My Honeymoon on the Wind Surf

[mtscruiser]

Having just returned from my honeymoon on the August 9th -August 16th Venice to Rome Wind Surf, I can report that all is well with the company. The cruise exceeded our expectations. The ship was immaculate, the staff and crew were great and the food was fantastic. To the extent there were any negative comments raised on this board, none of them were true.

 

The Wind Surf has FOUR places to eat. The "regular" dining room, which has open seating; Degrees (which has a different 6-course menu every other night); Le Marche (an on-deck seafood restaurant); and Candles (an on-deck steak restaurant). The latter three require reservations and you can only book one night each in the on-deck venues (which are subject to weather conditions). We ate twice in the regular restaraunt, twice on deck and three times in Degrees. We had no problem getting the reservations we wanted anywhere. On one night we cancelled our Degrees reservation and ate at the regular restaurant because we thought the menu was better that night.

 

There were never any problems with the tenders on days we were anchored off shore. In every port but one, the ship used its own lifeboats as tenders. We preferred to be at anchor (rather than docked) because the ship's water sports platform was only open on those days. We actually spent a whole day playing (kayaking, swimming, etc.) off the back of the boat.

 

There was a DVD library that had at least 500 titles. We had no problem getting the movies we wanted. Passengers can take two at a time and keep them for 48 hours. We watched movies and ate room service nachos (the best I've ever had) and popcorn at 4:00 am almost every morning...before we went to bed!

 

Although the Jacuzzi's had specified operating hours, we went in one morning at 2:30 am for at least an hour and then went to the bridge and had a fantasic chat with the crew. It is all very laid back.

 

By the way, I wore "dressy" sandals every night in all of the restaurant venues. There was never a problem. My wife and I were dressed respectably in all respects.

 

I've been on a number of cruises before and this was far and away the most enjoyable.

["Wandering Wino's&quo]

Having just returned from my honeymoon on the August 9th -August 16th Venice to Rome Wind Surf, I can report that all is well with the company. The cruise exceeded our expectations. The ship was immaculate, the staff and crew were great and the food was fantastic. To the extent there were any negative comments raised on this board, none of them were true.

 

The Wind Surf has FOUR places to eat. The "regular" dining room, which has open seating; Degrees (which has a different 6-course menu every other night); Le Marche (an on-deck seafood restaurant); and Candles (an on-deck steak restaurant). The latter three require reservations and you can only book one night each in the on-deck venues (which are subject to weather conditions). We ate twice in the regular restaraunt, twice on deck and three times in Degrees. We had no problem getting the reservations we wanted anywhere. On one night we cancelled our Degrees reservation and ate at the regular restaurant because we thought the menu was better that night.

 

There were never any problems with the tenders on days we were anchored off shore. In every port but one, the ship used its own lifeboats as tenders. We preferred to be at anchor (rather than docked) because the ship's water sports platform was only open on those days. We actually spent a whole day playing (kayaking, swimming, etc.) off the back of the boat.

 

There was a DVD library that had at least 500 titles. We had no problem getting the movies we wanted. Passengers can take two at a time and keep them for 48 hours. We watched movies and ate room service nachos (the best I've ever had) and popcorn at 4:00 am almost every morning...before we went to bed!

 

Although the Jacuzzi's had specified operating hours, we went in one morning at 2:30 am for at least an hour and then went to the bridge and had a fantasic chat with the crew. It is all very laid back.

 

By the way, I wore "dressy" sandals every night in all of the restaurant venues. There was never a problem. My wife and I were dressed respectably in all respects.

 

I've been on a number of cruises before and this was far and away the most enjoyable.

 

1st congratulation on your marriage and 2nd thank you for sharing the good news regarding the Windstar Ships. For those of us that love the Windstar's it very hopeful news.

A few years ago my DH and I renewed our vows aboard the Windsurf, someday hopefully you and your lovely bride will have the opportunity to do the same.

Shirley

[Mike2131]

Having just returned from my honeymoon on the August 9th -August 16th Venice to Rome Wind Surf, I can report that all is well with the company. The cruise exceeded our expectations. The ship was immaculate, the staff and crew were great and the food was fantastic. To the extent there were any negative comments raised on this board, none of them were true.

 

The Wind Surf has FOUR places to eat. The "regular" dining room, which has open seating; Degrees (which has a different 6-course menu every other night); Le Marche (an on-deck seafood restaurant); and Candles (an on-deck steak restaurant). The latter three require reservations and you can only book one night each in the on-deck venues (which are subject to weather conditions). We ate twice in the regular restaraunt, twice on deck and three times in Degrees. We had no problem getting the reservations we wanted anywhere. On one night we cancelled our Degrees reservation and ate at the regular restaurant because we thought the menu was better that night.

 

There were never any problems with the tenders on days we were anchored off shore. In every port but one, the ship used its own lifeboats as tenders. We preferred to be at anchor (rather than docked) because the ship's water sports platform was only open on those days. We actually spent a whole day playing (kayaking, swimming, etc.) off the back of the boat.

 

There was a DVD library that had at least 500 titles. We had no problem getting the movies we wanted. Passengers can take two at a time and keep them for 48 hours. We watched movies and ate room service nachos (the best I've ever had) and popcorn at 4:00 am almost every morning...before we went to bed!

 

Although the Jacuzzi's had specified operating hours, we went in one morning at 2:30 am for at least an hour and then went to the bridge and had a fantasic chat with the crew. It is all very laid back.

 

By the way, I wore "dressy" sandals every night in all of the restaurant venues. There was never a problem. My wife and I were dressed respectably in all respects.

 

I've been on a number of cruises before and this was far and away the most enjoyable.

Long story short, we had to change from the Regent Navigator cruise we had booked for December of this year. We just booked the Wind Surf for the same time frame and your review adds to our excitement. Even though the parent company seems to be facing some challenges, the comments about the on-board experience have been very positive.

 

Congratulations again and thank you again for your review.

[chicagogal]

Long story short, we had to change from the Regent Navigator cruise we had booked for December of this year. We just booked the Wind Surf for the same time frame and your review adds to our excitement. Even though the parent company seems to be facing some challenges, the comments about the on-board experience have been very positive.

 

Congratulations again and thank you again for your review.

 

MTSCruiser and Mike2131 - Congrats to both of you on your weddings! My husband I also did our honeymoon on the Windsurf back in Sept 2003. It was a special repositioning cruise from Dover, England to Lisbon, Portugal. (Windstar did Baltic cruises that summer.) Very enjoyable trip - we have been back 7 more times on Windstar ships. Happy sailing!