Lemailu

We have a May 2018 cruise that also begins in Barcelona. We are arriving 3 days early. Any hotel suggestions? TIA!

 

 

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We have been staying at the PULITZER in Barcelona 4 years ago and that's where we are going to stay for 2 nights prior to leaving for the Sept 8th cruise on Riviera.

Very clean, nice staff, good price for Barcelona, superb location in the center of the city enabling you to just visit everything, good breakfast.

I had the same promotion. 2 pre- or post-cruise hotel+transfer. I immediately asked for the post cruise hotel in Venise as we know Athens very well+it is very warm there at the end of August. Also, my birthday is at the end of the cruise therefore I wanted to spend two more nights in Venise.

When booked, we were told "no --- Athens pre-cruise only". Not only were we disappointed but we felt that this was not honest. We booked in March and for several months thereafter they were still promoting the 2 pre- or post! We booked a hotel in Venice nevertheless and told them to book one night only in Athens.

As I said on another post : I have written several e-mails to Windstar but no reply. This is our first Windstar experience because the route is good but if anything else doesn't work, we will gladly go back to Oceania.

I will be interested to read replies. I have the same problem leaving August 31st. Got "all" my documents but it does not show at which time transfer will be. Hope this information will be provided at the hotel as we arrive.

However this is the first time I take transfer instead of handling it myself and I think it will be the last. At least when I take a taxi I know I will be in time for early check-in while now....maybe we will have to spend some time in Athens, not able to do anything interesting but having had to check out.

I am a first time cruiser on Windstar. After making the reservation with my TA I filled in all information required on their website to get access to "My Windstar" and ---- I got "you have no upcoming voyage" --- this has bothered me and made me also wonder if I did have a reservation .

Have repeatedly sent e-mails to no avail.

However, I received some confirmation by mail and now I feel better although I still cannot do anything online. When I log in and try it still says "you have no upcoming voyage".....

Thank you for the information - I will book it as we check in.

Thank you all. Hope I can buy it as we board because I cannot do anything online (their website is the worst I had experience with), our TA has to go through an office handling Windstar Cruises and replies are very slow to come through. But will try to buy it now...

Definitely hope the cruise will be fine because I am not impressed at all with Windstar's communication skills. For example : I sent an e-mail to Guest Relations about one month ago and did not get any reply.

Crossing my fingers .....

Booked on Star Breeze departure August 31st and wondering if anyone can tell me what the fee would be per cabin for laundry/ironing and whether it is well done.

It helps to know that you can get it done before packing....especially since we are staying some time in Athens first and then some time in Venice after the cruise. We wear a lot of cotton and white hence the question.

Thanks.

Just wondering --- we are a 60+ couple and new to Windstar.

Any other Europeans on board ?

We speak French, Dutch, English and some German.

Would be nice to meet for a drink.

Thank you all. I feel re-assured.

I never thought about calling them because of the time difference and the cost as it might have been a lengthy conversation.....I am a bit slow in speaking and making myself understood in English and frankly --- e-mails are just so easy.

Anyway, I just hope for the best and will post a review in due time.

Venetian Passageway

This will be our first experience on Windstar and we are a bit frustrated about the lack of pre-cruise information. As Europeans we cannot get a brochure or book online but have to go through a TA who also has no direct contact with Windstar.

We have registered on the website but the information we get is that we have "no upcoming voyage" on Windstar.

We have written several e-mails and get no replies that make sense.

However in the meantime we got some eDoc confirming our reservation. Absolutely NOTHING on this document tells us more than what we already knew. It says that the pre-cruise hotel is booked in Athens, that the transfer to the ship is also booked, etc.

However ---- transfer at what time?

Check-in is as of 1pm and last onboard at 4pm. Will there be a possibility to get some lunch onboard or what?

We have booked separately a post-cruise hotel in Venice and paid for a boat-taxi transfer from the vessel to the hotel - again - no voucher for this and no time of transfer.

Our TA tells us not to worry - everything will be fine once in Athens and once onboard!

However, this lack of information makes us feel bad even before starting the cruise. Our only experience up till now was two cruises on Oceania and just ALL information was received beforehand and could be checked online.

Here - all you get is some printed piece of paper with a reservation number and information that you know about at the time of booking but just NOTHING more - we just could have typed it and printed it ourselves!

Can someone familiar with Windstar cruises re-assure me that this is all normal and that there is nothing to worry about?

Thank you. As long as tuxedo is not imposed, jacket and tie is no problem for my husband and I have sufficient dreses.

We have been cruising on Oceania but think about cruising on Silver Spirit next year. However I have read somewhere that tuxedos for men and cocktail dresses for ladies are required during two evenings each cruise.

I would like to know whether this is true because although we dress nicely each evening and my husband doesn't mind to wear a jacket and a tie, he will not wear a tuxedo and I wonder what "cocktail dress" actually means.

Once on a French boat I saw ladies one evening who were dressed up as if they were performing for Dallas or Dynasty. Not my cup of tea.

So please let me know --- my TA says we are only expected to be elegant.

PLEASE.....Keep making comments.

I am at a loss to find a cruise that I am interested in - don't want a big ship and being European, I have visited many of the cities offered by cruise lines in Europe.

We cruised with Oceania on Nautica last year and on Insignia this year and were satisfied. However, now, they don't have an itinerary I like. The only one that I would do is on Riviera - 1200 to 1300 passengers - not sure whether this is my cup of tea.

I thought Windstar would be "the one" on Start Pride or Star Breeze but it looks as if I might be disappointed.

So, PLEASE...keep on giving your opinion.

Got the news .... and just remembered one thing : we were docked in Kusadasi last June on Insignia and next to us was another ship : Norwegian Spirit. I remember we quickly went on our balcony and looked and listened to all the very untasteful circus they were making while getting off the boat -- very noisy and all and we thought : Thank God we don't travel on such a ship.....

Is this something we may now expect on Oceania? Sad!...

Thank you, all of you...I am now convinced

And....now I know what B2B means (I only knew B&B....brandy!)

Fantastic timing indeed....

I read your entire report with great interest. (Actually I am Belgian and there were a few things I did not understand such as the meaning of B2B...anyway).

You have made some comments about Oceania which I frankly did not dare make because everyone (my TA included) says that Oceania is THE one (in its price category - actually my TA encourages me to try Regent but I think it's too expensive).

Your review and comments have convinced me that if we find a route of interest at a convenient date, we will definitely give Azamara a try.

Thank you.

By the way - Nautica was perfect for us last year but Insignia was a bit disappointing in every aspect.

We have been on two cruises only up till now. One on Nautica last year and the other on Indignia at the end of June.

Are already looking for another one for next year but find it difficult to get a route that is of interest to us.

Have seen one on Azamara though but wonder if we will appreciate it as much as Oceania.

We like a nice veranda room (not a suite - too expensive), good food, just a few drinks and wine, not too many passengers, not too much noise, we are not really interested in entertainment and usually get off the boat each morning for visits.

Has anyone tried both - Azamara and Oceania - and give us advice?

Thank you.

Did those complaining ever thought about writing to Oceania directly about their problems instead of discussing on a board forum? It is fine to share information and tips but when the subject is dissatisfaction I think one should do it to the cruise line customer relations department.

As far as Oceania is concerned I have had only one situation to complain about up till now and I was very impressed by the way they reacted and handled the complaint.

Am writing on behalf of my friend (she doesn't speak any English). She will be on Royal Clipper sailing from Venice on July 23rd. She also had an early flight in and transfer from airport to vessel.

Is there any sort of comfortable place to wait/have a drink/some food even while waiting for check-in to start at 4 pm?

The brochure she received states that water, tea and coffee are free. I read on this forum that there is some water and coffee/tea available near the tropical bar. Does this mean no water offered at lunch/dinner and no coffee?

Thank you.