Never judge a book by its cover. The mere mention of ‘Saga’ conjures up elderly, ‘Countdown’ watching cruisers who totter around the Med or the Caribbean clutching their gin and tonics. Yes, everyone is over 50 and I was possibly the youngest passenger but to be honest by the end of the first night’s dinner, the scales had been shed from my prejudiced eyes. This is the Ulysses Generation who have amassed adventures and experiences to match anyone half their age. All I knew is that I wanted to be like them. Everyone is made to feel welcome regardless of age, disability or single/married and what I liked was the happy family community atmosphere. I could recommend this ship for anyone who is single and doesn’t want to feel lost in one of those monster cruise ships with their thousands of passengers and sense of anonymity. Within a week, we had made friends and there was always someone to talk to.
The ‘Grand Caribbean Adventure’ was a 6 week all-inclusive cruise that joined up all the island dots in the Caribbean in a fest of exploration. You are pampered from the minute that your chauffeur arrives to take you to the ship, to the speedy check in and they start with Afternoon Tea. You get the picture very quickly. A Saga cruise is about indulgence and it takes enormous restraint to ignore the heaving but delicately arranged feast. The evening meal, which is after a welcome glass or two of champagne, measures up to all the hype in their advertising and they offer 6 courses. Every night. It’s the same high standard at lunchtime whether it is the restaurant or BBQ. And if you didn’t fancy the cuisine offered, then we found that we could order a steak or something more simple and it was no problem.
For a 6 week cruise you don’t need as much as I packed (there is a free laundry) but here is a typical run down of what I would pack when we do it again
The rooms are possibly not as important as you might think. You only sleep there as the rest of the time is spent taking excursions, enjoying the banquets, taking part in the activities programme eg watercolour painting, ballroom dancing, musical activities or games outside or inside. There was no time to be bored. Before we sailed, their booklet let us know that they included toiletries and they were right: everything apart from makeup and cleansers were included. And they were topped up when empty. The room stewards seem to be forever cleaning and tidying and the free 24 hour room service they provide is useful if you don’t fancy making the trek upstairs for whatever reason.
We had a double bed which was comfortable and plenty of space underneath for our suitcases. I had worried about how much wardrobe space they would be but it was fine - there were 2 double wardrobes, both with drawers and one with long hanging space for evening dresses. In addition, there provided 4 drawers in the room. The bathroom is small but well designed and exceptionally clean.