Guest Testimonial: The Global Adventuress Breezes Through The Caribbean

Dreaming of the Caribbean? Patricia Stone, world traveler for Global Adventuress, shares her top 10 reasons to cruise with Windstar. Patricia sailed from St. Maarten with stops in Pigeon Island, Roseau, Les Saintes, and St. Kitts earlier this year on Wind Surf, and she shared her experience on her blog. Enjoy her adventures below: 

Breezing Through the Caribbean on Windstar

We’ve been on cruises before, but never a cruise quite like this one.  It’s January and we were ready for a winter getaway, something extraordinary…the Caribbean was calling.

   

We found that 180 degrees difference on Windstar Cruises.  Ready for luxury cruising on a small ship where you can enjoy spacious decks under tall white sails, and feel like you are on your own private yacht? “Windstar Ships are large enough to pamper and entertain you, yet small enough to tuck into delightful tiny harbors and hidden coves others can’t reach,” notes Amanda Graham, director of Public Relations for Windstar Cruises. While on the Wind Surf “Flavors of the Caribbean” cruise, we compiled our Top 10 Reasons to sail with Windstar.

Top 10 Reasons to Cruise Windstar

1.  Sail on Your Own Private Yacht

Well, almost your own…at least you feel like you’re the only one on the ship.  With less than 300 guests, the ship never felt crowded.  At times, we had the open decks to ourselves, lounge areas, and even the jacuzzi and pool.  It was easy to go out on the ship’s deck, find a private corner to relax and read or nap.

 

2.  Close Access to Ports

Visit premier destinations and less traveled ports where only small ships can enter.  It was easy to walk off the ship or take a quick boat tender ride to the port, and walk into the port towns.  We had several close up and personal onshore experiences with the local people.  We never felt we were traveling with a large group, and each excursion was one-of-a-kind.

3.  Casual Elegance

There aren’t any schedules or formal nights to worry about.  Windstar calls this “casual elegance” where carefree days happen in luxury surroundings.  Guests are free to choose what their cruise experience will be like.  Every day is unique and relaxing.

 

4.  Personalized Service

My Wish”…this is what staff says when they hear “thank you”!   We felt pampered throughout the cruise by the crew who knew our name, and delighted in serving and surprising us in discrete ways.

 

5.  Watersports Platform Onboard

The Wind Surf has a water park on the aft of the yacht.  This aquamarine playground has everything guests need for tropical water fun – diving, board sailing, water-skiing, snorkeling, kayaking, blow-up slide and trampoline, or floating on giant mats.

 

6.  Magical Moments

We had many magical moments – watching the giant sails unfurl, dining and dancing under the stars, enjoying the festivities on the deck and at beach BBQ’s, meeting the local people and other guests on the ship, seeing rainbows appear, dramatic sunsets unfold, and getting goose bumps when we heard the signature sail away music as our yacht left each port – the Conquest of Paradise byVangelis from the movie 1492.

   

7. The Captain & Crew

We had a fantastic lineup with Captain Peter Harris, Hotel Manager Jeffrey Jack, Officers, Crew & Staff on the Windstar Fleet!  On this Windstar Cruise, guests had access to the Bridge, where the Captain and Officers navigate the ship.

8.  Close to Your Room, Close to Everything Onboard

Because it’s a small ship, we had close access to our room, so if we ever forgot anything in our room, it wasn’t a long trek to go back and get what we needed.  Our room felt close to everything and it was easy to get around on our yacht.

 

9.  Best Value for Small Ship Luxury Cruise

Windstar Cruises offer one of the best value luxury cruises for small ships.

 

10.  Low Carbon Footprint

Our ship’s sails were up 28% of the time, and we were cruising without engines.  Both the sails and engines were on 57% of the time, and only the engines were going for just 15% of the time.  This is what we call “pure cruising”! 

Along with our Top 10 reasons, here are some images and notes about our experiences, excursions, and Wind Surf. There are many destinations and itineraries to choose from, and our “Flavors of the Caribbean” cruise showed us the diverse heritage of the Caribbean through its flavors, cultures, and colors!  It turned out to be so colorful; we even had rainbows following us every day.

 

All our senses were awakened from the scent of tropical flowers, the taste of spicy Creole cuisine, the feel of powdery white sand, the sights of the lush green tropical forests, white waterfalls, turquoise beach waters, the sounds of local Calypso music, and the overall joie de vivre felt throughout the Caribbean islands.

 

Accommodations

The Wind Surf staterooms and suites are private oasis for guests with newly finished and furnished rooms designed with seascape colors, queen beds with fine count Egyptian cotton linens, and the bathrooms have teak floors and granite counters stocked with L’Occitane bath amenities.

 

Felt divine to wrap up in a waffle weave robe and step into slippers while enjoying grapes from the bowl of fruit.  Kicking back in our suite, and gazing out of the ocean view windows, while listening to tunes in the privacy of our room.  Our room had it all, a flat-screen TV, DVD player and Bose SoundDock speakers for Apple iPods. Good to note:  Windstar’s Wind Surf suites include an extra bath and TV along with sitting area and his-and-her bathrooms.  The bridge suites offer the additional luxury of a spacious private living room and relaxing whirlpool spa.

Excursions

The Ports of Call on our cruise included: Philipsburg, St. Maarten, Roseau, Dominica, Pigeon Island, St. Lucia, Les Saintes, F.W.I., Charlestown, Nevis, Basseterre, and St. Kitts.

 

Excursion planners and guides are available to help guests plan unique on-shore experiences with small-group excursions, or on your own.  We enjoyed one of the ship’s excursions and sailed on a catamaran to see the seven islands of Les Saintes with our guide Philippe, and then snorkeled along one of the largest island’s beaches. While visiting Dominica, our guide Shane from www.khatts.com took us to Champagne Reef where we snorkeled through the volcanic bubbles, swam through the narrow gorge of Ti Tou to a waterfall, and visited Trafalgar Falls where we dipped into some hot springs.  Another day we kayaked from the ship’s watersports platform and explored the bay of St. Kitts.

   

You can be as active as you want to be on this cruise. Some guests zip lined, cycled, hiked island trails, and others tried out some Creole recipes in cooking classes.  Everyone found time to relax to private areas on the ship and read a book, take a nap, and enjoy the vistas.

WindSpa & Wellness Center

The ship has a spa that offers a variety of treatments for face, body, hair, beauty.  There’s also a Wellness Center with fitness classes – yoga, pilates, body sculpt boot camp, and programs like personal training, body composition analysis, and nutritional consultation.  One of the most popular treatments we heard about was the “Top to Toe” that included a frangipani scalp massage, hot stones or bamboo full body massage, foot and ankle massage, and a hydrating facial.  Whenever we saw guests leave the spa, they looked revitalized, refreshed, and reinvigorated!

Wind Surf Library

If you need to find a book, game or DVD, there are many selections to choose from at the ship’s library.  Or if you need the internet, there’s Wi-Fi, so you can log online to check emails and surf the web.

Dining

Wind Surf offers a range of culinary venues from the Compass Rose, Stella Bistro, Candles, The Veranda, Terrace Bar, and AmphorA.

   

We dined at each of the ship’s restaurants, and really loved dining under the stars on ship’s deck at the Candles restaurant.  Dining alfresco at the Veranda for breakfast and lunch was another favorite where you can enjoy the ocean breezes and sunlight at your table.  Another evening, we watched a movie in our room and room service delivered a bucket of popcorn.

Entertainment

There’s a nice balance of entertainment on board from singing artists, to small bands.  We enjoyed the music and dancing whenever we visited the entertainment lounge.

Awards Galore!

We learned that Windstar is a market leader in small ship cruising with 300 or fewer passengers.  They are known for the private yacht style cruising that brings guests closer to the world, their beautifully appointed yachts, spectacular embarkation events, luxurious accommodations, delectable cuisine, inventive itineraries, and romantic ambiance on their ships.