Outside

Suite

Windstar Cruises

Luxury Cruises

Gay & Lesbian Cruises

Romantic Cruises

Singles Cruises

Senior Cruises

Fitness Cruises

Gourmet Food Cruises

St. Maarten

Barbados

St. Martin

Lisbon

Caribbean - All

Caribbean - Eastern

Caribbean - Southern

Europe - All

Transatlantic

Europe - British Isles & Western

Europe River

Africa

Morocco

Portugal

Douro River

Mediterranean

Caribbean - Western

Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

Europe - Western Mediterranean

World Cruise

Mexico - All

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Excellent

Average

Very Good

Terrible

Poor

Wind Surf

Wind Spirit

Great Family Cruise

Izmir

Quick background.  This was our 46th cruise, the 3rd on Windstar. We treated my son and his family so they could experience a 5-star cruise line.  Windstar didn't disappoint!  

Flying from Charlotte, NC no problem to St Maarten.  Customs there was very slow but the transfer to the ship was fine.  Checked in at the cruise terminal and showed our vaccination paperwork & passports again and found out there were only 183 passengers on a ship that holds 342.  Off to the Wind Surf and checked at reception.  No glass of champagne, and was offered a bottle of water which we declined.  Escorted to our cabin, #245, with the family.  We had 3 cabins in a row and met our cabin steward, Toya.  Toya did a great job always with a smile.  Sail away was great with the music and the unfurling of the sails as we left St. Maarten. 

We had dinner in the main restaurant, Amphora, and afterward explored the ship.  Our previous cruises on Windstar had been on the smaller ships, Wind Song & Wind Spirit.  More about the cabins later.

At the first breakfast at the Veranda we met Arcmed, Russ and Prast.  These 3 gentlemen were with us on our last cruise on the Wind Spirit for 17 days around the Tahitian Islands.  I was amazed that they remembered us and we enjoyed the excellent service they provided my entire family.  On the last night we had dinner at Stella Bistro and all three came there to wish us a safe trip come and hoped to see us again on another Windstar cruise.  Just a really nice touch.

As for the food, it was excellent in every restaurant.  The BBQ buffet one night that was outside was great as was the beach BBQ on Virgin Gorda.  Candles and Stella Bistro were very good but they have the same menu every night so one visit to each was enough.

Comment on the entire crew staff.  I know it's been mentioned in other reviews about the crew on Windstar but after a day or two they really do remember your name, and drink order and always have a smile.  Any request is met with the answer, "no problem, consider it done."  Simon Terry, the ship's Captain, was seen every day and was easy to engage in a conversation.  As we were leaving to go home he was at the gangway shaking our hand, thanking us for sailing with Windstar.  

Overall, a great family cruise that we all will remember.  Not really a cruise if you are looking for nightly entertainment, there is no casino or movies.  The pool is small but there are lots of lounge chairs and a bar is right there.  I like the policy with the drink package for the following reason.  My wife is not a drinker and on other cruise lines if one person wants the drink package they charge both passengers.  On Windstar they only charge the drinker.  How fair is that?  You also get 30% off on a bottle of wine that you can share.  The wine by the bottle was very reasonable.  A bottle of Caymus Cab last month a Greg Norman's restaurant cost $195.00.  The same bottle on Windstar, $130.00.  A little  pricey but we had lots of onboard credit to use up and we were on vacation.  

One other comment.  It doesn't hurt to tip early in the cruise as the crew will remember you and maybe give you a little more attention, but on Windstar every crew member was great.

VIRGIN GORDA - Beautiful beach where we had the beach picnic.  Lots of water toys to play with.  food and service were provided by the ship.  No locals bothering you selling junk or hair braiding!! 
ST. BARTS - Small strip of shops with snobby French sales persons.  Quick look around than back to the ship.
ANTIGUA - Took a cab to the beach, don't remember the name.  
Other ports were nothing to write about.

I have been on numerous other cruises with other companies. Hands down this was the most fun. The ship is beautiful and in excellent condition and very well maintained. The staff was incredible from the Steward to the Hotel Manager, The excursion desk, the restaurant staff and the captain. I can't figure out how so many people knew my name. The food was great and all home made not pre-made which you get on the big ships. I loved the two beach parties and the 2 onboard barbecues. We liked this so much we booked two more trips. Venice to Rome via the Dalmatian Coast and Sicily and I am now booking from Lisbon to Rome 15 days. Also I liked the eclectic  mix of the passengers.  We loved all the stops along our itinerary especially the British Virgin Islands. Another standout. The French Island Les Asese an English Harbor Antigua.

I agree with another reviewer 100 Awsome. We loved the ship

We travel with Windstar Cruises and we vacation with Windstar Cruises. Since we are from the freezing  Northeast, we like to vacation in the Caribbean preferable early winter. We were fortunate to spend 17 days on the Surf over the Christmas Holiday. When traveling in the Caribbean in December the sea can be rougher but usually not that bad. This trip the ocean was not really choppy but it did have swells which lying the their great WS bed rocked us to sleep. These swells did cause us to not to be able visit Falmouth Harbor and St. Barts twice but WS made other great substitutions. We went into St. John's,  Antigua, the day of the final for the World Cup and that was fantastic and fun watching it with the people of Antigua. We also went into Basseterre, St.  Kitts twice which we thought was great due to the beautiful vistas and great beaches. 

This cruise had a great itinerary with three beautiful days in the BVIs and a daylight sail from one island to the next through the BVIs. We love the BVI's they are like a lovely island necklace circling the Caribbean Sea. Sitting  deck side, under the sails  looking out at the splendid vistas is " We are lucky to be alive " sailing experience. 

Singularly, Windstar Cruises has the best crew and service of any travel provider, they are consistently, 100% excellent. After 27 cruises with Windstar, while always excellent, this cruise  food shined absolutely delicious. The laundry service is better than any laundry we have at home, plus it enables us to travel very light. 

What tickles us is that the shower has fabulous hot water and great water pressure, no water trickles on this ship!

We have loved our years on Windstar and we hope that whoever reads this and cruises with WS,  they will as well.  Happy Sailing

Great Holiday Vacation On the Wind Surf, Again

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!

So Nice To Be Back

Supposed to be a 5Star cruise on an older Sailing Ship. 4th day into the cruise 1 person was reported to have Covid.

Whole ship was tested for Covid and about 20 of us were quarantined in our cabins.we were told we had special menus, no cabin service, no contact with anyone. Food was delivered on paper plates with plastic utensils that broke as soon as I tried to use them. 

The Captain turned the ship around at Castries St Lucia and literally dumped us in Barbados. We still have no idea why we are in Barbados. We are in a small local clinic waiting to find out if we will be transferred to a Quararine Hotel.  Many passengers are angry, some have left the cruise and returned home.

We can be quarantined for up to 14 days in the clinic. 4 and t to a room, shared toilets. No Air Conditioning....

One email from Windstar with an email, a local number in Seattle and their Care Team will reach out to us.

The message states that they are closed for the holidays.

WHAT ABOUT OUR HOLIDAY?????

Covid on day 4 Quarantined in Barbados

My sisters and our husbands, all fans of Windstar Cruises, decided to spend Christmas together on our favorite ship The Wind Surf. We made the reservation when the vaccinations were discovered.

A joyful start for all, everyone, passengers and crew alike were so  happy  to be on again. The ship looked great, food outstanding, the perfect service that we all have experienced, terrific Captain, terrific Julien , the hotel manager, the doctor magnificent,  the heart felt stories from the crew and their lives at home without work. Truly happiness abound.

Anyone who went on this cruise without being flexible should not have been on, given the  likelyhood of change, given how fast this virus spreads was not remote. In emergencies the Ports rule.  When the first people were discovered the Captain made adjustments in the schedule. They were left off in Barbados. The joyous times continued. Beach excursions, beach barbecue all terrific. Great holiday meal menus. The passengers  obeyed  the rules. We were tested almost daily, organized and efficient, maybe  took 10 minutes out of the day. Then Christmas Night at 9, while having a delicious dessert,  Bûche de Noël, we received the announcement the cruise had been cancelled due to too many positive people and we were returning to St. Martin. The next day I was tested and another person in my party we were positive with no symptoms . Safety, rapid changes were made for the good of us all. While in quarantine staff checked in on us, menus were brought, delicious hot food was delivered, service rapid, etc.

I  also realized we are were in " new  territory  ".  The biggest blip was the inadequate WIFI on the Surf, it would drop and was  slow.  Was this due to port issues, WS WIFI issues who knows? It was frustrating and maddening. We needed the WIFI to connect with families and to make new travel arrangements. Telephones are out, WIFI is imperative and it's needs to be reliable. The other  blip was communication, getting the message straight and was this the port I think so. This situation was new to us all for this virus spreads like a wild fire. We had a couple of semi serious blips but in the end it worked out. Our Captain remained steady, the doctor great, our services perfect. I tested negative on Wednesday, allowed off and miraculously made it home 2 hours after my husband.

So much of the cruise was perfect and generous in  very trying times. I can't wait until we get rid of this pandemic to go again. Eight days out of ten pure bliss. We were compensated 50% of the cruise I feel that was more than generous. Bravo Wind Surf. Thank you.

Joyous, Perfect Start, Thrilled to be on Again and a Blip due to the Virus, No one's fault.

We chose Wind Star due to their itinerary in Lesser Antilles and positive experience from our first sailing with them for the French Polynesia summer of 2019. Unfortunately, COVID outbreak happened on Day 4 of 10. Wind Star dumped COVID positive passengers and their families in Barbados with no local support and sailed away to try to complete the rest of the cruise. They also failed to disclose the true extent of the outbreak without any information on the crew testing positive as well. Current refund strategy is credit for a future cruise which is a really bad joke. We now have to muddle through travel insurance claims to get some type of reimbursement for excursions not completed and all types of drink and WiFi passes not used. (Wifi did not work half the time) Complete disaster, so their slogan is right, 180 degrees from the ordinary - just in the wrong direction.

Trainwreck - WindStar

I am writing this as I go through my mandatory quarantine following another great cruise on the Wind Surf (the last one before operations were halted).  This was our second Windstar cruise in less than 4 months after having done a 14-day BTB Caribbean cruise with some friends on Star Legend in November. This time we were travelling as a couple and met 2 other couples from our hometown of Montreal on the ship during the trip.  We flew in same day from Montreal as there was a direct flight to Sint-Maarten that arrived around 12h30 giving us plenty of time for our scheduled 7pm departure. We are in our mid 50's and this was our 9th Windstar cruise (all in the Caribbean) and 4th on the Windsurf.  We also sailed 5 times with Celebrity prior to switching to Windstar in 2013. This was again a great cruise although there were a few hiccups along the way (especially with the tender operations). We continue to enjoy Windstar's small ships despite the fact capacity was increased by 32 pax on the Wind Surf's recent dry dock (more on this later but we did not feel the increase was noticeable).  What we enjoy is the fact you can do things independently easily (we only took one snorkeling excursion from the ship), there is a relaxed dress code at dinner, the food is excellent and last but not least the great service staff who go out of their way to make your cruise memorable. This was the 3rd time we did Yachtsman’s Caribbean itinerary as we love all the stops along the way (BVI's, St Barth, Antigua) although the reason we chose this particular one is the fact it had a twist with no sea day and an extra stop on our favorite island, Anguilla.  The weather was a bit challenging during our first 2 stops (Tortola and Jost Van Dyke) with gray skies, strong winds and regular showers.  Although weather had begun to clear when in JVD, Captain decided to cancel Virgin Gorda and Beach BBQ in Fischer's Cove and instead go back to Road Town and spend the night docked and remain there the following day.  This was disappointing for people that wanted to see the Baths.  The crossing from Road Town to Anguilla was very rocky with several guest not able to sleep (incl. myself).  The rest of the week was calmer and much sunnier. Another great but not perfect cruise with Windstar 

Booking: 

We booked 45 days in advance (we always go for lowest priced cabin as location is not necessarily important to us). We called the company directly (we did not use a travel agent) under the Canadian resident promotion with a $300 discount on the cruise price. This special is not on their website.  We booked a guarantee cabin and got upgraded 3 categories to an AX room 255. 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 

We flew in same day with an early direct flight out of Montreal which arrived in SXM at 12h20 and we arrived quickly at the ship at 13h30 vs our 19h00 departure as we were, for the first time, travelling with only carry-on luggage which made for speedier exit of busy temporary SXM temporary airport terminal. Cabs were plentiful. Cab ride was $25 for the 2 of us and took 40 minutes (we stopped at Carrefour to pick up a couple bottles of wine which we took onboard).  Check-in was swift at front desk given most of the initial rush had passed. Sail away was on schedule at 19h00. We were told our cruise was almost fully booked, so around 325 passengers on board. This was not an issue throughout the cruise as the Wind Surf remains very spacious with nooks and crannies for everyone. 

Stateroom: 

We were in stateroom #255 (added to Wind Surf stateroom sticky forum). Staterooms are well designed with plenty of storage if required. The cabin was quiet and had no issues although we understand that at least on 2 occasions during the trip, staterooms located towards the back of the ship (not us) had vacuum issues with toilets not functional for several hours. Our room steward was attentive although we did not have any special requirements.  Reusable water bottles we refilled every day with flat water and our ice bucket was kept full with ice every day. 

Despite being much smaller than on the ones on motor yachts, 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 but did use laundry service with no issues. Bathroom is compact and well-designed but starting to show its age. No issues with hot water or water pressure throughout the trip. L’Occitane toiletries are provided in all rooms. 

Bars and Entertainment: 

Drinks were mostly taken outside at Compass Rose or Pool Bar. Did not have drinks in the Lounge as we like to be outside although it looked fairly busy in the evening.  Bar service was always good. Duo at Compass Rose (D’Harmony) was OK and sometimes had guests dancing but generally it was pretty quiet compared to other Windstar cruises we have taken.  We did not attend the crew show 

Sail Aways were nice and the sails were up more often than in past cruises with our short hop from Anguilla to St Barth done on sail power only (3.5knots) 

Dry Dock Improvements: 

Although Wind Surf went into dry dock last November, changes to the ship remain minimal but include a totally renovated (incl. all furniture) and expanded Lounge (no more casino) which is much brighter than previously, the relocation of the Spa from deck 2 to deck 5 (in former Nautilus Room) and which is much larger and nicer than in the past when it was located at the back of deck 2, new chairs in Stella Bistro, a small waiting area near Amphora and new mattresses (firm) in all staterooms plus the addition of 16 new staterooms on deck 3 by reducing the number of suites.  We heard onboard that the Wind Surf would get a total overhaul in 2023 

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-Barth. Dinner restaurant hours have been modified from 19h00-21h00 to 18h30-20h30.  Given we are late eaters, it seemed we were always racing to meet this deadline.  We preferred when restaurants closed at 21h00.  Menu at Amphora changes daily and was varied with vegetarian and gluten free options available. Breakfast was good with buffet or a la carte items (waffles, eggs, pancakes, eggs benedict) available. Fresh squeezed OJ, lots of fruits, pastries, smoked salmon, cereal, oatmeal as well as several hot items (love their bacon) were available on the buffet. 

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. Like breakfast, lunch consists of a buffet with hot/cold items, a carving station, pasta bar, burgers and other à la carte items that change every day.  We were late a few times and had to “settle” for food at Yacht Club (very good sandwiches and energy bars). 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 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 again were impressed by the quality and presentation of the food. Deck BBQ food was great although they ran out of lobster tails for those who came late which we thought was unacceptable. The Dining Under The Stars option which was offered twice on our Feb 2019 Wind Surf cruise not offered this time around.  They had a burger bar lunch from 14h00-15h00 one afternoon but did not get to it as we were still on the island. 

Beach BBQ was supposed to be held in Fischer’s Cove Virgin Gorda but was cancelled due to strong winds preventing the ship form having a sheltered anchorage so we spent the previous night and following day docked in Road Town for the day. 

2 or 3 times during the week (maybe these were every night but I can’t confirm), we were treated to canapés at Compass Rose before dinner. Usually had 2 different types of canapés and staff did a few rounds so plenty to go around.  We also saw these served in the Lounge. 

Had dinner one night at Candles and everything was fine with tender filet mignon cooked to order.  Don’t miss the prosciutto/parmesan potatoes.  Note they no longer have Red Velvet cake on dessert menu.  It had been a staple for several years.  

We like the Stella Bistro and the French inspired food was excellent when we went 

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 (The barista on the Wind Surf however was not as good as Yogi on our November Star Legend cruise). We also did try a few of the sandwiches and sweets offered in the afternoon and all were excellent (try the Tuna and Greek sandwiches and the energy bars). 

Also new was a tea station set up in Compass Rose in the afternoon which includes cucumber sandwiches and scones… and various teas.  A good initiative that seemed to be popular with some guests 

Although we do like our wine and drinks, for the second time in a row, we did not take any of the beverage packages available including a new one which allows you to purchases 5 bottles of wines in 2 price point categories at a 10-15% discount (several of the wines we liked were not on these lists).  In the end it was cheaper, we drank better wines by the bottle and brought a couple of bottles we had bought on shore in St Barth (which they did not confiscate), to Candles and Deck BBQ and both times they did not charge the regular $17 corkage fee (they probably forgot, just too busy).  Unfinished bottles were kept for next day and one time they could not find our bottle which had about a third left so they poured us 2 huge glasses of the same wine instead.  Being a bit of wine buff, I find the wine list has a varied selection and decent prices.  I posted wine and drink lists on Windstar forum last November and another cruiser recently posted them also.

Marina 

We picked up our snorkel gear on Saturday night for our Sunday morning snorkel tour to the Indians although the tour provides its own gear if you forget.  Due to the strong winds we did not see the marina open although a couple of times we saw them preparing it, just don’t know if they ever got to opening it formally as we were away on the islands and always came back too late 

Spa: 

We visited the new spa but did not use it.  Much better location and the spa itself looks very nice. 

Gym:

We did not use gym but it looked clean and well equipped and did not seem overcrowded. 

Tenders: 

Tender service was the only issue we had on this cruise. In St Barth, several people had to wait over an hour to 75 minutes for tenders going to and coming back from St Barth (was the case for the 2 couples we met on the ship). On our last day in Antigua, last tender was scheduled at 16h30.  12 of us were there at 16h15 when tender showed up but there were 12 other guests still on the island and instead of taking the 12 back to the ship as scheduled at 16h30 and come back for the remaining ones, we waited until 17h15 for all the late guests.  They had plenty of time to have another tender run but for reasons unknown, the Bridge did not let the tender go. Guests were furious because we were kept in the dark and the Bridge’s decision did not seem to make sense from a customer service perspective.  I have added more details on this on the Windstar Board under “Wind Surf Poor Tender Service”  

Tenders were also used in Jost Van Dyke and Anguilla and we did not hear of any issues at those ports. The tenders themselves are also in need of a total overhaul. When compared to Seabourn, Club Med 2 and Star Clipper tenders, the Windstar tenders really look shabby. They will be changing the tenders on the Motor Yachts, they probably should do the same with the sailing ships. 

Bridge

We visited Bridge a few times and the on duty officer was nice and answered our questions. 

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.  On this trip, we had already been several times to all of the stops and were familiar with all of them so we knew exactly what we wanted to do. 

Tortola (Road Town, docked):

Cloudy/rainy morning, overcast afternoon, light wind. Did ship sponsored snorkeling excursion to Norman Island.  Good tour, not too expensive at $69.  Snorkeling was ok at the Indians, better than the Norman Island Caves.  Got back to shore around noon, had lunch onboard and went back to town and went shopping to Pussers. Town was quiet as it was Sunday and there was no other ship in town.  Came back early and spent rest of afternoon on deck.  This was our first time in Road Town and we liked it better when the Tortola stop was in Soper's Hole which I understand is being re-instated next year. Nice partial sunset cruise to Jost Van Dyke.  They also ran tenders to JVD that evening until 12h30AM for guests that wanted to go to Foxy’s 

Jost Van Dyke (Great Bay, tender)

Strong winds from the Northeast picked up during the night with heavy rains in the morning. Left ship around 10h30 under drizzle and headed to White Bay via taxi ($5/pers. each way 7 minute drive).  Weather cleared up a bit by midday but was not great with some rain and some sun.  Came back and had a few drinks at Foxy’s which has been rebuilt.  Given the strong winds, Captain advised we would not be going to Virgin Gorda the following day (Beach BBQ cancelled) and instead would sail back to Road Town and dock for the night and next day. 

Tortola Take 2 (Road Town, docked):

Finally a nice sunny day.  We intended to go to Long Bay (West End) but were told by locals that the 20 ft seas offshore made for precarious swimming on all North Shore beaches so we opted to go Long Bay near Trellis Bay and airport which was sheltered.  Taxi was $12/pers. each way (30 minute drive).  Given there was also a Disney ship in town and that Long Bay seemed to be the only sheltered beach, it was a bit busy.  It is a nice beach with chairs and all services.  We went to quieter far end of beach and had lovely day.  Came back to ship around 16h00. Overnight sail to Anguilla was very rocky with 12-15 ft waves.  Several people including myself had a lousy night sleeping, the only one on this cruise. 

Anguilla (Road Bay/Sandy Ground, tender):

Beautiful sunny day.  We chose this cruise because it had this stop which Windstar only started doing this year and only appeared on 2 of the Yachtsman’s itineraries in 2019-2020 (normally replaced by a sea day).  We have been to Anguilla several times and it remains one of the least developed islands in the Caribbean which is why we love it so much.  It is renowned for its amazing soft white sand beaches which are considered by many (including myself) as some of the finest in the Caribbean if not the world.  Given we had been to all of the most popular ones (Shoal Bay East, Rendez-Vous Bay, Meads Bay, Cove Bay or Crocus Bay),  we decided to try lesser known Shoal Bay West (taxi $30 for the 2 of us each way 20 minute ride) which has nice beach restaurant called Trattoria Tramonto (free chairs if you have lunch).  Very quiet (20 people max on a very nice and long sandy beach facing St. Martin).  Came back to ship around 16h00 and had dinner at Candles that evening. Captain advised that because our sail from Anguilla to St Barth was so short (40nm) we would be under sail only most of the time with engines cut off. 

St Barth (Gustavia, tender):

Beautiful sunny day spent at Pearl Beach Hotel on St Jean beach (Taxi 10 minutes, 20 Euros each way for 2).  Rented chairs (30 Euros).  Had lunch at small sandwich place later in St Jean Village (Kikiémoi). Did some shopping in St Jean.  Took cab back to Gustavia where we did a bit of shopping (including wine at Cellier des Gouverneurs which we brought back on ship with no issues) and tender back to ship around 17h15.  Our friends who took the tender a little later had to wait over an hour to get back and were late getting to deck BBQ which was held that night. Left St Barth at 22h00. Smooth sailing to Antigua that evening. 

Antigua (Falmouth Harbour, tender)

Nice sunny day.  Left ship around 9h30.  6 of us took a cab to Half Moon Bay, one of the nicest and least crowded (due to its remoteness) beaches in Antigua.  Cab was $25 return/pers. 40 minute drive).  A small restaurant/bar is now on the beach and they also rent chairs which is something new.  Great sheltered beach (far end is nicer, less surf).  On the way back, taxi took us up to Shirley Heights (part of Nelson Dockyards Park $5 entry fee) to take in the beautiful vista of Falmouth Harbour and English Harbour.  Well worth the detour.  Taxi dropped us off at the Dockyards where we spent an hour walking around and watching the racing sailboats coming in after their regatta.  Got back to the ship only around 17h30 due to aforementioned tender issue. 

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 in the morning. Our flight was at 13h45 so we left ship around 9AM and went directly to airport (taxi was $10/pers. as there were 10 of us in the van. Despite all the complaints on the temporary terminal’s cramped spaces, we were through security and immigration in 40 minutes as we had no bags to check.  Terminal was cramped but not as bad as last year.  Flight back was uneventful and we made it back to Canada just as travelling restrictions were getting tighter due COVID 19.   This concluded another wonderful Windstar cruise.

Great Yachtsman’s Caribbean Cruise

We chose the Windstar Windsurf itinerary to celebrate my husband’s 55th Birthday and we are so glad we did!! 

It was a very nice change to sail on such a small ship as we enjoyed the beautiful views of the gorgeous islands and beautiful yachts surrounding us.  The cruise staff were truly amazing people that went out of their way to make our cruise a memorable experience.  From the food to the service and their constant attention to our safety makes me only hope that we can enjoy a future cruise with Windstar!!

We started our cruise a week before the pandemic required strict travel bans and for good reason but we ended our journey with an overwhelming sense that this company truly cared for the safety of their passengers and crew far more than the loss of future fares.

We are very lucky to have enjoyed this cruise experience and we will forever be grateful for our week of fun and sun on such a beautiful cruise.

Wonderful Cruise!!

We love Windstar's other ships and wanted to try their large sailing ship for the itinerary Yachtsman Caribbean.  Sadly this ship strongly disappointed.  Ironically the ship had just come out of dry dock three weeks earlier but two of the sails were broken and couldn't unfurl each night.  Also they refurbished the lounge and half of the cabins and left all the garbage piled up on the ship in plane view. Disgusting.  

Unlike previous cruises with Windstar where you felt like the crew was quite attentive to you and seemed to know you already by name, the crew on this itinerary (a Christmas sailing) was more involved with their families then with catering to the clientele-not one yacht club member even got a special invite dinner with a senior crew.  

The ship as a whole was old looking and just dirty.  We often saw glasses strewn all over the place, dishes left out, towels left, etc.  Never ever saw that on other ships by Windstar in fact normally there would be a staff swooping in to clean it up.  The floors on the ship were dirty all the time.  It just seemed like this cruise itinerary did not have enough crew-nothing was painted, cleaned, or polished daily unlike other Windstar cruises where we always see crew bustling around doing that.  

The excursions were poor and we had to wait a lot to get on tinders or our excursions were over booked and we were dropped.  The ship also had never been in certain ports before so we had to wait 2 hrs to get off the ship due to customs hang ups and it delayed our Windstar excursions and then the excursions were shortened by them and we still paid the same price.  To us it seemed that whoever set up our ship itinerary didn't allot for that customs processing time and then the crew didn't try to adjust their timings to come into port earlier so that clientele was able to do what they had paid for.

Communication was very poor among ship staff we noticed unlike other Windstar cruises we have taken with them.  The front desk staff seemed understaffed and clueless. When we called room service or to make a reservation for a restaurant 4 out of the 7 times we got an answering service and half the time they never called back.  So one time our room service food came to us half wrong.  

We HATED the way the tinder location was set up.  On all other ships you went out the back and got to sit in the lounge prior.  Not this ship.  You were crammed into the stairwell/elevator area and then when that over flowed we stood in the cabin hallways and blocked and clogged up everyone. It would have been a disaster if there was a fire.  

There were zero enrichment activities on this cruise itinerary which was unusual.  We met none of the locals, heard none of their songs, learned nothing really of their culture that I couldn't google on my own.  Way different than other trips.  

We love Windstar so we really hope this is just a fluke as our previous 5 cruises with them had none of these issues (we did Tahiti, Iceland, and 3 Caribbean before this).  However with them making the Star yacht ships bigger and we saw their new layouts we are concerned.

Poor service & ship needs an overhaul

Filters

1-10 of 51