oakridger

I'll try to get a screen shot of your sail away. Based on your previous shots it looks like sail away is at about 7 pm St. Maarten time. ~Nancy

I'm watching the webcam, and you are still there at 5:35 pm local time. I don't know your sail away time, but I'll keep checking back. I want to get a screen shot! ~Nancy

And some people who have cruised with HAL for 20 years have never gotten a "free" offer! Like Moi. Enjoy it when you can! ~Nancy

Welcome to Cruise Critic and Thank you @fidldidi2 for this information! It is indeed some kind of charter, and the following week probably is as well. The January cancellations were attributed to fleet maintenance by Windstar. I hope the ship will be all spiffed up after that because I did decide to reschedule my cruises for a little later in 2025. On Monday I will get the final itinerary and pricing so will report then how Windstar responded to accommodating me because of the cancellations. I "think" they are going to make me feel happy about giving it a second shot! 😉 ~Nancy

@Flyinby Gary, the pictures are beautiful! My trip is getting closer. I board Castor in June. I'll post some pictures of the midnight sun voyage here on Cruise Critic to inspire people to try the summer visit as well! ~Nancy

Interesting how you took this picture! I would have not guessed it was photoshopped! Didn't even occur to me! You did a great job capturing the mountain no matter how you managed it! ~Nancy

I don't understand why some cruise lines do this! RCI and Carnival I have heard about. Do they think the passengers can't figure out how to change their clocks or something? It just seems so confusing! @Heidi13 do you know what those cruise lines' reasons are for not changing the clocks? ~Nancy

@Iamthesea I'm pretty sure the last time I saw the man with the dinner chimes was on Noordam in May 2019. I did get a kick out of it every time he passed by! Thanks for the flash from the past (video)! ~Nancy

I love this picture! You are lucky it was fairly clear that day. ~Nancy

👀 Watching this thread! ~Nancy

@MaryBethV I also don't want to order desert before I eat dinner. I just politely tell the waiter that I will wait to order it after I finish eating. They have always happily (I think 😉) done that! ~Nancy

On Rotterdam all the regular Oceanview cabins have great showers with a door (the family Oceanview has a tub with shower curtain)!

I will be watching daily for your posts over on the Windstar Forum! I was booked on Star Breeze for February and March 2025, but I was just notified that the cruises have been cancelled. Not sure what I'll do, but I was really excited to try Windstar for the first time. Have a wonderful cruise! ~Nancy

"...fleet maintenance..." 🤷‍♀️

I had planned on a New Zealand land trip prior to boarding Star Breeze. I think that plan just got messed up/postponed as well. I'm so disappointed. 😔 ~Nancy

Guess what? My other Auckland to Papeete February 1 to 16, 2025 just got cancelled also! They are offering a Future Cruise Credit for the money already paid (the deposit) and $200 On Board Credit for a future booking within 2 years. Here's what they said: "We have been looking forward to you joining us on the Star Breeze, South Pacific – January 2, 2025 – February 5, 2025 sailings. Due to necessary fleet maintenance, it is our regret to inform you that the Star Breeze will not be operating in this region. As a result, your itinerary has been cancelled." Like @Ski Mom 2 I'm wondering what's going on? I'm becoming leery about rebooking on the Star Breeze. They just moved her to be a permanent Tahiti itinerary with great fanfare. Hmmmmm???? @HaveDogWillTravel they have offered to give change fees for airfare. This is what they said: "If air travel has already been booked independently of Windstar Cruises, we will reimburse you for change fees you incur due to flight changes up to a $300 cash refund." I almost booked my airfare to Auckland 3 days ago but got sidetracked and didn't....thankfully! Dang!!! ~Nancy

I received emails today letting me know that my two back-to-back cruises in late February and early March 2025 are cancelled. This is what Windstar said: "... We have been looking forward to you joining us on the Tahiti & the Tuamotu Islands itinerary – Star Breeze, February 23, 2025. At this time, we need to inform you that the Star Breeze is no longer available during this timeframe as the ship has been taken out of public service for these dates, and as a result this cruise has been cancelled..." The following part of my Collector back-to-back is also cancelled. "Dreams of Tahiti", which I was also booked on. They have offered to reschedule to other Tahiti cruises in March and May, which is not an option for me to take two short cruises which are two months apart! They have also offered options to rebook the same itineraries with a $300 OBC or to book other itineraries with a $300 OBC at prevailing prices. The last option is to cancel completely with a refund and $200 OBC to use on a cruise through Februaty 2026. It all seems fair enough, but of course my whole other trip plans surrounding these cruises has to be scrapped. I booked this in July 2023. My point in posting here is to let others know what happened to my long-term booking and what Windstar is offering as replacement and good will OBC for the disruption of plans. Lastly, I wonder what the Star Breeze will be doing while it is "taken out of public service"? I doubt it's for maintenance. A possible charter that will be more profitable to Windstar? It's a done deal, but does anyone know? I'm just curious! ~Nancy

Thanks @WCB. I am looking forward to going to Japan within the next 5 or so years so will be watching for the reports from you and the other Zuiderdam folks. Fingers crossed for nicer weather! ~Nancy

Meh. Reminds me of a Carnival Cruise Line kind of thing. If people like it, no harm, as long as it doesn't replace something I like to do! 😉 ~Nancy

@MaryBethV I will be checking back to read more as you are able to post! I have family and friends in your age range so will be interested to get your impressions. Thanks in advance for the report! ~Nancy

It isn't consistent on HAL it seems. My experience in the MDR on my cruises has mostly been very good and the occasional poor service seemed to be one offs and the next day everything was ok. I sure hope you have a better time next cruise! I'm hopeful things are improving based on current reports about entertainment, food and itineraries. My next cruise is in May on Zuiderdam. 🙂 ~Nancy

Hearing your story made me smile! Thanks for sharing, and I'm sure your wife was thrilled! ~Nancy

Not correct fortunately. See post #19. Another glitch in the website. 🙄

@PatSp Thanks for reporting back and I'm happy that the policy has not changed regarding booking credits! Your cruise dining opened much earlier than mine did so that's good! It's really unfortunate that people sometimes get wrong answers when calling HAL looking for information. It happens way more than it should! 😡 Gus Antorcha, the president of HAL, just addressed the call center quality problem in his Q&A on board the world cruise yesterday. He said they are aware of the issue, and they are trying to improve. 🤷‍♀️ Have a great cruise and you can always come back here to ask questions. Most people on CC are here to learn and share knowledge! ~Nancy

Based on the "Live From" threads currently here on CC from several ships, the overall reports are that service is generally good to excellent! Previous Antarctica cruise reports from Oosterdam in the last couple of months are posted here also. I don't remember what they were saying about service but can go check. Unfortunately, it sounds like there is currently a management/training/staffing issue on Oosterdam. 🙁 It's a shame you had negative experiences. Did you report the problems to the dining room manager? What was their response? ~Nancy