Any websites for checking cabin availability?

[e39m5]

Wondering if there's a way to see which cabins are available without picking up the phone.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I know of several such websites, but none include Windstar [even the one that shows it in a drop-down menu punks out when you actually try to search it].

[Ski Mom 2]

No, you still have to call. Here is my question and the answer from John Delaney when he stopped by Cruise Critic in October.

 

My question:

Is there any plan to upgrade the web site so we could see the availability of cabins on individual cruises? It would be nice to see the availability prior to speaking to a representative. 

 

His answer:

We are planning a major upgrade to our reservations system in 2021 which will also link to the website and provide real time cabin availability and pricing and easier functionality for booking shore excursions and completing pre-cruise documentation.

[Del Rio]

On 11/2/2019 at 3:55 PM, e39m5 said:

Wondering if there's a way to see which cabins are available without picking up the phone.

If you work with a travel agent/advisor, who is registered with Windstar, they can see every available cabin.  It is not difficult and it does not take up much time.

[e39m5]

Hey all.  I make websites when I'm not cruising and was able to pull this together.  Sorry it's ugly, but hope it helps!

https://www.windstarwizard.com

 

I'll experiment a bit with getting it to update more frequently (right now it's just daily).  Unfortunately Windstar doesn't make this easy, but hope this beats waiting until 2021 😅

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, e39m5 said:

Hey all.  I make websites when I'm not cruising and was able to pull this together.  Sorry it's ugly, but hope it helps!

https://www.windstarwizard.com

 

I'll experiment a bit with getting it to update more frequently (right now it's just daily).  Unfortunately Windstar doesn't make this easy, but hope this beats waiting until 2021 😅

 

 

This is a wonderful idea, but there is something wrong in your programming.  These three versions of the 9/29/2020 cruise, at 8, 18 and 28 days, all show the same prices (which are at least 3x what I paid for the 8 day Spanish Serenade version):

 

[e39m5]

Thanks @Host Jazzbeau!  Always bound to be a few bugs...

 

I think I've spotted the issue in my code and the pricing and availability should fix itself over the next day.

[minidonuts85]

13 hours ago, e39m5 said:

Hey all.  I make websites when I'm not cruising and was able to pull this together.  Sorry it's ugly, but hope it helps!

https://www.windstarwizard.com

 

I'll experiment a bit with getting it to update more frequently (right now it's just daily).  Unfortunately Windstar doesn't make this easy, but hope this beats waiting until 2021 😅

 

Very cool!!

[kbr]

This wizard is SO cool!  I called Windstar yesterday and asked EXACTLY which cabins were available for each category as my travel agent was pressuring me with "it's almost sold out" which I didn't believe.  Your cabin availability for the cruise I'm watching matched the list Windstar gave me EXACTLY and....they still have 22 of the 106 cabins left, which I wouldn't call "almost sold out".

 

Windstar has lost their minds temporarily on some of their pricing, as my cruise went up this week by $600 pp, but my agent can get it for $900 lower pp than Windstar's price.  I guess Windstar really wants you to use agents, as the price they quoted me yesterday was VERY different than the price they quoted my agent....always learning and I LOVE seeing the cabin availablility now!  

 

I have a new favorite bookmark now!

 

[e39m5]

7 hours ago, kbr said:

This wizard is SO cool!  I called Windstar yesterday and asked EXACTLY which cabins were available for each category as my travel agent was pressuring me with "it's almost sold out" which I didn't believe.  Your cabin availability for the cruise I'm watching matched the list Windstar gave me EXACTLY and....they still have 22 of the 106 cabins left, which I wouldn't call "almost sold out".

 

Windstar has lost their minds temporarily on some of their pricing, as my cruise went up this week by $600 pp, but my agent can get it for $900 lower pp than Windstar's price.  I guess Windstar really wants you to use agents, as the price they quoted me yesterday was VERY different than the price they quoted my agent....always learning and I LOVE seeing the cabin availablility now!  

 

I have a new favorite bookmark now!

 

 

Glad to hear it's working for you, @kbr!  Maybe I'll add a feature to list what percent of the ship is sold out...I also hate that "almost sold out" line.

 

That's really weird about the pricing.  I think the prices I list should always match Windstar's prices.  Maybe your agent has a group rate?  That's such a huge difference!  

 

@Host Jazzbeau I believe that issue is fixed for all sailings now, but let me know if you spot it again 🙂

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks.  Yes, my cruise is now accurate and the three 8-18-28 have increasing prices that looks about right.

[russandcheryl]

Good job..thank you 

[kbr]

On 11/21/2019 at 7:26 PM, e39m5 said:

 

Glad to hear it's working for you, @kbr!  Maybe I'll add a feature to list what percent of the ship is sold out...I also hate that "almost sold out" line.

 

That's really weird about the pricing.  I think the prices I list should always match Windstar's prices.  Maybe your agent has a group rate?  That's such a huge difference!  

 

@Host Jazzbeau I believe that issue is fixed for all sailings now, but let me know if you spot it again 🙂

 

The wizard has been working great until New Year's Day when I noticed on the Legend, the 1/18 date is listed twice and the 1/25 date (which I'm sailing on) is gone!  Is that because the 1/25 sailing is sold out?  There's also a couple of new "temporary placeholders".  Any clue what those are for?

 

I will appreciate having this wizard forever!

 

Thank YOU!

[new_cruiser]

On 11/21/2019 at 4:26 PM, e39m5 said:

That's really weird about the pricing.  I think the prices I list should always match Windstar's prices.  Maybe your agent has a group rate?  That's such a huge difference.

 

I'm not sure what's going on with Windstar pricing, but I also noticed some glitches (in our favor). The price our agent got on our booking last week was a bit lower than the Windstar website price. The agent doesn't know why - it is the price the Windstar booking system priced it at. We have a copy of the Windstar invoice. 

 

I also booked a solo cruise last week now that they have reduced solo supplements on some cruises. They say they reduced the solo supplement from 75% to 20%, but the price I received was the same as the per person double occupancy price on the website. 

1 hour ago, kbr said:

The wizard has been working great until New Year's Day when I noticed on the Legend, the 1/18 date is listed twice and the 1/25 date (which I'm sailing on) is gone!  Is that because the 1/25 sailing is sold out?  There's also a couple of new "temporary placeholders".  Any clue what those are for?

 

I will appreciate having this wizard forever!

 

Thank YOU!

 

The solo cruise I booked wasn't on the agent a few days ago when I looked at it there, but the Star Collector cruise starting the same day was. I used the email on the wizard to let e39 know - he replied that he's on a cruise and would check it when he got back. The cruise had reappeared before he sent the email. 

 

The temporary placeholders are on the edges of the time that the Legend had no cruises for the refit so perhaps they are due to some uncertainty as things settle down around the new refit schedule. 

[TakingFlight]

I’ve been using the Wonderful Wizard of Windstar for a while now and I’m loving it! Windstar rolled out some cruises for late 2021 that I can see in the wizard. About a week ago a few more cruises became available on the Windstar website. These have not appeared in the wizard. Is there a lag time before the wizard picks up a new cruise from the website?

[TakingFlight]

4 hours ago, TakingFlight said:

I’ve been using the Wonderful Wizard of Windstar for a while now and I’m loving it! Windstar rolled out some cruises for late 2021 that I can see in the wizard. About a week ago a few more cruises became available on the Windstar website. These have not appeared in the wizard. Is there a lag time before the wizard picks up a new cruise from the website?

Sorry about the typo-I meant that I CAN’T see them in the wizard but I can see them on the Windstar website.

[e39m5]

Thanks so much for the kind words everyone! Very happy to hear it's helpful.  

 

@kbr Regarding 1/25: Yes, it looks like it disappeared because the sailing is sold out.  Eventually I'll find a way to keep a sailing showing after it sells out - unfortunately, that's going to be a bit more involved than I'd like.  (Have a great trip!)

 

I was able to remove the temporary placeholders - thanks for calling them out.

 

Hi @TakingFlight! Which ship and sail date are missing?  I'll take a look...  There is a lag, but it shouldn't be more than a day.  Occasionally something breaks and it takes two days.  Something's not working right if it's taking a week.

 

 

[TakingFlight]

9 hours ago, e39m5 said:

 

 

Hi @TakingFlight! Which ship and sail date are missing?  I'll take a look...  There is a lag, but it shouldn't be more than a day.  Occasionally something breaks and it takes two days.  Something's not working right if it's taking a week.

 

I’m looking at the 9/19 and 9/30/21 Star Pride Southeast Canadian Explorations cruises.  Thanks for checking on this!

[Misty Morning]

Just booked our March 7th cruise using the wizard to gauge availability in the last month.  I must admit, it removes the element of uncertainty as to what is still available and thus in a better position to book at a Stateroom at a fair price

[Host Jazzbeau]

Has Windstar broken the links again?  Updates seem to have stalled 10 days ago.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Please read Cruise Critic guidelines about discussing board management.

[e39m5]

Hey folks, sorry the Wizard has stopped updating.  Due to current market conditions, Windstar is being more guarded with the data it publishes, and has disabled the feed until further notice.

 

I'm in touch with them and working to get it running again as soon as possible!

 

 

[avalong]

1 hour ago, e39m5 said:

Hey folks, sorry the Wizard has stopped updating.  Due to current market conditions, Windstar is being more guarded with the data it publishes, and has disabled the feed until further notice.

 

I'm in touch with them and working to get it running again as soon as possible!

 

 

Great! Love Windstar Wizard!

[bigedwin]

Great! Love Windstar Wizard!

Just checked some sailings and it looks like it might be updating again. Could someone confirm... I checked some Wind Spirit dates and it looked accurate availability. This is a great Tool,

Ed




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[minidonuts85]

I was checking on our 8/1 sailing and still says updated 2-months ago