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Name: Stephen Allen
Email: SCAllen@Handheld.com
Age: 41
Occupation: Engineer - VP Operations
NumberOfCruises: 12
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Windstar-WindStar
SailingDate: 12/13/97
Itinerary: Southern Carribean
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 95
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 100
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff: 100
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 0
LoungeService: 100
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors: 80
BeautySalonStaff: 90
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess: 0
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon: 90
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities: 95
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 22 Mar 1998
Time: 11:18:15
Remote Name: 207.124.59.66
Remote User:
Comments
I've been on many cruises, many with just my wife and several with our 3 kids, and the
Windstar was the most unique! On
this trip, my wife and I were looking for some rest and quality time together - as a VP in
the electronics business, I was
totally burned out. We flew down to Barbados 1 day early (very highly recommended) and
stayed at the Holiday Inn.
From there, we caught a taxi to the pier.
Embarkation: We knew something was different when we went to board the ship. We've been on
many large ships and
fought the embarkation lines and the long wait. When we got out of the cab near the stern
on the ship, 2 stewards
grabbed our bags, loaded them onto a small conveyer belt and directed us to the
gangway.The bags disappeared, we
boarded immediately, shook hands with the Captain and entered the lounge where we were
handed a glass of
champagne. The entire embarkation process took 10 minutes and we went to our cabin. Our
bags were already there.
Great!
Cabins: Very nice and all basically the same. There was plenty of room and storage with a
safe and mini-bar. Each cabin
had a TV, VCR, hair dryer and CD player - you checked out tapes and CDs at the front desk.
All-in-all, very comfortable.
The Ship: Completely clean and they kept cleaning. The ship was spotless. Initially, I was
concerned about the size of the
ship and its motion.....this was no problem. The sailing was fairly smooth and we had no
motion problems at all.
Service: Fantastic! Fantastic! Fantastic!
Kids: NO.......this is an adult ship with no activities for children. There was one
teenaged boy on board and, while he was
very well-mannered, I'm sure he was bored to death as well.
Wheelchairs: NO.....there are no elevators and you must climb stairs wherever you go. This
is not a cruise for those who
can't get around well by themselves.
Shipboard Activities: There are no Vegas shows - only a small band that provides dance
music. If you like to dance, this
is a good place if you don't mind an audience. The casino (one of my favorites) is very
small with only 2 tables and 7-8
slot machines. However, the staff was great and you really get to know your fellow players
well. This isn't the place for
on-board shops.....go ashore.
Note: One afternoon we decided to visit the bridge. We walked right in and saw the Captain
manning it alone - the First
Officer was solving a problem on deck. The Captain was very nice, gave us the 50 cent tour
and chatted with us for 45
minutes. Compared to the big ships, it was a most delightful experience.
Water Sports: GREAT! The WIndstar has a water sports platform from which you can snorkle,
scuba, water ski, ride the
bananna boat, try a Sunfish sailboat, swim.....enough said! If you like water sports with
only enough supervision to be
helpful, this is the place.
Ports: All were very nice. Most of the ports were the smaller ones which the big ships
can't get into. We enjoyed a nice
lunch (lobster pizza) at a seaside cafe. In one small French town, we walked to the bakery
for some fresh bread, bought
some wine and cheese and returned to our cabin for some afternoon 'relaxation '
.......but, that's another nice memory
of the cruise.
Relationships: You get to know EVERYBODY! With only 140 passengers (and 80 crew!) on a
small ship, you see these folks
again and again. We usually don't meet a lot of people on our cruises, but we made some
life-long friends on the
Windstar. It's also nice to walk into the lounge and the staff greets you by name. This
made for exceptional service as
well - you know them, they know you!
Summary: On a regular big-ship cruise, it usually takes until the 4th or 5th day for me to
relax. Then it's time to leave.
On the Windstar, I was VERY relaxed on the 2nd day. In retrospect, it was the LACK of
things on the Windstar -, the lack of
lines for everything from the dining room to the tenders to the shows, the lack of waiting
to be served at the bar, the lack
of obxoxious photographers and the lack of shipboard announcements. On future cruises with
the kids, we'll certainly go
on the big ships with lots to do for the kids. However, when it's just the 2 of us (or
with another couple), we're hooked on
the smaller ships and the Windstar line is #1 for us.
We're thinking of sailing the Greek Isles in November 1998 - on Windstar, of course!
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