LTC Dan

Thanks, mominhouston. Every time I look at the construction in progress, I am amazed at how much they have tried to chew on this refurbishment project. I've spent my whole career in facilities management (with lots of renovations along the way), and I can appreciate just how in-sync and timely every facet of the work has to be to meet a tight deadline. One missed material delivery, a heavy downpour for several days, a labor strike -- anything can go wrong. I'm sure they built in some float in the schedule (no pun intended), and I bet they have a pre-negotiated price if they have to switch to an around-the-clock work schedule to recover lost time. Still, if I weren't already seriously polished on top of my head, I would surely begin to pull my hair out about 48 hrs before the closing bell. They probably also have some optional things (alternates) that they can drop at the last minute if they know they can't finish 100% of the original taski list. Those are probably some nice-to-have bells and whistles that can be completed on the next trans-atlantic voyage when the passenger manifest is light.

I will say this -- I read with real concern last year the disenchantment many Windstar customers had when the Star Pride took sail. Lots of very unhappy campers. It made me second-guess whether or not the wife and I should even try out one of the newly-acquired motorized yachts. [i still think Wind Surf would be my preference, but I'm flexible at this point.] The corporate leaderd apparently listened carefully to the steady stream of criticism, and this time they aren't doing a half-a**ed, mini-renovation with a few swatches of cloth and some buckets of paint. This refurbishment is by all appearances a MUCH more involved deal, and if they succeed the Windstar faithful will be much happier. I think everyone will be happy they took the time to do it right. IF they finish on time. :D

Welcome, words on wings. I just joined recently, and I promise this will be great fun. I can't answer all you questions, because our first Windstar cruise will be Fall 2016 -- same itinerary as yours. Can't imagine you'll get your money's worth on that drink package. That's a ghastly sum for money for an 8-night cruise. I'd stick with the house drinks, but that's just me.:D

Hi Danapoint. I think the cruise you're talking about sails in mid-September, which is approaching a sweet spot for southern Europe. I lived in Genoa for a semester in the Fall of 1979 when I was studying architecture. The Ligurian coast was hot as blazes in late August and well into September. Sometime in October really pleasant autumn weather kicked in, with an equal number of extraordinary, sunny days with cool breezes contrasted with utterly awful days of blustery, rainy, and even cold weather. In late October into November you get the effects of sirocco weather cycles -- very blustery and wet.

In mid-September I think most of your ports along the way will be pretty warm. That would be my bet, anyway.

DW and I will be hoping for the best when we do a "Classic Venice and the Dalmatians" cruise during roughly the same timeframe in 2016. I'm thinking we will see some really wonderful weather most of the time, but we'll pack wet weather gear for the off days. :)

We have stayed three times at Oyster Pond, we love it, both before and after Windstar cruises. Great pool, beach, nice people, reasonable, walk to three lovely restaurants no need to rent a car and if you want to rent one for the day the car rental is there. Would go there again in a heartbeat. Happy sailing Windstar, in my opinion, is the only way to see the Caribbean. Susanne

If you stayed at the place I'm thinking of, yes those bungalows look cute. Is it easy enough to just take a taxi to and from the airport? I'm not interested in renting a car since everything is so walkable and convenient. [bTW, this is all idle speculation at this point because our next cruise will almost 100% surely be "Classic Venice and the Dalmatians" next Sept. or Oct. I'm just putting a mental note away for the future, because I think "Classic Caribbean" will be the one right after that.] :cool:

LTC Dan, I hope it was the cable that died and not the cat!

Oh my God that's funny! Yes, the blonde ditzster is still with us. The orange tabby sister just rolls her eyes at everything she says. :rolleyes: And by the way, Tawny is back to being my ever-loving boo bear. She's the baby, gotta love her. :D

Hey LTC Dan!

I'm looking at all sorts of options for St Martin. Found one villa that I've got my fingers crossed that they get back to me and we can make the deal. It's above Oyster Pond (which really wasn't the area I thought I'd want to be in) but it looks amazing and will be a relaxing start to our adventure.

 

We did Italy on our own a couple years back. Flew into Rome and out of Milan and rented a car and drove and booked apartments in Rome, Tuscany, Florence, and Venice. Also did a cruise way back that did lots of Athens and Turkey. Your cruise sounds fantastic!

 

I've got the Western Mediterranean on my radar as well but it will be delayed for a season or two. We live in Minnesota so its more important to GET OUT OF THE COLD at this point which means cruising in our winter time ;)

I couldn't agree more. You have a perfect plan. Keep us all posted. :)

Thanks, mriguySeattle. That is definitely good-to-know stuff. There are many CPAP users in this world.:cool:

i use a web site that you put your cruise and date into. Then online travel agents come back with the quotes. I have done this for the last 5 years and it allways the same one thar gives me the best quote. They have allways been very good to me. But I will still use the same web site to get the different quotes but I

will still use the usual agency unless some beats them by a fair amount

Hi RANYSAN11. You know, that really sounds cool. I haven't stumbled across that option before, so I'll give it a whirl.:cool:

BY THE WAY -- and this is for anyone out there -- I am embarrassed to ask this. Since I am new to CruiseCritic message boards, why did my profile automatically call me "Cool Cruiser". Lost of other folks have that subtitle, too, but some of them are in a different category.

~ Dazed & Confused :confused:

We also book everything ourselves. We do the research and know what cruise and cabin category that we want. We use FF miles for air and hotel points for our stays. Based on this, we always book early. Have found on online agency that gives very good discounts on Windstar cruises. Just to double check our agents prices, we do tend to compete the price so we know we are getting the best price. Only once did we get into a minor situation where a fuller service agency would have been a benefit. That was when there was a taxi strike in Athens. The strike should have been over by the time we got to Athens but the strike was extended at the last minute. We managed to work through it by directly contacting Windstar and adding ground transportation at the last minute.

 

Some people need hand holding to coordinate their reservations and for those people a full service agency is probably the best.

Hello, lovecruisingtoo. I was in the middle of writing a witty response to you when my ever-loving blond cat stepped on a computer cable and it died. [Tawny, today you are not my sweet boo bear, today you are poop.]

So, now back to our regularly-scheduled programming already in progress. As for your near-disaster in Athens, that would have caused me a minor anxiety attack. Glad that you recovered without even missing a step.

As for the other thing, love the term you dropped, hand-holding. Some people want that reassurance that everything is in the hands of a professional. Or maybe they just don't want to piddle with mundane stuff like planning for a vacation. Their time is too valuable because they are gazillionaire tycoons and time is money. That falls in the category of hand-off that silliness to the assistant, like when they need someone to buy a gift for the dear wife because they're off to a board meeting or a G-8 summit. Heeheehee.

All kidding aside, I just enjoy all this travel planning and dreaming. I can't let someone put that together for me because would ruin the fun. And besides, i'm no gazzionaire tycoon. ;)

I do all of our bookings myself as well. It's fun to search for the best place, the best offer, the most fun. I too just booked a Wind Star cruise: the Classic Caribbean for January 30, 2016 direct with Wind Star. I've never booked this far ahead but was told if a better fare came out I could call back as long as it was 120 days out from sailing. Once it was closer than 120 days they wouldn't really do anything. I was also told by Elisa (the Wind Star planner) that earlier was better as far as rates unless you were willing to wait until the very last moment and then they might have cheaper fares but perhaps not the best availability.

 

We have to book air and we are staying for a week ahead in St Martin and I'm looking at villas to rent so we are not willing to wait. I'll just keep watching for discounts and see what happens.

Hello again, Ski Mom 2. As much as I like the 4-master Wind Star, I think nobody can go wrong sailing on the Wind Surf. That is exactly the itinerary and date I'd choose if we were going on a Caribbean cruise in 2016. Looks amazing. But DW was of the opinion (and I strongly agree) that any of Fall 2016 "Classic Italy and the Dalmatian Coast" offerings are the way to go for our next fabulous cruise. Wish us luck and smooth sailings.

Don't forget to look at the various cottages, B&B's, and boutique hotels in Oyster Pond, Saint Martin. There is one in particular that would definitely get my money, IMHO. (But truth be told there are lost of cool ones elsewhere on the French side, or in Sint Maarten for that matter.)

Thanks for the tips. I'd love to buy as far out as we can to get the best cabin, airfares, hotel rooms, etc. Not to mention that's great for making sure your favorite date doesn't sell out on you! But we can qualify for interline rates, and those are always last-minute deals thy roll out to fill empty rooms. In some cases those appear 120 days out or even more, but for a popular cruise it'll be more like 90 days out, or maybe not at all.

We're going to roll the dice and take our chances. In a perfect world we'll get a cabin on the 1 October Wind Surf sailing out of Venice. But there are two identical offerings sailing from Venice on the Star Legend (11 Sep 16 and 5 Oct 16) that will also work. And then there's a 9-night "Venetian Passageways" out of Venice on 30 Sep 16 on the Star Breeze, ansd that one would be just peachy, too. One way or another I think we'll be fine!

Hi, LTC Dan. Like you, I like to do my own planning and research and I don't like having to go through a TA unless there's a cost benefit. I have yet to find a TA that I liked; I'm sure good ones are out there but I haven't found one.

 

I just booked the January 2nd Jewels of the Windward cruise directly with Windstar. I had searched the website but didn't see any offers with extras such as shipboard credit and all the prices I saw were the same as being offered from Windstar. I asked Windstar if they had preferred travel agents that offered any special deals. They told me they didn't know of any but if I found a better offer that they would match it, so I just went ahead and booked it direct. I think if you plan a cruise with Windstar fairly far in advance, there are not many special offers.

Thanks columbusnj. I guess the moral of the story is stay loose, look at all the different sources you can, and play one deal against another. By thw way, love that itinerary you chose. The 4-master Wind Star looks lovely indeed.:D

We are thinking about booking this itinerary for January 2016. We sailed on the Wind Star in December 2014 through the Panama Canal and had a marvelous time.

 

I haven't really looked at each individual stop yet but I appreciate reading what everyone else has experienced. We love the beach but don't really want to have a beach day everyday. Any other advice on the different ports?

 

We are also seriously considering flying to St Martin a week early. We were there on a cruise stop years ago and fell in love with the island and want to spend some extra time there.

 

Thanks so much for sharing!

Hi Ski Mom 2. I like the way you're thinking. One of these days DW and I want to do "Classic Carribean" and couple that with a week-long stay up-front on the island. I did some snooping at the usual online sites, and there are delightful lodging options that are highly recommended and a good value as well. As for locale, Oyster Pond (on the French side) looks promising, but I guess it depends on whether you want a B&B, hotel, or resort. Enjoy your research.

By the way, all along I've been assuming I can snatch up an Interline deal online -- I'm aware of at least two sites that make searches easy, and great offers can show up several months out in some lucky cases. And I presume TA's can hunt for those plum deals just as easily. Can I contact Windstar directly and get the same awesome deal (assuming they haven't filled up a particular cruise and feel willing to deal)?

The rules of CC prohibit discussing specific TAs. Disadvantage with booking with a TA is any changes or discussion with the cruise line must go through your TA. Advantage is sometimes you can get onboard credit or other perks.

 

You'd have to do some research and see what works best for you. There are many online TAs from which to choose.

Thanks 6rugrats. I appreciate the advice. Not trying to fish for the names of good travel agents, because there are many (and that kind of name-dropping isn't allowed, as you said).

Right now I'm inclined to do my vacation planning alone. I'm obsessive about the details (in a good way -- planning a great cruise vacation is my favorite thing to do.) I think many people that prefer the TA experience might give a few general parameters and let the travel expert hunt down great deals for a cruise, hotel before/after, airfare, rental car, and specific timetable. And then they reap the rewards of someone else doing the heavy lifting, PLUS they might get OBC's, advance booking windows for high-demand cruises, the whole schmear. I get that.

But DW and I have been dreaming about this 30th anniversary cruise for years. We've done big-boat cruises with Costa (way back in 1983!), Royal Carribean, Holland America, and Carnival. Been there, done that. I want this one to be totally unique. I want it to be awesome, a small ship trip to places the big boys can't do. And with Windstar I can leave my dress blues at home.

So I have the dream pretty much ready to roll out. Windstar. Classic Venice and the Dalmatians. Fall 2016. A few days up-front in Lake Bled, Slovenia. The trick for me is that I want to snatch up an Interline deal when the first one pops up -- maybe a travel agent would be able to get one quicker? DW used to work in the airline reservations business, so that travel deal incentive is too big to pass up.

Maybe I could just ask the TA to look for that interline deal for several dates that work. And I can do the airline tickets, hotel, ground transporation, etc. It could work! (I think) What would you do?

Love the commentary on this one. DW and I will be facing the same decision when we do the 30th anniversary celebration next fall. I LOVE the look of the Wind Surf, and the room sizes are so much larger for the motorized yachts. Based on deals I've seen, the two may be fairly close in price.

Hi gang. Newbie, but eager to chat. I love to do my own planning, in fact when I get really going I'm all about chosing the perfect itinerary, date, airline connections, hotels, yada yada. Is there any real added value to bringing a TA in on the deal? Full disclosure, i'm a bargain-hunter and would love to score a good interline rate (DW used to be with American Airlines). Cheers.