New Bookings

[Heartfelttraveler]

I am curious if anyone has booked a new Windstar cruise in the last 30 days.

 

(We were booked on Pacific Princess October 15th.  Princess canceled all their 2020 Tahiti cruises yesterday.  Airfare purchased as well as non refundable overwater bungalow.  Found Windstar has a cruise leaving the same day.)

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

I am curious if anyone has booked a new Windstar cruise in the last 30 days.

 

(We were booked on Pacific Princess October 15th.  Princess canceled all their 2020 Tahiti cruises yesterday.  Airfare purchased as well as non refundable overwater bungalow.  Found Windstar has a cruise leaving the same day.)

 

You could also look at Ponant [https://us.ponant.com/oceania-pacific-islands-treasures-of-polynesia-b191020-12] and PaulGauguin [https://www.pgcruises.com/destinations/society-islands-tuamotus/2020-10-14] close to your dates.  

 

I doubt that small fragile islands like this are going to risk allowing tourists in this year – but if they do, my guess is these two cruise lines will be the first, because of their French ownership and deep history in the area.

[ducklite]

I would not suggest Paul Gauguin. We sailed on them in 2014 and had a less than desirable experience.  

The Windstar Wind Spirit is still over in the Asia-Pacific Zone and could easily be back in French Polynesia in under a week.  I suspect if the PG is allowed to sail, any ship will be.  I imagine that if they restrict anything it will be large ships--carrying over 350 or so passengers. 

[Strenz]

We did the Spirit in Tahiti and it was magical, 149 passengers, sails, lagoon sailing and all its majesty. You will happy that you are in a small sailing ship. We have cruised with WS a lot and Tahiti  was by far on the top five. You are in for treat. Happy Sailing.

[dandee2]

As of today, Polynesia is just starting the repatriation of their residents that are still in France. They have to test negative and have to stay 14-days in a predetermined location. So far they have suffered no death but 60 cases (after having a curfew for over a month). They don't want any!

This is from Radio1 (FP)- Full French text here: https://www.radio1.pf/le-coronavirus-va-t-il-laisser-la-croisiere-a-la-derive/

The fact remains that a blur weighs on the restart of the activity. The Country is fortunate to welcome liners at the “head of the line” which could quickly re-embark passengers if they could: the Aranui which has not stopped its rotations, the Paul Gauguin, at quay in Papeete, or the Wind Spirit, which Tahiti Tourism "hopes to see again very quickly". The companies communicate on occasions between mid-June and mid-July. But this recovery "remains very hypothetical" and "depends on many factors" insists Bud Gilroy. The authorization of international flights of course, the lifting of health barriers in the tourist markets of origin (North America, Europe, Australia) ... But also the will of the populations of each island of Polynesia, and their elected officials, to start to welcome new streams of passengers.

I suggest you follow the news from over there.Use Google Translate (it's good enough)

https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/polynesie/
https://www.radio1.pf/
https://www.tntv.pf/tntvnews/

https://www.tahitinews.co/

Bonne chance!

[Heartfelttraveler]

We are very hopeful and somewhat optimistic that international travel will once again be viable.  I realize that it will probably never be the same.

 

That being said, we are considering keeping our plans in place until they are completely canceled for us.  ie. if Delta or other airlines continue to cease travel to/from Tahiti, or if French Polynesia continues to keep in place their interruption of tourism.

Ponant Cruises does not have a cruise itinerary that fits within our already booked flights with Delta. 

 

We are changing our plans around the change in cruises.  I was just wondering if anyone else had booked a new WINDSTAR cruise on any of the ships to anywhere in the world.

[Strenz]

I have not book a new trip with WS. I have 9/28 scheduled to Malta and Sicily do not have a clue if it will go, I will not cancel until they do, now with the 30 day prior full pay, that is fine for me. I have 11/12/21 hope the world will return to a new normal, I won't use the word back, back is where we came from who wants to do that again. For you in October I would hope all will be fine, fingers crossed. Hoping we all gave happy sailing soon.

PS I do not think many people are reserving cruising I imagine the world us on wait and see. Wait, you have the time. Call every once in a while to see how booked it is. I am sure there will be cabins and on the Spirit they are the same with the exception of 3. Good Luck. Let us know how you enjoyed yourself.

[Cortesefam]

We're booked on the Wind Spirit 17 day sailing departing on September 10, 2020.  Final payment is required by June 10, so we have a month to monitor conditions and make our decision.  If the final payment deadline is extended, we will continue to be patient and hope the cruise is possible.  We already have one FCC from an Azamara cruise cancelled in March, and are reluctant to make final payments on additional cruises we have scheduled for September and January until there's more clarity on international flights and port access.  This will be our first experience on one of the Windstar sailing ships--we've cruised on the Star Legend in Asia and the Caribbean.  We thought the Wind Spirit will be perfect for this itinerary!

[Heartfelttraveler]

1 hour ago, Strenz said:

I have not book a new trip with WS. I have 9/28 scheduled to Malta and Sicily do not have a clue if it will go, I will not cancel until they do, now with the 30 day prior full pay, that is fine for me. I have 11/12/21 hope the world will return to a new normal, I won't use the word back, back is where we came from who wants to do that again. For you in October I would hope all will be fine, fingers crossed. Hoping we all gave happy sailing soon.

PS I do not think many people are reserving cruising I imagine the world us on wait and see. Wait, you have the time. Call every once in a while to see how booked it is. I am sure there will be cabins and on the Spirit they are the same with the exception of 3. Good Luck. Let us know how you enjoyed yourself.

We have reserved (and have until Wednesday to pay deposit) the Owner's Suite.  There is actually only one larger suite on the Wind Spirit and it was still available.  Also, there was only one Category B cabin left for our friends.  Our thinking is it is better to book now and get the cabin and price we want.

[Strenz]

Have a great time. I would take out travel insurance!  I admire you great hope. Have a great time. 

[texasstar]

Strenz, just curious about the date for the new normal...Is that a lucky day for you?  I do hope you get to take your Malta trip.  I am anxious to hear about it.

[Strenz]

Thank you Texasstar for your kind words.I do hope that we can safely go on this cruise, I have researched and read, reserved and dreamed.  Some days hopeful some days not so. I get if if we can not. Nevertheless, if we can't I will be disappointed. Fingers crossed. I am a compulsive reader, I love to investigate and learn why. My point in the new normal is; in all generations the world goes forward, from my readings what got us here I believe  scientifically, has to due with the loss of species, pollution, global warming,  deforestation, water and   air pollution etc.  Going back will continue to create more of what we have now in different ways. We need a new normal. Macron, in his recent interview with the London Financial Times, stated, I believe this from my readings, that there is a strong wire connecting this virus, global warming and education. Going forward we need to connect this and go forward to make changes for the better. That is what I meant. No date, simply an attitude. I do believe the cruise industry is going to have to look deeply inside themselves and make changes to survive. Happy sailing as soon as possible. 

[NeedToVacation]

On 5/8/2020 at 2:47 PM, Heartfelttraveler said:

We have reserved (and have until Wednesday to pay deposit) the Owner's Suite.  There is actually only one larger suite on the Wind Spirit and it was still available.  Also, there was only one Category B cabin left for our friends.  Our thinking is it is better to book now and get the cabin and price we want.

 

You're not alone in your thinking! 

 

We just booked the Wind Spirit for Oct. 22 through *****. The price was WAY too good to pass up!! We figure, if the cruise line is up & running at that point, we would love to be on this trip! Especially since it holds so few passengers - there is a better chance of them actually going. 

 

And, if the cruise line cancels, then darn -- we'll just have to look forward to going on a different date with our Future Cruise Credit (!). It's a win-win situation, I think. Here's hoping we'll be cruising Tahiti in OCT!!

[6rugrats]

On 5/8/2020 at 2:16 PM, Heartfelttraveler said:

We are very hopeful and somewhat optimistic that international travel will once again be viable.  I realize that it will probably never be the same.

 

That being said, we are considering keeping our plans in place until they are completely canceled for us.  ie. if Delta or other airlines continue to cease travel to/from Tahiti, or if French Polynesia continues to keep in place their interruption of tourism.

 

DL does not fly to/from Tahiti.  Those are AF flights.  I also did not like Paul Gauguin, and would not consider booking any cruises right now.

[minidonuts85]

Just noticed some screaming deals for Tahiti, 2021. Many 7-night itineraries for under $2k, some as low as $1399. We are currently booked on a 10-day Summer/Fall in 2022 and the price in 2021 is exactly half for the same time. Thinking of moving it...and we have insurance.

[Heartfelttraveler]

5 hours ago, 6rugrats said:

DL does not fly to/from Tahiti.  Those are AF flights.  I also did not like Paul Gauguin, and would not consider booking any cruises right now.

Air France is a code share with Delta.  We booked last year (February 2019) and this year's flights on the Delta website.

[6rugrats]

My point was your flight is on AF, not a DL plane.

[kent4489]

I called today and we are planning to book this cruise for December 2020. 

[ducklite]

Yesterday we cancelled our Baltics cruise that was scheduled for July.  We had originally been booked onto a London to Lisbon sailing on the Legend.  That was cancelled because of the dry dock issues.  We changed to the Baltics in July, and had been playing the waiting game, being 90% sure Windstar was going to cancel.  But then we saw that they had posted a bunch of 2021 dates, one was Lisbon to London which was what we had really wanted to begin with.  It was on sail as a 7 for 7 deal, and after doing the math we decided to just cancel the Baltics and switch to that on the Pride.  

We're going to wait out AA for another month or so and hope to actually get a 100% refund on our tickets if the BA codeshare part of the trip pulls out of LGW which would create a major difference in our departure time.  Worst case scenario they give us a credit which we can use next year.

Same with a non-refundable Hilton in Stockholm--if Sweden doesn't open it's borders they'll be forced to refund that.  Our travel insurance may or may not allow us to change the policy to the new cruise.

Regardless, we're happy that we have cancelled for this year.  We're not afraid of traveling ( we just made final payment on our September trip to Cuba) but don't want to make an expensive trip to find borders closed in many of the countries we would have been visiting.  If I wanted a 10 days cruise to no where, I'd book a cheap trans-Atlantic, not an expensive Baltics sailing.

 

[Petoonya]

On 5/7/2020 at 3:17 PM, Heartfelttraveler said:

I am curious if anyone has booked a new Windstar cruise in the last 30 days.

 

(We were booked on Pacific Princess October 15th.  Princess canceled all their 2020 Tahiti cruises yesterday.  Airfare purchased as well as non refundable overwater bungalow.  Found Windstar has a cruise leaving the same day.)

Gosh,

I'm booked on an Oceania cruise Papeete-Hawaii-SF for April 2021. Have done it before and loved it. (Was also booked same cruise 4/20)

BUT there is a 17 day Wind Spirit cruise November 2021 that I've also done before and loved.  I'd choose the Wind Spirit over Oceania by a hair but the cost intimidates me. I'd do BOTH of them but the cost is impossible for me. But the late Nov sailing of Wind Spirit is so tempting and this thread is making me really reconsider and switch to Wind Spirit. I'll repost if I book Wind Spirit.

[Petoonya]

On 5/7/2020 at 3:17 PM, Heartfelttraveler said:

I am curious if anyone has booked a new Windstar cruise in the last 30 days.

 

(We were booked on Pacific Princess October 15th.  Princess canceled all their 2020 Tahiti cruises yesterday.  Airfare purchased as well as non refundable overwater bungalow.  Found Windstar has a cruise leaving the same day.)

OMG I just did it!!!! The sale price on Wind Spirit May 24 2021 is the same as Oceania! I booked it! I am soooooooo excited!!!!

[Petoonya]

On 5/8/2020 at 6:36 PM, Strenz said:

Thank you Texasstar for your kind words.I do hope that we can safely go on this cruise, I have researched and read, reserved and dreamed.  Some days hopeful some days not so. I get if if we can not. Nevertheless, if we can't I will be disappointed. Fingers crossed. I am a compulsive reader, I love to investigate and learn why. My point in the new normal is; in all generations the world goes forward, from my readings what got us here I believe  scientifically, has to due with the loss of species, pollution, global warming,  deforestation, water and   air pollution etc.  Going back will continue to create more of what we have now in different ways. We need a new normal. Macron, in his recent interview with the London Financial Times, stated, I believe this from my readings, that there is a strong wire connecting this virus, global warming and education. Going forward we need to connect this and go forward to make changes for the better. That is what I meant. No date, simply an attitude. I do believe the cruise industry is going to have to look deeply inside themselves and make changes to survive. Happy sailing as soon as possible. 

Strenz.....this is a wonderful and educational post. Would love to sit down and pick your brain sometime.

[Strenz]

Petoonya, Why thank you. Well,  my Malta  cruise was cancelled but WS is doing the same cruise next year, same days only a day later. I reserved but may wait it out because WS would not honor my deposit perk and want $1500 ( my perk was $100 ), not sure I want to give them that right now. I did write to all my drivers, guides, hotels etc and told them to reschedule us for next year with the new dates and to simply keep the deposits for next year. I also reserved Caribbean for 14 days in January. NE, miserable winter no snow or ice cold, damp, rainy, windy and March and April coldest since 1883.

The cruise was a very good price. I always need January to disappear. Enjoy Tahiti, we crossed the Pacific on the Spirit and did their first cruise there a few years back. Loved every second. I wish Tahiti was closer,  but we adore the Caribbean too. My passions are food culture, art and Italian opera. I know Europe very well, used to live there, so any questions would love to help. sstlulu@gmail.com. Let's hope this miserable illness ends soon, with folks following the science. Happy Sailing to you. Stay Well. 

[Heartfelttraveler]

When I booked our Windstar Wind Spirit October 15, 2020 cruise I made the statement that I would not book any other pre or post cruise lodging before final payment.  Maybe not even until September.  (Already had 10/13-15 and 10/22-25)  I also put a bunch of VRBO (22) as favorites for 10/11-13.  When I sent the list to our traveling companions and we went to discuss, there were only nine lift that fit our criteria.  Yep, I booked our last lodging.  Hoping that this is a viable vacation.

[travelbug2225]

On 5/11/2020 at 10:25 AM, minidonuts85 said:

Just noticed some screaming deals for Tahiti, 2021. Many 7-night itineraries for under $2k, some as low as $1399. We are currently booked on a 10-day Summer/Fall in 2022 and the price in 2021 is exactly half for the same time. Thinking of moving it...and we have insurance.

 

I never cruise on Windstar but I just came across the deal for 7 days on Tahiti. Is $1399 a great deal?  My husband always want to go to Tahiti. When I show him the Wind Spirit he just fall in love with the ship.  Got a quote last week included the $400 OBC for the B category but haven't get a chance to book by the time I contact my travel agent the promotion is no longer valid.   But we still thinking about booking this cruise.     But since you guys have more experience than me, so just want to hear your opinion.