Going On And Off Ship Change Over Day one

[Misty Morning]

We will be doing 14 day Lovely Leewards cruise on Star Legend in November. When back in San Juan after week one, can those staying 14  days do as they please that day or are there limitations due to new passengers boarding on same day for a 7 day cruise?

[Cometman]

You can do whatever you want.... I like to sit in the Veranda with a drink and wave goodbye to those leaving 🙂

[Misty Morning]

You must be drinking a mimosa given everybody needs to be off by 9AM

[milepig]

We just did this. On the day you need to stop by registration where they switch over your existing card. That’s it. 

 

We stayed at Veranda watching people leave until we were alone and then went on shore for awhile and we were free to return at any time. Not on purpose but we returned a bit before registration began, so we were again in veranda as people trickled in. The crew laughed at us. We got to see people walking around with deck plans in their hand. 

 

The best part was when we got to skip the lifeboat drill. 

[Strenz]

As Milepig said on, off as you like. They make it very easy. Happy Sailing. 

[Misty Morning]

Can you go to shore and bring back your 2 bottles of wine/week allowance?

[milepig]

3 hours ago, Misty Morning said:

Can you go to shore and bring back your 2 bottles of wine/week allowance?

 

I don't see why not. WS seems to treat the legs as separate itins.

[new_cruiser]

14 hours ago, milepig said:

We just did this. On the day you need to stop by registration where they switch over your existing card. That’s it. 

 

We stayed at Veranda watching people leave until we were alone and then went on shore for awhile and we were free to return at any time. Not on purpose but we returned a bit before registration began, so we were again in veranda as people trickled in. The crew laughed at us. We got to see people walking around with deck plans in their hand. 

 

The best part was when we got to skip the lifeboat drill. 

 

When on Star Legend for the Pacific crossing followed by the first Alaska cruise, I asked about skipping the lifeboat drill for the turnaround in Seward. The answer I got was that it wasn't mandatory, but that the captain prefers that everyone attend even in the middle of a b2b cruise. I decided that I'd comply with that.

 

In that case, there was also a special circumstance due to US food rules. The ship had to get rid of all the non-US food they were carrying from Asia and restock with US provisions. Therefore there was no lunch on board, instead they gave a $50 per person credit to those continuing aboard to cover our lunches ashore in Seward. So, if you wanted to eat, you had to go ashore.

[milepig]

1 hour ago, new_cruiser said:

 

When on Star Legend for the Pacific crossing followed by the first Alaska cruise, I asked about skipping the lifeboat drill for the turnaround in Seward. The answer I got was that it wasn't mandatory, but that the captain prefers that everyone attend even in the middle of a b2b cruise. I decided that I'd comply with that.

 

In that case, there was also a special circumstance due to US food rules. The ship had to get rid of all the non-US food they were carrying from Asia and restock with US provisions. Therefore there was no lunch on board, instead they gave a $50 per person credit to those continuing aboard to cover our lunches ashore in Seward. So, if you wanted to eat, you had to go ashore.

 

The food rules thing sounds odd to me.  Most of the food on Windstar comes from a huge cruise ship supply company in Amsterdam, not the US.

[new_cruiser]

22 minutes ago, milepig said:

 

The food rules thing sounds odd to me.  Most of the food on Windstar comes from a huge cruise ship supply company in Amsterdam, not the US.

It seemed odd to me too, but it was a pretty big deal and I don't think they would have done it if they didn't have to. It may have only applied to the fish, meats, dairy, eggs - not sure if it applied to staples like flour. They had lobster a lot in Amphora during the crossing because they had a lot of that. And it seems like it must be different at least for Canada to the US because the ship is doing that for every Alaska cruise and the New England/Canada itins.

 

I did see a mention of a rule about stuff needing to be from US on a thread about what's involved in the US CDC ship inspections. 

[Misty Morning]

Can you pre book your 2 allowed Candles dinners when checking in?

[Cortesefam]

Misty Morning:  I think we're on the same b2b--departing San Juan 11/2 and returning 11/16.  Appreciate your questions on the "turn-around" day in San Juan--this is our first b2b on Windstar.  We sailed on the Star Legend earlier this year in Asia and had a great experience.  Look forward to meeting you on the cruise!

Steve & Eileen

[Misty Morning]

Cortesefam,

 

Yes we are on same cruise.  We are a party of 6.  This will be our 8th cruise on Windstar, our 2nd on the Legend, all in the Caribbean  I see a Roll Call was started.  Looking Forward to meeting you on board.

 

Pierre & Nathalie

[Ski Mom 2]

We had two of these days on our back2back2back last September in the Mediterranean. On the first turnaround day in Barcelona we headed out early for our tours we had set up for Barcelona. When we returned in the afternoon it was so nice to just be able to reboard without waiting in the small line of folks boarding for the first time. 

 

In Rome we had no plans except to walk around so we waited until everyone had departed the ship and then headed out. It was very interesting to be one of a handful of guests left on board. Upon return it was once again very easy to just walk back on. 

 

Our key key card was valid for our entire voyage. I believe the evening before each of the two turnaround days we made our reservations for the restaurants to beat the rush. 

 

What I realized on that cruise was 7 days (or one cruise) wasn’t long enough! Enjoy!

[ducklite]

While Windstar doesn't care if you get off or not, in many US Ports they require the ship to be completely cleared.  So you might need to get off, wait a few minutes for them to "zero out" the passengers, and then re board.

 

We had to get our keys redone at the desk, it was a minute or two, very easy.  We did it as we returned our passports to them--we needed them to get off and on in Venice.
 

We were able to book Candles for the second week on the last night of the first week.

 

Our turnaround was in Venice.  We were the first people off that morning and spent the day sightseeing, and then re-boarded about an hour prior to all aboard.  We were asked to participate in the muster.  I believe that will vary by captain.

[Redtravel]

I have done b2b many times. Windstar is very easy. You can do whatever you want. Just be back before they sail. On Windstar, we kept the same cabin and had the same seapass for the whole cruise.  On one cruise, we had to go to muster drill on turnover day. On my most recent cruise, we were not required to attend the muster drill.  We did a b2b in San Juan on Celebrity. We did not have to leave the ship. We had to wait in a lounge while they zeroed out. We were given a new seapass. US customs were in the lounge and  checked our passports. By 10 am, we were off the ship doing our own thing.