Weather watch
At TradeWinds your safety is of paramount importance to us. We constantly monitor the weather satellites and channels all year round. While it can be difficult to predict the tracking of a weather system with perfect accuracy, we check every new Public Advisory notice and confer with our colleagues in our various Caribbean bases. If you wish to check on the progress of a weather system we recommend that you check only the Weather Channel or the National Hurricane Centre website, as there are many weather sites who paint an inaccurate picture of the situation.
Many many of our Members have taken advantage of our Summer Specials and had the most wonderful experience sailing our fine shores within this season, however there is always the potential of bad weather. In this case - this is what happens:
If it is decided that it is not safe to send out our boats due to the threat of bad weather then we will contact all prospective guests and advise them that the cruise has been cancelled. This step, is however very rare. We have found over the years that we have been able to simply re-route the cruise to avoid bad weather.
In the highly unlikely event that bad weather should approach unexpectedly while you are already out sailing, and it is felt that it would be unsafe for you to remain on-board, your crew will bring you ashore at the first possible opportunity so that you can be accommodated in a land resort and then either continue your vacation there or return to your home. Travel insurance is a must at this time of year as you'll be able to refund any cost you incur such as unexpected flight changes and unforeseen accommodation requirements. That's why our Reservations team will always recommend that you purchase travel insurance.
Travel insurance
TradeWinds Cruise Club strong recommends that you obtain travel insurance whilst holidaying with us.
US Citizen travel insurance
We have a partner insurance company; the Travel insurance center. They have a number of policies to meet your travel requirements. Please read the policy before deciding to purchase.
Hurricane season
Within hurricane season we strongly recommend that you obtain the "Protect Assist Gold" policy (or higher) which will cover you should we need to disembark you, find you alternative accomodation and/or alter your travel arrangements to get you home. Please read the policy before deciding to purchase.
Non US Citizen travel insurance
For hurricane season please ensure that your policy covers immidiate evacuation (many polcies state that the airport has to be closed for 24 hours before the insurance becomes valid). The best approach is to contact the insurance company and tell them that you will be cruising, along with your destination and timeframe and inform them that you want hurricane protection insurance. Please read the policy before deciding to purchase.
Our Reservations policy
A reservation can be made in one of two ways:
- By booking by using this website.
- By emailing reservations on reservations@tradewindscruiseclub.com.
Our reservations team in on hand from Monday to Friday 9AM to 5PM (UTC-4, GMT-4) to assist you.
For our Members
Placing a hold on your cabin
Members of the club who have available Plus points/Cabin weeks can place up to 6 holds on available cabins at any one time. This "holds" the cabin whilst you arrange your vacation.
A hold will last for a maximum duration of 72 hours. At any time within the 72 hours you can "Confirm your booking". This then informs our reservations team that you have confirmed you wish to book the cabin. Your hold will only be considered confirmed once a member of our reservations team has sent you an email confirming your booking. DO NOT book flights or hotels that you cannot cancel prior to receiving this confirmation.
All holds that you do not confirm will automatically be cancelled without notice after 72 hours. If a hold is cancelled, a member can try to hold it again if it is still available. Bookings are handled on a first come first serve basis.
Our confirmation of a reservation
For our reservations team to confirm a reservation, a member must pay his or her maintenance fee and all other outstanding monies due before we can issue a confirmation. We will notify you should you have outstanding fees when you book.
Whole boat bookings
For whole boat bookings a minimum of four all-inclusive fees are charged.
Cancellation of your booking
To cancel a reservation, cancellation 90 days or more prior to departure have no penalty. Cancellations within 90 days of departure will be subject to forfeiting the cabin(s).
If a confirmed reservation is cancelled at least 90 days prior to the date of sailing, Platinum and Elite members will have no re-scheduling fees to pay. If you are a Classic or a Gold Member, the reschedule fee will be US$100 per cabin rescheduled. Rescheduling is not possible less than 90 days before the start of the cruise regardless of Membership level.
Please note that maintenance fees paid in order to confirm cabin booking(s) are non-refundable. In the event a cancellation of your booking is made 90 days or more prior to the travel date, the maintenance fee(s) paid will be held as a credit in your account. Should you cancel your reservation within 90 days of the travel date, the maintenance fee, together with the cabin, will be forfeited.