sb44

14 hours ago, CanadianKate said:

For now, I'm following this topic on Cruise Critic:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2722198-strong-earthquake-strikes-puerto-rico-damage-reported/

 

I'm to arrive 3 days early. I set that up so if there were weather delays, I'd be fine. Now I'm worried about shortages of potable water and electricity. For once, I'm hoping for a weather delay. 

(I also still don't have insurance for this cruise because I'm still working out the cost of new trip so I can find out from the insurance company how much I'm out of pocket for the cancelled cruise in order to put in my claim to Windstar for uncovered costs. Hopefully, that will get settled in the next day or two and if the cruise embarkation point changes, the trip insurance will cover the costs of those new flights, since my flights to San Juan are non-refundable.) 

Even with non refundable tickets the airlines are pretty good about allowing changes in the case of a natural disaster.  This is certainly a wait and see but I think San Juan can manage it as they are on the other side of the island. Those poor people just can't catch a break.

On 1/1/2020 at 6:46 PM, LewiLewi said:

We are doing a TA as well as a Caribbean cruise on the Legend; we will be sailing for 22 days, from San Juan to Lisbon, Portugal.

We enjoy sea days very much. I hope that there will be some activity during the day, but am not counting on it. They do have a library, and that will be fine.

We have been in several cabins on that deck, all lovely and all quiet. As for motion, you are really midship and should not be bothered by motion unless seas are unusually rough. We love being rocked to sleep. The library is not extensive so you might want to load up your kindle. Enjoy and welcome to Windstar.  We've enjoyed each and every cruise.

I check them regularly, before each booking, as the ones important to me are the ones that deal with travel insurance and they have remained the same. I am retired from the insurance business so I'm pretty careful about reviewing this coverage on a regular basis. The rest of the stuff like retail price protection, etc., is just fluff. It's their travel insurance and miles that keep me tied to this particular card. 

It was a comment in response to another post. Sorry if you were offended.

Nothing would make me give up the Chase card. We use the travel insurance that comes with it and have saved thousands in the six years we've had it. I always wondered about their claims and had the "opportunity " to make 2 claims this year. They paid to the nickel. We purchase an emergency medical & evacuation plan annually from another company for $240 that covers both of us. Chase is the best credit card deal on the planet if you travel a great deal.

My business instinct is that it will be loyalty perks which is pretty standard in the industry.  Complimentary things that we now pay for like internet hours, maybe some excursion, drinks, upgrades, not discounts on fares. But it's all conjecture! We shall see what the new year brings! And a Happy New Year to all!

15 hours ago, baldtomato said:

 

Hi Spanky - THANKS a big bunch for the info!

I keep seeing people mention Bahia Drake, and Jaco, but I think we might have slightly different ports - you had more ports that the schedule that I'm looking at.  😅

 

We have 1 overnight at Balboa but don't really arrive till 10 pm, so that doesn't really count as a "two day" port.  Fortunately, my last minute air options are forcing us to arrive early enough to have 2 full days in town before embarkation.  I'm debating whether to do the hop-on-hop-off bus for 48 hours (and see Casco Viejo, Bio museum, the Miraflores locks and the associated info center...?   and/or  even the Gatun lake area), versus hire a driver for one of the two days (and spend the other day lounging at the hotel pool and/or shopping in that gigantic Albrook mall).  Depends on the weather I guess.  By the time we hit Balboa (port), we would have gotten Panama City out of our systems so I plan to focus on the Emberas village for the actual excursion. 

I took a look at the lead provided upstairs by NewCruiser (THANKS!) - Embaras Village Tours, http://www.emberavillagetours.com/,   but seems like they are even more expensive "per head" than WS Shore-ex.  but then i might be comparing apples to oranges?   not sure if the private one has some extra stuff that WS Shore-ex doesn't include.

 

Right before Isla Parida, we have a total "At Sea" day - perhaps that's how we end up missing Bahia Drake!?  Did you guys have an "At Sea" day (not counting the full day Canal transit)?

 

then the next port is Jimenez which i don't see you mention - did you guys not go there?  That's where the ship sells a chocolate tour

Golfo Dulce: Chocolate Farm - A Sweet Experience  $139 - 4 hours - Approximate Tour Departure 8:45 AM • $139.00

that i don't really see anyone else on CC mentioning - i have a sweet-toothed daughter so i think this might be the highlight of HER trip, LOL!   If i could get away with self-arranging this one, i would be ecstatic... probably save me half the cost, I suspect.

 

The next is Quepos and Manual Antonio National park, from 7 am to 6pm.  My tentative plan is this - get off the ship and figure out how to make our own way to the Park (probably taxi... at the pier?!) - pay entrance per person and then hire a guide on the spot.  That sounds like a total USD 150 exercise (taxi plus return, $15 x4, plus $40?) - as opposed to $400 if i were to book a private tour for 4 people for the park ($99 x4).  At least I know I won't have to book this with WS at all, even if we were to splurge to get a private 4 people tour.

Afternoon of Quepos - Aim to get back to pier by noon (from Manual Antonio morning), eat a light lunch and then meet up with a zipline tour I just booked (Iguana Tours - they advertise double cable lines but sounds like they have fewer "zips" than some other competitors.... anyone got any feedback on that?).  So that would be a double activity day.

 

And then disembarkation day - booked the 8-in-1 with Gio.  That's the easiest one to decide, and economical too.  I'm now trying to figure out what hotel to stay in at San Jose, any suggestions? -🙏  we fly out at 0630h the next day so we'll only really be in the hotel for a few hours, after Gio drops us off at the hotel before dinner time...  Although we'll be using the room at midnight so i doubt any hotel will give us a "day" stay rate.  We only need a clean, safe, not too out of the way place to stay (and for the kids to shower...) , not needing luxury for the few hours before a 3 legged flight back home.

 

Any help is appreciated - thank you everyone, this has been a very very awesome thread.  Thanks for helping out someone who's a little overwhelmed coz she booked a cruise trip a mere 8 days before flying.... and that 8 days include Christmas eve and new years eve!  😮 😆

 

Baldtomato

 

My 2 cents on the chocolate tour. We did this on a day that was crazy hot. Everyone was exhausted from the heat, including the guides. I had portable battery operated fans that are hung around the neck. Other people on tour were asking to buy them. That was in April right at the end of the tourist season. It should be somewhat cooler now but wear something that you will be comfortable in and maybe a cool neck towel.

Food has been seriously good for last 2 years. My only complaint, which I wrote to Seattle about a couple of years ago, was some temperatures were not safe. Interesting that right after that the next 4 o 5 cruises food steaming hot. So proof that they do listen. Enjoy the Spirit.  It was our first ship!

4 hours ago, ducklite said:

I'm glad to hear the coffee has gotten better--that was one major disappointment when we sailed on the Surf in 2012.  I drank tea for two weeks, because the coffee should have been sent to the brig for crimes against humanity.

The key to the coffee is getting it from the yacht club. The coffee in the dining room is better than it was but the yacht club coffee is always the best.

There are a few things I prefer to wash by hand so I bring a microfiber long hair towel to roll wet items before I hang them to dry. It take out huge amount of moisture so drying is quicker. I also use it after I rinse bathing suits. Mine is Aquis from Amazon. Things don't dry as quickly on the Surf as the motors. I think different ac systems and we're on Surf a lot so I've developed my own little quirky routines and things I bring! 

I love people who make lemonade! There is nothing to be gained by being angry other than a likely shortened life span which means fewer cruises. Windstar IS a small company which means all phones will be tied up for several weeks, and a small staff for cabin assignments which means not everyone can be rebooked in a week. And each person or couple are dealing with their own needs as far as vacation time, family plans, etc., but a good attitude will make it all the easier. The airfares are, of course, the biggest problem because most airlines are basically inflexible unless they are the ones causing chaos, and even then they are not very accommodating.  As I see it with airfare and Windstar, the inflexibility of the airlines is the biggest out of pocket expense that is at risk. That's probably where I would take the offer of rebooking in order to get nonrefundable money reimbursed.  And yes, time to do it all is a real pain. All travel is totally skewed to the benefit of the common carrier. It would be nice to have it on a "friendlier" basis so when we, the traveling public, need to change our plans, we are not penalized. 

We were on QM2 6 years ago. The laundry rooms were on each deck.  People were fighting over machines, throwing laundry out of washers or dryers onto the floor if the person it belonged to wasn't instantly there and fights over the ironing boards! This week we decided against a river and land cruise because laundry was offered once in 27 days! One of the very best things on Windstar is the laundry service! 

$1.00 a day more to the crew will certainly not break anyone's wallet. We enjoy what is always an excellent product so we will continue to sail with Windstar. Yes, the refit schedule was overly optimistic. Fortunately it did not impact us personally but it seems as if they are doing their best to accommodate passengers. They were very accommodating when our cruise was cancelled due to a hurricane. As for their attempt to get years of records up to date to give something to loyal passengers, they certainly were not required to do this, were they? Your decision of whether or not to continue as a customer is yours alone.  We look forward to an upcoming 23 days on the Surf. The 7 for 7's have some great pricing so we extended our annual 14 day Caribbean and are really looking forward to seeing our "crew friends" as well as old passenger friends.

If you have been reading posts on this site for quite some time you will realize that Strenz is a lovely person who would rather not bash another line publicly.  She has never wasted my time. There was a time when people could converse without nastiness. The message was be careful about river cruises if you are used to sea cruises.  Simply that, nothing else, and trying to be kind. I believe the cruise line is Viking and I have had friends with nightmares about this and other river cruises.  They are a different animal and she was simply trying to say that in as nice a way as possible. 

6 minutes ago, r&rd said:

Having been sailing with Windstar since 1997 they were missing 20 cruises and 150 days - but with 4 different owners and lots of changes, I am just happy they are trying to get things in order. It will be interesting to see what they put in place to make it worth all the time and energy everyone has to go through to re create records.

I give them great marks for trying to get the record straight. Having been on the end of acquisitions with bad records furnished by other parties, I understand how difficult this can be. No, everyone doesn't keep all of their room keys, itineraries   etc., but my bet is most do.  And if it turns out that we can get free onboard perks, all the better than it's been before.

If you saw John Delaney's answer to Yacht Club loyalty rewards question, he said they were trying to get a program in place by year end. I didn't take the letter to mean anything more than they are reaching out to try and get their records to reflect accurate information.  I think they understand that it's a big task and give them credit for the effort. This company has changed hands a few times and in many sales and acquisitions, old records get lost in the shuffle. Add to that a change in software a few years ago. If the time of year is wrong because of the holdidays, I believe they will allow updates after the new year.  And the letter doesn't ask for specifics to be submitted although I imagine large discrepancies might be questioned.  Our first Windstar cruise was 2013 and they were spot on other than a two day discrepancie. Friends who cruised going way back are the ones who received really bad numbers and will undoubtedly get it fixed in due time.

On 12/11/2019 at 1:04 PM, milepig said:

This might seen like an odd post, but as a multi-year Windstar fan (even though I'm not ashamed to point out things when they drop the ball) we're looking at possible river cruises, and my ideal would be something in the same niche as Windstar - in terms of, well, everything - typical traveler, great staff, good food, laid back. Not stuffy.

 

Any comments on which river cruise line a Windstar loyalist would love?

As an update received a quote from Scenic yesterday for a 27 day Zurich to Amsterdam cruise and land tour in Switzerland.  "All Inclusive". Expensive but billed as first class and again, all Inclusive.  We almost made the reservation then asked for list of hotels on land portion. 3 to 4 star at best. Then read a notice about the laundry. They do it one time in 27 days during the onboard part and on land the hotel will provide at listed hotel rates! That was the deal breaker for me. It's the little things in life and I do not want to travel for a month and worry about how to wash and iron!

At least they had my husband and I at the same numbers so that was a good thing. Would hate to think he had another woman onboard! It was off on the numbers though so will make a correction on the form and return. The Star Collectors are considered one cruise where they used to be b2b and count as 2 or b2b2b as 3. I think the number of days has become more important than number of cruises. That's how Cunard counts. The real counting issue are the cruises prior to current ownership and current software. I give them credit for at least trying to get the records in order. It had to be a big effort to at least get this far and make a good faith effort to update everyone. John Delaney has done more for this company the last couple of years than all the previous CEO's combined. Can't wait to see the stretches and get on the Surf in 30 days!

Anyone been on Scenic? Looking at their partnership with National Geographic.

We tip all of our guides and drivers. Amount varies by type and length of tour but most of our tours are private and tip around 10%. In Caribbean we tip in US Dollars which is preferred. Even on French and Dutch islands the guides prefer USD. In Europe we always tip in Euros. In the UK we tip in Pounds. Tipping has changed over the years and is now expected in Europe and UK. Generally 20% in the US, Caribbean and 10% overseas where somewhat of a living wage is paid in the service industry.  Cabin stewards $50 -$70 a week. Other crew based on relationships.  We have some who take care of us every year on cruises, know what we eat, drink, etc. If we can afford a cruise we can be generous with people who are away from home for 9 months. They are working for money, not because they enjoy leaving their countries and their families for 3/4 of each year. 

On 11/16/2019 at 11:36 AM, ridethetide said:

My concern was that the trip might be cancelled as the previous Turkey/Black Sea itineraries were, resulting in hassles and disappointments.

That's been our concern as well as the politics of supporting a country that might possibly be committing genocide.  Time will tell and 2021 is far enough off to just sit and wait. I agree with Ridethetide, a cancellation after plane fares are booked, hotels reserved,  etc. is more chaos than we need. We loved our visit to Kusadashi on the Surf this summer and hope that things somehow work out on that part of the world.

On 11/13/2019 at 3:05 PM, chefchick said:

We are booked on the “Antilles Island Hopping” itinerary Feb 22, 2020.  Although this is not our first time on Windstar, it has been a few years.  Do they still have the beach BBQ on these Caribbean Voyages?  If so can someone venture to guess which day that might be so we can plan excursions accordingly? (See below). Speaking of which, since the ports are smaller,/lesser traveled (which is why we chose WS in the first place) we are finding it hard to locate vendors for excursions (in particular sailing or food related (cooking, rum, etc). For those of you who have been to these ports recently..any suggestions?

 

thank you in advance for replies- Kelly

 

Departs Bridgetown, Barbados 6pm

 Bequia 8-7

castries, St Lucia 7-10

les saintes, Guadeloupe 9-6

gustavia, st barts 9-10

Virgin Gorda, BVI 8-5

jost Van Dyke, great harbor bvi 8-5

san Juan , PR disembark

Castries very busy and very touristy. Suggest you do a ship's tour if they are of any interest to you or hire a cab or look at booking a tour from another source to get out of the city. The island is beautiful, volcano and botanical gardens lovely. Good zip lining if you're into that. Keep in mind it is very mountainous so distances are deceiving. Jost is White Bay for sure, a bathing suit, and Gertrudes. St Barts wandering in town or for a special day, take a cab to Nikki Beach, eat and enjoy seeing how the other half lives. Expensive but fun. Virgin Gorda, if you don't feel like the strenuous part of The Baths, the driver that takes you to the beach BBQ spot will take you to The Top of the Baths for $4.00 pp. Nice restaurant,  bar and shops. The spot for the beach party is not our favorite but some people love it. Great itinerary.  We just did a similar one. 

On 11/18/2019 at 12:52 PM, new_cruiser said:

Based on a recommendation by sb44, we contacted  Vincent Scott (phone is +50766547771 email vscott03@gmail.com) about transportation from Panama City to Colon. He picked us up from our hotel and drove us to Portobello to see the customs house (the Caribbean end of the route that the Spanish used for moving gold from the Pacific to the Caribbean through Panama), fortifications and church. There was some time left before we needed to be on the ship we took the car ferry to see the land side of the Gatun dam than back on the car ferry to Colon 2000 to board the ship.  The price for the two of us was only slightly more than the Windstar transfer so we felt it was good value.

 

We also did an evening walking tour of Casco Viejo with him the evening before. 

 

Vincent was excellent. 

 

He also does other tours so if there is something that interests you particularly such as visiting the canal visitor center, you could ask about that. For Sb44, he picked them up in Colon and did a tour of Panama City before dropping them at their hotel. 

Thanks for the feedback and happy to hear you enjoyed your time with Vincent. We thought he was great!

Spent the day at Gertrudes two weeks ago. It's always the highlight day of our cruise. Love Gertrude and Olga!

16 hours ago, RemPuck said:

Following up ... we did book the trip leaving Seward on August 2nd for 11 nights to Vancouver.  I have a "hold" on the pre-cruise tour but will cancel that as I've put together a trip on our own and much less $$.

 

Questions now are around excursions.  I will book the zodiac trips at the three glaciers (College Fjord, Hubbard and Tracy Arm) now to ensure space.  Many other excursions look interesting, but I'm still exploring options.  Per above, I looked at Glacier Wind for whale watching in Hoonah but there is only one option on the date we visit and it's too early for us.  It seems like the afternoon sailings are not consistent.

 

I've also got some significant OBC (promotion and TA gift) and I'm trying to balance pre-booking excursions to confirm space and the opportunity to use the OBC.  I know that OBC can't be used in advance, but have others booked in advance and then cancelled/rebooked on board to use OBC?  Is this a viable option?  And aside from the zodiac/kayak excursions, are there some which really are "book in advance" required?

 

On our Panama Canal trip, I only did one official ship excursion and we booked that in advance (and had a good time, too).  It looks like Alaska will require more ship's excursions.

Thanks for any additional insight from anyone's who's done Alaska.

 

RemPuck

Alaska does require more ship excursions simply because the guides get booked up by the cruise companies and they have a short season  to make their income for the year. We did mostly WS excursions and they were excellent. We went 1st season, 2nd sailing, and did the pre cruise tour. There are pluses and minuses for doing your own. Yes, you can do it cheaper but may not learn as much as you can from professional guide. I'm glad we did their land tour other than there were some annoying aspects. In either case, it's a great trip!