Does Windstar allow you to board at a different port than first one?

[Gr8Mariner]

There are some European lines who let you join the ship at a second or third port on the itinerary...does Windstar allow that?

 

Thanks for any guidance.

[HuliHuli]

1 hour ago, Gr8Mariner said:

There are some European lines who let you join the ship at a second or third port on the itinerary...does Windstar allow that?

 

Thanks for any guidance.

This was asked of the line for a recent Caribbean itinerary.  Windstar's response was no, but I would note that this might not be a decision by the cruise line alone - the port country likely has a strong input.

[chris9923]

I had to cancel my recent 14-day itinerary as Windstar categorically said no to boarding at second port.  Despite being able to fly into Antigua after numerous cancellations into St. Maarten, they wouldn’t budge.  
 

Two years ago my flight was delayed extensively due to weather and I missed the departure, however Viking actually assisted with a connecting flight and boarded at the next port. 
 

So not sure if it’s a company policy or a post-Covid restriction.  Certainly disappointing to cancel a vacation given we are at the mercy of the airlines. 

[r&rd]

Don’t know about getting on but was told yesterday I can’t disembark in a different port due to regulations. I wanted to get off a day early in order to get a flight home. It may depend on the country.. 

 

[Gr8Mariner]

They were closed over the weekend, so I called this morning. Even in Europe there are no exceptions.

 

Windstar will not allow any deviations; boarding late or leaving early.

[new_cruiser]

Given the number of itinerary changes going on for the current Caribbean cruises because of COVID-related port closures, it would make no sense to plan on boarding at a second port even if Windstar usually allowed it (which apparently they don't). 

[santos949]

I contacted Windstar yesterday and they said "Emphatically No Way!"  No deviation in embarkation or disembarkation ports.

[minidonuts85]

This is good info yet a bummer to hear as we planned to debark early in Moorea instead of going back to Papeete to sit at the dock overnight. Maybe things will change by Aug 2022 when we finally set sail. 

[milepig]

In normal times (remember those?) they certainly did. Two occasions I remember:

 

The first was when we sailed out of LeHavre toward Lisbon. An early port was Roscoff (great little village BTW) and when we arrived there was a couple standing on the quay along with their suitcases. They'd been delayed in route, and caught up to us there.

 

The second was when we disembarked in Mumbai rather than going on to Dubai. We needed approval from the port which the ship received from India and it was quite an event of paperwork and stamping (lots of stamping) and then the person went inside for at least 20 minutes, and came back with our passports stamped and off we went.

 

Also in the past, many from our French Polynesia trip got off in Moorea for exactly the reasons you mention, that last night in Papeete was pretty much a waste, and if we'd known we'd either have done the Moorea thing (we had three nights, including that one) or diembarked at Papeete when we arrive and gone to a hotel early rather than spending a night in the port.

 

Those times are gone, at least for now.

[Misty Morning]

Also remember a couple a few years ago who had been on the ship for a month and were allowed to get off in St Barth instead of St Martin the next day

[BruceMuzz]

Decisions to allow pax to board or leave a ship in ports other than turnaround ports are usually made by the Government of the country where it happens. Some countries say "yes" and some say "no".

Sometimes there are good reasons for the decision. Passengers cannot legally join or depart a cruise ship in Newport Rhode Island, for example, as there are no US Customs / Immigration Officials stationed there. They also cannot join or leave in Bar Harbor, Maine unless the ship has arranged (and paid) for US Customs / Immigration Officials to travel from the airport to meet the ship.

Life and Death Medical Emergencies are usually exempted from this rule.

 

On other occasions, depending on the type of voyage, the ports, and the ship's flag, a closed loop cruise in the USA remains a closed loop cruise only if all pax board and disembark in the turnaround port. If a single person joins or leaves in another port, the cruise is no longer a legal closed loop cruise and may require all pax to have valid passports. This situation usually also results in lots more paperwork from the ship and a much more detailed (read longer and more costly) inspection process to get the ship cleared at the end of the cruise.

 

Sometimes, in some countries, the Ship Agent is given permission to clear the ship by proxy, without Immigration or Customs present.

 

And sometimes, the local officials are just ornery and say "no"-  because they can.

 

Add to that all the new COVID regulations that change almost daily in many ports.

Nobody in Government nor at any Corporate Cruise Line Office can predict what any particular port will require tomorrow - much less many months from now when you take a cruise.

Edited August 20, 2021 by BruceMuzz

[imallears]

On 8/18/2021 at 5:09 PM, santos949 said:

I contacted Windstar yesterday and they said "Emphatically No Way!"  No deviation in embarkation or disembarkation ports.

This is actually spelled out in their terms and conditions and I am a little concerned about it since I have an extremely long flight. I'm going a day early, but now I wonder if that is enough.