r&rd

I’ve done 40 Windstar cruises and it was my first little blue bag with disembarkation tags. They used to send them before the cruise with the cruise documents and luggage tags.

On our Star Breeze transatlantic in December we got the little blue zip pouch with our disembarkation tags!

Customer service is inconsistent. Some are brand new, some have been on the phones for years. If you don’t get an acceptable answer, hang up and call back for a different experience.

When we have put 3 in a room they charged the third person the same as the first two - so if no single supplement get another room.

We are on board the Legend now. Sent laundry out the first evening and got it back by 5 pm the next day,

Yes, it was included in the fare. But it was an amazing trip - Valley of the Kings, Luxor, lunch on the Nile.

When we did this cruise on the Pride a few years back, the Luxor overnight was a part of the package - the entire ship went on the overnight - 6 buses and a spare. So they can definitely do the tour with more people.

You can send out as much laundry as you want every day. It’s great! See you on the ship in Lisbon!

We will be doing our first transatlantic in two weeks from Lisbon to Miami on the Star Breeze (we weren’t brave enough to try it on a sailing ship!). I have 366 days on Windstar (multiple times on every ship) but I think the transatlantic will be a whole new experience.

I’ve done 40 Windstar cruises but our backup has always been Azamara. Much the same vibe as Windstar. We like their destination focus.

There are so many options! What are you interested in? Relaxing, nature, history, canal, volcanoes? In Panama you can stay at The Gamboa Rainforest Resort and and see the sloth sancuary, butterfly garden, poisonous frog exhibit, take the tram up into the rainforest, a night hike or a boat ride into the canal. Or if you want history stay at hotel La Compania in Casco Viejo. In Costa Rica stay at an eco resort or go to Arenal Vocano National Park. There are so many choices.

We’ve gone through the canal about 9 times on Windstar - love the experience. Mostly only the big supertankers go through the new locks. We prefer going from Costa Rica to Panama instead of the other direction mostly because we don’t like having the first day be in the canal. Having a few days to prepare, read up on the canal, do excursions into the Canal Zone the day before and be well rested after travel all make the Canal experience much better. There is plenty of space on the ship to see all sides of the transit. Be prepared for very hot sun. The nice part of being on a small ship is you get to see all aspects of going through the locks. Sometimes other ships are In the same lock and you get to watch that as well. There is a person from the canal who commentates the entire transit and let’s you know what is coming up. They also provide you with maps. for the excursions, we have done them all but especially like the Monkey Island tour (not for the monkeys but being in a small boat in the middle of the lake). The Visitor Center at the locks is interesting if you want to see the operations of the canal from land and learn more of the history. The locks live stream ships going through so you might want to send that link to your friends and family.

Does anyone know if the cost of the drink packages will go up as well?

When we were in Anchorage before our July cruise we got our test at the Egan convention center. Most of the cruise lines were using them. If that is not where you were booked call the convention center for the info - it’s not listed on websites since it is a site you have to pay for the tests. It is two blocks from the Hilton and three blocks from the train station. Cost was $89 for an antigen test - Tell them you are with Windstar and the reduced amount ($69) is charged to you onboard.

I have been upgraded without being notified, I have been offered a fee upgrade 3 weeks before sailing (usually for owners or classic suites), I have been given a free upgrade after boarding and been offered a fee upgrade after boarding. I have also been told I could negotiate an upgrade 2-3 weeks before sailing. I would like to think there is a policy but I think not. I also suspect that policies have changed post Covid.

Just got off the Breeze and there was no restroom by the spiral stairs on deck 3 - closest on that side is deck 4

We were on the July 3 raise from Seward to Vancouver. There were a few sold out excursions before boarding but most were available and they seemed to add zodiac and kayak excursions as needed. That said, there were only 180 people on the ship (and some were quarantined due to Covid). There was not much to do in the newer ports if you weren’t on an excursion but some people did do some hiking on their own. In Wrangell, some people were going to hike up the mountain and an 11 year old resident told them they should have a gun in case they ran into a bear. Probably not an item anyone thought to pack! Because the weather was so wet and cold our “deck barbecue” was served as lunch in the Amphora. And the crew line dancing that is usually held after the barbecue was in the lounge. apparently the cruise before ours had perfect weather and their was a deck barbecue and more activities on deck.

We are currently on the Breeze in Alaska with about 180 passengers

We are on the Breeze now having embarked in Seward. We stayed two nights at the anchorage Hilton, took the train (2 block walk from the hotel) to Seward and stayed at the Harbor 360 hotel. It was across the street from the train depot and the train transferred our luggage to the hotel. Seward has a free shuttle bus that goes from one end to the other which allowed us to see the town with a stop at the Marine Wildlife center. The hotel has a shuttle to the port but we walked - it’s less than half a mile and an easy road. We used Luggage Forward to send most of our luggage which gave us a bit more freedom in going from place to place with just carryons. I know the cruise line offers a bus transfer from Anchorage to Seward the day of the cruise or you could take the train. It leaves Anchorage at 6:45 am and arrives in Seward about 11:15. I recommend the train as a relaxing way to see the scenery and the wildlife. There are currently about 170 people on board so there are plenty of spaces left on most excursions but not sure if that would be the case if the ship were full. Can’t speak to the excursions yet as we have only have the one stop at a glacier. Will post about all those later.

I think it depends on the ship and the country you are in at the time. My husband got Covid on the Breeze in Mexico. We were quarantined (as was anyone we had dinner with). We were given a list of hotels in Mexico - but most had no availability. In the end we were offered a room on the next sailing to continue quarantine but I doubt this still happens. The following cruise was aborted half way because too many crew were quarantined. It seems that policies are changing continually and no one can tell you what will happen. Too many variables: how many passengers on the ship and how many affected? Is crew affected? Are you in a country with cruise ship policies? We leave for an Alaska cruise in the Breeze tomorrow. We’ll see what happens!

I called as well. First answer to “telehealth” was no. When pressed, I was told as long as I had an official certificate with my name and a “not detected” result I could board. The telehealth people give you that certificate by email. The other concerning thing is they will not accept certificates of recovery. My husband got Covid on the breeze in April and always has the potential for a positive test.

They do the rapid antigen. I was told last cruise (April) that if you test positive you can not board but they will refund your cruise fare. If you test positive once onboard (or anyone you have traveled with or had dinner with) you are quarantined.

I am booked on the July 3 Alaska cruise and asked that question yesterday when I called. If you want a test on the ship before disembarking you should preorder and you will have to pay the $69.. Otherwise you can get a test in Canada before flying home. Because I had booked the cruise so long ago I actually got the old price - guess there is some benefit to having so many cancelled cruises.

$16 per day per cabin ($8 if solo cabin). You have to buy for the entire length of voyage, you can also just pay per item if you don’t want the package.

Actually it is .03% of passengers and/or crew or 1% crew to hit orange. Essentially that is 1-2 people to go orange. Also, the one passenger who tested positive on the 5/20 cruise may have been someone quarantined on the ship from the previous cruise who still tested positive although past the 10 day quarantine. My husband, who had a false negative to get off the ship, finally tested negative today, 14 days later.