2LoveToTravel

So happy that Windstar finally did the right thing. Persistence pays off.

We are looking forward to our 2 weeks aboard the Surf on January 27. Have never done the crossing in our 20 trips. Would love to see more posts Gymswim.

Would love to know who our captain will be. Last year they changed captains mid February during our 2 week trip, so we had one week with Capt. Hogan and one week with Capt. Pinto. Both delightful. But we do miss Capt.John Clark.

We have asked for paper docs to be mailed in the past, and they have sent them in the pouch with boarding tags. Ask your travel agent. They should be able to get them for you.

Just returned from Star Pride in Italy. Our Verizon plan charges $10 day in Europe and $5 day in Canada, Mexico. Kept phone on airplane mode on ship, turned it on on land, and used it after returning to ship when near land.

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Sail Amsterdam was amazing. There were some grumbles that we didn't lead the sail in as advertised but we were 110% happy over the top. Just looked at our photos on new 65" tv and ready to go again. Lol! Can't even begin to describe how special this was. Our dream is to go again in 2020 healthy and happy. We are also back on Surf mid January and then doing Panama Canal on the Breeze in the spring. After that not sure. Our plan was more of northern Europe and the Baltic on the Surf but she's not anywhere near there summer of 18. Motor yachts okay in Europe but just not the same experience for us. Would love it if Surf did Ireland to Iceland. Sign me up!

 

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Sign me up too SB44. Ireland to Iceland on the Surf would be great. Just got off the Pride last week and had a fabulous time, but the Surf is still our favorite!

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I know there have been a lot of discussions about wine prices on board the Windstar ships, however I Emailed the company today for current prices by the glass and bottle. They responded immediately....good for Windstar. You can bring wine on board, and it appears that the corkage has been increased to $17.50 from this information. We do not generally get the packages, but thats a personal decision.

See attached.

WINDSTAR Sample Wine list.pdf

We missed Sail Amsterdam....so that is definitely on our list. Rumor has it that they will do a "new build" of the WindSurf, since they have been unable to acquire the Club Med ship. We do the B2B Caribbean every year and are scheduled end of Jan. The ports will be different this year, but we will miss St Barths and others. Maybe back next year?

Thanks for the update dandee2,

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It looks like this is your first Windstar trip. You won't be disappointed....and the sea days are lovely on these ships. We view the caribbean trips on Windstar as R and R. and do them every year as a way of relaxing during the cold winter months.You can dine outdoors at night and the suites are lovely. The European trips are busier with lots of hiking around in the ports. This is a great itinerary! St Barths and Antiqua are 2 of our favorites. By the way, Delta is waving the change fee.

Sounds like a wonderful trip. We have been on Windstar for 14 days quite a few times. Love it! In Europe you get plenty of exercise in the ports, so don't worry about the weight gain. We have done Sicilian Splendors twice,,,,on the Windsurf and Star Pride. It is a great itinerary. I did a blog on their site about that trip. We will be aboard Star Pride in another week doing the Islands of the Western Med.

Windstar is our favorite, and whatever trips you choose, you will love them. A great way to celebrate. Happy Anniversary!!!

We do b2b 7 day cruises on WINDSTAR Windsurf each year....2 different itineraries in the Caribbean. They do them from November to March.

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I have been reading the comments, and agree that you could not choose a lovelier place to spend a honeymoon than on a Windstar yacht....whether motor or sailing yacht. The experience with be personalized, with a small group of guests and service as good as it gets on a ship. The guests are well traveled and sophisticated. Did you know that Windstar has an open bridge policy? Imagine being outside on a moon lit night, walking along the deck after a dinner under the stars, and viewing the moon glistening on the ocean? We like to stop at the bridge and chat with the officer on duty at night as they plot their course to the next destination. It doesn't get more romantic than that!

The wine is reasonably priced on board as you said, but we can't resist bringing French wine on board when we are in St Barts. We have bought some really nice wine at 5 euros, and you can bring on board 2 bottles per person, per day. Corkage is $15.

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All of us who love those ships bid him adieu.

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I am not sure you can compare Windstar to Crystal. They are completely different experiences. Both wonderful.

We LOVE Windstar, having sailed with them 18 times most recently b2b in February. We love the casual atmosphere, size of the ships, the open bridge, lack of big entertainment, ability to get into ports that the larger ships cannot access, and most importantly, the friendliness and accessibility of the crew. They remember you from cruise to cruise and you remember them as well.

We especially love the Windsurf in the caribbean, and will again be looking forward to 1-2 weeks next winter.

Now....about Crystal. We just returned last week from Crystal Symphony, NYC to Reykjavik (our third Crystal cruise) It was wonderful. Larger ship, but the space ratio to passenger is huge, and you never feel like there are 900 people on board. The food is amazing and the shows are as well. The fare is all inclusive, so we had trouble spending our shipboard credit. There is so much to do on board, that you could literally never leave the ship. Classes, lectures and more. Yes, there are dress up evenings, but not tuxedos. Again, a totally different experience, but delightful.

So, can you compare Windstar with Crystal? We have enjoyed both, but for different reasons. Both are terrific! But you can see we have been on Windstar many more times.

Nick Burger is a gem, Strenz. We were just aboard the Surf last week with him. He is Hotel Manager and the best!

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Yes. That was our first voyage on the Surf. As you can see, we have been on many times since. Love the ship. Checked last evening, and she did leave Phillipsburg and is in Barbuda, so all is well. If you check the blogs on their web site, I have done several. Come back to the Surf!

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That doesn't sound good.We are doing a B2B on Feb 4 with St Barths each week. It is one of our favorite ports with Windstar. Where did you hear that? She is in Phillipsburg now, a day ahead and should leave today. Checking on Port webcam to see if she leaves. Maybe more rudder problems?

Maybe Mechanical issue? We have never had a problem getting into St Barths, because of wind or rough seas. Big loss missing St Barths.

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Interesting discussion. We were talking about Canada cruises with someone at Windstar recently. We would book tomorrow, being Windstar regulars. The sailing yachts would not be able to get into Montreal, but the motor yachts would be perfect. We remember seeing one of them some years ago when owned by Seabourn, in the Cape Cod Canal! Strenz, you should do the Sicilian Splendors trip. It is fabulous, and we loved Malta. We are doing b2b on Feb 4 on the Surf. We really need to meet at the cape. Tried to find you! Donna

Have a great voyage! We will be aboard in February for 2 weeks. Can't wait!

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Just checked web cam and it looks like WindSurf is off the dock and on her way. Yay

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On the roll calls on Cruise Critic, the people on the ship are saying that the ship came in early because of mechanical issues. We noticed on the holland House web cam on 12/8 that she was docked In St Maarten. Was scheduled to leave on 12/9 for Yachtsman Caribbean. Still at the dock on 12/11. Folks on board are saying they are being well cared for, and they did take them to St Barths by high speed ferry. They said Captain says they might leave at 1 pm today.

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We too love WINDSTAR and will be aboard Windsurf in February for back to back trips in the Caribbean; Yachtsman and Classic. Our 19th and 20th trips. We have stayed at Holland House as well as Divi and Sonesta Great Bay. Holland House is the most convenient, and their restaurant is very nice, breakfast included. Take a look at the blog section on the WINDSTAR site. I posted a review on the WINDSTAR blog last year on our "back to back in the Caribbean" . A real treat to be aboard for 2 weeks!

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We have referred several people to WINDSTAR, and the credit was $200 for the newbies and $200 for us. Every bit of onboard credit helps. Like Strenz we book directly with WINDSTAR and use the same agent, Shawn. He is terrific.

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We did this itinerary in February. It was great, especially Montserrat as previously mentioned. I wrote a review on the " blog" section of the WINDSTAR site. Hope you enjoy the trip, and my review!

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