Barrycat

Not to be a Grinch, and as I said, it’s something but if the 5% which we get every time, is not additional then it’s just a little something.

We always get upgrades and obc, usually more than this $100. We typically  do over 14 day cruises so  laundry is not a plus. Ditto with the officer dinners. The discount on the liquor package still doesn’t make the package worthwhile for us.

The discount on excursions, which may be the only off ship activities, and the free WiFi are a plus. And who knows, whatever is special about the keycard may be the thing that gets me excited about this program.

For some this may all be additional benefits and I’m glad that Windstar has taken the initiative.

Well it something. We are already getting 5% as alumni. Is this 5% in addition to that?

We have 175 days done or booked, no letter but they always take good care of us on board. We just got a crazy $$ upgrade for a Fall 2022 European sailing so no complaints. Why don’t you fill us in on the new alumni program

Amazingly this has become a political issue and what a disappointment that is. There are those that believe in science and those that don’t believe in the importance of being considerate of the well being of others. You wear a mask to protect others, sorry for the inconvenience. We have a friend who passed away in Kansas City from Covid. Probably caught it from someone who didn’t think wearing a mask was important. I wonder how many of the 215,000 Covid dead caught it from someone objecting to wearing a mask?

How lucky Susiesan was to find such a remote and unpopular hiking spot that the did not pass anyone either going in the same or opposite direction. If that were not the case I’m sure that she would be thankful that those fellow hikers were considerate enough of her health and well being to wear a mask.

I agree that the successful development of a vaccine is an important step towards getting some control over COVID. The reality however is that surveys show that 50% of people say they will not take the vaccine. Unfortunately this depends on political affiliations and general aversion to all vaccines. Also, some studies indicate that the vaccine may only be 50% effective. The result, as few as 25% of people will be effectively covered once a vaccine is available.  Add to this the fact that the broad availability of any vaccine could stretch well into mid to late 2021. 
My guess is that if you are reading this you may qualify as an age group that would get some priority for shots but the reality is that the vaccine is no major panacea and that masks and social distancing are going to be a way of life for smart people for quite awhile. 

The leaders of the five largest cruise lines met with VP Pence to try to get the CDC restrictions on cruise line sailings  lifted. At that meeting the recommendations of the Healthy Sail Panel were discussed as a vehicle to convince the administration to direct the CDC to lift the ban. Listed below are the five major recommendations of the panel including restrictions on passengers shore activities. Again the current and proposed restrictions only apply to areas of CDC jurisdiction but some of the recommendations have already been adopted by international cruise lines as well.

The Healthy Sail Panel's 65-plus-page report includes 74 detailed best practices to protect the public health and the safety of passengers, crew and the communities where cruise ships call.

Five key areas

There are five key areas. First, aggressive measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 from entering a ship through robust education, screening and testing of crew and guests prior to embarkation. Second, reducing transmission via air management strategies and enhanced sanitation practices. Third, implementing detailed plans to address infection on board, including contingencies for on-board treatment, isolation and rapid evacuation and repatriation. Fourth, closely controlling shore excursions and fifth, enhanced protection for crew.

The president of FP announced in Paris today that there are some imminent changes to the current entry requirements. Apparently this was precipitated, at least partially, by the problems Air Tahiti Nui was having with lack of passengers.

On this last point, President Édouard Fritch reassured the company by indicating that, in consultation with the State authorities, the entry protocol for travelers would change in the coming days.
 

We may get used to it but “stretched” is unfortunately a good description. It looks like someone grabbed either end a pulled. I think it is out of proportion.

After 138 days on various Windstar ships and forty more booked, we are looking at Seaborn to fill a void in Windstar’s plans. The only planned Windstar cruises in Asia through mid 2022 is a Spirit round trip to Singapore for work. 
Obviously Windstar does extensive research to determine where their customers want to cruise but I think it is unfortunate that they have made the decision to deploy two ships to Northern Europe and none to Asia. With only six small ships they cannot be everywhere but with many memorable cruises on Windstar, the most memorable were Vietnam, Bangkok, and on to Dubai, Luxor and Petra.

Hopefully future Windstar plans will include Asia and the Middle East once again but in the meantime Seaborn seems like a very capable if somewhat different substitute.

Suzisan

I find yourself suggestion to r&d that she should not be worried about being exposed to the virus curious. If you are not worried about exposure you should be. I wonder how many of the 205,000 Americans who died from the virus we not “worried” about exposure. 

Equally curious was your statement that the virus will never go away and we will just need to learn to live with it. Is this a statement of fact or opinion?

1. This is only a proposal to the CDC at this point although it has been adopted by some lines already.

2.  I’m assuming that the CDC only has jurisdiction over cruises with a US origin or destination,  not totally foreign cruises. Also there are practically no US registered cruise ships. CDC decisions may “inspire” other jurisdictions but they have no authority.

3.  This undoubtedly would  make cruising safer from a health perspective. Would this attract more potential customers than the lack of port flexibility turns off?

The attached article outlines a proposal by a cruise industry group to the CDC to limit passengers off ship activities to approved excursions etc. Granted this would exert some control over passengers  contact with potentially Covid infected individuals but it will also be self serving by the cruise lines to promote their over priced excursions.

Sorry for the ads at the bottom, cannot delete

One of the proposals sent to the CDC would reportedly limit passengers from freely roaming around towns near ports, and only guests who book an actual excursion would be allowed off the boat at all.

The proposal was developed by the Healthy Sails Panel, a group of experts convened by the Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. Such a move would limit contact between passengers and crew members with local populations, they say, and therefore prevent the potential spread of the coronavirus.

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"Prior to COVID-19, cruise operators allowed for both fully curated excursions and self-guided excursions and independent exploration at destinations of interest," reads their proposal, per the Sun-Sentinel. "However, the risk of exposure for the people in communities that are visited, and for cruise ship guests and crew, increase as more mixing between these groups occurs. Therefore, the panel recommends that cruise operators initially prohibit self-guided tours and independent exploration and only allow certain curated indoor activities until further notice."

Yesterday I posted what I thought was encouraging new on virus developments in Tahiti. Today I did more research and now I’m confused about what Is going on .
Over  the past number of days there has been a steady increase number of cases. Now only  in the mid 500’s With about half “cured” but still rising. In mid August the CDC issued a “avoid all nonessential travel warning” to French Polynesia and I’m not aware that it has been rescinded. Not to jump to conclusions but Susisan may be right, leave it to the French to reverse the confinement levels with the rest of the world, and they are saying that FP is headed in the wrong direction. 
if this continues to spread, Windstar May have been right to cancel 2020 cruises.

Encouraging 

Below is a statement made by the FP Minister of Health yesterday. It appears that they are headed in the right direction. Good news for all of us that are anxious to visit.

Finally, the latter indicated that the epidemic situation in French Polynesia was "at stage 3 and bordering on stage 4". Stage 4 being an "administrative" phaseallowing the High Commissioner to order "localized confinement" measures . 
 

Actually the Spirit spent the past few months on the north side of the island of Singapore not the Philippines. They obviously didn’t take advantage of that down time painting the ship but I’m confident that the crew will be energized to get the boat ship shape before any of us arrive

Susiesan
Sorry but I’m not wrong, at least according to the CDC and I think they should know. See the attached. https://www.whitehouse.gov/openingamerica/

I just can’t help myself so....unless Tahiti’s location south of the equator reverses things like the drain in a sink, my guess is their phase three is the same as ours.

The restrictions you listed are consistent with phase two. As they stated, I think they are considering going to phase three once the current restrictions expire on the 25th.

That all may change depending on developments.

Susiesan

Just to be clear, stage three is the least restrictive of the three stages.

Moving  to stage three would be a good sign for travel.

Don’t stew over this Petoonya. April 2021 is a long way off. Between now and then lots will happen in Tahiti, and Windstar along with the rest of the cruise business will do make the kinds of adjustments that will make cruising safe and hopefully fun again.

You are a cruising pro and you know how this all works.

Unless you paid all of your 4/29 cruise I would guess that you could use the FCC you got  to pay off the balance on the 4/29 cruise. I would pursue your first response. It appears to me that the FCC expire date from your first cruise has nothing to do with what happens if the 4/29 cruise is cancelled Hopefully this is not the case, but if they do cancel the 4/29, the FCC would be good from a year from the date of cancellation. 
FYI, I just got a FCC for a cancelled cruise next January. The FCC was issued 8/4 and was good until June 30,2022. Obviously the line has differing policies on COVID cancelled and change to charter cancellations in terms of issuing FCC.

ridethetidea

Not conflicting reporting. The PG is part of Ponant. Just like the Wind Spirit is part of Windstar.

I'm sure that the PG followed Their plan. If someone shows the virus after the four day test, the ship retunes to Papeete with all passengers confined to their cabins. After arrival everyone on board is tested. NewCruiser makes a good point, it takes a few days for the virus to develop so if everyone tests ok does the ship resume its schedule or do they send everyone home as a precaution. To be continued.
 

Whatever happens this is a disaster for the passengers. This is a dream trip for many, at best they will miss ports if the cruise resumes, as worst they will need to arrange early transportation home and deal with all of the complications of cancellations, refunds, and on and on.

Not that whatever it is will fully satisfy these poor people but it will be interesting to see what Ponant will do to compensate them. Granted the people on board were aware of the risk they were taking but Ponant was a bit too anxious to get foreigners on board.

Here is clip from the Ponant web site, if they only knew:

PONANT promises you unforgettable moments aboard our sleek and intimately sized cruise yachts,

ATN has been the only airline that I am aware of that has so far published and updated the tests and results required prior to boarding flights to Tahiti. Since ALL of their flights eventually end up in Tahiti, which is their base, they have a very strong incentive to keep the details of entry requirements current and complete. 
Consequently I’m assuming that ATN policy is a reflection of French Polynesia policy.
Tahiti is not a priority for UA, AF, or ANZ and so they are not rushing to comfort their passengers with the information they need to board a plane for Tahiti. So far ATN has supplied specific and detailed information about requirements and updated them as they change.

Good news and I think it was inevitable. This will make things much easier and predictable. I just got an email from Air Tahiti Nui Stating the following:

Air Tahiti Nui News Update

Covid-19 test requirements have been simplified with the acceptance of the rapid Molecular RT-PRC test. These tests do not require a laboratory and maybe be processed in a medical facility in as little as one hour! The key points are that test must be a Molecular RT-PCR and not an antibody, antigen or serology (blood) test.

"Proof of a negative Covid-19 test (RT-PCR or PCR) molecular laboratory or rapid test, such as the Abbott ID Now Molecular test carried out within three days prior to their international air departure (e.g. if the flight departs on a Monday at 11pm, the passenger needs to take the test the preceding Friday). Antigen and antibody tests not accepted.

The results of this test must be negative and the medical document confirming this, and clearly indicating the type of test taken, issued by a Doctor, Hospital or Medical Clinic must be presented to airline staff upon check-in prior to boarding the flight to French Polynesia."


For more information on French Polynesia entry requirements and Air Tahiti Nui's flight schedule, please visit the following webpage: https://www.airtahitinui.com/us-en/french-polynesia-entry-requirements-air-tahiti-nui-flight-schedule-0

Not to belabor this subject but I will anyway.

Here is the description of the necessary test for entry from the “official” Tahiti tourism web site

Prior to departure

I agree that this is all very confusing but there is no doubt that ATN does not allow rapid testing for boarding. As I read the FDA website it lists a number of molecular tests and states that results can be available in 24 hours or a week. I don’t think it refers specifically to a rapid RT-PCR test

ATN does refer to a lab in the LA area that will do the testing, hopefully on an expedited basis, but does not give any indication that something is scheduled to be done at LAX. This same issue applies to Air France out of LAX so hopefully this will add some heft to arriving at a resolution.

A caution for munidonuts, if you are on one ticket rather than two, and you are flying from So Cal to SFO and on to Tahiti, you may be required to have the necessary test before you board your first flight. This depends on how aware the check in desk is but it’s similar to needing necessary visas on a domestic flight connecting to an overseas leg.

here is a screenshot of the FDA page