Disembarkation Testing

[Babr]

42 minutes ago, LewiLewi said:

Did anyone test positive? If so, what would have happened to them?

Everyone is interested in the answer to this. I hope Cortesefam comes back to tell us.

 

In the meantime, I think everyone needs to be prepared to quarantine in local facilities if positive. Look for travel insurance with generous travel delay benefits. It is the provision that will pay your expenses if you must quarantine before being cleared to fly home.

[Cortesefam]

As far as I know, there were no positive tests on the Star Legend.  If there were cases, we didn't hear of them.

[Babr]

12 minutes ago, Cortesefam said:

As far as I know, there were no positive tests on the Star Legend.  If there were cases, we didn't hear of them.

That is good to know since the mass market lines are dealing with positives on board. 
 

 

 

 

[RlyLvn]

Please can you share which Insurance you found with Accommodation, food etc covered for trip delay due to Covid, or anything else for that matter. 
I had assumed that the large amount covered for “trip interruption” would cover this. Recent experience after the Star Breeze cancellation on New Year when my husband had a false positive Covid Test proved otherwise on the insurance I had. It covered our flight back but no accommodation etc.  fortunately we were only there 2 nights. 
We have several more trips planned. One is leaving next week on Star Breeze San Diego to Puerto Vallarta. 
I have been reading the fine print on lots of policies, learned my lesson, but not seeing much for the accommodation coverage. 
 

Would much appreciate your feedback. 

Thanks,

D. 

 

[minidonuts85]

We frequently travel to the British Virgin Islands and COVID 19 quarantine coverage is a requirement for entry. We use the attached policy where quarantine is covered under trip delay; you can choose your per day coverage amount for lodging. We choose $150/pp/per day. The guesthouse we stay at is not expensive but you can choose more depending on how much you’d think you need. 

[Babr]

12 hours ago, RlyLvn said:

Please can you share which Insurance you found with Accommodation, food etc covered for trip delay due to Covid, or anything else for that matter. 
I had assumed that the large amount covered for “trip interruption” would cover this. Recent experience after the Star Breeze cancellation on New Year when my husband had a false positive Covid Test proved otherwise on the insurance I had. It covered our flight back but no accommodation etc.  fortunately we were only there 2 nights. 
We have several more trips planned. One is leaving next week on Star Breeze San Diego to Puerto Vallarta. 
I have been reading the fine print on lots of policies, learned my lesson, but not seeing much for the accommodation coverage. 
 

Would much appreciate your feedback. 

Thanks,

D. 

 

Trip Interruption is the provision that reimburses you for unused prepaid nonrefundable expenses and air fare home. It is usually 150% of your trip cost. In your case it would be unused cruise days plus air.

 

Trip delay covers meals and accommodation if your departure or return is delayed for a covered reason. The amount varies by policy, but most have at least $500. I’m curious why it did not cover those two nights unless you were there before the positive test.

 

Many policies have fairly generous benefits for trip delay, and minidonuts85 has illustrated that some companies even give you the option of increased coverage for an additional premium. In most policies the coverage limit is per person. Check to be sure.

 

If you get bogged down trying to evaluate policies on your own, I have found the people at TripInsuranceStore to be very helpful. 

[RlyLvn]

Thank you so much for this information. Very much appreciated. I was assuming “Trip Interruption” covered “Trip Delay”. Just looked back on my policy Seven Corners Roundtrip Choice purchased through Squaremouth. I did have trip delay insurance. I am going to dispute the denial for the Accommodation, food etc which was after the false positive test. We got out of Tahiti as soon as we got the negative tests. 
I’m going with the Trawick International above for my trip on Star Breeze next week. 
 

So glad I asked for advice. 
 

Thank you again.

D

[Babr]

12 minutes ago, RlyLvn said:

Thank you so much for this information. Very much appreciated. I was assuming “Trip Interruption” covered “Trip Delay”. Just looked back on my policy Seven Corners Roundtrip Choice purchased through Squaremouth. I did have trip delay insurance. I am going to dispute the denial for the Accommodation, food etc which was after the false positive test. We got out of Tahiti as soon as we got the negative tests. 
I’m going with the Trawick International above for my trip on Star Breeze next week. 
 

So glad I asked for advice. 
 

Thank you again.

D

 

You said they covered only air. Did they also reimburse you for the unused cruise days that you missed? If not, dispute that as well.

 

One of the advantages of buying from a broker is that they can guide you through the claims process, which can be pretty daunting. Since insurance is regulated, it costs no more for the same policy wherever you buy it.

 

If I may ask, was this the test at embarkation or one administered later because of symptoms? Were you aware of others who tested positive? I’m trying to determine how well COVID is being contained since it seems to be spreading easily on the large ships sailing now.

 

 

[RlyLvn]

This was on Star Breeze over New Year in Tahiti.  I havent heard anything about Covid on Windstar since.  This was their first experience.  We were supposed to be on a 17 day and it was cancelled after 2 days.  We took a PCR Test prior to flying then an Antigen Test prior to boarding as well as random PCR Tests.  Everyone was negative on the Antigen so we left.  On New Years Eve after a day in Moorea we were told that the PCR results had come back and there were a couple from one family who tested positive.  We went back to Papeete. They then did a PCR Test on everyone who didnt get one prior to boarding, which included my husband..  His came back positive.  I asked for a repeat test but was declined.  They were so busy trying to test the crew.

Turned out it was a false positive.  We both had negative tests in Papeete and Santa Barbara when we got back.  Next time I will insist on a repeat test.  Hopefully we wont be in that situation again.

We received FCC because the cruise was cancelled.

 

Windstar is still requiring PCR within 3 days of boarding and testing at the Pier prior to embarkation. 

[GottaKnowWhen]

New testing policy as of today April 20. I won’t try to summarize, but it addresses many of the questions here.

[amusea]

The new testing policy on the Windstar site dated April 20 does not mention the need for a PCR test three days before embarkation.  I wonder if that requirement has been eliminated.

 

[Babr]

That is new. I don’t see any requirement for testing prior to arrival at the pier.

[amusea]

I called Windstar and they have verified that the PCR test is no longer needed 72 hours before embarkation.  Unfortunately, the elimination of this requirement is not specified in the April 20 update so most folks will not realize about the change.

 

 

[patty1955]

Just back from the Star Breeze and I'm not happy with the required test to disembark. The test was unwanted, unnecessary and expensive! We received an email a few days before we sailed that it would be required but no reason was given. 

$138 for two people for test that nobody looked at! It left a bad taste and seemed more like a money-grab than anything else. Not a great experience on our first Windstar cruise. 

[Babr]

19 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

Just back from the Star Breeze and I'm not happy with the required test to disembark. The test was unwanted, unnecessary and expensive! We received an email a few days before we sailed that it would be required but no reason was given. 

$138 for two people for test that nobody looked at! It left a bad taste and seemed more like a money-grab than anything else. Not a great experience on our first Windstar cruise. 

That seems strange.  Disembark where? A test to enter the US is not required, but it may be required for onward travel by air.

 

Was the test done the day before arrival?
 

Do you know if it was possible to make an appointment for the day of disembarkation?

 

Did anyone test positive?

[GottaKnowWhen]

39 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

Just back from the Star Breeze and I'm not happy with the required test to disembark. The test was unwanted, unnecessary and expensive! We received an email a few days before we sailed that it would be required but no reason was given. 

$138 for two people for test that nobody looked at! It left a bad taste and seemed more like a money-grab than anything else. Not a great experience on our first Windstar cruise. 

What did they tell you onboard when you asked what the test was for?

[patty1955]

1 hour ago, Babr said:

That seems strange.  Disembark where? A test to enter the US is not required, but it may be required for onward travel by air. We disembarked in San Diego and flew home to Seattle. We didn't not need to test and weren't even required to mask.

 

Was the test done the day before arrival? yes
 

Do you know if it was possible to make an appointment for the day of disembarkation? No, go to Amphora between 8 and 10 am

 

Did anyone test positive? Not as far as I know.

 

[patty1955]

1 hour ago, GottaKnowWhen said:

What did they tell you onboard when you asked what the test was for?

We receive a letter in our room a few days before that we were required to take the test. We didn't think to argue with them.

[Petoonya]

5 hours ago, patty1955 said:

We receive a letter in our room a few days before that we were required to take the test. We didn't think to argue with them.

Did you enjoy your cruise otherwise? You said this left a bad taste in your mouth, but hope the rest was an outstanding experience.

I've done Wind Spirit Tahiti and honestly when I take the cruise again this summer, I'd pay $138 plus run from bow to stern naked to be in Tahiti on that ship!

[patty1955]

1 hour ago, Petoonya said:

Did you enjoy your cruise otherwise? You said this left a bad taste in your mouth, but hope the rest was an outstanding experience.

I've done Wind Spirit Tahiti and honestly when I take the cruise again this summer, I'd pay $138 plus run from bow to stern naked to be in Tahiti on that ship!

We enjoyed the cruise with a few exceptions. The air conditioning in our rooms wasn't working right. One night the temperature in our room must have been in the high 70's. They adjusted the temperature when we complained but it kept happening. It wasn't just us though. One couple told us the staff had replaced their thermostat 4 times.

The crew was probably the best we've ever had.

[Babr]

On 4/21/2022 at 4:56 PM, patty1955 said:

We receive a letter in our room a few days before that we were required to take the test. We didn't think to argue with them.

You’d think Windstar would know which countries require entrance testing. Their business is travel.

 

Too bad they required everyone to take a test at the time of their choosing rather than assisting passengers who actually needed it at a time that met their requirements for onward travel. Whose convenience are we talking about?

[Petoonya]

16 hours ago, Babr said:

Too bad they required everyone to take a test at the time of their choosing rather than assisting passengers who actually needed it at a time that met their requirements for onward travel. Whose convenience are we talking about?

As I said a few posts ago most here on the board have a few negative experiences, but the overwhelming number of reviews are "WOW!" Not being able to cruise for 2 years I will be so overjoyed to get on Wind Spirit this summer it will be difficult to complain about anything. Have had such outstanding experiences if they stopped me when boarding and said I owed an extra $1000 I'd whip out the VISA card. If the stateroom toilet was clogged the whole cruise and I had to use the public restroom I have confidence I'd still love the cruise.

 

The only thing I can think of that I might gripe about is if they wouldn't feed me.

[Babr]

18 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

As I said a few posts ago most here on the board have a few negative experiences, but the overwhelming number of reviews are "WOW!" Not being able to cruise for 2 years I will be so overjoyed to get on Wind Spirit this summer it will be difficult to complain about anything. Have had such outstanding experiences if they stopped me when boarding and said I owed an extra $1000 I'd whip out the VISA card. If the stateroom toilet was clogged the whole cruise and I had to use the public restroom I have confidence I'd still love the cruise.

 

The only thing I can think of that I might gripe about is if they wouldn't feed me.

I’m not quite that forgiving, but I’ll admit that thinking about putting together any trip under the current circumstances makes me sound grumpy. Sorry.

Edited April 23, 2022 by Babr

[Petoonya]

2 hours ago, Babr said:

I’m not quite that forgiving, but I’ll admit that thinking about putting together any trip under the current circumstances makes me sound grumpy. Sorry.

You're not grumpy.

It's tough and you just want things to go smoothly. You may be a WS regular and forgive me if you are, but if not, get ready for pure bliss.

Nancy