Chipshot from Michigan

1 hour ago, dandee2 said:

Thanks for the pictures. Nice Bird 🙂

 

I took the bird photo during the St. Maarten America's Cup excursion.

Fresh coat of paint:

Threadbare and stained cabin carpet.

Forward stairwell and rusty vent grille.

2 hours ago, Misty Morning said:

 

What room were you staying in?

We were in cabins 134 and 136, and Delta was the stinky stairway.

15 minutes ago, minidonuts85 said:

I asked and was told it would allow them to open the watersports platform (being anchored)  It is open today!

It was not open while we were anchored in Tortola (and I don't believe it was scheduled to be).  The reason given was too much harbor traffic.  Love the consistency.

Will do.  Unfortunately I couldn't capture a visual of the sewage stench that perpetually permeated the stairway nearest our cabins.

37 minutes ago, Misty Morning said:

Minidonuts,

 

Seeing you're on the Surf right now in Tortola.  Any reason the ship is not docked as I see only the Marella Explorer in town?

'Twas the same when we were in Tortola two weeks ago.  The Surf anchored despite space at the pier opposite the Marella Celebration.  I can only speculate that Windstar was trying to avoid paying docking fees.  The guests who had rough rides in tenders that day probably wish they had paid them and docked.

They were unable to offload all the construction debris before sailing from St. Maarten but did manage a cleanup while anchored off St Barts.

Please don't confuse speculation with suggestion.  Whether or not to litigate is really up to Xanterra, which must answer to its investors.  I'm not a fan of the practice but recognize it as a reality.

5 minutes ago, ridethetide said:

Comparing the discovery of asbestos in an engine room to the disaster of the Boeing 737 MAX is ridiculous.  It is not uncommon for asbestos to show up during renovations and it certainly was not due to any negligence on the part of Windstar. We cannot say the same for Boeing.

Um, where did I make a comparison between the two situations?  I'm talking only about timing. And while Boeing is completely to blame for its woes, Windstar is still suffering.

Whether the presence of asbestos should have been investigated or disclosed may yet be the subject of litigation which I won't be surprised to learn about via this forum.

Happy sailing.

Let's see whether Windstar gets the Legend and Pride back to sailing before Boeing's 737 MAX takes to the skies with passengers again.  How ironic it would be to fly one to a cruise on the other.

Our first (and honeymoon) cruise was the Society Islands on the Wind Song, and I'm not sure Windstar will ever live up to our memory of that.  The Wind Surf is too large for our tastes, and despite just being refurbished parts of it still feel really tired.  I must say the food was very good.  The shipboard experience is definitely better than that with the home office.

On 8/19/2019 at 1:32 PM, ridethetide said:

It is difficult to place Star Clipper in the same category as Windstar. It is a very different experience and lacks the amenities of Windstar.

We enjoyed our Star Clipper cruise and never felt any amenities were missing.  It was actually a step closer to barefoot sailing, which appeals to us.  We're giving serious consideration to trying Lindblad's Sea Cloud.  Has anyone here sailed on her?

On 8/19/2019 at 6:32 PM, bplazo said:

What amenities are you talking about?  I don't need a spa, the little casino that has a couple slot machines.  I just need a good book, a chair and the waves.  I actually liked the star clipper ship better than windstar, however, the service was much better on windstar.  Apple was the best bartender and the room steward was also terrific.

At least the Star Clipper ships sail.  The bridge officers on the Wind Surf admitted the sails are now largely decorative.  The computer controls are no longer functional, and there seems to be no little or interest in adjusting the sails manually.

On 8/18/2019 at 8:20 PM, bplazo said:

We have done Star Clippers and it was 100 passengers.  

Passenger capacity is listed as 170, though that may include the aft owner's cabin, which I don't remember as being occupied.  That number seems much higher density than Windstar's small sailing ships.  100 passenger is more like it for me.  Friends just sailed on the Flyer.  I'll ask them how many were aboard.

https://www.starclippers.com/us-dom/our-fleet/star-clipper.html

On 12/27/2019 at 9:11 PM, dandee2 said:

Funny now that the Brodosplit shipyard will announce shortly who the new owner of the Flying Clipper will be. Star Clipper did not want to pay extra cost on the ship and removed any information about this ship on their website. It has been sold but to whom?

At least they still have the Royal Clipper.

On 12/27/2019 at 11:45 PM, dandee2 said:

It was in October. But when you look at it, it must be quite difficult to handle.

 

She's quite a sight.  However, I can't tell how difficult she is to handle just by watching a video clip.

Thanks for all the help, everyone.  Our son hunkered down in his cabin (he found the desk well sized and lit) while our daughter used a mix of Bridge Deck lounge chairs, Veranda tables, Yacht Club, and Compass Rose.  Yes, they also had plenty of fun.

Thanks.  Virgin Gorda sounds like a good opportunity (no St. Lucia stop on our itinerary).
I wasn't planning on taking my good camera ashore at every island.  I'm hoping for a nice sunset shot.

Did the refit include upgrades to the Wind Surf's Wi-Fi and internet connection?

I got some great shots of the Wind Song (gangway down, unfortunately) sailing in Bora Bora's lagoon and the Wind Surf from ashore in Monaco and Villefranche.  What opportunities are available to photograph the Wind Surf on its Caribbean sailings out of St. Maarten?

45 minutes ago, dandee2 said:

11,500$ Canadian. !!!!! for 10 days.
 

That's a lotta Loonies, getting up into fares for going to Antarctica.

They can check the Wind Song's ship's log for one of our cruises.

42 minutes ago, ATL Tiger said:

Just a heads up if you schedule candles that night you will be looking at shipping containers if you are still docked at that time.

Sounds like Colón.  The sights of commerce.