Costa Rica 12/19 only 1/2 full..will it sail?

[roomiec]

Now that the concern for Windstar's financial health seems to have abated, a new concern has taken it's place.

The 12/19 Costa Rica RT, as of today, is only 1/2 booked. Under certain circumstances, it might be a blast traveling with just 60 passengers(almost like a private yacht), but then I wonder is there some cut-off point at which Windstar decides it's more beneficial to cancel the cruise than run it. And if the do decide to run the cruise, will there be any diminished services?

 

Any comments?

[lovecruisingtoo]

Now that the concern for Windstar's financial health seems to have abated, a new concern has taken it's place.

The 12/19 Costa Rica RT, as of today, is only 1/2 booked. Under certain circumstances, it might be a blast traveling with just 60 passengers(almost like a private yacht), but then I wonder is there some cut-off point at which Windstar decides it's more beneficial to cancel the cruise than run it. And if the do decide to run the cruise, will there be any diminished services?

 

Any comments?

 

The crew is under contract so you should not see a problem there. Also, they still have all the fixed costs even if they do not sail.

 

Bottom line, I don't think you will have a problem. Windstar may elect to lower the price to attract additional passengers (however they may not do that until AFTER final payment is due).

[roomiec]

LCtoo...would we be entitled to a refund of the difference if they did that?

[lovecruisingtoo]

LCtoo...would we be entitled to a refund of the difference if they did that?

 

Most cruise lines will only lower the price on booked cruises IF the price change is done prior to final payment. Reason being is that you can normally cancel a cruise prior to final payment with no penalty. After final payment you are typically out of luck.

 

May be wrong but that is my understanding.

[6rugrats]

LCtoo...would we be entitled to a refund of the difference if they did that?

 

Why would you be entitled to a refund? Highly doubt this would happen. Some cruiselines will give you a credit or adjust the price if the price goes down if you ask, but not for any special sales prices. These are usually limited to new bookings. If you cancel and try to rebook at the new price, they know you were booked on the cruise, and the new booking will not reflect the new discounted price; you will be charged the original price.

 

This summer there were some fabulous deals on cruise prices for alumni on certain sailings, including one we were on. Some people had paid the full fare, and others, like us, paid the discounted fare. They got no money back. We got a great price. Ships sailed pretty full.

 

It's close to three months until this sailing; ship will probably have many more bookings by the depature date.

[Mike2131]

Where did you get the info on the current status of bookings? I don't have a concern about cancelation, but I would like to get the same info for our cruise (12/13 RT from Barbados on the Wind Surf).

 

Also, your sailing is currently selling on the Windstar Flash Special at $1,899 which I think is $750 off list for a Cat. B.

[6rugrats]

Where did you get the info on the current status of bookings? I don't have a concern about cancelation, but I would like to get the same info for our cruise (12/13 RT from Barbados on the Wind Surf).

 

Also, your sailing is currently selling on the Windstar Flash Special at $1,899 which I think is $750 off list for a Cat. B.

 

The current price on Windstar's webpage for this cruise for Cat B is $1859 per person. I am seeing prices as low as $999 per person for this cruise on other webpages that sell discounted fares. This difference in fares made me curious, so I have put in a request to the webpage where you can have people compete for your cruise booking, to see what they come up with.

[6rugrats]

Received first response for price for this cruise. Total price for two people, including all taxes, etc. - $1902. This is about $951 per person.

[roomiec]

My "Flash Pricing" which, by the way, has to be booked today or the price goes up, is $1714/pp(w/o taxes) for a Cat. B.

 

Could there truly be pricing out there for 1/2 that price?

[Mike2131]

Received first response for price for this cruise. Total price for two people, including all taxes, etc. - $1902. This is about $951 per person.

Do you know/trust the agency offering the deal? If not, could your TA get the same price for you?

 

We booked the Windstar Flash deal on our cruise (through our TA) @ $949 pp plus a small amount of port taxes (almost exactly 2 for 1 vs. the posted cruise price). The disadvantage was the need to pay the entire fare within 24 hours of booking, but we were only about 3 weeks from final on the cruise that was canceled so it was not a big deal. We got our deposit from Regent back on the same credit card statement so that softened the blow some.

 

Good luck - I hope you get a fantastic deal!

[roomiec]

Received first response for price for this cruise. Total price for two people, including all taxes, etc. - $1902. This is about $951 per person.

 

Is this price for the 12/19 date?

[6rugrats]

I checked for the Windsurf cruise leaving 12/13/09. I am not sailing on this cruise; just curious as to what the price was. I don't use a TA, we book ourselves directly with the cruiseline.

 

I'm sorry I can't name the webpage where I obtained this quote as it is against CC rules. It's from a site where you list a cruise you are interested in, and you will get an email whenever a TA has priced the cruise for you.

 

Mike2131 - that is a very good price, and about what we paid for our Med cruise on the Windstar this summer; we also had to pay in full when booking. Pricing is really down, especially if you are willing to wait. We booked a future cruise while onboard and had to pay only a $100 deposit each. We ended up with $700 in OBC for our next cruise. Very nice.

 

Have a great time!

[Mike2131]

I checked for the Windsurf cruise leaving 12/13/09. I am not sailing on this cruise; just curious as to what the price was. I don't use a TA, we book ourselves directly with the cruiseline.

 

I'm sorry I can't name the webpage where I obtained this quote as it is against CC rules. It's from a site where you list a cruise you are interested in, and you will get an email whenever a TA has priced the cruise for you.

 

Mike2131 - that is a very good price, and about what we paid for our Med cruise on the Windstar this summer; we also had to pay in full when booking. Pricing is really down, especially if you are willing to wait. We booked a future cruise while onboard and had to pay only a $100 deposit each. We ended up with $700 in OBC for our next cruise. Very nice.

 

Have a great time!

We were more or less locked into the mid-December time frame of the canceled Regent cruise. I clicked on the Windstar specials and saw the deal. It was a really nice surprise to get a great price on an itinerary we loved that fit our narrow travel window. Like The Stones said "... sometimes you get what you need".

[chicagogal]

Received first response for price for this cruise. Total price for two people, including all taxes, etc. - $1902. This is about $951 per person.

 

I've used that website before we mixed results. Good luck! I hope you find a cruise you like at a great price!

[hifred]

Just booked today. I called windstar directly and there were very few cabins to chose from. Only 2 cabins in the price category I was purchasing 126 and 124. I could not find as low of a rate as what I am seeing on this thread. Each time I saw a price lower than $1099 per person there were always taxes to add on so the total rate with taxes and port charges was at $1200 per person.

[roomiec]

Hifred...are you booked on the 12/19 sailing?

I ask because my cabin is just down the hall(118) and I'm paying 1714.00/pp

without the port charges and tax.

[6rugrats]

Cruise pricing is like air line pricing. You will find there is a big difference in fares paid. Windstar offers discount fares on a lot of sailings for alumni. They will also discount fares to fill up a ship.

[hifred]

Yes we are booked in room 126. We look forward to seeing you on board. If you like to scuba dive this is the area. The last time we were in Costa Rica we saw very large white tip sharks. My husband is 6'6 and they made him look small :D We are getting into San Jose on 12/19 at 11:45 am and are going to take a car to the port. Do you want to split a car?

[roomiec]

Hifred...wish I had been in contact with you sooner.

We're getting in about an hour after you, but are taking the shuttle through Windstar.

 

Still trying to understand...you are paying 1200/pp including port charges and tax?

[6rugrats]

Still trying to understand...you are paying 1200/pp including port charges and tax?

 

As already posted, hifred says yes. What is there to understand? Some people pay higher prices than others. On our Windstar Med cruise this summer, we paid, including taxes, $2100, which was our total for two people. Others on that cruise paid over $2500 per person. Sometimes booking earlier costs you more money.

 

It appears you paid more for the same cruise than hifred.