alternative to SD?

[cabosal1]

We are devout Caribbean Sea Dreamers,  having taken our last cruise 02/20, just barely pre-Covid.   Since SD had no upcoming Caribbean cruises scheduled we found one scheduled on Wind Star that was departing June 19th.  Never having been on WS, but yearning for a return to the islands, we took a leap of faith and jumped ship. 

How different could it be?  Well, a newish ship, nice big  bathrooms, good TV reception.  Yea, that's all I can say that was positive about our cruise.  The islands to be visited (St. Barts, BVIs, Anguilla, etc.) were all cancelled (ALL!).  Why?  Because WS apparently, while requiring all passengers be vaccinated, forgot to do the same for their crew and so we were locked out of our scheduled stops and circled the sea for days. 

And the meals? While WS probably laid out a bunch of money for the celebrity chefs name placements, the food was nowhere comparable to SD.  Nor as abundantly available. Sparse luches, no appetizers, no pool food, etc.  Only 2 meals served in the dining room. 

The personnel were ok and not at fault at all for the foul-ups, but we've learned our lesson.  Hugely anticipating that SD "Welcome Home!" in January.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

How was the cigar and pipe smoking situation at the pool bar?  They were at it non-stop from before dawn to late at night on our Legend Caribbean cruise a while back.  Made the pool bar area and much of the pool deck uninhabitable.

 

PS - the cigarette smokers would hide their lit cigarettes under the table or lounger in the non-smoking areas and take furtive puffs occasionally.  Tells you what sort of people cruise WS (more than once)….

 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2021 by Ragnar Danneskjold

[Jim Avery]

Haha, good one Ragnar.  We sailed the now Windstar ships when they were the Seabourn "Little Sisters".  They were very good back then.  I would say they were an equivalent to SD at that time.  When Windstar took the ships from SeaDream, they significantly increased the passenger count from Seabourn's max of 200 and also significantly reduced the crew.  Additionally Windstar is managed by Xanterra, the one that runs many of the US National Parks.  Yabba Dabba Doo, I would not compare Windstar to SD at all anymore....🍸

[knotheadusc]

Yabba dabba doo!

 

Still dying to meet Jim Avery.

 

We were somewhat devout SeaDreamers who got distracted by Hebridean Island Cruises.  Love them very much…. But missing SD and warmer climes.  Maybe our next cruise will be SeaDream, although we both want to try barging in France. 

[DWhit]

Cabosal, Did you have to wear masks onboard?

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

4 hours ago, knotheadusc said:

Still dying to meet Jim Avery.

Never meet your heros…

[Jim Avery]

Now Raggy, I have met you and you met or exceeded all my expectations.  🍺😎

[cabosal1]

17 hours ago, DWhit said:

Cabosal, Did you have to wear masks onboard?

All of the crew were masked-up.  It was not mandatory for passengers but strongly suggested.  We were also kept social distanced, ie: Only 4 people at a table for 6, every other chair designated as reserved, etc. 

We went on one excursion in St. Martin to Topper's rum distillery.  Mask's were required on the bus, but at Topper's we were told "not necessary" and no one there wore them.  So refreshing.  You see few mask's in Dutch side of St. Martin, and stores, bars, restarants are all open.  

[DWhit]

I am glad that Windstar did not require masks the whole time you were not in your cabin.  That would have been a pain.  The cruise we were on (RCI Adventure OTS) did not require masks onboard for those who were vaccinated, but they did try to encourage social distancing; 25% capacity, every other chair, etc.  They even put three tables and chairs in the middle of a large dance floor in one of the lounges, I assume to encourage distancing.   Every once in a while, we would just incorporate them into our already shoddy dance moves, sitting in them and kicking around with our legs, etc.  

 

We did get to do our own excursions, and had to wear masks if required by the local governments.  But mostly that was just while exiting the pier area and in the cabs.  Once we got to the beach, no masks needed.

 

 

[SWFLAOK]

I read a review on cruise critic from someone onboard the first Windstar  cruise on June 19. There were only 80 guests, and they didn't find out that very few of the crew were vaccinated until they got onboard. That's not very good communication with your guests, even if it was a business write off for most of them. The crew was supposedly onboard for 20 days before the ship docked, so is they tested negative, they should have been safe.

Wearing masks outside the cabin, as reported, would have been a nuisance, but not being able to pull into any  port would have been a nightmare, unless the whole trip was free.

I've looked at Windstar in the past. We anchored next to one of them in the spring of 2018 outside of the St. Bart's harbor, while we were on SD1. I looked it up online, and read reviews, and wasn't interested in what I saw. Adding another 100 passengers to Windstar makes it less desirable than SD. We're booked for 2 weeks on SD 2 next spring, and are looking forward to it.

We've also looked at Windstar cruises in the South Pacific in the past, but the Paul Gauguin always looked better, and has balconies.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

On 7/2/2021 at 6:56 PM, Jim Avery said:

Now Raggy, I have met you and you met or exceeded all my expectations.  🍺😎

Awww, shucks…

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

We’d do Windstar again if they would change their smoking policies, and do something about lounger-saving.  The crew were actually quite good, chow decent (more batch prep than on a lux ship, but still pretty good, especially the bacon!)  Wines with the booze package quite good.  Bartenders good (but limited bar opening times).

 

We took the galley tour and the galley was spotless, with the workers seemingly liking their jobs.  The head chef actually showed us the recipe book for that night’s selections, and talked about how they focused on quality of their batch-prepared items.  The head chef was from India and I asked him if they ever offered Indian dishes.  He said no normally, but he would be excited to prepare an Indian dinner for us.  So the next night I mentioned that to the waiter and was presented with the best Indian dinner we’ve ever had!  All the nearby diners looked jealous 🙂

 

Shorex were weak, but that may have been mostly due to ports visited (southern Caribbean).

 

There were issues with generators that are fixed with the stretch and re-engining.  Supposedly, all bathrooms on the stretched ships were refurbished.

 

WS does visit some interesting places, and is quite “economical”.  My biggest complaint was with the clientele.  I would consider sailing with them in areas not convenient to the southeast of the US.  Waaaay too many smokers, and too much big-ship type behavior.  Too bad really, because WS could be a good premium line if they would fix the passengers 🙂

 

[Jim Avery]

3 hours ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

Awww, shucks…

In fact, since y'all are still dogless, why not spend 4+ months at sea??🍸

[TrapperZimmy]

On 7/2/2021 at 3:22 PM, knotheadusc said:

 Maybe our next cruise will be SeaDream, although we both want to try barging in France. 

I hope you do get back to SD, knothead, but you would probably enjoy barging, too.  Only a few passengers and maybe 4 or 5 crew members, delicious food and all inclusive (including tours).  Cabins are very spartan, but used only for sleeping, so not a big deal.  Very relaxing, and if you get a good passenger mix dinner conversation can be wonderful.  I know we are not supposed to give out names of TAs, but I'm sure you will be able to find a LADY who specializes only in BARGE vacations, who happens to be located in Chicago, but books people from all over.

[knotheadusc]

7 hours ago, TrapperZimmy said:

I hope you do get back to SD, knothead, but you would probably enjoy barging, too.  Only a few passengers and maybe 4 or 5 crew members, delicious food and all inclusive (including tours).  Cabins are very spartan, but used only for sleeping, so not a big deal.  Very relaxing, and if you get a good passenger mix dinner conversation can be wonderful.  I know we are not supposed to give out names of TAs, but I'm sure you will be able to find a LADY who specializes only in BARGE vacations, who happens to be located in Chicago, but books people from all over.

 

I have been dying to do a barge cruise forever.   Since we've been living in Germany, my husband has become a true Francophile.  I have always enjoyed France, but it's become a favorite place for us, now.  And on a barge, the chances of rough seas and seasickness are practically nil, right?   

[Jim Avery]

9 hours ago, knotheadusc said:

 

I have been dying to do a barge cruise forever.   Since we've been living in Germany, my husband has become a true Francophile.  I have always enjoyed France, but it's become a favorite place for us, now.  And on a barge, the chances of rough seas and seasickness are practically nil, right?   

Haha, you have to watch out for swimming cows leaving wakes....😱 Seriously though it sounds like a dream trip.  I have only sailed canal boats in England.  A totally different fish.  It's nice to be chatting about actual cruises again isn't it?🍸

[knotheadusc]

18 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Haha, you have to watch out for swimming cows leaving wakes....😱 Seriously though it sounds like a dream trip.  I have only sailed canal boats in England.  A totally different fish.  It's nice to be chatting about actual cruises again isn't it?🍸

 

I want to get back to writing about travel instead of writing about hanging out in my backyard, getting loaded on German beer.

[Jim Avery]

3 hours ago, knotheadusc said:

 

I want to get back to writing about travel instead of writing about hanging out in my backyard, getting loaded on German beer.

You say that like it is a bad thing.....  I remember beer delivery in Germany.   Cases of the stuff....🍺😎

[knotheadusc]

37 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

You say that like it is a bad thing.....  I remember beer delivery in Germany.   Cases of the stuff....🍺😎

 

it’s definitely not bad, although I would prefer Belgian beers.

 

honestly, I am not unhappy to be in Germany.  But it’s time for a change of scenery.

[cabosal1]

FYI,

On 7/3/2021 at 7:36 PM, SWFLAOK said:

not being able to pull into any  port would have been a nightmare, unless the whole trip was free.

Regarding our Windstar June 19th cruise:  We had been told that if we went it would be a "free cruise".  (Of course, we were also told "all the crew will be vaccinated" and you know how that turned out.)  Needless to say no reimbursement yet. (Maybe they didn't like my CC review?).  Not holding my breath, either.  Also, would not accept a FCC.

[TrapperZimmy]

On 7/7/2021 at 12:24 AM, knotheadusc said:

 

I have been dying to do a barge cruise forever.   Since we've been living in Germany, my husband has become a true Francophile.  I have always enjoyed France, but it's become a favorite place for us, now.  And on a barge, the chances of rough seas and seasickness are practically nil, right?   

We've barged in Holland and Bourgogne (see pic), and are hoping to do the Scottish Highlands this fall.  Yes, no rough seas (although if the monster shows up on Loch Ness it might get rough), and if you are feeling seasick you can always get off and walk or bike.  And the barge is tied up at night, so you don't even get rocked to sleep like on SD.  The canals we have been on are very shallow.  In fact, the Dutch canal at one point had a highway underpass.  That was cool!

[knotheadusc]

On 7/14/2021 at 12:27 AM, TrapperZimmy said:

We've barged in Holland and Bourgogne (see pic), and are hoping to do the Scottish Highlands this fall.  Yes, no rough seas (although if the monster shows up on Loch Ness it might get rough), and if you are feeling seasick you can always get off and walk or bike.  And the barge is tied up at night, so you don't even get rocked to sleep like on SD.  The canals we have been on are very shallow.  In fact, the Dutch canal at one point had a highway underpass.  That was cool!

 

A Scottish barge cruise would be fun.  I love Scotland, but I seem to have a disaster every time I go there.  We have done a bunch of Hebridean Island cruises, though, and they're pretty amazing, even if I did get horribly seasick last time as we passed through the aptly named Cape Wrath!

 

I think I'm just ready to try something new.  I've been eyeing French Country Waterways for years.

[TrapperZimmy]

This barge, as well as Scotland, is part of European Waterways.

[js2x]

On 7/3/2021 at 4:36 PM, SWFLAOK said:

I read a review on cruise critic from someone onboard the first Windstar  cruise on June 19. There were only 80 guests, and they didn't find out that very few of the crew were vaccinated until they got onboard. That's not very good communication with your guests, even if it was a business write off for most of them. The crew was supposedly onboard for 20 days before the ship docked, so is they tested negative, they should have been safe.

Wearing masks outside the cabin, as reported, would have been a nuisance, but not being able to pull into any  port would have been a nightmare, unless the whole trip was free.

I've looked at Windstar in the past. We anchored next to one of them in the spring of 2018 outside of the St. Bart's harbor, while we were on SD1. I looked it up online, and read reviews, and wasn't interested in what I saw. Adding another 100 passengers to Windstar makes it less desirable than SD. We're booked for 2 weeks on SD 2 next spring, and are looking forward to it.

We've also looked at Windstar cruises in the South Pacific in the past, but the Paul Gauguin always looked better, and has balconies.

We have done both the Paul Gauguin and Windstar in the South Pacific. Windstar was far superior if you are looking for outside spaces. Unless you had a balcony (we did) and wanted to stay in your room the entire time (we did not) I would not do the Paul Gaugin again. Only a few of the Windstar ships are the stretched Seabourn sisters, the others are still markedly smaller. We would have stayed with Seadream forever except that the itinerary rarely changed.

[Zimmy]

15 hours ago, js2x said:

We have done both the Paul Gauguin and Windstar in the South Pacific. Windstar was far superior if you are looking for outside spaces. Unless you had a balcony (we did) and wanted to stay in your room the entire time (we did not) I would not do the Paul Gaugin again. Only a few of the Windstar ships are the stretched Seabourn sisters, the others are still markedly smaller. We would have stayed with Seadream forever except that the itinerary rarely changed.

We did the Paul Gauguin several years ago. We had a large suite, one of the nicest we've had on any ship. But we kept comparing other aspects of the voyage to SD, and it failed in every respect but the cabin. We decided that should we ever desire to return to that area, we would stay in an overwater bungalow in Moorea or Bora Bora rather than cruise.