Kootz had a bad experience on Wind Surf. Has anyone had a good (or bad) experience lately?

[Joanandjoe]

We've been considering taking a Wind Surf cruise in Europe this November (Nice to Barcelona or Barcelona to Lisbon); but Kootz's "Just returned.. Windsurf" posting has us concerned. Was her trip an isolated instance of a bad trip, or has travel on this ship become probematic?

 

We would appreciate it if you would share your recent experiences on the Wind Surf, good, bad, or indifferent.

[mousemeat]

We were on the Atlantic crossing in April and loved it. We didn't experience any of the problems Kootz mentioned, or hear of any. Of course we didn't stop at any ports, and the few experiences we had with Walt and Sherri were positive. I was surprised and disappointed at Kootz's posting, since we're going back on the Surf in September.

[lovecruisingtoo]

We have had noting but fantastic cruises on Windstar. Some of the items Kootz mentioned have move to do with expectations than promises that were not kept. For example, not having a waiting area at Nice for people to stay prior to departure. When we sailed out of Nice a few years ago they had the same tent arrangement. This did not bother us. We just left all our luggage at the tent (including hand carry items) and walked around the city and sat in a restaurant watching the people go by. Could not have been more relaxing. Granted, we just flew in from Rome, not the US, so we were not tired from a long international flight. In fact, we normally plan on arriving at the departure port a day or two before the cruise so we don't take a chance of a delayed flight.

 

The problem that happend with the water is something that can happen on any cruise. We were on a Celebrity cruise and the water was off for almost a full day due to leaking pipes.

 

The whole key is to be relaxed and understand that things can and do go wrong at times.

[merryecho]

We enjoyed our windsurf cruise greatly, but have to say the food quality varied a lot. I found out why when the chef gave a cooking seminar. Recipes worthy of a Holiday Inn- i.e. spaghetti carbonara with no eggs and no cream- just lots of olive oil and parmesan. Things with no recipe, like the deck barbecue or lobster, where done very well. And whatever you do, stay away from the windstar house brand wine. Undrinkable, and I am no wine snob.

[dlemma]

I was just on the Wind Surf for the Aug 11-21 Copenhagen-Copenhagen sailing. I had a great time on the Wind Surf - I was very happy with the cabin. The size of the cabin was fine, it was very comfortable, etc. The ship was kept in great condition. The sails were out a fair bit of the time, which I liked.

 

The food was mostly fine. I had the spaghetti carbonara, and my serving had plenty of eggs and cream! I will agree that the lobster was very good, and the deck barbecue was excellent. I also had a lamb shank entree that was absolutely out of this world. And the soups were consistenly very good.

 

No complaints about the wine list - but then I never tried the house wine.

 

My biggest complaint about the cruise had to do with the "UK discount". Apparently about 2 months before the cruise the ship was not sold out. Windstar offered greatly discounted prices to customers in the UK. The rumor was that the UK discount price was about half price. Needless to say, the ship was very quickly sold out. It didn't take long for all of the passengers who paid full price to find out about the discounts - after all, we're on a small ship and there's plenty of time to talk.

Now, as a Windstar alumni (5 times on Windstar) I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't offered some sort of upgrade or at least a nice shipboard credit. It seems that Windstar was more interested in luring new customers in that it was in keeping the repeat customers happy.....

[Pincus]

Once upon a time Windstar did not discount. On our recent Windstar cruise, we noticed that quite a few cabins were available for a long time; however, when we boarded, the ship was full!

 

We learned that Windstar had offered travel agents passage at special rates. While we appreciate our own agent very much, the fact that so many, many travel agents were aboard gave us the impression that it was almost like a group -- or a convention. On a small ship, it is hard for this kind of thing not to become apparent. People do talk, as did the UK passengers that dlemma mentions!

 

Staff was wonderful; dining room food was okay; ship showed its age! But nothing can match the feeling of those marvelous sails unfurling!

 

Pincus