We chose this cruise for the itinerary. We were tired of the same ports visited by the big cruise ships and wanted to explore other islands, particularly Montserrat. We were not disappointed. While we did visit Antigua and Barbados, which are visited by the large ships, we also explored other islands and different ports. Anguilla, Montserrat, Dominica, St Lucia and Grenada were also stops. Neither of us are "foodies" but the food was incredible. All meals were very well done. The crew was so friendly and helpful and the officers were very accessible. Each night at 6:30 the Destination officer gave a presentation on the next port that was very insightful. All of the wait staff were versatile and did a great job of learning your name and room number. Anything you needed they could assist with. The ship is smaller obviously and rough seas had an effect but we experienced no big problems. There is some age on the boat but it was very clean and well maintained. There is not much entertainment but we were not seeking full shows. We met so many nice people on the boat too. We will definitely sail on Wind Star again. Read Less

Having done this exact cruise last year, albeit a little later in the Spring, and enjoyed it so much we booked it again when offered. In full disclosure we got an AMAZING deal that we couldn't pass up. The crossing was originally scheduled for the end of March but was moved up two weeks. We found out at the end of the crossing that it was to complete a 10-day dry dock before SP began her Med season. Only 62 people were onboard compared to 168 last year. Did it make a difference? Yes, in that there wasn't enough for the crew to do, and it seemed they got a little bored. Can't blame them. With the exception of the trivia games and "name that tune" the guests didn't seem to want to participate a lot - maybe they were a little bored too. The Spa was rarely used as was the gym. Several times on leaving the gym in the late afternoon the hair salon area was dark and there was no one at the front desk. Rarely saw anyone in the casino (which we heard is being eliminated during the "stretching"). Cruiselines use the days at sea to get done repairs, both cosmetic and mechanical, that couldn't be completed during the ship's Caribbean season. This resulted in some noise, loud at times, that really bugged some people - us not so much. After receiving complaints the ship did the best they could to complete the repairs when guests weren't on deck. As another reviewer wrote Star Pride is showing her age and isn't due to go into full dry dock for "stretching" until 2020, so it's no wonder WS schedule a mini-dry dock now. Hopefully these repairs will be enough to see the ship through. The crew was fantastic! Learned your name quickly and your preferences for things like coffee, wine, etc. They were always smiling and always greeted you by name. With only one exception, we felt they worked hard and enjoyed what they did. We couldn't say the same for our stateroom attendant. Nice guy but seemed not to have been well trained. The food was outstanding and, we both agreed, actually better this year than last. Really it was the highlight of the trip. Our stop in Horta was pretty worthless, although it was nice to get onto dry land for a few hours. We ventured forth and found the grocery store to buy some liquor to take back on with us for the remaining 3 days. We had taken liquor on in our bags when we boarded so we thought this wouldn't be a problem. I understand the liquor confiscation reasoning and policy, especially for Caribbean cruises, but with only 3 days left it would have been nice if someone had told security to waive it. Instead we didn't get to enjoy drinks in our room and went to the Compass Rose instead. In fairness the port that we had also brought and was confiscated with the liquor, was returned to us that same afternoon. Still, we kind of resented what we felt was petty on WS's part. SP is an older ship and I'll be interested to see what she looks like after her "stretching" in 2020. We won't do another crossing though. Even at a great price it just lacked anything that would compel us to return. Read Less

I just saw one of their ads on a day I was thinking about a trip. I enjoyed the cruise so much I have signed up for another. The staff couldn’t have better. The food was good and the dining room staff in both restaurants were extremely attentive. Each evening you had the opportunity to dine as a couple or to sit with others. That was a great way to meet others. Each evening there were “Port Talks” which gave lots of info on the next port. There were many interesting shore excursions for multiple interests and physical abilities. We had a great beach bbq on St Lucia. I never felt that the cruise line was constantly trying to sell you something. The ship was good but the staff in every service is their strength. The airline connections for a group of passengers had changed while sailing and the Captain and crew made changes in docking time to accommodate them. We loved the small boat atmosphere and would highly recommend this cruise line. We were amazed at how many repeat customers they had! Read Less

We had sailed on the Wind Star in Costa Rica a few years ago and were impressed. The Wind Spirit experience was even better. At the end of the cruise, the disembarking guests were hugging the crew members, something I had never seen on any other cruise. It felt like we had actually become friends during the 11 days on board. We had exchanged stories about families, careers, and felt we got to know them personally. Special recognition is owed to our cabin steward (Farid) the ladies at the front desk (Maggie and Gretchen) and the servers that took care of us (DeDe, Bambang and Edison). They consistently went above and beyond whatever was asked of them and seemed to genuinely enjoy working with the guests. The maitre d' (Rafal) runs a great operation. The food was consistently excellent, and included locally sourced seafood, as fresh as you can get. The picnic dinner the staff put on ashore on the small island ("motu") involving native dishes must have involved a huge amount of work, but was done flawlessly. Many small touches added greatly to our enjoyment. When we returned to the ship from an excursion, we were usually hot and sweaty. Right at the top of the gangway were cold, wet towels to wipe your face and neck....pure heaven. We did three of the excursions offered through the ship and loved them all, especially the "shark and stingray encounter" which was magical. Martina, the "Destination Manager" was always available with good advice on shore trips. I honestly can't offer a single serious criticism or suggestion to improve the cruise. In fact, my only negative observations would be very minor : more shade on the afterdeck would help cool off while sipping a tall drink following a day in the tropical sun. Tables with umbrellas were at a premium. My second observation seems trivial even to me, but I was not impressed by the musical due "Wake Up" that played in the lounge. They seemed to be lip synching nearly every song. Sometimes one or the other would stop in the middle of a song but the singing/playing continued. I heard several other passengers comment on this. The sailing crew, the ones behind the scenes, made sure everything went smoothly, like the tenders or zodiacs for shuttling passengers between ship and shore and the distribution of snorkeling gear. Although not for small children or those with mobility problems, I would recommend this cruise to anyone, and will always have fond memories of my Tahiti vacation. Read Less

We travel with a group from local travel agency. We had 20 in our group and this was my first time on Windstar. I love the smaller ship. The cabins were spacious and the biggest of any cruise line. There was a walk in closet and large bathroom. Our cabin was clean and well stocked the entire cruise. Our group mostly hung out at the Star Bar during the afternoon. The pool was small and did not really have a spot to all meet up. Sevice at the bars on board was friendly and great at getting items for our group when possible. (Coors Light and Baileys). I enjoyed the Dining room meals and was happy with service, offerings and taste. Some of travelers in our group were not as impressed. We ate at Candles one night and was very impressed. Great food and loved the outside dining experience. The entertainment was a bit slow for our lively group. Enjoyed the one night we spent dancing. Steve did a great Elton John show. We would have liked more dancing upbeat music. There was a small casino open most nights for a few hours. All ports were nice and most days had to tender to shore.There were excursions offered but we did our own thing at each stop. We found the embarkation and disembarkation an easy process without any issues. We were also happy we took the drink package. Overall it was a great time with our group. Read Less

We were excited about this cruise, having been on a cruise on the Royal Clipper several years ago and expecting it to be a similar experience. We were disappointed that it wasn't. Prior to the cruise the admin left a lot to be desired as we didn't get any final documentation until a few days before we left despite having paid in full when we booked. Although loyal Windstar cruisers on CC assured us that we didn't need any paperwork, we did actually really NEED to know which port to go to and at what time!! Fortunately this info did arrive in time and we were otherwise happy with the embarkation process which was very straightforward. Although our cabin was one of the cheapest we were pleased with it and it compared well with our cabin on Royal Clipper which WASN'T the cheapest. The shower was one of the best we've experienced on a ship! We didn't have a balcony but we were hoping for an active cruise so didn't think we'd miss it. We did! Our fellow passengers were quite a bit older than we'd expected. We are active 60+ year olds but certainly didn't feel older than the majority.....the reason for this became clear as the cruise progressed. We were expecting this to be quite an active cruise......a sailing ship with a watersports platform going into bays where larger cruise ships can't dock. This was exactly what we experienced on Royal Clipper where, if the platform couldn't be put out due to rough seas or for any other reason, the staff took all the water 'toys' onto the beach and guests were able to use them there. There were sailing dinghys, windsurfers, kayaks, snorkelling gear and even an opportunity to try water skiing. The engines were turned off at some point during every sail so we could experience the feeling of truly sailing. Unfortunately, with Windstar the sails and watersports platform are just ornamental. We didn't ever sail without engines and the watersports platform was only in use for one short afternoon. And on that occasion the activities consisted of swimming and there were a couple of kayaks available, but the ship was so far away from the shore that there was nowhere interesting to go with them. We tried one for about 10 minutes then got bored, and one other woman went in one, paddled about 10 metres and then returned!! But even the opportunity to swim would have been welcomed but this wasn't offered more than on that one occasion.. Perhaps one of the reasons for this may have been that, if too many activities were offered for free, people may not have bought the very expensive shore excursions? And the company are making a killing from these!! Virtually everyone on the ship went on one every day.....and the reports back from them generally weren't very good. Though there were occasional exceptions. The other very expensive extra being pushed by staff were the beverage packages. On arrival on the ship we were told that we only need to drink 4 drinks a day in order to make a package worth it. Not true.........in fact we would have needed to drink about 7 each! The barman tried again when we ordered our first drink. He told us we would be in profit at over 3!! And he was VERY pushy!! On the plus side, apart from that barman we found all of the rest of the staff to be excellent....extremely friendly, efficient and helpful. Another big plus was the food which I really couldn't fault. The whole dining experience was excellent. But our biggest disappointment of this cruise were the changes made to the original itinerary. As I said before, we were expecting a similar experience to the Royal Clipper and we were drawn to the itinerary which offered several islands and bays off the coast of Panama and Costa Rica. Even before the cruise started (and only 2 days after we booked!) we were sent an e-mail to say that one of the islands had been swapped for another day in Panama City. We were unimpressed as were a good number of other passengers. Many people had spent a few days there before the cruise so were really not happy to have yet another day added to the one we already had there. If they DID need to take out the original island then I think more effort could have been made to swap it for something offering an equivalent experience. To make matters worse, during the cruise the captain advised that high winds made it impossible to visit another island on our itinerary. This was then replaced by another port which again didn't offer anything like the experience (the Beach BBQ) we were expecting. It was a small port with virtually nothing to do unless you went on an excursion and with nowhere to swim. And to make matters worse the expected high winds did not materialise!! Windstar has a lot of repeat guests and loyal customers but I'm afraid we won't be joining them. We were expecting more of a small ship expedition experience but what Windstar seems to offer is a more traditional cruise ship experience (with expensive excursions, drinks packages etc) on a smaller scale so without some of the amenities you would expect on a larger ship (no balcony cabins, no swimming pool, no casino and only very limited entertainment consisting of one pianist and a not very good vocalist) This isn't what we want though it certainly seems to keep quite a few people happy so I accept that it's 'horses for courses.' Read Less

We spent our 25th anniversary on Moorea 27 years ago and decided it was time to revisit our memories. We had never been on a smaller ship and decided this was the way to see the other islands. It didn't disappoint. There were 142 passengers to 101 staff. It made it seem quite intimate and friendly. The staff make a point to remember everyone by name. Some of the small things I appreciated were no poised photos every time you got on or off the ship. There is no pressure to sign up for a future cruise. Plus it's all very relaxed with few dress codes (no dress up nights). The majority of the people were between 60-75 with about 5 honeymoon couples. We met some of the nicest people on this cruise. Our room was adequate with plenty of storage, comfortable bed, porthole view and nice toiletries. There are no elevators so all rooms have stairs. There is one dining room & the outdoors deck, Candles. We found the food to be very good. The special moments were the deck BBQ plus the special BBQ at Bora Bora on a private motu. The pool is very small & there is a hot tub. The deck had adequate chairs but without shade it was just too hot to set in the sun. Moorea is a lovely island. Best excursion is through Alberts Transport Lagoon where you get to snorkel with sharks & rays & have a great BBQ on a private motu. Siki was a great guide. Also went snorkeling at Temae Beach which was great. At Raiatea we wandered around town & then found an excursion up the Faaroa river, the only navigable river. At TaHa'a we did the cruise ship excursion of the coral drift snorkel. It was fun but definitely not for someone who hasn't snorkeled. The current was strong the day we went & if you didn't have flippers I'm not sure what you would do. It's important to keep up with the person in front so you don't get caught on the coral. We did this three times. Bora Bora is very pretty. It's all about over the water bungalows. We went on an excursion we found at the dock. It turned out to be great. We snorkeled with lots of sharks & rays & got to go around the whole island. We had a private tour around the island learning of the history of the US building the airport to protect the island during WW2. The ship put on a superb BBQ complete with fire dancers & Tahitian dancers. Great food. Our last stop was Huahine. We joined 7 others from the ship & hired a private boat to take us snorkeling. It was some of the best snorkeling we've ever done. But really wished we had more time there to explore the island which most people thought was the most unspoiled. We loved the small ship, meeting great people & having a relaxed atmosphere. Tahiti is living the dream. Absolutely stunning. We'd definitely sail with Windstar again. Read Less

First, we are a French Canadian couple in our early 50’s from Montreal. We sailed 5 times with Celebrity prior to sailing on Wind Surf for the first time in 2013. We have since sailed 7 times with them, all in the Caribbean with cruises on the Wind Star (1) Star Pride (2), Star Legend (1) and Wind Surf (3). What we love about Windstar is the small ships, the fact you can do things independently easily, the relaxed dress code, the food, which keeps getting better, and last but not least the great service staff which goes out of its way to make your cruise memorable. This was our first cruise back on a sail ship after 3 cruises on the motor yachts. We did Classic Caribbean itinerary from Feb 2nd to 9th as we had done the Yachtsman’s Caribbean itinerary twice already and did not like the fact they had changed some of the stops in the BVI. In the end we really enjoyed this itinerary with Barbuda and Dominica being new stops for us. The weather was just about perfect and seas were the calmest of all our cruises. We noticed the demographics of this cruise were probably a little older than our previous Windstar cruises with a good majority of guests over 70-75 but this did not hinder in any way our enjoyment as fellow Windstar passengers are all fairly active and well travelled. Finally, we travelled with another couple for which this was a first cruise on Windstar and likely not their last. Another great cruise with Windstar Booking: We booked just over 2 months ahead by pure accident as we typically wait for annual Christmas Sale as we feel prices get better closer to sailings (we always go for lowest priced cabin as location is not necessarily important to us). We called the company directly (we do not use a travel agent) to inquire about availability and they said that there was a promotion for Canadian residents with a $500 discount on the cruise price. I could not find this special on their website and the timing of my call was perfect as this special did not last very long. The 4 of us each got the $100 referral OBC which in our case was applied against our drink package purchased when we got onboard. We were assigned room 153 at front of ship and we were “upgraded” to 141 more in the center a few weeks later. Our friends were also upgraded from 103 to 122. Windstar also offered a 20% discount on the price of internet, drink package and laundry if all taken together prior to cruise which we did not take as we did not care for the ship’s slow and expensive internet (we had access to a good roaming package which we used most of time as we were always close to islands). Embarkation Although we typically fly in the day before, our schedule did not allow for such luxury this time around. Our plane landed in SXM at 16h30 on departure day (ship’s departure scheduled at 19h00) and we got out of the terminal around 17h15. Cabs were plentiful and we ended up sharing one with another Canadian couple on same flight that was also boarding the ship. Cab ride was $30 for the 4 of us and took 30 minutes. We boarded the ship at 17h45 and check-in was swift at front desk given our tardiness . Sail away was on schedule at 19h00. Not the ideal situation for travel but things worked out nicely. We were told our cruise was fully booked, so around 310 passengers on board. This was not an issue throughout the cruise as the Wind Surf remains very spacious with nooks and crannies for everyone. Cabin: We were in 141 and our friends in 122 (both added to Wind Surf stateroom sticky forum). Cabins are well designed with plenty of storage if required. 141 was quiet and had no issues although on 3 occasions, we had to call maintenance to fix our toilet as vacuum system had problems and toilet risked overflowing. In all 3 cases (one time at 3 am) the problem was fixed quickly by maintenance staff. Our room attendant was attentive although we did not have any special requirements. Reusable water bottles we refilled every day (one with flat water, the other sparkling) and our ice bucket was kept full with ice every day. Our friends in 122 complained about regular banging noise which we suspect was due to some gangway or tender equipment hanging above their room. We were also wondering how we would find going back to the smaller sail ship staterooms after experiencing the larger suites on the Star ships on our last 3 cruises. Well it wasn’t an issue as the rooms are very well designed and we were really only in our room to sleep or change over for dinner. We did not use room service nor laundry service this time. Bathroom was compact and well designed but starting to show its age. Occitane toiletries are provided in all rooms. Bars and Entertainment: Drinks were mostly taken outside at Compass Rose or Pool Bar. Did not go to Lounge except for Talent Show but band seemed competent. Bar service was always good. Duo at Compass Rose was OK and had guests dancing and when finished around 11pm, guests would come in to plug IPad playlists in system to keep party going a little longer. This happened a few evenings with people dancing a little past midnight. A lot of fun. Food: Again food was a highlight. We ate at Amphora 4 times, one time each Candles and Stella Bistro and Deck BBQ on the late night in St-Kitts. Menu was varied although gluten free items remain limited (our friend suffers from gluten intolerance and we were just more sensitized to his diet challenges throughout the cruise). Breakfast was good with buffet or a la carte items available. Couple of things we noticed were the poor quality of orange juice which in the past was freshly squeezed and now is a watered down Tropicana version and the fact there were no fresh peeled orange slices on the buffet whereas these were always on buffet in the past. We had good lunches at Veranda when we made it back in time from the island as the venue is only open from 12h00 to 14h00. We were late a few times and had to settle for food at Yacht Club. Lunch should be extended to 14h30 to accommodate those with dietary restrictions as the menu at the Yacht Club, while good, remains limited for them. Service in the dining rooms at dinner was fast and efficient (sometimes too fast) with meals lasting 1.5 to 2 hours. We mostly had dinner around 8pm and never had to wait more than a few minutes for a table and by the time we were finished, most of the time we were the last table in dining room. Menus were varied with several fish, meat and vegetarian dishes and all 4 of us were impressed by the quality and presentation of food. Deck BBQ food was great although lobster was a little chewy. We did not do the Dining Under The Stars (offered twice on our cruise) as it was not offered to us. This was a bit disappointing. Beach BBQ was held on Pigeon Island, which is our least favourite Windstar Beach BBQ location (the others being Mayreau and Virgin Gorda). While food was good, beach is too small and not necessarily the nicest. A couple of evenings, we were treated to canapés at Compass Rose before dinner. Usually had 2 different types of them but just one tray so these would disappear very fast with literally no chances for seconds. I suspect these were also served in the Lounge but we never went to the Lounge for pre dinner drinks so cannot confirm. We are a bit picky about our coffee and the caffe lattes at Veranda in the morning were good (regular coffee not so much) but even better at Yacht Club. We did try a few of the the latter’s sandwiches and sweets offered in the afternoon on one occasion and all were good. 3 of us were on the recently introduced TopMast Discoveries drink package at $49 while the 4th party was on the CaptainsExclusive package at $59. This created confusion with servers with several drinks (liquor) being charged to our room although drunk by our friend on the full drink package. All charges were reversed but this was a hassle as we needed to check bill daily to ensure charges were being reversed overnight and that no new ones were being added. Drink package probably makes sense if you have 5 or more drinks per day and even though we were drinking our quota, we generally felt that the value proposition of the drink packages had come down markedly from the previous iterations with price of package going up $7 and the wines offered having a price point no higher than $9.50/$10 vs a max of $11.50 under previous package. We will likely need to re-think this aspect on our next cruise. Marina We did not use the marina this time around but it was open in Barbuda, Les Saintes and St Barth. We saw several people using it when available. The water toys were also brought to the beach on Pigeon Island for the Beach BBQ Spa: Our friends each got a $50 spa voucher (good on port days) offered by Windstar to all first time cruisers which they used for a very relaxing hot stone massage. Gym: we did not use gym but it looked clean and well equipped and did not seem overcrowded Tenders: Tenders were used in all ports except Dominica where we were docked at the industrial dock, not the more central cruise ship dock (occupied by Silverseas on that day). While tender service was good, the tenders themselves are in need of a total overhaul. During our cruise we got to see the Seabourn, Club Med 2 and Star Clipper tenders and all of them were in substantially better condition than the Surf’s. They will be changing the tenders on the Motor Yachts, they probably should do the same with the sailing ships. Bridge Did not visit the bridge this time around and whereas in the past there was a photo opportunity at the bow of the ship, we did not see this on this cruise. Stops and excursions: We generally are not the type to book ship excursions as we feel they are overpriced and like to do things on our own. I typically like to do my own research and do not like to plan too long ahead. Barbuda: Nothing planned. Only tour offered was to view frigate bird sanctuary which did not interest us. We instead took a cab to Princess Diana beach ($30 each way). Very nice pink sand beach with nobody other than a few fellow cruisers on it. No facilities so bring water and some food if you are going to spend a long time. We were there for about 3 hours and got on the ship around 2pm just in time to catch lunch at Veranda. The ship leaves early at 3 pm on this day. Dominica: Again we stepped out of ship and hired a cab to go to Ti-Tou Gorge and Trafalgar Falls. Cost was $160 for the 4 of us and lasted 2.5 hours. Ti-Tou Gorge is not to be missed as you swim in a crystal clear river canyon up to a small waterfall. Very nice. The drive to both these spots is also spectacular as the road sits at the top of a high mountain ridge. We were back on the ship by 1h30 and had lunch at Veranda. Found a chair on deck for the remainder of day and used pool and hot tubs. Although the Island suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Maria in Sept 2017, the island infrastructure and vegetation is recovering nicely. Pigeon Island: This was our 4th time to Pigeon Island and it is our least favourite spot for the Beach BBQ. The beach is small and crowded although the area in the back where they actually serve the BBQ is nice. The water toys were brought to the beach, as well as paddle boards and kayaks. They also offered waterski and wakeboardings runs for those who wanted. Club Med 2 (Wind Surf’s twin) was also in port that day which made for interesting pictures. Les Saintes: This was our third time to Les Saintes and we continue to enjoy this stop. There is a quaint village with some interesting shops and a Fort (Fort Napoleon) from which the views of the bay and our sail ship are simply breathtaking. Note the Fort is only open until 12h30 and bring €5 cash if you want to get in. We rented a 4 seat electric golf cart (cost €75) from Green Car Rental to tour Island but you need to reserve it in advance as these get taken up very quickly (we had learned this the hard way the previous time we were there). Wanted to go to Pain de Sucre Beach but path is somewhat steep and rocky which required shoes we did not have. Instead went to Pompierre beach (no facilities). Nice beach but the palm trees have taken a beating as a result of hurricane Maria last year. Had a good lunch in town at Cafe de la Marina with a nice view of the port while the ladies shopped linen at Mahogany next door. Basseterre St-Kitts: Our initial plan was to get off ship, take the 9h30 ferry to Nevis ($16 each way/pers), hire a cab for a few hours to do tour of island, visit plantation and get dropped off at Pinney’s Beach. However we were a bit tired that morning and thus proceeded to a less intense plan B which was to take a cab ($30 each way) to go to Cockshell Beach at the far South end of the Island. We rented chairs ($5 each) and umbrellas ($10) at the Spice Mill and also had good lunch there. Beach is nice and was somewhat crowded, something rare on a Windstar cruise but there were another 2 ships in port, so this was to be expected. Ship left late at 10pm and this was night of deck BBQ. St-Barth: We had reserved a convertible Mini Cooper to tour Island ahead of time with Sixt Car Rental. Called them up 30 minutes prior to going to shore so they were there to pick us up and take us to airport to fill out docs. Cost was a bit steep at €105 but we had fun touring. Went to Saline and Gouverneurs beaches, did some shopping and had lunch at Nikki Beach in St-Jean. Lunch was good although this is St-Barth and everything is pricey. Returned the car at airport, got shuttled back to port and did some more shopping in Gustavia. Took tender around 6pm back to ship. Debarkation. Debarkation was trouble free. Had breakfast around 8am after picking up our passport and having face to face meeting with Immigration on board ship around 7h30 (this is new as we usually just picked up passport on ship and passed Immigration once on shore). Our flight was late (5pm) so we took a cab to Holland House, took up their day pass offer which for $25 includes 2 chairs, 4 drinks,use of shower, Wifi and facilities. Had good lunch at their restaurant and left at 2h30 for airport. Ride was $30 for the 4 of us and took just under 30 minutes and this concluded another wonderful Windstar cruise. Read Less

As a sailor, I always wanted to go on Windstar; it far exceeded my expectations. Kudos to Gede, assistant Maitre D, his boss Santos and Chef Oman for delicious meals that met our dietary restrictions. Kudos to Lufi, Cabin Steward, for a fragrance free chemical free cabin. Loved the marina, thanks to Jose for taking us each out for a sail on the Hobie cat. Enjoyed having the snorkel mask and fins provided by the marina; excellent fit. The itinerary is excellent, with long days on shore at each port. Very friendly people, engaging and well traveled, plenty of deck chairs, great crew show, Excellent gym with a recumbent bike and many classes.would definitely go on Windstar again. The cabin is small but very compact. Be sure you sign up for dinner at candles and Stella and for the barbecue and dining under the stars the last three nights. Pigeon Island, St Lucia is a luncheon barbecue on the beach. Sorry we did not sign up for the Wi-Fi package as it was a hassle to find Wi-Fi in the ports, and when we did it was usually spotty. Ports: St Maarten: We stayed at the DIvi the night before; just terrific. Barbuda: call walk on the beach. Dominica: very mountainous tropical one lane roads so be prepared to spend a lot of time driving around. We booked privately with Antours to see the indigenous Carib, Annison himself was very interesting. Also did hot springs. Need to walk out of the port area, follow the yellow lines, if you want to do an excursion not part of the ship. Pigeon Island St Lucia: The ship does a beach barbecue at this port, probably due to the miserable traffic. We took a private tour with James Touring Service in his 4 wheel Jeep, necessary if you want to go snorkeling at Ti Kaye resort as the driveway is extremely steep.Excellent snorkeling, lots of beautiful fish, clear water, pleasant lunch. James is very sweet, knowledgeable and excellent driver. He will get you back on time, no worries. Terre du Haut, Les Saintes, FWI: Reportedly the best snorkeling here. great crepes at Crepes Galette immediacy next to the tourist office. Sorry we did not get off early and snag a golf cart; if you do, bring a credit card for the deposit. Nice lunch on the water at Cafe de la Marine, has WiFi. Basseterre St Kitts: When we got off the tender we noticed Bluewater safaris and so went on a catamaran snorkeling trip, lots of fun. Snorkeling ok. St Bart’s: Very charming, very French great shopping, St Maarten; Must be off the ship by 8:45 am. Many people go to Holland House, pay $25 for 2 lounge chairs on the beach, we went back to the DIvi. Read Less

The staff were very attentive and accommodating. Most took the time to learn your name. We had a State Room which was spacious and comfortable. A definite plus on a smaller ship which doesn't have a lot of public areas. Ship was very clean and you noticed the effort to keep it that way.The excursions were interesting and efficient. There was a problem with the air conditioning. State rooms could be ice cold or uncomfortably warm. The Veranda was most always too warm to sit and enjoy a meal. At the beginning of the cruise the Yacht Club was ice cold and then after complaints it became too warm....no ability to really regulate the temperature. Food was ok. A couple of nights were very good. Seemed to be a lack of vegetables with the dinners and the quality of fruit was disappointing given our location. If you are Gluten free, you should bring your own bread, crackers, cereal, and snacks. They did have non-wheat pasta and you could get gf sliced bread for dinner, but they ran out after the second night. We've only done a few other cruises, but they seemed to have a larger variety for people with wheat allergies. Read Less