Windsurf- How's the food and Service?

[blackfoot]

We sailed on Windsurf 3 years ago on a BTB Barbados cruise. We loved the ship but thought the food was terrible and the service was bad because the staff was overworked.We are NOT "whiners", are well traveled,and easy to please but the food was like eating at Denny's or Olive Garden every night if you were lucky enough to get served.They were posing as 5 star but really were 3 star.

 

What I am wondering- have times changed for the better? There are so few posters on Windstar that I can't tell if things have improved.

 

I still think that with their ships and choices of ports, Windstar could be something special if they got their food/service act together.

 

Best Regards

[kimiata]

We have been on all three Windstar ships in the past two years. We found the breakfast and lunches to be excellent on all three cruises, but the dinners on the first cruise (Wind Spirit May 2008) were just OK. On the next one (Wind Surf May 2009) they were excellent. Our most recent cruise (Wind Star Dec 2009) was somewhere in between.

 

We found the service on all three cruises to be excellent, and in my opinion better than Regent, which claims to be "six star."

[chicagogal]

We sailed on Windsurf 3 years ago on a BTB Barbados cruise. We loved the ship but thought the food was terrible and the service was bad because the staff was overworked.We are NOT "whiners", are well traveled,and easy to please but the food was like eating at Denny's or Olive Garden every night if you were lucky enough to get served.They were posing as 5 star but really were 3 star.

 

What I am wondering- have times changed for the better? There are so few posters on Windstar that I can't tell if things have improved.

 

I still think that with their ships and choices of ports, Windstar could be something special if they got their food/service act together.

 

Best Regards

 

Blackfoot - We "meet " again. It was only a little more than 2 years ago when you were criticizing Windstar. Our experience was different than yours back in Barbados BTB January 2008. Same cruise - different food?

 

We were also with kimiata on the May 2009 Grand Prix Windsurf trip. Great food and service again ...

[Mike2131]

We sailed on Windsurf 3 years ago on a BTB Barbados cruise. We loved the ship but thought the food was terrible and the service was bad because the staff was overworked.We are NOT "whiners", are well traveled,and easy to please but the food was like eating at Denny's or Olive Garden every night if you were lucky enough to get served.They were posing as 5 star but really were 3 star.

 

What I am wondering- have times changed for the better? There are so few posters on Windstar that I can't tell if things have improved.

 

I still think that with their ships and choices of ports, Windstar could be something special if they got their food/service act together.

 

Best Regards

We found the overall food and service excellent in December. I posted a full review, but it seems that many of our fellow cruisers were not familiar with Cruise Critic. Perhaps that explains the lack of posters.

[blackfoot]

Yes Patty we meet again and I still stand behind what I reported 3 years ago!

[fish9455]

Just came back from Barbados trip on Windsurf. Thought the food was OK to Good. Dissapointed with Candles steaks. Le Marche was good but same single dish menu every night. Degrees restaurant we thought was so-so. Main restaurant was decent. Breakfast and lunches were good. We too expected a higher level of food quality but still was a great trip.

[SellaVee]

We're also just back from the Barbados RT, and I was impressed by the food, bearing in mind the amount of catering that is going on. It never became boring, or repetitive, and I found there was plenty of choice.

 

The main restaurant was excellent IMO, and there was a variety of tasty spreads such as flavoured butters or tapenade or hoummus or pesto to try with your bread each evening. I enjoyed all of my entrees and desserts.

 

I thought Degrees was outstanding, but the le Marche menu didn't work for me, and with hindsight I should have given it a miss. I found Candles disappointing as it was rather windy and although we weren't cold, I was worried about my wine blowing away! Also at Candles we sat by the rail, and at the back of the ship that was slightly unnerving. I'd have like to have dined at Degrees a second time, but we didn't have the opportunity.

 

At lunch there was an extensive buffet, plus a selection of items grilled to order, and an interesting variety of starters. There was plenty of choice at breakfast too.

 

Service at lunch and breakfast was good, as it was in both the reataurant and Degrees. At le Marche, the service was friendly, but totally disorganised, and we had to ask for a wine list several times. At Candles the service was charming.

 

The one place I noticed the service falling off towards the end of the trip was in the lounge. On our last evening I failed to attract the attention of a waiter for the whole 25mins I was in there, despite some discreet hand raising. In contrast, at the start of the trip, during the Captain's Cocktail Party when the drinks were free, we couldn't have had better service.

 

During our stay in Barbados we ate at The Tides, and we had an excellent meal, with excellent service. Wind Surf didn't reach quite that level. However, they are serving far more covers, and their ingredients are taken on board at the start of the trip; they're serving four meals a day, if you include afternoon tea, and they have the same customers every single day. Taking that on board (if you'll pardon the pun) I think the staff did really well.

 

I couldn't make the galley tour, but from someone who did, I understand the chef is fairly new on board and I think under his guidance things will only improve.

 

The only problem I had with the food was that I ate far too much of it.

[Ajbike]

I agree totally with Sella, I will post of VERY detailed review once I am caught up but I think the entire cruise was incredible. We will certainly be back with Windstar in the near future. If anyone has specific questions please feel free to write me and I will be posting a huge photo album online soon (I need to edit the 1500 pictures down to a more manageable level *S*) LOVE the new camera !! Sella. lost your email (actually washed it) please send one to mine so we can keep in touch. And if the young couple from Calgary we met on the Barbados tour checks in email me also , I have the recipes we talked about.

 

andyb1958 at comcast net

[chicagogal]

Yes Patty we meet again and I still stand behind what I reported 3 years ago!

 

I guess differences of opinion are what makes the world go around. And, obviously, there are LOTS of other cruise ship choices.

 

Personally, we had another wonderful Windsurf experience in May 2009 at the Grand Prix.

[andyonli]

We are going on our 5th Windstar cruise in late June. Thus far, we've been on the small ships twice and Windsurf twice. We've not yet been disappointed. The last cruise, in Cost Rica, was a bit boring but not because of Windstar. We just found the ports too similar. Overall, the service is great, the food is above average (we've also been on Seabourn, Azamara, Celebrity Xpedition) and the atmosphere is terrific. It all depends on what you want from a cruise. We live in NY so we don't look for activities, we look for relaxation. And no cruise line gives you more opportunity for doing nothing than Windstar!

[Steven G]

we sailed on windsurf 3 years ago on a btb barbados cruise. We loved the ship but thought the food was terrible and the service was bad because the staff was overworked.we are not "whiners", are well traveled,and easy to please but the food was like eating at denny's or olive garden every night if you were lucky enough to get served.they were posing as 5 star but really were 3 star.

 

What i am wondering- have times changed for the better? There are so few posters on windstar that i can't tell if things have improved.

 

I still think that with their ships and choices of ports, windstar could be something special if they got their food/service act together.

 

Best regards

i am very opinionated when it comes to getting what you pay for especially when it comes to vacationing with my family. We were on the windsurf last december over new years and i have to say of all the 6 windstar cruises we had been on this was the best one yet. We felt the food was very good and seeing some of the staff from previous cruises made our trip even better. We felt the staff could not do enough for you and were very pleased with the service especially for dinner. We had looked at other cruise ships of similar size but we love the windstar and can not wait to reurn for our 7th.