Check-In Time

Our cruise documents say check-in is after 5pm. That seems awfully late, since the ship arrives that morning at 7:00am. Does Windstar hold strict to that time, or can one usually check-in earlier? Thank you.

For all the Windstar cruises I've been on, the "all-aboard" time was 5:00 pm, with boarding starting around 1:00 pm. There is much work for the crew to do before the new passengers arrive so I doubt they would permit you to board any earlier than 1:00.

For all the Windstar cruises I've been on, the "all-aboard" time was 5:00 pm, with boarding starting around 1:00 pm. There is much work for the crew to do before the new passengers arrive so I doubt they would permit you to board any earlier than 1:00.

Thank you. 1:00pm would be great. I understand if the cabins aren't ready until later. I just thought checking in after 5pm seemed on the late-ish side.

What time is your departure? Checkin times are pegged to departure time, not when the ship arrived. We've never seen boarding begin before the posted time.

What time is your departure? Checkin times are pegged to departure time, not when the ship arrived. We've never seen boarding begin before the posted time.

Departure is 10:00pm. Short of checking in, we were really hoping to be able to drop off the bags and go exploring.

We've asked our TA to contact WS about this 5 pm boarding. Why we don't leave until 10 is strange. It makes the trip one day less as well. Will let you know what they say.

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I contacted Windstar about this and the phone rep confirmed a 1pm boarding time for the San Juan itinerary, even though the online itinerary says 5pm boarding, 10pm departure. She didn't know what to make of that discrepancy, so it would be good to know what your TA finds out.

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We are on the Dec 5 Legend sailing from San Juan. The itinerary shown in "My Windstar" online showed a check-in time of 5:00. But when our actual edocs arrived via email last week, they indicated check-in at 1:00 and all aboard at 8:00.

We are on the Dec 5 Legend sailing from San Juan. The itinerary shown in "My Windstar" online showed a check-in time of 5:00. But when our actual edocs arrived via email last week, they indicated check-in at 1:00 and all aboard at 8:00.

Thanks, Ms. Tiki. That seems to confirm what the Windstar rep told me over the phone. I'll be on the sailing after yours, Dec. 12 and land at SJU around noon. That means some time to check out old San Juan before departing. Nice.

We are on the Dec 5 Legend sailing from San Juan. The itinerary shown in "My Windstar" online showed a check-in time of 5:00. But when our actual edocs arrived via email last week, they indicated check-in at 1:00 and all aboard at 8:00.

Our experience with Windstar is that the ship is usually ready to board around 1:00pm I never asked but I suppose the 5:00pm check-in time is stated because they would like to have everyone aboard well before sailing time. We seldom see "runners" at embarkation.

Windstar is unlike most other cruise lines because their small passenger capacity permits a lot more flexibility such as when to start dinner that first day.

Thanks for the post. Confirmed by my TA today. Apparently all of the ship's leave SJ at night to accommodate late flights arriving from the states.

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Our experience with Windstar is that the ship is usually ready to board around 1:00pm I never asked but I suppose the 5:00pm check-in time is stated because they would like to have everyone aboard well before sailing time. We seldom see "runners" at embarkation.

 

Windstar is unlike most other cruise lines because their small passenger capacity permits a lot more flexibility such as when to start dinner that first day.

Thanks Host Walt. We are looking forward to the small ship experience on Windstar.

My next question is when is muster drill for a 10:00 sailing?

Thanks Host Walt. We are looking forward to the small ship experience on Windstar.

 

My next question is when is muster drill for a 10:00 sailing?

It's up to the Captain once everyone is boarded. Remember, with such a small passenger count, almost everything can be tailored to the circumstances.

Example 1 - If folks approach the cruise director the day before a port visit and ask for a specialized shorex, he/she will go to work to try to make it happen.

Example 2 - If a shorex returns late, the dining room hours will be adjusted for those returning late.

Example 3 - on a cruise down the southern west coast of Italy, the Captain was told that Stromboli volcano was blowing so he changed course so we could get a close up view. Bonus, he made sure it would be late afternoon so that we could see it both at twilight and in the dark of night. Wow, what an experience. (They even set up a service bar and light snacks to accomodate what turns out to be almost everyone on board.)

That's one reason we love Windstar.