Just boarded the Wind Surf in St Maarten

[tbmrt]

When I booked, they had a special for solo travelers, no solo supplement. :) Thanks Solo Travelers Forum for the heads-up! :cool: It also included a free Premium Beverage package, Free Unlimited Internet, free gratuities and 3 free shore excursions. They're just bus trips, but, hey, I'll see the sights, right? I think most of them end with some beach time. Trust me, if it wasn't for the special and all the freebies, I wouldn't be on Windstar! :D

 

 

Wow if this offer ever comes up again, I'll book quickly!

[#55worktoplay]

Hi Maureen, this is great that it is turning into a live, can't wait for more.

 

I would never go to a Windstar post but when I saw it was you I quickly subscribed. I really enjoy reading about your always humorous adventures!

 

What a deal you got with all the extras.

 

The menus look fantastic too.

 

If you could recreate your lost post I am sure we will enjoy reading it.

 

Have a great time!

 

Thanks

[Rhody1445]

Maureen - thanks so much for posting all his - I can wait for more - I am on Wind Surf leaving March 19 - keep the great stuff coming if it doesn't interfere with you having a great time! So enjoying all the details!

 

Nancy

[CathyK2]

Wow if this offer ever comes up again, I'll book quickly!

 

I agree that it was a great deal. Almost would be worthwhile to book my husband and myself in a solo cabin with a deal like this. hahahahaha. I had heard that this ship mostly attracted couples, but perhaps this was their answer on how to lure in the people traveling solo.

 

Maureen, hope you are having a great time ashore. I'll be out for the evening, so won't be following your live posts, but will definitely check in late tonight or tomorrow afternoon since yes, you are going to get quite a following doing this. Thanks again. I'm so excited and leave in just four more days for St. Maarten/Martin.

[maureencruiser]

I'm baaack! Let me post a few "housekeeping" photos for those of you cruising, like Kathy from the Granite State.

 

In addition to the regular closets, there is additional storage next to the bed.

 

 

The bottom shelf is taken up by two old safes. Saves? Savii?

 

 

Here is the bigger current safe, sorry for the blur.

 

 

For comparison sake, here is my shoe in the safe. Kathy, I hope you're not in Cabin 252. "The room is nice, but, the safe smells like toe jam! "

 

[maureencruiser]

The room comes with a Bose speaker.

 

 

And, a DVD player.

 

 

Here is the Amphora menu for tonight.

 

 

[Host Walt]

Hi Kerrydee! :-) I too loved the menus that Maureen posted. I had heard that the main dining room had limited choices compared to the larger ships, but I'd say that menu had more choices than many cruise ships I've been on, so I was actually pleasantly surprised. AND I'm a HUGE HUGE HUGE prime rib fan, so seeing that on the first nights menu definitely has me excited. I'm hoping the Wind Surf will be an amazing experience for both Maureen and myself.

I love that le sanglier is on the Stella menu (wild boar). We have a nice little French restaurant in my town that serves boar and they get $35.00 for the just the meat and 2 veg's. But the boar is prepared in the French manner and is wonderful.

 

Just one example of why Windstar is our favorite cruise line. Another is the ("crowded") buffet photo posted by Maureen. And needless to say no one should ever leave a Windstar cruise hungry.

 

The small pax load, the attentive staff and the generally congenial attitude of our fellow passengers makes a 7 day cruise way too short.

 

Maureen, seriously, your "live from..." thread is wonderful and you obviously attracted a lot of Maureen fans. I suspect you will be adding another 300 or so fellow passengers to the club.

Edited February 28, 2016 by Host Walt

[maureencruiser]

My first morning on any cruise, I like to have Eggs Benedict. When I looked at the daily for today, I *thought* it said Amphora would be open 7am-9am. That was perfect because I had to be ready for my tour at 8:30. I arrived promply at Amphora and 7am and found.......one guy in there vacuuming. :confused:

Was he gonna stop vacuuming and make my Eggs Benedict? Apparently not, the daily said Amphora was open from 7pm to 9pm. Oops! :o

 

Never one to be without food for long, I quickly recovered and made my way to the buffet. I settled for the usual eggs, sausage, potatoes.

 

 

After I got this, I came around the corner and found an omelet station. Dang, I could have had an omelet. Kids, this is why you should always survey the whole buffet before you start grabbing every morsel of food you see! While I was eating, I glanced at the menu on the table and found this.

 

 

Sweet Fancy Moses! Everything I ever wanted for breakfast and more! See, Kids, this is why it's important to do your homework before the cruise and know what your options are. :o Stay in school, Kids!

[maureencruiser]

I love that le Sanglier is on the menu (wild boar). We have a nice little French restaurant in my town that serves boar and they get $35.00 for the meat and 2 veg's.

 

Just one example of why Windstar is our favorite cruise line. Another is the ("crowded") buffet photo posted by Maureen. And needless to say no one should ever leave a Windstar cruise hungry.

 

Hi Walt, I tell you, I keep looking at the Stella menu and I have decided I just don't like French Food. I'm searching there for something I would enjoy and just not finding anything. It's all duck and scallops and boar and onion things. There is only one French food I like. Who said Fries??? :mad: That is not funny, you whippersnappers need to keep your comments to yourselves! :D French Fries, you give me zero credit! :mad: You know the French food I enjoy, the one thing I have to get on every cruise.

 

 

I had escargot in St Maarten and it was good, but, not as good as what I had on Royal Caribbean on my last cruise. I had the escargot every night on that cruise, it was fabulous! Now, I will say, I had it on the Dutch side, not the French side, that might make a difference.

 

As far as the "crowd" at the buffet, at lunch today, after a day of touring, I don't like to eat out on deck, I like to eat in the air conditioning. At one point today, it was me and seven employees in the buffet. :p

[maureencruiser]

I'm so excited and leave in just four more days for St. Maarten/Martin.

 

Oops, Cathy, not Kathy. Again, stay in school, Kids! Be careful in SXM, I got eaten alive by mosquitoes, my feet are just full of bites. I hope I don't get the Zika Virus. A side note, Windstar did offer to reschedule women of childbearing years who are afraid of getting Zika. I guess my old, deviled eggs are too dried up to reproduce, but, that won't stop me from trying. :eek::D

 

Maureen, seriously, your "live from..." thread is wonderful and you obviously attracted a lot of Maureen fans. I suspect you will be adding another 300 or so fellow passengers to the club.

 

Slick, Walt, you edited your post while I was responding to it. Didn't think I would notice, huh? :D Thanks for the kind words. My fans are coming to Windstar? Oh, Hell, no, there goes the neighborhood, who let in that riffraff? :eek: But, seriously, I was informed of this sale from the Solo board, a great source of information for people like me who travel on a budget. If it's not a great deal, I'm not going. I just can't afford to. That's why I've been sailing MSC so much lately. You just can't beat their prices.

[maureencruiser]

I'm getting myself turned around (180 degrees from ordinary) about which menus I posted and which ones I didn't. So, this might be a repeat, but, here is the lunch menu from today.

 

 

 

I started with a little salad.

 

 

I know it looks a little feta heavy, too bad I didn't have any watermelon from last night.

 

Then, I went back for some chicken, saffron rice and just because I didn't know what the heck it was, corn kernel in blue cheese butter.

 

 

I hate that chicken, she's such a jerk! :D The corn was......interesting. It actually made a nice topping for the rice. Then, it was time for dessert.

[maureencruiser]

Warning: Just because I took a picture of something, doesn't mean I ate it!

 

But, it also doesn't mean I didn't. :D

 

 

 

 

 

What I actually had- a brownie and some bread pudding.

 

 

OMG, I think I'm addicted to bread pudding, I've had it three times since I've been here! This one had blueberries in it. And, if some of that warm vanilla sauce got on my brownie, well, accidents happen. If some of you are wondering what happened to Antigua, I'll post that later. I have my orders from Cathy-Kathy to post menus, food ****, etc. OK, gotta run, just realized its 6:30, time for a port talk. Bye!

[CathyK2]

I'm baaack! Let me post a few "housekeeping" photos for those of you cruising, like Kathy from the Granite State.

 

In addition to the regular closets, there is additional storage next to the bed.

 

 

The bottom shelf is taken up by two old safes. Saves? Savii?

 

 

Here is the bigger current safe, sorry for the blur.

 

 

For comparison sake, here is my shoe in the safe. Kathy, I hope you're not in Cabin 252. "The room is nice, but, the safe smells like toe jam! "

 

 

Gosh, aren't you thorough!!!! Nope not in Cabin 252 hahahaha...but my son is next door in 254 and I'm in 256. Hope the smell isn't spreading THAT far. :-)

 

Are the two old safes usable or are they just taking up space but haven't been removed?

[CathyK2]

The room comes with a Bose speaker.

 

 

And, a DVD player.

 

 

Here is the Amphora menu for tonight.

 

 

 

THANK YOU so very very much for the menus. Have I told you yet how amazing you are? This is so appreciated!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

[CathyK2]

I love that le sanglier is on the Stella menu (wild boar). We have a nice little French restaurant in my town that serves boar and they get $35.00 for the just the meat and 2 veg's. But the boar is prepared in the French manner and is wonderful.

 

Just one example of why Windstar is our favorite cruise line. Another is the ("crowded") buffet photo posted by Maureen. And needless to say no one should ever leave a Windstar cruise hungry.

 

The small pax load, the attentive staff and the generally congenial attitude of our fellow passengers makes a 7 day cruise way too short.

 

Maureen, seriously, your "live from..." thread is wonderful and you obviously attracted a lot of Maureen fans. I suspect you will be adding another 300 or so fellow passengers to the club.

 

Since next week is my FIRST Windstar, I love hearing it is your favorite line. I'm not sure I've had boar. I must live a sheltered life.

[CathyK2]

My first morning on any cruise, I like to have Eggs Benedict. When I looked at the daily for today, I *thought* it said Amphora would be open 7am-9am. That was perfect because I had to be ready for my tour at 8:30. I arrived promply at Amphora and 7am and found.......one guy in there vacuuming. :confused:

Was he gonna stop vacuuming and make my Eggs Benedict? Apparently not, the daily said Amphora was open from 7pm to 9pm. Oops! :o

 

Never one to be without food for long, I quickly recovered and made my way to the buffet. I settled for the usual eggs, sausage, potatoes.

 

 

After I got this, I came around the corner and found an omelet station. Dang, I could have had an omelet. Kids, this is why you should always survey the whole buffet before you start grabbing every morsel of food you see! While I was eating, I glanced at the menu on the table and found this.

 

 

Sweet Fancy Moses! Everything I ever wanted for breakfast and more! See, Kids, this is why it's important to do your homework before the cruise and know what your options are. :o Stay in school, Kids!

 

 

HAHAHAHA!!!!! I had heard it is buffet but then they also had a menu you could order from. So are you going to a counter to order or are you sitting at a table for someone to come by? Perhaps you can get your Eggs Benedict tomorrow!

[CathyK2]

I'm getting myself turned around (180 degrees from ordinary) about which menus I posted and which ones I didn't. So, this might be a repeat, but, here is the lunch menu from today.

 

 

 

I started with a little salad.

 

 

I know it looks a little feta heavy, too bad I didn't have any watermelon from last night.

 

Then, I went back for some chicken, saffron rice and just because I didn't know what the heck it was, corn kernel in blue cheese butter.

 

 

I hate that chicken, she's such a jerk! :D The corn was......interesting. It actually made a nice topping for the rice. Then, it was time for dessert.

 

Nope, you hadn't posted these yet. You are actually very organized getting all these menus. GREAT job. As far as the salad...is this a salad bar that you make your own or is it made by them behind the counter where you tell them what you want put on your salad?

[CathyK2]

Warning: Just because I took a picture of something, doesn't mean I ate it!

 

But, it also doesn't mean I didn't. :D

 

 

 

 

 

What I actually had- a brownie and some bread pudding.

 

 

OMG, I think I'm addicted to bread pudding, I've had it three times since I've been here! This one had blueberries in it. And, if some of that warm vanilla sauce got on my brownie, well, accidents happen. If some of you are wondering what happened to Antigua, I'll post that later. I have my orders from Cathy-Kathy to post menus, food ****, etc. OK, gotta run, just realized its 6:30, time for a port talk. Bye!

 

Great looking desserts. And yes, bread pudding can be great. I know Holland America has a really good one but I don't remember flavors like blueberries in it. How fun!

 

And as far as your "orders"....I have to say I'm giving you an A+++++++++++++++. You have gone over the top for being thorough. Oh, you mean this ship goes places and it isn't all about the food???? hehehehe. I love eating cruise food! :-)

 

How are the port talks?

[tbmrt]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post the pics....Really loving the info!

[maureencruiser]

Gosh, aren't you thorough!!!! Nope not in Cabin 252 hahahaha...but my son is next door in 254 and I'm in 256. Hope the smell isn't spreading THAT far. :-)

 

Are the two old safes usable or are they just taking up space but haven't been removed?

 

They appear usable, you can at least put stuff in them, not sure if they lock, though. I never use the safes, just posted for those who do.

 

Since next week is my FIRST Windstar, I love hearing it is your favorite line. I'm not sure I've had boar. I must live a sheltered life.

 

You mean a boring life? :D:D

[maureencruiser]

HAHAHAHA!!!!! I had heard it is buffet but then they also had a menu you could order from. So are you going to a counter to order or are you sitting at a table for someone to come by? Perhaps you can get your Eggs Benedict tomorrow!

 

You order directly at the omelet station for your eggs. If you want pancakes, etc, you sit at the table and order. Also, at lunch, if you want anything other than the buffet, ie: hamburgers, hotdogs, etc, you sit and order. I slept through breakfast, so no EB for me, more info on that later.

 

.is this a salad bar that you make your own or is it made by them behind the counter where you tell them what you want put on your salad?

 

This is a make your own, if you look at my "crowded" picture, I am sitting, facing the salad bar. There is also a man off to the side who will make you a Caesar Salad. Hold the anchovies, please!

[maureencruiser]

Some more "housekeeping" photos-

 

The photo packages available.

 

 

Fitness (what's that?) Center hours-

 

 

Daily puzzles, I picked up the Sudoko and the Jumble, not the New York Times Crossword. I'm on a cruise, I can't "brain" today.

 

 

That deep ocean blue that my non-cruising friends just don't understand. If you look up towards the top, that grey patch? That's a dolphin. Hold on, I think I have a better picture of him. Really, could it be any worse?:D

[maureencruiser]

Yes, there he is, down at the bottom. National Geographic, here I come!

 

 

One of the photos that the photographer, Kristine, will take is you posing at the bow like you're the King of the World. They did this today, I'll see how mine turned out. She's really nice and took several poses, so we'll see. Oh wait, here I am!

 

[maureencruiser]

Wait, why did the dolphin pic come out so small, I couldn't edit it, let me post it again. The second time's the charm.

 

[maureencruiser]

Cathy, Did you know you can "reply" to my posts without hitting "quote". Or, you can "quote" and delete everything except the sentence or two that you want to refer to. That way, you won't be reposting all my pictures. I enjoy seeing all my breathtaking pictures twice, but, others might not, and it uses up a lot of bandwidth or whatever it is called. :D:D Some folks just don't appreciate fine photography. :p:p

 

OK, so before you all get the impression that all I do is eat, (a pretty good impression, by the way), let me show you a few pics from Antigua.

 

This was one of my free shore excursions, a basic island tour. Before I headed out, I went to reception to change a $20 into four $5's, so, I would have money for tips, etc. Well, they didn't have any 5's, so, they gave me 20 singles. You know what that means?

 

I'm gonna make it rain, all up in here!

 

 

Admit it, how many of you are anal, like me, and counted to make sure there were really 20? :D