HaveDogWillTravel

That’s exactly what I was thinking. We have the Sky Suite for the 10 day total eclipse of the sun sailing this April. We are also on the 3 day sailing prior but booked an aft facing corner penthouse on Riviera for that part. That wrap around deck looks pretty amazing and the lounge is right there. Thanks again!

Thanks for coming back to respond. Did you have the Plus or Premium package?

The crew at princess are on a fixed salary. They do not get any extra money from auto gratuities each month. I had suspected this for quite sometime. I have had enough crew members confirm this that I am now certain of it. Crew do not volunteer this information and they are not supposed to discuss their compensation. I don’t expect anyone here to believe me and that’s totally fine. So believe it or not makes no difference to me. I know there are many, like me, who have a closer relationship with some crew than the average passenger and can discreetly confirm this for themselves. This is from the Princess website (go to onboard FAQs regarding Crew Appreciation -click on the link “to learn more see our Crew Appreciation and Service Charge Policy). I don’t recall exactly when this verbiage changed but it made me wonder if the crew who served me were actually getting anything “extra”. This wording allows Princess to collect the auto grats and use it to pay salaries. The pooled funds are distributed throughout the year in the form of compensation, including bonuses,

I’m glad you are not giving away Leo’s special messages in your reviews. Without giving away the details I would like to share what I’ve found so special in the dozens of times I’ve seen his talks (mostly with you lol). Leo inspires me. He talks about resilience ….about over coming challenges and tragedies….about being open to unfamiliar doors opening…..about accepting chance…. the part of life that is unexpected but leads to places you could never have planned.

Wow that’s a shame as I really love his presentations. On my 19 with him on the Emerald (Aug 21-Sept 9, 2023) he was at 2;30 (or there about) in Explorers. It was a great time of day for me and his shows were very well attended. I just don’t do 9:30 shows. By then my social battery is depleted. I am so glad you’re having such a great time. 🥂 We are looking forward to our next sailing with you and DH.

Our itinerary changed as well before sailing due to the canal being closed. But juuuuust before embarkation we were told they had kept it open. Still I dared not hope. Not until we saw the mouth of the canal. The energy on the deck was palpable. We all knew this was a special and rare moment. We put the shortest of us in front and tallest in back. Adam and I bought a bottle of Prosecco to celebrate the occasion while we sailed thru. And thank you for letting me know someone is listening. ☺️These boards are so very quiet.

a very tight fit

I wanted to come back and share some photos of one of the biggest highlights of our sailing The Corinth canal. It was magical.

Plakastroto

Hydra Chromata

I’m still amazed by the room service. Especially being able to order this on the last morning. And yes that’s a glass of wine. I had a bit left over from an open bottle. Don’t judge me lol. Waste not want not. I love that Kinfield sunblock. It’s reef safe (not just reef friendly) and it’s zinc base. I put it on once in the morning and I don’t burn all day. It’s really lightweight and does not go on all pasty white.

I will post some pictures. I hope this thread has been helpful (well for everyone) but particularly for those who are Windstar curious and haven’t been able to find as much information as they’d like. Amphora

We ate at Amphora for the first time last night. Everything was beautifully prepared and presented. The seafood fricassee was stunning, the lasagne & crab balls were great and both salads were gorgeous but one had a prune - mustard dressing that was not our favorite. Disembarkation was easy. We left at 7 am with our own luggage (the crew were incredibly helpful even though we knew we were supposed to do it ourselves). You have to take a shuttle bus -driven by a grumpy Greek to a building that’s off the pier. No immigration just nice people letting you know what your options are. We decided on taking the cab waiting there to E8 (15 euro) where we switched our tickets to an 8 am ferry. I let our host know we would be getting to Hydra early and he met us at the dock. Our apartment at Hydra Chromata was ready so we moved right in. It’s a great apartment in a great location and we found an amazing restaurant , Plakostroto just around the corner. We leave for Athens Monday afternoon for 5 days. Until then it’s Island time.

We were told Windstar is the only company allowed to do the full dinner with concert. The Aegean Chamber Orchestra was magnificent. The food wonderfully prepared and presented. The wine was lovely and flowed freely - at no charge. It was a complementary 4 hour event and the entire ship went (I heard there were fewer than 10 passengers who could not make it). I’ve run large 3 day conventions for 700-800 people. This event had to cost quite a pretty penny and the logistics were carried out at the highest level. We were very impressed and had no idea that this was going to be included in our cruise fare.

Here’s a shorter version of the sail away ceremony. IMG_7357.mov

When I book a cabin I like to see what the outside of the ship looks like around it. You can see where the platform is for the tenders and where the cabins are that are near it. We did have exhaust that one day but in Santorini we didn’t have that problem. Of course it’s just about how the wind is blowing.

Delphi today. The landscape is simply stunning.

No video today. Maybe from Hydra. We fare taking an early debarkation and walking to pier E8 to catch the Hellenic Seaways ferry to Hydra tomorrow morning. We booked tickets online and were able to download our tickets to our apple wallet. We used the Ferryhopper website which was a great resource. It should be a half hour walk to E8 and I’ll let you know how it goes. We each have a rolling medium bag with a carryon that attaches. I signed up for STEP before leaving home so it’s been great to get notices regarding protests in Istanbul and other cities we have been and are going to.

The Delphi tour by WS was again very well run with an excellent guide and driver. Our group had around 30 this time. I would not hesitate to book WS tours on future cruises. I’ve heard about the WS signature sail away ceremony but had not seen it until today. I know. Our last day on the ship and our last sail away. I figured I needed to do it. Hopefully the video will post.

I think at this point you should exchange emails to have a private conversation. Thanks in advance 😌

A follow up to a couple of things I’ve posted. we did report the loose outlet by the bed and they did fix it. We did let our destination manager know that the culinary experience differed from what was advertised. He was actually surprised that the brochure still said “maximum of10 people”. We emphasized that we had a wonderful time! Quite unexpectedly we found a letter informing us of a 20% refund. This was not required at all but appreciated. Last night’s sunset I love the high quality acrylic glassware used at the star bar. Notice the thin lip snd how clear the acrylic is…. Not cloudy that curtain separating the two spaces in our room is really useful. Todays tour. Since it’s the only game in town and we have a short day in Itea (8-1pm) before heading thru the Corinth canal there will be a lot more passengers on this one with us. So far all our WS excursions have had 20 or so. The room service chicken quesadilla. It has the most flavorful fajita style filling and there is a lot of spice to it. Yummy breakfast. it’s a bit overcast in Itea today.

I absolutely love the entirely smoke free interior of the ship. The cooking demonstration by our executive chef Joseph today was entertaining and educational. We could see everything he did and he would answer questions as he cooked. The beer trivia on the upper decks at noon was a lot of fun. And we ate the Greek foods Joseph demonstrated for lunch. if you need production shows, karaoke and a casino Windstar may not be a good fit for you. The house band and the Singing Duo provide all the entertainment we need. Just thought I’d post a few more notes as we finish our ice cream at the Ice Cream Social with our HGM Wilhelm. The reception is good at the moment.

In July it would be 100 degrees or more with high humidity we were told by our local guide. The crowds would be immense. Idk why anyone would come that time of year! we are sailing just south of the Peloponnese peninsula and actually have 2 bars of LTE for me and 2 bars of 5G for Adam (his phone is newer).

I’ve heard about the deck BBQ. I had no idea exactly what it really was. Ok…. Now we both know. Just the best time ever. And absolutely 180 different! The photos should tell the story! Wish I had the bandwidth to post the videos. IMG_7125.mov

One last note before heading up to the deck BBQ. The laundry package is brilliant. Seriously I always have all my laundry done by the ship on every single sailing across all lines. This is by far the best. Send it in with evening turndown and it’s back by 3 the next day. Perfectly done. Every time