Windspirit Christmas Cruise

[Steven G]

Just returned from the Windspirit cruise over Christmas and I have to tell you that compared to last years cruise on the larger Windsurf the service was the best we have ever experienced out of the 5 windstar cruises we have been on. Forget the 7 other cruises on the Royal Caribbean or the Celebrity cruise lines. The service on the larger ships, well there is no comparison. The food was very good and they will make you anything you would like if you ask that includes chicken parmesan or spaghetti with meat sauce. Any fresh vegetables you ask for they will give you even if it is not on the menu. Dinning on the Winstar Cruises are when you want to eat. There is no early or late seating or reservations that have to be made. You come down to the dinning room between 7:00 and 9:00 and just enjoy. They just cant do enough for you. The best part is that they are all sincere. Ambassador purchased the Windstar last year and for whatever reason the cruise was a disaster. They made whatever corrections they needed and I am glad they did. We originally started cruising with the Windstar because of their extensive Scuba Program. They used to have 2 certified master divers on board who organized dives every day during the cruise. As a certified diver that was the hook. We met people year after year who also loved diving which made Windstar like a private charter. Last year they decided to discontinue that program which was very disappointing. Windstar advertises that they are 180 degrees from ordinary however eliminating the dive program and sending us to the local dive shops on the islands we visit has brought them closer to ordinary. On top of the very impersonal experience using a local dive shop they have the nerve to charge you $170 for a two tank dive vs $80 if you do it on your own. That goes for any excursion that you could purchase on the Windstar. It is always less expensive if you can plan the excursion on your own. There are some that are reasonable and give you a good value but you have to see what works for you. I would not mind a surcharge if they did something for it but to do nothing and charge more than double is taking advantage of a less seasoned cruiser.

 

This year during Christmas the itinerary called for a day at sea. We cruised out to sea for a few hours just to dump waste and then later after cruising up and down the channel went out to sea again to dump garbage. We approached the Captain and asked him if we could moor in some protected cove and open up the water activities which includes kayaks, laser sail boats, water skiing & tubing. We would save on all the fuel that was wasted and also save the environment from the pollution. Whatever the fee would be to moor in a safe harbor would be more than covered from the fuel savings that they would realize.

 

The music on board was less than satisfactory. There was a woman playing the piano and singing which did not attract anyone to come to the bar. Actually people probably stayed away because of the type of entertainer she was or was not.

 

Overall we were very happy with the cruise but there is always room for improvements. If you want an intimate very personal cruise you should think about the Windstar.

[6rugrats]

Thanks for this review. I wondered how or if service had changed.

 

Did the captain moor in the protected cove?

[Xoe]

I was on Wind Spirit for her November itinerary from Barcelona to Lisbon, after which she set off for her 14 day repo to the Caribbean. I loved the ship, the ports, the crew, the food -- everything about it -- as I had when I was on her Caribbean itinerary last January, round trip from St. Thomas.

 

I am pondering your report that she was having a sea day in order to dump waste. Am I naive in finding that hard to believe? There was no sea day on our cruise last January, and if there was ever a discharge of waste at sea, we surely were not aware of it. Our only sea day in November was the first day out, in stormy conditions, so it seems unlikely to have happened then/there.

 

If all the cruise ships wintering in the Caribbean, most of which are MANY times larger than Windstar ships, were dumping their waste, it would become a pretty icky sea.

 

Say it isn't so!

[Capt. Mike]

I have cruised on the Windspirit 4 times the latest in October from Istanbul to Athens, I can assure you that no garbage or anything else was dumped by the vessel. I perform annual inspections on all types of vessels from tankers to cruise ships for a living and hold a unlimited tonnage master ticket. Before you make statements like that you best consult with your attorney, making irresponsible statements like that will get you a visit from Windstar attorneys. Can you say libel!

[Xoe]

I didn't believe that, couldn't believe that, and now I can put such concerns aside. I agree with you that such comments in this venue fall within a "libel" category.

[6rugrats]

Thanks Capt. Mike. I've been on four Windstar cruises and never seen this also. I don't put much stock in what a one post wonder has to say, anyway.

[CruisingChics]

thanks capt.mike.

 

i just love how people (who have no idea what ships really do on sea days) enjoy imagining that we are just "floating around for no reason but to dump waste or take their money in the casino or at the bar".

 

captains know exactly what they are doing.

any question or suspicion should be addressed to any ships' captain while onboard, or the head office when returned home after the cruise.

furthermore, it's HUGELY common for Christmas Day to be a sea day because of the fact that it is Christmas Day. No ships in town on Christmas Day = shoreside staff get time at home with family on such a holiday. and in central america, religion is as important as family.

 

speculation is as bad as assuming.