Windstar cancels all Star Pride Itineraries through April 9

NOTE: I am just repeating info from Reddit. Someone there claims they received a call from a relative aboard a Windstar ship that had run aground on a Panama trip. Thread here, not much detail:

I have not read any reports from other sources yet to confirm this.

This from Windstar this morning:

On December 22, at approximately 6:15 am CST, Windstar Cruises, Star Pride, experienced a grounding while coming into anchor at Isla de Coiba, Panama. All guests and crew are safe. Guests were disembarked as scheduled for the day’s private island event. Windstar’s technical team inspected the ship and identified some areas of the hull that are damaged, making the ship unable to sail.

As the safety and security of guests and crew is of the utmost priority, the current Star Pride cruise is canceled. Because of Isla de Coiba’s remote location (an island off the coast of Panama), the lack of infrastructure in the area, and the lack of other support vessels, Windstar arranged for sister ship, Star Breeze, along with the Terra Moana (also sailing nearby) to transfer the guests to the mainland. We are grateful and appreciative for the support of the Terra Moana in this time of need.

Star Pride guests are currently en route to Golfito, Costa Rica. From there they will be transferred to San Jose, Costa Rica where they have the option to stay in Costa Rica for the remainder of their vacation, or to fly home early. Star Pride guests were refunded 100% of their voyage, as well as a 100% of cruise fare paid for future cruise credit. The crew of the Star Pride will join the Star Breeze on Wednesday, December 23rd.

The ship will be towed to the port of Balboa in Panama for further inspections and repairs. At this time we are also cancelling the December 26th Star Pride voyage. Letters and call outs will start going out when our Vacation Planning department opens at 6:00 am PT.

Wow, very unfortunate but also handled very professionally. Kudo's to PG Terra Moana for assisting. Competition most days but a helpful hand in this matter.

Hope the trip back to Costa Rica is not too difficult - those roads can be a pain, or maybe they can fly them back somehow.

Sad for the folks that were flying out this Saturday - that is a bummer.

Very professional of Windstar Cruises, so sad for pax during their Christmas holidays. I hope everyone gets back home safe and sound. Susanne

Speaking as a passenger from this ship, it seems as though folks here on Cruise Critic got better info sooner than we did. Things are quite disorganized here, but most of the staff (particularly the staff of Star Breeze and Richie, the bar manager from Star Pride) are trying very hard to take care of everyone.

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Thanks ChalupaMama for the update. Who is the Captain?

Just had a message from my TA. The Pride itin on 12/26 is cancelled and we don't yet know what to do and what WS will do to make this good. We have hugely expensive business class tickets that we purchased.

Just had a message from my TA. The Pride itin on 12/26 is cancelled and we don't yet know what to do and what WS will do to make this good. We have hugely expensive business class tickets that we purchased.

Apparently we're getting a full refund and 1/2 off a future itin. Apparently our airfare is lost.

I am sure things are disorganized given what happened and I am sure everyone is doing the best they can given the circumstances and that is not demean what is happening to ruined vacations/holidays etc. whenever I have purchased business class tickets they have been refundable sometimes with and without fees, as well as getting miles back with a fee and our travel insurance refunded the cost. With my sister it was a medical emergency and the airlines were nice no charge and refunded the tickets. Good luck all, my best wishes are with everyone. Susanne

Thanks ChalupaMama for the update. Who is the Captain?

Don't you mean "who WAS the Captain", these type of incidents are pretty much a quick path to an ENCOURAGED retirement for a Captain. These guys don't recover from this type of mistake, even if not his fault.

Apparently we're getting a full refund and 1/2 off a future itin. Apparently our airfare is lost.

Most business class fares will allow reissue for a small fee so all should not be lost.

I do think Windstar handled this very well for those onboard as well as those on the cancelled sailing. I have seen other lines do less.

We always purchase travel insurance as you just never know. It is a small investment for piece of mind.

Most business class fares will allow reissue for a small fee so all should not be lost.

 

I do think Windstar handled this very well for those onboard as well as those on the cancelled sailing. I have seen other lines do less.

 

We always purchase travel insurance as you just never know. It is a small investment for piece of mind.

Just a $200 pp change fee which will be offset by the 1/2 off offer from WS. I've always thought trip insurance was throwing money down the drain now need to rethink.

I feel for the 12/26 pax who planned time in Costa Rica before the cruise and are already there! Beyond an email WS hasn't especially tried to reach us.

Just a $200 pp change fee which will be offset by the 1/2 off offer from WS. I've always thought trip insurance was throwing money down the drain now need to rethink.

 

The reason that trip insurance is not "throwing money down the drain" is not for trip cancellation or delay so much as for the health and medical evacuation coverage. Those features are relatively inexpensive and will potentially cover a catastrophe that might otherwise cost as much as half a million dollars.

I always buy trip insurance, not only for medivac which can be really costly, but for unforeseen circumstances like the one Milepig is experiencing. In 2014 when my husband got a kidney stone four days prior to sailing on Windstar, we forfeited the entire cost of the two week cruise, plus air. But thanks to our trip insurance all of the costs were covered and repaid to us. We cruise often and have seen many cruisers without insurance suffer terrible consequences.

$ 200 pp is a lot less than 1/2 off offer for future WS. Financially you are mathematically ahead. Since we are in the youth of old age , 60's , I would not think of not buying trip insurance. But if you have never bought insurance you are also ahead. When we took the Wind Spirit across thecPacific I was worried about evacuation in the middle of the Paciffic, $ 8 pp great price for a piece of mind, we were insured for $500,000 evacuation. All part of the cost of our trip. Happy Sailing. Susanne

Apparently we're getting a full refund and 1/2 off a future itin. Apparently our airfare is lost.

You should be able to claim a refund through you travel insurance provider.

Thanks ChalupaMama for the update. Who is the Captain?

You mean who was the Captain !!!!!

We purchased insurance for this cruise (first time we've done this), but were informed that cancelation by the cruise line is not covered. Our very expensive, non-refundable, one-way flights (different airlines) may be canceled with the fare credited, but there will be a $300 per person change fee for each leg and we have to rebook by June.

Have others heard that to get the 50% future cruise credit from Windstar, you must rebook within two weeks from 12/23.

We purchased insurance for this cruise (first time we've done this), but were informed that cancelation by the cruise line is not covered. Our very expensive, non-refundable, one-way flights (different airlines) may be canceled with the fare credited, but there will be a $300 per person change fee for each leg and we have to rebook by June.

 

Have others heard that to get the 50% future cruise credit from Windstar, you must rebook within two weeks from 12/23.

This is the text of the email we received from WS:

December 23, 2015

Dear valued guest,

We are reaching out to you regarding your December 26th Star Pride Costa Rica & Panama Canal voyage cruising from Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica.

As you may be aware, the December 26th Costa Rica & Panama Canal cruise has been canceled.

On December 22 Star Pride, experienced a grounding while coming into anchor at Isla de Coiba, Panama. All guests and crew are safe. Windstar’s technical team inspected the ship and identified some areas of the hull that are damaged, making the ship unable to sail. The current cruise is canceled and those guests are currently en route to San Jose, Costa Rica.

The ship will be towed to the port of Balboa in Panama for further inspections and repairs. Therefore we are also cancelling the December 26th Star Pride voyage.

Windstar will refund 100% of your cruise. You will be receiving a check in the mail. This process typically takes 2-3 weeks but may be a week or so longer because of the holidays.

Additionally, as a gesture of goodwill, guests will be receiving a future cruise credit of 50% of cruise fare paid on this current voyage.

We would like to apologize for the situation. The decision to impact the cruise has not been made lightly, however the safety of our guests, Officers and crew is the utmost priority. We extend our deepest apologies for this inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Dustin Halcon

Director, Vacation Planning

Nothing about needing to rebook so quickly and I'd be surprised if the 2 weeks is correct, especially with the holidays. I'll call my TA when California wakes up for the day. I do expect that the credit will come with strings - up to the original cost, etc., and we've lost all the incentives that made us book this itin to begin with.

Airline policies vary. Our change fee was only $200 and we have 12 months to rebook. Since you can book almost 12 months before a flight that's actually a 24 month window before the rebooks flight.

<Airline policies vary. Our change fee was only $200 and we have 12 months to rebook. Since you can book almost 12 months before a flight that's actually a 24 month window before the rebooks flight.>

That is highly unusual. IME, travel has to be within 12 months and not just rebooking. You are fortunate to have this much flexibility.

<Airline policies vary. Our change fee was only $200 and we have 12 months to rebook. Since you can book almost 12 months before a flight that's actually a 24 month window before the rebooks flight.>

 

That is highly unusual. IME, travel has to be within 12 months and not just rebooking. You are fortunate to have this much flexibility.

Hmmm. As long as I've been flying, which is longer than I care to think, it's been a period of time to rebook, not actually fly. In the olden days when there were no cancellation fees, my TA (remember them?) used this trick to carry a ticket forward for years, she'd just keep rebooking something cancellable and then cancel that one later, lather, rinse, repeat.

In terms of the credit, I just reread the line and it says "50% of cruise fare paid on this current voyage" so it is 50% of the fare paid for the 12/26 itin, the remaining question is how they're defining "fare".

I just called WS and here's what I was told:

The future cruise credits will be issued after the 1st of the year, and will be good for a cruise within 12 months of the date the credit is issued. There is no window in which the booking must be made, just for a cruise within the 12 month window.

It will be a credit for 50% off the base fare of the cancelled itin, which is what shows on your invoice as the cabin price - not fees, not taxes, and not anything else. So, for us, the 50% credit will work out to about 1/3 of the grand total we paid for the cruise. (This, of course, is in addition to the full refund of this cruise.)

Since it is a credit, and not a discount, you can book any cruise at any fare and the credit can be used against that booking.

The agent also said something about being "fare protected" and explained that if the cruise we chose was a higher cost that we'd be booked at the fare we paid for the canceled itin. I'll wait for the terms and conditions to see about this, since there must be some restrictions as to what would qualify - I wouldn't expect them to match the fare for a 15 day cruise, and would imagine it would need to be the same cabin type!

So, all in all, not too bad.

Not to be a cheer leader for another cruise line, but on the rare occasions that my favorite line has cancelled cruises, they refunded all payments, offered a credit on future cruises, and offered reimbursement for any out of pocket losses, such as unusable airline tickets, prepaid hotel reservations, etc.

Hmmm. As long as I've been flying, which is longer than I care to think, it's been a period of time to rebook, not actually fly. In the olden days when there were no cancellation fees, my TA (remember them?) used this trick to carry a ticket forward for years, she'd just keep rebooking something cancellable and then cancel that one later, lather, rinse, repeat.

.

I also have been flying for many years, to the tune of 1.5+ million miles with Delta alone. I just looked at their website and the rules are the same as I remember:

"For travel between and/or within Canada, United States, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, your ticket must be reissued and all travel completed within one year from the original date of issue.

For all other travel, your ticket is valid for one year. If travel was started, your ticket must be reissued and all travel must be completed within one year of the start date. If travel was not started, your ticket must be reissued and travel must begin within one year of the original date of issue."

I imagine that most major airlines are the same, unless they have become more lenient, which would be quite surprising.