Pudgesmom

So good to hear you’re home and on the mend!

I’m so sorry to hear you’re going through this. We were in Indonesia on Ponant (French ship) last fall. My husband had some medical issues that would have probably cost close to $1000 on any other ship. French medicine? $88! And the doctor stopped by twice to check on him in our cabin. You will be in good (and affordable!) hands if you seek treatment in France. Get well soon!

What is your itinerary?

Check your emails. They send it straight to you, not your TA, although maybe they get a copy too. There are multiple answers here on this thread and others, including one already linked here which is on this page. I will link it again. There is also a search function you can use.

Laundry package is the best $133 you will spend on your vacation!

Pools on cruise ships are always small. Water is very heavy and the pools are usually on the top deck. Those two factors can affect the balance of the ship when the water starts sloshing around. On a tropical cruise, I prefer to spend my time in the ocean, maybe just use the pool to cool off.

I guess those people won't be traveling on Windstar! 😉 We have traveled on two other small ship cruise lines, and they had the same procedure as Windstar. They have done it on every one of our 10 or 11 Windstar cruises. Its never been a problem. If you are late enough to miss the ship sailing, they will return your passport to the agent at the dock.

@Strenz hi- always love your posts and we love Windstar, and especially Windsurf, as much as you do. I have an off topic question for you. I’ve seen you post a couple of times that you “don’t want to pay for others.” It’s in reference to addons like the drink package. Could you please explain your thoughts behind this? Thanks!

Thanks so much for posting. How did you find the shore excursions? Do they have onboard lecturers?

I would say no, not worth it. We have cruised quite a bit, however only once on Regent and Ponant each. We sailed on Regent in the second to highest category, and Ponant on the second to lowest. We are an active couple in our mid-60’s. On Regent, we were very disappointed in the pre-cruise hotel, shore excursions and overall atmosphere. In our case, the average passenger was late 70’s to early 80’s. The food was very good to excellent. The main dining room was the overall winner, with the Italian restaurant only so-so. We don’t go to shows so can’t speak to that, but found the lounge entertainment very dated. Included shore excursions were mostly bus rides or slow walk abouts. Our butler was delightful. We did enjoy being able to choose daily where to have dinner. The ship, Splendor, was inwardly focused and lacked the outside venues and deck space we prefer. The library was spectacular. Our Ponant cruise differed slightly from normal in that the ship was fully chartered by Abercrombie and Kent and the language used aboard was solely English. The food was outstanding with just one or two dishes missing the mark over two weeks. Passengers were closer to our age. We loved the ease of getting on and off the ship. (No meeting in a large room to have your number called.) Our excursions were uniformly fantastic. Note here: A and K ran these with their personnel and some ship people, so may not be a good comparison. Entertainment was adequate. We loved the daily lectures on topics germane to the region. (Indonesia) We personally prefer the smaller ship atmosphere (700 vs 200). While we enjoyed the Regent cruise 1 1/2 years ago, we would not book with them again. Value (to us) was not there. We have already considered Ponant again since our sailing last fall and hope to travel with them again in the near future. Of course, everyone is different!

On a side note, they have some delicious coffee drinks with alcohol. They are included in the beverage package, or individual pay. Great late afternoon pick-me-up if you’re so inclined.

@LAFFNVEGAS thank you for posting about your trip. We abandoned the massive ships years ago, but I remember your helpful posts on the HAL board. I’m happy you had a chance to experience Windstar.

Take a small sprayer of air freshener or perfume. The bathrooms are small and your traveling companion will thank you.

Usually just walk up and show your passport.

That’s a really nice floor plan. Thank you very much for sharing the photos. It seems to have one window instead of the normal two. Did you find it to be dark at all?