Just Got An Upgrade

[Spanky My]

on our trip on the star pride without notice  🙂 . We had an ocean suite and now have been upgraded to a french balcony. No price difference. Anyone  had a French balcony cabin on the star pride ? If so how did you like it?

[Strenz]

Congratulation. Balcony suites superb especially if you are sailing in the warm season. We loved the balcony in the Caribbean. Have fun, happy sailing. 

[Spanky My]

Thanks Strenz...We are doing the panama canal and costa rica cruise in november  . Should be fun  🙂

[minidonuts85]

Congrats!!

[bplazo]

We had a french balcony on the Star Breeze and it was nice but not a real balcony.   We only have a porthole on our cruise next month. 

[Redtravel]

Enjoy!   Any cabin on any of Windstar ships is good. We love the large cabins on the Star ships. We are also happy on deck one of the sailing ships. 

[suzeshoes]

Loved the FRENCH balcony! Enjoy!

[Chipshot from Michigan]

On ‎10‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 7:51 PM, Redtravel said:

Enjoy!   Any cabin on any of Windstar ships is good. We love the large cabins on the Star ships. We are also happy on deck one of the sailing ships. 

May I ask why the deck one preference?

[milepig]

2 minutes ago, Chipshot from Michigan said:

May I ask why the deck one preference?

 

The reason most cited is that the lower you are the less you'll be bothered with motion during heavy seas. The compromise is that you need to climb and extra flight of steps, but that is an issue for some and not others.

[Chipshot from Michigan]

26 minutes ago, milepig said:

 

The reason most cited is that the lower you are the less you'll be bothered with motion during heavy seas. The compromise is that you need to climb and extra flight of steps, but that is an issue for some and not others.

Thanks.  Hopefully season and stabilizers will minimize those heavy seas when we sail.

How are engine noise and odors on that deck?

[milepig]

54 minutes ago, Chipshot from Michigan said:

Thanks.  Hopefully season and stabilizers will minimize those heavy seas when we sail.

How are engine noise and odors on that deck?

 

I've never had any issues with odors - except on the Surf  by the back stairway where smoke was bleeding through from the crew smoking area, but reports I saw were that this had been resolved.

 

The entire ship experiences some vibration when they're using the engines, but you don't really notice it until they turn them off to go totally under sail. Sort of like when you don't notice the HVAC noise in your office until it shuts off and everything goes silent.  Never bothered me.

[Redtravel]

We like deck one on Windsurf. Less motion and very quiet. 

[new_cruiser]

I used to prefer Deck 1 on the sailing ships because it's fine saw no reason to pay more to be on Deck 2, but now that my knees are a bit older, I like the convenience of being on Deck 2.  It's nice being one deck closer to dining and the open deck especially at the end of the day. While in theory there will be less motion on Deck 1 than Deck 2, it isn't enough of a difference to be noticeable to me.

[jmbklj]

Back to upgrades..........we just got a free upgrade to a french balcony on our Nov Star Legend San Juan Virgin Islands cruise.

[cruisencrazy]

On 10/11/2019 at 10:56 PM, jmbklj said:

Back to upgrades..........we just got a free upgrade to a french balcony on our Nov Star Legend San Juan Virgin Islands cruise.

So did we!!  See you on the 9th 🙂  We are staying on for 14 days.  I usually like deck 4 because I like to be close to the water for viewing nature, but we will happily enjoy our balcony on deck 6.

[jmbklj]

4 hours ago, cruisencrazy said:

So did we!!  See you on the 9th 🙂  We are staying on for 14 days.  I usually like deck 4 because I like to be close to the water for viewing nature, but we will happily enjoy our balcony on deck 6.

 

Oops, we're on the Nov 30th sailing.

[Chipshot from Michigan]

On 10/17/2019 at 7:18 PM, cruisencrazy said:

I usually like deck 4 because I like to be close to the water for viewing nature, but we will happily enjoy our balcony on deck 6.

What wildlife have you seen while on Windstar cruises?

[cruisencrazy]

56 minutes ago, Chipshot from Michigan said:

What wildlife have you seen while on Windstar cruises?

Nothing yet..spent 3 weeks + 1 more week on Star Breeze and didn't see much, but always watching.  Very calming for me to be on the water.  I am a whale lover and have been lucky enough to see some in unusual places.  Heading to the Caribbean on the Legend and will be watching...

 

[Chipshot from Michigan]

6 hours ago, cruisencrazy said:

Nothing yet..spent 3 weeks + 1 more week on Star Breeze and didn't see much, but always watching.  Very calming for me to be on the water.  I am a whale lover and have been lucky enough to see some in unusual places.  Heading to the Caribbean on the Legend and will be watching...

 

Good luck.  Seeing whales is thrilling, though I have never seen one in the Caribbean.  I know what you mean about being close to the water.  That's a big reason we enjoy small ships.  So what's the most unusual place you've seen a whale?  And how far would you travel to see them?

[jmbklj]

In Iceland in Aug, on the 5th deck we had scads of seagulls flying along side our window. 

[cruisencrazy]

52 minutes ago, Chipshot from Michigan said:

Good luck.  Seeing whales is thrilling, though I have never seen one in the Caribbean.  I know what you mean about being close to the water.  That's a big reason we enjoy small ships.  So what's the most unusual place you've seen a whale?  And how far would you travel to see them?

Seeing whales in the Caribbean near Dominica was unexpected. I’m in search of a Narwhal in Norway or the Arctic. So much travel to do. Of course Hawaii is awesome for whales since they are so active there. 

[Chipshot from Michigan]

50 minutes ago, jmbklj said:

In Iceland in Aug, on the 5th deck we had scads of seagulls flying along side our window. 

Until a naturalist tells you they're actually petrels, fulmars, jaegers, or some other gull-like seabird.

 

I loved watching in-air antics of the albatrosses and giant petrels following our ship in Antarctica. 

[ridethetide]

9 hours ago, Chipshot from Michigan said:

What wildlife have you seen while on Windstar cruises?

While on the Star Legend in Alaska, we saw bald eagles, humpback whales, orcas, sea otters, seals, sea lions, bears, and other wildlife from the ship.

[Host Jazzbeau]

15 minutes ago, Chipshot from Michigan said:

Until a naturalist tells you they're actually petrels, fulmars, jaegers, or some other gull-like seabird.

 

I loved watching in-air antics of the albatrosses and giant petrels following our ship in Antarctica. 

 

Dylan Thomas:  "All trees are oaks, except firs;

                             All birds are robins, except owls."

 

Pretty much sums it up for me 

 

[Chipshot from Michigan]

38 minutes ago, cruisencrazy said:

Seeing whales in the Caribbean near Dominica was unexpected. I’m in search of a Narwhal in Norway or the Arctic. So much travel to do. Of course Hawaii is awesome for whales since they are so active there. 

That's the best kind of upgrade.  No Narwhals for me yet, but belugas near Svalbard were a treat.  Ships where you can be on the bridge are great; you can be present when special wildlife is spotted.