susiesan

10 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

I don't think I've ever had TA OBC show up before boarding (and actually, not before the 2nd day often) so unable to use for anything like shore excursions before you are on the ship. But once you are there you can use it for anything that is permitted even before it shows on the account. 

Since the OBC won't show up before I board I run the risk of the shore ex or dining plans I want to use it on being sold out or full? Since it is not refundable I don't want to make a donation to Azamara. I already have the Experience More package from the TA so there is nothing else I want to spend the $250 on. Other cruise lines I sail with put the TA OBC in your account as soon as final payment is made, Oceania and Windstar do this.

I am sailing on Pursuit Sept. 8, 2024. I made the final payment April 30. I am to receive $250 OBC from my TA for the cruise.

When will the OBC show in my account? I'd like to book some shore excursions and make specialty dinner reservations with the OBC.

Should I have my TA contact AZ to get the OBC added or will Azamara get around to it soon?

I figured it out. The Azamazing evening for my sailing is in Kotor, Montnegro. I signed up.

I used the included $300 excursion credit for Krka National Park from Sibenik. I have $22 left of that credit and another $250 OBC from my TA. I'll likely use it for dining as none of the excursions interest me, plus they are very expensive compared to DIY.

Where on our reservation do we sign up for the Azamazing Evening as a shore excursion? I'm on Pursuit Sept. 8 Croatia Intensive. How do we know what port will have this event? On my reservation there is no place to book any shore excursions online. Do I need to call it in?

I don't think Oceania does charters very often. When they do, they give plenty of notice.  I can bet that this cancellation is due to the Olympics using the ship as a luxury hotel for the 2 weeks the surfing event is going on. They have already arranged for one ship to serve as a floating hotel.

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/08/cruise-ship-to-serve-as-floating-hotel-during-2024-olympics/

Have you quietly asked any fellow passengers if they have some prescription pain meds they could give you until you get to Marseilles and a doctor? I always travel with a few left over as a just in case situation arises. I would give them to you if you asked me. Since you are a nurse, you know what you are doing.

6 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

I don't disagree, but is it a reason to give a one star rating? Looks like they liked the ship, the food, the service, so the age must be the main reason for 1 star rating. Also, O average age is a well known fact, doing some research or asking the TA could go a long way if this is a deal breaker.

No TA who is trying to sell an Oceania cruise is going to tell a client about the average age of O passengers. I find most people do not do any research into this kind of cruise line minutia except the people on cruise critic.

4 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

I learned to take the reviews with grain of salt. Just look at the latest review of the Vista - https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=712929

 

Can it be any more ridiculous and absurd??

I find this person's comments about the ages of the passengers to be spot on. Oceania does now have the reputation of being the old fogey cruise line of choice. ; )😜

On 3/3/2024 at 2:03 PM, FlightMedic555 said:

Been on PG 8 times. Windstar this coming July. While Oceania is not a big ship 600+ passengers is still big for these ports. I would choose the smaller ship. If it works for your schedule I would try to delay until at least April when the weather may be better 

I did book the Windstar cruise for April 10, 2025. This current March it has been raining every day in Papeete and I was concerned next March could be similar. I do have the flexibility of when I travel being recently retired.

I decided on cruising Tahiti with Windstar on Star Breeze. I booked a 7 day cruise only for April 10, 2025. I don't have to pay for shore ex I don't want and wine I don't drink. I do get a 1 night post cruise hotel stay as a perk from a current promotion. Cruising in Tahiti with 300 people instead of 620 will be a much better experience. The Breeze was recently updated, the cabins are all suites with big bathrooms. Plus the non refundable part of the deposit is only $100.

I decided to cruise Tahiti with Windstar. I booked Dreams of Tahiti 7 day cruise only for April 10, 2025. For the perk I picked the post cruise hotel stay. I am in cabin 400. Windstar is one of the few lines that still have a cruise only option, no included drink package, shore ex, etc. I'll do my own air with UA points when flights open up in May.

I just booked Star Breeze Dreams of Tahiti in cabin 400 for April 10, 2025. The Windstar rep on the phone confirmed that this is a great cabin layout.

Where is the closet in these cabins? How large is it as compared to the walk in closet?

Hi Nancy, glad to see you are still kicking around. I am leaning towards Windstar especially for the same reasons you listed. Oceania has much shorter times in port and is always cancelling port calls. Once I book I may reach out for more advice. I'd be booking cruise only, doing my own air and hotels.

2 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

What a crap way to do business Windstar. Glad I booked with Paul Gauguin (PG) instead. It was a close call for me but my gut kept telling me to go with PG. 

Looks like PG has chartered the ship from late Jan.-March 2025 as there are no cruises shown.

10 hours ago, VacayAddict said:

Have you considered the Paul Gauguin? We’ve enjoyed it three times and hoping to go again. 

PG is not running 7 day Tahiti cruises in 2025 until June. it appears the ship is chartered in Feb. and March 2025 as there are no cruises shown. They are doing the same thing as Windstar, chartering out the ship at this time of year.

Also, their prices are quite high.

13 minutes ago, basor said:

I would think with your previous post of unhappiness with Oceania and your love of Windstar that it would not be a question for you....go with the cruise line you like and you will not be disappointed

I am leaning towards Windstar. Now I'm seeing that they have been cancelling some Tahiti cruises for Jan.-March 2025 and chartering the ship. It would be just my luck to choose the March 13 Star Breeze and then have it cancelled shortly after I book it and go back to the Oceania cruise and find the rate has gone way up.

I had also considered Silversea, on a per day rate they had a decent deal for an 11 night cruise, came out to $521 per person per day, but their non refundable deposit of 15% of the fare is a real turn off.

I was just about to book Star Breeze Dreams of Tahiti for March 13 but now I wonder if it will get cancelled also? My other option is a Oceania cruise in early February, the Nautica does 1o day cruises on Jan. 26 and Feb.5.

I wondered why there were no 7 day Star breeze cruises between January and mid March, now I know it's charters.

I am looking to return to Tahiti after visiting on  Renaissance cruise back in the 80's. Time frame is February to March 2025. I had hoped to visit Tahiti on a Windstar sailing ship but they only use the Star Breeze now year round, I'm disappointed. I was on her before she was stretched and did enjoy the ship and the experience, having sailed with Windstar 4 times and with Oceania 6 times. Oceania does this cruise with Nautica. Emphasis for us on this cruise is being in the water to snorkel and swim as there's not a lot of sightseeing in Tahiti.

I have prices on both:

Windstar Star Breeze March 13 ,7 nights, category window suite, cruise only, 5 ports, no sea days, nonrefundable deposit $100

prices out at $473 per day per person plus $400 OBC and a pre or post hotel night or $200 more OBC

Nautica Feb. 5 10 nights, category C1 outside, simply more $600 credit, 6 ports, 2 sea days, nonrefundable deposit $300

prices out at $333 per day per person plus $100 OBC from O as bronze level

The Windstar ship is in the ports much much longer than Oceania is. Windstar has the water sports platform, Oceania does not.

Windstar has 312 pax, Oceania has 620. Both cruises involve tendering.

If anyone has cruised Tahiti on both lines, which did you prefer? Because I've sailed recently with O and AZ on the R ships I'm thinking to do something different on this cruise.

Thanks for the feedback.

I am looking to return to Tahiti after visiting on  Renaissance cruise back in the 80's. Time frame is February to March 2025. I had hoped to visit Tahiti on a Windstar sailing ship but they only use the Star Breeze now year round. I was on her before she was stretched and did enjoy the ship and the experience, having sailed with Windstar 4 times and with Oceania 6 times. Oceania does this cruise with Nautica. Emphasis for us on this cruise is being in the water to snorkel and swim as there's not a lot of sightseeing in Tahiti.

I have prices on both:

Windstar Star Breeze March 13 ,7 nights, category window suite, cruise only, 5 ports, no sea days, nonrefundable deposit $100

prices out at $473 per day per person plus $400 OBC and a pre or post hotel night or $200 more OBC

Nautica Feb. 5 10 nights, category C1 outside, simply more $600 credit, 6 ports, 2 sea days, nonrefundable deposit $300

prices out at $333 per day per person plus $100 OBC from O as bronze level

The Windstar ship is in the ports much much longer than Oceania is. Windstar has the water sports platform, Oceania does not.

Windstar has 312 pax, Oceania has 620. Both cruises involve tendering.

If anyone has cruised Tahiti on both lines, which did you prefer? Because I've sailed recently with O and AZ on the R ships I'm thinking to do something different on this cruise.

Thanks for the feedback.

I emailed AZ and had them send me the PDF showing all the excursions for my cruise. I called on Tuesday, the car could see the $300 excursion credit on the reservation. He booked us on a tour that uses $280 of the $300.. To pay for it with the credit took 25 minutes for him to do. He assured me the excursion is booked and paid for but it does not show on my booking.

I asked my TA to verify this and she says the excursion is there and paid for. I have no written proof so hopefully I won't have any issues when we board the cruise.

I have $250 OBC from the TA but that is not showing in AZ records so I can't spend it on any more shore ex or anything else. Hopefully that money will be there when we board.

21 hours ago, Wshka said:

Can you have alcoholic beverages brought to your room? Or request certain beers be stocked in your cabins fridge? 

Why not get a cocktail or beer at one of the bars and take it to your cabin?

18 hours ago, Jay19 said:

We're also booked on a September cruise and I used the "Contact us" email address to request a pdf of the shore excursion details.   I received them just a few days later and they include the full details of the tours plus cost.   I plan on calling next week to book the ones I want using OBC.   Hope that helps.

Today I can see the excursions available on my reservation, but I did email AZ and ask them to send a PDF showing the excursions and prices.

My AZ Pursuit cruise is Sept. 8, Croatia Intensive. As of today, there are no shore excursions showing. Also, I cannot do anything under the manage my reservation button. The web site is very buggy today.

When does Azamara load in the shore excursions for a particular cruise? A similar itinerary is being done in April so they should know what excursions will be offered in September. I have $300 of shore ex credit to use and I want to get something set up now to use it all on one excursion, then all the rest will be independent. I understand the only way to reserve excursions in advance is to call them but since nothing is showing I don't know what to ask for. Do I call them on the phone and have someone read them all off to me? Seems like this could take a very long time.

James,

I tried to send you an email but it bounced back as undeliverable. Please contact me direct susiesan8 at gmail.com. Check out my comment on the roll call thread.