Book your excursions NOW!

[Strenz]

I totally agree and my husband and I have been beyond safe and we are vaccinated, we have not been to a restaurant since March 13 th 2020,  still  will not, I do not stuff shop anyway but food once a week, small local store the big stores once a month. Still mask up. Not overly happy with the US opening on an honor system.  My concern is that I do not feel WS all for one excursions are all that safe. With my good sense, for the Caribbean at least getting in an open aired van, or a cab with windows open going to a beach is far safer that group activities mentioned on this post. Yes, have to fly to get there, stay in a resort, plenty of open air, etc. I would be vigilant. As for European cruises, I will put them off for a while, I do not like the way the EU is opening and the WS excursions do not mesh with my interests as stated before. I understand that the cruise lines need money but the way WS appears to be doing it under the auspicious of safety is not  right  either. For  our 12/28 I have signed up for three excursions simply to get  to a  beach. This is a family cruise for us. Also, reading other small ship cruise lines most have cancelled their excursion policies. We adore WS but after seeing the $29 St. Barts and Foxes' shop/drink stop farce we were disappointed. I have to be careful about my thoughts because I seriously do not  stuff shop but that was beyond the pale for me. Why not a beach stop? I truly hope for this to be over so we all can enjoy of the type of cruising that brings each one of us pleasure. To the future Happy Cruising. 

[arvlv]

On 5/18/2021 at 1:03 PM, msears101 said:

 

Last time I had that issue, I bought stuff in the gift shops, and had "extra clothing" for various activities.   Some of it has lasted a long time.   Either way you are buying "over priced" things.

 

We have a credit with windstar, but we will likely let it expire.  I expect rules to change multiple times and do not want to get caught with rules, I do not like.   I am currently going through my airline credits, and have a plan to get them spent down by the end of the year.

Yes, they are truly ripping us off and we will not do their "shore excursions" and be help captive! It's awful customer service.

[sail2day]

On 5/29/2021 at 8:59 AM, Windsailer said:

WindStar is essentially charging us to get off the boat for some time on dry land. Might be time to send WindStar a note to express my lack of enthusiasm for this approach. 

Yes, it is another revenue generator for WS. If you want to touch dry land on our cruise pay us some $. The policy makes no sense from a paying passenger's perspective. It makes a lot of sense though from WS perspective. 

[themutis]

Emailed Windstar and their response was that they were required to operate excursions this way due to  CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) guidelines.  😞

 

[Strenz]

I am mystified!  I just looked up CLIA and could not find anything on this topic. Now, I am sure there are many of you out there that perhaps can find where CLIA requires all cruise lines to allow their excursions only. I was of the opinion through my reading that Crystal, Oceania, Seabourn were not requiring this. If anyone out there knows/ found more about this through the CLIA please share. I can not find anything through different countries either. I find it odd that the crew does not have to be vaccinated but passengers are blocked front going out on their own. Thanks in advance. Happy Sailing

[themutis]

I found this, but it is from September 2020.  Seems some lines are adhering to it and others are not.

 

CLIA Recommendations

[milepig]

38 minutes ago, themutis said:

I found this, but it is from September 2020.  Seems some lines are adhering to it and others are not.

 

CLIA Recommendations

I’m calling BS ON this from WS. First they’re recommendations not requirements. Then I found this:

 

• Measures for Passengers: Frequent communication from the time of booking including instructions for complying with public health requirements, staggered guest arrivals and departures, completion of a health declaration, requirement for a negative test result prior to boarding, health screening, physical distancing, mask-wearing, strict adherence to shoreside protocols at ports of call, tracking and tracing for at least 30 days following disembarkation to facilitate post cruise communication, among others.

frequent?  I’ve heard nothing with WS in the one year since we booked. They seem to be following the recommendations selectively. 
 

Then this: 

strict adherence to shoreside protocols at ports of call, tracking

 

Nothing blanket, just port of call specific procedures. 
 

This is nothing but a money grab, or WS has hired someone who worked for a 6,000 pax line who has no idea what WS is all about. 

 

[msears101]

2 hours ago, Strenz said:

If anyone out there knows/ found more about this through the CLIA please share.

I do not have first hand knowledge, but I say something is fishy.  Here is their list of members :  https://cruising.org/en/cruise-lines   Plenty of those cruise lines have announced they are offering get off the ship and do your own thing.  

[sail2day]

8 hours ago, themutis said:

Emailed Windstar and their response was that they were required to operate excursions this way due to  CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) guidelines.  😞

 

Windstar's position makes no sense. Royal, Celebrity and Carnival are all members of CLIA and they have all changed their policy in light of the new guidance. 

[sail2day]

35 minutes ago, msears101 said:

I do not have first hand knowledge, but I say something is fishy.  Here is their list of members :  https://cruising.org/en/cruise-lines   Plenty of those cruise lines have announced they are offering get off the ship and do your own thing.  

If I would have known that Celebrity was going to change its policy and offer cruises out of Port Everglades I would have booked with them. 

[msears101]

5 minutes ago, sail2day said:

Windstar's position makes no sense. Royal, Celebrity and Carnival are all members of CLIA and they have all changed their policy in light of the new guidance. 

I have said this before.  I think Covid is going to create niche markets for the cruise lines. Seems like Windstar is going super safe.  Some cruise lines will cater to  groups of people and the "rules" they think should be in place.   Royal just announce they are also dropping the vaccine mandate in FL and TX.    

 

I do not like how much flux there is in policy, guidance, and rules.  It is whack-a-mole.

 

 

[Strenz]

There is no way I would cruise without the vaccinations or no go. Sad to say with everything opening so quickly, we know one case and it is over. For us right now it truly is a wait and see. Ships are a petri dish and Royal may just prove that again by dropping the simple vaccine mandate. Could wreck it for all of us. Fingers Crossed for Happy Sailing. 

[sail2day]

2 hours ago, Strenz said:

There is no way I would cruise without the vaccinations or no go. Sad to say with everything opening so quickly, we know one case and it is over. For us right now it truly is a wait and see. Ships are a petri dish and Royal may just prove that again by dropping the simple vaccine mandate. Could wreck it for all of us. Fingers Crossed for Happy Sailing. 

I agree that I would not cruise without a fully vaccinated ship. That is a sine qua non to my boarding a ship. 

[sail2day]

The one thing is that Celebrity has stuck to their vaccination requirement

[sb44]

Travel is not one dimensional. I believe in science and vaccines and must rely on being vaccinated to offer a much higher level of protection for me but I have to assume that many people I come into contact with are not vaccinated and never will be. Flying and staying in hotels just about negates the vaccination rule for cruise ships as one has already been exposed to every virus in circulation at time of travel, including our old friend the norovirus. And although  I have a vaccination card now, if I book a cruise in late 2021 or 2022, my vaccination may no longer work as I was in first group January 2021. The immunity decreases over time but there is still no booster or concensus for recommendations for one. The idea of a fully vaccinated cruise after flying, hotels, time, etc. is totally flawed and is just a false sense of security.  Either go or don't go but don't expect any type of bubble. You may already be infected upon arrival. Same for excursions. The idea of paying to put my feet on land is ludicrous.  Who is the tour guide, when vaccinated, when tested, and on and on. The adage of you pay your money and take your chances, that's the decision.  The rest is just noise.

[Host Jazzbeau]

The idea of a fully vaccinated cruise ship isn't to protect me, it's to protect my cruise being able to sail the advertised itinerary.  No one can control what the ports demand, but fully vaccinated ships are most likely to be welcome.  And if there is a case onboard, being able to assure the ports that everyone is vaccinated may still allow the cruise to proceed.

[adomatic]

FYI even though i booked my excursions over a month ago, when I called Windstar to add the COVID test to my account, the said that one of my excursions was being removed because it was oversold and we'd be waitlisted. I booked too many anyway so it's fine. Hopefully things will change in a month...for the better!

[HuliHuli]

I've been trying to book an excursion since Friday, but Windstar is having an IT problem with its payment site.  They said when they got it fixed, they will call me.  We'll see. 🤨