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Why Does Windstart Make it so Difficult to Book With Them


FlightMedic555
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Having sailed on a few small ships including the Paul Gauguin I thought it would be a great idea to see what Windstar offers. I requested their catalogue through their website and a very impressive brochure arrived in a few days.

 

I really don't have a set itinerary in mind but was looking for something off the beaten path perhaps in Asia. When I reviewed the brochure the only thing missing was the price. Being able to compare one cruse, at a specific time of the year, against another specific to price apparently is not possible with Windstar (at least through their brochure).

 

I called and asked for a pricing sheet and I was told that due to the numerous sales that they have that they don't provide a pricing sheet. Now the pricing routine is beginning to appear a bit shady. Pricing generally does fluctuate on other cruise lines but not to the degree that they won't provide a brochure with prices. I would be hesitant to book a Windstar cruise as I am willing to pay a reasonable price for the cruise but if the price keeps fluctuating up and down all the time (their words) it would seem to be a crap shoot to get a reasonable price.

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Having sailed on a few small ships including the Paul Gauguin I thought it would be a great idea to see what Windstar offers. I requested their catalogue through their website and a very impressive brochure arrived in a few days.

 

I really don't have a set itinerary in mind but was looking for something off the beaten path perhaps in Asia. When I reviewed the brochure the only thing missing was the price. Being able to compare one cruse, at a specific time of the year, against another specific to price apparently is not possible with Windstar (at least through their brochure).

 

I called and asked for a pricing sheet and I was told that due to the numerous sales that they have that they don't provide a pricing sheet. Now the pricing routine is beginning to appear a bit shady. Pricing generally does fluctuate on other cruise lines but not to the degree that they won't provide a brochure with prices. I would be hesitant to book a Windstar cruise as I am willing to pay a reasonable price for the cruise but if the price keeps fluctuating up and down all the time (their words) it would seem to be a crap shoot to get a reasonable price.

Let's see....the price of your airline tickets varies up and down depending on demand. The airline doesn't publish a "pricing sheet". Yet you buy from them without problem. You must not think that they are "shady" for having fluctuating prices.

 

The true culprit is likely a concept called "revenue management" or "yield management", which uses dynamic pricing to maximize revenue. It's a form of real-time supply and demand.

 

Cruiselines that do much of their advertising and "selling" on the basis of price (aka Carnival, NCL et al) have those printed prices as the hook to reel in customers. Many luxury lines, OTOH, print wildly inflated pricing that then gets discounted to real world numbers. It seems Windstar just says "let's cut out both ends of that paradigm".

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I don't think comparing a cruise to a flight is a fair comparison. When I book a flight I know when/where I am traveling. When I browse through a travel brochure I am commonly looking for ideas as to where my next trip will be. I realize that prices fluctuate and that sales are a given for marketing purposes but I would like to be able to see that a 10 day cruise in southeast asia costs "x" while a 9 night cruise in the same region costs "y".

 

Nat Geo/Lindblad does publish their fares, as does Paul Gauguin, as does every river cruise out there. The published fare is simply a starting point. With Windstar there is no starting point.

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I agree with you, flightmedic555.

It totally helps to have something you can use to compare, be it length of cruise, location of cruise, cabin on board, or all. We haven't sailed on Windstar since it came under current ownership, but prior to that, you could always get something to use to make initial comparisons.

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Windstar publishes prices on its web site.

 

I've been on two Windstar cruises that I booked directly through them and both times thought the booking process quite easy. I always check prices online and rarely refer to the prices in published brochures because they change so much.

Edited by Alturia
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I understand the pricing is on line and I understand it changes. All that being said it would be really convenient to view a 70 page brochure, that is beautifully laid out, and be able to see the approximate cost per cruise by sail date, cabin location, etc. Let's be honest, for some of us one review will let us know that this is not a $100 per night mainstream cruise and it is not for us. For others knowing whether this is a $500 per night Oceania priced cruise or a $1,000 per night Lindblad cruise would let us know if we should pursue this any further.

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This seems to be much to do about little. We booked a Star Pride eighteen day cruise eleven months in advance. Prices since we booked have fluctuated a bit but not more than two or three percent. This has been our experience on three previous Windstar cruises. My suggestion is you pick a cruise you really want, book it and stop looking at future price changes. Make your initial decision on if you think the itinerary is worth the price and stop tracking changes. We have never regretted what we have paid for a windstar cruise

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This seems to be much to do about little. We booked a Star Pride eighteen day cruise eleven months in advance. Prices since we booked have fluctuated a bit but not more than two or three percent. This has been our experience on three previous Windstar cruises. My suggestion is you pick a cruise you really want, book it and stop looking at future price changes. Make your initial decision on if you think the itinerary is worth the price and stop tracking changes. We have never regretted what we have paid for a windstar cruise

 

My original post had nothing to do with what happens when a price drops. It identified my frustration with being able to compare prices of various cruises based upon dates and itineraries which would help me make a choice of what I am most interested in. I understand that pricing in a brochure changes. I understand that prices after booking changes. I don't understand why Windstar is so reluctant to put their fares in their brochure.

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Brochure prices are useless as most cruiselines immediately discount those brochure or launch fares and claim that you save . But it is just marketing bs as no one pays the brochure or launch fare as it is discounted the minute bookings open .

 

Just look at the current price on the website and make your decision based on that . If you sit around waiting for a lower fare you might get one, but you probably will not . All cruise lines like Airlines are into this lottery type ever changing pricing and like airlines there is nothing we mugs can do about it .

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