Rant: You Can't Pay for Excursions on Updated Website!

[mnocket]

Unbelievable.  I booked an excursion for my cruise next year but couldn't pay for it.  I found out on FB that others are having the same problem.  Worse, if you leave it as Booked, but don't pay for it, it will eventually disappear.  You have to call Windstar to make the payment.   The rep said it's been a problem since the last update to their website.  You would think that one thing that they would make sure works properly before releasing a website update is being able to book and pay for extras.  You would be wrong.  Having spent my career in IT, it's unfathomable to me how IT management can let this happen - and even worse, how they can let it sit and not either fix it or roll back to the previous version of the website.  Talk about management being asleep at the wheel.😡

[Strenz]

2 hours ago, mnocket said:

Unbelievable.  I booked an excursion for my cruise next year but couldn't pay for it.  I found out on FB that others are having the same problem.  Worse, if you leave it as Booked, but don't pay for it, it will eventually disappear.  You have to call Windstar to make the payment.   The rep said it's been a problem since the last update to their website.  You would think that one thing that they would make sure works properly before releasing a website update is being able to book and pay for extras.  You would be wrong.  Having spent my career in IT, it's unfathomable to me how IT management can let this happen - and even worse, how they can let it sit and not either fix it or roll back to the previous version of the website.  Talk about management being asleep at the wheel.😡

Hi, I am a bit confused. Two weeks ago I reserved via phone two tours on our April 2025 cruise on the Canary Island cruise. I had my CC ready to pay and was told the new policy was to add it to my final payment and I received my 15% discount. I received a very prompt statement with my new final payment sum.  I was thrilled to have my discount applied immediately and to pay in one lump sum. I know since we started sailing with WS since1999 that central office had issues but this " new " policy seemed almost too convenient to be true.

My question is what I was  given is that accurate? I am not on FB.  Thanks.

[mnocket]

2 hours ago, Strenz said:

Hi, I am a bit confused. Two weeks ago I reserved via phone two tours on our April 2025 cruise on the Canary Island cruise. I had my CC ready to pay and was told the new policy was to add it to my final payment and I received my 15% discount. I received a very prompt statement with my new final payment sum.  I was thrilled to have my discount applied immediately and to pay in one lump sum. I know since we started sailing with WS since1999 that central office had issues but this " new " policy seemed almost too convenient to be true.

My question is what I was  given is that accurate? I am not on FB.  Thanks.

Now we're both confused 😄  My cruise isn't until Aug '25.  Once I booked my excursion online, I was not taken to a checkout page and there was no request for payment.  I thought this was strange as I was accustomed to paying for excursions at the time of booking.  So, I inquired on a FB Windstar group (it's more active than CC for Windstar) and found out that others had the same experience.  Worse, several reported that if they didn't call Windstar (or their TA) to make the payment, after a week or so their excursion booking disappeared.  Perhaps I could have paid the total outstanding balance online (excursion cost + final payment amount), but I was not inclined to make final payment 10 months in advance.  I was informed that this has been a problem since the last update to the website.  

 

Now I don't have any firsthand experience with what would have happened if I hadn't called Windstar and paid for the excursion.  Would my booked excursion have disappeared after a while as others have reported, or would everything have been fine until I made final payment next spring?  What I do know is that when I called Windstar, the agent did not say that their new policy was to add the cost to my final payment - instead the agent asked for my credit card number and processed the charge for the excursion.  In any case, it should be straight forward to book excursions on their website.  It used to be easy to book and pay for them online.  If the policy has changed and you don't have to pay for excursions until you make final payment, then those who reported that their excursions disappeared must have done something else wrong - which is entirely possible I guess, but since your experience involved calling Windstar to book your excursion and mine involves booking online - I, and others remain confused about booking and paying for excursions.  Maybe when I book another excursion online, I won't bother to call Windstar to pay for it, and I'll see whether it remains booked until I make final payment.

 

I agree that if Windstar's new policy is to not require payment for booked excursions until final payment is made, that's a good thing. It would be nice if their policy was made clear when booking excursions online.

Edited October 7 by mnocket

[Strenz]

Hi, Will call WS tomorrow. I do not want to lose these tours. Since I really never reserve tours on WS  I was obviously pleasantly surprised. I will let you know. If I can not tomorrow just give me until Wed. to get back to you. Nutty day tomorrow. 

Thanks for you good will. Susanne

59 minutes ago, mnocket said:

Now we're both confused 😄  My cruise isn't until Aug '25.  Once I booked my excursion online, I was not taken to a checkout page and there was no request for payment.  I thought this was strange as I was accustomed to paying for excursions at the time of booking.  So, I inquired on a FB Windstar group (it's more active than CC for Windstar) and found out that others had the same experience.  Worse, several reported that if they didn't call Windstar (or their TA) to make the payment, after a week or so their excursion booking disappeared.  Perhaps I could have paid the total outstanding balance online (excursion cost + final payment amount), but I was not inclined to make final payment 10 months in advance.  I was informed that this has been a problem since the last update to the website.  

 

Now I don't have any firsthand experience with what would have happened if I hadn't called Windstar and paid for the excursion.  Would my booked excursion have disappeared after a while as others have reported, or would everything have been fine until I made final payment next spring?  What I do know is that when I called Windstar, the agent did not say that their new policy was to add the cost to my final payment - instead the agent asked for my credit card number and processed the charge for the excursion.  In any case, it should be straight forward to book excursions on their website.  It used to be easy to book and pay for them online.  If the policy has changed and you don't have to pay for excursions until you make final payment, then those who reported that their excursions disappeared must have done something else wrong - which is entirely possible I guess, but since your experience involved calling Windstar to book your excursion and mine involves booking online - I, and others remain confused about booking and paying for excursions.  Maybe when I book another excursion online, I won't bother to call Windstar to pay for it, and I'll see whether it remains booked until I make final payment.

 

I agree that if Windstar's new policy is to not require payment for booked excursions until final payment is made, that's a good thing. It would be nice if their policy was made clear when booking excursions online.

 

[Heartfelttraveler]

I booked my excursions for our March 2025 cruise about two months ago and was told that we pay for them at final payment.  I just checked our cruise on the website and our excursions are still there.  (Whew!)

What I don't like about the Windstar website is that you cannot check what cabins are available.  You can only check the catagory.

[mnocket]

3 hours ago, Strenz said:

Hi, Will call WS tomorrow. I do not want to lose these tours. Since I really never reserve tours on WS  I was obviously pleasantly surprised. I will let you know. If I can not tomorrow just give me until Wed. to get back to you. Nutty day tomorrow. 

Thanks for you good will. Susanne

 

I posted another question on FB seeking clarification.  What I got back is all over the map....

 

 

 

[MargotH24]

Talk about confusing!  I "booked" an excursion for our April 2025 cruise the way I always had in the past - online by clicking the BOOK button.  When I checked back, the excursion reservation had vanished.  However, a note told me that if we had arranged our cruise with a TA, they would need to pay Windstar with our credit card on file for any excursions.  So, we were able to have 2 excursions booked by them and these are now indicated on the reservation page.  Not a complete answer for those who didn't use a TA, but hope it helps.  The continuing problem with the website is crazy.

[morgan5]

Adding to the continuing excursion saga! I reserved excursions on the site a couple weeks ago for an April 2025 cruise. I did not pay for them, and they are still listed under our reservations as of today. I remember having to save them and then click on some button icon that looked like a floppy disc, lol, to then "store" them. FYI - my booking is with a travel agent.

[Strenz]

19 hours ago, mnocket said:

I posted another question on FB seeking clarification.  What I got back is all over the map....

 

 

 

Hi, Called WS today and got the scoop, I hope. They changed their policy with their website update.

Cruisers if you use a travel agent or a tour company to reserve your cruise  etc you call WS tell them the tours you want, they will send you out an amended Itinerary Conformation on page two the tours will be listed. You will pay for these tours with your final cruise  payment.  If you get a percentage off make sure you know the payment price.

 

If you book your cruise yourself you use the booking form in the Yacht Club page for the  tours and WS will add that to your final payment. For some reason those people can not call to book tours. Why, who knows. I talked to a supervisor this am. 

To one and all Happy Cruising. 

[mnocket]

24 minutes ago, Strenz said:

Hi, Called WS today and got the scoop, I hope. They changed their policy with their website update.

Cruisers if you use a travel agent or a tour company to reserve your cruise  etc you call WS tell them the tours you want, they will send you out an amended Itinerary Conformation on page two the tours will be listed. You will pay for these tours with your final cruise  payment.  If you get a percentage off make sure you know the payment price.

 

If you book your cruise yourself you use the booking form in the Yacht Club page for the  tours and WS will add that to your final payment. For some reason those people can not call to book tours. Why, who knows. I talked to a supervisor this am. 

To one and all Happy Cruising. 

Thanks for calling Windstar👍.  Unfortunately, the information they gave you does not seem to align with what is actually happening...  specifically, the part about not being able to call Windstar to book excursions if you booked without using a TA.  How do I know?  My friend who is joining us on our upcoming cruise and who, like me, booked directly with Windstar, just called yesterday to book an excursion.  No problem, one can indeed call to book excursions even if you book directly.  Further, she was asked to pay for the excursion right then - no adding it the final payment balance.  Windstar may have a new policy, but if so, it certainly doesn't seem to be reflected in their practices or their website.  If you book an excursion online, you get a popup message warning you that if you don't pay for the excursion, your booking will be canceled.  It would be interesting to hear what their supervisor has to say about that.  Is the website wrong, or is the supervisor wrong?  Who knows.  I think people who don't pay for their excursions up front would be wise to occasionally check to make sure their excursion booking is not canceled.

[Strenz]

Sounds like main office confusion again any time WS begins something new. I do not think central office has training. All I can tell you is this lady sounded definitive.What she told me was my experience to the T. Perhaps someone else can call and ask the question to see if they get a different answer. Very strange.I have always said the differences between the central office and the ships are miles apart. I will check my excursions weekly, I am that neurotic. Happy Sailing
Susanne

3 hours ago, mnocket said:

Thanks for calling Windstar👍.  Unfortunately, the information they gave you does not seem to align with what is actually happening...  specifically, the part about not being able to call Windstar to book excursions if you booked without using a TA.  How do I know?  My friend who is joining us on our upcoming cruise and who, like me, booked directly with Windstar, just called yesterday to book an excursion.  No problem, one can indeed call to book excursions even if you book directly.  Further, she was asked to pay for the excursion right then - no adding it the final payment balance.  Windstar may have a new policy, but if so, it certainly doesn't seem to be reflected in their practices or their website.  If you book an excursion online, you get a popup message warning you that if you don't pay for the excursion, your booking will be canceled.  It would be interesting to hear what their supervisor has to say about that.  Is the website wrong, or is the supervisor wrong?  Who knows.  I think people who don't pay for their excursions up front would be wise to occasionally check to make sure their excursion booking is not canceled.

 

[r&rd]

I booked an excursion online yesterday and today it is listed in my “add one” and the price added to my final payment amount. I got the 4 star discount.

[sonoma03]

I have booked 2 shore excursions for my January 2025 cruise and was able to pay for both of them on the Web site (My Windstar) using a credit card, though it took me quite a few tries before I stumbled on how to pay.  I am a first-time cruiser with Windstar so I have no discounts.  After I selected the shore excursion and checked the boxes for which guests to book, I clicked the "Save" button on the bottom of the Web page.  This brought me back to the "Summary" page (or you can click on "Summary" at the top of the page).  I scrolled back to the top of the Summary page, and there was a "Pay Now" button with the amount due for the excursions I just reserved.  Clicking on that button allowed me to enter my credit card details to complete the payment.

[3kidslater]

I had several issues with the website and called WS. My info and my husbands had all been somehow mixed up and we were unable to edit the info ourselves. According to the rep who helped me, people who have been on the site for a long time have more trouble than new registrants with these types of issues. The good news is she was able to help me on her end and it's all been straightened out. I was able to book a few excursions and pay for them online with no problem after that.