FLbeachbaby

Also leaving Sunday from PC with a testing conundrum. For a PCR test it is a 2-3 day turnaround and results are not delivered on a Sunday so that would be out leaving Antigen as the option. Drugstores do not do Antigen around here. I can find a NAAT but it is not specifically mentioned. Agents just tell you to read the website. Does anyone in FL have some first hand knowledge about what they will accept? In retrospect if I said I was not vaccinated I would get tested at the port and that would be easy. Ugh. Disney does it at the port, very easy. Just need an acceptable tried and true method. First time on MSC, so already worried…

11 hours ago, Sixth Street said:

Anyone care to comment about Disney Dream for adults?

I have done 2 dream all adult and 2 with kids. Very nice adult areas on the ship, Serenity Bay is lovely. Sometimes the rotation restaurants can be noisy and super frantic with kids but 2nd seating is a bit better. There's plenty food to opt out or hit Palo/Remy. Have not been since Covid but going in a few weeks and will report back since there isn't much to read currently.

Deck BBQ looks Ah-mazing !

52 minutes ago, themutis said:

Any chance you could post what the new shore excursions are?

 

Yes ! Was wondering as well 

19 minutes ago, wesport said:

I guess I panicked unnecessarily . My was submitted at 1:40pm and was approved at 1:49pm.  My partners was submitted at 1:24pm and approved at 3:07pm. 

Yay !! Woohoo !! You did it !!! 

3 hours ago, caymancouple said:

Windstar – Star Breeze – July 10, 2021

Saturday - Departure day.

Our paperwork told us to be at the dock at 11:30. We arrived at 10:30.  Second couple there.  The first had been on the Celebrity sailing the week before and just got off and walked over.  They did not start processing us until right at 11:30 as that is when the St. Maarten covid testers arrived.  Once they began it moved smoothly.  The machine does 10 tests at a time, and we had to wait till 10 people had been processed and then for the test to run.  Took about 35 minutes from the time we were tested.  Then on to check in.  Woo Hoo….  Once checked in they take you to the ship in a golf cart.  Once onboard, wow, was everyone so happy to see us.  Just about as happy as I was.  I stopped and hugged the ship as we came on.  Escorted to our room, dropped our stuff and headed upstairs for lunch.  Had the Sole.  Excellent, and I am not a big fish eater. 

We did receive a letter from the Captain explaining changes in our itinerary.  It seems that Covid is exploding in the British Virgin Islands which was our stops.  The ship destination director and Windstar had done a great job lining up new ports and port activities.  Departure day afternoon at 3, the Destination Director he gave a presentation on the new ports and options. 

Dinner we dined at the new venue Cuadro 44.  Small location, but they were doing a good job of social distancing.  I highly recommend the Classic Sangria.  I really enjoyed the tapas.  Especially the paella rice balls.  So much so I ordered another plate of them for my entrée.  Oh, and the mushrooms were to die for. 

Masks.  Yes, we are being asked to wear them unless we are eating, drinking or outside.  I hope overtime Windstar will be able to back off of that requirement since everyone onboard is vaccinated. 

 

Sunday – Sea Day

What can I say.  Love being back at sea.  Went to the spa and had a haircut.  I normally get one every 5 weeks and it was almost 9.  I was ready to cut it myself with a dull knife.  Was nervous as I am very particular about my hair.  Saw Oleg from Odessa.  (Not the Texas one..LOL).  I loved what he did.  Because it was longer than normal, he did some tweaking on my layers and I loved it.  Told him I would let it grow till I am back on the Sea Breeze in September and let him have another go at it.  Rest of the day was relaxing and enjoying the sea.  Captains Welcome Party was held in 2 different venues to allow for social distancing.  Everyone, I mean EVERYONE is so happy.  Crew to see us, passengers to be back cruising.  Dinner was in the main dining room.  It is only going to be open 2 nights this cruise due to only 127 on board.  Husband loved the lobster bisque.

Monday – Barbados. 

We are currently not planning on doing any shore excursions.  Been to all these ports so many times as well as we are still careful being around folks.  Looks like maybe half the ship is on one.

Ship is so bright and clean.  Love the cabin.  Feels decadent to have a walk-in closet, 2 sinks, and a shower I can turn around in (and I am a small person).  We normally just book Oceanview cabins as we would rather take 3 cruises for the price of one in a suite.  We are willing to pay for a nicer cruise line and wow does WINDSTAR hit that sweet spot.    

 

That is all for now.  Happy  Trails…..Make that Happy Cruising.

So happy to hear you are having a great time. Happy cruising and thank you yet again for the details.

So basically following the Celebrity itineraries. Wishing you a great trip. It would be a no for me on that as the ONLY reason I am doing Windstar is the original ports. Thank you as always, for keeping us in the loop.

15 minutes ago, caymancouple said:

I emailed St. Maarten and just heard back.  YES, the Walgreens ID NOW test is accepted and it is the 72 hour test.

Thank you, very helpful and gives an extra 24 hours for the paperwork shuffle. Appreciate your post !

1 hour ago, cabosal1 said:

We just got back from the June 19th WS cruise. We had the  antigen test done onboard.  Really easy and fast.  You receive  the written test results and that is the document required by CDC to return to USA.  You will also complete a quicky,  how-do-you-feel questionaire at the airport.  That was all. We had heard about long, timely lines but it all moved rather well.

Great info, thank you !

4 minutes ago, cabosal1 said:

Having just returned from Star Breeze's inaugural cruise I read this review (? Over 60% of passengers were said to be press) wondering if I was on a different cruise. If this ends up being a "free cruise" (as rumor currently has it) it still wasn't worth the time and effort we putin to go. 

Nothing exceptional onboard or off.  Boat is nice and clean and has largish bathrooms.  Kept being told to "mask up" (all pax are vaccinated) and social distance.  We had 3 days at sea (all stops had been cancelled). After circling for 3 days we were finally allowed to land in St. Martin and could go on WS approved excursions. On those excursions we were led around like kindergartners, even being escorted while using the restrooms!  We could only go into 3 shops in Phillipsburg that were WS selected (while all other shopkeepers were urging us in ).  I was informed that, contrary to what we were told on board, this excursion segregation of pax was NOT a St. Martin requirement, but one required only by WS). We have relatives who were in St. Martin last week and said all shops, bars, restaurants, etc were open and mask-free.  All they had to do was daily temperature report, by phone.

Food:  Unexceptional to say the least.  WS probably paid alot for the celebrity chefs names to be put on the door, but the food in both Cuadro 44 and Candles was nothing memorable and certainly nothing to gush about. The best meals we had were in the large dining room, where we ate only on the first day and the last.  Otherwise, closed.

Lunch daily had the same menu, with only one new selection, every day.  Breakfast by the water was always nice, though again,  same daily selections.  No variety at all.

I find it hard to believe that, on an inaugural cruise, with all the hype and hoopla involved to make it perfect, even to the point of requiring all passengers be vaccinated, the fact that only 20% of the crew were vaccinated, thus causing WS to scrub all stops, is a major snafu on management's part.

As we disembarked Star Breeze headed to Puerto Rico to vaccinate the crew,  having scrubbed the next 2-3 cruises.

We've been on many small ship, luxury cruises, mostly doing the Caribbean. This was our first WS cruise.  Also, our last.  Back to SeaDream.      

Thank you for your thoughts Cabosal1. Was their any printed material about dining or activities ? What did do for your 3 sea days ? How was the service ? What time was disembark ? How did the return testing testing work ? Was the airport crazy and how far away is it ? Did you feel the ship looked nice ? Was everyone friendly or grumpy because of the situation ? Probably more questions, thank you and sorry you did not have an enjoyable vacation. 

1 hour ago, 6rugrats said:

If you would like the COVID test, you need to order in advance and purchase it.

Is this first hand knowledge as in you were on this cruise ?

I was told by WS you did NOT have to order in advance. Currently, going back to US you must have the negative results 3 days prior and they will have tests onboard. 

2 hours ago, RMS Olympic said:

Just home from a lovely experience.

ship beautiful

crew exceptional....wearing smiles that were not diminished by their masks.

food.....exceptional, I gained weight.

Truly a wonderful product....can’t say enough good things.

Milton the hotel manager has everything running like a Swiss watch.....my compliments.

Already planning another Windstar cruise.

All I can say is book, go and enjoy.

Thank you for your thoughts. Will you be giving us more details ? Enquiring minds...

33 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Here is another article reviewing this first Star Breeze cruise, from Travel Weekly:

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/First-Call-More-dining-more-space-on-Windstar-extended-Star-Breeze?ct=cruise

 

Thank you for the link Jazzbeau. Hoping to hear more about the trip ! Keep it coming.

On 6/23/2021 at 8:37 PM, sail2day said:

Thanks! I just wrote them an e-mail.

Good morning- were you ever able to get in touch with WS ? Hoping you have some resolution by now.

This sailing should be disembarking. Would love to hear from some folks about how the week went. Food, any stops/anchorage, service, cabins, embarkation, SXM anything.............

@MindyJohn I too tried phoning Windstar today several times and got a recording with no call back. (I even tried to fool the system by saying I was a travel advisor or wanted to make a new res. etc ) Perhaps since you are in Seattle they are answering ?? @sail2day and I are both from FL and could not get through. No idea why. I just had a question about a shore excursion. Previously, at most, I was #2 in the queue. After a misstep, no one was answering the phone. Why shut it down ? Does not look good.

2 minutes ago, cmyawn said:

This article had the 177, and said less than 20 pct were vaccinated. I know I saw on some other news article it was "only a handful" but don't have the time to search right now. Nonetheless, a lot of unvaccinated crew. I would not be on that ship right now for any amount comps or refunds!

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/ab/agents/variation-a/news/6226/

I got you. Just posted it.

27 minutes ago, Nearpost345 said:

OK thanks, was it a news piece or something a passenger said? Sorry for the cross examination, it’s just that it’s a shocking statistic if it’s accurate.

Here is the one mentioning the "handful" and 177 crew.

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/environmental-health/windstar-cancels-star-breeze-cruises-get-crew-vaccinated

23 minutes ago, Nearpost345 said:

OK thanks, was it a news piece or something a passenger said? Sorry for the cross examination, it’s just that it’s a shocking statistic if it’s accurate.

From an article written here on Cruise Critic June 16- so anywhere between 18-30 ish crew were vaxxed according to this source. 

However, the ship may have nowhere to go as fewer than 20 percent of the 178 crew members onboard have received COVID-19 vaccines, and as a result Caribbean islands are turning the ship away.

39 minutes ago, themutis said:

Hoping that the requirement to "Mask UP" while onboard is dropped after the crew is fully vaccinated.  We no longer need to mask up at home (although I still do when going to the grocery store). 

 

Can't envision sitting in a lounge chair with my mask on 🤔

Bad tan lines with masks 😷

1 hour ago, Strenz said:

I agree with Barrycat as well. Those passengers agreed to go, they could have cancelled. WS was ridiculous but why moan it is in the past, hope WS learned however, what is more relaxing and beautiful than sitting on a lovely ship in the middle of the Caribbean. Reach into your better self and enjoy the moment instead of using the negative energy of in the moment misery. I remember Tall Ships Amsterdam 2015, sure there were errors mostly caused by the harbor master, one would  have thought by the reaction of some of the passengers the world would end when in fact it was one of the most   wondrous  experiences of our sailing days. I feel badly for the crew on this trip. Let's hope happy sailing ahead. 

I think the disconnect might be the difference between what they were told would happen and what may be actually happening once they set sail. I read that WS said they could not get into SOME ports, that their experience would be like chartering a private yacht and stopping in small coves etc. We have not heard much about the current onboard experience.

People that "agreed to go" were already on their way to their vacation,  then had to make a decision based on an email or call about what to do in a VERY short amount of time, after planning for months, after taking off of work, potentially losing flight and hotel money, after jumping through all the hoops to even get to St. Maarten. It's easy to say how great it is "sitting in the middle of the Caribbean" but a lot of work and planning went into this and people were excited to finally get sailing. Imagine the giddiness of being on the Inaugural sailing. My hope is that those cruisers are being treated so extravagantly that they don't even miss not being able to stop at a port.

I certainly won't tell people how they should feel but will be watching closely how everything plays out and will keep an open mind as to whether I will be cruising with them this summer. 

52 minutes ago, cabosal1 said:

As first time WS cruiser (but experienced luxury cruisers) we have as yet to be impressed .  This vaccine problem definitely should have been handled weeks ago.  The fact that no one onboard seems to know what is going on doesn’t exactly relieve anxiety.  

I am scheduled to be a first time WS cruiser as well. Also lots of cruising experience. If WS does not make this right for you and the subsequent disappointed cruisers I will not be partaking in their cruise. This could have been me. How they handle things for you is a direct reflection of how I might be treated. I will say much like restaurant reviews, everything is subjective and I often disagree with someone's opinion as our tastes may be different. But, if general transparency, honesty, due diligence and making this right for all of you in a manner that is fair does not take place, I am out. If they have misrepresented your cruise experience and not communicated that, I am truly sorry for you all. Their start up faux pas is on them. Please keep us up date.

1 hour ago, Nearpost345 said:

Anyone help me with this? If Windstar know that the crew needs two weeks to build immunity, shouldn’t they have know they had a problem on JUNE 12th That’s the day the 14 day immunity clock starts if the crew were to be full immunized by June 26th

Yep. I wrote a lengthy post about my frustrations and disagreement that it's not WS's fault. Then deleted it because I didn't want a debate to ensue. They had options and chose to fly(sail) by the seat of their pants. Other lines have done it so I'll just keep it at that. 

21 hours ago, wesport said:

Sounds right When I call the pharmacy, they don’t do the antigen. It’s only a quick test or pcr. 

Oh my friend Wesport- if we never leave the dock we have spent way too much time on this testing stuff. Ugh, so frustrating !  Florida ports are looking pretty good to me right now.

2 minutes ago, cabosal1 said:

Looks like WS is cancelling next 3 Star Breeze cruises.

Uh oh, where are you seeing this tidbit ? What a poopshow this is turning out to be. Sorry for your troubles.