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Spirit of Discovery

Former name: saga olympic.

Cruise line Saga Ocean Cruises (Saga Cruises)

• Portsmouth UK (England)
• Dover (England)

Spirit of Discovery current position

Spirit of Discovery current location is at North East Atlantic Ocean (coordinates 50.14914 N / -1.12874 W) cruising at speed of 11.4 kn (21 km/h | 13 mph) en route to GI GIB>GB PME. The AIS position was reported 1 minute ago.

Current itinerary of Spirit of Discovery

Spirit of Discovery current cruise is 15 days, round-trip A Taste of the Mediterranean . The itinerary starts on 13 Apr, 2024 and ends on 28 Apr, 2024 .

Specifications of Spirit of Discovery

•   Itineraries
•   Review
•   Wiki

Spirit of Discovery Itineraries

Spirit of discovery review, review of spirit of discovery.

MS Spirit of Discovery cruise ship is the first of two identical polar expedition vessels built for Saga Cruises at Meyer Werft's shipyard in Papenburg Germany . Spirit of Discovery (scheduled delivery on June 28, 2019) has one sistership - Spirit of Adventure (delivered in August 2020/inaugurated in July 2021).

The vessel (IMO number 9802683) is UK- flagged (MMSI 232021171) and registered in London .

Saga Cruises is a UK company, division of Saga Group. With the purchase of Saga Rose (former NCL ship MS Sagafjord), in 1997 Saga Holidays started passenger shipping operations under the brand name "Saga Cruises". Unlike Saga's old fleet, the new boats are fully owned by Saga Group and replaced the two chartered vessels Saga Sapphire (now Blue Sapphire) and Saga Pearl 2 .

The vessel is owned by Saga Group and operated by the UK-based cruise company (via Saga Holidays) exclusively. The shipowner Saga plc is a British travel company and cruise brand targeting mainly UK travellers in the 50+ age group. Saga UK annually serves around 2,7 million customers. The company is LSE-listed (on London Stock Exchange) under the stock symbol (ticker) SAGA.

Decks and Cabins

Saga Spirit of Discovery staterooms (554 total) are all with private step-out balconies, which also means that the ship has no Inside cabins. Cabin categories include Standard Balcony, Deluxe Balcony, Midship Suites and larger Panorama Suites. 100 single cabins are specifically designed for solo travellers (can be booked with single-occupancy rates and without single supplement), which is approx 20% of the ship's total capacity.

Staterooms as decors and colour schemes are in three styles. First group's design features garden-like elements with light timbers, pastel-green colours, beautifully embroidered fabrics. Second group's design incorporates the more sophisticated grey with a dark-timber scheme, with pink-orange accented furnishings and carpet and upholstered headboard. Third group's colours are most calming, in neutral sunset tones with burnt oranges.

All cabins offer as standard (complimentary) amenities smart HDTV (infotainment system - Internet, on-demand movies, ship info channel, real-time camera views from the Bridge), direct-dial phone, large wardrobe, electronic safe box (in the closet), hotel-type beds (two twins, convertible double beds or fixed double beds with headboards), luxury bedding and pillows, bedside cabinets, wall-mounted reading lamps, mirrored dressing table (writing desk) with chair and magnifying mirror, separate lounge area (low table with two comfortable armchairs), en-suite bathroom (WC, glass shower, single-sink vanity with under sink storage), private step-out balcony (with table and deckchairs), individually controlled air-conditioning, LED lighting, keycard room access.

The 4 top-tier suites (Forward Balcony Suites categories AA and BB) are named Rose Suite (after the Saga Rose liner / 1965-2010 scrapped ), Ruby Suite (after the Saga Ruby liner / 1973-2016 scrapped ), Sidney De Haan Suite (after Sidney Isaac De Haan / 1919-2002, Saga Group's founder) and Joseph Meyer Suite (after Josef Lambert Meyer / Meyer Werft's founder).

The 8 top-tier suites (Aft Balcony Suites categories CC and DD) are named after regions and islands in the UK - Bailey Suite, Fair Isle Suite, FitzRoy Suite, Hebrides Suite, Humber Suite, Lundy Suite, Thames Suite, Trafalgar Suite.

The boat has 14 decks , of which 10 are passenger-accessible and 6 are with cabins.

Shipboard dining and entertainment options

Spirit of Discovery has 4 restaurants (3 specialty, 1 Dining Room), several bars and lounges (indoor and outdoor), wellness complex (Fitness, Spa, Hydrotherapy Pool, 5 treatment rooms, 2 Saunas, Steam Room, Beauty Salon, Sports Court), Boutique Shop, Library, Lobby area (Reception, Tour Desk), 2 swimming pools (indoor and outdoor), Promenade Deck (wraparound), Sun Deck (with comfortable seating, outdoor gym equipment), laundrettes (on all cabin decks). The ship has all 6 elevators (2 clusters of 3 lifts).

"Saga Discovery" ship features all-balcony staterooms, modern hotel amenities, British-style themed onboard activities, professional and traditionally attentive service. There is a choice of dining experiences, bars and entertainment venues, including speciality (one of which Asian, serving complimentary wines), outdoor Lido Deck (with open-air/alfresco dining space), Saga's signature Britannia Lounge, theatre lounge, central hub (named "The Living Room").

The cruise liner also has a modern wellness complex and 2 swimming pools (outdoor and indoor). The Spa complex consists of Beauty Salon, Hydrotherapy Pool, Salt-Steam Room, 2 Saunas (one infrared), 5 treatment rooms (for massages, latest beauty treatments and therapies). Library Lounge offers coffee and fresh cakes and one of the best-stocked book collections at sea. The 430-seat Playhouse Theatre has tiered seating and hosts grand-scale evening show productions, cinema screenings, live music performances.

Ship's team of Executive Chefs serves the all 5 onboard restaurants. Grand Dining Room (main restaurant) serves the best of British-influenced cuisine specialities. The chefs use locally produced food sources (based on cruise itinerary/destination) and create menus of ever-changing dishes. Passengers are able to make a reservation and eat in any of the other 4 restaurants at no extra cost. House wines from the ship's cellar are complimentary and served in every restaurant.

On Lido Deck is The Verandah Restaurant that consists of Bar and Grill with separate indoor and outdoor seating areas. These are actually two restaurants combined into one, with self-service buffet lunch and waiter-served dinner. Open-kitchen allows passengers to watch ship's chefs preparing the food during their galley (kitchen) show.

In June 2018, Saga Cruises signed a partnership deal with Jools Holland (English pianist, singer, BBC TV presenter) for "The Club by Jools" steakhouse restaurant. By the 5-year partnership deal (until 2024), at the Jools restaurant are performed live music and its bar is designed like a cabaret lounge from the 1950s. The dinner-only restaurant's menu features classic steaks (fillet, T-bone, ribeye, tomahawk steaks), live music performances (by resident and guest musicians) and premium cocktails.

In December 2018, Saga Cruises signed a partnership deal with Hush Heath Estate (Kent England wine producer, Staplehurst-based winery) to blend a new wine label specifically for Saga's new liner Discovery. The project was coordinated by Owen Elias (Hush Heath Estate's consultant winemaker), who worked with cruise company's executive chefs to create Saga's exclusive sparkling wine label "Spirit of Discovery".

Itineraries

Saga Spirit of Discovery itinerary program offers both cruises leaving roundtrip from UK ports and UK fly-cruise deals. Ship's both homeports are in England ( Dover and Southampton ). Dover roundtrips visit ports in Baltic Sea (Scandinavia and Russia, Norwegian Fjords, Germany and Belgium). Southampton roundtrips visit ports in the Mediterranean Sea (Spain, France, Italy) and the Canary Islands with Madeira. The ship also operates on roundtrip UK (Southampton) Transatlantic crossings to Caribbean and USA ports.

The inaugural cruise was initially scheduled for July 23, 2019 (themed "Channel Island Hop Cruise"), with next voyages, themed "Gourmet Spain" (August 3) and "Natural Scandinavia" (August 17). However, as the liner was delivered earlier (in June instead of July 2019), the maiden voyage was re-scheduled for July 10 (themed "A British First") - see more in the ship's WIKI section.

In late-March 2021, Saga announced a revised ex-UK 2021 summer program with 3 all-inclusive cruise itineraries scheduled for Spirit of Discovery, all leaving roundtrip from homeport London-Tilbury England .

• 14-night "Great British Isles Adventure" itinerary (departure July 11) visiting Falmouth , Holyhead , Belfast , Greenock-Glasgow , Ullapool , Kirkwall , Newhaven , Newcastle , with included tours in Kirkwall, Belfast, Edinburgh , Newcastle. Balcony cabin prices started from GBP 3375 per person with double occupancy.
• 6-night "Northern Isles to the Fjords" itinerary (departures July 3 and July 25) visiting Kirkwall, Sognefjord (scenic cruising), Lerwick , Stornoway , Scrabster , with included tours in Lerwick and Kirkwall. Balcony cabin prices started from GBP 1540 pp.
• 6-night "Scottish Highlands and Islands" itinerary (departure June 27) visiting Lerwick, Scrabster, Invergordon , with included tours in Invergordon and Lerwick. Balcony cabin prices started from GBP 1155 pp.

Saga's new ships are operated with all-inclusive package deals. Fares include unlimited (shipboard served) house spirits, beers, wine (by the glass) and soft drinks. Packages also include:

• UK travel package (to/from departure port), Shuttle bus transfer (to the nearest downtown from homeport)
• Onboard gratuities, Porterage
• Onboard Welcome cocktail party
• All onboard meals, afternoon tea, live entertainment
• Unlimited tea and coffee (selected ship venues)
• 24-hour room service
• premium service (2 staff members for 3 passengers)

Spirit of Discovery - user reviews and comments

Photos of spirit of discovery.

Spirit of Discovery ship related cruise news

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After an 18-month construction period, Portsmouth International Port proudly accommodates visitors from the ship Spirit of Discovery by Saga Cruises...

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Saga Cruises announced it was incredibly proud that Camilla, Queen Consort was the Godmother of its ocean ship, Spirit of Discovery and in honor of...

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2023 will see Portsmouth Port UK (England) host more maiden calls/welcome back cruise companies, as it continues to strengthen its place as the first...

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Saga Cruises added a further 4 round-Britain voyages into its summer 2023 schedule, all with up to 35% off, and timed to coincide with events like...

SAGA Cruises marks Spirit of Adventure’s and Spirit of Discovery’s anniversaries

SAGA UK marked the first anniversary of Spirit of Adventure’s maiden voyage (July 6th) and Spirit of Discovery’s 3rd anniversary (July...

SAGA's Spirit of Discovery is the first cruise ship in 3 years to dock in Tunisia

A cruise ship docked in port in Tunisia on Wednesday, March 23, for the first time since 2019, carrying 700+ passengers and good news for operators...

Saga Cruises returns to international cruising following Around-Britain itineraries

On October 5, Saga UK's cruise ship Spirit of Adventure is scheduled to depart on a 5-day "Taste of the Continent" itinerary visiting Holland...

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Saga Cruises had to amend the maiden voyage of their new ship Spirit of Adventure due to Scotland's lockdown restrictions. The ship is scheduled to...

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Other Saga Ocean Cruises cruise ships

• Spirit of Adventure

Spirit of Discovery Wiki

For the new ship series, Saga employed the designer company SMC Design, which has extensive experience with cruise vessel design. Among SMC Design's customers are also P&O Cruises UK (Sindhu / Indian restaurant), Viking Ocean Cruises (Explorers Lounge), NCL (Mandara Spa).

Vessel's construction started on February 28, 2018 (steel-cutting ceremony), attended by Lance Batchelor (Saga Group's CEO) and Tim Meyer Meyer Werft's managing director). The boat's hull sections and building blocks were constructed and assembled at Building Dock I (Meyer Werft's Papenburg shipyard). Saga's Spirit of Discovery bookings (for all itineraries 2019-2020) opened in October 2017.

On June 28, 2018, was held the keel-laying ceremony. Traditionally, a commemorative coin was placed under the hull's first block (of all 54 blocks/hull and superstructure). The vessel was launched (floated out from drydock) on May 12, 2019. Its official delivery to Saga plc (UK) was initially scheduled for June 20, but later rescheduled for June 28 (2019).

Next timelapse video shows some phases of the vessel's  construction process .

The ship's christening ceremony was on July 5, 2019, held at Dover Western Docks ( Port Dover England) . Ship's official naming ceremony was attended by 500+ guests, including Saga Group's management, employees and crew. The quayside event was transformed into a traditional British garden party, complete with grass (grown in Yorkshire), bunting and table settings, foliage, florals, trees and parasols.

In early-June 2019 was announced the name of liner's Godmother - HRH Camilla (Duchess of Cornwall, aka Duchess of Rothesay). The 1947-born Camilla Rosemary Shand (now Camilla Parker-Bowles) is a British royal family member as the second wife of Charles (Prince of Wales, 1948-born as Charles Philip Arthur George).

In early-March 2019, SAGA announced that starting with the 14-day Inaugural Canary Islands cruise (Nov 4-18), the new liner becomes all-inclusive. This means that Saga cruise fares are inclusive of speciality restaurant dining, beverages (wine, beer, house spirits, soft drinks), 24-hour room service, Wi-Fi, gratuities, transfer (chauffeur service to/from homeport for cruise passengers based within 250 ml / 402 km distance). Shore excursions remain optional and at additional cost. The cruise company offers complimentary shuttle bus services in all ports where the town/city is over 0,5 km from the ship. The sistership Spirit of Adventure (August 2020) also offers all-inclusive deals.

In mid-June 2021 SAGA announced the names of its cruise ship Captains - Darin Bowland (Spirit of Discovery) and Jason Ikiadis (Spirit of Adventure). Bowland (starting in 1985) was previously employed by RCG-Royal Caribbean Group and Carnival Corporation ( HAL-Holland America Line 's ship Zaandam ). Ikiadis (starting in 1984) was previously employed by RCG ( Azamara 's ship Journey ) and TUI ( Marella 's ships Discovery and Discovery 2 ).

The vessel was last drydocked in 2023 (January 8 - February 2) at Lloyd Werft Shipyard ( Bremerhaven ). The scheduled drydocking was for routine class works and general maintenance (hotel and machinery).

Inaugural itineraries 2019

The inaugural cruise was initially scheduled for July 23, 2019 (themed "Channel Island Hop Cruise"), with next planned voyages themed as "Gourmet Spain" (August 3) and "Natural Scandinavia" (August 17). However, as the liner was to be delivered earlier, its maiden voyage was rescheduled for July 10th. For 2019, the ship had scheduled a total of 11 roundtrips from homeport Dover UK. The following tables show liner's inaugural cruise itineraries in 2019. Prices shown are indicative, in USD, per person, based on double-occupancy (Standard Balcony cabin rates).

The 13-day maiden voyage (themed "A British First" / British Isles circumnavigation itinerary) is a Dover roundtrip priced from USD 4060 pp.

4-day "Inaugural Cruise" from UK (themed "A Channel Island Hop", from USD 890 pp)

7-day Inaugural "Norwegian Fjords" cruise (themed "The Fjords in Focus", from USD 1770 pp)

14-day Inaugural Iberia cruise (themed "Gourmet Spain", from USD 4030 pp)

14-day Inaugural "Scandinavia and Russia" cruise (themed "Myths and Legends of the Baltic", from USD 4000 pp)

18-day Inaugural Mediterranean cruise from UK (themed "The Chic Mediterranean", from USD 4930 pp)

14-day Inaugural Canary Islands cruise from UK (themed "Spanish Islands of the Atlantic", from USD 3020 pp)

35-day Inaugural Transatlantic crossing from UK (themed "Fairy Tale of New York", from USD 9450 pp)

• Saga Cruises

Saga Cruises Spirit of Discovery Review. The Best Things About The Ship

by Gary Bembridge · July 5, 2019

Saga Cruises launched Spirit of Discovery in July 2019, the first of two sister cruise ships (Spirit of Adventure in 2020). These are the first new-build ships for cruising ever for Saga, which had previously bought and refurbished existing cruise ships. The Spirit of Discovery holds 999 passengers and in my blog and video, I discuss the 8 things that I think are best about the ship, and show and explain why. I also talk about one major watch-out and issue that could stop you from cruising.  

My Saga Spirit of Discovery Review Video

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Jw1VYSLd_eQ

You’re about to discover the eight best things about the new Saga Spirit of Discovery cruise ship, plus one thing that could be a deal breaker and stop you from cruising on this ship

Facts and figures

The Spirit of Discovery is the first of two sister ships being built by Saga Cruises. Spirit of Discovery is the first one, and Spirit of Adventure is the second one.

It holds 999 guests, has 505 crew and 10 passenger decks. Those stats mean that it falls, in many people’s definitions, within the small ship cruising category, which is normally defined as less than a thousand passengers.

The first great thing is the design. It is a great look from the outside. It’s unique. It’s different because it was specifically designed for Saga. But inside, the designers which were SMC (a London-based design organisation) have created a boutique hotel feel and that what’s Saga are going for.

The inspiration for the design was taken from London-based boutique hotels. It is a modern and contemporary look.

A couple of things that I really liked about this more as a ship geek is this that there is a really great connection to the ocean. They have an enormous and wide promenade deck. If you walk around the promenade deck four times, you’ve done one mile. That has disappeared from many modern cruise ships.

At the back of the ship there’s a magnificent terrace area, where you can sit and watch the world go by. It’s multi levels and you can see the ocean.

I love the fact that the design inside is a boutique contemporary hotel feel, and there’s a real sense of a connection to the sea. You even see that in the open spaces. For example, the Lido, which is the pool area. This is also very open. It’s large and again there’s great connection to the ocean.

There’s a real sense of Britishness around the design and the aesthetics. For example, there are 1,000 pieces of artwork across the ship, 400 of which were created for the ship and all have been created by artists that are based in the UK. Most of the suppliers the cheese, the salmon and wine are again from British suppliers.

Dining Options

The second thing that struck me about the ship were the dining options. Saga is all-inclusive and all of the dining, both speciality dining and regular dining, is included within the fare.

There are six dining options across the ship.

• The most important, of course, is the main dining room which is known as the Grand Dining Room. it serves British and international cuisine. It’s a magnificent traditional liner looking type of dining room.
• You then have the Grill and the Verandah, which is up on the Lido deck and this is the more informal dining, so it’s more buffet. Although importantly on formal nights they have the same menu in here as in the main dining room. So, if you don’t want to get dressed up for formal nights you can have the same menu up in the Grill and the Verandah area. The Verandah is an outside area where you can dine alfresco when the weather is good.
• There are three speciality dining options. The first of which is one that I know Saga are very excited about, and passengers are also very excited about, and this is The Club by Jools Holland. Jools Holland being a well-known British entertainer and musician. The Club is a steakhouse, and, in the evenings, they have cabaret, which is all curated by Jools Holland.
• Then there’s Coast to Coast, which is a beautiful restaurant and it’s the seafood restaurant. This seats 74 diners. It’s a new concept to Saga and is only open in the evening.
• The one which really appeals to me is East to West, and this is an Asian fusion restaurant with beautiful decor. It’s only open in the evenings and holds 76 diners.
• Also, which is included, is your sixth dining option on board the Spirit of Discovery and that’s 24-hour room service. Again, no charge as all of the dining options are included within the fare.

Britannia Lounge

For me, the third most amazing and great thing about the ship is the Britannia lounge. Britannia lounge is a classic on all the Saga ships, and this particular lounge is spectacular. When you walk in there’s a real wow factor.

The Britannia lounge is used during the day for talks, or various events, and in the evening it’s where you can go dancing as there’s a dance floor. You have the Britannia deck outside which has some beautiful artwork there and, as it’s on the front of the ship, you have great views as the ship sails through the beautiful scenery.

Britannia lounge I’ve pulled out as one of the best things about the new ship because I do think it is one of the absolute best parts of the ship. It really is a magnificent space.

The fourth thing that I’ve identified as being really good about the ship are the cabins. I want to talk about a couple of cabins specifically.

All of the cabins have balconies, so there’s no inside cabins and no ocean view cabins. It is entirely a balcony ship.

In the brochure and on the website they I identify nine grades, but I think you can better split those down into three key categories: solo cabins, balcony cabins (with two types: standard and deluxe) and then Suites (where there are three types midships, forward and aft).

One of the things I really wanted to talk about solo cabins. 20% or 109 cabins on board the Spirit of Discovery are solo cabins. Saga really cater for solo travellers in a big way. Also, what’s great is they cater for different budget types within solo cabins. They have a standard cabin, superior cabin, deluxe cabin and even have solo suites. So, catering for solo travellers is a really big plus.

Accessible cabins

The other great thing that Saga do is cater phenomenally well for people who have disabilities or need accessible cabins. The accessible cabins I was really impressed with. Of course, it’s a great size to have extra space if you’re in a wheelchair, there is a wet room style bathroom, ramp which heads up and out onto the balcony, but the great thing about it is every single accessible cabin has an interconnecting door to a solo cabin next door. It means if you’re traveling with a friend, family or even a carer, they can have a separate cabin connected to yours – and they don’t have to share a cabin or bunk up with you.

I think there’s real plusses here. Not only do they have a range of cabins for all budgets, but they really cater phenomenally well for solo travellers, with those many different grades, and for people with accessibility needs especially if they’re travelling with carers or friends.

So, the cabins for me definitely are a real big plus.

Entertainment

The fifth thing that I want to talk about is entertainment and their take on entertainment as I think they do somethings slightly differently.

They have the Playhouse Theatre, which can seat 440 at one time. They have production shows in the evening and have guest artists. At other times it acts as a cinema. So, that’s fairly standard and, as you’d expect, it’s pretty high-tech being a new ship.

The Library

The other thing which they have, which I think is great, is the Library. The library is a really interesting venue. It’s not only a great looking venue, where they have 3,500 books in an enormous library, they have self-service teas and coffees here, but they have a couple of really interesting things. They have an enormous craft area, and they run classes on jewellery making and paper crafts. Then they have a large card room. Bridge and card playing is very popular on board, so this dedicated card room which can hold up to 40 people at one time.

In terms of entertainment and activities they have a large enrichment program. There’s always guest speakers and lecturers. The entertainment definitely is more enrichment orientated and they do some great things.

Social Venues

• In terms of social venues, they have a number of places where you can socialise. One of the most interesting is the South Cape Bar. This is the name of a bar which originally appeared on one of their first and earlier ships within the cruise line which was the Saga Ruby back in 2005.
• Another great space, which is part of a hub of the ship is known as the Living Room. During the day this is a coffee bar, and, in the evening, it becomes a cocktail bar. Because it’s right in the heart of the ship and near the atrium, it’s a real hub during the day and in the evening. The living room is a great space, beautiful seating areas and a fun bar.
• Of course, you have the Britannia lounge which I’ve already spoken about, and you have the Terrace at the back of the ship which I’ve also spoken about.

The next thing that I thought was really good, and struck me about the ship, was just how much space and effort was focused on the whole area of wellness.

First of all, they have a spa, which is huge. In the spa you, of course, have traditional spa treatments, a pretty big salon area, a large steam room and sauna area and a great hydrotherapy pool area. So, lots of space dedicated to the pampering side of wellness.

Right up on the top of the ship they have a fitness area and the gym area.

There’s an outdoor sports area, and they have a Fairway golf simulator. So, lots of space and focus on wellness.

All-inclusive

Another really good thing on board the Spirit of Discovery is the all-inclusive nature of the fare.

Saga had been pretty inclusive, but from 2020 they’re going completely all-inclusive. So, what does that mean?

Obviously, your accommodation, all the dining as I’ve already mentioned, gratuities, Wi-Fi and from 2020 drinks are included. They also include a pickup service where you get picked up from your home and taken to and from the ship. Insurance is included, and if you don’t take the insurance you can then also get a slight discount on the fare.

Of course, you have extras like excursions, spa treatments and if you buy stuff in the shop.

But, it’s great to know that all the fundamentals of the cruise experience are included within the fare.

So, those are my views about the eight great and good things about the brand-new Spirit of Discovery ship from Saga. So, what about the downsides that could stop you cruising?

Saga is a UK-based company and they do all of their marketing to UK passengers, and they create a very British experience. Now, that doesn’t mean if you’re not a UK resident you can’t cruise on Saga! If you want to cruise on Saga and you’re out of the UK, make sure that you connect through with Saga in the UK.

However, the biggest issue that you face is: in order to cruise with Saga Cruises, you need to be over 50 years of age. However, if you are 50 years of age and your partner or friend is over 40, they can cruise with you. But you do need to be over 50 before you can cruise on a Saga Cruise.

If you want to find out much more about cruising and Saga Cruises, I have many more videos on the topic so why don’t you watch one of those right now!

Note: I cruised as a guest of Saga on a pre-naming shakedown cruise and toured the ship on its arrival into Dover. Saga had no input or say on the content or images used in my video.

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Tags: adult cruise adult travel cruise advice cruise holiday cruise tips cruise vacation over 50's cruise over 50's travel saga saga cruises spirit of discovery

Gary Bembridge

I grew up in Zimbabwe, but I have been based in London since 1987. My travel life spans more than three decades and that includes more than 95 cruises. In 2005, I launched Tips for Travellers to make it easy and fun for people to discover, plan and enjoy incredible cruise vacations. And the rest, as they say, is history. I have the largest cruise vlogger channel currently on YouTube, with more than 3 million video views per month.

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I Took a Traditional 50+ River Cruise (Food, Ship, Entertainment and More) – Saga

Wondering if a Saga river cruise is right for you? I took one and had an amazing time exploring the Danube. 

I’d definitely recommend a cruise with Saga but I wouldn’t recommend it to all.

The following 7 points will help you to make an informed decision about if a Saga river cruise is right for you.

Saga Cruises Are Aimed At a British Market

Without a doubt, Saga river cruises are aimed primarily at the British market. I recently returned from a Danube river cruise with Saga where almost all passengers were British. Having said that, Saga cruise are not exclusively for brits .

Saga don’t advertise in the USA/Canada/Australia so this explains the majority of passengers being British.

Saga Cruises Include British Touches

British favorites are regularly on the menu of Saga cruises. I had the most amazing fish and chips during my Saga river cruise. You’ll find more about the food later in this post.

Tea features heavily in the daily schedule. Afternoon tea happens each and every day and offers passengers a variety of sandwiches, cakes and teas to choose from.

Onboard there was a choice of Yorkshire tea, PG tips, and about 15 other tea choices. Tea/Coffee making facilities are available in the main lounge 24 hours a day and tea/coffee is also served at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Saga Don’t Own/Build Their Own Ships

Saga don’t own their own river cruise ships, they charter them from other river cruise companies.

This means that there is a lot of variety in regards to onboard ship amenities within the Saga fleet. The ships are chartered exclusively for Saga meaning that no other cruise lines/companies are able to use the ships while they are chartered to Saga.

Other river cruise lines that build their own ships will usually have little or no variation in their fleet.

The ships chartered by Saga are generally speaking older than ships that you may find on other river cruise lines like Emerald Waterways and Avalon.

Filia Rheni River Cruise Ship Review

I cruised on the Filia Rheni which was built in 1999. She was a very comfortable ship and although not really showing her age you could still tell that she isn’t a modern river ship.

The design of river ships has changed in recent years and certain features onboard give away the ship’s age.

That said, all of the furnishings onboard appeared relatively new and there wasn’t ever anything that was broken or scruffy onboard. The Filia Rheni provides a traditional river cruise experience.

She has one big dining room, one lounge and a swimming pool on the top deck. The ship is a good size for the number of passengers that she holds, we certainly never struggled to find a seat or a sunlounger!

At one point I had 8 sun loungers, a giant chessboard and a swimming pool all to myself.

Filia Rheni Cabin Review

We stayed in a balcony cabin and it was a decent size. The cabin had everything that we needed and we were very comfortable there.

That said, there wasn’t anything in the cabin that particularly wowed me but I did enjoy leaning out of the balcony as we sailed along.

The cabin was cleaned every day to a high standard and my only complaint was that the bed wasn’t very comfortable because I could feel the springs digging into my arm when I lay down.

I fixed this by using the bed cover as a mattress topper and from this point onwards it was fine.

Saga Cruises Include Transfers

During my Saga cruise, I spoke to many other guests and asked them about why they liked cruising with Saga.

The most common reason I heard was that Saga looks after their guests and they include transfers in their cruise fare.

Saga seems to be pretty flexible when it comes to travel arrangements. Some passengers had caught trains instead of taxis and a few even have hotel stays included because they lived so far from the airport.

Transfer Distance

Saga includes a transfer if you live within 250 miles of the cruise port or airport which I think is amazing. I was picked up for my Saga cruise at 4 am and taken to the airport. The taxi alone would have cost over £100 and we had the same thing on the way home too!

This service is a private chauffeur for distances up to 75 miles each way, and a shared chauffeur service from 76-250 miles each way. Don’t want to chauffeur? No problem. We’ll also be happy to arrange complimentary car parking near the port, or can provide included rail/coach tickets, or even free flights from your local airport, subject to availability. – source .

Thie service operates only in the UK.

The Saga Team Will Look After You

Saga charter their ships so, as far as I can work out, most members of crew onboard will below to the ship rather than to Saga.

On my Saga cruise, the bar team, housekeeping team, and kitchen team were all incredible and made sure that every guest had everything that they needed.

On a Saga river cruise, there will be a few members of staff from Saga and I was lucky enough to have Charlie, Loraine, and Debbie. Charlie was our Cruise Host with Loraine second in command. Debbie was our entertainment for the week, she sang, she hosted games and she ran the Zumba! A lady with many talents.

During our cruise, they were always available for the guests and were constantly friendly and patient which made the atmosphere onboard very homely and welcoming.

If anything went wrong or anybody onboard ever had any questions we all knew that we could go to Charlie, Loraine or Debbie and they’d help sort it out.

I spoke to many other guests onboard all of whom loved the trio. Many praised Charlies ability to explain things, Loraines ability to organise everything (and everybody), and Debbies ability to make everybody laugh.

Saga Have Fixed Dining Times and Table Sharing

Saga has fixed dining times on their river cruises and table sharing is common. On most river cruises you will have fixed dining times because the majority of river cruise ships only have one main dining room.

There are a few new ships with multiple restaurant options but generally speaking, river cruise ships have one main dining room.

Saga River Cruise Breakfast

Saga offers a buffet breakfast in the main dining room. This usually is open for a couple of hours and when you arrive you will be seated with other guests.

You are able to arrive at any time when breakfast is open. Tea/Coffee is offered and there are a variety of juices and water available.

The buffet contained everything from a full English breakfast to continental favorites. Bread, cereals, and fruits were plentiful and always of really high quality. I’d find it very difficult to find any fault with anything in the buffet.

Saga River Cruise Lunch Options

There are two options for lunch. Guests can either have a 3-course meal in the main dining room or can have a ‘light lunch’ in the lounge. I tried both and they were great.

Main Dining Room Lunch

The sit-down lunch in the main dining room was very similar to dinner, the only difference is that during lunch guests are seated on a first come first serve basis. I quite liked this as it meant we got to chat with new people each lunchtime.

The options on the menu were varied and I never had a bad dish during the entire cruise. In fact, I never heard anybody say anything bad about any item of food for the entire cruise. Wow!

Light Lunch

I really enjoyed the light lunch. It was usually a collection of sandwiches/salads and things like pasta or soups.

Don’t be fooled by the ‘light lunch’ title, it definitely is possible to overeat. We were actually planning on leaving the ship one lunchtime when the smell of spare ribs wafted from the lounge… we decided, of course, to have lunch and then venture out.

Saga River Cruise Dinner

Saga has fixed tables for dining which will be given to you on the first night of your cruise. We were sharing with 4 other ladies all of whom were lovely. It’s always a relief to have nice table mates.

The dinner onboard is usually 4 courses, a starter, soup, main, and dessert. On occasion, other courses would appear such as a sorbet.

Our waiter would often give us another dish to share if he thought we should try a certain dish. We never really wanted the extra dessert but somehow always managed to eat it… funny that!

Saga River Cruise Food Quality

I’ve been on 23 cruises to date and I have to say that, in my opinion, the food served on Saga ships is up there with the best.

During my 6 night cruise, I didn’t hear a single complaint from any passenger about the quality of the food.

Saga River Cruises Include Some Excursions, Drinks with Meals, and WiFi

In addition to the transfers mentioned earlier, Saga includes a lot in their base cruise fare.

Are Excursions Included on a Saga River Cruise?

On our 6 night cruise, we had two excursions included. Plus a very strange bonus excursion on the first day which we didn’t expect. To read more about that, check out this post: Saga Danube River Cruise Daily Diary & Review. 

The excursions are mostly coach based. During our excursions we were given some time to walk around and those who were less able were given an option of waiting in a coffee shop.

Saga river cruises do not include daily excursions and the number of excursions offered does vary by cruise.

Having said this, cruise director Charlie was always available to do a ‘walk into town’ for the passengers who weren’t on an excursion. I thought that this was a lovely gesture as it helped the passengers to feel safer when exploring new places and meant that they knew where they were going when doing their own exploring.

Are Drinks Included on a Saga River Cruises?

Saga river cruises include drinks with meals. This includes beer, wine and soft drinks such as soda.

The ‘free’ drinks aren’t only available in the main dining room but they are also available in the main lounge when lunch is being served. Beer/wine isn’t served with breakfast.

Wine is Included on a Saga River Cruise

The wine servings were HUGE and most nights I didn’t have more than one other drink in the evening.

We actually only spent £42 on drinks during our cruise! Dinner is quite an event on Saga cruises and we often sat for quite a long time just chatting and getting our money worth out of the free drinks. There is only one seating of dinner you don’t have to be rushed out of the restaurant so can take as much time as you need.

A red, white and rose are available every night. This didn’t change during the cruise but I wouldn’t have wanted it too. I liked the rose. Check out those wine servings below!

WiFi is Included on a Saga River Cruise 

WiFi is included on Saga river cruises. The quality of the WiFi depends on where you are cruising at the time. Sometimes the WiFi was pretty good and other times it was awful. To use the WiFi you’ll need to get a password from reception and use this to log in.

Travel Insurance is Included on a Saga River Cruise 

Saga river cruises include travel insurance. This is a big benefit for a lot of their passengers who may find it expensive to buy travel insurance.

If you don’t want to take the travel insurance Saga will usually offer you a small discount on the cruise fare.

Saga Are a 50+ Cruise Line

Saga are a 50+ cruise line. The only exception to this rule is that guests 40+ may travel if they are cruising with somebody who is 50+. Having said this, I don’t think I saw anybody in their 40s on my Saga cruise, most were in their 60s or 70s.

You may have noticed that I am not 50! I’m 25.

Saga invited me on the cruise so that I could learn about it and report back here on this website and on YouTube , I also updated Instagram , Facebook and Twitter daily during the cruise. When the cruise was booked for me I went onto Saga’s website to try and order a brochure and it wouldn’t let me until I pretended I was 50, haha…

Despite the cruise definitely not being targeted at me I had a really great time and I’ll remember the cruise forever.

To read more about the cruise I took with Saga, check out this post: Saga Danube River Cruise Daily Diary & Review. 

To learn more about cruising with Saga, visit Saga’s website here .

If you are considering a river cruise but are not over 50 it may be worth checking out Emerald Waterways. I took a cruise with them along the Rhone and it was brilliant. To learn more read my daily cruise diary here: Emerald Waterways, Daily Cruise Diary, and Review. 

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