Star Legend 5-12 Dec

[vcdarty]

Better late than . . . I guess. Now that it's Boxing Day and things are calming down slightly . . .

 

Had never Windstarred before. Essentially--would do it again. Details:

Spent a few days pre cruise at El Convento in Old San Juan. V highly recommend the hotel. Restaurants not so much, but many swell places nearby.

 

Embarkation: Smooth and swift. One bag misplaced. Staff anxious to help. It appeared right after the efficient muster drill.

 

Cabin: 133, deck 4. Plenty of room and beautifully refurbished from Seabourn days. Pale oak, clever mirrored panels, fine fabrics and subtle, sophisticated color scheme in taupes, tans, greys, deep blues. A bit smaller but comparable in style and finish to, say, penthouses on Crystal and QG on Cunard. Hard pillows, but splendid steward, Jajat, replaced same with softer.

 

Food: Room service for brekkers, always save disembarkation morn. Speedy, hot, courteous, just as ordered. Okky, the rs steward, excellent. Generally good meals in Amphora, esp. seafood risotto, little lamb chops, great osso bucco, beef filet, first rate soups and decent starters. Service horribly rushed first two nights, with everyone showing up at stroke of 7, grumpy servers and dumped-down plates. Daniel, maître d', working hard but too busy to be personable. Understaffed. Disliked Verandah. Really disliked Verandah. Servers usually attentive. Salad makings OK as were desserts when simple. But steam table cafeteria style doesn't please. Food quality average at best. One lunch ordered grilled fish. Never arrived. Execrable hamburger: Frozen spam-like pressed meat substance. Often loud-mouthed adjacent tables too near. Same for Candles. Loud and less than pleasant. Ordered fish--Big Mistake. Frozen, tasteless mess, as was the "lobster carpaccio." Left without dessert.

 

Public Spaces: generally v well, fresh and attractively done. Liked Yacht Club a lot. Comfortable seating, never crowded, a calm cool interior (though those Britannicas scattered about the barren bookshelves seem silly). The deck 5 Lounge never used except for Myron's 6:45 briefings and as staging area for tenders. Handsome enough room except for the shabby stage curtain. Compass Rose doesn't work. Large cold room with dark corners, the casino in a corner, a long uncongenial bar, an unused forlorn piano probably intended as piano bar, and bad acoustics. Always deserted.

 

Ports: a mixed bag. Culebra a mistake. "Our weakest port" as a senior officer confided. Jost likewise lacked much appeal for us. Monserrat worthwhile, esp when Captain R sailawayed along the island to show the disastrous volcanic landscape in gathering dusk. Brrrr. Liked of course Gustavia (shopping! Hermès!) and Marigot (do Not miss lunching at Tropicana). Prickly Pear most pleasant. Soso buffet, strong drinks, beautifully organized, lovely beach w/water sportings.

 

The Tenders: we had no problems whatsoever. Others did. And let you know all about it. The captain did his best, considering the situations, but Windstar let him and his guests down badly.

 

Entertainment: another mixed bag. "Double Malt," a talented young Welsh couple--Kathleen and Scott--she a singer and both on acoustic guitars did their v low keyed best, but not a good fit for this cruise. Tori and Dave, a live-wire duo, much appreciated.

 

This goes on too long. Quick summary: we'll do Windstar again--p

Edited December 26, 2015 by vcdarty
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[Nova Cruisers]

Great report. We are now in airport awaiting flight home.

Agree with almost all of the above. Especially the comment about the encyclopedia Brittanica as a decorating prop. In nice contrast the ship's library was very well stocked. But, with our experience with the tenders and also the swim platform being mostly not functional this week, we would think long and hard about the next itinerary prior to booking.

We did enjoy Culebra and would have enjoyed it more had the weather cooperated. Perfect for an independent beach day on one of the most famous beaches in the world.

The tender problems caused us to miss our rental car in St Martin so we had a drink in the port area and went back to the ship. It appeared they were using the one working tender to ferry groceries rather than passengers. Then had to refuel. Our wait in the lounge was approximately an hour and a half. Luckily the woman screaming about how they were ruining her vacation got on the tender prior to ours. [emoji3]

Hopefully the squeaky wheel will get some grease. These ships use tenders specifically designed for them that fit into the water sports area when not in use. They are apparently original to the ships and thus almost 30 years old. They do not appear to have had the kind of upkeep that the mother ships enjoy. In our experience other lines use modified life boats for tenders so this could be an option for Windstar. My advice for passengers on upcoming cruises is to try and be flexible. If we had not missed our car in St Martin we would have missed the only afternoon the water sports platform was open.

Would also like to give a shoutout to the laundry crew. We had the package and sent a bag out every day (by 9:00am), And it was always back in good shape by 5:00 same day.

Full report to come . . .