Windstar Cruises

5 minutes ago, Windsailer said:

So the crew will receive the vaccine on 6/28. And the vaccine isn't fully effective until 14 days after vaccination. So will the July 10th cruise be cancelled along with the next two cruises? If so when do you intend to let those passengers know? 

No, the July 10 cruise is a go. By the time we get to BVIs enough time will have elapsed. 

8 minutes ago, Nearpost345 said:

O.k. Sarah, I see the rationale now, thank you.

Are you able to disclose whether or not Hubert is on board. He is usually the Star Breeze Dining room manager?

Sorry, I can't. 

1 hour ago, Nearpost345 said:

Hi Sarah, thanks for posting. I’ll start with a minor point. You said the BVI announced their vaccine requirements for passengers and crew a few weeks ago, it was March 11th almost 9 weeks and 6 days ago:

 

Premier's Office 

BVI Ports Authority Ltd 

Topics: 

Marine Transport, Tourism

Release Date:

Friday, 19 March 2021 - 2:15pm

The BVI Ports Authority (BVIPA), reopening of the cruise port has been announced with government approval for June, 2021 for cruise vessels with fully vaccinated passengers and crew.

One of BVIPA’s first expected passenger cruise calls to the Territory will be the Celebrity  Milliennium  of Royal Caribbean Group’s Celebrity Cruises starting June, 2021 homeporting out of St. Maarten.  The regional itinerary includes stops to Tortola, St. Lucia and Barbados.

Mrs. Oleanvine Maynard, Ag. Managing Director of the BVI Ports Authority stated that “we are so excited to be part of this new regional itinerary and while the cruise experience will be different than it was pre-pandemic, we are committed to providing our cruise partners and their guests a safe and enjoyable cruise stop.”

The BVIPA and The Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park (CBRTPP) teams will be working diligently with the Ministry of Health and Social Development, BVI Tourist Board, Local Cruise Agents, and the Cruise Lines desiring to call to ensure a healthy return to cruising for the Territory.

Mr. Vance Lewis, CEO, CBRTPP commented “the health and safety of the cruise guests, crew and our local community is our top priority and we will be working very closely with all partners to ensure for a safe resumption of this sector.”

Ship boarding requirements includes for passengers over 18 years of age to be fully vaccinated along with 100% vaccination of crew. Additionally, testing, pre-screening and embarkation measures are in place along with other onboard mitigation measures to prevent Covid-19 outbreaks.

———————————————————

Also can you reassure us that Windstar understands that there is a lag time, commonly considered to be fourteen days, (J&J) between being vaccinated and reaching immunity. I raise this because you should have known that your June 19th cruise was technically ruled out of visiting ports in BVI on June 5th since no one had been vaccinated by that date, yet passengers where not informed of “cruise to nowhere” status until June 15/16th.

Could you please explain why there was a delay?
 

You have  a very tough job at the moment, I respect that. Transparency and answering the phones will help take the pressure off you and Windstar

Hi NearPost35,

The two weeks I mentioned wasn't based off the BVI announcement you posted here. Sorry, I wasn't clear on that. We've been in  our own negotiation with the port and authorities there and originally had permission to visit (no unvaccinated crew off ship) and that changed recently - not even two weeks ago. Crew is to be vaccinated in San Juan on June 28 in time to visit BVIs with a fully vaccinated crew. But I do want to make sure everyone understands that the vaccine is one part of the safety plan - one layer. We are also social distancing, wearing masks indoors and when unable to distance outdoors, practicing good hand hygiene, more frequent sanitization of facilities and cleaning the air with HEPA filters and UV-C lights in the HVAC system. 

45 minutes ago, sail2day said:

Sarah,

 

The cancellation of my cruise is just part of the problem. The much more important issue is the lack of customer service. The only communication I had from Windstar was an email this past Monday notifying me that the July 3rd sailing was cancelled. I proceeded to call Windstar Tuesday and Wednesday in order to obtain further information on my airfare reimbursement that was purchased through Windstar. I have called multiple times and have yet to receive a call back. Communication is an important element in customer service. I’ve had none with Windstar. 

Hi Sail2Day: Yes, sorry to hear that. We have a small team right now, but that is too long. I will contact our team on your behalf.  Please send me your name and contact info to PR@windstarcruises.com. 

Hello all. This is your Windstar PR person here - Sarah. Reading through your posts. Understand the frustration here. Cancelling close-in sailings is tough. But I would like to provide some insights on this for you. We have always said we would have the crew vaccinated as soon as it is available to them. We have been working for months now to source vaccine for crew aboard our ships. It's incredibly complicated. We've had success in Tahiti, Greece and now Italy. The Caribbean has been a tough nut to crack. Some countries simply don't have as much vaccine. And there are rules as to who they can give it to. Policies also change quickly. The BVIs put out their requirements for a fully vaccinated component of guests and crew only a few weeks ago. We will always comply with each country's requirements. And that's what we are doing now. After much work, San Juan has just notified us of a J&J vaccine supply available for our crew, so we will go there next week to inoculate the crew. Unfortunately, that means we must now cancel two cruises. Our team has contacted all affected guests and travel advisors. 

I'm on the Star Breeze now. I can't tell you how nice she looks. And the food is amazing. Star Grill and Cuadro 44 will impress you. I love Spanish tapas so that's a highlight for me. If you like steak, then don't miss Candles. The Star Grill recipes from Steven Raichlen are to die for - house smoked pastrami is crazy good plus the brisket. I will have to post some photos soon.

The crew is so happy to be back!  We are starting up our fleet in phases. Wind Star is successfully sailing in the Greek Isles this week. Wind Surf starts up next. Here's the schedule:

Wind Spirit – July 15

Wind Surf – Aug 8

Legend – Sept 4

Pride – Nov 3

I'll try to check in and answer more questions. I am super busy on board with writers (look for articles), a photographer and a video crew. We'll have new visuals for you very soon. 

Hi Redtravel and milepig. This is terrible news! Can you send me your name/email and let me have a chance to add you to our mailing list?  Send to PR@Windstarcruises.com. Let's see if I can fix this once and for all.

Hi Neutrino78X, Windstar Cruises Marshall Islands, LLC is a Marshall Island company headquartered in the U.S. Our ships are flagged in the Bahamas. The Bahamas are rated as a high performing and highly compliant flag from operational and regulatory perspectives, in alignment with the standards of flag states like the U.S., UK, Germany and France. Our crewmembers, most of whom are unionized, receive a competitive wage in the cruise industry.

Hi Susiesan: We expect Tahiti to be one of our first sailing destinations when we resume operations. You can book Wind Spirit there through October 28, 2021. Star Breeze will take Wind Spirit’s place in Tahiti from November 2021 through March 2022.  The Wind Spirit will pick up in Tahiti again beginning April 7, 2022.  Sorry about the cancellations, but we do hope you book a future date.

Hi Snow Cat: We don’t have this option right now within our current software, but this is a great idea. We will see how we can make this happen.

Hello. The All-In package is available for purchase, but there’s no discount for it in the program. The savings offered in the program are meant to be beneficial for those that don’t benefit from the All-In package.

Barring another shipyard shutdown in Italy due to COVID-19, Star Legend is on track for completion in early March, yes. We currently have her set to sail on April 7, 2021 in the Mediterranean, and then the Greek Isles. 

Hi Jazzbeau, Great! I hope you enjoy your first Windstar cruise. You’ll receive alumni benefits at the completion of your first cruise.

Hi Barrycat, while our most recent plans to sail in Asia were interrupted (as well as our plans for new cruises in Australia/New Zealand), we are planning to return to Asia in late 2021.

Island Hopping through Japan is a 12-day itinerary that’s a new option for our guests, offering a chance to explore the Seto Inland Sea and the East China Sea. You can find our updated list of Asia sailings here:

https://www.windstarcruises.com/destinations/asia/

Re: the Middle East, we have only offered ports (outside of those accessed via the Mediterranean like Haifa and Cairo) on ocean crossings/repositioning routes. We don’t currently have any plans for those routes via the Middle East in the near future.

Hi Ladriano, Our Windstar Private Events you’re referencing were popular with many of our guests (glad you enjoyed them, and so pleased you’ve been on so many Windstar cruises -- we hope to welcome you back at some point in the future!). These events were on all of our cruises and “complimentary” to the guest, although built into the cruise price.

They were extremely difficult from a financial standpoint as well as an operations one, especially when many of our itineraries happen just once or twice in a season, meaning we don’t get much of a chance to fine-tune programming particularly on this scale. To pull off something special for the entire yacht (and do it well) just wasn’t working in all of our destinations, and many of our guests didn’t like being part of a yacht-wide event -- feeling like they were being made to purchase a shore excursion or an experience they didn’t want.  That’s why Windstar’s then-president made the decision to focus more on offering the best, small group shore excursions possible vs. coordinating these all-passenger events.

We do, however, still have two private events that remain because they were working so well operationally and our guests just LOVE them: the private Windstar beach party on one of Bora Bora’s tiny motus followed by a kinetic fire-dancing performance in Tahiti, as well as a romantic night at the Celsus Library in Ephesus in Turkey, with a private dinner in the moonlight and a classical string trio concert.

We are continuously looking at options of the same quality as these two in the current program.

Hi Content@Sea, Happy to hear you enjoyed cruises aboard the Wind ships. Now you can try the all-suite Star Plus Class ships soon. The Star Breeze is newly transformed with new suites, bigger pool and pool deck, new spa and fitness center and two new restaurants.

Hi ACruiseGuy: Star Breeze has just completed her major transformation with many more amenities on board. That would be a great yacht to try. All the suites have new bathrooms. There are 50 brand new suites, a larger pool and pool deck, new spa and fitness center and two new restaurants.  If you haven’t been to Tahiti, try sailing with us there. You’ll be able to explore the islands and take advantage of our complimentary water sports activities. We offer an incredible value in Tahiti when compared to a resort. Tahiti is also a favorite place of mine and I plan to take my family on vacation there as soon as we return to cruising.

Because COVID protocols are still in flux, we can’t definitively say what percentage of the ship will be occupied yet. With excursions, we understand this is a concern for many guests. We don’t know yet what the protocols will entail for ports around the world. We are waiting to see when it’s safe to start cruising again, and then we will follow COVID-19 policies to keep crew and guests safe. Pricing may need to be adjusted to allow for social distancing and other safety protocols, and they will likely increase.  We are working closely with our partners to try to hold rates. 

Hi SailMaine, We did add the Yacht Club coffee bar last year on Star and Spirit. Wind Surf received a major interior upgrade as well in 2019 with a brand new spa relocated to a different deck, a completely redesigned lounge and lounge bar area and most other public rooms received a refreshed wall and floor treatment.

Hi Silander3, Well, I hope you can find another itinerary you will enjoy. We have many to choose from in 2021 and 2022.

Hi GottaKnowWhen,  Our cruises in January 2021 are canceled. We are working on deployment changes due to the new CDC guidelines for cruises out of U.S. ports. The limitation of 7 days for cruises in the U.S. does cause challenges for us since many of our itineraries are longer. For back-to-back cruises in the U.S., we’ll need to validate with the CDC over time.

Hi gnld, The casino space had been underused for some time. Based on Yacht Club member feedback, we decided to use the space to expand the Compass Rose. 

Hi. In most cases we are able to honor the same rate, however, these situations are evaluated on a case by case basis.  There are some situations where we aren’t able to accommodate a rate protection based on the new deployment of the ship or changed itineraries.  If you find that your rescheduled cruise is at a higher rate, contact your travel advisor or Windstar’s Guest Services team to see if we are able to provide any level of rate protection or compensation.

Hi. We are reworking deployment for the Star Breeze now due to new regulations for cruising in and out of U.S. ports. The CDC recently issued new protocols including a max cruise length of seven days. Since many of our cruises are longer, we will need to make some changes. We should have that new cruise schedule in the next few weeks

Hello. Yes, a former Windstar President had the great idea to find a vocalist to sing the lyrics to our theme song, Conquest of Paradise, in English and have the music performed by the Seattle Symphony. The original version will continue to be used on all ships, but we are mixing it up and bringing in a different rendition. 

Hello. Yes, we are adding both back into the website. The search by ship function should return this week. In fact, check now. We miss it too. Including the ship on the page with other cruise details will also be back soon.