Cancellation policy for Windstar excursions

[vrcruiser]

We have a 7 day Dreams of Tahiti coming up very soon! I have searched the website but I can't find any information on the cancellation policy if we pre book excursions with Windstar??? Does anyone know???? I have been reading that like many cruises some of the excursions can be done independently but much better price. If anyone has any suggestions as to which of the excursions that might relate to that would be appreciated. My husband & I don't dive but do a little bit of snorkeling but unfortunately I am dealing with a shoulder injury which might limit our snorkeling so will probably look at more sightseeing type activities.

Many Thanks

Viv

[CruiseOrLand]

When buying anything on the web, it is important to look around the webpage for Terms & Conditions. Having said that, I"m going to answer you by referring to the two-page, color handout we received upon boarding "Costa Rica & Panama Canal" in January, 2019. This is the "Shore Excursions and Booking Form" for booking on the ship.

 

All of the excursions offered for a given day (with departure times varying from 6:45AM to 10:15AM) have a "Cancellation Deadline" of 8:00AM on the day immediately preceding the day of the excursion. Note that the opening hours for the Shore Excursion Desk is an important factor. These hours are clearly posted on the daily schedules.

 

I am not able to say with absolute certainty that Web Purchases have the same deadline, but you could fairly argue for such consideration.

 

Without going into the details, it sounds like you may be an experienced cruiser who is "qualified" to book an independent excursion. In general, I found Windstar to be reasonable about cancellations. For example, when additional excursions were announced, or when the itinerary changed during the cruise (... other cruises than the one above) there was an opportunity to cancel. There were excursions that booked up in advance, but that was not often.

 

Because some of our excursions (in places like Asia, I mean) were one to two hours from the ship, I had no problem with the cost to have zero worries about being back to the ship in time. Besides not being left behind, Windstar did take mealtimes into consideration for those distant excursions. I had books like Lonely Planet that made it clear how hard it would have been to have done the same things independently.

 

It is essential to read the daily schedule religiously, and to listen to public address announcements. Just to pick one example, it is useful to come to the daily Port Talk to learn microscopic details, like the fact that it is (... somewhere) the Port Authority (and not Windstar) that is providing the local pier shuttle, and that they only guarantee to provide one coach for each departure. That turned out not to be a big problem for our independent days; my point is that Knowledge is Power!

[CruiseOrLand]

Because you are going to Tahiti, I want to mention that on our Tahiti trip in 2002, our Windstar snorkeling outing in Bora Bora turned out to be the best snorkeling we have ever done. In a sentence, everyone else signed up for "Shark's Breakfast", and our snorkel excursion WENT, despite having only ONE COUPLE booked for it. It was a private snorkel trip for the price of a group trip. However, it was quite vigorous coverage of ground. (I'm a weak swimmer, but because I wear a partial flotation vest for snorkeling, it wasn't a struggle for me. My wife is an excellent swimmer.)

[minidonuts85]

Online Bookings
At the time of making your reservations online, we will advise you whether or not your reservations are confirmed. Your credit card will be charged immediately for all confirmed reservations. Should space become available for a waitlisted shore excursion request, we will email or otherwise contact you at that time. If you or Windstar cancel a tour more than 5 business days prior to cruise departure, we will issue a credit on the credit card that you used to pay for the reservation. For any cancellations within 5 days of departure, a credit will not be given on your credit card; instead, we will apply an ONBOARD CREDIT ONLY policy under which the refund (less any cancellation fee) will show up as a credit to the shipboard account of the person who was to take the shore excursion. If the credit is not fully utilized during the cruise, the balance will be credited back to your credit card by the ship’s purser.

 

Under the T&Cs page,  Tours section.

Edited July 1, 2019 by minidonuts85