milepig

I've long been struck that dinner is sort of the same times at all locations. I say that I would never schedule a dinner out for earlier than 7, which makes it sort of special and "dining". I do suspect that part of the 7 opening is that WS needs time to reset for dinner, get preparing for dinner and for getting the right staff in the right places (and maybe a break) if you look closely the staff does actual change uniforms before dinner. It also gives 5-7 as a time for various meetings and a time to gather at the bar, which for many people is an important part of the WS experience - a time to decompress, especially if you've had a busy day or a long tour

My suggestion would be that now each ship has more options, they change hours at the various locations day by day with something always open at 6. 5 seems to early for me, with the star grill finishing up lunch at 4. 

It appears that you no longer need the test for Greece. Mention is gone from the WS website. I saw some reference to beginning October 5.

You won't need sunscreen if you go through in total darkness late at night like we did.

We didn't see any on our recent Legend.  Crew masked - some better than others. Virtually no pax wearing them, including us.

23 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

Our bbq on Breeze had no lobster or lamb chops. Disappointed until we saw them on subsequent Aamphora menus.  We had lobster tails on the last night of our cruise.  It was served in Aamphora.  We ate in Candles that night. Lobster was also an added entre at Candles.  We ordered the petite filet and lobster.  It was amazing. 

This is true, but it isn't a substitute for grilled lobster with butter.  I also didn't see lamb chops of the BBQ.

On 9/27/2022 at 10:05 PM, Redtravel said:

Unfortunately our cruise didn’t have all of the restaurants open every evening.  Star grill was never open for dinner.  Grill was open some days for lunch with a very limited menu.  Grill has mostly big communal tables Not good spacing.  Never ate there. Veranda is a good option for lunch.

Just to clarify - other than the Star Grill (if open) and sandwiches in the Yacht club, Veranda is the ONLY option for lunch.

On our recent itin there was a sign by reception about asking about upgrade opportunities.  I didn't ask but if sounded like they were for a fee.

We explored the Grill this time. Tea Smoked Duck was amazing.  Burgers the same as in Veranda.  We did notice that the default portion size was smaller than in the past. Very small number of Fries - but they'll bring you more. The soft serve ice cream machine by the grill was operating most of our cruise, flavors were always vanilla, strawberry or the two twisted. Never anything else. Still no BBQ lobster - I think its gone for good.

We've had mostly solid chefs and once in awhile one who is splendid. Out recent itin on the Legend we had an OK chef. It was all fine but sort of uninspired. Things labeled "spicy" had almost no spice, even the Indian. You could add Tabasco, but that's no substitute for real Indian spices.  If you label one option as "spicy" you need to make sure it is, people will have been warned.  We did have excelling pasta bolognese is Amphora, one of the best I've ever had. The beef was definitely a higher grade than they were using last November.

1 hour ago, RemPuck said:

 

They still have the various beverage packages available https://www.windstarcruises.com/voyage-plan/general-information/#BeveragePackages

 

The Yacht Club benefit also offers a discount (I am 2-star and it's 5%) off of the beverage package (and the Wifi package), but it's not applicable to the all-in package. 

 

We are doing an 11 day trip next year.  Even applying the 5% discount, the all in package is still the better option: Hotel Charge: 14.5, Beverage (Captain's): 56.05, Wifi (33.25), or a total of 103.80.  The All-In is $79 (or even $89 once the new price kicks in) is a savings.  For the two of us, it's almost $550 for the 11 day trip.

 

(Finally - they need a proof reader.  In the snap above, they show the All In package for $79/day.  But in the details, it states that packages must be purchased during the first 2 days of the trip, referencing the "$89 All-In" package.)

I think it is $79 pre-cruise or $89 on board, so that’s correct. 

On 9/26/2022 at 12:59 PM, r&rd said:

Does anyone know if the cost of the drink packages will go up as well?

There’s a drink package other than the one that comes with the All Inclusive?  

The price of, well everything, is up. This doesn't seem out of line.

We arrived there on the 23rd.  No real issues. Disembarked, walked a small distance to get our bags, a very short distance to immigration (you need your visa) and then just a few steps to the waiting shuttles. I've heard Galataport described as a maze. This was very easy.

7 hours ago, zentraveler said:

Oh my. We are on Star Legend October 2 for 8 nights and going to both Santorini and Mykonos and I am wondering if we even want to do a tour. I spent 6 weeks in Turkey and Greece in 1985 and about a week on Santorini (husband has not been). I certainly don't expect it to be the same, but this sounds less than inspiring. Can anyone tell me where we dock in those island? [I was last there on a generic Greek ferry that docked down hill from the main town/village.]

for us both were tendered. Santorini with a local tender which was very much throw on the pax. 

12 hours ago, Barrycat said:

Just a couple of observations

- It should be no surprise that Mykonos and Santorini were crowded in mid September

-My guess is that any Greek island cruise that doesn’t include those two islands would be a gamble for a cruise line.

-In my experience, with a bit of research there are some little known worthwhile sites and things to do even on these very popular islands.

Unfortunately with the major cruise lines ordering new and bigger ships at a rapid pace boutique cruise lines like Windstar are going to have to work harder to find the kind of destinations that makes them unique.

 

I do understand, but I think there is a market for small places, and if WS would market it properly with a notice "Why we are skipping the usual ports..." Maybe :small ships, off the beaten path, avoid the crowds, experience unspoiled destinations." and add " We truly are 180 degrees from the ordinary,  In Tahiti they have it is spades! That is the WS I love and remember and they seem to have strayed. I'd grab it.  In terms of the crowds, it was impossible to get anything out of town without wading tyhrough the mass of humanity all the was around the port to get there, and then back.Santorini was ever worse the line to go up the cable car was 90 minutes, and back down almost as long, and couldn't even look at a shop, the crowd just herded along,  Everyone was complaining and said thier day was ruined.  Yes, outside down in the country was great, but is was the getting there part. Borum and Kushadadi were better.  I had great morning walks both days.

Just off the Legend. Food improved, same great crew, all good on that account.

But the destinations were so not windstar.  I'll just mention two. Santorini and Mykanos.  Both were overcrowded with multiple mega ship to the point of disaster. Kusadashi was almost as bad although we did have views of the Azamara next door where people were running around naked.

What happened to the old Windstar that was proud of seeking out off the beaten path ports.  I may as well have been on a megaship. Even the tours seemed like no one even tried.

They stick to times.  If it say 8:30 departure, be in the lounge by 8:15, they mean it. They will track you down and not be nice. Don’t mess with the tour desk, you’re holding up a lot of people and if you aren’t on time, and they will leave without you no refund. 

Departing Greece on Thursday, and have out test result sent to us by PDFs.

Does anyone know if that will suffice or whether we need to have them printed. I'd normally just print but that would be difficult from where we are in Athens.

On 9/1/2022 at 4:21 PM, Petoonya said:

Just did this 2x two weeks ago on the 18 day, Twice the Tahiti.It's always held the second night in BB. The tenders traveled to the motu twice in the late afternoon at 5pm and 5:15pm. Your time is assigned by cabin number, but it's not like someone is checking to see what cabin you're in and not allow you to switch times. You can spend time on the motu  during the day,, and I think that was till 3pm. Everyone said it was very pleasant as few partake of this opportunity, and the motu and water is idyllic. I'm a diehard snorkeler so was doing independent tours on those days.

But the motu is a beautiful little paradise- sunset was around 6pm for our cruise and it was gorgeous. The feast and show is amazing- you'll love it.

Barrycat might chime in a little more about tender times and activities during the day on the motu.

Hide if you don’t want to be caught into stupid participation stuff. A good time to heed the call of nature and admire the sunset. 

We have found that the hotter the weather becomes and the more tropical the location, the more the dress code is relaxed. I recall one blistering hot day where we all came back puddles and they said to not bother to dress for dinner just put on clean shorts and t-shirts if we wanted. You could hear the signs of relief.

And such a nice neat cabin!

Yes. Not sure how far.

16 hours ago, ryndam said:

 

You cannot make specialty restaurant reservations in advance on Windstar. During the onboard check-in process, there will be a restaurant manager on duty at check-in. That is when you can make both Cuadro 44 and Candles reservations. They cannot be reserved in advance.

 

Rob

Correct, and this is one reason to board early. This has been our custom. We board a little after they open boarding. Make reservations for dinner, dump carryons in the cabin and go have lunch. Stop by reception to say Hi, we're back, the captain who we likely know may be walking around. We're sipping our glass of rose as others begin to wander in. After lunch, the bags are in the room, we unpack and then either nap or go up on top, and see who we know is on the bar crew. Nice day.

13 hours ago, Strenz said:

We have completed 3 crossings, 2 Atlantic and 1 Pacific.  Not having WI-FI was fine, Sudoku, you get a sheet everyday including NYT crossword, a mini newspaper in the middle of the ocean there is not much connection anyway. The Ship's connection  anyway is always poor. Bring a few good books,  they are more activities on crossing than on cruises, look out at the ocean, make friends, write a diary. We always feel there is so much to do without doing much! Appreciate life without being tied to the internet at all times. Have a great cruise, we love crossings, Happy Sailing and Enjoy.

At least in November the daily sheet with the crossword was gone. Reception just shrugged and said we don't have them any longer.

Yes, two packages, two devices, and that means simultaneous, I use by phone on deck, and then can work on the laptop in the cabin later.  The signin system is web based now, and much easier to use once you get the hang of it.  I showed many pax how to do it.

The service itself, remains wildly erratic, set your expectations low and you might be lucky. On the breeze last fall you had to re-login each time you move to a different router. Really annoying.

3 hours ago, alex.c said:

When you mentioned that you tested positive on Day 12 of 11 day cruise, do you mean that you discovered that you were positive after you left the ship?  So did you inform Windstar Cruise line of this or they didn't care since you are already off their ship.  I am very concerned since I will be boarding Star Breeze in San Diego for 13 days trip down to Papeete on Sept. 19th and if any crew members tested positive and still on board that might be a major problem.  Do you think the cruise line obligated to inform boarding passengers regarding any person tested positive and still remain on board?  And to compound the problem, as of Sept. 6 according to Windstar Website, new boarding passengers are no longer required to present Negative PCR test any longer.

To my knowledge, WS had never required a PCR test. Always Antigen. And I don’t see it as a problem. We’re moving to a stage where Covid is sort of like the flu as long as you’re vaccinated and being boosted. Just one more than thing to deal with. There is no major bubble but part of life.