March 4 Wind Star Costa Rica - Doing the Doc Dance!

[Leejnd4]

We received our cruise documents today for our March 4 Costa Rica cruise on Wind Star. Not sure why they came so early -- we've never received cruise docs this early for any cruise. But I'm sure not complaining! It means I get to do the traditional Doc Dance. :D

 

Anyone else on this cruise get their docs yet?

 

LeeAnne

[mpfund]

Hi Leeanne,

 

We'll be on the March 4 cruise with you. I've read your reviews/postings on the "other" board with great pleasure -- you have a great way with words!

 

We've been on Wind Surf (the larger sister ship) twice before, and have been to Costa Rica twice before. Looking forward to this trip!

 

We're a bit older than you (your Mom's age), but we still like to have fun. You can generally find us at the bar -- I'll be the one with the wine in one hand and cig in another.

 

Margery

[Leejnd4]

Well Margery I can't wait to meet you! I'll be at the bar right along with you, with a glass of wine in one hand...and a glass of wine in the other hand, too! ;)

 

LeeAnne

[P1]

Hello Leanne and Margery

We too are booked on the WindStar on the 4th March

Leave Ventura on Thursday 2nd and spend Thurday night in Miami and Friday night in San Jose on the way there.

Booked through Larry at Cruise Holidays in T.O.

Any advice on the footwear needed in the rain forests ?

Philip

[Leejnd4]

Hello Philip! Looks like we're neighbors!

 

Good question about the footwear...I'm not sure. I've got my hiking boots, which hopefully will do fine. I've also got water shoes, but I'm not sure if I'd wear those in the rain forest.

 

We're flying out on a redeye late Thursday night, and spending Friday night with friends who live in Costa Rica, about an hour from Puerto Caldera, where we board.

 

Looking forward to meeting you both once we're onboard!

 

LeeAnne

[mpfund]

I would recommend an old pair of ratty sneakers/tennis shoes. You may find the hikes are wet, muddy,muggy and hot. You may also find yourself walking through water. Hiking boots are heavy and bulky to carry and not really necessary. Sandals are not a good idea, as you want your feet covered.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Margery

[Leejnd4]

Margery, thanks for the tips. I have a couple pairs of old running sneakers that I've worn down, so I'll bring one of those.

 

It's getting closer -- time to start setting some things aside for packing!

 

LeeAnne

[P1]

Thanks Margery, That's what I wanted to hear.

Couldn't rationalize the effort required to carry a pair of heavy hiking shoes for a few hours of use but had wondered if runnig shoes/sneakers would be sufficient. The Windstar brochure says "heavy walking shoes" on the same page it says "travel light" <g>.

Next question:-

Last time we were on the Windsong I seem to remember that the space under the bed wouldn't accept the luggage we had with us at the time, so this time I have been thinking of using large but soft hold-all bags instead of a rigid suitcase.

Any comments ?

Philip

[Leejnd4]

Wow, Philip you are asking all the right questions! I ruined our big suitcase on my last cruise, so I have to go out and buy something new this week. I'll be interested in learning if we'd be better off w/ soft bags.

 

LeeAnne

[mpfund]

Gosh, I can't really advise you. We've only been on the Wind Surf, and since we travel pretty light, and with softsided luggage, we've always managed to stuff our suitcases somewhere out of sight. Maybe you could phone/email the main office to ask? Maybe the ship can store your luggage?

 

Hope I can be a bit more useful on any further questions!

 

Margery

[P1]

I am pretty certain that when we were on the Wind Song we used our duffel with wheels that has a solid panel at the wheel end that measures 13"

It would not fit under the bed and had to go in the closet therebye using up a lot of the closet space.

It was enough of a nuisance to leave an unpleasant memory and we need to avoid that this time around.

Soft sides rule !

[Leejnd4]

Philip,

 

I noticed you've been on the Paul Gaugin. I'm a huge Radisson fan -- been on the Voyager in the Med last year, and this year I'm booked on the Mariner from Auckland to LA, through French Polynesia. We'll be visiting many of the same ports as the PG, only on a different RSSC ship. We were originally booked on the PG, but then changed to the Mariner when we saw a great deal on this 18-day crossing. We'll have lots to talk about if we encounter each other on the Wind Star! :)

 

Meanwhile, I'm going to see if I can find some soft-sided luggage that will work for us. I do like to have wheels, as I have a lower-back problem and have a difficult time carrying heavy items. We'll see what I can find.

 

LeeAnne

[P1]

Last weekend there was a boaters swap meet at Channel Islands boat yard in Port Heuneme. I picked up a terrific, like new, soft-sided, bright yellow, diving duffel for $10. It even has a built in back-pack. That's what I am going to use on this trip now that I don't need a jacket and tux.

Watch for it in 2 weeks. You can't miss it. There can only be one. <g>

Took me a while to figure out how you knew that we had been on the Paul Gaugin. I last used my signature prior to sailing on the Infinity from LA to Hawaii when about 26 couples were signed into Roll-Call. We even had a couple of special parties.

Philip

[Leejnd4]

Philip, I will keep my eyes peeled for a bright yellow diving duffel! :D

 

We leave two weeks from today....

 

LeeAnne

[nancyrg]

we are considering this cruise for next year-i have a question.....where do you fly to to get this cruise.....i want to price airfare

 

thanks

nancy

[Leejnd4]

You fly into San Jose, and then get some sort of transportation to the port. Others will have to give you more details on the ground transport -- I know there is at least one shuttle service -- but we have friends there who are going to pick us up.

 

LeeAnne

[nancyrg]

LeeAnne:

thanks for the information

have a GREAT cruise

cannot wait to hear all about it when you return

 

nancy

[Leejnd4]

Philip & Margery,

 

I watched the most wonderful show about Costa Rica on the travel channel last night! They really highlighted the zipline canopy tour, which got me even more excited, as we will definitely be doing that. The rainforest looked amazing -- so lush and teeming with amazing wildlife. I'm getting so excited I can barely see straight!

 

Unfortunately, yesterday I kinda hurt myself -- I went on a hike with my family, and on a rather slippery down-hill trail my feet slid out from under me, and I fell! I landed on my hip on a stump, and scraped up my forearm really badly. I've got a huge, multi-colored and practically florescent bruise on my bum, and a nasty road rash on my arm! I just hope I'm healed enough to not have the ocean water bother my arm when I go snorkeling or swimming.

 

So look for the gal with the road rash scabs on her right fore-arm -- that'll be me!

 

Less than two weeks to go...have you started packing yet? :D :D :D

 

LeeAnne

[P1]

Sorry to hear about your mishap. Where were you .... Sycamore Canyon ?

Hopefully you should be sufficiently healed in 10 days to go in the water.

Welcome to the world of the aging body that doesn't bounce back like it used to do.

Millie too is sick .... with a virus picked up from our grandson, (who lives in Moorpark) Just hope I don't get it next <g>

P1

[Leejnd4]

Good guess, Philip -- I love Sycamore Canyon! Actually, this time we were in Wildwood, hiking down to the waterfall. We figured it would be particularly beautiful after the recent rains. My family has renamed it LeeAnne Falls. LOL!

 

My arm is doing better than I thought -- none of the scratches are all that deep, so I'm sure I'll be fine by then. I'll probably still have some colorful bruises, tho!

 

Tell Millie I hope she gets over her virus quickly -- we've too much fun stuff coming up to let anything slow us down, right?

 

LeeAnne

[P1]

A few days ago you mentioned the "Zipline canopy tour" that you had seen on t.v.

Is that the same as the "Congo Trail canopy tour " at Playa del Coco?

Tour # 70761

P1

[Leejnd4]

Yes -- zipline, canopy, same thing. We're not going to do the zipline at Playa del Coco because our friends who live in Costa Rica are taking us to another place with a more extensive zipline after the cruise. But I am REALLY looking forward to it! I'm tempted to do both, but I don't think my husband will let me. ;) Maybe if I pump enough drinks into him onboard, I can talk him into it.

 

Are you going to do it?

 

LESS THAN A WEEK TO GO before we leave!!! (Am I ready? Hell no!):eek:

 

LeeAnne

[Leejnd4]

Margery and Philip, we have another CC member on board with us -- Cmlva (I didn't get a first name), who recently booked the owner's suite. We should all make plans to say hello the first night. I'm not sure how to go about doing that, as I have no idea what time we'll be doing what. Would you like to say that we'll meet for a drink before dinner? If so, any preference about time? I was thinking maybe 6:00 pm, which would give us some time to say hello before we head into the restaurant for dinner.

 

I had to go out yesterday and buy a suitcase -- when I pulled out the one I used on my last cruise, it basically fell apart! Now all I've got to do is fill it. Which I haven't even begun yet -- but I'd better get started, given that we leave in THREE DAYS!

 

Woohoo! :D :D :D

 

LeeAnne

[P1]

Hello LeeAnne, Margery and cmlva,

I only remember one bar on the Wind Song and that was in the open-air up by the pool. Is there another ?

I just checked with Windstar to find out how much they charge for the email privilege. To my surprise the answer was :-

$1 per minute on-line or $55 for 100 minutes or $100 for 250 minutes.

As I remember from other ships, one is not allowed to work off line then shoot the message. Creation time is charged the same $1 per minute, so even a simple short message can take two or three minutes or more.

Cingular on the other hand will sign you up for international roaming for free.

Text messaging is 50 cents per minute outgoing and 10 cents per minute incoming and the messaging can be sent from a computer and received back stateside at a computer. Phone calls are $2.30 per minute from Costa Rica unless you buy the Cingular $6 package then the call price drops to $1.99 per minute.

You can call anytime before you leave to switch the service on and as soon as you get back to swithch the service off. They will pro-rate the $6 accordingly.

Philip Alva Schofield.

[P1]

Don't know why my "signature " has suddenly started to appear after each message. Until now my messzges have appeared at my end as P1 only. That's why earlier I couldn't understand how you knew about our trip on the Paul Gaugin. I had completely forgotten about the bragging rights signature

from a Roll Call a couple of years ago when everyone was doing it.