Saga Pearl 2 Review

#1

We've cruised on many different lines across the years, from to Royal Caribbean to Cunard Grill Class. We´ve read many reviews of Saga Cruises and attracted by the standard that they offer we decided to try them for ourselves.

Our chauffeured transport picked us up in good time and we arrived in Southampton ahead of time, so we spent an hour in the cruise terminal browsing the many free magazines on offer. Once it was time to board we were on board in no time and shown straight to our cabin where our luggage awaited us. Our Steward Jeffery was there to greet us and asked did we have any special requests and was there anything he could do for us. His helpful service continued throughout the cruise.

Our inside cabin, 306 on A deck, just one deck down from the main restaurant, Library and discovery Lounge had sufficient space, wardrobes with plenty of hanging space etc. but the bathroom, and in particular the shower was tiny - a larger person would really struggle in a shower so cramped. However, everything else in the cabin was fine. It was a very quiet cabin with little noise either from the ship or from neighbouring cabins.

As we had expected the food was really very good with plenty of choice and always served hot by the friendly and efficient staff. All meals could either be served in the main dining room, buffet style in the Verandah Restaurant for breakfast and lunch but waiter service in the evening, or ordered from Room Service in our cabin. Afternoon tea in particular was always an amazing spread, particularly the Christmas tea, a spectacular choice of Christmas treats, all beautifully presented and so tasty. We were pleasantly surprised that there was a Curry Corner two evenings in the Verandah Restaurant, as well as the main menu, and it really was a delicious spread of Indian dishes. We couldn't manage the second evening as we were just not hungry enough! Another exceptional buffet spread was the German lunch served in the dining room, and really to enjoy a little of everything that was offered you would need to get through several platefuls of delicious food - impossible. Towards the end of our 10 days we felt we were eating too much and my clothes were feeling a little tight!

It wasn't all about the food. The entertainment on board was very good with a variety of live entertainment in The Discovery Lounge and Shackletons every day at various times. The Captain was very friendly and entertaining and kept the passengers informed at regular times each day with general and specific information about the voyage. The Library on board has an amazing choice of books and lots of comfy chairs to while away an hour or two. There were some nice little touches offered, such as binoculars in the cabin and walking sticks and umbrellas as you left the ship for an excursion, should you need them.
The excursions that we went on were well organised and not too expensive as is often the case.

The fact that transport to Southampton, travel insurance, gratuities and wine with meals were all included is a definite bonus and the cruise in all represented excellent value for money given the standard provided. In fact our on board account at the end of the cruise was the lowest we have ever had, so that says a lot.

There was a decent choice of things to do during the day and my husband attended a number of very interesting talks on Maritime History. We never actually took part in a quiz as they always seemed to take place at a time when we were doing other things. There was a craft class every day and interesting talks on the ports of call and we even watched a film in the small cinema one afternoon.

Our comments are all positive and we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. The downside? Well we chose the ship as it is a smaller ship, easy to get around, and not so many passengers but we had wished that there was another bar to go to that did not have entertainment, where you could just sit and enjoy a drink. We were cruising Scandinavia in December so there was no opportunity to enjoy the outside space on deck because of the weather, so had we been cruising at a different time of year we could also have enjoyed the additional space as we sometimes struggled to find seats in the library during sea days if the Discovery Lounge was in use.

We boarded the ship on Sunday but by Tuesday we felt we had made a mistake and we were too young to be on board (we´re 66 and 63), but by the end of the 10 days we felt a lot more positive about the whole experience having met some lovely chatty, friendly people, a great many older than us but also a few even younger than us, so much so that we´ve discussed which Saga cruise shall we try next?

#2

Pleased to hear you had such a good experience on Saga. Saga was our first cruise and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. True you do feel like a young 'un in the middle of lots of older ones but there is a nice atmosphere onboard and the crew cannot do enough to help. Pleased to hear Saga's standards are being maintained and thank you for your review.

#3

Christmas time on the ' smaller ' ships is generally a very good experience, the same definitely applies to Riverboat cruising.

However, our only time with Saga was on a Dutch Bulbfields Riverboat cruise and sadly that one was NOT a patch on any of the other Riverboat Cruise Lines that we have travelled with.

My comments at the time ...

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#4

Thanks for your interesting post

My late wife and I were great Saga Zoner's for both cruising and land based venues

We always enjoyed our various adventures, always considered Saga good value exceptional service

Halcyon days of yesteryear

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