Just returned from Windsurf-FABULOUS

[hmorrow]

Hi,

We just returned from Rome to Venice on the Windsurf. We are 60 and 61, and and been on over 30 cruises. We like to cruise, we like excellent service and excellent food. Regent(formerly Raddison) has always been our line of choice. I was concerned about the type of cruise we were going to experience after reading socksters comments.

 

NO need for ANY concern. We had a wonderful cruise, wonderful food, and probably the best service we have ever experienced.

 

There were a couple of "groups" on board-also no problem. American food in European ports? In degrees (the alternative rest), they had " a taste of Europe" twice in 7 days. They had Greek lunches, Italian food, and basically "fine" food of many different origens. Great sauces, great presentation, and no need for any concern by anyone.

 

Sail and enjoy!

Helaine

[parislady40]

Thank you for the thumbs up. I have been an Windstar fan for years, and was waiting for someone who took the Windsurf of recent to give review. I will actually be taking a Regent cruise in December, for the first time. I am looking forward to it followed by the Windsurf in January. I have always enjoyed the atmosphere, the service and food on Windsurf. Thanks for advising that any changes since the new owners, have not been bad.

 

Ruth

[Snow cat]

Thanks for the great update. We are going on the Venice to Rome cruise in 4 weeks and looking forward to it. Any port tips would be appreciated.

 

SnowCat

[hmorrow]

Rome was hot, hot, hot. One day it was 107-only tip-try to stay cool!

In Amalfi we just walked around the little town, as we had previously been to Pompeii, and again, it was HOT,

 

In Sicily, we took the boat shuttle to Tamaorina-sp? walked around and ate in a nice rest. with a great view.

 

Dubrovinik was SO CROWDED with over 10,000 people from 4 LARGE ships. We had been here around 8 years ago, and had done other tours then, so again we just walked around the walled city.

 

Hvar, was a little gem, hardly anything to do, except watch the mega yachts pull in and out of the harbour-and since we're boaters, this was right up or alley. The heat finally broke that day, and it was a delightful little stop. We were the only boat there. Yay!

 

Sorry I can't be of more help with tours, etc, as we just didn't do any...Hope it's cooler for you next month! Helaine

[shack]

Snowcat,

 

See you on the Venice-Rome trip. We just left Ottawa last December.

 

shack

[eh2zed]

Love the Wind Surf. Good to hear it hasn't changed

["Wandering Wino's&quo]

Hi,

We just returned from Rome to Venice on the Windsurf. We are 60 and 61, and and been on over 30 cruises. We like to cruise, we like excellent service and excellent food. Regent(formerly Raddison) has always been our line of choice. I was concerned about the type of cruise we were going to experience after reading socksters comments.

 

NO need for ANY concern. We had a wonderful cruise, wonderful food, and probably the best service we have ever experienced.

 

There were a couple of "groups" on board-also no problem. American food in European ports? In degrees (the alternative rest), they had " a taste of Europe" twice in 7 days. They had Greek lunches, Italian food, and basically "fine" food of many different origens. Great sauces, great presentation, and no need for any concern by anyone.

 

Sail and enjoy!

Helaine

 

So happy to hear that the WindSurf is as wonderful as ever. We love her, only wish we had another cruise booked aboard this beautiful ship.

[chicagogal]

We just got back ... I echo the previous comments about the food and service on the Windsurf. This was our 4th time on the Windsurf and we loved it. We found the food and service as fine as ever and the staff were great. We also love the IPOD docks now in the cabins as well as the redesigned library/computer/coffee bar area on the Main Deck.

 

Venice is probably my all time favorite city (other than the price!) We spent 3 1/2 days pre-cruise and did all that we could including the Film Festival. Take the public water taxi from teh airport and buy a day or 3 day pass for the water taxis to save a lot on transportation if you are staying there. I recommend the Venice Walk tour that leaves from the park west of St Marks (I think) daily. We got the info at our hotel. We went on the back canals and really saw and learned a lot for a low price (I think it was 11 Euros each)

 

We detoured from Korkula Island to Split on our voyage due to closure of the Grand Canal for a parade which caused us to leave Venice late. Split was just OK in my opinion. We took a little city tour by a local tour bus and did some walking around near the sailboats and yacht club etc. I have never been to Korkula so I don't know what we missed there.

 

I really liked Dubrovnik and it was not as crowded as noted above when we were there. We took the ships winery tour which was well worth the $99 pp. We spent time in the walled city and then drove to a winery in the country and had a wonderful wine lunch and discussion of the wine. It was like being in someone's home there.

 

Corfu was OK..again, we just walked around on our own and didn't do a lot there. I heard from some that did the 4x4 jeeps that they had fun.

 

Taorimina (we took the ship's tour bus from Messina) and Sorrento were both beautiful...not nearly enough time to enjoy them. We went to Pompeii from Sorrento with the ship's tour which I highly recommend, but it leaves you almost no time to see Sorrento. We will just have to go back!

 

We found the maitre 'ds in both restaurants helpful and accommodating. The last 2 nights they arranged a table for 8 for us each night (with all our new friends!) in the main Restaurant. We also ate in Degrees (alternative restaurant) twice. Degrees had a European menu, an Indonesian menu and a Steakhouse menu alternating nights on our cruise. We tried 2 of the 3.

 

We really enjoyed the deck barbeque one day at lunch and the crew talent show one night. We also had 2 great bands and danced after dinner most nights.

 

All in all another great Windstar/Windsurf experience.

 

If anyone has specific questions, please ask.

[Mountainduo]

Speaking of dancing on the Windsurf, do you know the names of the bands that were playing when you were on board, and how long they are going to be on board? If you were just there, they may be the same bands.......:D

[bzv143]

Chicagogal: Enquiring minds want to know--how is the coffee onboard Windsurf?And if I am a morning person, where do I go to get my first cuppa joe? And were you in a suite or cabin? How are the linens, and is the bed soft?

Thanks for any info--we are going to be on Windsurf for the 1st time this December. :rolleyes:

[chicagogal]

In reply to: "Enquiring minds want to know--how is the coffee onboard Windsurf?And if I am a morning person, where do I go to get my first cuppa joe? And were you in a suite or cabin? How are the linens, and is the bed soft?"

 

I thought the coffee was pretty good overall. The first cup for early birds is either via cabin service or on deck at the Compass Rose bar where they serve continental breakfast before the diningroom opens. There is also the new "Yacht Club" where you can purchase expresso type drinks most mornings. (Note that capaccinos etc. are free with meals.)

 

We were in a suite on the lowest deck (aka the "cheap seats") All cabins are the same except the suites. The suites on deck 3 are actually just 2 single cabins combined (e.g 2 bathrooms, 2 built-in units, 2 sets of closets and a couch and chair and table where the second bed would have been. Only the owners suite on Wind Star and Wind Spirit and new Bridge Deck suites on 5 on the Windsurf are different.

 

In reply to: "Speaking of dancing on the Windsurf, do you know the names of the bands that were playing when you were on board, and how long they are going to be on board? If you were just there, they may be the same bands......."

 

The bands on our cruise were "Lookout" (great cover band/dance music) and "Beauty Fool" (more jazz/easy listening music) I think "Lookout" might still be on board but I think "Beauty Fool" was leaving around Sept 15th. On our cruise we also had a passenger who played piano with the band some nights and he was awesome!

 

The linens are all new recently and very nice. I thought the bed was comfortable, but I would not call it soft.

[dmills]

We appreciate the positive reviews about Windstar. We will be going on Windsurf in November and feel very good about what we will experience. The various comments help and appreciated greatly....enjoy the continued journey of sailing w/Windstar...

[irc2100]

We're booked on WindSurf 7/4/08 Venice to Rome, and were happy to see the positive comments. We're going to disembark in Sorrento and head to Positano for a few days. We did the WindSpirit this summer and enjoyed it but found the pool and fitness room too small and uncomfortable. Understand they are better on WindSurf. Any suggestions for excursions, guides, restaurants, etc would be greatly appreciated.

[klncpa]

We’re less than a week home from our journey which included the October 7th Venice to Rome sailing on WindSurf.

 

We absolutely loved the cruise…the boat, the staff, the food. We did Istanbul to Athens last year on WindStar, so we weren’t surprised by the staff and the food. The fitness room is sizable, there are two restaurants to choose from (although Degrees requires reservations, which you usually must be in line for at 8am), and there are other subtle differences in facilities by virtue of the fact that WindSurf carries twice the number of passengers as her little sisters. The pool is bigger than on WindStar, but you’re still not going to be able to do laps in it (but you will be able to stretch out your legs completely). But, the folksy, friendly atmosphere is not compromised and the staff is still every bit as attentive.

 

We are sightseers, and we really like ruins, just so you know my perspective in my comments. We did WindStar excursions in each port.

 

Split, Croatia – This really isn’t a hugely interesting place.

 

Dubrovnik, Croatia – We did the Best of the Adriatic tour. I could have done without the visit to the mill. The damage to the city’s buildings as a result of the shelling during the war in the early 1990’s is still very much in evidence. The Rector’s Palace is pretty neat, as are the fortifications around the city.

 

Corfu, Greece – We did the Achellion/Corfu Town tour. Having been to Vienna, Austria and seeing the Hapsburg Palaces and hearing all about the Hapsburg royalty, including their beloved Empress Elisabeth, it was fascinating to see her palace in Corfu (the Achellion). I wasn’t too impressed by Corfu town.

 

Messina, Italy (Sicily) – We did the Taromina tour as did about half of the rest of the people on the boat. The theater is awesome…when you look at the stage from the seats, you see Mt. Etna in the background. It is truly an awesome view. It’s a nice little town with good shopping. If you get a chance, try a granite (it’s like a slushy). Messina has a neat Norman Cathedral that’s worth a drop in.

 

Sorrento, Italy – We did the Herculaneum tour. WindStar offered tours to Capri, Positano, Pompeii, and Herculaneum. Having previously done all four on previous land trips to Italy, we elected for Herculaneum, due to the fact that the ruins are much better preserved than Pompeii and we assumed the crowds would be far less. While in Sorrento, don’t miss the inlaid wood factories, their music boxes are beautiful. Also, pick up a bottle of Lachryma Christi del Vesuvio wine (I think I paid 5 euro/bottle). It comes from the volcanic fertilized hills of Vesuvius.

 

Venice Suggestions – There’s a neat little island called Torcello that’s accessible via the vaporetto. We had to go to Burano first, but it wasn’t difficult. There’s a church, bell tower, and museum there as well as some restaurants and souvenir stands, but it is a very peaceful change of pace from the crowds of Venice. The churches at San Gregorio and Salute (just across the lagoon via vaporetto from Venice) are also worth seeing. Nice views from San Gregorio’s bell tower. While in Venice, don’t miss a trip up the Campanile for stunning views, and upstairs at the Basilica of San Marco is nice, too. We booked the Secret Itineraries tour at the Doge’s Palace through a ticket broker in advance and it was really interesting.

 

I think you said you were going to Positano…excellent choice for r&r…if you’re at all interested in archeology, try to get to the National Archeology Museum in Naples…they have all the “good stuff” that’s been removed from Pompeii. Capri is pretty much a waste of time. If you’re going to spend any time in Rome afterwards, the Domus Aurea (Nero’s Palace) and the Scavi at St Peter’s Basilica (tomb of Saint Peter) are really great tours that must be arranged in advance. I think these boards don’t like mention of tour operators/travel agents/ticket brokers, but if you’ll e-mail me at klncpa@aol.com, I’d be happy to tell you who we went through to get tickets.

 

Happy sails!

 

Karen

[irc2100]

We're doing this trip next June. Where did you stay in Venice? Is the pool usable. On the Windspirit, the pool was little more than a bathtub. We've done Rome so we're getting off in Sorrento and spending a few days in Positano.

[klncpa]

In Venice, we stayed at the Ca' dei Conti hotel. It was an easy 5 to 10 minute walk to Piazza San Marco, with the vaporetto stop about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way between the hotel and San Marco, and restaurants and retail close by. We a had little problem at the beginning because they tried to put us in a room with lots of problems in a condo/apartment building across the street. (More details are in a review I did on tripadvisor.com) Bottom line is that the room was horrible, they were reluctant to move us, they finally did, and we had a great stay after that. We would stay there again provided we had assurance that we would stay in the hotel and not in one of the room(s) across the sreet. The location was great, the rooms (the ones in the hotel) were very nice and clean, the staff helpful (except for pulling teeth over the room change), and the continental breakfast good.

 

For more info on the Fitness Center, you may want to check out WindStar's website (www.windstarcruises.com). Go to the On Board link and then select WindSurf under the Deck Plans category. Find the Fitness Center and double click on the camera and you'll get one of those 360 degree things where the camera pans around the room. From looking at the pieces of equipment you'll see, you can probably get a pretty good feel for how big it is and what's there.

 

As far as the pool goes, I'm guessing it's probably 8 feet by 8 feet or 10 feet by 10 feet and about two or three feet deep. I think I've read that WindSurf is 66 feet wide at its widest point. The pool is in the middle of the Pool Deck which is at the back of the boat. Along the rails is a row of deck chairs, then a walkway, then the tables with chairs next to the pool. Maybe that can help you visualize it and its size? I would guess that it's probably twice the size of the one on WindStar/Wind Spirit. Several people can very easily fit in it without worrying about touching other peoples' toes to cool off during/after sunning or to enjoy a favorite beverage (unlike the pool on WindStar), but it doesn't look like it's meant for much more than that.

 

Hope this helps! I'm sure that you will enjoy Positano. It's been 10 years since I spent 4 nights there, but that brief time is etched in my mind as one of the most relaxing, peaceful times of my life.

 

Happy sails!

 

Karen