The Saga Sapphire is a cruising gem

From the moment we stepped aboard the Saga Sapphire, we instantly realised that we'd probably not given cruising holidays a proper chance, writes
Alan Wooding

Having previously experienced a week-long cruise aboard a 16 deck ocean giant – accompanied by more than 3,200 mainly greedy, wasteful and often rowdy passengers – when Saga Travel promised me that their ships were nothing like that, my wife and I agreed to give cruising another go.

      Saga themselves have been sending me advertising literature for holidays, car and household insurances since I reached the age of 50 and, I must admit, that like most unsolicited mail, it's ended up in the recycling bin.

      But now, a full two decades later, I've begun to realise just what I've been missing. Catering exclusively for over-50s on a much smaller ship, my five night 'Bank Holiday Escape' cruise across the English Channel to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany was a truly memorable one.

       The holiday actually started as soon as we were collected from home in a brand new chauffeur driven Mercedes Benz. Then arriving refreshed some three hours later at the cruise terminal in Dover, it's just part of Saga's impressive, no-nonsense attention to detail.

      There were plenty of porters on hand once we arrived while check-in was made very easy, Saga's on-shore staff being super efficient with most appearing to be of pensionable age!

      Entering the ship's reception area on deck 7, there is a striking metallic fish sculpture – supposedly they're herrings – one of which has a secret red eye, although you need to go down a deck to find it.

      We were checked into spacious outside cabin 

Food and drink

With 50 chefs and 20 auxiliary staff under the watchful eye of executive chef, Cornishman George Streeter, attention to detail in the ship's menu preparation is truly amazing.

      "I've been with Saga for 15 years," said George. "We're very proud of the quality of the food that we prepare and our guests appreciate it. Overall we produce around 3,000 meals a day and with all the cakes, snacks and late night bites, we're always kept pretty busy."

      Naturally the Sapphire offers a traditional Sunday roast while sweets like bread and butter pudding also find their way onto what is always a very extensive menu.

      And if you fancy a minute steak for breakfast – as one particular passenger did on most days! – it's provided without extra charge. The wine certainly flows freely at both lunch and dinner with a choice of quality reds and whites or a delicious rosé.

      The main Pole To Pole restaurant on deck 7 can seat around 600 diners, two sides having ocean views, while there are four themed areas featuring four continents: Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. It's fine dining at its very best with some wonderful menus and choices to suit every pallet.

      Saga's chefs also cater for both vegetarians and vegans while you can also chose your seating arrangements as there is both buffet or

full service dining at pre-reserved tables. In the 64-seater East to West Restaurant on deck 9, you'll enjoy a fusion of true Asian cuisine; Indian, Thai and spicy Sri Lankan.

On board entertainment and ship's facilities

Without a proper theatre, all the major entertainment and floor shows take place in the swish Britannia Lounge although with all the seating on the same level, viewing for some could be a little difficult. However the standard of the shows was very good.

     The eight members of the resident Explosive Singers and Dancers – four singers, four dancers – were excellent as were their fabulous costumes. In fact the Mersey Beat Legends and the Piano Magic show were of the highest order and featured popular music from the 60s, 70s and 80s.

      Also on board were Jack Pack, a four piece vocal group in the Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Michael Buble mould. They rose to fame following their television debut on Britain's Got Talent and they performed two outstanding shows which was perfect for Saga's clientele age group.

      The four lads also admitted to eating far more than they usual would while praising the Sapphire's catering staff for producing menus of the highest order. They were also more than happy to mix with the passengers over a drink or three!

      All the shows featured the five accomplished musicians who make up the Saga Orchestra. If you wanted something a little quieter, then Cooper's Bar (named after legendary British comic Tommy Cooper), usually had organist Milan Jasek performing classic songs and tunes. And for jazz fans, the spacious Drawing Room on deck 11 offered late night entertainment (and food) courtesy of both the Saga Orchestra and talented duo, Melange.

      There's plenty of live music and dancing with two resident male hosts for the majority of single ladies… but I didn't spot any female hosts for the odd single gents! Meanwhile quieter lounge areas are numerous along with an academy computer and learning centre, three well-stocked bars and a huge library.

      The Sapphire also has a hairdressers and beauty salon adjacent to the indoor swimming pool on deck 2, three shops and a photo gallery

 while there is even a paid for laundry service and free Wi-Fi. The electricity supply uses both UK and European plugs. For activity minded passengers, there are two swimming pools, an aqua spa, steam room and a gymnasium plus a St Andrew's crazy golf course and Club House games room.

      Six laps around deck 11 equated to one mile which proved very popular with many guests while for others, just relaxing beside the outdoor pool or sitting on the Verandah deck at the rear of the ship covered by a rug, reading or simply watching the vessel's wake was all that they wanted.

      A variety of shops sell the usual duty free goods – drinks, perfume, jewelry and souvenirs – while there is a resident ship's photographer whose gallery is located on deck 8 just behind the shops.

On Sunday morning there was an interdenominational church service led by Canon Barry Lomax, a retired minister from Dorset.

      For those who wished it, he also took holy communion. The hour long service itself was preceded by hymns sung by the ship's Filipino choir made up of officers, waiters and cabin staff.

On shore

excursions

Belgium – Ypres, In Flanders Fields

Having docked at Berth 103 in Zeebrugge's vast harbour, Saga's guests had a choice of four different shore excursions; Bruges, Loppem Castle & Damme, Romantic Bruges and our choice, Ypres, in Flanders Fields.

      After a 60 minute coach journey we arrive at the village of Zonnebeke where we visited Tyne Cot, the largest of the Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries. It was named by the British troops who said the area reminded them of countryside around their Tyneside homes.

       It's a vast site where almost 12,000 white Portland headstone stand in regimented rows, blood red roses and poppy wreaths adding a splash of colour by way of contrast.

      Close to Tyne Cot's central memorial cross are the graves of two German soldiers while the youngest British soldiers to perish were just 15 years of age.

       Walking alongside the sweeping stone-built graveyard wall, you see the names of some 34,957 missing soldiers who fell at the Battle of Passchendaele – also known as the Third Battle of Ypres – which commenced on the last day of July 1917 in torrential rain.

      After 100 days of bitter fighting in truly atrocious conditions on what became known as the Ypres Salient, the British troops had advanced just eight kilometres.          The Commonwealth lost more than half a million men, those losses equally mirrored by the opposing German armed forces, many of whom are buried at the nearby Langemark Military Cemetery.

     From Tyne Cot, we made the short journey to the pretty Belgian town of Ypres which was totally destroyed during the Great War.

      However the magnificent Cloth Hall and other central buildings around its cobbled market square have all been painstakingly reconstructed and today Ypres resembles a typical medieval city centre.

      The restored Cloth Hall – used as a projection backdrop in last month's televised Centenary Commemoration Concert attended by members of our own Royal family – houses the magnificent          In Flanders Fields Museum while behind it stands St George's Memorial Church.
      However the town's best known monument is the imposing Menin Gate on which are engraved 54,896 names of British and Commonwealth soldiers who lost their lives on the Ypres Salient.

      Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield then built and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, it was only lack of space on this giant memorial that Tyne Cot's wall had to be constructed to accommodate the names of almost 35,000 men whose names had been missed.

      Unfortunately we had to leave Ypres and return to the Saga Sapphire well before four buglers from the town's Voluntary Fire Brigade play the Last Post every night at 8pm as a tribute to the fallen. That tradition goes back exactly 90 years to when construction of the Menin Gate was finally completed and was unveiled on the 24th July 1927.

      As with all on shore visits by coach, as a nice touch on the return journey saw a Saga representative come round and hand out the Werther's Originals.