ciaoYacht

All the big US airlines now offer free changes (except on basic economy fares or the ultra low cost carriers) so you can change and get a credit with no hassle.

It's a bummer, and something to keep in mind moving forward... lessons learned the hard way for both of us. But like others have said, don't let it ruin your vacation. I certainly won't let it ruin mine!

I think the difference is that hotels, railroads, and even airlines post COVID are accommodating to changes now more than ever before. Doesn't seem to be the case with cruising, not just on Windstar... So of course I'll have a good time, I was just taken aback with the inflexibility.

Not getting that vibe from this thread. Sounds more like Windstar management defending their policies. Also, I plan to go and have a memorable time despite this. I may be dumb enough to fall for sneaky pricing gimmicks once, but I'm not dumb enough to self sabotage my scarce vacation time.

Hmm, haven't seen "ultra-premium" as a category before and in doing my research, as per Gary Bembridge, Windstar falls into the "luxury" category: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/windstar-cruises-tips/ I was actually booked on a Seabourn sailing St. Martin - Barbados during the same week and due to some port cancelations and changes they made, I moved it to a Med cruise in the fall. And further, this Windstar sailing was the same price as my Seabourn cruise. I thought I'd give another line a try, but the pre-cruise experience thus far has left a sour taste in my mouth.

Don't disagree, just hate feeling like I'm at an auction when I'm booking luxury - If I wanted that, I would book Carnival.

You can fly from Newark NJ for $99 USD each way.

https://www.windstarcruises.com/cruise/overview/caribbean/san-juan-to-san-juan/san-juan-the-virgin-islands/?pkgid=273235 Here is the cruise I booked and now you can get the Star Balcony for $100 less per person than what I paid for Star Ocean View Window

Traveling on Pride and Windstar for the first time in February, very much looking forward to your post!

I'll try to apply that logic when I'm working hard serving people, and see how well that turns out for me. If all cruise lines act like this then maybe cruising not right for me.

I booked my original fare within the 90 days on a "flash sale" thinking the price would not drop lower... foolish for me to think that, now an even lower "last minute cruise deal" fare is available! I won't be dumb enough to fall for this again. Again, this is not about the money, I don't want a refund of the fare difference. I am happy paying what I paid. If I wasn't happy with the price I wouldn't have booked the cruise in the first place... but Windstar's pricing games is lessening the "luxury" experience of this cruise. I don't want less value for more money, as none of us do, so I do feel I should get a Star Balcony which is now priced for less than what I paid for my Star Ocean View.

I'm sure they tell themselves that with each complaint they receive on this topic. For me, and I assume many others, it's not really about the money... after all, we really are blessed to be spending large sums of hard earned money to go on these luxe ships. For me, it's more about feeling value out of the luxury price tag I'm paying, and when they drastically cut fares after people have already paid to sell the remaining cabins at bargain basement prices and then refuse to make concessions, I admit I feel a little cheated. It's a psychological game, and when traveling on a 'luxury' line I don't want to play that game. Sure, I understand they are a business trying to make money but there may be better ways to do so then selling out your existing customers. A great example of a business who rarely does this is Four Seasons. This is a management practice and choice that Windstar has made, and it's up to them where they will "draw the line," but I don't like it and I will vote with my wallet. There are other options out there who don't operate like this: cruise lines, resorts, even airlines... I personally see no reason for these practices.

As a new cruiser to Windstar, I am frustrated with them today... I have limited past cruising experience but one prior sailing on Seabourn Ovation with another booked on Seabourn Encore in the med in September. I booked Windstar for Virgin Islands sailing on Star Pride Feb 25 out of San Juan over Seabourn to try something new after reading positive reviews. I booked Star Ocean View suite and with new pricing in effect yesterday the price for a Star Balcony suite is now $100 less than what we paid per person! I called my TA (large online agency) and she was unable to have any changes made - no transfer to balcony cabin. She said she asked them to upgrade me, but they could not "promise" it. I understand what everyone is saying here and I was happy sailing at the price I paid. But I don't like this psychological game that is unavoidable when they undercut pricing. In general, I think this is bad practice. At a minimum Windstar should offer changes (like cabin upgrade or onboard credit) so you are not penalized for booking early. Regardless of how good the cruise is, if they don't do something like an upgrade or OBC I doubt I'll be using Windstar again, I don't like playing these games - vacation should be hassle free.

What about on the Star Pride? I am thinking of bringing my parents on this ship and my father has mobility issues, uses a walker for short distances and a scooter for long distances. How accessible is this ship? I reviewed the info at https://www.windstarcruises.com/accessibility/ but it doesn't give a real sense of what the cruise might be like for someone with disabilities. Thank you!

Paid w AMEX Platinum but booked through a travel agent. I've already moved on and changed to a new cruise... the new cruise was actually cheaper so there was no additional cost, and they tried to tell my travel agent there would be a fee, but I haven't seen anything yet. I told my travel agent she can give them a choice between two options: 1. they don't charge me a fee and i'll continue to sail with them, or 2. they charge a change fee and this will be my last cruise with them. I am only 40 years old so I (hopefully) have a lot of sailings ahead of me... whether its on Seabourn or not.

Thumbs down Seabourn. I will vote with my wallet if they don’t care. Because I don’t care to give them my money then. Apparently not. They hadn’t even heard of this section 8 as mentioned above. Very disheartening.

I was also booked on a sailing Feb 25 from St. Martin to Barbados, and was notified about the four port changes. I was extremely disappointed to get this news as both St. Lucia and St. Bharts have been on my bucket list. I had already booked a private car through Seabourn for the day in St. Lucia in order to hike Gros Piton at the cost of $900. However, these changes were enough to make me want to change to a different sailing as I’m not interested in the new itinerary. I only have limited time off from my schedule and I work very hard, as I’m sure most of the guests on Seabourn do, or have done in the past. My vacation time is extremely precious to me and I want to spend it doing the things I want to do. Sure, if one port was changed I could understand, but four changes and two major port cancelations was too much for me to justify continuing on this cruise. In any event, I found an alternative cruise I changed to in September from Athens to Haifa. I worked through my travel agent to make the change but Seabourn insisted on changing a change fee, stating we are already past the cancelation deadline for the February cruise. Interesting they made these port changes past the cancellation deadline. So then I called Seabourn myself and was given conflicting information that there would not be a fee but instead I would be bound to the same cancelation dates instead, which I was ok with. When my travel agent contacted them to rectify the issue, they went back on what they told me and insisted I owe a fee. This has resulted in a horrible back and forth experience and no one at Seabourn seems to know their policies or is willing to help me. There is nothing luxury about this. And if they don’t rectify this issue this will unfortunately have to be my last sailing with them as I refuse to be dictated to like this. I don’t find myself to be an unreasonable person and I think their handling of this has been subpar. It seems ludicrous given the extensive changes that have been made to the itinerary that they are so unhelpful. Further, it is even more ridiculous that no explanation was offered for the extensive changes other than “operational issues” and no offer for guests to change cruises or gestures of goodwill either like an onboard credit. I want to maintain my positive view of Seabourn and enjoy my experience and cruise. I am not asking for a refund or money back. I am just looking to use my hard earned vacation time to go on a cruise that I want to go on, as opposed to ports which I have no interest in visiting.

Thats what everyone told me when I sailed from Barcelona to Rome this past June... but then it was the third night and I had to scramble to change the reservation at the last minute.

Just to follow up on this topic... after sending a few messages through Instagram, the "Private Destinations" Concierge did eventually get back in touch with me. They explained that they don't have access to making phone calls or answering phones, which leads me to believe this person may be working on the ship. Seems like this may be something better handled land-side. Regardless, they recommended that I book the private car ($799) for the day and then arrange for my own hike... which I did - so I am set to climb Gros Piton! I would have liked to spend less and arrange a tour through Viator or With Locals like you all suggested, but I think given that I only have 8 hours of free time in St. Lucia and Gros Piton is 2 hour drive from the port... plus a 4 hour hike, and with island traffic being unpredictable, I feel much safer knowing the ship will wait for my Seabourn private car to return.

For those familiar with Caribbean sailings, do you know which night is typically formal night? Trying to plan my TK reservation so that it doesn't fall on formal night. Thank you!

Looks like even the Points Guy is requesting the Herald in paper copy! https://thepointsguy.com/guide/seabourn-venture-expedition-cruise/

Recently stayed at a 4S and had service and staffing issues. No matter what the brand (or the price you pay), everything has been impacted to some extent. The true test will be how do these businesses recover and reinvent themselves.

Sad. What’s luxury about that?

Thank you both. Really the only reason to use Seabourn is it’s a far drive, around 2 hours and I am worried island traffic may be unpredictable. If I book through them I’m guaranteed to have the ship wait for us in the event of a delay. Otherwise you’re right… I can probably get cheaper and better service booking oj my own.

I am traveling in Feb/Mar 23 on Ovation and have been inquiring with their "Private Destinations Concierge" about a private car and tour in St. Lucia to hike Gros Piton, as an excursion there is not offered on our sailing. The excursion desk concierge originally got back to me with an offering for the day, and while pricy (nearly $1200), I told them I wanted to move forward as this has been on my bucket list. They told me they'd be in touch "next week" to arrange for payment. Then, out of nowhere I get an email from the concierge stating "Due to local authority restrictions, no private arrangements are allowed. Including those already booked (need to cancel) or new request. We strongly recommend you reviewing the shore excursions that are available in Rodney bay, Saint Lucia." Since visiting Gros Piton is important to me, and one of the reasons I chose this cruise, I looked into the matter further. I contacted the Soufriere Regional Development Foundation who runs the mountain trail. They informed me hiking Gros Piton is in fact permitted and "The hike is US$50 per person and a tour guide accompanies the group or couple on the hike." So, at a minimum, it seems that Seabourn could book me on the private car option at $799 for the day and then I can just pay for the hike. However, I've asked them in 3 emails, 2 phone calls (without answer, no option for voicemail ), and on social media to get back to me about this to discuss further... and I've received no reply and am unable to get in touch with anyone! Has anyone else had difficulty booking a private excursion or dealing with the Seabourn "Private Destinations" Concierge? I feel like the service should be a little better, especially when looking to spend a large sum for 8 hours!