CoralReef

For those of you looking for hotels in San Juan, a friend of mine posted today in Facebook that Decanter Hotel in Old San Juan is open and accepting reservations. I tried to do a mock booking and looks like is true. This is a new small hotel, with really good reviews. http://www.decanterhotel.com

They have recent reviews on TripAdvisor! This is good news.

Me neither!

Kalonji wants 400€ for a 6 hour private tour.

Hi camoeto,

Thanks, that is helpful! Hopefully we can hire a taxi for the day, then.

BlindCreek,

I just received a recommendation on TA for Kalonji Tours & Taxi. He seems to be based NE of Fort de France, but does tours to the SW. Has some rave reviews.

Looks like Facebook is the best way to reach him. I will contact him and let you know if I hear anything encouraging.

sirjohn1962, thank you for posting. This is helpful!

Rondo and javalina,

Thank you for posting your experiences. They were enlightening! Maybe we should have a hotel-shaming thread.

I hope that anyone who is being cancelled at the last minute, or without notice, or for spurious reasons, is posting a review on TripAdvisor. I depend on those reviews to weed out hotels who don’t take care of their obligations.

Dandee2, that is a good site. I didn’t see any info about drivers in Trois Ilets. Did I miss it?

Would love to hear from any cruisers who hired taxis or tour guides in the Anse Mitan area.

Don & Lorne,

Good luck with your two port calls on Anse Mitan. If you could post your experiences when you return, it would help me so much!!!

Smokinmike, good points. DH and I now wear 2 mm wetsuit tops even in warm water — as much for the buoyancy, rash protection, and sun blocking as the warmth. I once had a bad reaction to jellyfish larvae stings, an experience I don’t care to repeat. (Carrying Benadryl on snorkeling trips is not a bad idea.)

There are so many benefits to having any kind of wetsuit. I can’t imagine ever regretting bringing one, while the consequences of not having one when needed are easily imaginable

Hi folks,

I have searched the CC and TA Martinique forums for answers to my questions, but most cruises call on Fort de France. I hope that Windstar cruisers who have experienced Anse Mitan may have the answers I seek.

I would like to know if it’s likely that I could hire a driver for the day at Trois Ilets. Or better yet, if someone could recommend a good driver/guide who would make advance arrangements??

Our wishlist includes: La Savane des Esclaves, La Musee de la Pagerie, a hike, snorkeling, and if time permits, Musee de la Canne and walking in Foret Vatable. (Yes, we want a busy day, next day is a sea day.)

I would like to avoid renting a car, hence the request for driver info. Any advice, tips, or recommendations from you seasoned Windstar cruisers?

If you check weather history on wunderground.com, then no, it rarely gets very hot in Luzern, which is why many hotels don’t have AC. But when we were there this June, it was sizzling! We were so happy to go up Mt. Rigi to get a break from the heat and humidity. We were even longing for an AC room when we stayed in Wengen, up in the mountains.

However, this year might have been a bit unusual? Or maybe just a harbinger of global climate change? All I can tell you is that we enjoyed the AC. ;p

When we stayed independently at the Hotel Schweizerhof in Luzern after our Viking cruise this June, we noticed a large group of tourists in the breakfast room wearing Viking nametags. I don’t know if Viking usually uses this hotel, but it is one possibility.

The hotel was wonderful. Very beautiful and luxurious, and one of the few hotels in Luzern with some AC rooms. We were impressed to see Viking using such a nice hotel. If Viking advertises AC rooms, Schweizerhof would be one of only a few possibilities. It was unseasonably hot when we were there, so the AC was very welcome.

Sorry, can’t answer your other questions. If you have several ideas of what you want to do on your own in Luzern, it would be very easy to just book your own hotel.

Snorkeling in PV itself is not great. But, if you have time to take a tour to the Marietas Islands, there is plenty to look at. We used ecotoursvallarta.com and they did a great job.

I’ve only used the Tribord EasyBreath, but I absolutely love it! Got it from Amazon.

I don’t think full face masks are as finicky to fit as a traditional mask. I have a narrow face, and always had difficulty getting a traditional mask to fit. I even had to use a child’s mask. The standard Tribord S/M was fine for me. My husband has a more average face size, but my S/M worked well for him, too.

Wow! My worst fear about river cruising was water levels. But I would be thrilled to have your experience. What great customer service!

The last time we flew out of SJU, Southwest didn’t open their counter until 4 hours before the flight, so we could not drop off bags before then.

Their European price list is here:

http://wpc.475d.edgecastcdn.net/00475D/PDF/Europe_440202019.pdf

They did a fine job. Only “issue” was that the form had you check “folded” or “on hanger”. We had some shirts in the batch, so we checked “on hanger”... and received everything on hangers — underwear, tee shirts, socks, everything! :')

We actually just got a second price drop. So don’t be shy, ask!

According to their T&C, you can get an adjustment up until 7 days. I have read that the adjustment is usually in cash before final payment, and in OBC afterwards. But it’s their call.

It looks like this is your first Windstar trip. You won't be disappointed....and the sea days are lovely on these ships.

Yes, it is our first Windstar, and I am glad to hear that the sea days are lovely. I was already apprehensive about one sea day on such a small ship with no balcony, so the added sea day (especially on the first day) was very disappointing. Thanks for the encouragement.

They told me there were no revisions to the cancellation policy. Not happy that they would make material changes to the entire concept of the cruise, without offering any leeway or compensation. I know the port changes are not their fault, but neither are they the customers’ fault. We all booked based on factors that mattered to us, and if they can’t deliver on those, it would be basic customer service to offer some concession.

We are far enough out, I think I can cancel for $50 per person, IF we can quickly figure out somewhere else to go (not so easy this year), IF Delta will rebook us, and IF I can roll the trip insurance to a different trip.

Lessons learned:

 

1. Our first and last cruise with Windstar.

2. Always book at the last second.

+1 on that!

When we booked, there was only one sea day, in the middle of the cruise. The new itinerary has two sea days, and they are the first and last days.

I don’t love sea days, but one (mid-cruise) can be restful. Now those days are just wasted. Ironically, Windstar’s website Overview tab for this cruise still says:

“By departing from magical San Juan instead of from Florida, your Caribbean cruise vacation begins earlier, on day one.”

I think they did a good job replacing ports, but we never would have booked this cruise with the first and last sea days. Bummer.

I, too, am anxious to know what our new Star Pride itinerary from San Juan will be. However, the situation is still so fluid, I'm not surprised that Windstar has not announced anything. Any decision they make today could be obviously wrong within a few weeks. I would rather they wait until the situation is clearer, before making any decisions that cannot easily be changed.

Helpful, thank you!