Help fill me in on excursions!

[kaymoz]

We'll depart in about a week for our first cruise with Windstar and in looking at excursions offered by the ship we are surprised that the prices are very comparable to those of "external" tour operators.   With other cruiselines, we always found such an "upcharge" previously that we have never bothered booking with them.  But with Windstar we are really tempted!  Of course, we'd like to understand why Windstar seems different -- why the pricing seems so relatively reasonable, unlike other cruiselines (Cunard, Oceania, HAL, RCI, Norwegian, Celebrity, etc.)  

 

Second excursion question -- for some ports many excursions are listed while for others the offerings seem rather paltry.  Does Windstar stop displaying excursions on their website when they are filled?  Do they do waitlists?  Thanks!

[Misty Morning]

Kaymoz,

 

If you go through the forums, you will find that most people agree that pricing on Windstar cruises excursions is higher than if you booked independently.  Sometimes markup is larger than others but generally speaking they are substantially higher, so maybe the markup on the other lines is even higher.  As for choice of excursions, if you are sailing in a week, they typically show the excursion on the site but have a notice that you cannot book because they are either full or you are too close to sailing date. They some times have a waiting list.  I would go directly to tour desk when boarding to see what’s available.  Which cruise are you taking?

[LTCOP]

Over our years sailing with Windstar, we have done a mix of both ship excursions and private tours.  I find Windstar tours to be excellent and they make a point of keeping the groups small.  Regarding the pricing, I was comparing private tours vs. ship tours for an upcoming cruise and found the ship price, for that particular tour to be exactly the same as what the tour company website was offering.  I found that interesting! 

 

Also, the number of options offered for different ports does vary.  Some ports just do not have as many excursions that meet Windstar's standards.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Pam

[Redtravel]

Windstar excursions are usually excellent.  They may be pricey.  They are worth it.  We do a mix of ship excursions and private.  After taking 10 Windstar cruises, I can only recall one bad excursion.  

[amunhbuu]

We are leaving on our first Windstar Cruise in a month and was kind of shocked at the prices the were charging for their excursions. We have been to many of these Caribbean islands before and even some of those same excursions (St. Martin America's Cup).  There was definitely some markup going on there.

 

It must depend on the ports...

[CruiseOrLand]

Certainly, many posters here would always choose a private excursion if they can, perhaps for small-group size, cost, or good reviews. We personally tend to go with Windstar, because it's easier, and there is no worry about being back on time. Picking Panama Canal as an example, I didn't find the time waiting for a turn at the spotting-scope to be wasted time. There was plenty to look around and see. We have even chosen some fantastically expensive Windstar excursions, like Tikal from Belize City, which includes two plane flights. It was worth the money! In a city like Shanghai, we toured the city on our own, without any guide. Certainly, a lot of ports are inconveniently far from city centers, and even transportation.

 

I'll add that the written descriptions of WIndstar outings tend to be extremely accurate. You should read the description of a tour that interests you repeatedly, to make sure you catch all the nuances. Most (of the few) complaints I heard aboard could have been avoided by closer reading of the descriptions.

 

You should also go to the Port Talk (no, it's not just first-time-losers who go to the port talk - and sometimes there are passed hors d'oeuvres) to get updates and conversational addenda to the upcoming excursions. Just as an example, even if the tour is marked "Low Exertion", you might learn that you'll be boarding a Zodiac from a pitching metal dock, while wearing a life vest, which you hadn't considered! (Not a problem for me personally.) One thing you learn about at the port talk is whether there are Windstar, or Port-Authority shuttle busses, their departure times, and whether they promise to add a bus if one fills up.

 

In my experience, they don't delete booked-up excursions from listings. In fact, we have gotten onto excursions from the on-ship Waiting List, as well as having been disappointed to not get on. Given that the company operates with a la carte excursion fees, I don't find their pricing unreasonable. Some airport transfers seem overpriced, however. The question may be, can I get anyone else with the right to come to the side of the ship, in that port?

[milepig]

We do a mix as well. WS doesn’t usually have those nice all day trips when it’s a long port day and for those we’ve found some excellent local guides who work with us to plan a custom day. I do find “Tours by locals” (the company) to be expensive. I do think they disappear from the online list when they’re full - some lines do offer a wailist, with WS that’s certainly possible on board. You can also switch or cancel on board within a certain time frame. Of late, the tours rise in price and are always more if you book online. Your charged at the time of booking if online, in Board it goes on your bill. What I HATE is that you don’t know the time of departure when booking, this is especially annoying when it turns out there are multiple slots and they just assign you one which could be as early at 6 or 7am. When you board there will be an envelope in your stateroom with all your tickets. If you book onboard they print them on the spot. 
 

As some of you know, we’re experimenting with Silversea after WS canceled an itin and they do this so much better. You have a master form online (sort of a graphical display) that shows each of your days between port arrival and departure and then shows the time slots for what you’ve booked anything for - excursions, spa, restaurants, etc. So you see your entire day in one place. If you try to book two things for the same time you get a warning. 
 

to book excursions, each day comes up and you see the entire list including multiple lines for each time slot when there’s more than one option. Then you either see how many tickets are left or you can waitlist. Handy if you might want to delay a decision- if there are many tickets left you can wait, if only 2 you should book now. You get a warning message if your calendar has something else for the same time. You can cancel online and you aren’t billed until you’re onboard, meaning you can use any OBC for prebooked tours. Very spiffy. 

[kaymoz]

Oh geez, I was so focused on planning for days in port that I totally forgot about booking ahead for restaurants.  We are doing the Windsurf that departs on 1 February for 18 days.  I wonder if it is too late now?

Edited January 26, 2020 by kaymoz

[Misty Morning]

You can only book restaurants once on the ship so no worries at this stage

[milepig]

10 hours ago, Misty Morning said:

You can only book restaurants once on the ship so no worries at this stage

And this is one reason we appear early to board although we’ve never had issues getting a reservation. 

[Misty Morning]

I have boarded as late as 1 hour prior to departure and even then,  got the night we wanted at Candles and Stella Bistro and several times we have gone twice. You can try to show up on first night which is usually less busy