Incredible Service, Amazing Food
& Surprisingly Intimate
It Can Only Be Windstar!
After having returned from a week’s
cruise with Windstar onboard the Wind Surf I’ve found myself desperate to
finish my blog purely so that I don’t forget or leave anything out about this
incredible weeks sailing. It was so good, I'm not even sure I know where to
start….
Firstly
let’s get to know the facts and figures; the MSY Wind Surf holds 310 passengers
with around 197 crew which means no lines or waiting, there’s always someone
there to help. In terms of staterooms there are 122 deluxe ocean view
staterooms, 31 deluxe ocean view suites and 2 deluxe ocean view bridge suites. At
almost 15,000 tonnes the Wind Surf is actually the world’s largest sailing
yacht and when I saw her I have to admit she was even larger than I had imaged
but after having experienced the cruise I would say the size is pretty perfect.
For me, it wasn’t until I saw the Wind Surf up close to other cruise lines I
realised I pretty much had my own private yacht… And I can’t lie, I did feel
rather smug!
Day 1 – Rome/Civitavecchia –
Embarkation Day
My day
started off with a mild panic, our flight was delayed by over an hour so my
mind was racing with all the usual questions… What if we miss our transfer? What
if they forget about us? What do we do? Needless to say, I soon learnt that
as like everything with Windstar, I needn’t worry at all as they have
everything under control. As we landed we were greeted with a friendly smile
and someone holding a Windstar clipboard. Phew! After picking up our luggage we
were taken to our transfer and after a pleasant journey we swiftly arrived at
the ship. We were around 20 minutes early for embarkation but that soon passed
as we were greeted with drinks and the usual paperwork to complete as like all
cruise lines upon embarkation. The whole embarkation process was nice and easy,
different stopping stations where we filled out details, gave in paperwork etc
– along with welcome champagne of course! We were then escorted to our
stateroom, number 325, one of the deluxe ocean view staterooms. It was lovely,
very well appointed and far more spacious than I’d imagined. I came onboard
with my mum, and for me the easiest tester for a stateroom in terms of size and
amenities is how well it manages two females trying to get ready before dinner
– the stateroom passed the test! I don’t know where to start, from the fruit
basket, chocolates and array of L’occitane bathroom products to the ever so comfy
bed, within 5 minutes I was already sold on Windstar.
The door knocked and Dani
our steward was there to introduce himself. He even told us if there was
anything we needed just to leave him a little note. I found this quite a nice
touch, no one likes the whole awkwardness of wanting to ask your steward a
quick question or for a quick favour but not knowing when you’ll see them next
so this was great, plus I’ve never wanted to appear rude by leaving a note, so
for him to suggest to us that this was acceptable was fantastic. We mentioned
to him we needed our bed converting into a twin however we said not to worry
about it now as he must be busy with everyone embarking and we said feel free to
do it later when he had more time. Unbelievably we went for lunch, returned an
hour later and the beds had been separated into a twin with a bedside table in
between – now that was fast service!
We wandered around the ship wanting to get
a feel for the place and have a nosey; it certainly was a fun to explore. Soon
enough it was time to get ready and join everyone on deck for the sail away
party. Magical, that’s the only way to describe the feeling you get when the
music starts and the sails go up. You get a sense of pride as you look around
at your beautiful surroundings; that’s when you realise just how lucky you are.
We all headed to dinner in AmphorA, their main restaurant.
No reservation
required, just turn up anytime between 7pm – 9pm and they will seat you. This I
loved, it was so relaxed and it’s all on your own time and pace. You get experience
things just how you want it, which I learnt is pretty much the essence of
Windstar. The food was fabulous! So tasty, and there’s great choice. Along
with an array of starters and deserts they have around 6 main dishes to choose
from and a wide choice of sides. If you don’t fancy any of the main dishes they
always have around 4 standard choices such as a steak, chicken etc which you
can then pair up with the sides too. We all sat around, got to know each other
and the next thing you know it was 10pm, I was pretty exhausted from a long
day so I decided to get an early night. On the way back to the stateroom my mum
and I decided to swing by the library area and pick up a DVD. This was how good
our cruise was: we picked up a DVD that night and it remained unwatched the
whole cruise. We handed it back in on the last night after we hadn’t had a
chance to watch it as we simply had so much fun onboard that staying in our
room to watch a DVD was literally the last thing on our mind.
Day 2 – Portoferraio
We woke up
to sun! This was a nice surprise considering it was November and we were
sailing the Med. We headed to the Veranda for breakfast where we sat on deck
and enjoyed our first morning onboard the Wind Surf. The Veranda is their
‘buffet’ style restaurant open for breakfast and lunch; you can sit indoors or
on deck. The choice for breakfast was amazing, you could choose from fruits,
pastries, ham, cheeses, cereal etc to a buffet of hot food or if you wanted
they also had an a la carte menu for breakfast. I must point out they do also
open up the Compass Rose for breakfast, however we never made it there as the
Veranda was simply so good. And for those who never make breakfast…. You could
swing by the Yacht Club and grab a pastry and a coffee. The Yacht Club was open
until 5pm and served sandwiches and cakes throughout the day also.
We decided
to get off and explore, we’d been provided with detailed maps and leaflets for
the port so we wandered for hours enjoying a new place. We got back just in
time to catch lunch at the Veranda, again we sat outside to make the most of
the beautiful weather. There was a storm heading our way so we knew it wouldn’t
stay this good for long. Lunch was brilliant. Again, they had a huge buffet
with a big choice of hot dishes, salads, pastas and a cooking station with a
changing special each day. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough they had the a la carte
menu when you could order things like fries, burgers, hot dogs, pizza. We
headed to the pool deck to grab a sunbed; we were given towels, asked what we
wanted to drink and then were left to soak up the sun. The pool deck has 2 hot
tubs, one pool, a good amount of sunbeds and a pool bar – what more could you
want! There was also plenty of sunbeds on the other decks too so no need to
fight!
Tonight was the captains cocktails and I don’t think I’ve ever met such
a charismatic character, I think in his past life he must have been a comedian
as his welcome speech was brilliant! Tonight my mum and I had dinner in
Candles, one of the 2 speciality restaurants onboard. Normally, weather
permitting it would be for dining outside, however given it was quite cold they
transformed the Veranda making it a beautiful dining experience with a lovely
ambience. This was by far the best meal I've eaten in a long time. Wow. My main
was the fillet mignon and then you choose your side dishes. We decided to get a
range of sides to share as they had fresh vegetables, creamy mushrooms and
leeks, parmesan potatoes, it was simply divine.
After dinner we headed to the
Compass Rose and met up with the rest of the group for drinks. It had a lovely
feel to it in there, dark wood, comfy seats and the best entertainment! A duo
from England, who sang and played guitar – they were honestly incredible and
they were such good fun, I think they honestly made up part of why we loved the
cruise so much. We had the drinks package added on as part of our cruise, and
that meant we felt much more relaxed, no need to worry about a bill at the end.
It was $54pppd, and basically anything under $12 was included in the package.
Soft drinks, teas and coffee were included complimentary anyway to all guests
so it was only alcoholic beverages that made up the package. Despite Windstar
not being all-inclusive, my advice would be to simply account for the drinks
package as part of your overall upfront cruise cost and there you go – it’s all
inclusive! At least for those who don’t drink there is therefore the option of
not having to pay for it so I think it just makes perfect sense for the
product.
Day 3 – Monte Carlo (Was Portofino)
We were
originally scheduled to be in Portofino today, however due to the bad weather
the Captain made an announcement the night before explaining we would no longer
be able to call there. It’s totally understandable; the weather coming in
really wasn’t great so we headed for Monte Carlo instead where we could at
least be in the safety of the harbour. We were due to be there the day after
anyway so this way we had 2 full days docked in Monte Carlo – hats off to the Captain
and crew for their fast thinking and swift organisation. After having been to
Monte Carlo many of times before we only briefly got off the ship returning to
spend most of the day attempting to dry off from the rain. We headed up to the
Veranda where yet again we were spoilt for choice in terms of their food. After
having mooched around the yacht I thought my afternoon would be best spent in
the gym.
For the size of the ship the gym was very impressive. From the usual
cardio machines to the weights and floor space it was very large and not only
that but they had various classes throughout the day that were all included at
no extra charge. Guests of Windstar are encouraged to stay very active and I
think this is great, especially seeing as the food is so good you do tend to
eat more than you would back home. Before dinner we all met in the Lounge for a
drink which had a lovely relaxing feel and a great band playing throughout the
evening. At 6:30pm every night one of the team would do a quick 30 minute talk
on the port for the next day, running through all the excursions, any options
we had plus general history and points of interest. Tonight we dined in the
Stela Bistro, which was amazing food. I had an onion tart and French onion soup
to start followed by a steak; I did skip dessert (as though I was trying to be
healthy after having gone to the gym earlier... despite already having 3
courses). The speciality restaurants onboard were all included in the cruise
fare, bookable once onboard and they were pretty easy to get space in which was
great. After dinner we ended up in the Compass Rose, of course!
Singing,
dancing and drinks until late, after which we decided to hit the hot tub. Now,
1am may seem like an unusual time to head to the hot tub, but honestly, we were
having such fun we didn’t want the night to end. The rain had stopped, and the
air was nice and warm so it seems like a perfect idea, especially as we had the
twinkly lights of Monte Carlo as a backdrop. Again, it was just one of those
wow moments that really make you stop and think.
Day 4 – Monte Carlo
The rain was
light in the morning, so after grabbing breakfast in the Veranda we all headed
off for a stroll and joined the local petit train to take us on a 1 hour
roundtrip journey around the sights of Monte Carlo. After heading back to the
ship I decided I try out the room service for lunch and I'm glad I did. I went
for a steak sandwich and fries and it certainly was yummy, made even better by
the courtesy call 20 minutes later asking not only if I’d enjoyed the meal but
if I’d like my tray collected. Now that’s service for you. I split my afternoon
between the hot tub and the gym followed by a much deserved nap. It was one of
our groups birthdays the following day and as they hadn’t tried Candles as of
yet I stopped by reception and enquired as to if by any chance I could get a
table for 6 the following night in the restaurant. They made the reservation
without any issues. That night after all meeting in the lounge we headed to
AmphorA for our evening meal, again we turned up at a time that suited us
(between 7pm-9pm) and asked for a table of 10. Not a problem at all. We had a
lovely evening getting to know new friends and all being part of the same
wonderful experience. After dinner heading off to the Compass Rose was a must,
the duo in there were simply incredible. I decided to stick to the tea/hot
chocolate and have an ish-early evening. I wanted to get a nice early start for
the next day. I swung by ‘Cigars under the Stars’ before I left, it’s a small
cigar room/bar just above the Compass Rose, gorgeous furniture and had a nice
feel to the place, it’s nice that for a small ship there’s more options than
most would think. The Captain did let us know that as the weather was still
quite bad, instead of leaving Monte Carlo around 2am, taking it slow and
possibly having to endure rough seas along the way we would stay docked until
6am and then go full speed to Cannes to arrive us only 30 minutes later than
scheduled. That sounded like a far better idea to me, I liked the planning
ahead – the Captain was a smart man!
Day 5 - Cannes
Every
evening they provide you with the following days information printed out such
as various events, timings and other important information. We noticed they
were offering a chance to join the head Chef on a market tour. We swung by
reception to sign ourselves up, grabbed a quick breakfast and then headed off
to join the group. The Chef explained that although a lot of produce comes
onboard in bulk at various stages to comply with all food, health and safety
standards, they went out around 3 times a cruise to pick up fresh, local food.
This not only gave their menu a more authentic feeling, but it always meant
they were able to create new dishes as specials so that that the food was kept
relevant and more in tune with the ports they visited. The tour lasted around
an hour and a half. We saw the Chef buy Sea bass for that evenings special
dish, along with local cheese, olives and vegetables. It was nice to get a
behind the scenes look at how things are run. We headed back to the ship for a
quick lunch before we were off again on another excursion – this time a paid,
organised shore excursion. Greeted from the tender, we were guided on to a
coach where we were given a talk about the surrounding areas along the way to
Antibes. Once we’d arrived our guide took us on a walking tour of the old city
where we ended at a bar for Absinthe tasting! After this we were given a bit of
free time before the coach departed. The whole excursion ran smoothly, it was
well planned and organised. By the time we arrived back at the tender we were
the last group to board, the night had set in and the boat had its sails up and
the lights on. What a sight, it was absolutely stunning. We were all scrambling
around in the tender taking turns to get a picture from the window before we
got too close. Now here’s the really good part… the tender driver had noticed what
everyone was doing and he not only stopped the tender, but proceeded to slowly
turn it from left to right so everyone had the opportunity to get a good photo.
Again, it’s those little magical moments that the staff create for you that
you’ll never forget.
Back onboard we got ready for dinner and then headed to
Candles for the birthday meal. Yet again, the food didn’t disappoint being just
as good as it was on our first visit. The best part, one of the head waiters
noticed us from the morning tour and commented that as we were in Candles we
hadn’t been able to pick the special from the main dining room menu which was
the Sea bass we’d seen them buy earlier. Without even prompting he offered to
bring us a dish for the table to arrive along with our other main courses, what
a perfect idea. I think you get the picture now, but just in case you’ve not
quite caught on yet, the dish was superb, as with all food onboard you just
couldn’t fault it. After our mains, the lights went down and the staff gathered
round to sing happy birthday and presented the birthday boy with a cake! Strangely
enough it was a banana cake, which just so happened to be his favourite –
Windstar really are spot on every time!
Off to the Compass Rose we headed for
our usual evening entertainment, just as good as all the nights previous
however as time went on we found that despite starting as a 2, then a group of
6, 8 etc we noticed the whole bar became one big family by the end of the
cruise. The water sports Marina was open today, which unfortunately we missed
as we had so many other things to do today but it’s a great little extra and
just adds to the mountains of activities Windstar offer.
Day 6 – Marseilles
The bad weather
finally seemed to pass and we woke up to glorious sunshine. It was time for
breakfast on the deck again! We then did the Galley tour to take another sneak
peak at what goes on behind the scenes and it was fascinating learning just
what goes on without us even realising it. Wow, the staff work hard. This port
was by far my biggest surprise and was much more interesting and exciting than
I’d had in mind. After exploring the area we headed back and sat on the pool
deck. It seemed a crime not to enjoy the glorious weather so I sat back and
relaxed with a glass of champagne, you know – when in Rome (or Marseilles!).
I
decided for the gym again whilst I left everyone enjoying the hot tub, I knew
what we had in store for the evening. A BBQ on deck! Windstar pulled out all
the stops, the really did. We had everything from a giant suckling pig, ribs
and chicken to paella, lobster and salads. The evening was so memorable, a huge
spread of food cooked right in front of us on the top deck. Tables laid
beautifully, candles, blankets and of course the smooth and attentive service
by the crew.
Yet again, Windstar created a once in a lifetime evening that
you’ll never forget. After dinner of course we headed to the Compass Rose, with
this being our second to last evening we decided to make this the best one yet.
At one point we all got up and danced, and I never get up and dance…. But in
the spirit of the evening we all got carried away with the fun we were having
and really allowed ourselves to let go and just enjoy the moment. Even the
staff in the bar managed to let go a little and do a bit of dancing, behind the
bar of course! I love the fact the staff onboard Wind Surf not only show you
good service and are extremely professional but they actually let their
personalities shine through and become more personable. I decided to head to
bed whilst the others had a quick go in the Casino, which was yet again surprisingly
large for this size yacht!
Day 7 – Port Vendres
Today was
our last full day. I’m pretty sure you’ll have noticed I started the blog full
of ‘I’s and ‘my’s but I'm ending it with ‘our’ and ‘we’ – but that’s just how
it was. My mum and I embarked the ship as a pair, by the time we left we were
part of a group. After breakfast and a mild panic of realisation I’d lost my
earring we decided to risk the weather and explore the port. I’d like to point
out my earring is still lost however I can’t praise the staffs efforts to find
it enough, most importantly our room steward Dani who literally took apart our entire
room and went so far as to move the bed/furniture. The sweetest thing was how
apologetic he was when he hadn’t found it for me. Unfortunately when you lose
just 1 earring and have no idea where on the ship you last had it in, it is
pretty much a needle in a haystack situation, but they promised to contact me
if it was found even after I’d disembarked and I couldn’t ask for more than
that. Port Vendres seemed rather quiet so we figured we’d hop on another petit
train as at least that wouldn’t take up too much time but would give us a good
overview of the area. The local petit train was actually recommended as a great
attraction in the port talk the night previously in the lounge. It was a great
start, though the winding lanes and eventually after 20 minutes it took you to
the next town which was beautiful. This was a stop off point, so they explained
we were free to get out and wander however being out of season the trains ran
only once an hour. This being the last day, and knowing we had so much to cram
in we decided instead of getting off we’d continue through and enjoy the second
part to the journey. WOW. So we set off back in the same direction, all
presuming we were going back the same route but then all of a sudden the train
made a turn and we started going higher and higher up this hill. 10 minutes
later we found ourselves right at the top by an old fort, the same fort we’d
seen earlier miles in the distance perched high above a cliff. The train
stopped and we were given the opportunity to get out and take pictures.
Once
back onboard the ship we grabbed a spot of lunch and did our packing. I left it
until as late as possible to pack; I basically didn’t want to face reality that
I was going home. I’d had an incredible week and I didn’t want it to end. We
were given colour coded luggage tags relating to the time we would be
disembarking and asked to leave our suitcases outside our room by 2am. We had
our final dinner in AmphorA, this again didn’t disappoint as it was simply
delicious. We made dinner last as long as possible and we were enjoying the
food, wine and good company. Unfortunately it was an ish-early evening for me
as we had to be off the yacht quite early for our flight. We stayed until the
duo finished in the Compass Rose which was around midnight and then said our
goodbyes and headed off to bed. I’d loved every minute onboard the Wind Surf
and I honestly could have stayed on for much longer!
Day 8 – Barcelona - Disembarkation
day
Waking up
and realising we really did have to leave today did put me in quite a grumpy
mood! We headed to Veranda for breakfast, sat outside on deck watching the
lights of the dock shine in the dark morning sky and I realised instead of
being grumpy for leaving I should be happy with the experience I’d had over the
last week. Windstar had offered us a transfer, but as I’d been to Barcelona
before and knew it was quite a short and easy transfer we decided to make our
own way there in a taxi. We said our goodbyes to the friends we’d made along
the way and the staff we’d become so fond of and reluctantly made our way off
the ship….
Top 5 things to note.
1. The staff were incredible, literally
every single one of them.
2. The food was to die for. Great
choice, presentation but more importantly the taste!
3. What you want, when you want. They
make things work around you and how you want your experience to be.
4. It’s your own private yacht. From the
open bridge policy to the ability to uncover what goes on behind the scenes.
5. Windstar creates moments that you know you’ll never forget
Windstar Cruises won #1 in the small
ship category for the Conde Nast Traveler readers’ choice awards in 2014
beating the likes of Silversea and Seabourn, and after one week onboard… I
really know why!
