Negative member reviews?

[eoj]

Hi folks. I'm considering a Windstar cruise in the Med. this summer. I like what I've read about Windstar (the small ships, the itineraries, the informality).

 

However, I saw that there are a couple of negative Windstar member reviews. With Windstar's reputation for quality and service, I tend to discount positive reviews. Those are to be expected, after all. I pay a lot more attention to the negative reviews, because they are so unexpected.

 

The problems pointed out in those reviews are:

* Some cabins are noisy with engine noise. The reviewer even claimed that this problem is well known to the ship staff.

* The decks are closed to the passengers quite early in the evening.

* Rudeness and/or lack of communication from some of the ship officiers.

* One review claimed that the ship staff banged on everyone's door at 6 a.m. to collect the passenger's luggage.

* Equipment failure with air conditioners and such. (Yes, I realize the ships have been refurbished recently, but did they touch those systems, or was the refurbishment just cosmetic?)

 

I apologize for sounding negative, but I am just summarizing the negative reviews. I really like the idea of Windstar, and I want to cruise with them this summer, but I am just concerned by the issues listed above.

 

Would some of the more experienced (and preferably recently experienced) Windstar cruises address these issues and help reassure me that Windstar will be a good fit for me? Thanks.

 

- Joe Cruiser

[lovecruisingtoo]

I also have read the negative reviews and I don't understand them. My wife and I have cruised twice with Windstar, once on the Windstar and once on the Windspirit. Both were fantastic cruises. We have booked another med. cruise for this summer.

 

On our previous cuises we never noticed any of the ship's staff being rude. In fact they were all very nice. Most of the crew knew your name after the first day.

 

Some people are very aware of any engine noise. You can get a slight amount of noise but we never heard anyone complain about it. When we have cruised on larger ships the noise was significantly more than on Windstar.

 

As for the equipment failures, I believe that all of those items were addressed during the refitting that took place within the last 6 months.

 

I can understand wanting luggage out at 6:00 because some of the cruises dock fairly early in the final port. Remember, on the larger ships you need your luggage out in the hall the night before - so 6:00 A.M. is not unreasonable.

 

I hope you don't let the negative reviews stop you from booking the Windstar. My wife and I have cruised on both Windstar and some of the larger ships. We have both decided that the Windstar is the only way to cruise.

 

By the way, which Med. cruise are you thinking of going on?

[eoj]

Thanks for the reply.

 

My wife and I are looking at Barcelona/Lisbon in August on the Wind Spirit or Venice/Malta in October on the Wind Surf (somewhat concerned about the weather here).

 

Windstar used to have a Venice/Rome route which we would have favored, but alas that cruise is no more.

 

- Joe Cruiser

[lovecruisingtoo]

In fact the cruise that my wife and I booked is the August Barcelona to Lisbon cruise. We realize the weather may be somewhat hot but you are always on the coast and so it should not be too bad.

 

Hope to see you on board - it should be a great cruise.

[2Feathers]

I also read those negative reviews. My wife and I have sailed on the Spirit out of St. Thomas each of the past two winters, and haven't had the problems the reviewer mentioned. To address each of your concerns:

 

Cabin noise: I'm in agreement with lovecruisingtoo. The noise on the larger ships, by my experience, has been much worse. (We were on Carnival's Inspiration a few years ago, and there were times when the dishes would rattle, and we would seriously wonder if something was wrong!) I would imagine there is the possibility that some Windstar cabins may be worse than others, but we had no problems, and heard no one else complaining about engine noise on the Spirit.

 

Deck closing early: This did NOT happen. We got into a habit of going up to the bow and sitting under the sail to watch the lights and stars until late in the evening. Others joined us or went to the aft deck and listened to music. We stayed as late as 1:00 AM and were never asked to leave. Its a laid back atmosphere, and many of the passengers retire to their cabins shortly after dinner to read or watch a movie, so it may give the appearance that decks are closed.

 

Rudeness/communication problems with the crew: This would certainly be the total opposite of our experiences. Now, if you're the type who expects someone from the wait staff to constantly hover over you offering drinks or dragging you into some seminar or auction or other activity, I can see how you could perceive Windstar's service as being "inattentive". Windstar's service just sort of "happens". They don't coddle you or hover. If you need something, it seems to just appear. Everyone has always been cheerful and polite. As many others have said in other posts, they learn and address you by name from the first day.

 

The 6:00 AM wake-up call at debarkation: YES, this did happen, and is one thing I don't understand, either. We were basically off the ship by 7:30 AM, and the next cruise didn't sail until midnight. With a ship this small, you wouldn't think it would take that long to get ready for the next group. However, Windstar set up a hotel room for us to use and leave our luggage in until our flight out, and even provided transportation to the airport so we could enjoy St. Thomas for a while before heading home, which was a nice touch, and something none of the other larger lines we've cruised had ever offered.

 

Equipment failures: AC was perfect. The only malfunction I was aware of was with one of the sails on the cruise this past January.

 

I think attitude has a lot to do with how you rate a cruise - or any experience, for that matter. There were probably things I would have changed if I could have, but I didn't dwell on them. We enjoyed the myriad of wonderful options available to us, and had the two best cruise experiences of our lives. I wouldn't totally dismiss the thought of taking another cruise line next time, if the right opportunity presented itself, but I can't imagine having a better time with any other line.

 

Don't sweat it, eoj. Book the Windstar and don't look back. You'll thank yourself later.

 

2Feathers

 

[avocats]

This will sound strange, but I was on the ill-fated Spirit that lost electrical power for two days in the Virgin Islands, and STILL had the time of my life. And the ships have been renovated since then.

 

As for noise, the cabins smack up against the engines do have some vibration. But these are the last ones booked.

 

Crew and staff rude??? Never.

 

Don't recall being awakened by knocking, though we always had our luggage outside the night before as requested.

 

Deck is always open, I thought--we always went up after dinner and some nights stayed out there quite late. Bridge is almost always open as well.

 

Can't describe the magic of Windstar, both ship are wonderful. Barcelona/Lisbon is wonderful itinerary. We're off to Venice-Malta-Rome this fall.

 

1992 Wind Star Nice-Nice

 

1993 Wind Spirit Singapore-Singapore

 

1995 Wind Spirit St. Thomas-St. Thomas

 

1996 Renaissance III Bali-Singapore

 

1998 Radisson Diamond Aruba-Costa Rica

 

1999 Wind Song Lisbon-Barcelona

 

2002 Wind Spirit Belize/Honduras

 

2003 Wind Spirit St. Thomas-St. Thomas

 

2003 Wind Surf Copenhagen-Copenhagen

 

2004 Wind Surf Venice-Rome

[SB_Travlr]

We cruised on the late lamented Windsong, from Istanbul to Athens, in October 2001 (right after 9/11). We loved it: didn't notice engine noise (maybe we were distracted by the sight of the moon on the Aegean, right outside our porthole...) ;) A/C worked fine, staff were friendly and caring. We LOVED it. Did I say that already?!!

 

Never experienced deck being closed -- one beauty of W-star is the open bridge, and freedom to go anywhere you wanted. Memorable moment from our trip was getting up while it was still dark, and going on deck to watch the sun rise as we sailed in the Santorini caldera.

 

Yes, you do get off early. But that just gave us time eat breakfast on deck in the early morning sunshine, then get to Athens in time for a full day.

 

We've just booked the Windstar in Tahiti in November, can't wait. :)

[Joanandjoe]

OK, EOJ, don't leave us guessing. What did you decide? We decided to try the Wind Surf for two weeks. Yes, it's always alarming to read the negatives; but Windstar seems to have far more positive reviews than negative ones.

 

Other posters, if you liked Windstar ships that much, why not post reviews? The Wind Surf has only one review on Cruise Critic, and that was from 2002, before the refurbishing of the ship.

[goldendaze]

Well you can count us for a positive review. We have done 5 Windstar cruises since 1996: Istanbul-Athens, Costa Rica, Belize, Nice-Rome, and most recently Tahiti last November. We have been on all the ships before any renovations. I really can't complain about much. Missed a few ports on the Belize trip due to poor planning/new itinerary on Windstar's part but after writing a letter a nice comp was offered. We were supposed to leave from Newark 9/14/01 and Windstar gave us 100% credit toward a future cruise as our flight was cancelled after 9/11 (thus Nice-Rome in 2002).

 

We have not experienced air conditioning problems, food and service is always top notch and we will go on more trips as we like the small ships, great itineraries, open dining, and we always meet nice people.

 

It would be great if some new ships could be built as these ships are aging but I don't know if it will ever be done as these ships would be so expensive to build today.

 

Sebayn, you will love Tahiti. Does anyone know why Windstar is leaving Tahiti?

[SB_Travlr]

Hey Goldendaze -- it was your post that made me think again about doing a pre-cruise stay in Taha'a. We took the plunge (as it were) and now we're really looking forward to it.

 

I had heard (so it's hearsay only, but believable) that Tahiti is more crowded/competitive now that PG and Princess both have ships there full time. I believe when Windsong moved there (in 2002?) the only competition was the PG.

 

I think they might be making a mistake with this move, because what is more perfect for FP than a Windstar ship? :) I guess time will tell...

[goldendaze]

Sebayn,

 

You will be so happy that you are going to the Tahaa Pearl Beach Resort. It is so exotic from the flight to Raitea to the boat ride to Tahaa to the welcome drinks upon check-in, you will feel as if you are on a great adventure - which you are!

 

You will arrive in Papeete late at night so Windstar will put you in the Sheraton for the 1st night so you get to sleep after the long trip and you don't have to get up at the crack of dawn the next day.

 

When we arrived at the Pearl Beach it was the night of their French Polynesian show & buffet...DO IT. Also, if you like to snorkel make sure that you snorkel off the beach, go to the left. It is very shallow but the fish are incredible - real Nemo's.

 

We had room service deliver breakfast to our bungalow....you will feel like you're on your honeymoon again.

 

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. FP is expensive but you can get by, after all you're on vacation!

[ZAMOST]

Am one of the organizers of a group trip (perhaps 14 people) for around September 2005. Last group trip was Radisson Seven Seas Mariner in August 2003 to scandinavia and russia, fantastic trip.

Interested in the Sept '05 trip on the WindSurf from Lisbon to Barcelona, but I too have found some negative reviews at various sites. As always, it is hard to please everyone, but did so with the Mariner.

I assume with the recent makeover that everyone seems pleased with the WindSurf now. All comments welcome...is it easy to transfer positive comments from the other WindStar ships?

Exploring our options...the timing and itinerary match our initial preferences...but those negative reviews are just hanging out there

[cruiseboss]

HI,PLANNING FOR 14 PEOPLE CAN BE HARD. IT IS HARD TO PLEASE EVERYBODY. I HAVE DONE IT A FEW TIMES AND LUCKILY IT WORKED OUT:) I HAVE BEEN ON WINDSTAR, CRYSTAL, RADISSON AND SEABOURNE. EACH CRUISE LINE HAS A PLUS AND A NEGATIVE. WHY DONT YOU CONTACT ME AT THIRDGRADER57@AOL.COM (I AM A TEACHER) AND I WILL ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS.

[cruiseboss]

HI,PLANNING FOR 14 PEOPLE CAN BE HARD. IT IS HARD TO PLEASE EVERYBODY. I HAVE DONE IT A FEW TIMES AND LUCKILY IT WORKED OUT:) I HAVE BEEN ON WINDSTAR, CRYSTAL, RADISSON AND SEABOURNE. EACH CRUISE LINE HAS A PLUS AND A NEGATIVE. WHY DONT YOU CONTACT ME AT THIRDGRADER57@AOL.COM (I AM A TEACHER) AND I WILL ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS.

[ZAMOST]

Thanks for your comments on the message board. I would prefer the itinerary of the WindSurf from Lisbon to Barcelona, but there are a few comments out there about the ship. Generally this group of friends would have fun together anywhere, but I suspect that at a minimum, this group would want an upscale luxury look to the ship as well. Issue of ship stability also important as several people always worried about seasickness

 

Our other option is a Radisson cruise from Athens to Istanbul with destinations in the Black Sea.

 

Any thoughts would be welcome.

[lovecruisingtoo]

Thanks for your comments on the message board. I would prefer the itinerary of the WindSurf from Lisbon to Barcelona, but there are a few comments out there about the ship. Generally this group of friends would have fun together anywhere, but I suspect that at a minimum, this group would want an upscale luxury look to the ship as well. Issue of ship stability also important as several people always worried about seasickness

 

Our other option is a Radisson cruise from Athens to Istanbul with destinations in the Black Sea.

 

Any thoughts would be welcome.

 

 

Stability should not be a problem. Have not saild on the Surf but the Spirit, which is a smaller ship, seems to be more stable than the larger ships. I believe there is another thread on this topic that you should review.

 

Radisson and Windstar are completely different lines. It all depends on what you are really looking for. If you want "casual elegance" and don't want to get dressed up at night etc. then the Windstar series is appropriate. If the people are looking for the "dress-up" atmosphere then you should go on Radisson. Both are good lines but it all depends on what type of a cruise you are looking for.