kmtoner

As a cruise food lover, I'm greatly enjoying this thread. Could any of you WS veterans please comment specifically on the Wind Spirit dining room food in Tahiti? We are inches away from booking a 2023 voyage. I'm curious about any significant differences that may exist on Wind Spirit compare to the other five ships in the fleet. Thanks!

Very true. It is certainly more challenging to staff for what could be large demand each evening on a big ship. However, I wouldn't say that the size of a ship/hotel/resort will be a perfect predictor about these and some other fees. Travel businesses have different approaches. For example, there is no extra charge for room service or premium liquors at a big Sandals resort. But a little Four Seasons will inevitably charge and also tack on a daily resort fee. Mind you, I'm not trying to complain, only to understand. (I cannot imagine making a late night food or drink order.) But I do want to know what to expect in the way of potential extra charges on my first "Always Included"/"All Included"/"Take Care of Everything" Celebrity cruise. That is one of the beauties of Cruise Critic. All the answers are here.

Non-luxury line Windstar does not charge for room service.

I had a similar experience trying to book a late September 2022 pre-cruise night+transfer in Barcelona and a post-cruise night+transfer in Rome. "Nothing available" was X's response 12 months before sailing. (I also had similar experiences for cruise reservations with Crystal and Windstar during the past 18 months.)

Our Celebrity iPhone app went "live" this week in connection with our September 2022 cruise on the Beyond. The app is dazzling and provides endless information for cruise junkies. But one thing that caught my eye was a $4.95 delivery charge for room service orders made after 11 p.m. Is this new? This particular charge won't be an issue. (We've ever used room service for anything other than breakfast.) But this is the first time I've seen any cruise line tack on a delivery charge for cabin service. Are there other surprises lurking in the fine print? As an everything-included, suite-buying, top-shelf-drinking passenger, I'm extra curious.

Windstar also does not report FCCs online. My digital FCC certificates arrived via email today. I guess I'll print and hold onto them like bearer bonds.

On 5/26/22, we canceled our 5/29 - 6/6 Star Legend Cruise to Norway because one of us received a positive PCR test result. (No symptoms and 4 negative rapid antigen test results, so the PCR result may have been a false positive.) We had no problems with Windstar customer service because we provided a little more than 48 hours notice. Today (6/9/22), the FCC certificates arrived via email. The extra amounts we paid for all-inclusive upgrade and other items are being posted back to our credit card, according to Windstar. As soon as that happens, I'm ready to book another trip. But I confess I get nervous when I read CC posts about delays in paying passengers for entire cruises that were canceled due to Covid. We lost real money when Crystal Cruises went under. We would hate to live through sort of thing a second time.

Thursday night, we made the agonizing decision to cancel our May 29 cruise just hours before the 48-hour cancelation window was about to close. Despite zero symptoms and multiple negative rapid antigen tests, the one positive PCR test made the risk too high for us to fly. We decided we would feel awful if we tested positive at the pier or aboard the ship because it would mean we likely exposed many other travelers to the virus. It is sad to plan for so long and get so close to a vacation. But these are “first world” problems and we decided it was the right thing to do. Now we think about where we can put the cruise and airline credits to use for our first Windstar cruise. And we grumble about how much the prices have risen in recent weeks. We think about how we initially lost this vacation to the Crystal Cruise line insolvency. Now, it was to a single test result. But at least we don’t feel sick and can still count our blessings.

Thanks. I suspected as much. I don’t see how any cruise line could administer PCR tests to all passengers in real time at the pier. We’re in a situation where one of us suddenly has a positive PCR result but lots of negative rapid antigen results and zero Covid symptoms. Plus, we’ve been quarantining ourselves for 9 days straight in preparation for travel. So stressful!

We sail from Amsterdam on Sunday, May 29. Does Windstar administer a PCR test at the pier or a rapid antigen test? What happens to passengers who test positive on PCR tests but negative on repeated rapid antigen tests as well as at-home rapid tests?

Crystal Cruises operated similarly to your Sandals description. Even in our cheap cabins on Symphony, we were fully stocked at no additional charge. But, then again, where is the Symphony now? Under "arrest" in the Bahamas. Stay solvent, Celebrity Beyond! I'm coming to see you in September. Your comment about the fridge temp has me a little worried. I need to keep a couple of syringes of Trulicity cool during our trip. The manufacturer says that even 14 days at room temp will do no harm, but should I worry? Thanks.

Thanks, drakes2. I'm not a big wine drinker but my wife is. She'll be very interested to know that the ships can run low on those premium vineyard selections. When I've seen the bar lists posted here on CC, I have wondered whether there really are enough labels to keep both red wine and white wine lovers happy at a premium level. She's a white wine only gal. Do you happen to know whether the ship ran low on the whites during your sailing? I just hope the inventory is better stocked regarding the bourbon, scotch, gin, and vodka brands that I enjoy. Since I like both brown and clear booze, I'm optimistic that I can get my money's worth. Cheers!

I feel like venting. (No offense intended, Windstar. This applies to every line.) Our days of traveling with disposable batteries will soon be over. In this decade, cruise passengers are bringing digital cameras, digital video recorders, phones, e-books, nightlights, headphones, portable speakers, smartwatches, tablets, laptops, backup batteries, medical devices, grooming equipment, etc. It is currently common for a traveler's bags to contain cords with two different types of connectors: USB-B or USB-C on one end and any of four different connectors on the other (USB-A, USB-B, USB-C, and Apple lightning.) Most USB slots on nightstands and on or near desks won't accommodate my devices that come with USB-C on both ends of their cords. The ships' electrical systems differ from hotel systems. The ships prohibit certain power strips with surge protectors. (For good reasons!) While it is pretty safe to assume what sort of wall outlets a hotel will provide, ships are another story. On our first European river cruise, it took me three days to find a Euro-style plug adapter for the cabin. Everything was closed on Sunday. Monday was a bank holiday. And I found open shops mid-morning on Tuesday in the third port city. I've been trying to plan better ever since. I sure wish every cruise line would state on their web sites how many wall outlets are available in a standard cabin and in their suites and what sort of plugs are required to connect to them.

Thanks. For Windstar's ships, do you bring European 2-prong converters for those additional outlets? I bought two of those for a Rhine-river cruise through Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands. They worked well for our US three-prong and two-prong devices. Windstar's non-sailing ships visit many different countries, so I'm not sure what the standard outlet might be for most cabins.

We are cruising on Star Legend at the end of May. We're in a classic Oceanview Suite on Deck 4. I'm struggling to find a definitive answer about the current state of electrical outlets in those cabins for our U.S. 110v devices. I found a post from several years ago suggesting only three outlets in these cabins. (Behind TV, by the desk, and a shaver/hairdryer plug in the bathroom.) Is that still the case? Would more plugs be available to us if we bring European to US converters? In particular, I'd like to know what might be closest to the nightstands in the bedroom and what the voltage would be. I'm trying to make sure we have the right gear to connect two 110v Cpap machines. On some ships, there is an outlet tucked away behind the bed or one of the nightstands which allows me to solve this problem with a triple plug connector that uncurls, but that's not always the case. Thanks in advance for answers and suggestions. Happy Cruising!