Review: Windsurf Barcelona Lisbon Sept 10th

[bagheera]

You are so right,it is very hilly. We too asked the tour guide (on the excursion) if he could arrange a trip into the medina. We too paid about 20 dollars plus tip for the guide. They will want to take you to a carpet place and some expensive jewelry shops - I think they get some money for bringing tourists there. It's just the way they do it. We just looked quickly and said "no thanks". We then made it clear we just wanted some inexpensive gifts to bring home and he took us to some more affordable places. Make it clear what you want to buy. We were there from about 1:30 pm to about 4:00pm on a friday and I didn't notice anything closed.We didn't go to the newer area to shop so maybe someone else could comment on the shopping hours. If you do the tour and then go back for shopping , go back to the ship first for lunch and the driver will pick you up after. That day was lobster day!

[bagheera]

p.s. hi to little britain. Hope kitty was fine when you returned.

[Jana]

Thanks for all of your comments. I'm enjoying reading them. Some mimic exactly my experiences and some seem... 180 degrees different! :o

 

I loved Andrew Victoria. Sometimes the music in Compass Rose was loud but if we wanted chat we just went up a deck and it was quiet and lovely. If you wanted real quiet, you could go into the lounge. No dancing, and the music there could put you to sleep. Andrew Victoria was one of the best parts of the cruise I was on, and my group of 13 were all in agreement about that.

 

LynnM44, Service slipping because of Carnival ownership? What a hoot. Carnival Corporation (not Carnival Cruise Line) has owned Holland America Line for 17+ years. Most people don't know that. Carnival Cruise Line has nothing at all to do with either Holland America or Windstar, and all Carnival Corp. provides is purchasing power. Costa is the only cruise line in the consortia to utilize a lot of the elements of Carnival Cruise Line, including the design and architecture of Joe Farcus on its newer ships. All of the lines under the umbrella have autonomous structure with their own CEOs and fiscal accountability, the one caveat there being that Windstar is definitely a Holland America product. Is service slipping on Seabourn? That's another Carnival Corp. line.

 

When we were docked in Monte Carlo, my portholes were washed. It was great... I was on deck one, and it was the first time I could see well, as we pulled away from Monaco at dawn. It was crystal clear and glorious. Of course it didn't last very long, but I enjoyed it while it did.

 

I had never sailed Wind Surf before so I can't comment on how it "used to be," but whereas I thought the service staff (waiters, barmen, room steward) were faultless, I noticed a ... kind of ... arrogance on the part of the rest of the staff. It was subtle, but it was there, and it did diminish somewhat the warm atmosphere I expected. Is that what you meant?

 

Jana

[little britain]

I thought the service staff (waiters, barmen, room steward) were faultless, I noticed a ... kind of ... arrogance on the part of the rest of the staff. It was subtle, but it was there, and it did diminish somewhat the warm atmosphere I expected. Is that what you meant?

 

Jana

Agree that the asian service staff were faultless, and also agree that the more senior european staff were not as friendly as they could have been.....we hardly ever saw the captain [don't think he even stopped by the Captain's Cocktail party for more than a few minutes] and there was a French guy who was the CD who was very 'arrogant'....

 

Talking of crew interation, this reminds me that we met a Canadian couple at the aiport who had been on board for 2 weeks - the airline had lost all their luggage so they did not have a thing to wear apart from the clothes they stood in for those 2 weeks and Windsurf didn't give them so much as a free teeshirt which I think was a bit tight!

 

Hi Bagheera - hope your kitties are fine too! Nice to meet you both!

[luvnorway]

Bagheera and Little Britain - thanks for the followup info on Tangiers

 

Bagheera - re the "French guy who was the CD who was very 'arrogant'" - assume this was Jean-Michel

- it's unfortunate that you weren't on with the former hosts, Cheri and Walt - they are excellent - very friendly, experienced and knowledgeable about the ports and very willing to give advice and directions re sightseeing on your own. Cheri's port talks before dinner every evening were always very detailed and useful - they're the best hosts we've ever encountered on any cruise on any cruiseline.

- in contrast, we found Jean-Michel difficult to understand at times and definitely an alarmist - always made it sound like sightseeing on your own, taking public transportation etc. was high risk and was not very helpful re DIY

[little britain]

- in contrast, we found Jean-Michel difficult to understand at times and definitely an alarmist - always made it sound like sightseeing on your own, taking public transportation etc. was high risk and was not very helpful re DIY

Ha ha - you are so right! It was basically "you are going to die out there" if you dare going ashore! Rediculous!

[lovecruisingtoo]

 

Talking of crew interation, this reminds me that we met a Canadian couple at the aiport who had been on board for 2 weeks - the airline had lost all their luggage so they did not have a thing to wear apart from the clothes they stood in for those 2 weeks and Windsurf didn't give them so much as a free teeshirt which I think was a bit tight!

 

We were on the Star just after the London scare and so some passengers also had a problem with lost luggage. The ship could not have been better at helping those passengers. One couple did not receive their luggage until the 6th day of the cruise (and then only some of the luggage). To help, the ship loaned the couple crew shirts and shorts to wear. The ship also did laundry for them every night so they would have clean clothes in the A.M. It was great to see the ship help where they could.

 

Also, remember that the airline will reimburse anyone for at least some of the clothes that they need to buy while the luggage is lost. Unfortunately for the one couple on our ship, the gentleman was very tall and could not find any clothes in port.

[bagheera]

The only staff memeber we really had an issue with was Christina- the tour director.After the Alhamba tour we mentioned that the resturant was really bad and she said we were the only people who have ever complained EVER! ha boy, did she have tude!!!

[Jana]

On my cruise, the captain was great. Very visible, very friendly. I had no problem with Christina (my shore excursions were cancelled) but Teresa, the Internet manager (and dive instructor) behaved similarly. See, this is what I don't get. First you display "customer service." That's "customer" (like, the ones without whom you wouldn't have a job) and "service," (without which you SHOULDN'T have a job). That's first. You express concern and sympathy, and then see what you can do to make the customer comfortable or happy. Maybe nothing, maybe not enough, but a sympathetic or understanding position goes a long, long way to keeping folks happy. I just don't get this immediate defensive rudeness. It doesn't belong.

 

Jean-Michel deserves his own category. I speak French but I didn't understand him most of the time. He was so funny! He goes on and on and on and says... very little. I went to see him when we were in Porto Ferraio and he recommended the "little train on wheels" and told me where to get it and which route to take and how much it would cost. Turns out it had ceased its seasonal operations two weeks before. OK, anyone can make that mistake. When I saw Jean-Michel later and told him about it, he shrugged. I think I could have found it funny if he had laughed, I would have appreciated it if he had said "oh, I'm sorry, thanks for letting me know," but shrugging? It meant, to me, "what do I care?"

 

That's the kind of arrogance I mean. It certainly didn't ruin my fabulous trip, but it was admittedly offputting and distasteful and just the tiniest change in behavior would have made a huge difference. And please, don't misunderstand. I am not suggesting that any of these people take abuse, or bow from the waist when addressing me, or behave subserviently in any way. I just would have liked to see more real customer service. In the truest sense of the word.

 

Jana

["Wandering Wino's&quo]

This was our first Windstar cruise so we don't know how it has been in the past or on the other ships, but we really enjoyed the music in the Compass Rose. We are booking another for Feb and would love to see them again. She had a wonderful voice and he was amazing on the guitar.

 

I second this! We were at the Compass Rose everynight and thought it was great. Remember the night we had the lightning and thunder while sitting outside laughing and enjoying the great music. As far as empty seats not sure what time that may have been, but when we arrived the place was full with what looked like very happy people.

Shirley

[lovecruisingtoo]

On my cruise, the captain was great. Very visible, very friendly. I had no problem with Christina (my shore excursions were cancelled) but Teresa, the Internet manager (and dive instructor) behaved similarly. See, this is what I don't get. First you display "customer service." That's "customer" (like, the ones without whom you wouldn't have a job) and "service," (without which you SHOULDN'T have a job). That's first. You express concern and sympathy, and then see what you can do to make the customer comfortable or happy. Maybe nothing, maybe not enough, but a sympathetic or understanding position goes a long, long way to keeping folks happy. I just don't get this immediate defensive rudeness. It doesn't belong.

 

Jean-Michel deserves his own category. I speak French but I didn't understand him most of the time. He was so funny! He goes on and on and on and says... very little. I went to see him when we were in Porto Ferraio and he recommended the "little train on wheels" and told me where to get it and which route to take and how much it would cost. Turns out it had ceased its seasonal operations two weeks before. OK, anyone can make that mistake. When I saw Jean-Michel later and told him about it, he shrugged. I think I could have found it funny if he had laughed, I would have appreciated it if he had said "oh, I'm sorry, thanks for letting me know," but shrugging? It meant, to me, "what do I care?"

 

That's the kind of arrogance I mean. It certainly didn't ruin my fabulous trip, but it was admittedly offputting and distasteful and just the tiniest change in behavior would have made a huge difference.

 

Jana

 

 

Have you sent this email to Windstar? If you were dissatisfied with something, you should contact Windstar and let them know - not just complain on this board.

 

I don't know if they monitor this board but the way to make them aware of the problems is to write directly to them.

[LynneM44]

Your suggestion is a good one. And, yes, we have sent complaints to Windstar many times. As have many other people who have shared dissatisfaction on their Windstar cruise. They never respond!

[golfergal]

We just returned from our second WindSurf cruise. We had a fabulous time overall. I wanted to add my 2 cents (if that) on the onboard music. We didn't spend much time in the Lounge, but thought the band was pretty good and there was plenty of dancing each time we were there. We personally didn't like the music in the Compass Rose, but we also didn't like it last year. Why not, well, just not our preference of music and we are in the younger band of the passengers. But we didn't really care as we were not there to listen to bands. The tribute show may have been great, but we definitely avoided it as that was even less of interest. The music was too loud at times and invaded other spaces around the bar, but I certainly don't "blame" that on Victoria and Andrew.

 

What we did hear of the band, we agree that Victoria is very talented even if not our preference in the type of music. Andrew must have had an off week and certainly playing that much every day, that is understandable. I'd think a different venue would be better for them, so there is less strain on them and something that could showcase their talents. They should be enjoying their work and not risking their health.

[marktac]

Have you sent this email to Windstar? If you were dissatisfied with something, you should contact Windstar and let them know - not just complain on this board.

 

I don't know if they monitor this board but the way to make them aware of the problems is to write directly to them.

 

Jana is a professional travel writer, and possibly was comped by Windstar for the cruise. Hard to bite the hand that feeds you. Would be interesting to know what the facts are.

 

Mark T

[Jana]

Jana is a professional travel writer, and possibly was comped by Windstar for the cruise. Hard to bite the hand that feeds you. Would be interesting to know what the facts are.

 

Mark T

 

Hmmmm. Interesting comment. "The hand that feeds..." professional travel writers is {are} the editors and publishers of the publications.

 

The facts are that I had a wonderful time, I loved the ship, I loved the cabins and itinerary. There were a couple of people whose customer service skills I found somewhat lacking, but not enough to ruin the experience for me.

 

Is there anything else you'd like to know?

 

Jana

[Jana]

Have you sent this email to Windstar? If you were dissatisfied with something, you should contact Windstar and let them know - not just complain on this board.

 

I don't know if they monitor this board but the way to make them aware of the problems is to write directly to them.

 

No complaint, just a comment as a follow-up to other comments on the same subject. And this board is perfect for that kind of discussion.

 

Jana

[louwenna]

I was on the same cruise as Jana and also had a very postive experience. I liked Jean michel's sense of humour but I think his port research could have been better. i too spent 20 minutes waiting for the train that never came in Portoferraio!

I read with interest all the comments about Andrew & Victoria. As a fellow Australian i liked them immediately and they certainly "work their butts off " and are talented and charming. Having said that the noise levels were a fraction loud for my taste but not so it spolit the occasion.

["Wandering Wino's&quo]

Hi, just posted our pictures of this cruise. Hope you enjoy. Shirley

http://community.webshots.com/user/wanderingwinos

[Pudgesmom]

Shirley,

 

Thanks for posting your photos. They were very interesting. We're looking forward to traveling to Spain one day ourselves.

 

What a lovely ceremony on the ship. You both looked so very happy.

 

Beth

["Wandering Wino's&quo]

Shirley,

 

Thanks for posting your photos. They were very interesting. We're looking forward to traveling to Spain one day ourselves.

 

What a lovely ceremony on the ship. You both looked so very happy.

 

Beth

 

:) Thanks Beth, I planned the ceremony as a surprise for my DH as we were traveling to Barcelona on our Anniversary. When he got over the shock of it and he realised that he didn't have to do anything, like writing something special for the ceremony he was just fine, but I must admit it took a couple days after he found out about my plans. Shirley

[cruiseroo]

I was on the same cruise as Jana and also had a very postive experience. I liked Jean michel's sense of humour but I think his port research could have been better. i too spent 20 minutes waiting for the train that never came in Portoferraio!

I read with interest all the comments about Andrew & Victoria. As a fellow Australian i liked them immediately and they certainly "work their butts off " and are talented and charming. Having said that the noise levels were a fraction loud for my taste but not so it spolit the occasion.

 

Hey Louwenna

 

Thanks for the thumbs up on A and V. I remember them telling me they'd met some Aussies that week. Only 41 days left for them now and yes, they are counting. They can't wait to get home to Canada, and then Andy may fly to Australia for Christmas. Have a good one!:D

[Robert Strong]

I'm a vocalist/pianist--mainly jazz and requests--have an agent that could book me on Windstar--wondering if anyone can tell me if people smoke cigarettes in there right near the vocalist/pianist--this was the one big problem on other ships I was on--people smoking literally a foot away--I'd often get sick and lose my voice--can't figure out why the people running these companies don't know how stupid that is--please let me know if you do as the gig on Windstar would be superb otherwise (and I'd have no problem promoting myself around the ship if non one knows where the lounge is)--thanks