Second Sapphire cruise is cancelled

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More disappointment for passengers booked on Saga Sapphire; work to repair the engine room fault which led to the curtailment of its maiden voyage is taking longer than expected, and the ship’s second cruise has now been cancelled.
The “Wonders of Iberia” cruise was to have started – a week later than planned – next Wednesday from Marseille instead of Southampton. Passengers who had been told they were getting a 50 per cent discount in return for the loss of seven of the scheduled 18 nights have now been informed they are going nowhere.
I was alerted late yesterday by a comment on my original posting, which read: ” We have now been informed that the Cruise has now been cancelled. No sensible further comment is possible due to so much disappointment.”
Saga spokesman Paul Green has now confirmed the cancellation, saying the company’s team began contacting passengers on Friday evening.
“Our ship’s engineers have been working around the clock to make a repair but the work has taken longer than anticipated.
“We appreciate that cancelling the cruise will come as a huge disappointment, but we felt the right thing to do was to tell customers as soon as we knew there was even the slightest chance that the ship would not be in Marseille for the start of the shortened cruise on Wednesday.
“Customers (who have already received a 50 per cent cash refund) can either cancel and receive a full refund and future cruise credit or if they wish to transfer to an alternative cruise are being offered it at half fare.”
Sapphire’s next cruise, a 15-night trip to the “Best of the Baltic,” should depart from Southampton on May 6.
On the same day, Saga Pearl II will arrive in Southampton at the end of her final voyage under that name, departing later in the day as Quest for Adventure, on a 6-night round-Britain cruise.

By | 2017-06-15T15:59:50+00:00 21 April 2012|Cruise News, Cruise Ships|6 Comments

About the Author:

John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.

6 Comments

  1. Margaet Rose 21 April 2012 at 11:48 am - Reply

    Future cruise credit a derisory 5% for 2013. Very disappointed with Saga after previous experiences when changes were made.

  2. L.B. & J.M. Clark 22 April 2012 at 3:04 pm - Reply

    We were first informed of engine failure last Monday, 16 April, and accepted the offer of a 50% refund and a curtailed cruise. The alternative was a full refund and 25% voucher redeemable against a future cruise.
    We have not yet received the promised refund into our bank account – the account was checked this morning.
    Yesterday afternoon, 21 April, we received a further phone call to inform us that the curtailed cruise is now cancelled. We were given a specific phone number and were asked to let them know as soon as possible whether we wanted an alternative cruise at half price this year, or a full refund and a niggardly 5% additional discount on a cruise in 2013. ( The current brochure offers 35% discounts for next year!) We tried to phone back yesterday afternoon just after 5.00pm: a recorded message advised that the office was closed until Monday at 9.00am. We thought Saga would have manned a helpline for passengers let down twice at short notice.
    After hours of research, we find the closest alternative – on Saga Ruby – has no twin or double cabins available. Saga is making very little effort to assist disappointed customers to find another comparable holiday that fits in with their other commitments. No compensation is being offered other than discount on their own cruises, which has severely limited our options.

  3. John Cook 25 April 2012 at 9:07 am - Reply

    We are booked on Saga Saphire’s 6 May cruise to the Baltic and are waiting with baited breath.The last information we have is from John Honeywell’s various reports and we can’t help wondering if the vessel is still under repair in Valencia. I feel so sorry for the people that have had their cruise cancelled; apart from the financial repercussions, the disappointment must be extremely upsetting.

  4. John Cook 25 April 2012 at 9:09 am - Reply

    We are booked on Saga Saphire’s 6 May cruise to the Baltic and are waiting with baited breath.The last information we have is from John Honeywell’s various reports and we can’t help wondering if the vessel is still under repair in Valencia. I feel so sorry for the people that have had their cruise cancelled; apart from the financial repercussions, the disappointment must be extremely upsetting.

  5. Angela Jervis 26 April 2012 at 11:43 am - Reply

    We are also booked on 6th May cruise .Have contacted Saga to-day who inform us the cruise SHOULD go ahead but no firm info from them re state of repairs & position of ship. Appreciate this sites info. Lets hope we all make it !!

  6. NELA 9 June 2012 at 11:46 am - Reply

    Sorry to tell you this, but the Holiday was the worst ship Ive ever worked in. Terrible. And Ive worked onboard for 10 years.Hopefully the made some renovations, because it was really bad.As for booze, get your cabin steward to get you a bottle from the Duty Free. Tip him and he will do it. On top of the tip they get 20% off the prices, so its a deal.They do it all the time.

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