racer8790

22 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Is that the entrance to Trollfjord?  Looks like it.

 

Phil

Yes it is.

A beautiful day in Lofoten.

What about the space on deck 5 behind the lounge? We used to sit there to view the ocean and don't recall any obstructions.

Crew only area except when coming back from a zodiac trip. All tours left from Compass Rose and back through the lounge. Security was just outside the door for scanning and re-scanning cards.

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People varied in what they wore for dinner. Some did wear dressy stuff. Some more casual.

 

Windstar says no jeans or t-shirts for dinner. On board they also said no tennis shoes, but the on-line FAQ doesn't say that.

 

Some nights, I wore my black jeans and saw others doing so. Most nights I wore slacks or khakis. (I've never understood why, in the pants hierarchy, khakis rate as more dressy than jeans but I try to comply.) I wore a turtle-neck, polo shirt or a collar-less shirt a bit nicer than a t-shirt - usually the same thing I wore during the day.

 

I only had brought the hiking shoes, Brooks Ghost running shoes I wear for the gym and New Balance running shoes that I wear for most other things. I generally didn't feel like wearing the hiking shoes in the evening after wearing them all day in port so I sometimes wore the New Balance shoes to dinner. After all, they aren't "tennis" shoes, they are running shoes. (And I don't think they should announce a more restricted dress code on board than on the Windstar website.)

 

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Thank you, we are in the packing mode as well and wondering what the evening dress would be like.

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Thanks for your review. We have never been on Windstar but are considering a July or Aug Alaska cruise. I would like to ask,a few questions about the general cruise experience as compared to the larger cruise ships.

 

1. Do you know what the Internet fees are?

 

2. Is there a buffet dining area for lunch and dinner? We sometimes like to save time and not spend 2 hours in the main dining room. Is the buffet in the Veranda/Candles?

 

3. Is there a laundry onboard?

 

4. What are the evening shows like?

 

5. Windstar advertises a water sports platform where various things can be done at no cost. Does that include kayaks or zodiacs in the fiords to get close to the glaciers like you described or are those items excursions?

 

6. Does the fitness center have much equipment?

 

Thanks, Rick

We are sailing in June Wonders of Alaska and Canada

1. Haven’t found any info in this. Going to use my phone in port.

2. In past cruises(on sailing ships). The deck BBQ was buffet all others were in AmphorA .

Lunch in the veranda is buffet or order from a menu

Dinner in Candles is full service as well.

3. Package includes laundry service for both cabin occupants.

6-day cruise package $93.43

7-day cruise package. $109.00

8-day cruise package. $124.57

There is no price for longer then 8 days, don’t know if you double the 7 day price. Must be added first day of cruise

4. In general Windstar doesn’t have the big productions like the larger ships. Again we haven’t been on the Star legend yet. Hopefully someone who is on now can answer.

5. There is a cost for the kayaks and the zodiacs. The kayaks zodiacs are part of the Signature Expeditions in Alaska shore excursions.

6. Not sure about the fitness center equipment as I haven’t been on the Star Legend.

We have done larger ships but prefer the smaller ones. We have always had excellent service on Windstar. I hope I have answered some of your questions.

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We are now in Juneau. I'll try to post more when I return to the ship.

 

In Kenai Fjords, we parked opposite Aialik Glacier. I took both a kayak tour & a zodiac tour. In the kayaks, we got quite close to the glacier (perhaps a quarter mile away) and the beach to the left of it. We had plenty of time to watch calving. We saw seals on the sea ice.

 

On the zodiac sign, we again got close to the glacier and to the shore on the right side of it. We saw a mountain goat low on the montain-side and a black bear on the shore very close.

 

The morning zodiacs saw more bears and the newborn kid with the goat along with a very rare sighting of a wolverine stalking the kid. The wolverine wasn't successful, but in the afternoon we found the kid in the water (it may have fallen due to the wolverine).

 

I also kayaked in Endicott. The ship got to within a mile & a half of the glacier. The kayaks and zodiacs again got very close. We saw harbor porpoises and seals as well as various sea birds.

 

The support of the crew for getting in and out of the zodiacs and of the expedition team for transferring from zodiac to kayak is excellent. I felt very safe as a novice.

 

One of the safety boats provided a snack of hot cocoa and cookies for kayaks. I didn't take the cocoa but the cookies were good.

 

I'd encourage taking the kayak if you feel at all inclined & the zodiac if the kayak seems too challenging.

 

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Sounds fantastic, we have 2 zodiac trips booked!

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Following as well. Thank you for posting when you can.:)

Gangways are on both port and starboard sides of the yacht. Ports will determine which side is utilized. We have used both sides in one day when we were tendering and the weather conditions changed.

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In the past on other cruises, you can cancel on board and they just credit your on board account. I don't know if it is different now or not.

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