MTJtraveller

I feel badly for the OP's not having a wonderful time on Windstar. There would be nothing worse than planning a trip and then not enjoying it, no matter how much money was spent.

There were a couple of things from this review that did not sit well with me. This is the OP's second post. I know they say they have cruised often with Windstar, but red flags go off for me when a first or second, third or fourth post is a rant, a highly negative review, or a statement of anger and injustice. Sometimes those posts seem suspect to me.

I had to laugh a bit about the store episode. I can't count the number of times I have politely, then flatly said no to pushy store clerks. It expected when I travel abroad, especially when you are so obviously a tourist; ie. traveling with a tour group. My husband still chuckles with my "take charge attitude" when we were ushered into a rug store in Marrakech and offered tea, then wine. I wouldn't even sit down I so much did not intend to purchase anything. Each person is responsible for their own actions, wine or no wine. With so much travel experience as the OP states they have, I would have expected them to be savvy in this regard. Now if it had been their first time abroad...

And quite frankly I was never really impressed with the "high quality, unique chocolates". lol. :p While I thought they were a nice touch I generally never ate all that were left in the room.

I am SO LOOKING FORWARD to my upcoming trips with Windstar, one next month and then 2016. I look forward to the relaxed, casual (thank goodness not luxury) trip, the wonderful staff (some of which I could truly call friend), the small, intimate ports, the reasonably priced offering of beverages, the free-of-charge (double) lattes, the red carpet treatment I receive as I walk up the gang plank, the wonderful lending library of books and DVD's, the sail-away music, the frequent use of my name when I'm addressed, blueberry pancakes (my downfall!) even when they aren't on the breakfast menu, the open bridge, the camaraderie of fellow passengers, etc. Goodness. I haven't even scratched the surface of what makes Windstar so special to me.

Hi all!

I'm getting excited about my upcoming trip with WS in October. It seems we are able to go if not every year then every other year, looking forward to retirement and more frequent trips. Anyway, since booking this trip last year I have watched the price drop significantly twice the closer to departure. I understand they are trying to fill the ship so it's a smart move on their part. But it sure can hurt when you could save a couple thousand a person by booking later rather than a year ahead. I was able to get a room upgrade and nice OBC with the first price reduction before my final payment, but now I've made my final payment and kinda wish I had waited to book...

I just booked my August 2016 trip on the Windsurf and am wondering was I wise to book so early? I use miles to book flights as my husband will only fly Business on long flights so I have to plan those as soon as I am able. I understand there is a risk to waiting...they may book up.

Just wondering what others strategy is with Windstar and how your experience has been. Thanks for your input! My travel docs came yesterday and that's always an exciting moment! Jean

Hello! We are sailing on the Star Breeze in early October and I have a question about Windstars location at the San Basillo pier. I have disembarked there 10 years ago on Wind Spirit and it was so easy to disembark and catch the WaterBus to our hotel location.

1) I'm planning on taking a water taxi to the San Basillo pier for our overnight. Is this the way to go rather than thru the regular port entrance? Wanted to make sure I could enter this way.

2) How easy is it to then catch the water bus from San Stae stop after we checked in to the ship? Can we come and go thru there rather than going to the main port? How late is security going that evening?

3) Any experiences or tips you'd like to share?

Thanks for your help! 50 days till I leave!

I'm on the cruise right before you. I paid $140 for the laundry package. I have had the package before and they do a fantastic job. Sometimes. Y linen shirts look a little to pressed for me but they are returned on hangers looking store new.

Lovely! I brought a light jacket and we had one day of drizzle rain, leaving Casablanca I believe. The Canary Island were short sleeve weather.

We rented a car from Cicar. They have an office at the cruise terminal. It was €137 for 3 day rental. It was nice having that freedom to explore. Only caution I would say is if your flight is early morning, stay near the airport as island rush hour can be a problem.

We did this cruise last November And it was lovely. We opted to stay on For 3 nights before heading home via a connection in Madrid. We stayed 2 nights in Garachico, the quieter side of the island to explore the national park and surrounds. Our last night was near the airport for an early morning car drop off and flight. We really enjoyed our time on the island and a would highly recommend it. The views were stunning, lots to explore and see and driving was inexpensive and easy.

He has been in our prayers. It's his partner who will be taking us to Olympia but I told George I'm just looking forward to spending a little time with him and his family. Glad you were able to spend time with him.

Terri,

Your posting of your time with Fotis brought a smile on my face as you mentioned he is a friend of "the famous George Letsios". I posted a review 10 years ago of our chance meeting with George here on CruiseCritic and from what George tells me, his business skyrocketed from there. From time to time I receive emails and FaceBook messages from George's clients telling me "George says hello". I am even thanked on his website for my part in helping his business. I only wrote an honest review of our wonderful time with him, his integrity and kind services. I now count him as my friend.

I wrote to George last week and asked for a recommendation in Athens and he said Fotis was like a brother to him. I am excited that Fotis will be helping us move about the city in October. I even get to see George for a day when we are in Katakolon. Ten years later.

Again, thanks for making me smile. I'm looking forward to meeting Fotis.

Welcome to Windstar Lemailu! Once on board all these concerns will vanish...promise. I can't speak to the Athens transfers as I haven't ever used Windstars transfers but I can tell you your debarkation transfers will be given to you while on board. I'd imagine your Athens hotel will have information for you once you arrive.

You will be able to eat a light lunch when you get on board. No going hungry!

I too am frustrated by Windstar's communication skills. They even are poor here in the States. My TA however is able to get any questions answered for me, yours should be able to communicate with Windstar. Their website is slow, cumbersome and is not at all intuitive.

But, I concur with your TA, it will all be fine once onboard. Hope this helps in some small way.

Is the flat rate applicable hotel (in the inner ring) TO the airport? Ie. The opposite direction. Thanks!

First off, thanks for the heads up OP. I called my TA this morning and here's what was worked out. On previous Windstar (and previous owner) I had received the price reduction. My TA had to call back 4 times to finally speak to someone who helped.

I am 99 days out from cruising on the StarBreeze Venice to Athens. The price reduction in my category was significant (at least for me), $600 per person. Windstar uses 120 days for the "penalty" calculations so it really didn't matter to them if I had made final pay,net or not, I was within 120 days of sail.

Long story short I got a 2 category upgrade and a significant OBC. I didn't want to cancel and rebook as it wasn't worth the hassle, fees and changes to my privately purchased trip insurance. Because I was within their 120 day number I feel satisfied than they made a nice gesture and I am not frustrated with pricing.

I do wonder in the future if I should wait it out for sales closer to final payment. I usually book 1+year out when I decide the trip I'd like so I can then secure Business Award seats to/from my destination when they become available. I guess timing is everything.

We've sailed both. Windstar would win for me hands down. It's romantic, intimate and has the most fantastic crew. You will be treated special being on your honeymoon. You can't go wrong with Windstar. Don't worry about the room not having a balcony. The public space on the Wind Spirit affords plenty of privacy if wanted. Nothing beats sitting up front of the bridge under the stars in the evening. A delight!

I too will be on the Breeze in October, Venetian Passages. I decided to go ahead with the ship excursion in Delphi just because it is such a short stay. We generally do one ship excursion, the rest on our own. We have been to Katakolon before, 10 years ago on the Wind Spirit. We met George of Taxi Katakolon in town and we negotiated a rate to go to Olympia. It was an excellent day. Now George is my good friend and employs others for excursions. I will be spending the day with George but I know there are others in his employ you can hire. He has a website where you can read all about his excursions and many, many reviews. You can't miss with George.

I was relatively new to cruising and booked a private excursion for ourselves and another couple on the Amalfi Coast out of Sorrento with a Rick Steves recommended guide. The excursion was lovely, and the guide was fabulous.

Things went a bit haywire during the return. Traffic, as anticipated, was horrible. Fortunately for us, arriving at the tender about 15 minutes after all aboard, the ships excursions were behind us in the same traffic. Our guide was on the phone when we realised we may be late, talking to the ships agent and port authorities, letting them know we were late and finding out that many other passengers on ships excursions were in the same predicament. A very adrenaline filled van ride.

When we reached the ship we were given a scolding, as we should have. The ship had about 650 passengers so about half of the ship was arriving late. We hit the bar as soon as we got on board to toast our luck.

Valuable take aways:

I should have requested touring the outlying locations first, then a brief tour of Sorrento.

While I find value in Rick Steves recommendations, his guides may not be prepared for the limitations of cruise passengers.

Carry your passport with you or at least a copy of your passport.

Always bring the name of the ships port agent, in case you need help.

Request an early return to the ship. Don't be greedy with time spent on the excursion.

Always remember Sorrento and almost not making it back to the ship next time I book a private excursion. :p

I believe this is what the OP was describing, taken from the USA Today article. Quite different from the othe WS tenders.

If you look at the USA Today article "Firstlook:Windstar Cruises'new Star Breeze" May 7 article it does reference two classic wood-lined tender vessels. They do look very different than the typical tenders. They could create issues on and off the tender in rough seas.

I remember a Dubrovnik tender issue when a squall whipped up. Many were having difficulty as the tender bobbed quite a bit before they made the call to go to the other side of the ship. It was my first cruise and I was a bit alarmed about the prospect of getting back on the WindSpirit.

I'll be taking my 80yo mom on her first Windstar trip aboard the Breeze and I'm sure I'll be a bit sensitive to tendering safety for her.

As for the gripe about tendering rather than docking, I chalk it up to being uninformed. It's too bad that aspect of the review brings down the overall review timbre. Hopefully following reviews will be more optimistic. I CANT WAIT for my upcoming cruise.

Hi sauertea!

I'm getting off the Breeze as you are getting on. I'm very excited about this cruise as this port intensive itinerary stops at some fantastic places. I Was on the WindSpirit 10 years ago, my first cruise ever, from Venice to Athens. And here I am again! Ten years ago I travelled in July, October is going to be so much nicer weather wise and crowd wise. I would say be prepared for everything. You will love Windstar.

I have put together various shared excursions from time to time and it has worked out well. I believe there are a few things that have helped me:

1) My party has usually been the largest part of the tour, therefore I am assuming most of the risk anyways.

2) Try to keep in real good touch with those you are sharing a tour with. I watched for number of posts on Cruisecritic for each participant, corresponded via email, and generally put together a group of well seasons travelers. Communication is key.

3) Try to get together at the meet & greet, collect money there if possible. This worked well for me on the Flaam train tix. I had my monies in hand the day of the excursion, after meeting at the meet & greet, so I could get off the ship early & secure the tickets which were under my name.

4) Sometimes it pays to have a backup list of people & their cabin numbers in case a last minute cancellation. Be willing to communicate with those folks too if it seems they won't be able to join your group. It takes a little bit more energy & legwork, but a last minute cancellation disaster was avoided by getting in touch with someone who had expressed an interest after we had finalized our group.

I have met the nicest people on shared excursions.

I agree with the 1 hour before departure.

Toiletries are fantastic, no need to bring your own. They won't care if you take towels with you. I would grab larger ones from the pool area.

Internet isn't very good. I think my last voyage I didn't even purchase any, we would find wifi in port as suggested. Lots of times the port itself has free wifi, easy to "spot" with a search or where the crew hangs out. Never missed purchasing some.

Advice:

I'd go with the laundry package. We always arrive to departure port 3-4 days early. It's nice to get your clothing freshly laundered when you get on ship. Also have clean clothes if you continue on your vacation after disembarkation.

Staff is wonderful. We always bring extra cash to give to those who go above and beyond.

We have always met fantastic people on each voyage. Be open to sharing table at dinner, you will be pleasantly surprised how friendly people can be.

Enjoy the open bridge policy. It's fascinating.

There is a wonderful DVD library aboard ship for your in room enjoyment.

Have a wonderful time. I can't seem to get myself back on a large ship again. Windstar and its crew are simply fabulous!

I'm also very leery of single post. Her review was flawed in many ways.

We too took a private tour, a number of years ago, 2007 with Kagan Kosagan, while in Istanbul. I would highly recommend the company, privatetoursinturkey dot com.

We absolutely loved Solar Do Castelo. It is a smaller, quiet boutique inn tucked behind the Castle. The area is lovely. We have stayed there twice now and I would definitely stay again. Location is superb.

The Solar Do Castelo serves a lovely breakfast in the morning, the courtyard is beautiful and quiet, a lovely place to sit with a glass of wine or port or whatever.

I would highly recommend.

Generally we watch for places the crew congregates outside the ship. Generally that's where you will find free wifi. Sometimes public libraries provide free wifi also.

We were able to eat at Candles multiple times on our last two trips. It may have been because it was moved indoors because of weather. Candles would be much more popular in warm weather settings. We would just call to see if there was any availability that evening. When they are able to grill outside for Candles, the food was excellent. I believe my husband had a bone in port chop that was to die for, grilled outside.