stcruise

We have done this itinerary twice, both times in early February. The sailing back to Barbados was somewhat rough, but the first time in 2012 was worse. There were no other difficulties on the remainder of the itinerary. All ports visited and platform out when scheduled. On the second trip in 2014, while the stop in Mayreau was fine, our snorkeling trip was changed a little bit because of choppy waters.

Fortunately, neither Tom nor I get sea sick unless it is really, really rough. Maybe we were just lucky!

The bathroom comment is hilarious since they seem to be one of the few things WS didn't touch.

That's what we thought - and she totally denied it when I pointed it out that Windstar hadn't touched the bathrooms.

For the rest of the cruise, whenever Tom and I encountered something left over from Seabourn that we knew hadn't yet been changed by Windstar - we would just look at each other, laugh, and say it must have been better when it was Seabourn.:D

Yes, I definitely think that some of the negatives were from past Seabourn cruisers who wanted Windstar to be exactly like Seabourn.

Here's a little story - On our cruise last year (Star Legend's fifth after refurb), we were seated with a couple who had sailed Seabourn exclusively for years. I was curious and asked her what she thought about the refurbishment of Legend. Her reply was that Windstar hadn't changed a thing in the main areas. She felt the cabin was OK, but she hated what they had done to the bathroom. When I mentioned that they hadn't made any changes in the bathrooms, she didn't believe me! She emphatically stated that the bathrooms on the Legend had been much better with Seabourn.

She then proceeded to order and send back entrees claiming that it was either too salty, not hot enough, or whatever! After the third time, she said she was just giving up since she couldn't seem to get a decent meal!

While OUR meal was lovely, the company was not. Very happy when that dinner ended.

On Wind Surf in April it was:

200 megabytes - $60

500 megabytes - $120

Unlimited - $285

Tom purchased the 500 megabytes for our eight day cruise. Overall, quite pleased with it and still had some left at the end. He had no complaints and felt the speed was quite good for a cruise ship.

It's so wonderful that some of you can do B2B's - unfortunately, for us that is just not in the cards since we can't be gone from home for that length of time these days.

Still debating what to do about 2017 and will have to make a decision in the next week or two if we want to take advantage of the extra 5% Yacht Club Welcome Home discount.

Maybe waiting until 2018 won't be all that bad if they add this itinerary to other months that are not so hot or crowded.

Decisions, decisions!

Have not done the Star Legend itinerary yet, so I can't really help you on that one.

However, have done the Jewels of the Windward Islands twice - so you could say that we thoroughly enjoyed it and would be happy to do it again. Here is my review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1989753.

The Wind Star (and Spirit) are the smallest ships in the fleet. Since you are jumping from large cruise ships to a very small one, do your homework on what to expect and you won't be disappointed. Does the small ship have all the multiple amenities of a mega-ship - no. Does it provide everything necessary for a relaxing and enjoyable trip - yes.

Good luck with your decision-making!

Another successful Rome Cabs user here! Booked online, they were waiting for us, pleasant drive to the airport with a cheerful driver. Would highly recommend.

I was very excited to see the new Wind Star Venice-Venice itinerary for the Croatian coast (well, one stop is Slovenia).

We were wanting to see Croatia, but up until now Windstar's itineraries only included a couple of Croatian ports (Venice-Rome and reverse and Venice-Athens) and we weren't interested. I had even started looking into other lines :eek: with cruises that concentrated on Croatia.

We were thinking of taking a year off next year after 8 Windstar cruises in 5 years - but now that they're offering this itinerary we may need to rethink this plan. Of course, 2018 will be our 30th anniversary, so maybe I can hold off until then and spring the big bucks for the only suite on the ship!!! The only risk to this is that they don't offer this itinerary in 2018 or they offer it on a different ship. We would really like to do this cruise on the Wind Star - which we love.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

It was located at the desk area. The 110 was North American style, the two 220's were European style - I believe two prong but not really sure since we didn't need to use them.

I will be writing a review of the trip later - need to catch up on things at home first. It was a wonderful cruise.

Sitting at the airport, just departed Wind Surf this morning. Our cabin 124 had both 110 and 220.

Embarkation is at 1:00; however, there will be an area set up where you can drop off luggage/check in if you arrive earlier. You can then wander the port shopping area until it is time to embark.

After you check in on board, there is an area set up on the side where you can make Candles, Stella Bistro and Spa reservations (at least there was on our cruise).

Muster was held at 5:30 and you bring your life jackets and meet at your muster station - ours was inside on the main deck.

Lunch at the Veranda was available from 1:00 - 4:00. Can't remember if the pool was open.

After checking in on board we are shown to our cabin. We drop off our carry-ons and then head to lunch. After lunch, we wander around the ship and then return to our cabin. By that time our luggage is usually there and we unpack and get ourselves organized.

It's a very relaxed start to a cruise. After so many Windstar cruises, not sure if we could handle the lines and frenzy encountered on the big ships anymore.

Several times in the elevator/stair area in front of 154, we got a little "whiff" of smoke probably coming up the stairway from the crew quarters below. Not enough to bother us. We also had friends who stayed in 155 and they "thought" that "maybe" they could smell a little smoke in their cabin a couple of times but it wasn't even strong enough that they could say for sure. We were all paying very close attention to the smoke smell issue based on earlier complaints.

However, given what they said about 155 and if you are extremely sensitive, I would choose something a little further aft or a cabin on the starboard side, if possible, just to make sure to avoid any potential problem.

On our last cruise, we had 142 and my mom had 154 and they were both just fine. Comfortable and no noise that we noticed. Being far from the pool is not an issue - the entire ship is only 535 feet at the waterline and you would already be part way to the pool area in those cabins.

As Tiki Man noted - nothing is too far away on the Surf.

Attire from their website:

For women's daytime wear, we suggest walking shorts, skirts, sarongs, lightweight tops and cover-ups; for evening wear, sun dresses, pants, and informal cocktail attire. Men's daytime wear: walking/ Bermuda shorts, polo shirts, khaki pants; in the evening, lightweight trousers and short-sleeved dress/polo shirts. No suits or ties.

Here is a link to their deck plans:

http://media.windstarcruises.com/media/yachts/deck_plans/PR.BR.LE%20ComboDeckPlan.12.7.15.pdf

To get an idea of size of the Legend - it is about 80 feet longer than a football field and about 1/3 of the width. So you will definitely be able see the ocean at all times.

As far as sailing ship or motor ship - I would base my decision on itinerary and price.

It is open seating in the restaurants. You can choose to dine alone or with others as you wish.

Since it seems as if you have only cruised on large ships, please be aware that the evening entertainment is usually a duo or small group in the lounges. No big time shows. Also, the casino is much smaller than on the big ships.

Probably our special experience would be sailing out of Istanbul.

Mark, so sorry about your experience. This is definitely not the norm - of our 7 cruises only two have had children on them. Once there were two in their early teens and the other two younger children, probably around ten. All were very well behaved and did not impact the cruise at all.

Thank you for sharing this though - if we ever do plan a Windstar cruise around spring break we will definitely check to see how many kids are on board. I don't mind kids, just don't particularly want to be overwhelmed by the number. It's one of the reasons we go on Windstar. Of course, it does sound like you had more problems with the parents than the kids.

The chair hog scene is also something we have never experienced. So maybe that could be a reason the crew were not quite sure how to handle it.

I have to wonder if it was some kind of "group" that was cruising together. Although I have never experienced it on Windstar, I have experienced "group" mentality on other lines - the group felt more entitled than other passengers because their group had XX number of cabins booked.

Except for our one cruise on the Legend, all our others have been on the sailing yachts. While we loved the large cabin on the Legend, overall we probably prefer the smaller cabin. We found we spent more "cabin time" on the Legend, whereas on the others we were out and about a lot more and, consequentially, met more people.

Happy you will still consider Windstar in the future.

Sailing again soon - can't wait!

Not sure if this is the same place, but this is what I wrote in my review:

Just a short walk will take you to Caribbean Liquors & Tobacco, located at 8 W.G. Buncamper Road, Philipsburg, St.Maarten. Not an extensive selection, but what they did have was nice and very reasonably priced.

Thank goodness I put it in my review - otherwise I would never remember it now - and it's been less than two months since our cruise!!!

The photos I posted were from either 2011 or 2012 and I really can't remember if they were in the process of setting up or not, but as Milepeg noted there really aren't any people around, so it could be that the buffet was not actually open yet and I snuck in to get photos!:D

I agree with sb44 that I have always felt that everything has been very clean and well taken care of whether in the kitchen or in the buffets.

There is a buffet lunch set up in the Veranda upon boarding. Here is my reply to an old thread which shows some photos:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=45147866#post45147866

I hope you enjoy your first Windstar cruise.

Tiki_Man - we were on the Yachtmans itinerary and for us it was held on Tuesday. But don't worry, when you are making your reservations for Candles, they will know which evening it is to be held. Also, when making your Candles reservation, check out the menu for Stella Bistro. We enjoyed our meal there, although some friends felt it was a little bit saucy and heavy (depends on what you order, I guess).

Ski Mom 2 - Hope you are having a lovely cruise. Say hi to Esther and Nova from Suzanne, Tom and Mom/Lucille. I asked Tom about viewing usage, he said to open a browser window to login.now when your connected and it will show usage at the bottom of the page, scroll down below the airline names. Hope that works and helps!

No smoke smell in 136 and 154 (my mother's cabin). A couple of times there was a slight smell of smoke in the area where the forward elevator is located. Friends who were in cabin 155 thought they might have smelled a little smoke twice but it wasn't even strong enough for them to say for sure.

After all the recent postings, we were all trying to pay attention. Based on our experience, the "heavy smoke" postings were either an aberration or someone being extremely sensitive to the smell of smoke.

My husband purchased wifi on our recent Wind Surf cruise and was very pleased. He had been cautioned that it might not work in our cabin (136), however, he experienced excellent connectivity throughout the ship - even in our cabin.

He made a conscious decision to keep from transferring anything that had a lot of data. His tablet allowed him to disable background data.

He would definitely consider purchasing again on future cruises.

Just returned and can confirm that the only way they will tender to BEYC is if you have a dining reservation. In speaking with the captain, it appears that Windstar has no control over this - it is BEYC who has decided that they do not want "non-guests" from the cruise ships tendering to their dock.

The passengers are 20's to 80's with most 40's to 60's. There are enough younger couples, and some singles, that you should not feel like outcasts! The younger couples we've met have run the gamut from firefighters and teachers to lawyers and accountants. They've all been into water sports and have loved the trips. Not heavy drinkers. Not snobs. We're part of the older crowd and have loved sailing with, and getting to know them all.

Just returned from Wind Surf and would agree with sb44 about the age range. Did have an opportunity to talk with a honeymooning couple and they said they were having the time of their life and were absolutely loving the cruise. In fact, they were lamenting on what to do in the future since they weren't sure if they could afford to sail with Windstar again anytime soon (their cruise was a wedding gift). Hope this helps a little.

I suggest you make your reservation now. That way, you can be certain to get the stateroom you want, and you can lock in the current price. If the price drops, then re-book.

I, also, do this - I make my reservation as soon as I know which cruise I want. That way I can get it booked, get a better choice of cabins, and watch for good airline prices and/or use frequent flyer mile flights.

If the price drops later (up until final payment), Windstar has always repriced the cruise honoring the sale price.

The one time I did not do this was for our upcoming cruise in January. Made the reservations in July and needed three cabins - ours, my mother's, and her friends. The selection for Cat B cabins were: 101, 102, 154, 155 and 157. Remember, you are dealing with a TOTAL of 155 cabins on the Wind Surf which makes the strategy for booking somewhat different than what one can do on the large cruise ships.

did you need a sports jacket for the dining room at night? My husband doesn't want to take one and it does take up a lot of suitcase room ....

Sports jacket not necessary. Like fpardo87, Tom and I always manage our Windstar cruises with a carry-on and small bag only. We have never taken the laundry package, just sent a few items to be laundered during the cruise. However, if we were to have several days pre or post cruise, we would definitely consider the package.