LJWECOC

I hope Windstar hasn't paid their Web designer any money.

The "new" Web site is really struggling. Not much information is available yet (or at least it wasn't yesterday). I'm sure they will get it fixed before we travel next February.

Few stops on European sailings allow the water sports platform to be used. Either too cold or to crowded.

I love tender ports for several reasons:

1. Tendering on Windstar ships is fast and convenient but, as with all ships, keeping your footing while hopping onto any tender requires a bit of agility. I'm in my late 70s and have never had any problem with tender operations. Logistics are not at all like tendering on huge ships.

2. A tender port in the Caribbean means the water sports platform is likely to be open! For that reason alone I love them.

We have always been partial to Wind Star and Wind Spirit and may book another cruise for winter 2025. After reading a few negative comments about their pre-renovation condition, we are slightly hesitant. We are not ultra-picky, but we are wondering what some recent guests have to say about the condition of cabins and common areas. I'm confident crew and food remain excellent.

I've been to St Barts a few times over the years and taken a couple of non-memorable side trips. Mostly overpriced high-end tourist shops. As I recall, the beach was packed with broken shells, painful to walk on. For my winter break this year on Wind Surf we will be stopping there twice. The water sports platform is open both days and I will be happy staying on board. 

I've disembarked Windstar in Barbados a few times. It is no different than any other port. While you might be able to disembark a bit early (not hours), don't hold your breath. Port and navigational requirements, immigration, public health, customs, etc are uncontrollable. Don't make firm plans expecting anyone else to make special accommodations for you.

My philosophy is book what you want when you are satisfied with the price, the cabin selection, and can get a decent price on airfare, etc.  Then stop second-guessing yourself! Windstar has always treated me fairly and occasionally upgrades my cabin later without my meddling. If I wanted bargain-basement, I'd sail Carnival.

I was scheduled for a Black Sea cruise the last time the Russian thugs decided to invade the Ukraine and take over territory. The cruise line (Azamara) re-routed and we went further east , stopping at Trabzon, Turkey and Batumi, Georgia instead of the ports taken over by the Russians. Those ports were really quite interesting and off the beaten track.

Baltic cruises skipping St Petersburg...now that is really sad! The sights are amazing. Russian tour guides, not so much.

We just returned from 18 days aboard Wind Star (Costa Rica, Panama Canal and southern Caribbean (Caldera to Barbados). I just posed a review of the voyage but I wanted to post something here for those who are still hesitant about cruising.

We had just 50-60 guests on our b-to-b cruises. Ours was the first voyage of Wind Star after a brief COVID shutdown. We were hesitant but decided to go anyway. It was possibly the nicest cruise we have ever been on. With so few guests, we met, had drinks, dinners and socialized with almost all of them. 

COVID restrictions (masks, social distancing and testing) were not so severe as to spoil the voyage. We were tested a couple of times, including pre-boarding, mostly due to port requirements. We had zero positive COVID cases during the entire trip. The Windstar open bridge policy was suspended and there were no special dinner with the ships officers. All officers and crew were masked except when occasional guests insisted on seeing their smiling faces. Apart from those minor limitations, the cruise was really quite normal and absolutely worthwhile.

Ports are really hurting. Many shops are closed entirely. It may be a long time before they recover.

3 hours ago, CruiseCritic10 said:

On the same 1/29 and after getting three letters from Wind star on all of the protocols in the last 24 hours and not one word of fun or enjoyable vacation, likely going to punt to another time. 

BTW, are you on Legend or Star for 1/29. We are on Star for 18 days.

2 hours ago, CruiseCritic10 said:

On the same 1/29 and after getting three letters from Wind star on all of the protocols in the last 24 hours and not one word of fun or enjoyable vacation, likely going to punt to another time. 

I can't say I blame you, but we are going to stick with it. The ship will be fairly empty, I suspect. The protocols are really nothing new. They previously "recommended" a PCR 2 days before traveling, so I had already planned for it. I'd rather know ahead of time if I'm going to be denied boarding.  Just getting out of the Maryand cold for a couple of weeks is enough convince me. I'm hoping they don't insist on us dining alone...I rather enjoy the open table conversations. 

We are on Wind Star beginning 1/29. Just got word from WS regarding required PCR test 2 days before flying out, Also a test on the pier before boarding. Maybe I should buy stock in a PCR testing company.

Ataturk is a busy airport with tight security. If you arrive too early, you CANNOT even go thru security. We shared a (pre-reserved) cab with friends who had a later flight and they had to stay outside. You go thru a checked baggage scan before you even get into the main passenger area. Then you have to go to your specific flight pier (by airline grouping) and go thru regular baggage check, departure immigration, and hand luggage inspection. Reasonably efficient.

Since we were an early departure, we took our own luggage off the ship. The airport trip is about a half hour and traffic was not too bad.

The cruise itself (Black Sea) was only fair. The itinerary change avoiding Crimea was actually a pleasant surprise...substituted ports were interesting. Both couples have used Azamara before and agreed that the food and wine was just not as good as what we had previously experienced. I'd be curious to hear what you think. We had paired the Black Sea cruise with one on the Wind Star in the Greek Isles a week or so earlier. Windstar (my all time favorite) had far superior dinners.

Now that we've done the trip...I can safely report the 10:55 flight was not a problem.

We did the Azamazing Evening in Batumi in September It was very well organized and an excellent evening of entertainment by the local Georgian traditional dance company.

I've got a departing flight at 10:55 from Ataturk on 9/8. I just noticed Azamara doesn't recommend flights before noon or 1:00pm. The ship docks at 6:00 am. Taxi reserved already. The trip to the airport is just about a half hour. Anyone with experience from this port think we will have a problem with port clearance/ship debarkation or Ataturk security screen?

I just received an e-mail notice of a change (not unexpected) deleting port calls on the Crimean Peninsula (Odessa, Sevastopol and Yalta) for the September 1 sailing on Azamara Quest. The substitute ports are Trabzon, Turkey and Batumi, Georgia. Anyone been to either port?

Thanks, Mr. Putin!