Wind Surf Impressions

[Misty Morning]

We just got off a 7 day cruise on the Wind Surf and would like to give our impressions on the ship and our cruise after a 3 year pandemic induced hiatus.  We last sailed the Surf in March 2020 (the last cruise before everything was halted), however we did sail 16 days on the Star Pride in November so I think it's opportune to make comparisons.

 

Food:  Continues to be excellent, many people raving about the food, even long time Seabourn clients who had never been on Windstar said the food and service was just as good on Windstar as Seabourn, so it goes to show how good it is.  Yes there is no longer lobster at the deck BBQ but they now have it on the last night in Amphora.  Had dinner once in Candles (veal chop is back and was great) and twice in Stella (rack of lamb and coquille St Jacques) and all were excellent.  Just a note on dress code, they do enforce the no shorts policy in Amphora, we saw group of 6 with one person in Bermuda shorts and Maitre d' told to them they either need to change or they could go to Candles which they took up.  Nice way of deflecting a problem

 

Air conditioning.  We had AC issues on the Pride in November and it seems there are still problems with it as we speak.  However this was not a problem on Wind Surf,  AC worked well, just too well.  There is no fan adjustments in the rooms just a temperature adjustment.  The fan speed however was on full blast all day and all night and was very noisy.  I did not remember it being as noisy on our previous Wind Surf cruises (we had done 4 prior to this cruise).  Heard similar comments from a few cruisers.

 

Rooms:  Had no issues with room, however the location aft on deck 3 (309, upgraded from 109) meant the room was shaking hard when the captain was backing up the ship to drop anchor in the morning and there was also noise from of the tenders being lowered, which lasted a minute or two.  Next time would choose a room more in the center as in the past we had always been forward

 

Sail away/Sails.  Sail Away continues to be a highlight for many Windstar passengers, especially on the sailing ships (a bit underwhelming on the Star Ships).  However many passengers, including myself, felt the music was just not loud enough.  If you want to make a dramatic statement on sail away, ensure the music can be heard loudly from many areas of the ship.  That being said, the sails were also not out much due to strong winds.  This is becoming more and more of an issue as people expect the sails and yet they were only out a few hours all week.  If this is going to be the new normal (i.e. less sails), I am leaning more and more towards the renovated Star Ships, with their larger rooms and what I feel is a better and larger centralized pool and bar layout but can understand why some people may like the little private nooks and crannies spread out all over the Surf

 

Crew/Service: Great as usual.  Gradually there are more and more women in bartending and waiter position which is a welcome change.

 

Stops:  This cruise had no sea days and 6 tender ports. Falmouth/English Harbour got replaced with St John's in Antigua due to swells (more on this below) and the Wind Surf no longers enters into the North Sound Channel in Virgin Gorda due to the BVI authorities not dredging or surveying the channel which was already close the Wind Surf's 5.4 meter draught (the Star Ships can enter the channel as they are lighter than the Surf).  It now anchors north of Prickly Pear which makes for a rougher exposed tender ride.  Falmouth/English Harbour is also getting problematic as the Authorities are no longer allowing the Surf to anchor inside Falmouth Bay but on its outskirts which leaves the ship more exposed to high swells.  The ship had to call in St John's (really not as nice as English Harbour) at least 50% of the time this winter.  St Barth's and Montserrat have also been problematic tender ports this winter for similar reasons as the ships are forced by the authorities to anchor further and further away.  This is something Windstar management should start looking into as many people book these cruises for these ports specifically only to have them replaced at the last minute.  I understand security comes first

 

Finally, having been on the renovated Star Pride, it is becoming clear that the Surf is due for a major drydock (last one was in early 2019 to take out casino).  The ship, especially the outside and the decks, are looking tired and a bit rusty.  All deck and stateroom furniture would need to be replaced.  However the public rooms and restaurants still look good but areas around the pool bar and Compass Rose would need to be redone completely.  As for the space, there were 270 passengers onboard and while there are nooks and crannies everywhere with chairs, they may be far from the pool or bar.  Pool area was always busy, with chairs taken up quickly.  We enjoyed the expanded deck space on Star Pride, there were always chairs available (there are close to 100 chairs available in the pool area vs about half of that on the few decks near the pool on the Wind Surf.

 

Still an amazing cruise but will definitely focus on Star Ships in the future.

[Strenz]

I wrote a review ( review section of CC ) of our Christmas Cruise, I guess I am lucky I do not really notice things like scratches etc. I did notice the decking there were  places it needed a redo. There was a sail missing but our other sails were up I would say 99% of the daylight, that I notice because I love sails. We could not go into Falmouth Harbor twice and St. Barts twice and at Prickly Pear  were were anchored further out. The swells were big and speaking to friends in PR they said all winter thus far the Caribbean there has been different, rougher weather and swells. I have been going to the Caribbean sailing since I was 17, 74 now, it does seem to be rougher. 

27 times with WS, all sailing ships with the exception of one,  for what is important to me: sails, great shower water pressure and hot shower water, laundry service, greatest service is still there. 

I am at a disadvantage we have only sailed with WS with the exception of two supply ships and one river cruise. Yes, the a/c has been loud at times. On our Christmas cruise the food was the best we ever had. I mentioned that on my review. Food is my hobby, I can safely say it was superb. Lobster tails at the barbecue mean nothing to me they are frozen, then again I am from lobster land New England. I hope they spiff up the Surf, we adore her and that WS experience.  I hope she is sail worthy long in the future.Missing sails need to replaced.  We are on the Pride,  Reykjavik to Montreal in the fall, can't wait. Happy Sailing all. 

[6rugrats]

The Wind Surf has always been my least favorite ship, and I have been on all of them.  I will be on the Pride soon, and it will be interesting to see if there is any change with the increase in passenger numbers.

[Strenz]

Each to our own, love the Surf the most, love the smaller sailing ships too. We crossed the Pacific on the Spirit, superb and we continued after that for the Tahiti cruise,  as well fabulous. We were once on a motor yacht the Breeze before redo, we totally enjoyed it, but missed the sails. As stated on the Pride  for Reykjavik to Montreal in September can't wait.  We think the Caribbean and the Mediterranean seas screech sailing as does the Lagoona in Tahiti.    All good. Happy Sailing. 

[ChrisC101]

Leaving next week for Wind Spirit in Tahiti!  Our first WS experience. 😎

[Strenz]

Hope you love your decision to be on a sailing ship in that beautiful lagoon, hope you can see the reflections of the sails as they  bounce off the islands, hope you can experience the magic of silence as you sail without motors in that beautiful part of the world, hope you can imagine what it was like to sail centuries ago in the surrounding waters and hope you will never tire of  magnificent vistas as you sail along.   Happy Sailing

 

[milepig]

On 2/26/2023 at 8:15 PM, Misty Morning said:

We just got off a 7 day cruise on the Wind Surf and would like to give our impressions on the ship and our cruise after a 3 year pandemic induced hiatus.  We last sailed the Surf in March 2020 (the last cruise before everything was halted), however we did sail 16 days on the Star Pride in November so I think it's opportune to make comparisons.

 

Food:  Continues to be excellent, many people raving about the food, even long time Seabourn clients who had never been on Windstar said the food and service was just as good on Windstar as Seabourn, so it goes to show how good it is.  Yes there is no longer lobster at the deck BBQ but they now have it on the last night in Amphora.  Had dinner once in Candles (veal chop is back and was great) and twice in Stella (rack of lamb and coquille St Jacques) and all were excellent.  Just a note on dress code, they do enforce the no shorts policy in Amphora, we saw group of 6 with one person in Bermuda shorts and Maitre d' told to them they either need to change or they could go to Candles which they took up.  Nice way of deflecting a problem

 

Air conditioning.  We had AC issues on the Pride in November and it seems there are still problems with it as we speak.  However this was not a problem on Wind Surf,  AC worked well, just too well.  There is no fan adjustments in the rooms just a temperature adjustment.  The fan speed however was on full blast all day and all night and was very noisy.  I did not remember it being as noisy on our previous Wind Surf cruises (we had done 4 prior to this cruise).  Heard similar comments from a few cruisers.

 

Rooms:  Had no issues with room, however the location aft on deck 3 (309, upgraded from 109) meant the room was shaking hard when the captain was backing up the ship to drop anchor in the morning and there was also noise from of the tenders being lowered, which lasted a minute or two.  Next time would choose a room more in the center as in the past we had always been forward

 

Sail away/Sails.  Sail Away continues to be a highlight for many Windstar passengers, especially on the sailing ships (a bit underwhelming on the Star Ships).  However many passengers, including myself, felt the music was just not loud enough.  If you want to make a dramatic statement on sail away, ensure the music can be heard loudly from many areas of the ship.  That being said, the sails were also not out much due to strong winds.  This is becoming more and more of an issue as people expect the sails and yet they were only out a few hours all week.  If this is going to be the new normal (i.e. less sails), I am leaning more and more towards the renovated Star Ships, with their larger rooms and what I feel is a better and larger centralized pool and bar layout but can understand why some people may like the little private nooks and crannies spread out all over the Surf

 

Crew/Service: Great as usual.  Gradually there are more and more women in bartending and waiter position which is a welcome change.

 

Stops:  This cruise had no sea days and 6 tender ports. Falmouth/English Harbour got replaced with St John's in Antigua due to swells (more on this below) and the Wind Surf no longers enters into the North Sound Channel in Virgin Gorda due to the BVI authorities not dredging or surveying the channel which was already close the Wind Surf's 5.4 meter draught (the Star Ships can enter the channel as they are lighter than the Surf).  It now anchors north of Prickly Pear which makes for a rougher exposed tender ride.  Falmouth/English Harbour is also getting problematic as the Authorities are no longer allowing the Surf to anchor inside Falmouth Bay but on its outskirts which leaves the ship more exposed to high swells.  The ship had to call in St John's (really not as nice as English Harbour) at least 50% of the time this winter.  St Barth's and Montserrat have also been problematic tender ports this winter for similar reasons as the ships are forced by the authorities to anchor further and further away.  This is something Windstar management should start looking into as many people book these cruises for these ports specifically only to have them replaced at the last minute.  I understand security comes first

 

Finally, having been on the renovated Star Pride, it is becoming clear that the Surf is due for a major drydock (last one was in early 2019 to take out casino).  The ship, especially the outside and the decks, are looking tired and a bit rusty.  All deck and stateroom furniture would need to be replaced.  However the public rooms and restaurants still look good but areas around the pool bar and Compass Rose would need to be redone completely.  As for the space, there were 270 passengers onboard and while there are nooks and crannies everywhere with chairs, they may be far from the pool or bar.  Pool area was always busy, with chairs taken up quickly.  We enjoyed the expanded deck space on Star Pride, there were always chairs available (there are close to 100 chairs available in the pool area vs about half of that on the few decks near the pool on the Wind Surf.

 

Still an amazing cruise but will definitely focus on Star Ships in the future.

This is not the first report I've seen that says the sailed ships are feeling really old. Is this a general consensus? I know that there were thoughts that they' surpassed their normal lifespan and that the cruisers were bought to extend the life of WS as we know it. Several years have past, and gobs of money has been spent on them, but very little (apparently) on the sailed ships. Are there any plans afoot to reconcile this? I can't say, since only sailed on the cruisers since they came online (including the first trip on the Pride out of Singapore under WS ownership) best trip EVER, we even had Capt. Jack, who I still miss, what a hoot. I hope they have plans!!

Edited March 11, 2023 by milepig

[LTCOP]

Back on board the Surf!  A gorgeous day sailing to Dominica!  Had a delicious dinner last night, had the best night of sleep in ages in a comfy bed with gentle rocking, saw old friends on the crew and meeting new ones, and there is this view!  Always love this ship!

 

[Strenz]

Brava to you, our favorite ship. Have a great sail. 

[Pudgesmom]

On 3/12/2023 at 9:05 AM, LTCOP said:

Back on board the Surf!  A gorgeous day sailing to Dominica!  Had a delicious dinner last night, had the best night of sleep in ages in a comfy bed with gentle rocking, saw old friends on the crew and meeting new ones, and there is this view!  Always love this ship!

 

This picture right here is why we come back time after time to the Windsurf.

[dandee2]

On 3/11/2023 at 1:48 PM, milepig said:

This is not the first report I've seen that says the sailed ships are feeling really old. Is this a general consensus? I know that there were thoughts that they' surpassed their normal lifespan and that the cruisers were bought to extend the life of WS as we know it. Several years have past, and gobs of money has been spent on them, but very little (apparently) on the sailed ships. Are there any plans afoot to reconcile this? I can't say, since only sailed on the cruisers since they came online (including the first trip on the Pride out of Singapore under WS ownership) best trip EVER, we even had Capt. Jack, who I still miss, what a hoot. I hope they have plans!!

Club Med 2 (Wind Surf sibling) just got a 10M facelift.
I think Wind Surf is safe as long as it brings money. But it is kinda unproductive to drydock both ship separately. Both company could save $$ by having similar system replaced at similar time including the sails.
https://www.travelandleisure.com/club-med-yacht-2-what-its-like-on-board-7104293
https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Revamped-Club-Med-2-on-mission-to-grow-brand

 

[milepig]

10 hours ago, dandee2 said:

Club Med 2 (Wind Surf sibling) just got a 10M facelift.
I think Wind Surf is safe as long as it brings money. But it is kinda unproductive to drydock both ship separately. Both company could save $$ by having similar system replaced at similar time including the sails.
https://www.travelandleisure.com/club-med-yacht-2-what-its-like-on-board-7104293
https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Revamped-Club-Med-2-on-mission-to-grow-brand

 

I'm pretty sure the sails on the Surf have recently been replaced. a few years ago? THe article calls it the largest sailing vessel. I thought that it and the surf were the same size??

Edited March 31, 2023 by milepig

[dandee2]

12 hours ago, milepig said:

I'm pretty sure the sails on the Surf have recently been replaced. a few years ago? THe article calls it the largest sailing vessel. I thought that it and the surf were the same size??

[Cometman]

We love the Wind Surf. It has been a while (2018) since we were on it last, we booked a 22-day cruise for November on the Surf and can't wait! (Barcelona-Lisbon-St Maarten).

Having extra dining choices and that fabulous crew makes it always a fantastic adventure.

[mysparky]

We just returned from a 7 day in the Caribbean aboard Windsurf.  As others have noted, crew and food remain great, as always!  However, I would absolutely say that the ship is looking worn.  The furniture in our room (114) was a little beat up, but most surprising is the mirror, which looked incredibly pitted.  Our room steward actually apologized for the condition of it.  I think what bothered me the most was lack of power options - one 110 plug in the room w/ a max of 400v. Besides our room, the deck by Amphora definitely has some rotted wood and a few specific spots that definitely looked like a tripping hazard to me.