First Time booked the Windstar-questions?

[Richmond runners]

Hello,

March 2015 we have booked our first Windstar that I have dreamed of doing for years on a back to back out of St Marten on the Windsurf.

 

We have not booked a hotel for our one night pre and one night post stay in St Marten.

Wondering if anyone has a recommendation.

We don't want to be too far from the port we depart as we will not have a car.

Is there a beach resort that is not far as we only have 24 hours in St Marten.

Any recommendations for excursions that we can't miss?

I have found it very interesting to read about the beverage package and think we will pay as we go.

I did like the suggestion of bringing wine on board. We would have to buy in St Marten prior to boarding. Is it worth it?

Thanks for any suggestions!

[dandee2]

hi,

 

we went to holland house right on the beach in philipsburg and we liked it. we could have taken the water taxi nearby to the cruise port but took the taxi instead. personnal preference as they're both reliable.

 

sonesta maho beach resort also quite good. 2 minutes by taxi from airport. my suggestion would be holland house on the friday and sonesta on the saturday because of your early arrival in st.maarten. holland house doesnt have a pool and your room might not be ready. nice to wait around the pool.

 

other people will have other hotel in mind and from what l hâve read so far they're all quite good.

[Richmond runners]

Hi,

Thank you so much. The Holland house has come up a few times in the search but was worried it had no pool. But, if it is right on the beach that would OK.

Do you know where the Windsurf docks ?

Great to hear from previous experience.:)

[Strenz]

Hi, We enjoy the Holland House for the one night before, nice people, lovely restaurant, nice patio/bar by the beach, and a nice beach in front. The ship docks almost in front, we take the boat taxi about 150 ft from the hotel, takes you right there. For longer stays either before or after we stay at Oyster Bay great beach, pool, 3 restaurants on the small peninsula no need for a car. We like it. In January we are at the HH for the night before, Oyster Bay a few night after. We adore the Windstar have a great time. Susanne

[Richmond runners]

Susanne!

Thank you for the advise. We are so excited as it is our first and I have dreamt of going for years on Windstar. Big birthday warranted it!! We have cruised a lot on the bigger ships and tired of the big ships and wanted something smaller and the sport deck really sounded great.

 

I am glad to hear that the deck 1 is not a bad spot. Our agent told me that her other clients say that you get the same great service as the next deck up. Would love a suite but out of our budget if we wish to do other holidays next year.

Knowing you have done so many it sounds wonderful!

I only wish my trip was sooner like yours. March is still too far away.

Enjoy !!!

[Strenz]

Hi again, The service on the Windstar ships is fantastic and there is absolutely no difference between suites, or floors. Traveling is one of my great loves and the sea is the other born and brought up on the water and live on the water. I can not imagine spending all that money for a suite , same port holes, same bathrooms, we need little space because only travel with a carry on and have for the last 25 years whether it is for 11 days or month, truly 90% of your time not including sleeping is on deck, you will want to be there. We adore the Caribbean, we love the US and British Virgin Islands, we adore the day at sea. I hope you will love it as much as we do. Make sure you make your Candles reservations whe you get on bord it is a great dining venu. We do very little tours because we are very independent travelers and we keep to ourselves and Windstar respects that, not unfriendly we are just quiet people who,love to be on the water. Any questions let me know, great time ahead. Susanne

PS We will also be on the Surf in August for the Tall Ship cruise should be amazing and we are in room number # 138.

[ducklite]

If you like French wine and don't mind it not having much age, there are some decent bargains in St. Maarten.

[Richmond runners]

Hi,thanks

I love red wine but not an expert on wine so I am sure it will be fine for us!

It seems you have done back to back cruises before and have book again. Any suggestions would be great as we have never been on a Windstar but is sounds so great.

We loved the idea of the sports deck as we love the water on it or in it is glorious. I was told by someone that went on the Windstar on a European cruise that they did not put down the deck often as they were in busy ports. That would have been a disappointment to us, but she suggested that in the Caribbean it might be much better.

I love the idea of B2B with 2 different itineraries. so excited to go but March seems so far away!

Thanks

[ducklite]

They only had the sports deck down once or twice while we were in Europe, but to be honest, only one or two people even used it. Everyone else was off exploring the ports. Additionally the water in many of the places we visited wasn't all the clear or beautiful. In the Caribbean I could see it used almost daily, but in Europe, water sports aren't the attraction. Even the pool was barely used--most days it was warm but not really hot enough to want to swim.

[Crusin Kelly]

We are going on Wind Surf - first week of March.

 

Are there any issues with flying into St Maartin the day of departure? Flight scheduled to arrive about noon. Will take a taxi to the other side of the island - should be no problem ... right? ? :(

 

Post-cruise we are 3 days at Westin Dawn Beach Resort for more relaxing before going home. . .:) any word on that resort... anyone :confused:

 

Kelly

[ducklite]

We are going on Wind Surf - first week of March.

 

Are there any issues with flying into St Maartin the day of departure? Flight scheduled to arrive about noon. Will take a taxi to the other side of the island - should be no problem ... right? ? :(

 

Post-cruise we are 3 days at Westin Dawn Beach Resort for more relaxing before going home. . .:) any word on that resort... anyone :confused:

 

Kelly

 

Particularly in late February/early March when weather can be very unpredictable and a major blizzard seems to happen more often than not, I would not want to fly in the day of.

 

The island is small, taxis are readily available.

[Crusin Kelly]

you get a lot of blizzards in Orlando? probably about as many as we do here in Houston. But I understand your comment - blizzards can affect plane availability, etc... we will re-evaluate.

[Snow cat]

Hi,thanks

We loved the idea of the sports deck as we love the water on it or in it is glorious. I was told by someone that went on the Windstar on a European cruise that they did not put down the deck often as they were in busy ports. That would have been a disappointment to us, but she suggested that in the Caribbean it might be much better.

Thanks

 

We did a Caribbean one this year after several in the Med, and were really looking forward to the sports platform being down. (We were always too busy in Europe seeing the sights, plus the weather in the fall or spring isn't conducive, plus I have heard that many of the ports won't allow it there which makes sense with all the boat traffic). Anyhow, it was down in the Caribbean pretty much all the time that I looked, but honestly, it was a bit rougher than I had been imagining as the boat seems to anchor just outside the harbour, and although we did use it once just to say we did, overall it wasn't the highlight I had been picturing.

 

Didn't matter though, the cruise was wonderful as always, and we have another booked next year.

[SailorJM]

Back to original question re hotels:

We loved the Royal Pasanggrahan which is a little further down the boardwalk from the Holland House. Wonderful Caribbean feel. Great people-watching, close to beach and ocean, very nice open-air bar and open-air restaurant, lots of flora and fauna.

 

Two sections to this hotel: the older section, with very nice typical rooms, and the new section that is all suites, and very large, very nice suites at that! The bathrooms are huge, with tub, large separate shower and a private toilet area plus lots of counter space. Big comfortable beds, large sitting room area, kitchenette, and either a patio or a large deck. Ask for the beach side of the hotel (great views), not the street side: very busy street.

 

Boardwalk is lots of fun, with street musicians, lots of funky bars, good restaurants, beach toy rentals, etc. This boardwalk hotel is closest to the docks, but still not in walking distance for most folks.

 

Pasanggrahan let us leave a locked suitcase with our travel clothes since we were staying there pre and post cruise. Really nice not to have to tote those onboard.

 

Pasnggrahan has a very good, but limited dinner menu and an extensive breakfast menu (we didn't eat lunch there). Turn left on the boardwalk and walk to it's end (about a block) and turn right and you'll find the Greenhouse open-air restaurant. Loved that one, for dinner and for lunch or just for a Caribbean brew or rum drinks, etc.

[dandee2]

For Candles, ie the open air dinning area at the back of the ship, it is quite windy out there at time. Try to reserve Candles the day that the ship is anchored overnight but make sure it's not the same night as the deck BBQ.

 

As for arriving the same day, even though you're probably flying from the southern states, any bad weather up north might/will affect scheduling across US and Canada. A day ahead would make it easier to get on "island time".:)

 

Cheers,

[6rugrats]

you get a lot of blizzards in Orlando? probably about as many as we do here in Houston. But I understand your comment - blizzards can affect plane availability, etc... we will re-evaluate.

 

The plane flying you from Houston will come from another airport that may have be impacted by bad weather. The only time I ever risked flying in the day of a cruise was flying from Seattle to Vancouver, early in the morning, in July.

Edited November 11, 2014 by 6rugrats

[stcruise]

In a perfect world, it is probably better to fly in a day or two before a cruise. However, there have been cruises for Tom and I where it was just not possible. We have flown in day of to St. Marten, San Juan, and Barcelona (to name a few - there may be others I can't remember). So far, we have been very fortunate and not encountered any problems.

 

What I did on those cruises was investigate a back-up plan in case we had any delays. I check where the first port in the itinerary is and how we could get there if delayed. We do get travel insurance so that would help cover additional costs; although our primary reason to get insurance is for cancellation should one of our elderly parents (87, 89, 91) have problems that would prevent us from going.

 

It's somewhat a game of odds no matter what you do. I do know of one couple who was going in two days prior. There was a huge storm and they were not able to get out for several days - all the planes they could have gotten on were already fully booked and were unable to accommodate those who were cancelled by the storm. So, while you do increase your chances of making it by going in early, it is certainly not a guarantee!

[ducklite]

Ironically European cruises are probably safer to fly in day of. It is more rare for flights to be cancelled or delayed--heavies and overseas flights are always given landing priority. Additionally on many itineraries you can take the train to the next port (the following day) and beat the cruise ship there.

[Katbird93]

We stayed at Holland House 2 nights pre cruise last February. Like the hotel and location was great. Even without a pool there are a lot of beach areas to lounge. We also did do the beverage package - it works for us. I would definitely recommend atleast coming 1 day prior to your cruise. Our traveling companions last year booked 1 day ahead and almost did not make the ship.

Enjoy!

[StageTroll]

Wine in St. Maarten is an exceptionally good deal. Much better selection than on the ship and much cheaper even after paying the $15 corkage fees. Bacchus on the French side is our go to wine shop.

[Richmond runners]

Thanks so much!

Great to know a good wine store and that the prices are worth buying and taking on the ship.

All these suggestions are wonderful! Thanks you!