Windsurf- 1/21-28 Cruise - The Yachtsman.

I definitely enjoy reading Cruise Critic but finding what I'm looking for a little difficult- thought I 'd try to help anyone taking the Windsurf Yachtsman's Cruise- we just completed it and it was awesome ! First after you pack before trip take out half your clothes- took way too much ! Dress to casual for breakfast and lunch and dinners are a little more upscale ( no shorts , jeans , t-shirts) but invariably there's always someone trying to sneak in. Breakfast and lunch are buffet or order from menu. Food was outstanding. Eggs Benedict , banana pancakes, nova you name it it's there and if not they'll get it for you. Gluten free choices. The wait staff always had a smile and were wonderful for ALL meals. If you can get a suite they are incredible. 2 bathrooms , 2 dressing areas, plenty of space , nice TV except only 5 channels but we didn't take Cruise to watch TV. DVD's and radio in room. Amenities were awesome. Great pillows and great mattress. The reception area on main deck couldn't be better. Marianne and her co- worker were very helpful and always had a great greeting and smile. We ate at Stella 's first night and couldn't be better. Filet mignon was perfect. Probably our best meal. When you board you sign up for Stella and Candle's. I recommend you book Candle's for the last night in St. Bart's as the view from outside table is magnificent. The workout room is great but I walked 11 times around deck- roughly 2+ miles.

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For some reason I couldn't write more so will try to continue here. Amphora Restaurant was very good . A lot of choices and once again the staff was outstanding. Our waiter Tejuh was very prompt and very quick with our orders. Wine list was excellent and Eric ( works at Compass Bar and Amphora was outstanding ) . Great personality and getting married in few weeks. Congratulations again. We did a lot of walking in small towns on our own. There are numerous excursions which everyone seemed to like. We took the 8 am Jost Van Dyke Sail and Snorkel and it was " the best" ! Beautiful Catamarran and wonderful 1/2 days of snorkeling, beach, and hiking . Highly recommend it. The Windsurf is extremely easy to manage ( has an elevator if need be) but I loved walking around to get my 10,000 steps in. Entertainment was fine. I enjoyed the beach B- Bque at Fischer's Cove. Head out early for great seating. Views of ship are award winning pictures. The crew talent show at night was wonderful. One of the best juggling acts I've seen. There are newspapers, sudoku, and crossword games provided every morning. Sharpen your pen. They were not easy but a lot of fun. I wish someone had written this for my wife and I before we took the cruise so I hope I've helped anyone with questions . Feel free to email me if anymore : slgantman@aol.com Stuart Gantman One more thing. Steve from Guest Services every night at 6:45 with give you a synopsis of your next day's visit. Steve was very professional, terrific speaker and very knowledgeable along with Jona .

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Ok - last thing - taxi charged $25. from airport to Marigot ( stayed at Le Beach) and $25. from hotel to port ( gave 10% tip) - very appreciative - from ship back to airport was $10. Per person - these are little things I find you can never get answers too so hope I helped. If anyone is actually reading this and they've taken the Rome-Venice Dalmatian Coast on Windsurf please email me with excursion recommendations ! Thank you.

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Thank you so much!! We are going on that cruise on March 18. May I ask what night they had the on deck bbq? How did you spend your "at sea" day?

Deck barbecue was Wednesday night- Fischer Island was Thursday - day at sea was very pleasant - reading , eating and more reading ! Some exercise ! Excellent day !

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Regarding the new location for the beach barbecue at Fischer's Cove: Did the ship anchor off shore or tie up at a pier in Spanish Town? How do you get to the barbecue (Fischer's Cove)? Are there any other facilities at this beach? Can you get a taxi to come or go from Fischer's Cove? We are thinking of going to the Baths on our own and wondering how we get to Fischer's Cove for the barbecue afterwards. Any information you can share would be most helpful and appreciated. Thank you.

The ship docked off shore and we tendered in . We went early ( first tender off) and was able to secure really good seats but pretty much everywhere is good seats and viewing the water. There was wi-fi available which was great. You can actually walk from where tender let's you off or Windstar provides transportation to Cove. There are plenty of taxis available for private use. We did not go to The Bath's but other's did and enjoyed it. Basically big rocks you walk on . Taxis available from Bath back to Fischer's ( private ones) unless you sign up for ship excursion. Barbecue was excellent. Good volleyball game and nice band played whole day. Enjoy !

Orangeman68/Orangeman1968: Thank you kindly for the great info on the logistics of the coming and going to/from Fischer's Cove; it's exactly what I needed to know. We've sailed the Yachtsman's in the past but the ship always anchored in the North Sound and held the barbecue at Prickly Pear.

Regarding your inquiry on the Rome-Venice excursions, my daughter and son-in-law enjoyed that cruise last May while on their honeymoon. I will touch base with them and follow up with you.

Glad I was able to help- let me know if any other questions- my pleasure to try and help- that would be great if you can get information from your daughter- curious about Croatia excursions ( Dubrovnik, Split, Rovinj ) and Kotor, Montenegro- WS excursion prices are a little crazy but maybe that's the going price - been trying to research on my own thru Viator and Trip Advisor but a lot of times don't match up and hate to be left on the dock watching WS take off- have a great day !

GoPackFan- btw- the wine bottle prices on ship were somewhat reasonable - we got a Mossback Pinot Grigio ( Calif) for $40. And a Rutherford Hill Chardonnay for $32. - both were excellent and when we didn't finish bottle they put room # on it and brought it to our table next night - even up to Stella and Candles - can't tell you how much my wife and I enjoyed cruise - very relaxing , vegged out and you set your own schedule as you know - one other thing : at night you'll get a sheet in your cabin of next day's activities - we got back to cabin real late ( 9:30 pm- ha) and there was a Galley Tour next day- I called but it was booked up - they had another one on Friday which we got to go it - don't miss it - the kitchen staff is outstanding and so friendly and tour takes about 45 minute and you'll enjoy it - by the way- the chocolate chip cookies , oatmeal raisin and peanut butter cookies are fabulous - had about 5 a day and that's why I needed to walk around deck 11 times ( 2+ miles) but worth it !

Sorry about that - Mossback Pinot Noir not Grigio

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The kids finally got back to me regarding their excursions. They noticed your stopping in Amalfi rather than Capri like last year. They did the Blue Grotto boat tour which was #1 on their list. Amalfi looks beautiful also but can't help you there. Do not miss the FREE private event in Giardini Naxos. They enjoyed the wine tasting, said the food was great and it was a really fun afternoon. Their scenic photos were beautiful. In Kotor, they went hiking on their own during the day, very easy to do. They seem to remember the ship's barbecue was that evening on board. After dinner, they went back to town for drinks at a few different spots. In Dubrovnik, on their own, they walked to the Cable Car Station and road the car up, very scenic. Saw "the wall" from above. When they arrived back down in town, they set out on their mission to find the Buza Bar (there are actually two bars, different locations). Enjoyed a few drinks, walked around some more until they found a great spot for pizza. The kids didn't do much in Split due to bad weather but some friends went to the Natl. Park and waterfall. In Rovinj, my son-in-law talked the water sports guys into launching the ski boat and James still tells anyone that will listen about his great day of water skiing off the coat of Croatia! Hope this helps, enjoy your trip!

Thank you so much for the information. Very nice of you to follow up. Have a great evening.

GoPackFan

My husband and I were also on this sailing - our first for Windstar, and had a wonderful time. Four of us in our group actually did go the The Baths on our own. After getting off the tender at the marina, there was a taxi there that was going to the baths for $4 per person and the fee to get into the baths was $3 per person. We went first thing in the morning and basically had The Baths to ourselves. I do however believe that our tendering into the Spanish Town Marina was not the norm, as there is a pier at the Fisherman's Cove Beach Club and that is where I understand the Windsurf tenders normally go. Our sea conditions were apparently a little rougher that day which resulted in the change. For those going directly to the BBQ, they were taxied/bussed directly there which was only about 1-2 min away.