buhbyenow

Disappointing and frustrating as this situation is…and it definitely would be if it happened to me…given the timing (Surfing Olympics), it could be a blessing in disguise. I love Tahiti/FP, am well acquainted with it, so let me offer this: I live in Kona and have to suffer the Iron Man invasion every year, Unsuspecting visitors who unwittingly booked far enough in advance to accidentally coincide with the race week are not getting their money’s worth OR getting the experience they expected. I can assure you that visiting Tahiti during the Olympics would not be the trip of your dreams unless you are a surfing fan. I hope that this tiny bit of reassurance can be a little silver lining to this very dark travel cloud. 

Recently spent 14 nights on Wind Surf, our first time on that ship. I’ve cruised with 8 different cruise lines, although only 149 nights on Wind Star, having previously sailed on Breeze, Spirit and Legend.
 

It occurred to me on this Caribbean sailing that availability of local produce and proteins (especially fish/seafood) wasn’t great in the ports of call and was reflected in the menus.  Without a doubt the most memorable food was on the Legend last year ( 47 nights,Portugal, Spain, France primarily) where there were fresh items fairly consistently and locally inspired dishes and menus. Quadro 44 was our favorite dinner spot, with the best lamb chops I’ve ever eaten outside of my own kitchen.   Repetitions are to be expected (I think the menus in Amphora are on a 14 day rotation) but with so many items on offer I have never been bored.  Someone else is procuring, preparing, serving and cleaning up and that someone isn’t ME, so maybe I’m less critical and more appreciative than some 😉. 

I personally do not miss the lobster at the Deck BBQ or the Beach BBQ. Frozen “rock lobster” tails doused in butter isn’t anything special. But that suckling pig and the paella are perennial favorites of ours. 
 

Desserts tend to be better at lunch, and the fruit tarts at Yacht Club are positively addictive, as are the fresh scones every afternoon. 

Not certain why, but the brewed coffee at Verandah was better on Spirit than on the other ships we’ve been on. I’m such a coffee snob that I brought my own French Press and ground coffee with me on Legend. I wouldn’t bother on a two week cruise, but 47 days…I had to have it 😆 Macchiato on all ships 👍👍

 The biggest disappointments IMO are the plant based offerings, which, with the notable exception of the black pepper tofu and vegetables in Candles, are uniformly under/unseasoned and uninteresting.  I say this as someone who prepares and eats a 50% plant based diet at home. It’s not impossible to make appealing and tasty plant based dishes, but it seems that on WS they are doing double duty as no salt/fat/sugar for those who have dietary restrictions. Herbs/spices and extracts go a long way towards adding flavors but apparently WS recipes are lacking these well known techniques. Siracha or Sambal should be available in all venues but sadly are not. Midway thru our cruise I bought sambal at a local supermarket and brought it with me to Verandah and Candles.  
 

Finally, I would put Windstar’s staff up against any of the ultra-luxury, super expensive cruise lines and feel comfortable that they’d score highly.  Windstar corporate management? Well, let’s just say the product excels in spite of them. 

19 minutes ago, ottahand7 said:

Have you tried Halfacts?   They may have the cabin or a mirror image.   

Yes, nothing about my suite and little about Noordam and appears to be a lot of old photos (2012-16) in general.  Thanks for the suggestion! 

Upcoming NZ/AU cruise on Noordam, first time on this ship. Have had a Neptune suite on Zuiderdam but not an aft corner. Have any of you stayed in this suite and what are your impressions of the location? I’ve read comments that this location on Westerdam lacked the dressing room which we utilize a lot (3 women traveling together).  Also, photos I’ve found don’t show deck loungers on the verandah…but maybe since the ship’s refurbishing they are now provided?  Also comments on noise and cigarette smoke from the deck above are concerning.  Thank you in advance for your information!

On 8/14/2022 at 9:23 AM, bz said:

changed policy on bringing wine onboard?  The corkage fee was only if you drank it in a dining room.  Haven't been on HAL since Covid, but am booked for Nov 2 from Vancouver.

On board now. Yes to my surprise it is $20 per bottle “corkage” fee even if you are consuming in your stateroom. Took me by surprise and lots of others as well. I personally think it’s bad form on HAL part.  I really want to be a happy HAL customer again but so many things falling through the cracks under CCL ownership. 

Update:  OnPoint proctored rapid antigen testing worked great for us. We used the tests that were made available by the US government for mail order so the test kits were free. OnPoint’s low cost and Zoom convenience were just what we wanted  and met HAL requirements for our Alaska cruise exactly as needed.  

On 8/5/2022 at 1:53 AM, QueenofEverything said:

We used them before a recent Disney cruise.  Technically they are not what what Holland America requires, as you have probably seen the discussions on these boards.

As far as their service, it worked for Disney but I have to say I was not impressed with the quality of their work.  At that time you could use one appointment for up to 4 people.  I noticed they have changed that to one.  My husband and I did it at the same appointment.  The proctor had us hold our tests up to the camera and then told us to proceed.  She did give us step by step instructions and was able to see us swabbing, she never asked us to angle the camera so she could see our hands while we were completing the test.  As soon as we could see the control line, she wanted us to hold them up to the camera.  That was less than 5 minutes into the 15 minute timer and we were done.  Sent PDF certificates shortly thereafter.  No QR codes, but worked fine.

Thank you for your response!
HAL will accept proctored Antigen test results for tests conducted 2 days before sailing for cruises originating in Canada. It sounds like OnPoint will fit the bill.  Rapid antigen tests aren’t available where we live and I’ve been advised not to have a PCR test because I had Covid last month and will likely show a false positive.   I can’t find any info on HAL website indicating that these proctored tests aren’t acceptable.  Fingers crossed. HAL isn’t asking for QR codes and the information you received was sufficient for Disney I’m sure we will be good to go for HAL.  Thanks again!

Has anyone used OnPointTesting for their proctored antigen (self administered) at home pre-cruise Covid test?  They are a lot less expensive than the other providers.  

I am having difficulty finding out what NA beer(s) and wines (by the glass) are to be had on Zuiderdam.  Any information is much appreciated!

Ditto Redtravel.  Any Windstar ship is more yacht than cruise ship.  Every time, I have found that my wish was their command. Last cruise one of the bar waiters even brought a plate of goodies from the yacht club to our table on deck while we were playing cards during happy hour!  Room service has never turned down any request of mine. A couple we met on Star Breeze had room service bring their early dinner to them on deck. I personally hope they never have a dinner buffet.  This is the reason why there are different kinds of cruise lines; different strokes for different folks.