St Thomas RT docking

[Finzup1]

When we booked this cruise I was told that the ship docked at these ports Cruz bay-st john, marigot-st martin, gustavia-st barts, sopers hole-tortola, great harbor-jost van dyke & bitter end-virgin gorda.

 

Has this changed? I hope not because I have rental cars at each dock.:D

[6rugrats]

You should be able to check this yourself by looking at your cruise documents, if you have received them, or by simply going to Windstar's web page and looking at the intinerary for your cruise.

 

Be warned that ports can change for many reasons. I've been on five cruises and on four of them, we did not follow the schedule and ports were changed. If you've rented cars, make sure you will not be charged if the ship doesn't make it to the port.

[2Feathers]

finzup1... We took this cruise two years in a row, and several of the ports were different. Keep in mind this was in 2003 & 2004, so they may be more set these days, but still...

 

In 2003 we embarked at the Havensight Dock location in St. Thomas, but in 2004 it was Crown Bay. Not really a big deal. Just opposite ends of the harbor.

 

In 2003 we docked at Philipsburg in St. Maarten (Dutch side), but in 2004 we anchored off Marigot (French side). However, we were told the 2003 docking in Philipsburg was unusual, and done only because of some provisions that didn't arrive in St. Thomas before we left, so they were delivered to St. Maarten instead, and had to be off-loaded at a larger dock. (Marigot isn't really a commercial shipping point.)

 

In 2003 we docked at Roadtown in Tortola, but in 2004 we anchored off West End/Soper's Hole. Not sure why this was, but I believe West End is the normal port.

 

In 2003, in Virgin Gorda we weren't able to get through the narrow channel leading into the North Sound harbor at Bitter End on Thursday evening as planned, due to rough seas. So we sailed around the island that night and pulled into the harbor the next morning. (We were anchored when we awoke on Friday.)

 

Gustavia seems to be the only real port in St. Bart's, and Cruz Bay the only one used in St. John, so you should have no issues there... And on both of our trips to Jost Van Dyke, the ship anchored sort of in between Great Bay and White Bay, and tenders/zodiacs were taking passengers in to both locations, so you could choose which bay to go to. (You can also walk from one to the other in about 20-30 minutes, although its a steep, HOT, walk.) However, lately it seems I've been reading where everyone is being taken to Great Bay. Perhaps some recent cruisers can verify this...

 

As 6rugrats stated, itineraries don't always happen as planned, so you may want to check with your rental agencies. But the one good thing about this itinerary is that none of these islands are huge, so it may be possible to get to the other port if you end up docking/anchoring somewhere different. Also, we rented cars in St. John and St. Bart's with no prior reservations, so they may not be needed anyway. And if you end up without a car, there are great ways to spend the day on all of these islands. Its a fantastic itinerary, and you'll have a great trip no matter what you decide to do. So don't sweat it too much, and have a great trip!!

[Finzup1]

Thanks for the info..... A rental car is a MUST for us! We love to explore every inch of an island. I guess worst case scenerio, we can take a taxi to the car rental place.

[Glaciers]

We just returned today. All of the ports we were at this week were as you mentioned although I’m not sure of the Tortola port. Have to imagine it’s the same as well. In St Martin we ended up renting a car from a place call Lucky’s which is located right at the dock where you will tender. The price was the same as Hertz and it was much more convenient.

 

Just about every aspect of this cruise was wonderful. You’ll have a great time.

[Host Walt]

When we booked this cruise I was told that the ship docked at these ports Cruz bay-st john, marigot-st martin, gustavia-st barts, sopers hole-tortola, great harbor-jost van dyke & bitter end-virgin gorda.

 

Has this changed? I hope not because I have rental cars at each dock.:D

Normally there's no charge for a "no show" if you're dealing with Hertz, Avis or National, but you may want to check with them to be sure.

[Finzup1]

Would love to hear some details about your trip.:) How was the food? Did they stay on schedule? Did they HAVE A SPA on board? Anything that you discovered that we have to see?

[Glaciers]

Would love to hear some details about your trip.:) How was the food? Did they stay on schedule? Did they HAVE A SPA on board? Anything that you discovered that we have to see?

 

The food was good, particularly breakfast and lunch. Dinner was also very good but didn't touch what we had on QE2. It would be difficult to complain about it, though. There was an on-deck barbeque one night that was excellent.

 

The only time I remember not being on schedule was when there were some folks who were late in returning to the ship in St Martin. Only delayed our departure a couple hours and really didn't matter.

 

There was a small spa that had the regular massage, facial, nail & hair services.

 

The crew was very professional but had a relaxed way of doing their jobs that just enhance the experience. We were amazed at how quickly they learned our names.

 

The itinerary was great although we didn't get out and do excursions like most as we'd been to several of the ports previously. Baie Rouge beach in St Martin was nice as well as Long Bay in Tortola. You will find it challenging to drive in Tortola.

 

At 6:45pm each evening there appetizers served in the lounge followed by a breifing of what to expect at the next days port from 7:15-7:30. We found it a good way to help plan our day, which we normally didn't do until the last minute, as well as socialize. We met a very nice man named John who has sailed on Windstar over 40 times.

 

If you get to Foxy's on Jost Van Dyke look for the dollar bill just above the bar that says "DelRock Alaska". Our legacy...

 

Let me know if you have specific questions. We will definitely be doing another Windstar cruise.

 

I posted some photos of the ship and crew at:

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

[gymswim]

Ahoy Chilkoot

Thanks for your helpful comments based on your December 15th sailing. Your pictures were terrific and it's great to see the ship looking shipshape with new furnishings and to see a few familiar faces among the crew. I wondered what impact the sale of the cruiseline would have on them.

Did you scuba dive at all? I didn't recognize the two sports coordinators faces. I read on this board that they are contracting all the dives through shore operators now rather than offering dives from the ship using ship's gear and the noriana inflatable boats.

Do you recall in which ports the little laser sailboats were put out for use? In recent years they stopped putting them out at St Baarts because of the harbor traffic.

So glad you had a great experience and intend to sail Windstar again.

[Glaciers]

We didn’t dive and only heard of one other couple who was diving this trip, although I’m sure there were more. They did an excursion in Virgin Gorda that took them to on old plane wreck just on the other side of an island that we could see from the harbor. There was a barracuda in the wreckage and the only one who would enter it was the tour guide. I saw one of the small sailboats out one time but the sports platform was down at each port. Could have been just because no one had asked them to launch one. I see you’ve cruised with them many times in the past. There was a gentleman onboard with us who had over 40 cruise with them. Do you know John? The Brits call him Sir John because he wears an ascot.

[gymswim]

Hi Chilkoot:

Yes, we've cruised with John a number of times previously. He generally likes to sail on the Christmas and New Years cruises. We last ran into him last I believe on the Wind Surf.

Thank you for the info on what you could recall about the diving and lazer sailboats from the sports platform. Seeing your photos made us excited to think we'll be aboard again in just a few more days.

Happy New Year!

Bill

[Surfgirl]

Chilkoot:

 

Thanks for posting your photos. We were on the same cruise on Dec. 15

-- infact-- we were in the cabin right next to yours.. 226. I'm not sure who you are though....

 

Gymswim-- John was on our cruise, and was staying for the following week as well.

[Glaciers]

I saw another post from you that indicated you were on the 12/15 sailling and were curious who you were too. We have other albums on the webshots site that have photos of us so you'll be able to see who were are. Bruce & Jennifer were next door in 227. Were you right across the hall?

[Surfgirl]

I looked on your photo website, but am still not sure who you are. If you want to e-mail me, I'll give you more details as to who I am. With a ship that small, I'm sure our paths had to have crossed at some point. Cabin 226 was right near the staircase.

 

I had an absolutely marvelous time, and am planning on sailing Windstar again in March or April. I'm done with big cruise ships, this is the way to go!

 

What was your favorite part of the trip? What did you like best about the ship?

 

I thought the bar-b-q at night was sensational. When they mentioned there would be a bar-b-q, I thought we were going to have hamburgers and chicken. Who knew there would be lobster, lamb, and everything you can imagine!

 

cruisefromny@yahoo.com

[Finzup1]

Hello....

Did anybody try the canopy tour? I'm sooooo afraid of heights but feel this is something I must do since I chickened out last Feb in Costa Rica.:D

[Surfgirl]

OMG! I had no idea there was a canopy tour in St. Martin. I would have been there in a millisecond! I thought the only place you could do those was South America, and I wanted to go to Costa Rica specifically to do one!!! AGH! I'm now kicking myself!

 

If you're afraid of heights, I don't know if you'd be a happy camper.. but if it makes you feel any better... an 80 year old woman we had dinner with one night was telling me she and her husband both did the canopy tour in South America last year and loved it. I had to laugh when she told me that one 20 year old asked to do it upside down, and the people who ran the zip line said that it was OK. Now SHE wants to do it upside down!!!

 

BTW... from the photos, it looks like you're not at all as high as the canopies in South America, so this might be a place to get your feet wet.

[Finzup1]

:D On my list of things to do in St Martin are....Guavaberry emporium, getting naked at Orient beach(if I lose 10 punds in 30 days) haha, maybe butterfly farm, canopy tour & hit the Sopranos Bar. I got all the highlights of each island here in the overviews. Can't wait for some RUM Punch!