Jump to content

milepig

Members
  • Posts

    1,665
  • Joined

Everything posted by milepig

  1. Correct, and this is one reason to board early. This has been our custom. We board a little after they open boarding. Make reservations for dinner, dump carryons in the cabin and go have lunch. Stop by reception to say Hi, we're back, the captain who we likely know may be walking around. We're sipping our glass of rose as others begin to wander in. After lunch, the bags are in the room, we unpack and then either nap or go up on top, and see who we know is on the bar crew. Nice day.
  2. At least in November the daily sheet with the crossword was gone. Reception just shrugged and said we don't have them any longer.
  3. Yes, two packages, two devices, and that means simultaneous, I use by phone on deck, and then can work on the laptop in the cabin later. The signin system is web based now, and much easier to use once you get the hang of it. I showed many pax how to do it. The service itself, remains wildly erratic, set your expectations low and you might be lucky. On the breeze last fall you had to re-login each time you move to a different router. Really annoying.
  4. To my knowledge, WS had never required a PCR test. Always Antigen. And I don’t see it as a problem. We’re moving to a stage where Covid is sort of like the flu as long as you’re vaccinated and being boosted. Just one more than thing to deal with. There is no major bubble but part of life.
  5. Other than getting to the table doesn’t everyone take of masks during dinner? You’re eating!
  6. Good idea. There was one couple in the Yacht Club playing a lot of cribbage but they came and left with their own board.
  7. This may all have since changed, but in November on the Legend we were told that a number of changes were Covid-related. The video collection was gone, as was the library, which IIRC was in the little room that is used for small meetings, demos and stuff. Also, interestingly, in the Yacht Club the playing cards were gone, but the jigsaw puzzles were still there, random! I don't recall a DVD player in the room, were they ever there past renovation? It's not really something we use. The TV options had been improved with more channels, and there were some streading videos, more than in the past and playable on demand. We buzzed through the few that looked interesting in a couple days. I assumed the movies were loaded onto a shipboard server and not streamed over the satellite. I guess I could watch Netflix on my laptop, but with the speed issues I'd think that would be an exercise in frustration.
  8. From the article, it sounds like the exceptions are where countries still require pre-cruise testing. I'm surprised about Greece, since they're generally quite open. The exception to this new testing procedure is that Windstar must follow the local rules and regulations of all the countries it visits and currently Canada, Greece, Australia and New Zealand (subject to change) still require COVID-19 pre-testing prior to boarding any ship in their respective waters.
  9. It is but IMHO they ruined it by plopping down a huge white box in the middle of it that holds the kitchen and I'm not sure what else. It blocks the views and just makes it feel closed and cramped. I miss the old configuration. Instead of the old scattered tables most of them are lined up in rows, cafeteria style.
  10. You also can cancel and change when on board - within the time limit. I've seen the tours tend to be higher priced when on board, only known since I took the list I'd downloaded from the website before the cruise and the brochure in the cabin had higher prices.
  11. I'd say we have at least one tour canceled on every itin. I have the impression that it is usually due to lack of interest. Someones the tour we change to has only a few people on it either. This can work to your advantage if you have lots of on board credit. The canceled tour gets a credit on your account and the new one you but come off your on board credit. On our last itin we have at least 3 tours canceled and would up with over a thousand bucks credit on our account that was paid to us after the cruise.
  12. It goes way back and is a reference for my then desire to collect airline miles doing whatever it took. Not so much since Covid! It's sort of used for all things related to travel
  13. They have now clarified this on the website, which says: The two-day window is not time dependent; if you board on a Friday the test can be taken as early as Wednesday. And The three-day window is not time dependent; if you board on a Friday the test can be taken as early as Tuesday. They look for the date on the testing form, not the time
  14. It should normally be plenty of time - you can arrange with WS to let you off the ship as soon as possible. They will ask that you be at a specific spot and that you have your bags with you. Hopefully airports will be back to normal by May, right now I wouldn't risk it. For transport, it costs a bit more than a cab but we use a service called Welcome Pickups. They have an easy to use App, the drivers are friendly and speak good English and there's no need to "negotiate" with a cab. You get an instant confirmation when you book and then closer to the trip they'll check in and give you the driver's name and so on. Highly recommended. They even took the time to check our stated arrival flight and time and contacted me to ask for clarification since the flight number and arrival time didn't make sense. That's good service. To give a sense of price, I just booked an airport pickup to city center and a city center to Piraeus, and the total was $77.
  15. Amphora, as stated above, is only open fir breakfast during cold or otherwise bad weather. In our Scotland/Ireland trip Veranda was closed more often that it was open. There is a massive tomahawk chop in Candles, this is about the only upcharge I've seen. Reservations for Candles and Quatro are officially once per leg, but if there is room and they know you you can usually eat more than once at each. One time on the small ship were candles is out on deck we were outside having drinks and they asked us if we'd like to stay for dinner. On WS there are no rules. Yes, the BBQ has been significantly downsized, no lobster!! Desserts are considerably less fancy. Other small things.
  16. There will be a sign on the pier that will say "last tender at xx:xx" don't miss it!
  17. Is the site that showed which cabins were booked back up? I think it had gone down at one point. The roll calls are almost useless it's a desert.
  18. These are two different options. Before the cruise I've never been asked to pay, these have always been complimentary upgrades. On board guest services will put you on a list and will call if there's something available, but these are for a fee upgrades. I start that conversation by asking "is the ship full or might there be some upgrade opportunities" and remain silent on any cost, that discussion happens when they say they DO have upgrades. They will then give the cost and I have chance to so "thanks but no thanks."
  19. On board in normally paid. I don't know offhand if you can use shipboard credit? Maybe 3 times in 25+ itins we got a surprise "you've bee upgraded" message at varying times before sailing. I've suspected that these are because the lower priced cabins are sold out and they rewarding frequent pax with an upgrade while also opening up a lower tied cabin for booking. One time the lighting really struck and got an owners suite.
  20. It was formerly included but I believe is not at the moment. I suspect this was part of the general plan to include benefits in the various Yacht Club perks, and the laundry was a pretty inexpensive one to add. We adore the package we board the ship and immediately prepare our first bag. A few times during the voyage and then we plan so everything except what we're wearing is clean the evening before disembarkation. Worth every penny!
  21. And sometimes they insist there won't be one and then there is. I'll skip the much longer story of the Cruise Director from hell, but he insisted that there would be no shuttle in Rotterdam - insisted that there has never been and never will be a shuttle. No shuttle, period. The first thing we saw when we disembarked was a sign with an arrow saying "the way to the free shuttle."
  22. We had the bed by the window last fall and are going back to the other layout. Just our preference.
  23. I've also seen some things that aren't correct. I know 100% that we walked right off the ship in Douglas, Isle of Man. Also several of the ports listed in Ireland and Scotland on the list are not tendered. Just a few I spotted. The bigger question is why WS doesn't make this list more apparent. I was glad to see the wet landings in Costa Rica and Panama listed, many on board were caught by surprise.
×
×
  • Create New...