smallshiprider

Thanks for the info. - I stopped checking it every day once they changed the itinerary. Windstar certainly made a mess of this one. I had also emailed them when the price increased so much, but of course never got a reply. And I don't have enough time to do the Star Collector one, even if it DID go to the Faroes. Maybe next year!

So I'll discontinue this discussion now - thanks to everyone who replied. Instead we'll stay home in the summer when the weather is nice for cycling, and are going on a river cruise instead from Prague to Berlin!

Bye.

McCrews - actually, as soon as the price escalated, I called Windstar to make sure there wasn't an error! I asked at the time (on Nov. 21st) about availability and was told that the ship was almost half full. So there were probably still lots of regular cabins left at that point.

I have been watching it every week and today that particular cruise (Faroe, Shetland & Orkney Islands) has disappeared altogether and on the one date it was available (Aug. 17, 2018 on the Breeze) a new itinerary under the name Norwegian Splendours - Edinburgh to Edinburgh - has replaced it at the same price - and is on the Breeze. I still maintain that the quoted price (which is only $500 less than the brochure price) is pretty hefty for a 7-day cruise - which now also now has 2 sea days instead of 1.

So it's a good thing I didn't book it early when the prices seemed good - as it was probably doomed to be cancelled anyway!

Got a terrible shock today when I checked the price of this cruise!!! One would think with "Black Friday" coming up, the price would at least stay the same as it has been for the last several months!

However, the lowest price went from $3,499 to $6,499 - an increase of $3,000 for a 7-night cruise! What a rip-off! For the next cabin category up the increase is $3,200 as they increased the category upcharge by $200 as well.

I called to make sure this was correct and that yesterday the price was still the $3,499 it has been for at least 4 months and all the agent could say was "well I guess you should have booked yesterday". I guess I should have, but I wouldn't have expected this kind of increase - more than 85%!!! I asked how booked it was and they said "about 1/2" - at this price, that is probably where it will stay.

:mad:

I thought that may be the case - that you are not out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean but should be fairly close to land most of the way.

We are flying to Reykjavik this evening and I was happy to see your reply.

I was on Windstar's web site the other night and they have a travel advisory about exactly this subject.

We are taking this cruise on July 22nd. Could anyone who has done one of the previous around-Iceland cruises advise if the waters were especially rough or were they OK? Thanks for any help.

I finally got an answer - the champagne and lobster is on!

Bye.

Apparently the phones at Windstar have been so busy last week that you can't reach anyone! They eventually tell you to leave a message and someone will call you. BUT THEY DON'T!! And I've done that three times!!! It must be very frustrating for people wanting to book cruises if they can't even contact anyone - and they are probably looking elsewhere.

No-one answers their email either (not even so-called Guest Relations)! I've been trying to find out if the Concierge Collection excursion I booked on the January 23rd sailing from Barbados is still on or has been cancelled. I received a final invoice which has it included, but my purchase summary on My Windstar doesn't have it included. Does anyone else know?

At this point, I guess we'll just have to wait until we board the ship to find out, and presumably our payment for this will be credited to our shipboard account.

Love travelling on Windstar ships (this will be our 5th) but their "customer service" is going down the drain!

Hi Smallshiprider, we are on Scenic Gem for its second Seine cruise, hope we don't get your butler, though I am surprised have never come across a grumpy crew member before, occasionally miffed may be. Also I quite like a long relaxed dinner especially in good company but of course not cold food.

A few questions if I may - are the windows to the balcony sliding or folding? In what way was the shower challenging? What kind of suite did you have and was it on the Diamond deck?

Thank you for your review.

 

Will write a review on our return so you can check if anything has changed as everything settles down.

The windows to the balcony are sliding with one that can be left open at the right hand side (in our room at least) so you are not constantly opening and closing them. This can be done because of the powered glass that raises to close off the balcony at the railing - so you can still sit on the balcony when it is raining.

We had a private deluxe balcony suite on the Danube deck. The showers are obviously the latest thing and have about six different settings including different colours shining through the water - some people said that their butler gave them guidance on how to use it - not ours (he was too busy giving us the rules that must be followed!). Other people also mentioned that when they went to the Portobello restaurant, after one course they had put several plates on top of each other (easier for the server, no?) but he angrily told them that was his job and to leave them alone!

Often in the morning some of the servers had hangovers as well so were not very happy - too much drinking of the wine left in the bottles at night!

We don't mind a relaxed dinner either but when you are in a port and thinking of a walk after dinner, having dinner not end till after 9:30 a.m. is a bit annoying.

Are you saying that on AMA there is more than one sitting for dinner?

 

It doesn't mention that on the website.

It's not that there is more than one sitting - it is that you are free to go to dinner at whatever time during dining room hours - we usually went between 7 and 7:30 anyway, but others showed up later and still got fed.

Scenic didn't show the dining information in their brochure either.

We just had a cruise on Scenic Gem from Basel to Amsterdam which finished last Wednesday, May 28th. The ship is lovely, but as it is so new, and probably the crew are too, there were a few problems.

You have a choice of table at dinner, but no choice of time. Our "private" grumpy, no-personality butler told us you have to be there at 7 p.m. or you may not get your appetizer as the courses are served in order all at the same time. The service is terribly slow - I don't consider 2-1/2 hours for a normal dinner to be great! You spend a lot of time waiting and the food is only mediocre - nothing special and not always hot! Their excuse was they have a small kitchen! The Table la Rive degustation dinner was wonderful though - you expect that one to take a long time. Dinner at Portobello had better food but still took up the major part of the evening! Our grumpy butler was a server and apparently just as grumpy in that job.

Ask for a tutorial on the shower - it is obviously brand new and quite complicated.

Hopefully by the time of your cruise they will have helmets to go with the bikes (as stated in their literature) - they forgot to load them on our cruise!! Not good from a safety perspective. Also, the bikes are a little touchy in accelerating so be careful after stopping -especially if you are at a traffic light!

Lunch at the River Café near the bow is nicer than in the formal dining room - you can take your food out on the bow deck if the weather is nice. A limited selection but great salad bar and usually a pasta and another hot plate, good soup, and a selection of desserts.

At breakfast, it is mostly buffet, but there are items on the menu which can be ordered directly from the kitchen - some people didn't realize this.

We have travelled on AMA as well and it seems just that bit better - even without all-inclusive drinks!

We usually take cruises on Windstar - quite a cut above Scenic - but obviously a different kind of cruising!