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But can't get a refund unless they cancel so have to wait until then. If the flight to Edinburgh goes best I can do is cancel the day before and get a credit. We were splurging on business class and flying home from Sweden so it was not minimal! Points Guy advising people to wait for the airline to make the move!  We are running out of travel years because of age but hoping something works out! The plan was to be out of Florida in the worst of the summer. At least we are well and healthy and that's what is really important!

Would have loved to see you again new_cruiser. I had everything all planned out, guides, hotels, etc. Now I can only hope Delta cancels our flights so we can get actual $$ back instead of credits. We're still considering Greece and Turkey in October but won't make a decision until 30 days out. My hunch on the Surf and Star is that they have a good place to hide out from hurricane season in case they don't make it to Europe this summer. Many ports still closed so they might as well just stay in a safe port on this side of the Atlantic. If nothing else shakes out we'll be onboard in the Caribbean!

52 minutes ago, new_cruiser said:

 

Windstar extended their suspension of cruises to 6/30 - currently the first cruises are the ones that start in July. I was booked on the Wind Surf 6/30 cruise (just the 10 days, not the Cruise Collector) but cancelled it when final payment became due. I hadn't booked air yet and couldn't get into making plans for a trip that was so likely to be cancelled.

 

The 7/10 sailing is still showing. With things so uncertain, it may make more sense to keep the ship in the Caribbean until they have a better idea of when cruising will restart.

Our 6/30 cruise that included the Baltic 7/10 was cancelled but that could be because it was Edinburgh as a embarkation point. Not sure what the airlines are going to be doing by then and what ports will be open. 

Our 6/30 cruise that included the Baltic 7/10 was cancelled but that could be because it was Edinburgh as a embarkation point. Not sure what the airlines are going to be doing by then and what ports will be open. 

42 minutes ago, ridethetide said:

Panama is a safe place to hang out during hurricane season.

Exactly! Wonder about Europe.

Panama? Interesting.  We so want to be on one soon!

That's the Pride next to her and the Star is there too! Wonder if they'll go to Europe this summer or just wait there for the winter season. Of course we have hurricane season coming up June 1st! Link to the port below.

https://www.portstmaartenwebcam.com/

That's the Pride next to her and the Star is there too! Wonder if they'll go to Europe this summer or just wait there for the winter season. Of course we have hurricane season coming up June 1st!

Ready to go visit her in SXM!

Cruises will be a challenge worldwide.  Hoping that they will all be in business again soon but think it will take a long time for the fear of being stuck at sea to go away. We have two ships off the coast of Florida that cannot offload passengers in any port and have dead bodies onboard.  It certainly gives us pause about going anywhere anytime soon.

I noticed the same on their website. It only stands to reason as 2 ships are tied up in Italy with work halted and the Legend is in San Juan and probably not moving anytime soon. I haven't seen anything about exactly what the cruise lines are getting from the bailout so it's possible they don't need to sail to stay whole and weather this. Hope that it all turns out okay for them and the sailing public! The important thing right now is to stay well so we can travel again!

Really, we tried to keep the reservation with the small deposit so we could make a decision 30 days out but that was no allowed as an option. If final payment was not made 4/1 they would automatically cancel. So it was pay another $13,000 for a cruise that probably won't happen (9 countries in 20 days) or get the small deposit back as a FCC. No reason to turn over that money now that I could see. If it turns out that things are back to normal and Europe is open we can book then. What I'm not canceling is air as the better deals there are when the flights get cancelled by the carrier which I fully anticipate will happen. Hopefully Greece will go as booked in October.  I can't go a year without Windstar! 

Hmm. See what you mean. It may just be the way someone worded it without thinking it through. We just cancelled our June 30th and will use the deposit for another cruise. They could not have been any nicer.  Have Greece & Turkey booked for October so will apply it to that if the world calms down by then. We were there on Surf last year and loved it so much that booked again this year. 

29 minutes ago, RemPuck said:

With life as we know it changing by the minute, I know that there’s no way to know what things will be like later this summer.  But we are approaching a point where we need to make some decisions and I’m wondering what others are doing.

 

We are booked on the August 2^nd Star Breeze sailing from Seward to Vancouver.  I’ve created our own pre-cruise trip including time in Denali (which is already paid).  I’ve also arranged one non-ship excursion in Hoonah (whale watching, also paid).  At this point, it appears that I can get full refunds for both of these.  Our flights were booked with miles and I should be able to cancel/change without too much impact.

 

Even before COVID-19, the Star Breeze renovation delays were becoming a concern.  I know early summer Alaska trips had been impacted (and other spring trips cancelled) and I was already wondering if ours would get hit.  Now throw in the virus as well as Canada’s restrictions (the Star Breeze is literally on the borderline of eligibility with a new total capacity of 500-502, passengers plus crew).  To that end, while final payment is not due until May 3, we reach 120 days on April 4^th; that’s the date when cancellation penalties begin.

 

Part of me really wants to wait through April to see how things progress.  However, I really don’t want to lose my full deposit.  I do know that Windstar’s Assurance program has an opportunity to cancel 15 before the cruise for a FCC, but there are a lot of restrictions on the credit, like SAILING within one year of cancellation.  (There’s a similar Alaska itinerary in early August 2021 we could take, but that would be close to 13 months after we’d cancel.)

 

I’m sure we’re not alone with cruises in the summer with final payments coming due in the next 4-6 weeks.  What are others doing?

 

Stay safe.

They extended the rebook to 12/31/2021 so if you make final payment the 2021 date would be covered and I think Alaska is a pretty safe bet. We have a final payment due in a few days for end of June/July with many different countries involved. Not sure we want to pony up a chunk of money for an itinerary that probably won't happen. 

There is also the Gulf Coast of the US. Calm waters and some very lovely and interesting ports.  I often dream of seeing a Windstar trip going under the Skyway Bridge. New Orleans-Tampa- Naples-Key West. 

For those of you not on Facebook,  thought I'd share a post from Windstar. Please let this encourage you to donate to your local food pantry.  Ours are out of perishables and the additional numbers of people coming in for assistance is growing each day.

Today we've donated seven pallets of fresh produce and dairy to Feeding South Florida in Pembroke Park, near Miami, Florida. 

The pallets of fresh produce and dairy were bound for our 342-guest motor sailing yacht Wind Surf in the Caribbean. With our ships temporarily ceasing operations due to the coronavirus, we reached out to find an organization in Florida that could accept the perishable food donation worth $8,000.

Safe travels. How sad. I thought the crew was staying on for maintenance.  I worry about them financially. 

16 minutes ago, wripro said:

I don't think the US will be any safer than Europe within the next couple of weeks.

Totally agree but they didn't ask me! Viking ceasing operations is an indicator of what's to come. We are not cancelling either cruise yet but they may not happen.

We have learned to stay a night or two in SXM after cruise to get out earl morning.  Agree, that airport departure area is a total nightmare. Our preference now is San Juan or Barbados. 

15 hours ago, Barrycat said:

The Legend has left its anchorage in Lisbon and is on its was to Palermo with a scheduled arrival date of March 12 at 7:00.

i doubt that this indicates any progress on the Breeze with an imminent complete date but it’s something.

With the recently released State Department warning suggesting that cruise ships should be avoided, the out of service status of the Breeze and Legend and the upcoming dry dock for the Spirit may turn out to be well timed. 
This is all a shame

Yes it is both good timing and a shame. I heard the State Department statement about not going on cruise ships and took it more to mean that port countries may be a problem and people might not be able to get off than anything to do with illness. Maybe WS should consider new US based itineraries this summer. Start the New England/Canada season early, look at Florida west coast, Gulf of Mexico,  New Orleans.  More west coast. I don't know the logistics but would certainly try to keep 3 ships full by moving them out of Europe this summer. If they leave from US, stay in US ports, etc. it could work. 

We are truly rooting for this to calm down quickly and hope the travel industry survives what I believe is a total overreaction on the part of the media. Maybe a royal divorce would divert attention! In all seriousness,  I worry about the crews being let go. These are lovely people who have served us all so well and not having jobs would be financially devastating to them, their families and countries.  If travel is deemed safe we will be on board.

Congratulations on the new house. Timing is everything...

I wash my hands carefully before leaving my cabin and do not use the stations. They destroy my skin. Not using the stations is not a sign that hands are not clean. I also carry my own sanitizer that is not as harsh as the commercial one they use. It's not feasible for every server to wear gloves and if they are touching more than one person's plates, they would have to continually change gloves. 

Yes heard this and hope it is not a death knell for the cruise industry. Hopefully this is a huge overreaction and things will settle down but they, cruise lines in general, may not make it. We have final payment due for end of June sailing.  We still want to go but not sure I want to part with 12k. Hopefully they will change final payment policy to a 15 or 30 day window which will give us more time to see what transpires. They have got to be struggling to deal with this moving target. 

4 minutes ago, SecretFruity said:

They better not charge my card for the final payment on March 14 (coming up fast) unless we get some answers here. I see red flags and I agree they better get their act together and get transparent quickly. Wouldn’t you think they are reading these posts?  

To the best of my knowledge they do not keep your credit card number on file so nothing to worry about there. Have you called them to get a direct answer to your questions?

We have many friends who are "loyal" to other lines and hear about their free wifi, free drinks,  OBC's, cabin upgrades, etc. In MHO,  the person who has had 25 cruises should get more of a perk than the person who just took their first cruise.  It's nice to be appreciated. And we do love the hugs from crew.  Just ran into a waiter in the Panama airport who remembered us by name and gave us big hugs. Maybe not so smart during a health "crisis" but very welcome indeed.