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Our First Saga Experience … A Personal Review

By BestGuessed , July 18, 2022 in Saga Cruises

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BestGuessed

We will be disembarking Spirit of Adventure tomorrow morning after experiencing our first Saga cruise so I thought I would write a review of how we personally, have found things on board. This is our personal opinion so please bear that in mind … other opinions may differ !!

Our first impression was “Wow this is a lovely ship” …  Of course it’s only a year since SoA was launched so she is still very new which is evident in everything from the public areas to the cabins.  There is plenty of space and even though we are sailing at around 85% capacity the ship does not in any way feel crowded.

We have a standard balcony cabin (all cabins have balconies on this ship) which is compact and comfortable enough although I think if we were on board for more than a fortnight we might consider a larger room. However the cabin is very well equipped with everything well planned.  There are three British plug sockets at the dressing table, and one each side of the bed together with a USB point at each bedside. The bathroom is small but adequate and has a proper shower door and more than enough storage space for toiletries.  Soap is provided in bottle dispensers together with shampoo and conditioner and a bar of soap is also provided. These are all of a high quality.  A tip that helps with any storage issues is to put lesser used items in your cases under the bed as there is plenty of unused space there. The food on board has been mainly good although some of the MDR menus have not been quite to our taste and we have found them to be slightly limited compared to other cruise lines’ MDR menus.  This could be down to the fact that there are three other restaurants where you can choose to dine which are fully inclusive.  Khukuri House is the Nepalese restaurant which I would class as something along the lines of Indian flavours and is very good.  Amalfi is the Italian restaurant and equally as good with a range of different styles of Italian food and presentation.  The Supper Club is more traditional in its cuisine and we enjoyed chateaubriand there twice, each time it was excellent.  The added appeal of The Supper Club is the live music that entertains throughout the meal.     

The entertainment on board this ship has been second to none.  The exceptionally talented musicians have provided some wonderful sounds and whether you are someone who just wishes to find a quiet corner to listen, or someone who wants to get up and jiggle, jive, waltz or foxtrot, there is something somewhere for everyone.  As dancers, we have enjoyed this aspect of the cruise immensely and the Britannia Lounge with its large dance floor has been a bonus for us.   

So a few other random observations which have enhanced our cruise experience in small ways :

Very comfortable bed and chairs in the cabin. Large dressing table with well lit mirror. The air conditioning/heating controls work really well so we can keep the room at exactly the right temperature for us.   The shower works well and the head is on a rod  making it fully adjustable to any height.

Soundproofing is better than we have experienced on other ships which has been very welcome. We have not heard any noise from other cabins, early morning toilets being flushed has not woken us on this cruise !! Corridor noise is sometimes discernible but hasn’t disturbed us at all.

There is a very wide selection of TV channels and everything from daily menus, to your account expenses and the daily theatre show is available to see on your in room TV screen. Also radio stations are available.

Other small touches are that we are having turndown service every night complete with the chocolate on pillow which I think I am right in saying seems to have dropped by the wayside on some other cruise lines now.

All the conveniences in public areas have mini rolled towels rather than the pull out paper version.

The standard of cleanliness is faultless and everything looks immaculate.

Bathrobes are provided as standard but we asked for slippers which were promptly delivered.   Facecloths are also supplied and changed after each use.

The included wines are very good and we haven’t found the need to order the select wines and pay extra for them.

The wifi has been a bit slow on the odd occasion but it is included in the price and overall it has been more than adequate.

Other further observations:

There are no dance hosts at present and no books available to borrow from the library, the “books” on display are in fact dummies.

On this cruise the guests have chosen to dress mainly on the casual side and even on formal nights the majority haven’t been overdressed.  There have been a few sparkles and some evening gowns and dinner jackets but in general, every evening has had a very relaxed look to it.  That may please many people but we had somehow expected that in the evenings the attire worn would be more akin to onboard a Cunard ship.

When we saw these two new Saga ships advertised as “Boutique” I wasn’t sure how to interpret the expression used, but over the past ten nights I have come to the conclusion that my own interpretation would be “Classy, contemporary, luxury”.

So to conclude, we are very impressed indeed with our first Saga experience and we will be booking again. 

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Thank you BestGuessed for a positive and accurate review. 

Thank you for your review. You should have had slippers waiting in your room on arrival 🙂

sleepingcat

On 7/18/2022 at 11:29 AM, BestGuessed said: We will be disembarking Spirit of Adventure tomorrow morning after experiencing our first Saga cruise so I thought I would write a review of how we personally, have found things on board. This is our personal opinion so please bear that in mind … other opinions may differ !!  

thanks for posting.  Just a suggestion, there is a section of CC where you can post your review of a Ship/cruise and I think more people will see it than here on the boards, as one can access the reviews without being a member.  The Saga boards are mostly populated by a dedicated band of enthusiasts, some of whom we met on board (hi all!). whereas your review is ideal for saga newbies or people wondering whether to try. You ll see our review of S of A/Canaries from January there, which mainly agrees with all that you say.  it was great and at the time a welcome relief from winter and post covid blues. 

(cannot understand why there are still no books in the 'library' though). 

puppycanducruise

Thanks for sharing your comments.

We will take our first Saga cruise in November.  Thank you so much for your helpful review.

Sleepingcat I agree that I should probably post my review on the CC Ship Review section but prior to our cruise I was asking people who were onboard to report back to us about what we could expect once it was our turn.  With that in mind I wanted to provide our feedback for future cruisers who tend to observe the Saga threads.     I also agree that the lack of books in the library is rather ludicrous 🤷🏼‍♀️ …. Even the paperback exchange isn’t available.

Thank you David05 for informing me that slippers should have been present in the cabin on arrival, I did wonder about that !!

There are a couple of other details that I forgot to mention in my review, one of which is The Veranda at the back of the ship which is beyond The Grill.   This is a lovely outdoor space where lunches of freshly (cooked to order) fish and chips and scampi, burgers and other such items are served. If the weather is nice it’s a great place to sit with a drink and enjoy the view. We enjoyed lunch there everyday that the weather permitted. The quality of the food is incredibly good and we can highly recommend it. Other buffet items available from The Grill can be taken outside and if you order freshly cooked food from hot section there, they will bring it out to your table when it is ready. There are also the usual salad items together with a variety of other dishes all of excellent quality.

Another thing I should have commented on is the water carafes that are refilled by the steward as required, with, I presume, filtered water.  In view of the fact that on other lines bottled water is supplied with a charge, we appreciated this system.

Saga have also excelled in delivering my husband’s suit carrier back to us today.  We stupidly left it at Southampton on Tuesday, but a phone call when we arrived home put the wheels in motion and DHL delivered it back to us this morning less than 48 hours after disembarking.  Added to that, Saga didn’t want us to reimburse them for the carriage.  We feel that is very commendable.

If anyone has any questions I can answer I am happy to do so.

Enjoy your cruises everyone !!

Thanks very much for the review. We have today booked a Northern Lights cruise on S of A for next February and weren’t sure what to expect. We are seasoned cruisers but this will be our first with Saga.   

Windsurfboy

1 hour ago, rojojacko said: Thanks very much for the review. We have today booked a Northern Lights cruise on S of A for next February and weren’t sure what to expect. We are seasoned cruisers but this will be our first with Saga.    Rob

Saga is different to other lines, but very good service.  I don't know if you've cruised with Cunard, but Saga food and service up with Cunard Queens grill, and it's available to all. 

Don't  have any worries about Saga.

Saga are friendliest ships you can find, crew and passengers 

Thank you Rojojacko, I am pleased that you enjoyed reading the review.   We certainly weren’t disappointed and like you, we are seasoned cruisers. As Windsurfboy has said, everyone on board was very friendly.    I am sure you will enjoy your cruise.

7 hours ago, rojojacko said: Thanks very much for the review. We have today booked a Northern Lights cruise on S of A for next February and weren’t sure what to expect. We are seasoned cruisers but this will be our first with Saga.    Rob

Is it the new cruise sailing on 28 February? If so ,we have booked it too. We sail on our first Saga cruise in October which I am looking forward to.Thank you for your review Best guessed  Interesting to read

Thank you for all of your encouraging responses. Following my post, friends from some years ago were in touch to tell me that they had sailed on this same itinerary last year and thoroughly recommended it and were very impressed with their Saga experience. The more I read about the ship, the more I look forward to the experience. I also note that premium drinks (whatever they are) are to be added to the all-inclusive for next year so a further bonus I guess. Nearer the time, I will be looking for advice as to whether my tuxedo needs to come with me!  

And yes ann141, it is that sailing. 

The answer is yes your Tuxedo need to travel with you. The "Premium Drinks" are for Branded Spirits & not House Label types as available on current sailings.

Or at least a suit (preferably dark) with tie.

I agree,  from our recent experience that most gentlemen wore dinner suits … probably around 80% and quite a few were wearing white jackets.   There were some dark suits and very few who didn’t comply with the formal dress code. 

• 4 weeks later...

Hello from America!  I sure wish Saga sailed from United States as does Cunard.

It seems like such a great experience on wonderful ships.  It is rather inconvenient to fly to UK.

Deck Chair.

• 1 month later...

Thank you for the review.

I’ve been looking at Saga & Viking cruises for next year & wonder if you can tell me the age demographic please of Saga? We are 57 & 59.

We have only cruised with Disney & Celebrity before thank you Ann 

Hello wineoclock  (great name !!)

We are in our mid sixties and active, enjoying ballroom and Latin dancing which was well catered for in the Britannia Lounge.   At times it was rather lonely on the floor as not many others were dancing but we would say most people were older than we are.  I think, from the sailing we were on, the average age of passengers would be somewhere around the late seventies.

Saga offer the door to door chauffeur service to the port and their own included insurance which makes the brand very appealing to the older generation.

We too are big Celebrity fans, the only downside for us is the lack of space to dance.   We love Cunard and have also enjoyed cruises with P&O, Royal Caribbean,

Marella and Princess.

Saga compared favourably with all of them and we will definitely cruise with them again in the future, but that for us, will probably be in around five years time.

I hope this is helpful.

16 hours ago, wineoclock said: Thank you for the review.   I’ve been looking at Saga & Viking cruises for next year & wonder if you can tell me the age demographic please of Saga? We are 57 & 59.   We have only cruised with Disney & Celebrity before thank you Ann 

I fully agree with BestGuessed above. My wife and I are 62 and 65 respectively. We've been on three Saga cruises this year, and I would say we were definitely at the younger end of the age demographic on all three

I can't recommend Saga highly enough. Try them - I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Thank you so much both of you. You have confirmed what I suspected.  I don’t think we will be disappointed with the product at all but will wait a few years. 

Can I ask BestGuessed  above which is your favourite line out of them please?   

I sometimes wish there was a quiz to put likes & dislikes to get the best cruise line 😂

Your question is a difficult one to answer Ann.

I think probably Celebrity is our favourite cruise line particularly if we book a suite and have the pleasure of Luminae but we have enjoyed many cruises with them when we have eaten in their main riding room too.

The quality of the food and everything on board just seems one notch up on the other lines. However, for us personally, the lack of places to dance is an issue.   We don’t find “The Grand Foyer” has enough room as it is really only a stairwell and The Sky Lounge has a tiled floor which isn’t ideal.  But those criticisms are personal to us and probably don’t affect the vast majority of people.

Cunard is great and obviously has the lovely Queens Room for dancing but to date we have not sailed in Grills cabins.  However that will change in just over a weeks time when we  will board Queen Victoria and this time we have booked Princess Grill so once we have been on this cruise Cunard may well come out as favourite !!

P&O and Princess we have enjoyed too and have future cruises booked with both but comparatively, to us, these lines don’t rate quite so highly.

Royal Caribbean we found to be very family orientated and there were rather a lot of young children on board which, now we are older, we prefer to avoid. However the ships were lovely and we had no complaints. 

Marella, we found to be excellent value for money and we would sail with them again but the fact their ships don’t normally leave from Southampton is something that deters us.  We don’t enjoy airport experiences and prefer not to fly if we are able to cruise from U.K. ports.

Incidentally, we will be trying an Ambassador cruise next Spring and are hopeful that we will be impressed.  The fact that they are departing from U.K. ports and the cruise we will be taking is leaving from Tilbury which is very close to home, is a big plus point for us.

I have been following the blog that Norbert’s Niece is writing from Ambience at present and you might be interested to read her account of her previous cruise on Saga’s Spirit of Adventure.     I followed that too before our own cruise on that ship.   She writes a very informative blog and it’s well worth reading.

…. So going back to your original question, from a personal perspective,  every single cruise we have been on has had something that has been exceptionally good and memorable about it.   We just love cruising and since we discovered it fourteen years ago, no other form of holiday has seemed as attractive or exciting!!   

Thank you that is most interesting.  

We are near Tilbury as well so I’ll take a look at Ambassador.

My grandparents have 3 WC on Cunard under their belts plus many more, but I think Cunard may be too formal for us.

My cousin loves Cunard &’keeps telling me to try. One day perhaps.   

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Dock and roll: Jools Holland on his new-found love of cruises

Jools Holland on being converted to cruising and how he and his band are setting sail again on Saga’s Spirit of Discovery in 2024.

Music legend Jools Holland will be returning to Saga’s Spirit of Discovery in 2024 to perform live on four cruises in the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Canary Islands.

The musician, who was awarded an OBE for his services to British music, tells us why he thinks cruises offer the best address in town and how he’s looking forward to his upcoming performances.

As a musician, Holland’s unquenchable thirst for variety has led to him play with acts as diverse as rock’n’roll pioneer Fats Domino, pop star Kylie Minogue, soul legend Smokey Robinson, classical pianist Lang Lang, and, of course, with rock band Squeeze, where it all started.

He has just released a new book Later…with Jools Holland which celebrates 30 years of the BBC show in which Holland  brings together legendary and undiscovered artists for live studio performances, interviews and musical magic.

So perhaps it is no surprise that Jools Holland’s desire to find new sights matches his drive for creating new sounds. Although he is much travelled through his work, he still relishes making fresh discoveries, which he is looking forward to doing in 2024 on a number of Saga cruises.

New sights and new discoveries

“I like exploring,” he tells us.

“Going ashore is great. It’s like a little adventure and you feel invigorated, as if you deserve your lunch or dinner afterwards. You can’t beat it.

“Most of the places where the ship docks are next to the oldest part of the town. The early cities became cities because they were trading ports. That was the old way in – into the grand harbours,” he says.

“You walk off and you are immediately where everything is, and you see the city from the perspective of the great travellers of the past. That’s one of the most wonderful experiences.”

Saga’s Spirit of Discovery

Jools first performance will be on the Discover the Canary Islands cruise in January. Then in March he will be joining The Adriatic at Easter where the stops include Dubrovnik, Cagliari and Salerno.

In April you’ve got two chances to see him live, either the A Taste of the Mediterranean cruise or the Exploring Spain and Western France 12-night cruise.

The upcoming cruises on which Jools is performing will take guests into the heart of cities including Lisbon, Barcelona and La Rochelle.

Holland is not only excited about the destinations but also being on Spirit of Discovery itself, where he will perform with singer Ruby Turner and his drummer of more than 40 years, Gilson Lavis.

On being a late convert to cruising

“Before Saga, I hadn’t been on cruises, and neither had Ruby,” says Holland.

“And we have been knocked out by how the staff go beyond themselves to take care of all the customers. Although the ship is modern, the way it is run is like one of those grand hotels.

“People can’t do enough for you; they get to know you, all those things you used to get in hotels years ago. Even if you don’t go anywhere, the ship is pretty amazing to be on.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jools Holland (@jools.holland.official)

Spirit of Discovery has a dining venue endorsed by Holland himself. The Club by Jools recalls 1950s music lounges, with its fine dining, cocktails and live entertainment. He enjoys going there when on board.

“The atmosphere is such that it becomes what you want it to become; you can have a romantic meal or dinner for six.”

Why Jools Holland loves playing an intimate venue

On Spirit of Discovery, Holland will be playing the Playhouse Theatre.

“It’s a 444-seater, which is a lovely size,” he says. “Often we would be in a 2,000-5,000- seat theatre. This size is much more intimate.”

Along with Holland, Ruby and Gilson, there will be two backing singers. This pared-down version of his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra makes the shows “very flexible”, he says.

“You’re responding to the audience. You can feel when something is working, and when it isn’t. But they’re always nice; they always clap.”

‘There are probably a few former punks on every Saga cruise’

“In the punk days audiences used to gob and chuck stuff, which was their way of showing appreciation. Nowadays they don’t do that. Although there are probably a few former punks on every Saga cruise.

“When you’re in that space and you’re playing, and they’re tapping their feet or moving in their seats, or you’re inspiring them to dance, it’s like a strange magic,” he says.

“The theatre on Spirit of Discovery is a wonderful venue for that. Not only the acoustics but the layout. And the stepped seating means you can see everything clearly.”

The show is about an hour long, says Jools. “There are things from my history, some boogie-woogie and stride piano, some ska. I go for a few different styles.”

Queen Camilla christened The Spirit of Discovery

Holland was at the launch of Spirit of Discovery in 2019, when its godmother the Duchess of Cornwall, now Queen Camilla, christened it.

“It was great that she took time to do that,” he says.

“She is a patron of a lot of charities and gives her time very generously.”

At the launch, Queen Camilla was presented with a painting of Spirit of Discovery and joked: “I should be able to remind myself to book my berth.”

Jools Holland meets Queen Camilla at the naming of Spirit of Discovery

One of Holland’s first cruises after that launch took in Lisbon, somewhere he had never been before.

“The ship’s location was perfect. In one direction you could walk into the tiny alleyways and streets and hear the fado music, and in the other direction you could wander off to the museums.

“I went to the grandest hotel in Lisbon, and it wasn’t as grand as the ship, and wasn’t as well located,” he says.

“You’ve got the best address, and your address happens to be like a luxury hotel, a grand hotel, from a lost age. It really is win, win, win.”

Written by Dominic Connolly

Published: 31 October 2023 Updated: 02 November 2023

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