Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
An apology !!!!, you must be joking.....someone who consistently ****s off a company they are supposedly invested in is definitely not genuine IMO.....so you and your crony mates can go and do one. You may think you can pull the wool over peoples eyes, but it's obvious to genuine holders here what your motives are. To tell you the truth I don't even know why I am bothering to give you the time off day.
@CR888 "Where are the positives"
88,000 positives are in my bank account to date thanks to Saga and I fully intend to make a lot more positives :-) Saga will come good again IMO and if it does as I expect another significant chunk of positives will be added to my bank account.
Hi Batfasted, you should know me better :-), unfortunately I was joking. However, the government admitting yesterday their traffic light system was total crap can only be good for the travel industry IMHO. I can't imagine any future Covid restrictions on travel being readily accepted by travel companies or the general public.
Could also be related to rumours in the city RDH is taking it private :-), or possibly more likely HMG admits their travel traffic light system was a complete waste of time, hence future travel restriction chaos will hopefully be well and truly kicked into touch for the foreseeable.
RM1, sounds like you enjoyed yourself, fantastic race. Yeah, the Feelgood for Saga has definitely left the building :-) I thought I had made a big mistake selling the majority of my holding in June last year. Remaining holding is now stashed for the foreseeable future :-)
Part 2
Dear Reader,
You say you and your wife have had a couple of really difficult years owing to the pandemic, which I was sorry to hear. The cruise industry has suffered as well. For months on end, companies like Saga faced being unable to operate. Now, even though life is largely back to normal in most sectors, it still isn’t for them.
Cruise operators are at the beck and call of their corporate insurers, who will be expecting them to behave in ways that mitigate the risk of large payouts as a result of outbreaks onboard. Saga’s biggest difficulty now is balancing these demands with making its cruises enjoyable for customers and keeping them happy. It is certainly a challenge.
That said, none of this is an excuse for the way you were treated here, or for that matter, the apparently over-the-top nature of these restrictions. Wearing face masks on the dancefloor and only being allowed to observe scenery though the window of a sweaty coach? I could easily think of a thousand better ways to spend two weeks and £10,000.
Saga says its terms and conditions allow it to change its Covid policy at any time, though on this occasion it was altered on the day your cruise set sail, so you had no advance warning. This felt really unfair. This lack of notice probably explains why Saga was willing to refund you in full.
When the full refund didn’t arrive, you naturally assumed it had gone back on its word, as it had seemed to over the Covid policy. But I have established the underpayment was actually down to an “administrative error” on Saga’s part. Following my involvement, Saga apologised and quickly paid you the rest.
Saga said it really hoped you would join it for a future cruise, but you say you won’t be burned twice. I hope you and your wife manage to get away and enjoy a spot of luxury somewhere soon.
A spokesman said: “The health and safety of all our guests and crew is our number one priority. To protect everyone onboard, we reserve the right to review our protocols during periods of heightened Covid risk.”
Here you go BB (Part 1), C&P from article.
On March 29 my wife and I removed ourselves from a Saga cruise when it became apparent that its newly imposed Covid rules were, for us, unacceptable. For months we had been looking forward to this cruise, which cost nearly £10,000. In the run-up to it we were informed we would need to be tested for Covid, which we were fine with. We were told the requirements for mask wearing would be limited to walking between venues in the interior areas of the ship. We thought this seemed a little excessive, but we were willing to comply.
On the first day of the cruise the required testing was carried out quickly and we embarked with minimal fuss. We were very impressed by the facilities in our cabin. After unpacking we went out to explore the ship, dutifully wearing our masks. We were very excited at the prospect of two whole weeks of luxury.
We decided to sample the ship’s hospitality, sitting down at a table in the living room. We removed our masks as we waited to be attended to. A waiter approached us but, instead of asking for our order, requested that we put on our masks. I advised him that according to the Saga website masks were not required when seated. He said this was not the case and that we had to wear our masks until after we were served. I requested to speak to his manager, who backed up his demand. We were then introduced to the guest services director, who advised us that the mask policy was different from that described on the Saga website and contrary to what I had been told via email from the Saga after-sales team.
Had we known the true extent of the ship’s Covid policy we would have cancelled the cruise. If you stood up from a sitting position, you put your mask on. If you were sitting down without a drink in front of you, you put your mask on. If you were dancing in the Britannia Lounge, you put your mask on. The daily Covid testing was a bind as we were treated like children being herded through corridors into the testing area, and then told to retire to our cabins for up to 90 minutes.
But by far the most disappointing aspect of the holiday was being told that we would be unable to go ashore independently at any of the five ports we were stopping at. We would only be allowed ashore on buses, wearing a mask at all times. We should have been notified about this before the holiday.
My wife and I were so upset. It became obvious that unless we complied with this change in protocol we would have to leave the ship, so we decided to walk before the cruise left Southampton dock. After complaining to Saga I was promised a full refund, but received just £6,700. This was £2,500 short of what I paid. I’ve tried several times to contact Saga for an explanation, but I have had no response.
Hi Rox, still off the cigs but have the very occasional cigar as in hardly ever…..drinking a lot more water in my whiskey now :-) Regarding the insurance I know exactly what you mean but I prefer to have it as I have needed it in the past for major injury when abroad but fortunately have never needed it for house insurance but still want it for peace of mind. Health Insurance, I only ever had it prior to my retirement as it was paid for by the company I worked for but I must admit I used it for me and my family on several occasions. I definitely agree you can be over insured but being under insured is quite risky……a bit like Saga shares at the moment :-) but they will eventually come good again….the kids ISA’s will all come good :-)
Jed, have a look at this, my wife and I have used this for many years now, we are both over 60 years young, but my aches and pains don't agree :-) Both of us have Travel Insurance / Breakdown cover for a total £13/month.
https://www.nationwide.co.uk/current-accounts/flexplus/
https://www.nationwide.co.uk/current-accounts/flexplus/