Just back from the Wind Surf Trans-Atlantic Crossing April 2012

[gymswim]

Having sailed on all of the Windstar ships many times since 1987, in places like Malaysia, the South Pacific, Tahiti, Europe, Caribbean, Belize and Costa Rica, I confess to being somewhat biased in my love of these unique and special ships and their marvelous, dedicated crew.

We just returned home from another fantastic 14 day crossing on the Wind Surf from St Maartin to Lisbon.

The cabins and suites have all been remodeled since last year and the new furnishings fabrics and colors are stunning. The new hallway carpeting, plus carpet pad and dramatic lighting (pictured) are beautiful. (Both smaller ships are currently undergoing similar refittings).

In regard to the remodeled cabins, I particularly appreciated the plush new mattress and the new, soft, all cotton, bed linens. The individual directional reading lights over each bed are a nice addition, making it possible to read without disturbing anyone.

 

Our suite was 320. The new furniture is a big improvement, much nicer as well as more usable and comfortable than the previous furniture. The only quirk we experienced with our cabin was that an engineer had to be make adjustments behind the HVAC grill to fit our particular room temperature preference after we were sailing.

 

The new carpeting is quite pretty, but with it's textured pile, is a curious choice. While the carpet remains perfectly clean, the textured pile shows all scuff marks from shoes on it's textured surfaces.

For those with engineering backgrounds, the ship's vacuum septic system which services all the cabins has been upgraded as well.

This Fall (November 2012) the remaining public areas, including the three dining facilities, are scheduled to be refitted.

 

The Officers and CREW continue to be the OUTSTANDING attribute. It is the high standards they maintain and the level of personal service that makes sailing on Windstar so special.

 

In addition to the usual daytime activites during the cruise, for the first time ever, an introduction to TAP dance was offered for free. The participation was so enthusiastic and the tappers worked so diligently learning their steps, a TAP dance FINALE was performed at the end of the cruise in the Windstar Lounge and the tappers received a well deserved standing ovation.

 

Although Windstar is blessed to have such a high percentage of repeat passengers, I would like to see Windstar provide loyalty incentives for achieving certain levels, similar to those offered on other cruise lines. It would be nice to offer repeaters rewards like free internet minutes and free laundry based on thresholds reached based on the number of cruises taken and the total number of days sailed.

[6rugrats]

Thank you for posting; looks like you had a great time! Do you have any pictures of the ship that you can post? It would be great to see the results of the refurb.

[gymswim]

Here are some photos of the remodeled cabin and hallways

[Delta Queen]

There were 107 passengers on board, with 89 repeaters,

though not all of them were crossing repeaters.

 

As Gymswim wrote, the crew were outstanding as

always. We are always amazed that they remember

our names & even our drinks :)

 

Larry's Tap dance groupe performed extraordinarily

well and with lots of enthusiasm. Kudos to Larry for

bringing it off so well. Repeat engagement next year?:D

 

One of the other entertainers were the Thomas Brothers.

They are great singers & performers.

If you ever get a chance to catch one of their

shows you should. They even gave ballroom

dancing lessons one day.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for posting a review, sounds like you had a great time. That is a different type of cruising but does look fun.

[Love.II.Cruise]

Thanks for the review! You said you sailed many times before... Did you ever sail in their smallest room or only the suites? We plan to only do the smallest room for our cruise since we've never gone on this cruise line, but my DH wants to go for the suite. I'm afraid if we do the suite we will be spoiled forever. ;)

[Delta Queen]

Thanks for the review! You said you sailed many times before... Did you ever sail in their smallest room or only the suites? We plan to only do the smallest room for our cruise since we've never gone on this cruise line, but my DH wants to go for the suite. I'm afraid if we do the suite we will be spoiled forever. ;)

 

This cruise was the first time we had a suite - they had a sale on them as we registered so we thought we'd try it. While we loved the extra space & 2 bathrooms we found the motion of the ship much more pronounced. We have always had a cabin on deck 1, midships & have felt little motion in them but our suite was on deck 3 & further forward. Tempting though the extra space is I don't think we'll do the upgrade again.

[Love.II.Cruise]

So out of curiosity, I've noticed the Suites look like the window are open to a deck that people can walk on... is that true?

 

I would prefer something close to the water than deal with people walking by my window. Maybe the suites should have been lower.

[holomuku]

Delta Queen,

 

When you say they offered the upgrade to a suite when you registered- were you at the dock, or online, or ?? Just wondering- our agent told me Windstar doesn't usually offer upgrades but then we all know that we learn more here than we do from talking with a T.A. (most of the time anyway!). It could be that it happens infrequently, but it does happen. Thank you in advance.

[Delta Queen]

So out of curiosity, I've noticed the Suites look like the window are open to a deck that people can walk on... is that true?

 

I would prefer something close to the water than deal with people walking by my window. Maybe the suites should have been lower.

 

There are 3 suites on the bridge deck but they are more money than the suites on deck 3. Those on the bridge deck do have windows looking out onto the deck but the ones on deck 3 have 2 portholes & all you see is water. :)

[Delta Queen]

Delta Queen,

 

When you say they offered the upgrade to a suite when you registered- were you at the dock, or online, or ?? Just wondering- our agent told me Windstar doesn't usually offer upgrades but then we all know that we learn more here than we do from talking with a T.A. (most of the time anyway!). It could be that it happens infrequently, but it does happen. Thank you in advance.

 

When we boarded the ship there were notices that suites were available for $1300 (for both of us, not each) which is about half the price. Remember that this was a TA with only 107 passengers on board. We were looking for the signs because my husband had seen a post about upgrades on this board.

[holomuku]

Thanks Delta Queen. I can see where on a TA that extra space would be very welcomed. I can also see where the seas would be rougher.....tough decision!

 

We're doing an Oslo-Lisbon in August/September and it doesn't seem to be selling well. I think that perhaps it is the itinerary- it works for us but might not for many others. I mean-- what do you do in La Havre for 4 hours? Not much...but we've been there and done the D-Day beaches (SO worth it!) as well as Paris on a land trip.

 

So- our real goal is to spend an overnight in Amsterdam, which this trip does and get to Lisbon - which we hope it will! I may have my eyes out for the upgrade signs but we've also done the Deck 1 cabin and found it just fine. The extra room does sound attractive though!

 

Thanks for the response.

[santacasa]

We are doing our first Windsurf cruise in July (Lisbon-Oslo). We have always been with Cunard before (last time Queen's Grill suite). Are we going to enjoy the difference?

[themutis]

We have done both Cunard (Queens' Grill) and Windstar - it's like comparing apples to oranges :) Service on both was great and we thoroughly enjoyed both... but at this point in our lives (just under 50), we enjoy the relaxed, smaller atmosphere of Windstar.

 

We don't need to dress up, we don't usually go to the shows, and we don't gamble. We found with the smaller group on Windstar we actually meet a lot more people. And with a much smaller ship, you get to go places that are more remote and uncrowded.

 

It would be hard for us to go back to the large mega ships after being on Windstar.

 

Eileen

[June Bug]

Quick question, OP noted that the remaining public areas will be finished renovating in November 2012... But I swore I had read somewhere that all renovations were completed? We travel in early December on Wind Surf... Will the renovations be done by then? Or will certain areas be off limits?

[gymswim]

June: When you sail on the Wind Surf in December, the refurbishment should be completed. The public areas had not been completed when I was aboard in April. The cabins and suites are completed. The current plan is to refurbish the public areas during the crossing in November (hence she will not be carrying any passengers this fall).

We are hopeful that Windstar will post photos of some of the planned improvements for the Wind Surf soon.

[June Bug]

Thanks so much! I can't wait! I cruised Wind Surf a couple of years ago

& I'm excited about the new changes! :)