(I can't find a category for Windjammer Sailing Adventures in the member reviews section, I'm posting here. Moderator: Please let me know if there's a better place to put it.)
My wife and I cruised on the Windjammer Sailing Adventure's S/V Mandalay the week of 1/20/2013.
For context, we were married on one of Mandalay's sister ships (Legacy) from the old Windjammer Barefoot Cruises (WBC) days. We were dismayed when WBC went bankrupt back around 2007. We spend a total of 5 weeks with WBC. (Legacy x 3, Mandalay, and Polynesia.)
When we found out the Mandalay was back in service with Windjammer Sailing Adventures (WSA) , in her old sailing grounds in the Grenadines, we got back aboard as fast as we could. The reservation process was easy, and Wendy and Stephanie were both extremely helpful and responsive.
Everything about the trip was wonderful. It was just like the old days, before WBC started having issues. They even handled the one thing that WBC tended to fail on, which was making it easy to find our ground transfers at the airport (although I'm sure Mandoo had a lot to do with that.)
The itinerary varies with the weather and the whim of the captain. This trip, we sailed from St. Georges, Grenada. We visited Union Island (Chatham Bay and Clifton), Mayreau, the Tobago Cays, Bequia, Carriacou, and Sandy Island. The itinerary was beach-day heavy, but we also had a few town days.
This is our third trip to the Grenadines. We visited on the Mandalay with WBC in 2005, then again on a bareboat charter in 2011. Both times were in the rainy season. This was our first trip in the dry season. The weather was absolutely perfect, with sunny days, and a few night time showers. On top of the perfect weather, the Mandalay has upgraded it's a/c system to do a much better job of keeping up with the tropical heat and humidity. (Not to mention having plenty of hot water).
I am happy to say the return cruise met our expectations in every possible way. The crew was comprised of some of the best from WBC. The Mandalay has been restored, and is looking better than ever. All of the old WBC traditions were maintained, from raising sails to "Amazing Grace" to the Mayreau "Cultural Tour", to the sea hunt and costume party.
For WBC veterans--everything you miss is back. For those who haven't gone before--this is a small ship cruise. It goes places the big ships can't go. There's no showing up at port with 1000 of your closest friends. There's no casinos, stage shows, or on-board water parks. It's a tall ship with a fairly small number of passengers. The onboard entertainment is provided by the passengers themselves, with lots of coaching from the activities mate. The food is not fancy in the big ship sense, but does a great job of capturing the flavors of the West Indies.
This was our 6th windjammer style cruise, and we were still the babies of the group. (I heard one passenger had spend something like 140 weeks on windjammers).
Every member of the crew was wonderful. In particular, Captain Sly really captured the spirit of windjammers. Amy, the activities mate and purser was extremely helpful. Mashup and Conrad kept us in beverages. Boston kept us fed. While it didn't affect us personally, we were extremely impressed how hard the galley crew and stewards worked to accommodate the dietary restrictions of some of our fellow passengers. Grandpa and Rocky tended all our other needs. There were many more crew members who added to the experience, whose names I cannot recall.
WSA is a new, small company. They are doing a great job, but they need all the help they can get. I encourage any old or new windjammer fans to cruise on them now. The weather is perfect this time of year, and they have plenty of cabins available.
Mandalay Back in Service
in Other Cruise Lines
Posted
(I can't find a category for Windjammer Sailing Adventures in the member reviews section, I'm posting here. Moderator: Please let me know if there's a better place to put it.)
My wife and I cruised on the Windjammer Sailing Adventure's S/V Mandalay the week of 1/20/2013.
For context, we were married on one of Mandalay's sister ships (Legacy) from the old Windjammer Barefoot Cruises (WBC) days. We were dismayed when WBC went bankrupt back around 2007. We spend a total of 5 weeks with WBC. (Legacy x 3, Mandalay, and Polynesia.)
When we found out the Mandalay was back in service with Windjammer Sailing Adventures (WSA) , in her old sailing grounds in the Grenadines, we got back aboard as fast as we could. The reservation process was easy, and Wendy and Stephanie were both extremely helpful and responsive.
Everything about the trip was wonderful. It was just like the old days, before WBC started having issues. They even handled the one thing that WBC tended to fail on, which was making it easy to find our ground transfers at the airport (although I'm sure Mandoo had a lot to do with that.)
The itinerary varies with the weather and the whim of the captain. This trip, we sailed from St. Georges, Grenada. We visited Union Island (Chatham Bay and Clifton), Mayreau, the Tobago Cays, Bequia, Carriacou, and Sandy Island. The itinerary was beach-day heavy, but we also had a few town days.
This is our third trip to the Grenadines. We visited on the Mandalay with WBC in 2005, then again on a bareboat charter in 2011. Both times were in the rainy season. This was our first trip in the dry season. The weather was absolutely perfect, with sunny days, and a few night time showers. On top of the perfect weather, the Mandalay has upgraded it's a/c system to do a much better job of keeping up with the tropical heat and humidity. (Not to mention having plenty of hot water).
I am happy to say the return cruise met our expectations in every possible way. The crew was comprised of some of the best from WBC. The Mandalay has been restored, and is looking better than ever. All of the old WBC traditions were maintained, from raising sails to "Amazing Grace" to the Mayreau "Cultural Tour", to the sea hunt and costume party.
For WBC veterans--everything you miss is back. For those who haven't gone before--this is a small ship cruise. It goes places the big ships can't go. There's no showing up at port with 1000 of your closest friends. There's no casinos, stage shows, or on-board water parks. It's a tall ship with a fairly small number of passengers. The onboard entertainment is provided by the passengers themselves, with lots of coaching from the activities mate. The food is not fancy in the big ship sense, but does a great job of capturing the flavors of the West Indies.
This was our 6th windjammer style cruise, and we were still the babies of the group. (I heard one passenger had spend something like 140 weeks on windjammers).
Every member of the crew was wonderful. In particular, Captain Sly really captured the spirit of windjammers. Amy, the activities mate and purser was extremely helpful. Mashup and Conrad kept us in beverages. Boston kept us fed. While it didn't affect us personally, we were extremely impressed how hard the galley crew and stewards worked to accommodate the dietary restrictions of some of our fellow passengers. Grandpa and Rocky tended all our other needs. There were many more crew members who added to the experience, whose names I cannot recall.
WSA is a new, small company. They are doing a great job, but they need all the help they can get. I encourage any old or new windjammer fans to cruise on them now. The weather is perfect this time of year, and they have plenty of cabins available.