Sailing with Saga is a welcome break
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Just back from a Baltic cruise on Saga’s new ship Pearl
II.
It was its inaugural voyage from Dover and stopped at Travemunde
in Germany, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg and
Tallinn, Estonia. It continued to several other destinations after
we disembarked and flew home.
You have to hand it to the Folkestone-based financial services
and holiday company. The service is first-class. Couples love it,
but it is ideal for single people as well as those with a
disability. There could hardly be a more suitable break for them,
with the crew always on hand to help, carry a wheelchair and do
whatever is necessary.
This was the Saga Pearl II’s inaugural voyage from Dover. It is
a smallish ship that carries around 400 passengers and 300 crew. On
board, it seems large, but up against the massive cruise ships
coming into service worldwide, it is a minnow. Its clientele would
probably hate the big ships which carry thousands. One person who
had tried a big ship said it was 'like walking down Oxford Street.'
Far from the madding crowd, it was not.
Saga Pearl II proved something of a celebrity in Germany where
it used to be based and called the Astoria. The German public knew
the ship well from television appearances as a German 'dreamboat.'
A film crew boarded at the Kiel Canal to record the changes made by
a £20m refit in a Swansea shipyard.
Saga uses local produce wherever possible, from Kent and the
places where it stops. Shepherd Neame’s Spitfire ale is available
in Shackleton’s Bar.
With the average age of a Saga Pearl II passenger 69, Saga’s
marketing challenge is to attract younger over-50s. Its
separately-branded Spirit of Adventure cruise ship does just that,
with over 21s encouraged aboad. But even there, the average age is
61. It is considering buying a new ship to develop the younger
people message.
With 21 million people over 50 - a figure set to grow to 25
million over the next few years - the demographic is with Saga.
Attracting new customers will help create more jobs in Folkestone.
Saga already employs more than 3,000 in the county, including a
call centre in Thanet.
It should be able to further exploit that huge potential
customer base but somehow it needs to overcome some stereotype
images. Saga passengers are far from gaga. You could hardly find a
more intelligent, interesting and friendly bunch of people.
Disney is not the only byword for excellent customer service.
Saga is up there with the best - well beyond the best in many ways
- and Kent should be proud it is one of their own.
Tuesday, May 25 2010
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