ridethetide

1 minute ago, wesport said:

Im doing the pcr test 5 days before departure. Departure 7/16(one day early) 10:30 am. Doing the test after 10:30am on 7/11. Hopefully get results the next day. Fill out ehas with a screen shot of the negative result, and wait for approval. Seems like you get approval from 20 minutes to 8 hours later.  Take passport, vaccination card, test results, and ehas approval with me to the airport. I am thinking it may have been easier to go to Alaska. It’s a lot of work. 

Windstar is not sailing in Alaska again until next summer. We are booked and sure hope it is easier by then!

So, when is the All-In-One Package a good deal?

4 hours ago, new_cruiser said:

The first Star Pride cruise showing on the website is still the April 1, 2021 Lisbon to Lisbon that's the second part of my Star Collector. It seemed like the cruises should be back up by now so I called Windstar to see what's up. The agent said that the cruises for fall and winter are still happening - they are just still tweaking the itineraries. He said the cruises are on their booking system and they can still make bookings. He's expecting them to be back on the website by sometime next week.

 

I believe you mean April 1, 2022.

Oh, how much we long to be back home on a Wind Star ship...

1 hour ago, SailMaine said:

I’m a bit nervous about our October 2021 New York-Bermuda-San Juan 21-day cruise. It has disappeared from the WS website, as have all Star Pride cruises from the end of August through November 3rd. The pre-August Iceland itineraries are all Call for Availability which is never a good sign. The cruises scheduled from August through October were in Canada/New England then heading to NY the end of October for our trip. I’m sure with Canada’s restrictions, WS has had to reschedule the ship itineraries for that time period. Just curious if anyone else has heard anything or had their Star Pride cruises cancelled? 

They cannot sail to Canadian ports until 2022 so these itineraries are likely under reconsideration.

21 hours ago, milepig said:

One more reason I’m glad we passed on the Reykjavik/Greenland/Montreal itin this November. Now we hope the Med stays possible!  We’re on cruise attempt number six. 

Milepig, we are hoping to book the 2022 Greenland itinerary.  Maybe we will finally get to meet!

2 hours ago, marinaro44 said:

If the cruise goes through Prince Christian Sound, it's worth it.

It spends a day in Prince Christian Sound.

My husband and I are considering the Greenland: North Atlantic Odyssey in September 2022. I was looking for some feedback from someone who has done this. It sounds fascinating, but is quite pricey.  I would love to hear from someone who has done this cruise.

2 hours ago, Jojo Inferno said:

We're intending to sail San Juan to San Juan December 18-28th, 2021 but have not been contacted that our sailing is cancelled. And it appears tickets can still be purchased. I suppose all we can do is wait to hear otherwise.

The CDC restriction is not to exceed seven days in the US, which the Alaskan cruises exceeded. Perhaps, sailing from a US port like San Juan is not an issue if the remainder of the cruise is not in the US. Fingers crossed for you.

Vaccines for small pox and yellow fever last a lifetime.  This is unlikely for a corona virus. The problem now is that we do not know how long the immunity will last for these vaccines. If you provide proof of vaccine on June 1st, we do not know if you are still immune on December 1st. To further complicate matters, it is not known at this time if the vaccine actually prevents COVID or just prevents symptoms. If it only prevents symptoms, then it does not stop the spread of the virus if you can remain asymptomatic and a spreader. This is truly more complicated than we can imagine.

1 hour ago, avalong said:

Odd and humid!

And at risk of hurricanes...

8 hours ago, sb44 said:

We just keep moving on to the next! Actually the letter we received says the Breeze will start sailing the Caribbean in May. If that happens and we have received the vaccine we will be on board!

It seems odd to sail the Caribbean in the summer.  Of course, I would take any sailing right now!

My TA just received the following regarding our booked Alaska cruise for July 2021.

In November, Star Breeze completed her stretch and transformation as part of the $250 Million Star Plus Initiative.  After seeing the 50 new suites, restaurants, spa and fitness center and other new and updated public spaces, I can’t wait to sail aboard her again. We know your clients were also looking forward to their 2021 cruise aboard Star Breeze. Unfortunately, we must change her deployment due to recent regulations for U.S. cruises released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Under the CDC conditional sail order expected to remain in effect through the 2021 summer season, no cruises visiting U.S. ports may be longer than seven days. Since most of our itineraries are longer by design, changes are necessary.

We are cancelling our cruises in and out of U.S. ports in 2021. Instead, Star Breeze will sail in the Caribbean when she begins cruising again in May 2021 and then transition to Tahiti in the fall. We are currently working on updating itineraries and expect to release them for booking by December 16, in time for a two-week Bon Voyage 2020 sale beginning December 17 for cruises in 2021 and 2022. I highly encourage you to check back with us to present your clients with options on these new itineraries scheduled for Star Breeze or another one of our yachts. 

In connection with this change in deployment, we are offering a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) valued at 125% of monies paid to Windstar Cruises. From there, your clients have two options.

Option 1:             Book another Windstar Cruise. Your client will have 24 months from the issue date of the FCC to sail with their FCC.  Given the volume of cancellations, please allow up to four weeks for your clients to receive their FCC certificate.

Option 2:             Receive a Cash Refund. Should your client wish to convert their canceled voyage FCC into a cash refund, they may do so once the FCC certificate is received. They may contact Windstar to request this option after receiving their FCC certificate. Windstar will deactivate the FCC valued at 125% and process the refund to the original form(s) of payment at 100% of the monies paid to Windstar Cruises. Your clients will have 24 months from the issue date of the FCC to request the refund.

Please note Windstar does not reimburse third party (non-Windstar) travel expenses or fees.

16 minutes ago, jumelle said:

Just went on the website to look at Bucket List sale. I clicked on Lake Como and Adriatic 11 day and was sent to a 9 day Rome to Venice cruise. This sort of thing happened repeatedly.
I’m sorry but the new website is so bad. Absolutely hate it.

Is it me or the website?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

That's because it is a Cruise Tour.  The first two days are on land at Lake Como.  The remaining 9 days are at sea between Rome and Venice.

We are booked Alaska on July 5th.  I sure hope this is a go!

On Caribbean cruises, you can't just spend the day at the beach? This is not going to be popular.

5 minutes ago, susiesan said:

I'm with you ridethetide. IF my January Wind Spirit cruise is a go and IF masks are required onboard I will cancel before final payment. No way am I going to sit on a plane for 8 hours with a mask or wear one on a cruise ship where I would be outside most of the time. No way will I wear a mask on a tender to shore or on a shore tour.

I have a Baltic cruise with Oceania booked for next August, postponed from this past June, and the same thing applies. Mask requirement = no go for me.

Just to clarify, I am a firm believer in the value of wearing face coverings during this pandemic, and I am totally compliant.  It would take away so much of the pleasure and relaxation that we have grown to adore on Windstar. I would wait until there is no need for face coverings.  Just hoping that will be by July 2021.

The complicated logistics of getting the required testing prior to embarkation combined with a likely requirement for face coverings on the ship makes this rather unappealing to me.  How can this be a relaxing vacation? I am booked for Alaska in July 2021, but will reconsider if masks are required on board.

30 minutes ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

Where do you see that it has gotten underway?

I am hoping this is true.

The first cruise is scheduled for 10/8 which is a chartered LGBT cruise.

Then we board 10/15.

My biggest concern is spending four hours in LAX not touching anything and constantly disinfecting myself.

Plan to take a 20" roller (checked) filled with cleaning supplies (4 days pre and 3 days post) for the land and sea.

Hand sanitizers are usually flammable liquids so you ought to verify beforehand that you can pack a bag full of them.

The MS Roald Amundsen, a Hurtigruten ship, reported 43 passengers with COVID-19 last week.  https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-norway-cruise-ship-passengers-coronavirus.html

10 hours ago, Barrycat said:

ridethetidea

Not conflicting reporting. The PG is part of Ponant. Just like the Wind Spirit is part of Windstar.

I'm sure that the PG followed Their plan. If someone shows the virus after the four day test, the ship retunes to Papeete with all passengers confined to their cabins. After arrival everyone on board is tested. NewCruiser makes a good point, it takes a few days for the virus to develop so if everyone tests ok does the ship resume its schedule or do they send everyone home as a precaution. To be continued.
 

Whatever happens this is a disaster for the passengers. This is a dream trip for many, at best they will miss ports if the cruise resumes, as worst they will need to arrange early transportation home and deal with all of the complications of cancellations, refunds, and on and on.

And at the very worst, some may become ill with COVID-19!

1 hour ago, Petoonya said:

Hi Barrycat-

Been watching the PG board for the last few months since it was announced that they'd be sailing in July. There was an 80+ year old couple if I recall correctly who were going to celebrate an anniversary on this first cruise. At least pre-COVID they'd planned to. Despite the risk and scary circumstances, Ponant would not refund payment, only FCC was offered. Wonder if they were onboard.

I wonder how many PG cruisers were caught in the same situation. The whole thing is painful to watch.

Was this Ponant or PG? Conflicting reporting...

2 hours ago, PSR said:

What is "PG", please? I am not familiar with that abbreviation in regards to cruising.

Paul Gauguin cruises.

7 hours ago, susiesan said:

And therein lies the problem. With the backlog of getting test results back in the US due to everyone running off getting tested for no reason when they have no symptoms,  people who actually have a need for a test cannot get them in timely fashion. I have encouraged people on TA and the FB page for visitors to Tahiti to report their testing problems to Tahiti Tourism, especially if the lack of testing is causing people to cancel their planned trips. If my trip was in the next 2 months and not January, I would have to cancel since here in Kansas City you cannot get results back any sooner than 10 days. The city keeps running these free testing events so everyone and their brother goes and gets tested because it is free. These people are using up the scarce resources for testing because they are curious or want "peace of mind", not because they are sick or have been exposed to someone.

You cannot accurately say that people are getting tested for curiosity's sake when many people have family members who are immuno-compromised or elderly or their employment depends on being healthy.. Take a deep breath and relax.  You are only worried about a vacation to Tahiti.  Others are worried about loss of life and livelihood. We all want to be healthy.  It is going to take some time, given the state of affairs that our administration is in.

2 hours ago, Cometman said:

November cruise cancelled in May. Notice included a link to sy you received the notice. I called on Friday and was told, they still need to issues to 125% cruise voucher in the next month or so.....and if we want a refund it will take another few weeks after that.

The way it stands now we will not be cruising until at least mid 2021....

We are crossing our fingers for Alaska in July 2021. We've had two cancellations in the last eight months, one for delay of the Star Breeze and the other for COVID-19.