harvestgoldmini

Definitely noticed a big difference in dress code over the last few years. Surprisingly the gents seem to be much better dressed than the ladies! Men are wearing shirts and smart trousers, sometimes even jackets. Women (note not ladies!) seem to think it is acceptable to turn up to dinner in crop (Capri) trousers and casual tops. I would never dream of wearing an outfit like this when attending a restaurant for a meal, so why wear it to dinner on the ship? A dress is easy to pack and wear. It does not need to be an evening dress. The information given by Windstar used to be smart casual, this does not mean VERY casual.  The prices on Windstar are increasing - towards 5* yet the outfits are more 2/3*. I find that disappointing and concerning.  It is also interesting that depending on the clientele (Europeans or Americans) aboard, the standard of dress for dinner is very different.

Very surprised and disappointed by OctoberKat's comments about Kirkwall and Torshavn. We did the similar cruise (Dublin not Edinburgh) and thought that our days in these 2 resorts were the best of the trip. The weather in both places was warm and sunny. Certainly not the weather you encountered! Torshavn has a lovely beach which was full of locals with their children and BBQs, when we were there. We walked to to a beautiful harbour/Marina with little bars and restaurants.

I think if Windstar had given you more information about Kirkwall you would have enjoyed it better. They tend to promote their own excursions and don't give you much local information. For only £10pp you can go on a local hop on/hop off bus, taking you past Scapa Flow(fascinating in itself) to Skaill House and Skara Brae (allowing you 1.5 hours to look around) then on to Ring of Brdgar (30 mins allocated there). This is run by Stagecoach route T11. The same trip offered by Windstar was $129!

The X1 bus will take you to Highland Park Distillery and the beautiful Italian Chapel.

A short walk from the shuttle drop off will take you to St Magnus Cathedral.

Anyone going on this itinerary should check http://www.stagecoachbus.com

The highlight of our day was sailing away from Kirkwall, in glorious sunshine, past the Old Man of Hoy.

It did help that our 1st Officer was from Orkney!

I just feel that we often don't discover some "hidden gems" as Windstar are too keen to promote their own tours and don't give you enough information, allowing you to explore on your own. This happened to us this year on Star Breeze where I almost missed out on another lovely little town, Mariehamn in the Åland Islands.

It pays to do your own research before you go. You may be surprised!

Just felt Ishould give another view in Kirkwall and Torshavn for anyone still to go.

Been there twice. First time the very kind Harbour Master, obviously thought we were struggling with our luggage, and gave us a lift to the station in his car!

Monte Carlo - easy to walk around or take "le petit train". Worth a visit to the casino at night just to see it (beautiful building) and spitting the stars!

Also worth sitting, with a glass of wine, in the square late at night to see all the Ferraris and other, very expensive cars, roaring round.

Portofino - we walked around the beautiful village then hired a scooter and rode along the coast seeing all beautiful houses of D&G plus many more.

Cannes - hop on hop off bus, very informative. If you want to go further afield Gras is worth a visit, home of Chanel and many other perfumeries.

Nice is only a short bus trip away, with lovely promenade and many fabulous seafood restaurants.

Hope this helps.

Lovely places - enjoy!

5 minute walk to station, then train to centre of Dublin. Very cheap and easy! Spend the money you save on a Guiness!!😀