P&O cruises have been better than we had expected and we’ve since discovered Cunard, so between the two companies we can probably fulfil our requirements.

 

Like you, when paying Saga prices our expectations would be sky high and some of the issues that you had would be disappointments for us too. 

[Dermotsgirl]

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Sounds like a wise decision to me. We also didn’t miss cruising during the shutdown, which was a surprise. We have started again and are enjoying them, but the main reason that we cruise is because they are very well set up for those with disabilities. If my wife was able to fly then we would do far less cruises and more touring holidays / city breaks by air. 
 

We were poised to book a Saga cruise, but as a result of your experiences and feedback, plus their eye watering prices, we have gone cool on the idea. Never say never, but our post Covid P&O cruises have been better than we had expected and we’ve since discovered Cunard, so between the two companies we can probably fulfil our requirements.

 

Like you, when paying Saga prices our expectations would be sky high and some of the issues that you had would be disappointments for us too. 

Even prior to 2020, we were starting to feel jaded with the same old itineraries, so I feel the shutdown proved that we can live without cruises.

 

I’m really glad that we tried Saga, otherwise I’d have always wondered about it.

 

One of the other things I was jaded about was formal nights. I used to enjoy them when I first started going on cruises, but latterly found them to be a bit of a bind. This feeling accelerated after we retired, as my life became more casual, and it suited me. This is one of the reasons that I couldn’t entertain Cunard now. I intend putting my remaining formal items on eBay! 
 

Generally I’m happy that we’ve made a proper decision 😀