Windstar:Windsurf Jan 5-12, 2013:Flavors of the Caribbean

[PirateWife]

This was our first cruise so all the opinions and insights are based on that. We wanted a cruise that was on a smaller ship with fewer passengers, a ship that used sails, and ease to explore ports of calls. In short, an adventure.

Embarkation: As others have written, it was so easy. The hardest part was trying to balance the glass of champagne. A staff member showed us to our room and explained how things worked. We had a great time figuring out the different light switches. We had a schedule of the day’s activities and were glad to find lunch was being served as we embarked at 1 pm.

Room: We had a stateroom. I was afraid I would suffer from claustrophobia but that was never a problem. The bed was comfortable. There was plenty of storage for clothes, shoes, and hats. The bathroom had shelves for our toiletries. The room had a basket of fresh fruit and a carafe of water on the desk and a mini-fridge with soft drinks, bottled water, and alcohol. Everything except the alcohol was complimentary. The room was cleaned in the morning and in the evening the bed was turned down, the room was tided, and the next day’s schedule and a chocolate were left on the bed.

Food: I think any food that I don’t have to cook is good food. Breakfast and lunch on the Veranda had buffets and menus to order from. We ate a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables and too much dessert. If there was anything we wanted that wasn’t on the menu, we asked for it. If they could do it, they did it. The servers in striped shirts brought the soft and alcoholic drinks. There was also a continental breakfast and a sandwich lunch served in the Yacht Club. We liked dinner in AmphorA the best. We could eat when we wanted to and with others or alone. We thought it was nicer than Stella Bistro or Candles. Dinner at Candles was at the Veranda due to weather on the night we had reservations as I think it was every night. The wait staff in the fancier vests served the soft and alcoholic drinks in the evening. On the menu there were 4-5 starters, 4-5 soups and salads, 4-5 entrees, 6-8 side dishes, and 4-5 desserts to choose from. If this wasn’t enough there was Cookies and Tea (which meant every kind of drink and cookies, cakes, and fruit) available in the Yacht Club at 4 pm and appetizers in the Lounge and the Compass Rose Bar from 6:15-7:15 pm. Room service for no additional cost was available but we never used it.

Internet/Wi-Fi: We chose to leave all of our electronic devices at home. We visited an internet café halfway through the cruise to let everyone know we were ok.

Clothing: Don’t over pack. Passengers are asked to not wear shorts, t-shirts, hats, jeans and tennis shoes in the indoor restaurants during dinner hour or cocktail hour in the Lounge. I saw one man with a suit jacket and one lady with an evening dress. If you wash clothes, allow two days for them to dry.

Tenders: We rarely waited more than a few minutes for the tenders that transported us between the ship and port. There were always people to assist getting in and out of them. To get to them, we went down secure stairs on the outside of the ship only about 15 feet. On shore there was a tent and water and iced tea where the tenders docked.

Excursions: We signed up for 3 excursions. The first, a jeep tour of Martinique (listed on line as a Jeep 4X4 Tour of Southern Martinique) was horrible. It was 7 adults crammed in a mini-van on winding roads for 5 hours. On Pigeon Island, we hiked up to Ft. Rodney. This was uphill but not difficult. The Beach BBQ was here. Many people claimed their lounge chairs on the beach first thing and then enjoyed the beach or went hiking. Here there is a large park of historical buildings to walk around in. The Trafalgar Falls and Hot Springs excursion on Dominica was much better. However, there are uneven and damp trails and some tricky steps to navigate. The trip to Ft. Napoleon in Les Saintes was the best and worth the cost. If you wanted to stay longer at the fort, you could and then walk down to the town of Les Saintes. Les Saintes was a nice little town for shopping. We visited Basseterre on our own and were glad to get back to the ship. If going off on your own, there are opportunities to do that in all of the ports.

Things we found out: There is no such thing as a good hair day. The wind blows and there is usually rain sometime during the day. Yoga and Pilates classes are offered. Check with the Spa or the reception desk to find out more. The ship shop is open when the ship is not in port but you can buy sun block or tanning oil at the reception desk if the shop is closed. The reception desk staff will gladly answer your questions, even if you visit them 10 times in one hour. There is a summary of the world news and daily crossword puzzle, Jumble, and Sudokus available close to the reception desk. Chances of winning giveaways are good. We won a scalp massage at the Spa Ticket Raffle Drawing, a bottle of champagne at trivia game, and a ship bathrobe for returning the how-are-we-doing questionnaire on the last evening. The crew will address you by name if you talk to them. The Compass Rose Bar is the best place to see the sails unfurled. The sails were up most of the time we were moving. If you are interested in seeing how the ship works down in engineering, inquire at the reception desk to see if there are any tours. The bridge is a great place to visit at night. There are a few double deck lounges. They are a great place to lay back and watch the stars at night. By the end of the cruise we felt like we owned our own private ship.

[dandee2]

Thanks for the nice review. Same feeling here. We tought we owned the ship ;-)

 

As for Martinique, the island is not as receptive to tourism as others due in part by their higher standard of living compared to the other islands. You are in fact in France. Our catamaran tour was average (first charter of the season) and the snorkeling was not very good (too deep and almost no corals). However, people we know went to the Salines Beach in St-Anne (15 minutes taxi ride) and they said it was "Magnifique". We went to the Shopping Centre called "Carrefour" in le Marin and bought many items that you will find in Europe (wine, spices, cookies for the kids, etc). We visited the local area on foot and the nice church were we played the interpreter for another couple from our ship (we speak French). Les Saintes was our favorite.

 

We're already planning our next trip on Windsurf next dec.:)

 

Cheers.

[Love.II.Cruise]

Thanks for the review! We are boarding Wind Surf today, our first Windstar cruise.

[jumelle]

Great review. Thanks so much. So nice to see nothing but raves for Windstar. Will be sailing on the Windsprit in March.

[cynbar]

Thanks for the review, makes us even more excited for our upcoming Wind Surf cruise! Can you talk a little about what passengers generally wore in the evenings? I know the dress code is " resort casual" but this seems to cover a wide spectrum. Also, was the casino at all lively? I understand it's part of the lounge, not sure what the atmosphere will be. Thanks

["Wandering Wino's&quo]

 

Pirate Wife, thank you for adding excitement to our upcoming Flavors of the Caribbean cruise aboard the Windsurf in March. Sadly our roll call has been very, very quiet with only one or two contributors, your well written review will be used as my DH and I go over details and plans relating to this adventure over breakfast this morning.

Shirley

[ducklite]

Thanks for the review, makes us even more excited for our upcoming Wind Surf cruise! Can you talk a little about what passengers generally wore in the evenings? I know the dress code is " resort casual" but this seems to cover a wide spectrum. Also, was the casino at all lively? I understand it's part of the lounge, not sure what the atmosphere will be. Thanks

 

On our B2B cocktail hour was a mix--some people were still in their clothes from that day and left to change shortly before dinner, others came dressed for dinner. On port days it seemed more of the former as people often didn't get back on board until after 5:00 pm.

 

Typical men's attire ranged from polos to Guayaberas to Oxford type dress shirts to Tommy Bahama to more casual button downs. Jackets were rare except at Candles when it was chilly. Pants were almost always either chinos or linen, a few times we saw dress slacks but that seemed to be the rarity.

 

For ladies it was all over the place. I saw everything from simple LBD's to slacks (cotton, linen, silk, crepe knit) and a blouse. There were a lot of Eileen Fisher/Chicos/Lauren outfits. Sheath style dresses, slacks with "blingy" tops. Casual elegance seemed to be the keywords, although there was a lot of accessorizing with jewelry and scarves. One thing I saw very little of was high heels. Most women wore flats or a lower heels, you will be climbing a lot of stairs.

 

One piece of advice--don't pack anything already a little on the tight side. Towards the end of the cruise I was never so happy to have my crepe knit pants along. :)

 

The casino is in a side room off the lounge. A large opening makes it visible from the lounge and as such, you can hear the band in the casino, but it is a separate room. There were some nights were there were a couple dozen people in the casino, other nights it was virtually empty. It really depended on which port we had been in and how tired people were.

[PirateWife]

I think Ducklite is pretty accurate about evening wear. My husband wore khakis or dark blue cotton slacks with a polo or Hawaiian shirt. I wore cotton slacks, sometimes with the top I had on earlier and sometimes with a different top. I had one casual dress I wore a couple of times. No heels unless you want to fall over. I really didn't notice what others wore unless they were trying to be noticed.

I saw one person in the casino but I heard other passengers talking about their winnings.

[dandee2]

I didn't brought dress pants. I was wondering at first but after seeing everybody else at the first dinner, I tought I was fine. This cruise is very relaxing in a way. I might have seen jeans a couple of time when people went on excursion but never at dinner (nor shorts). Slack, cotton pants (dockers), nice belt, hawaiian shirt, short sleeve shirt, polos, mostly in earth tone color but also in marine/blue. I saw one person with a sport jacket. Sperry type boat shoes are fine for dinner if you like. In the morning at the buffet you will be fine in bermuda.

 

For dinner I could have done the whole cruise with 2 pairs of nice dress pants/slack/docker and about 7 polos/dress shirt/short sleeve shirt.

 

Don't bring too much, they have laundry on board and the price is reasonnable

Mens:Sport Shirt: $3.30, Bermuda Short: $3.30, Slack/Jeans: $3.80, Jacket: $4.95

Women:Blouse: $3.30, Dress: $6:45, skirt: $4:30

 

Evrybody was very respectful on the ship and I don't think anybody will comment about how you dress. Just have fun.

[commodoredave]

We just returned Feb 2 from a week on WindSurf. Almost everyone dressed country club elegant -- chinos, slacks, dresses, nice tops, etc --in the evenings after 6:00 pm. There were a handful of exceptions. One man came to the Captain's Welcome Aboard Party in the Lounge on the second night dressed in his bathing suit and T-Shirt (the captain asked him to leave in a very nice way). Every night in the main dining room (AmphorA) two or three people would show up in jeans and nothing was said to them. On one night, a man and his wife came to AmphorA in their shorts and were allowed to stay (according to staff they were the cruise line's owner and his wife who were aboard for our cruise, so we were not surprised they were allowed in dressed that way!). But with these few exceptions, people were dressed smartly but not over dressed (no sports jackets, suits or ties).

What I find annoying is that some cruise lines (including Windstar) post dress codes but often do not enforce them. If they do not plan on enforcing them, why have them? Maybe they are just guidelines and not codes.

[Redtravel]

I was on the Windsurf 1/26 cruise. I did see one guy try to enter AmphorA in shorts. He was turned away. The same guy often wore grungy sweats.

....rather out of place. If the pants were long, it was okay. Most people dressed nicely.......casual is it. Chico's at night. Llbean or REI during the day. Best thing is the unlimited laundry. $109 for a week. I came home with clean clothes.