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Wind Surf

Star Pride

This was our 2nd time on a Baltic cruise. It was also our 2nd cruise on the Windsurf. Our 1st Baltic cruise was on a very large ship. We like smaller ships. We chose the Scandanavian Tapestry voyage because it visited several ports in Northern Europe without a stop in St. Petersburg. Most Baltic cruises go to Russia. Since I do not agree with Putin's politics, I didn't want to go to Russia. Starting in Edinburgh was also an attraction. We stayed in Edinburgh for 2 nights before the cruise. 

The cruise left from the port of Lieth which is very close to Old town Edinburgh. We arrived at the dock at 1 pm to check in. We were met by the cruise director that told us that boarding was delayed until 3 pm because the ship was being deep cleaned as the last cruise had noro virus. We were able to check our bags at the dock. We were also told that we would recieve $25pp OBC for the inconvience. Instead of just waiting at the dock, we visited the Queen's yacht, The Britania. It was berthed next to the Windsurf. The self guided audio tour was excellent. It was about 4pm when we returned to the dock. At that time, we boarded the ship, checked in, and booked times at Candles and Stella Bistro. Checking in was quick. 

We were told not to unpack since as Yacht Club members we were on the upgrade list. Since we liked pur cabin location and all cabins are the same, we declined an upgrade. We were on deck one slightly forward. It was a great location. When the sea doors are shut when the ship is arriving or departing, being forward allowed us access to the elevator. Our previous time on the Windstar we were midship and were closed off from access to the elevators. 

We enjoyed the casual atmosphere. No lines, dine whenever you want, unlimited non-alcohlic drinks, fabulous food, outstanding service, etc. being on the Windsurf was wonderful. We enjoyed breakfasts and most lunches in the Veranda. We enjoyed dinners in Aamphora. We also liked our 2 dinners in the specialty venues. Candles used to be aft on the pool deck. It is now on the star deck near the veranda. It has wind/rain shields allowing you to eat outside most of the time. The fliet at Candles is fantastic. The menus in the veranda and Aamphora change daily. Often, the chef adds local items. We enjoyed the Norwegian salmon, smoked items, fresh fruits, and local cheeses and sausages. The deck bbq was outstanding..  We enjoyed quick snacks at the Yacht Club and tea in the Compass Rose. Room service was excellent. Call, order, and it arrived quickly. Want something that wasn't on a menu, usually no problem. If the ingredients are on the ship, they will make it for you. 

We especially enjoyed the special event which included a canal boat tour in Copenhagen, an after hours tour at a museum with a private reception of delicious local cuisine and drinks. In most ports we did our own thing. We did buy 2 excursions from the ship. In Copenhagen, we went on the Dragor fishing village tour. It was mostly a bus tour of Copenhagen with a short stop at Dragor. Description misrepresented the tour. Having been in Copenhagen twice before, we were expecting a tour completely outside the city. In Visby, we took the West Coast drive and city tour. It was excellent. 

We also enjoyed having the unlimited same day laundry service. It was a pleasure to arrive home. Instead  of spending time doing laundry, I unpacked my clean clothes. Entertainment was very limited. The band in the main lounge was excellent. The duo in Compass Rose was poor. The guest lecturer was ok. In one port, there was a men's chior singing local songs. The crew put on a show one night. Not much else doing on the ship. I spent a lot of time reading or talking with guests. Each night before we arrived at a port, cruise director gave a short presentation about the port. I was happy that I had researched the port before the cruise. The info on the ship was very basic. They kept trying to persuade guests to buy expensive excursions. The ship excursions were overpriced. Aside from pushing the excursions, there was no real hard sell like you get on the large mass market cruises. weather was good. It was warm enough on most days to enjoy being on the outside deck areas. Went into the pool. The sport platform did not open. We enjoyed the cruise.

Great Cruise

Overall: a WONDERFUL cruise!!!
Note: This cruise is geared towards adults. I only remember seeing 2 older teens on the trip, and we all thought that they must be lonely and bored.
The Windstar web site can be confusing. . . . call them if you have questions. When trying to figure out the actual boarding time - ignore the website and stick with what is written on your document voucher that arrives several weeks before your cruise.
The suites on Deck 3 are well worth the money!! They have 2 bathrooms and 2 sets of closet, drawer and desk areas. Note- their hair dryers are small and have little power- if I were to do it again, I would take my own. I am from the US, and there is one US plug at each desk area. There are several "europe-type" of plug sites. The bed was very comfortable!! (Seriously, the best thing about the room is having 2 bathrooms!!!!!!)
The food is good. There are 3 places to dine for dinner. The Amphora is their standard dining room and the attire is "country club" (no jeans ). The other two places are Stella Bistro (more dressy- but not "over the top") and Candles (casual - jeans are ok). The Amphora has a standard menu and additional items that change nightly. The Stella Bistro and Candles have the exact same menu each night. One night is a BBQ- so all of the restaurants are closed. The BBQ was actually pretty good..... the grilled lobster was excellent!! If you have a large party traveling together or know where you want to eat on certain nights, make reservations at Stella Bistro or Candles. They do fill up. No reservations are needed for Amphora.
The excursions that Windstar offers at the ports are more pricey than what you would pay, if you were to arrange taxi transportation on your own. If you book the excursions on-line, on your MY WINDSTAR account, before you go on your cruise, you will be able to cancel them if you change your mind. Cancel as soon as you know that you want to get out of it - if you know this before your trip, CALL them to cancel, because you won't be able to cancel on the web site. Once you are on the boat there is a schedule of excursions and a note about when you need to cancel by in order to get a refund. If you cancel excursions, once you are on board, the $$ will appear on your account as a credit, and unless you drink a lot, you'll have a credit at the end of your trip. We were able to book a private tour with a personable young tour guide, who takes you in his BMW. Check out his website: Gavin Nicholson www.invergordontours.com. He could do tours at 2 of the ports of call: Portree and Invergordon.
Drink plan ----- it is pretty pricey and unless you drink A LOT, you don't need it. The cost of "normal" wine (including tip) was @ $8.50 a glass.
Read your daily menu of activities carefully. There are good things to attend, like the staff talent show, the Scottish folk group, Captain's Cocktail Party and more. . . . but you won't know about them, unless you read the menu of scheduled events.
The staff - they are wonderful. They are more than willing to talk to you and do anything for you to make your vacation wonderful. Captain Harris is a personable and fun guy.
Tips: $12 per person, per day is added to your account for tips. These tips are for all of the staff. Our room steward (Ben) was wonderful and we tipped him extra ( $40) and one fella (Hens) was really kind and helpful in the dining areas and we tipped him too. The other people in our group tipped their room stewards too.
Be prepared for the unexpected - - one day our port-of-call was cancelled due to rough seas. Things happen, but this was the 2nd full day of being stuck on the boat and we were somewhat sad that their "Plan B" for the day was to show us how to make towel animals. They do have DVD's that you can borrow - but none of them are super recent. In hindsight, I wish that I had taken 1 or 2 movies along that I wanted to see.
Wifi - you can buy a plan after you board. We had added global service to our one phone. The wifi in the areas of travel is "spotty" at best. It worked when near land, but when not near land it did not work.
Packing - warm clothes, windbreaker, umbrella, gloves and a hat. Take a look at a map and notice how far north the trip takes you. Edinburgh and Dublin had sweater weather, but the rest of the ports were windy, damp and chilly .....and if you are someone who chills easily, you will think that some days are downright cold.
Get ready to have a great time and meet awesome people and view beautiful scenery!!
 

Scotland & Ireland

My wife and I and two other couples met in Edinburgh, where we spent three days getting over jet lag and enjoying this fun city (we highly recommend the food tour Eat Walk Edinburgh). The cruise terminal in Edinburgh was small with few amenities, but the boarding process went smoothly enough. From the start, the Wind Surf staff were friendly and welcoming. Our cabin (one of the standard cabins, but upgraded to be on the 2nd level midship) was compact and efficient, with two porthole windows, and we found it quite comfortable. There is an elevator, but we used the stairs, which gave us a lot of exercise during the 11-day cruise. The public areas were nice, and we ate dinner a few times each in the upscale restaurant, in the main dining room, and (our favorite during good weather) on the poolside deck. We also spent several evenings in the main lounge where we enjoyed pop music (Cool Breeze band) and dancing. There was live entertainment also in a smaller bar area, but we did not go there. I enjoyed using the hot tub (there are two) and also the small pool several times. Few guests used the pool, which made it that much easier and less crowded for me. I also used the exercise room a couple of times, and it seemed to be pretty available. I did not try the spa. People seemed to enjoy the game room and my wife and I shopped in the ship store. Open deck space and lounge chairs were in short supply at times, but compared with some ships, there was adequate outdoor space to enjoy and walk around. One time in the Baltic Sea we swam off the ship's swimming area, and enjoyed that (but water temp was 62 degrees!). Throughout the cruise, staff were very nice and competent. An especially positive feature is the open door policy on the bridge and in most areas of the ship. We took a very interesting galley tour. The captain and hotel manger could not have been nicer or more open to conversation, and this set an open and friendly tone throughout.
The food was very good in all restaurants onboard. Alcohol choices were good and prices comparable to restaurants at home. We chose to eat a few lunches on land, just to get a better feel for the areas we visited.
We loved the choice of port stops - a good mix of cities and smaller towns. In every case the ship docked in a convenient location. The shore excursions offered by Windstar seemed to be over-priced, so we did not take any of them. Instead, we did a little advance planning and arranged tours and activities on our own, including a food tour in Copenhagen (excellent). We rented bikes in Skagen and arranged a guided walking tour in Warnemunde. We explored Oslo, Visby and Sandhamn on our own. We also purchased the two day hotel extension in Stockholm, and explored that on our own (from the Scandic Anglais Hotel, which was nice and had an excellent location). In Copenhagen and Stockholm we used the hop-on/off boats, and recommend them (but not the buses).
Although the cruise was wonderful, my one suggestion for improvement is that the quality of handouts and information given prior to each port stop be more complete, more up to date, and more professional (such as using real maps, in English; and providing information about where to eat, shop, and get cash, as well as transportation tips). The port information lectures were not well done and seemed aimed at marketing the shore excursions (which is necessary, but not sufficient).
 

It would be hard to improve on this cruise

Edinburgh (South Queensferry) Windstar Wind Surf Cruise Reviews

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