bostonbutterfly

I am one of those people. I would love to shop around, but I have no idea who is reputable. I'm not going to dish out many thousands of dollars for a vacation and just hope that agent/agency is on the up and up. Everyone here seems to know who the reputable agencies are, but if you're new here, like me, you're kind of left floundering around wondering where to shop for a reasonable price. I'm not interested in the cheapest price because there is usually a reason why something is too good to be true. I'm more interested in reasonable / not getting screwed.

If anyone can point in the direction to learn who the reputable agencies are, I'd be grateful. I realize you can't name names.......

Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond! I appreciate that. Apparently WS has a very passionate following!

I will start to watch prices/sales to get a sense of what is a reasonable price for the Tahiti cruise at the time we'd like to go. I have no sense of what is reasonable. I wish there was an independent website dedicated to people posting prices they've paid (regardless of cruise line). Something like date purchased, cruise line, ship, cabin category(#, deck?), departure date and price paid. There is something similar for hotel booking for Priceline. I realize there are so many factors involved in pricing, but it just feels like there is still that sense of hidden information when it comes to cruise prices. Maybe its just me and I need to dig deeper in my research.

Its great to feel excited again about a cruise! Thanks all!

Howellmc: I'll check out your post.

On the lowest deck you will feel a bit more of the normal motion as water passes under the ship. The higher you are and the more toward either the bow or stern the more you'll be impacted in stormy weather.

Hmm.. I guess low deck mid ship is where I'll try for! Thanks!

Thanks Strenz! Will do.

I did see that all the cabins are the same. Am I wrong that the least motion will be in the lower middle cabins? (I'm a bonine cruiser!). I was surprised to hear that because you like the motion, you choose the lower deck.

I grew up in Weymouth, lived in Braintree for quite a while, and recently moved to Hull. (Trust me.....its changing, LOL!) I'm fortunate to be looking out over the bay. It's our own little paradise. Never lived by the water before, and never imagined I would, but now that I do, I can't imagine ever not living there!!!

Strenz: Your comments are very helpful. Thank you! The Tahiti cruise does seem like it would absolutely magical, and apparently there are many people here who agree. Your point about experiences with the central office being miles apart from the experience on the ship did ease my trepidation about continuing to consider cruising again. I kind of got side tracked with cold feet when I start reading some of those threads, which in hindsight, are mostly about central office. Also, having no prior WS experience, I have nothing to compare to, other than mass market - so I don't see how we could possibly go wrong with the Tahiti cruise! (We do not expect perfection, and I totally agree that doing so will always lead to disappointment. )

I'll keep moving forward with my research. I have plenty of time. The big Five Zero isn't for a year and a half. In the past whenever we booked cruises, we booked way in advance. I assumed this type of cruise, being a very small ship, would sell out very far in advance. Apparently, with their new policy, people are electing to wait on booking. Obviously, there is a fine line between waiting for a better price, and not having much choice in cabins, or worse - the sailing of choice fully booked.

Thanks again!

PS - small world. I live not all that far from you. I live on the south shore......

Honestly, I never thought I’d be here again. I have been on maybe ten mass market cruises during my 20s through my 40s (Norwegian, RCCL and Disney). Over that time, I came to be more and more disappointed (irritated?) with cruising. There were so many things that bothered me more and more every time we went on a cruise, that after the last one we decided that the cruising “phase”of our life was over and we may never go on one again. Time to do more “grown up” vacations. I thought our tastes had just naturally changed over time as we got older, and cruising just wasn’t for us anymore. What did we come to hate about cruising? The hordes of people, along with the horde mentality. The lines. The buffet (cafeteria like) food. The casinos. The picture taking. The cheesy entertainment. The dance parties. The KIDS! The inability to find a quiet space to relax. The inability to leave your chair to use the restroom because your chair would be gone the second you turn your back. Frankly, I was continually disgusted with how much food many of the passengers wasted……the whole “I paid for this so I can do what I want” mentality. Time after time I’d see people PILE food onto their plates, take two bites and walk away leaving the rest destined for the trash bin (not to mention just leaving the plate there for a worker to clear. I can only imagine what that worker thinks in those situations…..) By the last cruise it just felt to me that cruising was a giant churning business. Get the masses in, extract as much money as possible from them for the least cost, get them out, rinse,repeat. Yuck.

Fast forward to now. My spouse and I are discussing what we’d like to do for our 50th birthday trip. (we both turn 50 in the same year). We really want a special vacation, and feel like 50 deserves a WOW! We decided what we really want is a relaxing, pampering vacation. And THEN, we talked to someone who just RAVED about the Windstar Tahiti cruise! (She has done quite a few WS cruises) The more we talked, and the more reading I’ve done, the more this trip, and the cruise line, sounds perfect for us. But then last night I read through some CC discussions about WS changing and some long term faithful customers feeling like it’s just not the same anymore (the “thrifty” discussion, the price discussion, the new 120 day policy discussion). I feel like I’m on a roller coaster. One minute I feel so excited about trying the Windstar Tahiti cruise,and the next minute I’m thinking, “What am I DOING??? Why on earth am I even considering a cruise again??????”

So. Should I try cruising again? Is a special 50th trip the wrong time to dip our toes in the water again??? Am I a day late to the party and WS is just not what it used to be anymore?