Just off the 12/19 Costa Rica cruise

[kimiata]

We sadly disembarked the Wind Star this morning after a wonderful week in Costa Rica. Food was very good, service was excellent, and we enjoyed all the ports. I probably won't get around to writing a full review but will be happy to try to answer any questions.

[Drummond Creek]

How was the airport in Costa Rica? How did you get to the port? How was the port? What is it like boarding and disembarking from the Windstar? Was it a smooth ride? What was your favorite port activity?

[kimiata]

How was the airport in Costa Rica? How did you get to the port? How was the port? What is it like boarding and disembarking from the Windstar? Was it a smooth ride? What was your favorite port activity?

 

The airport in CR is very nice, we are sitting here right now enjoying free WiFi. Much nicer than the mess we endured at LAX trying to get out of there.

 

We used Coach Costa Rica to get from the airport to our hotel in San Jose, and then to the port the next day. Coach Costa Rica also picked us up this morning. Today we toured the Butterfly Farm (which we loved) and had a typical Costa Rican lunch before getting to the airport.

 

There is nothing going on near the port in Puerto Caldera, it is just industrial.

 

Boarding and disembarking are really easy. We arrived around 1:15 and there were no lines. There are a bunch of immigration and other forms that you have to fill out when you board but that didn't take very long. Disembarking is easy too. The cabin steward comes by at 6:30 to take your luggage. We left our carry-ons in the room and went to breakfast at around 7:15, then we just walked off the ship at 8:15.

 

The ride must have been pretty smooth because I didn't get seasick, and I usually get seasick at least once on every cruise.

 

Favorite port activity? Hard to say, probably horseback riding on the beach in Bahia Drake. I have never really ridden a horse before and it was a lot of fun!

[CtWolfpacker]

Kimiata

Thanks for the info. My wife and I are booked on the 2/13 cruise. We did this same trip three years ago and are looking forward to being on board the Star again. We are also using Coach Costa Rica for the transfers and a pre-cruise tour to Poas Volcano on the way to Puerto Caldera. How did you pay for your transfers? Cash? Prepaid Credit Card, Etc?

Also, on the day of disembarkation what was the earliest time you could get off the ship?

Originally, our flight to Miami left at 1:30 pm, but it has since moved back to around noon.

I remember it took about two hours to make the trip. As we are going straight to the air port, I wanted to firm up the pick up time with Coach Costa Rica.

 

As luck would have it when we were on board the Star the last time was when the announcement was made of the sale of the line by HAL to Ambassadors Intl.!!

 

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

[travelovingnurse]

What excursions did you do? What did you do in each port? Did you stay in hotels pre and post cruise? Any tips or advice? Thanks! Glad you had a great time.

[Drummond Creek]

Has anyone used the Windstar transfers to get from the airport to/from the port in Costa Rica?

[kimiata]

Hi CtWolfpacker, we paid ahead of time with a credit card for the transfers with Coach Costa Rica. I know there were people that disembarked really early, like at 6:00 or 6:30. We also heard that they are building a new road from San Jose that will cut down the drive time between there and the port by a lot. Not sure if it will be ready by the time you cruise, but Coach Costa Rica should know.

 

Travelovingnurse- here's what we did:

 

San Juan del Sur: We did the full day ship's tour here. Even though we usually avoid any tour involving a big bus, it seemed to be a good call for us. First we went to the craft market, which was not that exciting. It was like something you would see in Mexico. Then we went to the volcano, which I thought was pretty cool, but some of our fellow passengers seemed to think was boring. Then we had a mediocre lunch in Granada, and had a little tour of the town, which was kind of interesting. We had an excellent guide, and it was fascinating to hear what he thought about his country and the local politics. The weather we had that day was cool and rainy, so hanging out at the beach or at the local Windstar-recommended resort would not have been a great option that day.

 

Playa del Coco: We just hung out in the town where we bought gifts and souvenirs and had lunch. Our friend, a serious shopper, said that this was the best shopping on the cruise.

 

Quepos: We took a cab ($7) to Manuel Antonio Park and hired a private guide for the four of us, for quite a bit less than the ship's tour would have cost.

 

Bahia Drake: We booked the ship's horseback riding excursion, which was a lot of fun, even though the local tour operators did not really have their act together.

 

Curu: We hiked the trail on our own, and saw a lot of monkeys, including one that sat in our laps and posed for pictures when we first got there.

 

Tortuga Island: We went water-skiing here and had a blast. Then we finally decided to use our snorkel gear here, and found that there was absolutely nothing to see.

 

We stayed at the Real Intercontinental in Escazu one night before the cruise. The hotel was beautiful, the service was great, and we had booked the "Spa Experience" package which included massages. The spa was wonderful, and I have to say that my massage was one of the best ones I have ever had in my life. (The therapist's name was Herrold.)

 

BUT, they tried to overcharge us when we checked out. I was ready for this because of what I had read on TripAdvisor, but it bummed me out. I really wanted to like this hotel, and until check-out, I loved it.

 

We didn't stay anywhere after the cruise. We had a tour of the Butterfly Farm, and then lunch, on our way to the airport.

 

My big tip would be to leave the binoculars at home. I lugged mine around and it wasn't worth it. Also we bought water shoes to wear for the water landings in Playa del Coco, Bahia Drake, Curu, and Tortuga Island, but really, my flip-flops would have worked just fine.

 

Drummond Creek- we didn't use the Windstar transfers, but it seems like the price from the ship to the airport was $59, which I thought was a good price.

[Drummond Creek]

Very helpful. Did the security at the airport in Costa Rica get stepped up? I was thinking about all those people leaving for holiday cruises and getting stuck for hours at the airports with the new security measures.

[kimiata]

We had no problems at the Costa Rica airport on 12/26. You have to pay a $26 departure tax before you leave. There was no line for that, no line to check in, and I don't remember much of a security line either. We were there several hours early and it maybe took us 20 minutes to get through everything.

 

They were doing secondary screenings at the gates for the flights going to the US, and those lines didn't seem that bad either. Our flight stopped in Guatemala, where we were seached and patted down, and THAT was kind of a mess.

[Drummond Creek]

That sounds like an interesting connection back to California. Thankfully we have a direct flight from Toronto. Airports are hard enough these days without having a connection or two along the way.

[lkakers]

Has anyone used the Windstar transfers to get from the airport to/from the port in Costa Rica?

 

Yep, our party did, and enjoyed it immensely. The tour guide aboard gave great info along the way -- we were entertained the whole time.

 

On another topic, I recall from 2007 that we paid our departure tax using a credit card -- for some reason, they posted this charge as a "cash advance." This caused us to incur a fee, and be charged a higher interest rate (and cash advances are the last things to get "paid off" when you pay on a rotating credit card balance, meaning you pay that higher interest rate on that principal amount until the card is completely paid off). Don't know if they've fixed this, but in case, you might want to use cash for the departure tax.