Incredible Service, Amazing Food & Surprisingly Intimate – Windstar Cruises Review – Rome to Barcelona

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 harbor. 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.

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!

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!

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!