Yachtsman's Caribbean and Flavors of the Caribbean Review: 19Jan-02Feb 2013

[dandee2]

I found the dining seating arrangement perfect for us. We had a table for two the first 3 nights. Of course, we made some friends during the trip and ended-up having dinner with them the rest of the cruise. It was perfect. And we love the fact that you can just show-up between 7-9 and ask for a small table for 2. Of course, nothing is garanteed but at least they will try to accomodate and that is reasonnable enough.

[sealord]

I found the dining seating arrangement perfect for us. We had a table for two the first 3 nights. Of course, we made some friends during the trip and ended-up having dinner with them the rest of the cruise. It was perfect. And we love the fact that you can just show-up between 7-9 and ask for a small table for 2. Of course, nothing is garanteed but at least they will try to accomodate and that is reasonnable enough.

 

Of the three evening dining venues, we found AmphorA to be the 'best' (IMHO) and the 'most quiet'. The Stella Bistro, and Candles provide some nice variety, but we found the Stella Bistro to be quite loud, and the menu perhaps not quite as attractive as AmphorA, and Candles (the pool deck steak place) can be quite windy and occassionally 'wet'. Both of our onboard BBQ nights were rained out, so they were moved indoors. That may sound like a 'bummer', but in fact it lead to two of the best 'party nights' of each of our cruises. Of course, we learned of the first big party night from our travelling companions, because after dinner they stayed aboard, and we went to Foxies. It was fun to see Foxies in action at night, but it is now in the "been there, done that" category. :rolleyes:

[Barrheadlass]

I too am really enjoying your review. We have a TA on Oceania booked for next year and would like to enjoy a Windstar cruise before then. Thank you for your gorgeous pics!

[Love.II.Cruise]

Your pictures of the restaurant show tables set for groups --- is it easy to get a table for 2 if desired? We may well meet passengers we'd like to dine with, but it's not guaranteed, and I think we'd like some alone time too. How about in the lounges? The Veranda?

 

As others have stated already, it is easy to get a table for 2. We started out doing that at the beginning of each cruise and migrated to tables of 4 as we made friends that we wanted to dine with.

 

I too am really enjoying your review. We have a TA on Oceania booked for next year and would like to enjoy a Windstar cruise before then. Thank you for your gorgeous pics!

 

I'm glad you are enjoying the review. We just went on Oceania last November for a TA and enjoyed it.

Edited February 23, 2013 by Love.II.Cruise

[Love.II.Cruise]

Wednesday, Jan 23, 2013: Jost Van Dyke, B.V.I. / Virgin Gorda, B.V.I.

 

 

Last night we were over night in Jost Van Dyke and tenders started back up at 10am and ran until 5pm. We booked the Jost Van Dyke Sail & Snorkel Tour through Windstar, which allowed for 47 guests. After they jammed us all into a tender, we slowly navigated the harbor until we tied up next to a catamaran and 24 people were asked to get off. We ended up getting off on a second yacht, better looking catamaran (we were told it came out of dry dock in 2004). After the transfer, we proceeded to Sandy Spit and Diamond Cay. At Sandy Spit, guests have the option of getting off the boat and swimming to the beach; we stayed on-board. In Diamond Cay we snorkeled.

 

Below are pictures of Sandy Spit:

 

 

 

 

 

Below are pictures of Diamond Cay (snorkeling):

Two different Starfish

 

 

 

 

 

Two conch shells

 

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

Wednesday, Jan 23, 2013: Jost Van Dyke, B.V.I. / Virgin Gorda, B.V.I. (Continued)

 

Below are more pictures from snorkeling (we really enjoyed this tour and would recommend it).

 

 

 

 

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

Wednesday, Jan 23, 2013: Jost Van Dyke, B.V.I. / Virgin Gorda, B.V.I. (Continued)

 

 

After returning to port, we went to Foxy’s with friends. If you go to Foxy’s, please be aware that they automatically include gratuity on all bills. We felt that the inclusion of gratuities affected the quality of our service. The food was decent, but the service was ridiculous. Our waitress took about 10 minutes to get beers, and when we paid, she left with our friends’ credit card and disappeared for nearly 20 minutes. We needed to get back to the tender, so we went to the bar to ask about our check. The bartender threw his hands into the air and said “I have no idea; I didn’t serve you.” We went to stall the tender while our friends waited for their credit card. Security was understanding and waited for them. We caught the last tender back to the ship (about 2:40pm). Below is one picture at Foxy’s:

 

 

The watersports platform was open from 9am - 2pm. The last tender was suppose to be at 2:30pm. Bennie from the watersports held a Putt-Putt Golf Tournament at 4pm and talked us into joining in the fun. Surprisingly, it was a lot of fun! It was set up in The Lounge on the Main Deck, using furniture and foam to make courses.

 

We arrived to Virgin Gorda at 6pm and the last tender ran until midnight.

 

That evening we ate at AmphorA late with some other our new found friends. That evening my DH had the beef carpaccio and beef wellington (he liked both). I had an appetizer portion of the lobster ravioli, which I disliked. I also had the beef wellington and thought it was good.

 

I'll finish this day with a few more pictures (two of Wind Surf and another of just a random yacht).

 

 

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

Thursday, Jan 24, 2013: Virgin Gorda, B.V.I

 

This morning’s tenders started running at 7:30am. There was a bold announcement in the daily printout stating the following: “As we have a large number of guests on tour between 8:00am & 9:00am. We kindly request our independent guest wanting to go ashore to use the 7:30am tender or wait until 9am when the tours our finished.”

 

We left at 8am for the Virgin Gorda Highlights & Bath Tour through Windstar. We took a tender that did not go to where the BBQ Lunch (I believe this is on Prickly Pear Island) was to be held today, but instead to Virgin Gorda. After boarding an open air bus, we were on way to The Baths, seeing a copper mine on the way along with picturesque views.

 

 

 

 

When we arrived at the Virgin Gorda Baths, there were several busses already there (we talked with others and it seemed there was a Carnival Ship in port elsewhere) and, as such, the park was very crowded. Our guide gave us the details of the park’s layout and told us we could either go left, to Devil’s Bay, or right, to The Baths.

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

Thursday, Jan 24, 2013: Virgin Gorda, B.V.I (Continued)

 

 

Some people went to Devil’s Bay and others went to The Baths. We went to Devil’s Bay first because the bulk of the crowd headed straight for The Baths. To get to Devil’s Bay, it’s a 20-minute hike over uneven terrain. When we arrived to Devil’s Bay we saw a path labeled to go to The Baths. We were happy we wouldn’t have to hike back up, take the other path down, and could see The Baths from where we were. Oh, but what a fiasco this turned out. There were several little obstacles such as climbing wet wooden stairs, using a rope to go up or down a large boulder and crouching low to get through two boulders. With people trying to go both ways and the need for “traffic” directors at the tight spots, some folks got testy and accused us of “going backwards”. All in all, it was quite a workout since we were carrying our shoes (more on that in a minute), a camera bag, and a messenger bag with books, towels, and sunscreen. The tour description was inaccurate, to say the least, saying nothing about how difficult it would be to pass through carrying bags.

 

When we exited The Baths there was a souvenir shop and a little bar where we had a beer. There were also lockers that people could use, if they intended to snorkel or playing in the water. On Devil’s Bay we didn’t see a bar, lockers, or a souvenir shop. But it did make us wonder what people would do once they got to Devil’s Bay. Would they hike back up to the top where we came down - or go back through The Baths “backwards” to get to their lockers (if they used them) or to buy souvenirs? This may have just been one of those crowded days, but we were still glad we did this excursion. Below are some pictures:

 

 

 

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

Thursday, Jan 24, 2013: Virgin Gorda, B.V.I (Continued)

 

One thing we would recommend is to bring water shoes that have good support for this tour. We were told to bring our tennis shoes, but when we got there we didn’t want to get them soaking wet, so we took them off. Most of The Baths is navigated by walking on slippery rocks and/or through shin-high water. We saw many injuries on this day, one gentleman had a cut on his head, another young woman had a gouge on her leg and we witnessed one girl slip/fall off a boulder, landing in the water (she had a backpack on that got soaked - hopefully she didn’t have anything that could be damaged by salt water in her bag). Below are pictures we took hiking back up from The Baths.

 

 

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

Thursday, Jan 24, 2013: Virgin Gorda, B.V.I (Continued)

 

When we left The Baths we took the open air bus back to where we started, but along another road nicknamed Millionaire Road. As the nickname would suggest, there are some huge, beautiful homes positioned on that part of the island, but don’t expect the guide to say who owns what house. Again, there were some picturesque views:

 

 

 

 

On our way back to the tender, our open air bus got a flat tire, but two other busses stopped and we were able to board the others (fortunately they were not full to begin with).

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

Thursday, Jan 24, 2013: Virgin Gorda, B.V.I (Continued)

 

When we got back to where we tendered to, there was a large ferry and a tender from the ship to take us to the other island for the lunch BBQ. This island works well for the BBQ because there is infrastructure in place for them to set up the food and do drink service. If you have the drink package, it applies on this island (if you go to the appropriate bar - there was another bar not owned by Windstar). The water toys were out and people were enjoying them from the beach.

 

There were not any chairs to be had in the shade that we could find, so we decided to head back to the ship. On board it was very quiet and the lunch they were serving was exactly the same as what was on the beach, so we got our shade and meal in a private, air conditioned setting, without having to dump sand out of our shoes once we got back to the ship.

 

Below are pictures where they held the BBQ Lunch (taken early in the morning) and a picture of Wind Surf.

 

 

 

 

 

A bonus for us was seeing Richard Branson’s island (Necker Island) when we were coming into harbor yesterday, today on the tour, and when we left the island today. You can see in the pictures below that it has still not recovered from the fire that happened during Hurricane Irene, but there are bulldozers operating.

 

 

[Toucanbritz]

Enjoying your trip report and photos! We are doing the Yachtsman cruise in March and your review has answered a number of the questions we had.

Thanks :)

[dandee2]

 

I'll finish this day with a few more pictures (two of Wind Surf and another of just a random yacht).

 

Looks like Club Med 2 to me:D

[RAYSAN11]

If you are talking about the one behind the Wind Surf, I believe it is one of the Seadream ships

[beachbuddy]

Beautiful pictures Lovey...............really enjoying this review. Actually, it's the first yacht reveiw I ever read. Always wondered what it would be like to sail a ship like this.

 

Patty

[Love.II.Cruise]

Friday, Jan 25, 2013: Gustavia, St. Barts

 

We arrived into St. Barts at 10am and the last tender ran until 9:30pm. The watersports platform was open from 11am - 5pm today. We didn’t have an excursion planned, so we took the tender and just wandered around the city. Quite honestly, this city is too rich for us. Others on the cruise felt the same. One lady even said that she wanted a new pair of Louis Vuitton sunglasses and said the prices were double what she had paid in France. We did stop at a rum distillery, had a tasting, and bought the sample pack.

 

Before heading back to the ship, we stopped at a small cafe overlooking the harbor and split a quiche.

 

Back onboard, we decided to use the water platform We ended up in a downpour of rain when using the water toys, and a tough swimming current, but we enjoyed it. Below are pictures I took using the underwater camera. It was difficult to take pictures of the ship with the rain hitting the camera lens, but I was able to record a short video as I slid down the slide (posted below; turn your volume up to hear me say “I’m recording” followed by a scream. :p). One tip you might want to keep in mind if you decide to replicate my little experiment: screaming and ocean water don’t mix; I got a nice, big mouthful. :eek:

 

Link to short video:

 

https://plus.google.com/photos/104205394500372911214/albums/5847669117647932561/5847669348545228482?authkey=CLnl-Iu3te6hSA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That evening we ate at Candles Grill with friends. We stuck it out in the rain and so did the servers. At one point it was really starting to come down, but then it eased up - many people left - and later when the rain had stopped, the people coming for their reservations were sat in chairs that were soaked (they didn’t seem too happy). Dinner was wonderful and we decided to have dessert (we typically don’t get dessert). We had the creme brûlée with raspberries. We should have stopped with dinner because the creme brûlée was the worst we’ve had. Typically, the top should be crispy caramel (sugar blow torched crispy), but it had no texture whatsoever and was soggy, kinda like a flan. Perhaps it got a little rain.

 

That evening at dinner we discussed with our friends improvements that could be done on Windstar. Our friends were leaving tomorrow and had filled out the survey already. One of the items that came up was moving Candles in the evening to Veranda. The crew wouldn’t have to set up tables every night and the pool and jacuzzi’s could stay open. We knew the first evening Candles was moved to Veranda, another evening it was closed to rain, and this evening at least half of those that had reservations didn’t dine there.

 

Since Candles wasn’t very busy with the weather being poor, we discussed this with the staff. They said that the pool and jacuzzi would be reopened after dinner. We were stunned because we were told by a very experienced Windstar cruiser that they are closed for the evening and reopen in the morning. Our friend asked if the net would be taken off the pool that evening after Candles closed and they said “yes.” We told them we would be up there to use the jacuzzi after dinner.

 

After dinner, our friends went to complete their packing and we said our goodbyes. We went to change into our bathing suits and used the jacuzzi and pool. Be forewarned: both the jacuzzi’s and the pool are salt water, not freshwater. It was a nice evening to do this; we were the only ones there.

[Naveron]

I am LOVING your report! I dearly want to do this cruise. It sounds fantastic!

[beachbuddy]

Hahaha..........cute video Lovey.........LOL I loved the scream and the big splash at the end! LOL

[Kathy816]

Have really been enjoying your posts - we're on this itinerary in a few weeks, can't wait.

 

And the video was great - had me laughing! I'll make sure to keep my mouth closed going down the slide!

Edited February 25, 2013 by Kathy816

[Courthorn]

I am really enjoying your trip report and pictures! We are on the cruise next month, and I am getting excited.

 

One question...on this itinerary do any of the island's taxis take credit cards? I am trying to figure out how much cash we will need.

[dandee2]

Even if they did, I would use cash instead. I know many people would prefer to use CC for the points, etc, but in areas that I do not know, with rules, laws and regulations different from island to island, I would be far more secure knowing that only reputable and well known businesses handle my CC. I have used taxis and the great majority of them were great but.....

[sealord]

I am really enjoying your trip report and pictures! We are on the cruise next month, and I am getting excited.

 

One question...on this itinerary do any of the island's taxis take credit cards? I am trying to figure out how much cash we will need.

 

I would be astonished if any taxis take credit cards. We just did the Yachtsman's, and the Flavors, and the only place we used credit cards was at our hotel in St. Maartin, and at the liquor store at the end of the pier in Philipsburg. You can get both dollars and euros at some ATM machines in St. Maartin. In our two weeks there doing the B2B we went through a couple hundred euros and several hundred dollars ... and we didn't buy anything other than a few trinkets. We did spend three days in Maho Beach before the cruise so that did chew up some coin. :rolleyes: If you don't have the local currency, be sure to ask before you consume. On these itineraries it is best to carry both euros and dollars.:)

[jumelle]

I thoroughly enjoyed your review. It looks as if you were somewhat dissatisfied with the food. I thought the food on Windstar was above average. Will be sailing on the Wind Spirit in a few weeks. Hoping for a great first time experience and calm seas.

[Naveron]

Cash only for taxi's in the Caribbean. $US dollars will be taken. Cabs aren't cheap in the islands so you should probably budget $30 to $40 round trip for places like Antigua and St. Barts. and $20 to $40 for the BVI's.