terrydtx

Hello Lisa, I am following your cruise as Windstar is a cruise line on our radar for the future. Read your issues in MIA and we had similar issues in 2022 trying to get to St Thomas, that is one of the worst airport we have had to connect through, seemed like we had to walk miles between gates. I hope you and Tom have a great week.

@VMax1700 The Volendam had a very extensive refurbishing during her 2022 drydocking. Do you know why she has another one in October so soon after the last one? Is there a problem that needs addressing on her, we are on her in August? TIA

Vista Suites also have a mini fridge on Volendam, we are in one in August.

We had them in the Lido at lunch on the K'Dam last November, not impressed mostly veggie and cooked fish very limited raw fish sushi there. I do not consider a California Roll with all vegies to be sushi. I believe it was in the distant lands Asian section of the Lido.

Yes the scanners will find them and you will get an invite to the naughty room on embarkation day.

Yes you can rent a mini fridge on the Volendam for a small daily fee. The Vista suites and up all have mini fridges on the Volendam. We are booked on the Aug 20th Boston to Montreal Volendam cruise in a Vista Suite.

Jim, on the Edge last month we also got the fresh squeezed OJ with our Retreat Room service menu for breakfast. I know it was fresh because my wife complained about the amount of pulp in it, I prefer the pulp in my fresh OJ. We have an orange tree in our back yard and every fall we have fresh squeezed OJ every morning.😁

We were on the Edge in a SS last month in Australia and Glenfiddich was available in the Retreat Lounge with no upcharge. For other whiskeys like Macallan, not in the PDP, I was told they not available in the Lounge when I asked for them. Most afternoons I had the Glenfiddich instead of Macallan as my before diner drink. I think the lounge managers decided to just say that something was not available rather than charge an upcharge.

On the Edge last month, we were able to buy bottled water that was available for sale as we left the ship with our drink package.

We didn't have that available on the Edge last month, but they did have the Fever Tree Light (less sugar) available in most bars. The Fever Tree Light is what we use at home and really like it.

On the Edge in January, while onboard we canceled a restaurant reservation that we paid and booked with a CC before the cruise. The cost was refunded to our shipboard OBC account but with a notation it would was a refundable OBC if not used. We did not use the credit and the day after the cruise ended it was refunded back to our CC. This was a first for us.

We just returned from Aus/NZ last week after 6 weeks and 2 B2B cruises. NZ is very protective of their environment and agriculture, and they have a lot of media that reiterates this. We flew home from Melbourne to Houston through Aukland on Air New Zealand. After the safety video for flying they run a video on what is prohibited to bring into NZ even if you are passing through on a connecting flight. You have to fill in declaration cards before you land and go through NZ customs in Aukland. We had to do the same when we had our first port stop in Dunedin NZ on the Edge. Honey is one of the most prohibited of any food item as the bee industry in NZ is very delicate and NZ officials want to protect it from diseases and parasites that could be in foreign honey, We visited a Kiwi Fruit orchard and this is a 4 billion dollar a year export industry that is 100% dependent on bee pollination which could be wiped out if the local bee population were to be destroyed.

We had the Premium Starlink Wi-Fi on the Apex last September and the Edge in January in Australia and had no problems streaming Netflix and Prime on my laptop and tablets. Since we were outside of North America on both cruises, we could not stream Hulu, Fubo and Paramount because of geographic limitations by the providers not Starlink.

We had fresh squeezed OJ on the Apex last September in both Luminae and the Suites enhanced room service menu. I believe any place else, if available, you have to pay for it or have the PDP. Was the same for us in January on the Edge in Australia.

Our check in time was also noon which was the earliest available, but I knew with being in the Retreat we could check in earlier. Judging by the number of people already in lines many, as usually, were not adhering to their assigned check in times.

Hi Jim, I didn’t do a live feed for the 2 cruises, took a break from CC to just enjoy our 6 weeks down under. We stayed at the Shangri-La hotel at the port on Circular Quay, dropped our luggage off at 11am, and checked in. There were lines to check in for Retreat guests and as soon as we checked in we were told to board, so couldn’t ’say if there was a Retreat lounge waiting area. At 11:00 there were hundreds of people in lines dropping off luggage and checking in ahead of us, so my guess is luggage drop off opened much earlier. There was no Retreat luggage drop off lines, so the longest wait was that line. Next longest wait was customs and Secuity scans and checks. We were on the ship by noon as I remember. Overall, I would say it was an organized and efficient embarkation process.

On the Edge last month, we ate once in Fine Cuts because we wanted a good prime rib, something not available any night in Luminae. The Prime rib was as good as any land restaurant, but not worth the cost, we had plenty of OBC to burn which is why we went. Compared to the terrible quality of steaks served in Luminae on the Apex last September, the steaks we had in Luminae on the Edge were excellent.

My wife asked for her lamb chops to be replaced with ones medium rare as ordered. However, the replacements where so full of fat and gristle that they were even more inedible. We then complained to the manager and he offered to comp us another night for diner, our response was no thank you, we do not want to waste another night in the grill.

Not that I remember, but they did have blankets if requested. We were not impressed with both the food and service.

We were on the Koningsdam last November and surprised with the small selection of items available at the ship store in the Liquor area. My wife needed something for her cough and all that was available was Ricola cough drops. Had to wait until we were at port and find a local store.

We had a terrible experience with Roof Top Grill last September on the Apex. Not only was it windy and cold but our steaks and lamb chops were over cooked and tough. We much prefer the Fine Cuts steak house and only order the Prime Rib.

We have found ordering an Uber once we have our luggage and exit the terminal is much faster than waiting in the taxi lines. Take an Uber is my recommendation.

Just got back from 22 days on the Edge in Australia and all 4 MDR were anytime dining, no set dining times anymore, just show up when and where you want and if there is a waiting time you can go to any of the other 3. You can, however, make dining reservations in the MDR, but to be honest you do not need them.

You are 100% correct, we just returned from 22 days on the Edge in Australia. All posted drink prices have to include all taxes and gratuities and the drink menus for the Australian season were changed to reflect these changes. At the same time the PDP cap was raised to $20 and we not once had to pay more than $20, we were in the retreat and that also covered the Retreat lounge and deck bars. We also have a nice selection of local Aussie and NZ wines available that never showed up on any menu but were included in PDP cap of $20 per glass. We just asked our sommelier in Luminae for the local wines at meals.

Yes you have to complete all check ins online for all cruises. Each B2B leg is treated like a new cruise.