Windstar's Archaic & Annoying Booking Process

Does anyone else find Windstar's booking process archaic and highly inconvenient, to the point of extreme frustration?

Saturday afternoon I found a great airfare to San Juan, so after looking at possible cruise options, I submitted a request for a quote from Windstar. The other cruise lines I am also considering (Princess and Celebrity) allowed me to get pricing information online in minutes without needing to speak to an agent.

Despite in my message indicating that I was out of town and would like a quote emailed to me, I received three phone calls from their appointed travel agency over a few hours. It took another email from me, again stating my preference for an email quote, to get a response from a different agent. She had not been given any of the details I had submitted online. After sending the details to her, she got back to me a couple of hours later...with a quote for the wrong cruise! Not only was it the wrong cruise, but she also did not offer the total price (just the rate provided on the Windstar website), vaguely adding that port charges and taxes would be extra. She also provided no information about the required deposit and due date of the final payment. I followed up immediately, but hours later she still had not responded with the information I asked for.

The airfare, of course, increased dramatically while I was waiting for her response, so I gave up and sent another email asking her to cancel my request. She responded to that one quickly enough, stating (I am sure sarcastically) she would be happy to do so, adding: "That is why it is nice to touch bases [sic] by phone to talk with client [sic] for the first time instead of back and forth by email. When you are talking about a special experience you want it to be perfect."

I don't really think a simple 7 day Caribbean cruise is all that "special", so I don't see why I had to speak with an agent live on the phone, just so she could deliver her canned script, in order to get a simple price quote.

Needless to say, I will not be booking a cruise with Windstar. :mad:

Does anyone else find Windstar's booking process archaic and highly inconvenient, to the point of extreme frustration?

 

Saturday afternoon I found a great airfare to San Juan, so after looking at possible cruise options, I submitted a request for a quote from Windstar. The other cruise lines I am also considering (Princess and Celebrity) allowed me to get pricing information online in minutes without needing to speak to an agent.

 

Despite in my message indicating that I was out of town and would like a quote emailed to me, I received three phone calls from their appointed travel agency over a few hours. It took another email from me, again stating my preference for an email quote, to get a response from a different agent. She had not been given any of the details I had submitted online. After sending the details to her, she got back to me a couple of hours later...with a quote for the wrong cruise! Not only was it the wrong cruise, but she also did not offer the total price (just the rate provided on the Windstar website), vaguely adding that port charges and taxes would be extra. She also provided no information about the required deposit and due date of the final payment. I followed up immediately, but hours later she still had not responded with the information I asked for.

 

The airfare, of course, increased dramatically while I was waiting for her response, so I gave up and sent another email asking her to cancel my request. She responded to that one quickly enough, stating (I am sure sarcastically) she would be happy to do so, adding: "That is why it is nice to touch bases [sic] by phone to talk with client [sic] for the first time instead of back and forth by email. When you are talking about a special experience you want it to be perfect."

 

I don't really think a simple 7 day Caribbean cruise is all that "special", so I don't see why I had to speak with an agent live on the phone, just so she could deliver her canned script, in order to get a simple price quote.

 

Needless to say, I will not be booking a cruise with Windstar. :mad:

This is exactly why I use my Travel Agent. I just send a "Hi, we want to be booked on xxx" email, and within a couple hours he's made a tentative booking and sends me the details, right down to cabin number. Done.

It is difficult to get an accurate quote that includes all taxes, etc. via email from anyone, IME. Windstar is/was having a flash sale, so I'm sure their agents were busy the last few days. I wish cruiseline webpages were like airline webpages; they should show the total price.

I never used to use a TA, but now have one, and I let him deal with this. I can communicate with him by email and he can get through to the cruise line much quicker than I can.

Windstar agents can be difficult to deal with; you can speak to thre different people and get three different stories. I have a booking on a cruise that was included in the before mentioned flash sale. I emailed my TA and asked him to check if I could get a price reduction under Windstar's new price assurance policy. Windstar told him no, new pricing was for new bookings only.

I sent him information regarding the price policy and a link to the flash sale, neither of which stated this sale was for new bookings only. He called Windstar again, and I did get a cabin upgrade, which on the Wind Star means you move up a deck.

So, I'd agree that having a TA can be the way to go to cut down on frustration.

Out of curiosity, this morning I emailed a price request to *************.com, and I got all the information I needed sent to me in less than 10 minutes. Not sure why "Susan" from Windstar was not able to do the same thing. lol

I agree it could be better but...on the one hand you're dealing with a company whose capacity is 1200 people on all of its ships combined. On the mass market lines like Princess or Celebrity, there is not even one ship that small.

So they're a bit quirky, but the overall experience for me at least is so much better that I will never travel on one of the giant ships again.

It would be very easy to put the WS information online. Many cruise lines even have real time cabin availability online. Yes it would take some investment in IT but it would make things so much easier.......especially since WS does not have that many travel agencies that book them.

Having just booked the Wind Surf I have to agree the process was a bit much - I prefer direct booking with cruiseline and seeing cabin availability etc.,

We finally booked with a large on-line agency and although our agent was very new he really went above and beyond to get us info etc.

On both our Wind Star cruises I have called Wind Star direct and always gotten a very helpful person who could tell me what cabins were available and what my total cost would be for the cruises we were interested in. Emails have always taken a bit longer to answer. Is there a reason you didn't want to call them direct to get an answer right away?

I got the email with the flash sale offers. It listed the prices. The taxes were extra. I selected some possible sailings. Called Windstar directly on Sunday and spoke to a good rep who told me the cabin availability and the cost of the taxes. Call was quickly answered. It was nice compared to the big cruise lines that put you on hold forever. Monday I called my travel agent who did the booking and also gave me some OBC. It was also nice to get past guest discounts.

Airfare prices do change. I tend to book the cruise and then look for air. If the air price looks good, I'll buy. If not, I'll wait using an airfare watch program to monitor fare changes. I've saved a lot of money this way. I did buy air for the cruise that I booked for next spring. Rt nonstop fare from USA to Europe for less than $1000 is a good price.

Good luck with your travel plans. Relax. If you miss one deal, there is always something else that comes along.

Although I love Windstar cruises, the Seattle office is not their strong suit. I have had great difficulty with them in multiple instances. I use a travel agent to book my trips with them and always have a good result. Plus she often throws in something for us - a bottle of wine, some type of credit, whatever. I like having a travel agency (most are part of a larger consortium) to handle things if there is ever an issue about something.

It would be very easy to put the WS information online. Many cruise lines even have real time cabin availability online. Yes it would take some investment in IT but it would make things so much easier.......especially since WS does not have that many travel agencies that book them.

Your comments are correct, with one exception. Travel agents will generally book anything you request. I know of no travel agent who would not book Windstar. When you are looking for an ocean cruise company with small ships (150-350) and a travel agent does not at least suggest (if not recommend) Windstar, they do not know their business. I would look for another travel agent.

A good travel agent means you should never need to deal with this type of issue again. If you are not getting this quality of service, I would look for a new travel agent.