Misty Morning

Again today Wind Surf is in St John Antigua instead of Falmouth Harbour. Wind out of the ENE and no swells. This seems to be happening much more often with this stop as well as St Barth and Monserrat

The Yachts are really more geared to warm weather cruising. That's why I am reluctant to take any of these ships anywhere cold (Scandinavia, Iceland. New England, Alaska). There are definitely space issues if you can't use the outdoor decks. We were on the Pride for 16 fays in November (in the Carribbean). The first 9 days there were 270 people, the second week 160. Yes is was busier the first leg especially around the Star Bar as it rained quite a bit in the first few days but never really had to wait for dinner (we're late diners, never before 8pm) nor breakfast (always had a table outside) and felt the staff was always on top of things. Understand the chef from Star Pride is now on the Legend to train kitchen crew. We felt the food on the Pride was excellent for the 16 days and everyone in our group (6 of us) agreed the food was as good as it was before covid

Six ships are in Philipsburg today including some really big ones (Symphony of the Seas, P&O Arvia, MSC Seaside, Anthem of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas and Celebrity Constellation). Must be record day with total ship capacity in port at over 28,000 passengers + crew. Must be a zoo getting around. It certainly is in contrast to yesterday where Star Pride was all by itself

On our 16 day cruise in November, we had 260 in the first 9 days and 170 the second week. Yes it was a bit quieter during the second week but there wasn't much difference. The Star Bar is really where people congregate and where it is a bit lively even if half full (I would not go as far as calling it a party atmosphere though). I am sure you will enjoy your cruise no matter what. We'll be sailing on the Surf in February and really look forward to going back on the sailing yacht for the first time since covid (we were on the last Wind Surf cruise before the covid shutdown in March 2020).

Jazzbeau, I totally agree and laughed when I read your post. Not sure I would do zip lining in the Caribbean...these things rust pretty quickly down there.

You should definitely do the tour of the buried city. Well worth it. However had you already done it, you are right, there isn't much else to do. There are a few beaches but many are not easily accessible. I remember we had lunch on the way back from volcano and there was a small but nice beach next to the restaurant we were at. The island is very lush and green and undeveloped which can be nice for a change

Been watching the Wind Surf's position lately and it has not called on Falmouth Harbour on its last 2 stops (including today) instead docking in St John. Does anybody know why? The winds were out of the east both times so issue there. We're due to be on the Surf in Feb. Hopefully this is temporary.

Beware of their droppings. On our cruise in November, by the end of the day on our way to Grenada, the Star Bar windows and deck had their droppings all over. A good cleanup was required

This cruise is on sale for Canadians at $990. The problem is the price of the flights to get there which just keep going up, if you can find one

Yes some of these $1000/week specials are for Canadians only and these same cruises go for $1,499/week or $2,399/2 weeks in Last Minute Deals.

I personally never book a long time ahead as I know this is what they do. There currently are several 7 day cruises this winter that are now selling at below $1,000 on the Canadian Resident Discount (and under $2,000 for Star Collector) Now that’s what I call a great price

That's what we do at the beginning of each cruise and then we sometimes bring some back from port and usually that's not a problem but I guess depends on who's manning the Xray machine (we did it twice on our last cruise in November, no issue) and yes if you bring it to any beverage outlet/dining room, they will charge a $15 corkage fee which I don't mind paying but sometimes gets forgotten.

We have bought wine in port several times and never had any issues bringing it back. One or two bottles at a time, never more, don't want to push my luck lol

js2x, We were on the Star Pride in November and I had similar apprehensions having sailed on the pre stretch ships. Well I can tell you after one day, there was no difference, it was the same as before but just better with a much nicer, cleaner yacht. The extra and larger dining venues, the larger deck, gym, spa all help keep people all over the ship so it still feels small. Maybe you can feel the extra 100pax on a cold weather itinerary when everybody wants to be in the Yacht Club, but on a Caribbean one like we did, no issues

Funny because the Yellow Submarine is still showing as an excursion in St Barth on the Windstar website

It was open one night during recent cruise in November due to weather not being cooperative for Candles

I was on Pride in November and did not have the package and had to sign for the drinks. Those on package did not sign anything. However the bartenders did run tabs and you would only sign once at the end and we also drank a lot of wine by the bottle (better selection than drink packages) which minimized the signing

As an FYI, we were in Les Saintes 3 weeks ago and Pompierre Beach was being worked on by heavy equipment. Not sure if they have completed their work, but it was definitely not pretty when we were there. Sea weeds everywhere, restaurants all closed. Town was nice though. Maybe they are gearing up the beach for peak tourist season. Bequia: you can either take a taxi to beach or use a water taxi (more fun). Jack's bar is great

We just got of the Pride a few weeks ago following a 16 day cruise. We had brought 3 bottles of wine when we checked in (stopped at SuperMax on way to San Juan port) and brought 4 other ones on the ship on 3 occasions (San Juan, St Martin and Guadeloupe). Had 3 of them in the restaurants (corkage fee of $15). No issues whatsoever. As long as it's one or two, the crew don't mind. Hard liquor may be more problematic. As for the smoking, we saw some folks at the back of deck 8 once in a while, but never did we experience any smell of smoke

Definitively, we just did on our 16 day BTB cruise on the Star Pride. Never ran out of clothes and had no issue with the service

We are 4pts away from 4 star status. Do we get it on the next 7 day cruise (93pts) we are looking to book in Feb, or only after that cruise has been completed for any cruises thereafter?

Cuadro 44 opened at 6PM on our recent cruise and Candles at 6h30. We always went at 8PM and never had to wait except once because we wanted to be in specific section in Amphora.

Bear in mind this is laundry not dry cleaning

Definitely, these ships are more warm weather ships than cold weather ones

Just stayed in 409 on Pride. No major issues. Had a small problem with shower drain early on but was fixed and no issue afterwards. One nightstand had wobbly legs. You can also hear anchor in the AM when at a tender port but that's about it. I must say the rooms have very good soundproofing as we never heard our neighbors