Double-check your Boarding Location

[screen-gem]

We just returned from B2B on the Windsurf: Edinburgh-Dublin-Portsmouth. We encountered a surprise upon arrival in Dublin. We weren't docked in Dublin. Instead, the ship went to a secondary port about 10 miles south of Dublin (Dun Laoghaire). This came as a surprise, as the Boarding Location for the Dublin-Portsmouth leg printed on the tickets we received from Windstar clearly indicated: "Boarding Location: Ocean Pier, Alexandra Blvd, Dublin Port".

 

This also came as a surprise to passengers embarking at Dublin. Our neighbors in the dining room Sat. evening had flown across from the US on Friday night. Upon arrival at Dublin airport on Saturday, they took a cab to the Dublin Port. No Windsurf to be found. Neither did they find any Windstar staff to intercept them, nor a shuttle bus to take them to Dun Loaghaire. Fortunately, a Port Authority person knew the whereabouts of Windsurf. They took a cab (another 40 euros) and rendezvoused with the ship at Dun Loaghaire, fortunately with time to spare. They were not happy campers/cruisers.

 

I learned of the change almost by accident Friday evening (while the Windsurf was sailing across the Irish Sea). The port info sheets issued for the next day were for Dun Laoghaire, not for Dublin. I asked at the Front Desk - they said they knew nothing about it. Saturday morning, I asked the Hotel Manager. He told me the change was due to port congestion at Dublin, and that the ship had been notified five days earlier. He couldn't explain why passengers on the ship had not been notified. He didn't seem to think it was an issue. (It would have been nice to know - we had made arrangements to meet relatives in Dublin Saturday morning, and I had given them the address of Dublin Port).

 

Upon return home, I asked my travel agent if Windstar had issued a notice to affected TAs regarding the new boarding location. She told me they had not.

 

My take-away from this experience is to never trust the boarding location as printed on cruise tickets, and to contact the cruise line directly a couple of days prior to embarkation to ensure customers know where the ship is actually going to be.

 

Other than this snafu, the B2B around the British Isles was an excellent cruise.

[Sunprince]

So sorry to hear this. This is a major error by Windstar in my opinion. I can't imagine the stress of arriving at a port and ready to embark and there is no ship to be found. I think WIndstar should formally respond to this error.

[lovecruisingtoo]

I am surprised that there were not dozens, if not a couple of hundred people, going to the wrong port looking for the ship. Some people must have been notified. Maybe it was because you were on a B2B that you didn't get the notification.

[screen-gem]

Maybe it was because you were on a B2B that you didn't get the notification.

 

Nope - that's not it. Our neighbors in the dining room the night of embarkation were not on a B2B. They flew into Dublin airport on Saturday, and took a taxi to Dublin port (per the Boarding Location printed on their tickets). No Windsurf to be found. Thy had not been notified of the change.

 

Some friends of ours who embarked at Dublin (i.e. not B2B) also had tickets with the wrong boarding location. Fortunately, they had booked the Windstar pre-cruise hotel package and the included transfer took them to Dun Laoghaire for boarding. They were not notified of the change, and a little surprised by the length of the bus trip.

 

It is possible that some pax were notified. I just don't know. Regardless, the fact that tickets were issued with the wrong boarding location is indicative of a serious back-office problem at Windstar. If the boarding location changed 5 days before sailing (as stated by the hotel manager), I believe that all pax should have been notified, those in transit to board, and those already on board. And their TAs. A change in boarding location is a pretty serious event - better to over-communicate.

 

Regardless, the learning point out of the event is to always confirm boarding location shortly before departure (on any cruise line).

[winegirl]

This has happened to us on other lines as well. It seems difficult for cruise lines to accurately advise of the ship's location in port. Many major cities noted as "ports" on the advertised itinerary are not actually where the ship docks.

 

For those who have purchased cruise line transfers (available only if you arrive at certain times or use the "pre-cruise"/"post cruise" hotel/transfer options,) there is no problem. However, it seems that upper market cruisers tend to travel to a port well before and often stay well after the cruise dates. So cruise line offered transfers are not possible.

 

The suggestion to confirm the dock location just prior to the cruise is a good one. For various reasons, like "port congestion," bad weather, construction, or various other reasons, the location can change.