On Your Own Touring in the Caribbean

[q45lover]

My wife and I just got off the Wind Surf after 9 days Rome to Venice October 9th - 17th.  We first hand experienced the mandatory cruise ship organized cruise tour restrictions of Italy but also were able to tour on our own in Croatia.  A couple of the Italy ship tours were nice and gave passengers an hour of free time at the end for a little "On Your Own shopping and dining" before returning the the ship.  I was looking at booking the Wind Star or Star Legend again in December out of St Maarten. I was curious from any recent Windstar Caribbean guests if they encountered the same leniency during their cruise.  I know St Maarten is opening back up with fewer restrictions.  Just looking for first hand experience in other islands Windstar frequents.  Any and all intel is greatly appreciated!!!

[HuliHuli]

On 10/29/2021 at 5:50 PM, q45lover said:

My wife and I just got off the Wind Surf after 9 days Rome to Venice October 9th - 17th.  We first hand experienced the mandatory cruise ship organized cruise tour restrictions of Italy but also were able to tour on our own in Croatia.  A couple of the Italy ship tours were nice and gave passengers an hour of free time at the end for a little "On Your Own shopping and dining" before returning the the ship.  I was looking at booking the Wind Star or Star Legend again in December out of St Maarten. I was curious from any recent Windstar Caribbean guests if they encountered the same leniency during their cruise.  I know St Maarten is opening back up with fewer restrictions.  Just looking for first hand experience in other islands Windstar frequents.  Any and all intel is greatly appreciated!!!

We sailed Star Breeze July 31st.  Once past the entry rules, Sint Maarten was completely open and even the WS excursions were flexible enough to do some shopping.  No regrets!

Edited October 31, 2021 by HuliHuli

[HuliHuli]

Thanks @LTCOP for the 💚.  If you check my signature, you'll see we have two NCL sailings booked, but I'm continuing to look for a good opportunity on WS in French Polynesia?  What have you two got booked?

[LTCOP]

@HuliHuli - We are booked on the Wind Star for March RT Barbados.  Really nice itinerary with a couple of ports that are new to us.  Also booked for June on the Star Pride - a BTB out of Barcelona and ending in Dublin.  We will see if and how it works out.  Very cool that you have one coming up this month now!!!  Keep me posted on your cruise so I can follow vicariously!!!  I could really use a cruise:-)

 

Pam

[HuliHuli]

1 hour ago, LTCOP said:

@HuliHuli - We are booked on the Wind Star for March RT Barbados.  Really nice itinerary with a couple of ports that are new to us.  Also booked for June on the Star Pride - a BTB out of Barcelona and ending in Dublin.  We will see if and how it works out.  Very cool that you have one coming up this month now!!!  Keep me posted on your cruise so I can follow vicariously!!!  I could really use a cruise:-)

 

Pam

@LTCOPGreat - 3/5 or 3/12?  We'll be hitting a couple of new ports as well on ours.

[LTCOP]

@HuliHuli - March 12!  We have tried to do this itinerary before, so hoping conditions allow the itinerary to happen!  Of course, I would be happy sailing just around on the ship for a week anyway:-)

 

Pam

[FlaMilkman]

We received an update this morning regarding our December 11th cruise on the Wind Surf in the Caribbean.  Windstar has the mandatory excursion "bubble" in place - meaning that you must purchase and participate in one of their excursions to get off the ship.  It clearly states that if you deviate away from the tour group that you will be denied boarding at the end of the day.

[RemPuck]

On 11/17/2021 at 3:42 PM, FlaMilkman said:

We received an update this morning regarding our December 11th cruise on the Wind Surf in the Caribbean.  Windstar has the mandatory excursion "bubble" in place - meaning that you must purchase and participate in one of their excursions to get off the ship.  It clearly states that if you deviate away from the tour group that you will be denied boarding at the end of the day.

 

We are on Wind Surf on December 18th. I'm aware of the bubble requirements but we have not had an update, particularly around the denied boarding language.  Did you receive this from Windstar? 

 

Many other cruise lines are allowing DIY exploration at the ports we're visiting.  When I spoke to someone at Windstar last week (to get on a waiting list for an excursion), I asked about the restrictions being loosened. I got the "at this time..." speech, and she read a list of countries where DIY is allowed. However, she added that Tahiti was added to the DIY list only a few days before Windstar began sailing there this fall.  

 

Windstar has 2 ships (Star Legend and Wind Surf) starting in the Caribbean in December....things may still change as the dates get closer.

[Strenz]

Madly reading everything I can. For certain,Barbados only lets you off the ship in your ship's bubble. Wish I knew more. Happy Sailing. 

[FlaMilkman]

On 11/18/2021 at 5:12 PM, RemPuck said:

 

We are on Wind Surf on December 18th. I'm aware of the bubble requirements but we have not had an update, particularly around the denied boarding language.  Did you receive this from Windstar? 

 

Many other cruise lines are allowing DIY exploration at the ports we're visiting.  When I spoke to someone at Windstar last week (to get on a waiting list for an excursion), I asked about the restrictions being loosened. I got the "at this time..." speech, and she read a list of countries where DIY is allowed. However, she added that Tahiti was added to the DIY list only a few days before Windstar began sailing there this fall.  

 

Windstar has 2 ships (Star Legend and Wind Surf) starting in the Caribbean in December....things may still change as the dates get closer.

 

We received an email today with new Covid information and a new itinerary. 

 

November 19, 2021

To booked guests in the Caribbean: Wind Surf, December 11, 2021

 

Subject:  Advance PCR test required for Caribbean cruises

 

Guest Name: DAVID                            Booking Number: XXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Dear DAVID,

 

We are excited to welcome you aboard this winter for a Caribbean cruise! In preparation, our team has been monitoring COVID-19 policies of each country to ensure we are prepared to enjoy our time there.

As of today, policies regarding COVID-19 testing and requirements for entry into ports vary from country to country. Because a number of Caribbean ports require a PCR test for entry and/or to explore ashore on your own, we will now require you to present a negative PCR test taken up to five days before you embark the yacht for your Caribbean cruise. Check policies online here in our CIBT Entry Guide. The test must be a nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab taken by a healthcare provider and processed at an accredited lab.

There are also differing policies for whether we can roam ashore freely or only in organized tours, and this is controlled by each country’s government. There will be some ports that require a Windstar approved tour to go ashore, others will also allow government/port authorized excursions, and some ports will allow all tours plus independent exploration. Since these policies are made by local authorities, changes may occur at any time.

After much consideration, we are taking steps to minimize the number of tests required during each cruise, plus we are optimizing our itineraries for destinations that do NOT require us to stay in organized tours. There will be a few itinerary changes to make this happen including the swapping of days we visit certain islands in order to reduce our need to take COVID-19 tests during the cruise.  

Please see your new itinerary:

Edited November 19, 2021 by FlaMilkman

[RemPuck]

1 hour ago, FlaMilkman said:

 

We received an email today with new Covid information and a new itinerary. 

 

uce our need to take COVID-19 tests during the cruise.  

Please see your new itinerary:

Thank you for sharing the letter you received.  I assume we will receive a similar letter soon for the sailing on the 18th.

 

Aside from the requirement for a PCR test prior to embarking, the other big news is that Windstar Excursions do not appear to be required in Antigua, St Lucia or St Barths. We have these three islands(along with Barbados and the BVI) on our itinerary.  The Windstar website has not yet been updated to include these islands in the list of countries where DIY is allowed, but the document above seems pretty official.

 

I'm curious to see if we have any changes to our itinerary and will definitely watch out for this email.

 

Thanks for sharing this.

 

[Strenz]

RemPuck, I called WS, yes we have to have a 5 days test before we board per St.Martin, the 5 days are counted in hours 120 hours prior to make sure you count time changes at from EST St.Martin is a head by one hour. Also, it does not appear we have a change itinerary. We all should be getting an email from WS. See you on board.

[Misty Morning]

This is good news.  Things are slowly getting back to normal.