bbmakin

Greetings,

I have a question for those who have cruised on the Tahiti dreams cruise on the wind star spirit. We are eager to see as much blue water as we can, and aren't quite as interested in spending time on land / sightseeing on the islands. That said, in the various places the spirit docks, is it possible to swim right from the water sports platform into beautiful water? Or do we have to book shore excursions in order to be transported to the lagoons with beautiful water? Thank you!

We just got off the ship a few hours ago so I'm speaking from very recent experience here, haha. You can swim off the platform but it's not in the lagoon water I think you're thinking of. If you're thinking of the turquoise see-to-the-bottom water you see in pictures, you'll have to go on excursions or into the ports to swim off the beach. The reason those waters looks so beautiful and clear in pictures is because it's shallow and the sunlight bounces off the sand on the bottom. The ship stays in 100+ feet of water.

Hi! We're looking to book an ATV/jetski combo tour in Bora Bora. I tried reaching out to Matira Jet Tours and got one email back with a form response on pricing, but when I responded with questions and how to book they never responded. Can anyone recommend another tour company or suggest a better way to get in touch with Matira?

Quick question, I know Room Service is complimentary, but is there a gratuity added on or is tipping handled directly with the server?

They do get a portion of the gratuities that are added at the end of the cruise, but you can give them something directly as well if you'd like.

In the future, you might want to put a more descriptive title on your post. Just saying "Is there a way" does not motivate people to look at, and respond to your question.

 

That being said, just call WindStar.

helpful, thanks ;)

We were so excited to see that but unfortunately it didn't make sense for us. On our cruise, it's $1200 more pp and if we booked three scuba trips and the drink package without doing the all inclusive, it would only be $750 more pp. We also try to stay off the internet as much as possible and in the past, the $50 internet package has been sufficient for us.

I think it really comes down to which excursions are included for your trip and which ones you'd like to do. On our cruise, the scuba is only $109 pp but there are excursions that cost nearly $500 for a couple. If those are also included, it may be worth it.

Side question - the only fare you can book for our cruise now is the all inclusive. Does anyone know if they're trying to make those cruises/dates totally all inclusive? If so, do you think they'll automatically make everyone that's already booked all inclusive too?

to find out how full the cruise is without calling Windstar or your travel agent? Just curious if it's as full as my travel agent said it was but don't feel like calling him to find out!

The wifi strength really depends on where you are. At some points during our cruise, it was awesome. At other times, we couldn't even use it. Most ports have cafes/bars/etc. with free wifi that most of the time has a better signal than the ship.

The grocery store has a great selection of French wines

thank you!

Bringing INTO Tahit- 2 Litres/pp

 

The following items may be imported into Tahiti by passengers 18 years and over without incurring customs duty:

 

• 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco.

• 2L of wine, sparkling wine, beer and cider and 2L of other alcoholic drinks.

• Goods up to a value of XPF30,000 (XPF15,000 for passengers up to 15 years of age).

 

Windstar theoretically limits you to 2 bottles/pp, which I've seen interpreted as "at a time" they certainly don't keep track:

 

 

Guests may bring aboard 2 bottles of wine or champagne for their enjoyment onboard. All additional alcohol, including those bottles purchased at ports of call along the cruise route, will be kept by the ship’s purser and delivered to your room the last evening of the voyage. Guests may consume the outside beverages in the dining room, but a small corkage fee will be applied to the guest's onboard account.

 

In reality I've never seen this enforced.

 

Can't help you with wine shops in Papeete

thank you!

Has anyone used them for the combo ATV/jet ski tour? How was it?

can each person bring into Tahiti? Does anyone know of a good place to buy wine in Papeete?

Thank you!

For breakfast they offer hot continental service but you have to put it on the card and hang it on your door the night before. You can also order in the morning but it's a more limited menu. There is a 24 hour room service menu with a good variety of offerings but still sort of limited - think like one soup choice, one salad, one sandwich, cheese plate, chips and dips, desserts. There is another menu available from like noonish until probably 9pm with everything on the 24 hour menu plus cheeseburgers, steak sandwiches, pizza, etc. during lunch and dinner service times you can also order anything from the Dining room menu to be delivered to your room. Late night adds some additional snacks like popcorn.

If you have a cruise booked, check the current pricing...you may be able to get a lower rate!!! We have been checking the prices daily since we booked as I know they always go down, and with no sale emails received or any other notices, we saw the prices dropped $900pp for our cruise so we were able to get the lower rate!!

Have you ever celebrated a birthday on Windstar? Do they have candles for a little celebration? Cakes??

My husband and I will BOTH be celebrating our birthdays on our cruise, and while I don't care about anything for myself, I want to be able to sing and celebrate his birthday at dinner. 😀

Thank you!

Hi! We are going on the 7 day Tahiti cruise and are trying to decide whether or not to get the drink package. It really depends on how much time we will be spending on the ship. We did a wind star cruise to Spain and it wouldn't have made sense there as we were off the ship the entire day, but from other threads it seems that even if we did an excursion every day in Tahiti we would still be on the ship/swimming etc from the sports platform for half the day. If you did the Tahiti cruise, how much time did you spend on the ship? Do you think the package is worth it for a destination like this? Thank you!