SMNYCruise

We have booked an 11 night cruise to Tahiti & the Tuamotu islands on the Wind Spirit in 2018. Our cruise has a "special offer" with air and hotel included. Trying to decide whether to book the complete package or do the arrangements ourselves.

Some questions I have are:

1. How much are transfers to a hotel close to the airport and from hotel to the cruise port?

2. Is one night at the Le Meridien (late arrival after 10pm) and a day room at the end of the cruise with all transfers worth $930? (for 2 people)

3. How does the day room work? Is it a private hotel room or is it shared by many?

4. If the complete package is not booked, is the base fare on the cruise higher?

5. Is $1,529.50 the approximate cost of flying Air Nui Tahiti during peak times?

Any opinions on whether to take the package or make arrangements independently would be appreciated. We plan on spending one night in LA prior to the Tahiti flight and leave Tahiti right after the cruise.

I compared the 13 night Circle Japan on the Azamara Quest leaving 4/14/19 to the 14 night Celebrity Millennium Yokohama to Tokyo departing 4/13/19.

We were excited to hear that Azamara had such a port intensive cruise around Japan until we priced it out. Can't justify the huge price difference between Azamara and the almost identical itinerary, during the same month, on the Celebrity Millenium. Celebrity is HALF the price and one day longer. We would certainly have paid more to be on Azamara, but sadly the price difference for this itinerary is just too much to justify.

We just booked the Baja's Bounty Sea of Cortez cruise on Uncruise for February 2018. Looking forward to trying this new cruise line. We took a similar type cruise many years ago on the now defunct Temptress and it was our best vacation ever. Would love to hear tips from those who have cruised on Uncruise about things we shouldn't miss while on board.

The itinerary changes would certainly eliminate B2B cruising, so I can understand your frustration. We received the information about the changes by calling Azamara directly, and not through a TA.

We are trying to decide between the recently released Azamara 13 night Circle Japan Voyage (4/14/19) and the 14 night Celebrity Millenium Circle Japan cruise (4/13/19). The itineraries are similar, although I prefer Celebrity with two overnights and stops in Jeju and Aomori. I am a big fan of small ship cruising and I have concerns about the condition of the Millenium. I also didn't know about the risk of cancellation for charters on Celebrity. The price difference is substantial, even when factoring in the all-inclusive nature of Azamara. Thoughts?

We are seriously considering this cruise. Azamara guest services confirmed that there is a revised itinerary with three small changes as previously described in an early post. The departure date has not been changed. The only negative I see in the new itinerary is a departure from Hiroshima at 6pm and not 10pm. Certainly not a game changer.

We had a similar experience when our TA forgot to send in our final payment for our 20 anniversary cruise to Asia. The cruise, on Princess, was overbooked and two days later, after several reminder faxes to her company, the cruise line gave up our cabin. Our TA offered to pay the difference and put us in any available cabin on the ship, but the cruise was overbooked. I had meticulously planned this trip for 18 months and had many private excursions arranged. We ended up piecing together a last minute vacation, which was not ideal. Not sure my story makes you feel better about your situation, but I thought it was worth re-telling as a reminder for cruisers to keep track of final payments.

I have been on both cruise lines. Windstar has much better cabins. Azamara has better entertainment and food choice. My preference would be Windstar for the small ship experience. I also love the open bridge policy on Windstar.

We took the tender back from Foxy's at 11pm on our recent Windsurf cruise. I think the last tender was at 11:45pm. It was really fun going ashore after dinner. Don't think a large cruise ship would do this. One of the great things about Windstar!

Just returned from the Windsurf. I wore white jeans several nights. No problem at all. I saw many women wearing capri's during dinner. The casual dress is one of the things I love about the cruise line.

They were Minke whales. Today we had a dolphin swim by while we were on the float off the back of the boat!

We were under sail for 9 hours yesterday. For several of the hours there were 3 whales circling the boat. Wonderful day and wonderful cruise!

Several choices for Alaska. Unfortunately, the prices seem high.

Windstar just announced it would send one of their small yachts to Alaska next summer. Another option for those who want to avoid the big cruise lines.

I have had my eye on this cruise line for awhile. Seems like a much cheaper alternative to Lindblad. We are considering the Sea of Cortez itinerary.

I hate to even ask this, but is there any internet available during the cruise?

We have work obligations and elderly parents and it would tough to be completely out of touch the whole time.

Zeno: thanks for your response. I have been to the Baths and can't wait to return, so maybe the change is a good one.

Just received an email that due to an "operational issue", our beach barbecue will take place at Spanish Town instead of Prickly Pear Beach.

i am assuming that this is due to mechanical difficulties Windsurf recently experienced. Has anyone recently been to Spanish town? Is it still a beach barbecue?

Our cruise is over three weeks away, so I assume many sailings are effected.

I agree that the price match is great, but it does not mean you get a price reduction up to seven days prior to sailing. Our fare dropped twice. Once we got OBC and the second time we got an cabin upgrade. Windstar determines the form of reimbursement.

We are about to take our 5th Windstar cruise in a few weeks. They have all been fabulous. Hard to pick a favorite!

I would love to read a trip report when you get back! Have a great time!!

Can't help with your question since we have never been on Avalon or any river cruise before. We have been researching various lines (river and Ocean) to explore this part of the world. Would love to hear from you when you return. Why did you choose Avalon and why this time of the year? Many thanks.

Jb-lhr: Its good that you are asking for clarification now. We once booked a Windsurf cruise based on the brochure highlight section which was inaccurate (it was advertised that we would be leading the Amsterdam Tall Ship parade when in fact we anchored before the parade started). Ended up being a wonderful cruise anyway. In any event, the supervisor is wrong. She should not be telling you to "book with confidence". You should call back and ask her to explain how you will get to Albania from Greece.

I would not hesitate to book Venetian Passageways. It was one of our best cruises.

Windstar forgot to change the Popular Highlights section of the Venetian Passageways cruise when the itinerary was changed. Butrint is a National Park in Albania which was on the Venetian Passageways itinerary in the past (we were there in October). It looks like Corfu has been substituted for Albania. The Corinth Canal is not a shore excursion. Passengers remain on the ship when it cuts through the very narrow Isthmus of Corninth. Windstar had someone on board talking about the history of the canal while we cruised through it.

Hope this helps.

Our cruise price just dropped. We are within 90 days of sailing. We would have preferred shipboard credit, but Windstar "picked" a category upgrade instead.

Looks like an early return to St. Marten and a late departure.