Which of these 3 itineraries would you pick?

[morgan5]

Hi - we are newbies to Windstar, but not to small ship sailing.  We are considering going on the Wind Surf in January of 2021 for a 7 nighter.  Which of these 3 Caribbean itineraries seems like the best combination?  Just a background - we are a 50 year old couple, fairly active, into sailing, water activities, culture, beautiful scenery, off-the-beaten-track destinations, and relaxing with a beer or glass of wine.  We do not like crowds or over-touristy places.  We have visited the US and British Virgin Islands consistently for the last couple of decades, and while we absolutely love it there, we are looking to venture out of our comfort zone, hence these 3 itineraries focusing on the areas south of the Virgin Islands.

 

1) Lush & Lovely Antilles - Starting in St. Maarten, St. Kitts, St. Barts, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Lucia, ending in Barbados (swim deck open 3 times)

 

2) Jewels of the Windward Islands - Starting in Barbados, St. Lucia (overnight), Martinique, Mayreau, Grenada, Bequia, ending in Barbados (swim deck open only 1 time)

 

3) Windward Wonders - Starting in Barbados, Dominica, Montserrat, St. Barts, Antigua, Guadeloupe, St. Lucia, ending in Barbados (swim deck open 3 times)

 

Thanks for any input!

[ahottoddie]

We leave for our first Windstar trip on the 29th...we will be on the Windsurf out of St Maarten...our itinerary is close to your #1 and #3...I will come back and give you feedback after our trip 😎🌴🍹

[ridethetide]

The buried city on Montserrat was such a fascinating place.  I would definitely opt for an itinerary that includes Montserrat.

[Strenz]

Hi, Lots of WS cruises in the Caribbean. You are in for a treat. I love Bequia small, beautiful beaches, if you mean Ils des Saints for  Guadeloupe, love that island, Walk to Plage  de Pompiers with the goats, the grouchiest best, authentic crepe maker in N. America ( all in the grain ), Dominica has my heart, fabulous people, gardens, waterfalls, hire a guide, love Barbados stay at the Crane and eat at Clampers with a terrific art gallery, fabulous setting literally over the water, love the Divi in St.Martin, great pools and beach, have to take a tour in Martinique "  Anolitours "  Mary the owner she will take you to a restaurant where we had the greatest conch of our life, the beach where the Surf tenders dock not great, cabs expensive,  Mayreau great, great beach, Soufierie on St. Lucia great not Castries, Pigeon Island beach ok. All our opinion, I adore the BVIs as well. You will have a great time. Swim platform is at the will of the ocean! Happy Sailing, we just came home from a 14 day, fabulous as usual for us. Happy Sailing

[texasstar]

Wow Strenz!  You make me want to go!  I will save your post for future travels.  We haven't been recently because it is so difficult to get there and back from the west coast.   It is always a pleasure to read your post.

 

[ahottoddie]

We are staying at the Divi in St Maarten fo 3 days prior...looking forward to the whole trip...thanks for all of the info 

[honumaui]

We love the Surf but as was mentioned..traveling from the west coast to St Maartin is tricky.  We fly to S. M the day before and stay a day after.  This year we are going to fly from S.M. to Miami..spend a night in an airport hotel and fly to the west coast the next day. I actually saved enough on air by flying on different days to cover the post cruise hotel charges. Plus we won't be rushed to make connections. We will consider the hotel stays as part of the vacation.

[Spanky My]

I would definitely pick #2 .

 

Mayreau and Bequia are small but quiet places with great beaches. All of the others on that Itinerary are good as well. That would be my choice and wish we were taking that cruise.  Have Fun  . 

[Misty Morning]

The only things I don’t like in #2 is the overnight in Castries which is a total waste of time and the fact the platform will only be open in Bequia (Mayreau is  beach BBQ). Grenada is Ok if not too any ships in town. I prefer #1 because of St Barth, Dominica and Les Saintes (Guadeloupe). St. Kitts is also nice but you need to find a quiet beach as it can be a busy port ( or take the ferry to go to quieter Nevis for the day).  We have been to Montserrat and the Buried City Tour is impressive and worth it

[morgan5]

Thanks all!  I love reading everyone's opinions on all of these fabulous stops.  Just as a I suspected would be the case, there seem to be advantages to all 3 itineraries.

 

I think we've decided to go with option 1 - the Lush and Lovely Antilles.  Mainly because of the date that it is offered, but also because the islands of Dominica, St. Barts, Guadeloupe and Montserrat intrigue me.  I am sad that we will miss seeing Bequia and Mayreau, but I guess we'll have to leave those for another trip that focuses on the Grenadines.  I too, was hesitant of itinerary 2 because of the overnight in St. Lucia.  That didn't seem to appeal to me too much, because I don't see us taking advantage of being overnight on the island.

 

Also thanks for the tips on where to overnight before and after the cruise.  We do plan to arrive at least 1 night prior, so I will research those hotels in St. Maarten.  We will probably haul it back home (to the Midwest) the day the cruise ends, so will most likely not be able to stay over in Barbados.

 

Ahottoddie - please report back after your trip!

 

Thanks again everyone, cheers!

[Strenz]

Texasstar, Thanks for your kind words, go great vacation. Speaking of getting there, Boston miserable if you leave for St.Martin at 6:30 via Miami you do not get there until 9:30 pm, no direct route to Barbados either. We go down 2 nights ahead. Getting there is the worst part of the journey but once there bliss. Happy Sailing

Morgan5 have a great trip. We loved the Divi, close to the port, in the am you see the masts of the Surf. We have also stayed at the Holland House right on the beach, very close to the cruise port, no pool, nice restaurant. The back of it faces the main street not great a pavoom of tourist shops but you do not see it from the hotel. Great place for a one night stay. Nice people. Enjoy and Happy Sailing

[minidonuts85]

We also love the Holland House when sailing from SXM.

 

honomaui- I feel your pain. Were in San Diego and the trek is quite a long one but worth it! When we left the Windsurf in January, we also did an overnight in Florida and left the next day back home. We contemplated a flight that would have gotten us home the same day but the connection in Charlotte was only 1.5 hours; not enough time to go through customs and make the connection home. 

 

morgan5- This post also helped me tremendously as we’ve been contemplating ourselves for Jan 2021. We’ve done the Yachtmans Caribbean a number of times and want to try a different itinerary. Dates have been a challenge with some other trips we have planned. Be interested in hearing which one you end up booking! 

 

Pics are view from the Holland house; sunset and the next morning waking up to see the Windsurf :)

[ahottoddie]

Yes, cross country Caribbean adventures are just that...For the first time ever (due to the flight schedules vs days we wanted to travel) I booked us on all one way trips with different carriers and actually saved $$ in addition to getting there and back on "our" schedule...Red eye out of LAX to MIA, 3 hr layover then MIA to SXM...return SXM to Fort Lauderdale and overnight, then home the next day...kept all of the flights on the southern part of the country due to the time of year...

Minidonuts - Thanks! for the pics...makes the next week go that much faster (I hope)...

[Doh15]

My family was teasing me about the odd hour flights we took to get to Barbados— until they heard the stories from other people on the ship. 😉. 
 

Really liked Barbados, Martinique, Bequia and the beach bbq on Mayreau.  Have been to St Barts before and it’s wonderful. Would like to see Dominica and Guadeloupe. 

[Second seating]

We are on the Yachtsman's Caribbean in November and needed one night stay in St. Maarten, due to a Holiday weekend we are staying at the Sonesta Maho Beach. It is near the airport and not far from the pier with what looks like a nice beach! We have stopped over in St. Maarten many times on cruise but this is the first overnight.

 

Second seating

[morgan5]

We just booked the Lush and Lovely Antilles on the Wind Surf for January! Very excited. Thank you all for the St. Maarten hotel suggestions. I asked my travel agent about the hotel that Windstar uses if we opt in for their overnight hotel package and it is The Hommage and the price they want is very high, so I'm leaning towards a beach view room at Holland House as I love the idea of waking up and seeing the ship out our window.  The price Windstar wants for the Hommage is almost double the Holland House - it did include transfers from the hotel to the ship, but I don't think it included them from the airport to the hotel.

 

Flights are also reserved.  It's never easy going anywhere from where we live (smack dab in the middle of the country with only a regional airport close by), but we will survive. Now we have to wait 10 1/2 months!