js2x

We have done Croatia on Seadream a few times. It is one of the very best itineraries. We had meals in a number of towns -probably in every port- and lots of the crew is Croatian so they had very good suggestions. I dont recall taking any excursions but everything is so walkable. (I personally have no desire to get on a bus when everything is so awesome the minute you get of the yacht. We have been on Seadream about 7 times, with 3 more booked, and we only take an excursion when we really want to experience something that we can’t get to on our own.) I also don’t recall any swims off the boat while in port but there are tons of beaches. You will have a spectacular time!

On 9/23/2022 at 10:26 AM, Strenz said:

We were on the Star in 2013 Istanbul Athens, Santorini and Mykonos were a mess then as well as Rhodes. Massive amounts of tourism. Kusadashi/ Ephesus, Bodrum and sailing through the Dardanelles great. I think it is a sign of the times, times have changed. We are off on 9/28, Wind Surf 10/6, we have heard Italy has been crazy. We will see. I think WS should find other remote lovely ports in Greece, there are so many of them. Those three are simply ruined by over tourism. We have stayed away from the WS Greek ports because generally 2 of those ports are always included. Since we only cruise with WS I would like to go back to Greece. We really like the sailing ships better than the motors. Hope you still had a good time. Happy Sailing.

We only sail on Windstar and Seadream. We did a similar voyage on Seadream in August and, because that ship is the size of the original Windstar ships, the captain was at least able to flip the itinerary so that our stop in Mykonos was on a less crowded day. We did not stop in Santorini. We are about to embark on Star Breeze, and I am hoping that the ship still feels small...

Rovinj is one of my favorite ports. We have been twice and never did an excursion- it is easily walkable on your own. It is one of the last places I would want to spend time in a bus- too much to see just walking around the city and the harbors!

We embark in Auckland on 1/10 and just received that letter in an email from Windstar on 12/20 that appears identical - except for the paragraph re testing. Since we had to upload our vaxx cards in order to disembark in Australia I am guessing the testing requirement only applies if you also embark in Australia (?)

On 12/18/2022 at 5:21 PM, Nearpost345 said:

Hi guys

Here is the letter Windstars rep in Melbourne sent to me. 

 

Covid Testing embarking in Australia

Updates

 

 

 

 

Windstar - Documentation <documentation@windstar.com.au>	Nov 28, 2022, 1:23 PM

 

Hi Tony,

 

Thank you for contacting Windstar Australia.

The latest information about Covid testing that we have received from head office in Seattle is below. We have been sending this information to our guests and agents since receiving on November 9.

 

 

November 9, 2022

 

Regarding your Client’s Upcoming Cruise: Star Breeze, December 4, 2022

 

Guest Name: ------------------------Booking Number: -----------

 

Dear ---------------

 

Our crew is excited to welcome your client on board the Star Breeze! We want to reassure you that we continue to review our health and safety protocols in an effort to maintain a healthy environment on board for our guests and crew, as well as mitigate the spreading of the virus to the communities we visit. Our policies continue to evolve where appropriate in coordination with local regulators.

 

Please review important entry details below:

 

·         The Government of Australia has specific requirements cruise lines are required to follow and include:

o   Vaccination status of passengers must be verified during the booking process. 

§  We have created a link for your client to submit your proof of vaccination – https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/6864400c374a47a9a0dc651daa6606bf .  Please upload a photograph of the front and of the back of your client’s vaccination card by no later than November 16, 2022. Failure to provide may result in denied boarding.

o   At the cruise terminal prior to embarkation, guests will be required to provide proof of an initial completed vaccine course (one or two shots, depending on the brand) finished at least 14 days prior to the guest's embarkation date.

o   Passengers must have and be able to present evidence of a negative PCR test within 48 hours before boarding, or a negative self-administered Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) within 24 hours before boarding the cruise ship. Please be advised passengers embarking in Australia that pre-embarkation testing must be done at a private laboratory for a PCR test, and for the RAT can be done at a laboratory or pharmacy, or by self-test. Passengers should be able to present test results at the terminal, and for a self-test, it is suggested a picture of the test cartridge should be available.

o   A health screening will be administered at the pier on the day of embarkation.

o   The Government of Australia also strongly recommends that all passengers have the seasonal influenza vaccination, when available.

• Guests going ashore must adhere to our Beyond Ordinary Care plan and local sanitation guidelines. Details will be provided daily onboard in Destination talks held in the evening lounge.

·         We aim to execute the itinerary as scheduled but are subject to ever-changing requirements, which may or may not allow us to call at all scheduled ports.

·         While Windstar no longer requires guests to wear masks onboard, there may be cases where mask wear may be required. 

·         Please visit the Health & Safety page on our website for the latest information on all of our Beyond Ordinary Care protocols.

 

We look forward to welcoming your client aboard.

 

Best regards, 

 

Christopher Prelog

President, Windstar Cruises

 

Hope this helps to clarify your questions.

 

Wishing you a wonderful cruise experience on board Star Breeze this Sunday.

 

Kind regards,

 

xxx

 

Windstar Australia

1300 749 875 | (02) 8296 7094

Level 8 / 171 Clarence Street SYDNEY NSW 2000

...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 3/22/2022 at 4:59 AM, BklynBorn47 said:

Windstar veterans: I would appreciate your advice.

We are seeking official documentation of the amount paid/owed for our 16 days in the Mediterranean in September

There have been many addition/deletions and errors about which I am not complaining. 
The situation in that part of the world has been fluid to say the least.

It has taken hours on hold to get the matter resolved and I have an email from a management person detailing the correct result.

However, there is no official document.

Our final payment is not until June 7, but we return from 45 days in Europe (another cruise line) on June 2nd. 
We want to pay before we leave but we have no idea of what amount that should be.

I suppose I could call again but I do not think the average level 1 representative can help me.  They couldn't before.

Is this information on the website and I just don't see it?

When you say you have an email detailing the correct result, but you also say you have no idea what the amount should be (?)- We have never had a problem getting our invoice directly from Windstar on the occasions we did not use a TA, but we always requested it by email rather than by phone. (I find them to be much more responsive by email.)

On 1/25/2022 at 7:07 AM, Zimmy said:

We did the Paul Gauguin several years ago. We had a large suite, one of the nicest we've had on any ship. But we kept comparing other aspects of the voyage to SD, and it failed in every respect but the cabin. We decided that should we ever desire to return to that area, we would stay in an overwater bungalow in Moorea or Bora Bora rather than cruise.

We met a couple on Seadream 10-12 years ago whom we never see except when we hook up on another cruise. Although Seadream is our mutual favorite, we had a great time on Windstar in the South Pacific.  It was one of the small ships and we had a blast. We are doing Seadream in the Black Sea this summer (fingers crossed) and Auckland/New Zealand to Australia/Great Barrier Reef next February on Windstar. (Seadream for the ship, Windstar for the itinerary.)

On 7/3/2021 at 4:36 PM, SWFLAOK said:

I read a review on cruise critic from someone onboard the first Windstar  cruise on June 19. There were only 80 guests, and they didn't find out that very few of the crew were vaccinated until they got onboard. That's not very good communication with your guests, even if it was a business write off for most of them. The crew was supposedly onboard for 20 days before the ship docked, so is they tested negative, they should have been safe.

Wearing masks outside the cabin, as reported, would have been a nuisance, but not being able to pull into any  port would have been a nightmare, unless the whole trip was free.

I've looked at Windstar in the past. We anchored next to one of them in the spring of 2018 outside of the St. Bart's harbor, while we were on SD1. I looked it up online, and read reviews, and wasn't interested in what I saw. Adding another 100 passengers to Windstar makes it less desirable than SD. We're booked for 2 weeks on SD 2 next spring, and are looking forward to it.

We've also looked at Windstar cruises in the South Pacific in the past, but the Paul Gauguin always looked better, and has balconies.

We have done both the Paul Gauguin and Windstar in the South Pacific. Windstar was far superior if you are looking for outside spaces. Unless you had a balcony (we did) and wanted to stay in your room the entire time (we did not) I would not do the Paul Gaugin again. Only a few of the Windstar ships are the stretched Seabourn sisters, the others are still markedly smaller. We would have stayed with Seadream forever except that the itinerary rarely changed.

Zimmy- Yes, I'm a lurker! What a great trip. And you were an awesome tour guide. Happy New Year!

Zimmy- Yes, I'm a lurker! What a great trip. And you were an awesome tour guide. Happy New year!

After a long and convoluted flight from San Francisco, we will (hopefully) arrive at the Hilton at some point on Friday...Jeane & Jim

We are also on the Nov 9 voyage....We have our fingers crossed for Captain Willassen. He was like a kid in a candy store taking us through the Corinth Canal a few years ago. In any event, we cant wait!