We had been waiting for our BIG return to cruising following the Covid pause and were excited to see that Wind Surf would still be in The Caribbean during our vacation. The booking process was simple, all though the protocols for testing and transit through SXM were a bit confusing, but we managed to wade through the emails and figure out what steps we needed to complete to sail. It had been 10 years and 1 week since our last voyage on Wind Surf and she is definitely NOT showing her age. Everything on board was shipshape with only a few hiccups. The crew was typical WindStar. Welcoming, engaging and gracious. We love sailing to the smaller ports especially the BVI's, hence the reason we booked this sailing. Soper's Hole. Jost Van Dyke. Virgin Gorda. St Barts. Anguilla. Antigua. Unfortunately, Anguilla was replaced by St Kitts due to Covid restrictions. We had done this itinerary previously and enjoyed the overnight in Jost Van Dyke. Normally the yacht was anchored in Great Bay then relocated the next day to White Bay but that was not the case on this voyage. The yacht remained in Great Bay for the entire call. The next day was Virgin Gorda and this too changed as there was no overnight and the only options were an organized tour or the beach BBQ. The tour was a bit disappointing because it ate up a large chunk of the time on Prickly Pear Island for the BBQ. Would opt NOT to take the Island Tour and Baths next time. The remainder of the voyage, we spent onboard opting to have the entire yacht to ourselves. The dining onboard was excellent. A suggestion we would certainly make is to book Candles and Stella Bistro immediately upon boarding! We ended up securing reservations in each of them later in the cruise but there were some issues. In fact, we ended up eating in Stella Bistro 3 times on this voyage and enjoyed it greatly. The deck BBQ was delicious and always a great escape when eating under the stars. Breakfast each morning in the Veranda was wonderful and during our cruise the buffet restrictions were lifted and you were able to serve yourself. Of course you could also order from the menu and be served. The entertainment onboard was very low key, as it always is on Wind Star. Nightly duo in the Compass Rose, band and singer in the Lounge, Crew Show once per cruise and various singers each evening. Very enjoyable and makes for a great wind down after a relaxing day onboard. Bar staff was always eager to serve. Shore Excursion manager gave a talk each evening about the next port of call and always added interesting facts to the conversation. Future Cruise Manager also gave a talk each evening to sell and that got a bit old after the first couple of days. Our cabin was in great shape. Suggestion, that others have also advised, bring an electric strip and/or a voltage converter. There is only one (1!) outlet in the entire cabin for US devices. The bed was not the most comfortable but still managed to sleep well. They still provide a Bose speaker for use in the cabin but it uses the old type connector so bring a converter or bluetooth converter to be able to use it. We always enjoy a much cooler room but the temperature never really got below a certain point during the entire voyage. The cabin attendants did a great job. Our cabin (152) was located on Deck 1 all the way forward and was very quiet and easily accessible.

Now for the hiccups......WIFI! Don't depend on it for anything you might really need to do. One minute it works great and the next minute it is nonexistent. This was not relegated to any particular area of the yacht but was generally all around the yacht. Was up late on the last night trying to send Covid test results for the flight home. Also, not much information was given during the cruise about Covid testing requirements to return to the US. In fact, another couple on our voyage went to the airport to return home without knowing the test was required. Precruise we were informed that testing would be required for some ports on our itinerary but were never tested during the voyage nor told that testing was no longer required. Hopefully we won't have to worry about ANY testing in the near future.

To sum it up, a wonderful return to one of our favorite destinations and cruise lines. Great job Wind Surf team!