Saga Holidays Avis 

Booked a hotel holiday today in Italy for next June after carrying out a lot of research ourselves. We had a few questions so called the SAGA Number. The questions were answered and the lady made some suggestions that were helpful. So rather than book online we completed the booking easily over the phone. Very easy very professional

Happily booked our 2nd Saga cruise 11 months on from the first with the attitude of 'you get what you pay for' and that the inclusions were well worth the extra cost. Sadly this has not been the case and on our return we shall not be cruising with Saga again. The price point has risen dramatically but the experience has diminished. Let me explain our reasoning.

Our first cruise was on the Spirit of Adventure June 2025 to Portugal and the Mediterranean we were driven door to port by a lovely driver in a upmarket saloon car with water and boiled sweets supplied. We were constantly asked if we wanted a comfort break or the air conditioning altered. The return journey was equally as good.
The cruise was lovely with friendly attentive staff and a good selection of well cooked meals. The entertainment whilst not all to our taste was varied and the bar staff attentive. The cabin was cleaned twice daily by a very attentive steward and visible cleaning teams were in the corridors and public areas. Fruit was supplied in the cabin and the attention to detail was faultless. The pools and public toilets were immaculate. The Captain and crew were visible daily and happy to mingle and chat. Selected wines at dinner were in abundance and of a high standard, food quality was excellent.

This cruise in July 2026 was on the Spirit of Discovery visiting UK ports, the weather was beautiful and the sea state very calm. The journey down was comfortable in a Titan/Saga minibus but no water was supplied.

It was obvious on boarding that there was a gastric bug problem as we were all funnelled and supervised to wash hands immediately. There were several rooms marked with a cross to indicate an illness in that cabin.
There appeared to be less staff trying to do more work but they all offered a bright welcome and a cheery smile.
Our cabin attendant worked hard but he appeared to be working alone and doing a 12 hour plus day, often the cabin was not cleaned before lunch. There was no fruit supplied or offered and no evidence of public area cleaning.
The waiting staff and teams appeared to have more tables to attend to and there was often a lengthy wait for bar or table service and attention to detail lacked (wine not topped up etc). The wine selection was scantly offered and appeared cheaper quality. The offered bread basket contained slices of french stick or sliced bread not speciality breads as was written on the menu. Vegetables were either raw or cooked to mush and steak ordered 'medium/ well' was served almost raw but the waiter never returned to check on 'how the meal was' On two occasions at the alfresco grill food was returned as it was either under cooked (fish) or not what was ordered. The buffet grill was served to you (probably due to the gastric outbreak)

The entertainment was on at 21:30 or 22:00 and very lack lustre. Some of the rehearsals in the main Britannia lounge between 18:00 - 20:00 lasted longer than the show!
The 'wellness pool' area had a floor that was very slippery underfoot and the pool had detritus (skin etc) floating we only used it once!

The home bound journey took twice the length of time due to motorway accidents. The vehicle was an airport style mini bus with knee to knee cramped seating and we all had to sit 'side saddle' to avoid touching, leaving no room for movement. It turned out that the other couple sharing had been cabin bound for 5 days due to the gastric incident/illness this meant we spent over 5 hours in a vehicle with no air conditioning, cramped and uncomfortable seating and sharing the air of a couple who had been quite ill. The driver however did offer a comfort break and water.

This cruise was not value for money and this experience has sealed the fate of any further Saga ocean cruises for us.

The lady who took our booking was very pleasant and informative and made sure we were told about everything we needed to know about the holiday.

Saga was able to make a Christmas holiday happen when the computer said ‘No’. I spent time on the phone with Kat who was super helpful and she was able to book the holiday. Grateful thanks to her and the booking team.

In January this year I booked a holiday to Egypt online. I received a confirmation email and access to the Manage My Booking (MMB) portal. The MMB portal then went down and we couldn't gain access to it for weeks. Eventually it was up and running and sometime in early June I looked at the holiday itinerary and it was as my confirmation email. A few days later I tried to access the MMB portal to show my partner the itinerary and it said 'PAGE NOT FOUND'. We tried several more times but it just displayed the same message. It still remains the case to this day. I phoned Saga on 16 June and an advisor told me he would email the itinerary. When I received the email it was headed UPDATED HOLIDAY CONFIRMATION on reading it we realised that the itinerary had been changed and was nothing like the wording on my original itinerary. I had not had anything from Saga since my Confirmation email in January. I actually thought I was losing my mind. I even went online to check the holiday I had booked and that had the updated wording. Luckily, after a couple of days thinking I was going mad I checked if I had saved the original confirmation email and I had. Since we discovered the altered itinerary I have sent several emails to Saga and phoned numerous times, every email has been ignored. After numerous phone calls to Saga on 24 June I eventually spoke to someone who could do something and she told me to send the emails that had been ignored to her whilst we were on the phone and she would send them on. I received an email the next day, 25 June, from customer services and have heard nothing since. I phoned and asked to speak to the manager who had sent me the email and was told all of the managers were on a course and were unavailable for the week. I have emailed a complaint and that has been ignored. I have had three emails telling me the balance is overdue although I have been advised by two Saga advisors not to pay the balance whilst this is being investigated. The email I received on 25 June said I would be sent 'clear and accurate details of the itinerary'. I have not heard from Saga since. We are due to go on this holiday in September and I am at my wit's end.

Charlotte got in touch with individual hotels so that we could be accommodated on touring holiday in Puglia

The Holiday I was asking about was filled very quickly. The lady who answered very quickly found another holiday in the same hotel in another month at the same cost.
The lady was very polite and understanding making sure I was happy with the change. The booking process was quick and effortless
I was very pleased with her understanding and expertise.

We recently booked a safari trip to South Africa with Saga holidays, our sales advisor Sreejith Shanmughan was excellent throughout the process, he was extremely knowledgeable, patient and very pleasant in his manner , he is a credit to saga holidays, thank you for all your help.

The agent to spoke to was very helpful and polite. Every detail was explained fully. All my questions were answered and the whole experience was pleasant and professional. I would definitely recommend booking with Saga for holidays and using their other products

Lovely helpful staff on the other end of phone, no rushing no making you feel awkward or a pest , I’ve had nothing but great customer service and would highly recommend saga to my friends and family.
And a lovely variety of holidays to choose from.

I paid the final balance on my holiday but forgot to enter the booking reference. Hence Saga received my money but had no idea who had sent it. I rang and explained the situation to Michaela who could not have been more helpful. Within 3 hours she had traced the payment, rung me to give the good news and had sent me an email confirmation! Absolutely excellent service. Thank you Michaela.

Melanie picked up in a few minutes and was clear to hear with a very friendly manner. She was able to give me all the information I needed and took all my particulars for the holiday that I wanted.
She was able to give all the various costs and pointed out that I had another £100 pounds off the full price.
She was able to verify everything with the company and phoned me next day to check that I still wanted to go ahead with my deposit and could take my bank card details on the keypad giving me peace of mind.
If the rest of the holiday goes as smoothly and efficiently I shall be well pleased. Big thank you Melanie.

The adviser was very helpful. I have travelled with Saga once before to Costa Rica. Everything went very smoothly indeed.

An excellent experience with an outstanding Guide, Daniel, who thoroughly researched all areas visited prior to arrival and went above and beyond answering questions through further research, and taking a genuine interest in all the guests. Daniel enhanced the 3000+ mile journey through the USA National Parks, with efficiency, patience, and with a good sense of humor. Well done, Daniel! You are an asset to SAGA! The trip itself was well-balanced. The driver, Teddy, was very professional and helpful, again with a lovely sense of good humour. He kept his vehicle, which he named 'Ghost', exceptionally clean.

My very elderly mum is just back from a holiday with Saga. The tour guide was apparently incredibly rude, disorganised and lied. Would NOT recommend. They complained but it was a shambles. No assistance, no meals when promised.

The advisor was very helpful and helped guide me through all the details

So far, I have only experienced the booking experience.
It is several years since I last travelled with Saga but booking today was an absolute delight. I was fortunate enough to be put through to Graham. He answered all my queries, advised me on possibly the best date to choose and when I asked if he could hold the reservation for an hour while I contacted a friend, he said he would call me back at 1pm. This he did, and the booking went smoothly. I am now really looking forward to the holiday next year but could not have wished to have been in touch with a more efficient and delightful advisor. Thank you Graham.

What made the experience great was our tour manager, Colin, & our driver Dom.

The scenery & history was everything that I thought it would be, & more in some cases, but this was because Colin adapted excursions to allow me to fully participate in the tour. He problem solved along the way with the aim of making me feel included.

I am a full-time wheelchair user & these tours work very well for me, & my Dad. You very quickly get to meet the other travellers & during this shared experience we become a tight group where we all look out for each other. They also looked out for me & were always present offering a hand when needed. I very much appreciated that.

It was quite a physically demanding tour, however, if you wanted to take things at a slower pace there is plenty of free time. Also, you're under no pressure to go on the excursions.

I would highly recommend this tour. There is plenty to see, to eat, & the hotels were good. My adapted room in each hotel suited my needs. Big shout out, again, to Colin! I can't thank him enough.

This review is relating to the holiday booking process.
I was very pleased with the booking process of our planned 2027 holiday to New Zealand, after a fair amount of research into the Saga tour content we felt with the discounts applied it represented good value for money. Annette the member of staff I spoke with at the Saga call centre provided an excellent run down on all aspects of what we will expect from the Great New Zealand Discovery tour and went into good detail to ensure I was fully appraised. My questions were answered directly by Annette or I was guided as to when the information would become available as the finer tour details would be released.
Overall a very good experience, thank you.

We were on sprit of discovery and went to Portugal, Spain and France at the end of April. Love the all inclusive with car to port and back ( shared). Service is first class. Particularly in the bars.. Entertainment was very good with something for everyone.
Several down sides however
The food was strangely variable, including in the specialty restaurants. Could be very good, particularly the steaks. And the grill restaurant for breakfast.
But we also had several meals where the food was bland or the meat or fish was dry or overcooked
Also found the Information on exersions was not really sufficient and we made a couple of bad choices. Some were too short or were not very interesting. Often better to use the free shuttle service and do your own thing unless you are worried about getting around in a strange place. Not enough time in ports however to explore very much.
Also note that despite advertising saying for over 50's the age group is mostly people on there 80's.