Adult children (early 40's) FREAKING OUT regarding my cruise 4/21

[susiesan]

3 hours ago, bplazo said:

If we have to get tested than I'm not going.  It is better to cancel now than later

As of now, a covid test 72 hours prior to getting on the plane is mandatory. This is a FP regulation, not Windstar. Depending on when your cruise is the rules may have been changed, especially if they are unworkable and no one can meet the requirements to visit French Polynesia.

[Petoonya]

3 hours ago, susiesan said:

As of now, a covid test 72 hours prior to getting on the plane is mandatory. This is a FP regulation, not Windstar. Depending on when your cruise is the rules may have been changed, especially if they are unworkable and no one can meet the requirements to visit French Polynesia.

Susie,

You've probably read a few articles discussing new tech for COVID test results available in 20 minutes and ready to be released in September.  Take a look in the Pacific Islands section of this board. Mercruiser has posted a lot of new info about FP regulations. The one that concerned me most was the one about a saliva test self administered 4 days after arrival. Didn't know how that would work for results on a cruise. But since the cruise line needs to keep people coming they will find a way to get results to where they need to go. I still feel confident that this will be workable even with the US as messed up as we are with COVID.

[bigedwin]

As of right now, I saw the video for the self administered test in Tahiti, It looks complicated but then again they spell every step in detail. It might work for them for the time being....

 

Paul Gauguin Cruises stated they have 2 Instruments on board that can do the Molecular test.

So I would gather they can do the test without having to do the SELF testing kit......

 

Pauls G starts its cruises late July so we will monitor to see how that flows.....

 

[Petoonya]

4 hours ago, bigedwin said:

.Pauls G starts its cruises late July so we will monitor to see how that flows.....

 

And your cruise is in Sept, am I remembering right? If so we will all be very anxious to hear your report.

[bplazo]

We have decided to cancel our cruise in December.  I do not want to deal with covid test and having to wear a  mask when I am on vacation.

[Petoonya]

3 hours ago, bplazo said:

We have decided to cancel our cruise in December.  I do not want to deal with covid test and having to wear a  mask when I am on vacation.

Awwwwww. Really sorry but totally understandable. If it's not a done deal yet maybe you can wait till final payment and see what the situation is then?

It's a shame to lose out on those fantastic prices they were running. It's possible once those COVID tests come back negative by then we may not have to wear masks. Things will be very fluid while COVID is active, and the rules might be relaxed by then. You might be able to negotiate a later final payment with WS in light of the new requirements.

Edited July 15, 2020 by Petoonya

[susiesan]

22 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

 You might be able to negotiate a later final payment with WS in light of the new requirements.

I was thinking about that, looking into Windstar changing the final payment date to maybe 30 days before instead of 90. if things are still up in the air come October when my payment is due I will have my TA look into this for me. Windstar will realize they will need to be flexible. Have any other cruise lines shortened the time frame for final payments for cruises coming up in the next 6 months or so?

[Petoonya]

12 minutes ago, susiesan said:

I was thinking about that, looking into Windstar changing the final payment date to maybe 30 days before instead of 90. if things are still up in the air come October when my payment is due I will have my TA look into this for me. Windstar will realize they will need to be flexible. Have any other cruise lines shortened the time frame for final payments for cruises coming up in the next 6 months or so?

Susie, I've seen on the Oceania and NCL boards where people got their FP due date moved in closer to sailing date. But most of those are longer cruises than yours. As it gets closer like in Sept after the first WS cruises sail and we know more about how they went, perhaps you could at least call and find out if you could pay closer to your date. If people have difficulty boarding flights because they can't get COVID results in time I think that will change the guidelines. Tahiti is actively promoting cruising and again this is just the start of getting things rolling. Things may change rapidly. We'll start to get an idea of what will happen when the PG people start returning in just a few weeks.

 

I know that you know ALL of this already but I'm just encouraging you to stay the course until at least Sept. It was such a good price. You may never get an opportunity to visit Tahiti at such bargain basement prices.

 

Aren't I a pain? Can't help myself but encourage everyone to see Tahiti!

Edited July 15, 2020 by Petoonya

[Barrycat]

What great cheerleader Petoonya is. We should all thank her both for her guidance on cabins, excursions, etc, etc. I agree with what everyone is saying. We did Tahiti with Windstar 25 years ago, and going back next April, and understand the magic of the place and encourage everyone who can to stick it out to see what develops. Tahiti’s economy is dependent on tourism and I can’t help but hope that, consistent with health safety, they can’t make their regulations so onerous that people stop visiting. Easier for us with a cruise eight months out but hopefully the folks scheduled this fall will be able to wait as long as possible to make their decision.

This will be our fourteenth Windstar cruise and I can tell you that Tahiti on Windstar is worth the wait.

 

 

[Redtravel]

We were on Oceania in March.  My adult daughter said that she did not sleep while we were sailing. She was too worried about us to relax.  After that we had all future travel canceled.  We got refunds on all except got some fcc on Oceania. We haven’t used it nor have any plans.  Waiting for it to be safe to travel again. Even though NJ isn’t the hot spot it was previously and some things have reopened, we are staying home most of the time. There are still new cases and deaths...just not huge numbers. Hope you are safe in Oregon.  There will be lots of vacation options when times are safe. Stay home and be safe.