Wayfairers

And because of that potential revenue I suspect HAL would have a tough time getting rid of the retreat. I’ve seen it used almost continuously on short cruises (7-14 days). I’ve never seen it used on the 73 day cruise I’m currently on and we today is day 6 of 7 sea days - we boarded last Tuesday. Not that I watch it continuously but I’ve walked by several times and it is empty then I walk past the Pickleball/basketball courts and they are being used most of the daylight hours with a line many times.

Currently on the Zuiderdam. Beautiful ship. Amazing food. Disappointed because the sport court is very small and this is a long cruise. I would think the area used for the retreat could be converted to be more sport court area. There is a high demand for pickleball for instance with only one full court available resulting in extremely long lines to play. I know some people like to use the retreat but I’ve never seen anyone using the retreat even though I’ve walked by several times. I know people on the ship that have purchased it but it seems that space would be better utilized to satisfy the demands of the majority of the passengers. Especially knowing some cruise lines have multiple pickleball courts and it is extremely popular. How many pickleball courts are on other HAL ships?

Thank you! We’ve been to Morocco a few times by cruise ship and did a 9 day land trip a few years ago. Love it! Never made it to that town though

Did you enjoy Chefchouan? Considered going there but haven’t made it yet. Is everything painted blue? I imagine something like Mykonos but blue instead of white buildings. Is that accurate? Anything else to see there?

Yes from what I remember. I believe it is an industrial port

Those are nice!

Thank you. That is what I remember from 2016 too and I am happy to hear things haven’t changed.

Our solution to the cost of parking is a one way rental car both ways. More relaxing than flying as we make the drive part of the trip with stops along the way. We usually are traveling for a few months so parking fees would be outrageous.

Thanks for the info. I haven’t heard of them - they look very interesting. Please do report back after your cruise.

7 or 8. Transatlantics. Love them….. there is so much to do I’m having to pick between two or more things often.

Agreed. We’ve been assigned mobility cabins and they do seem bigger. We’ve stayed inside up to veranda and everything between….never makes a difference on how much we enjoy the cruise. In fact we rarely use the balcony because we prefer to be out on deck - better views of both sides of the ship and it is always fun to meet new people.

Thanks. We’ve had it in Lisbon before..delicious. For some strange reason I was thinking you had found it in the Caribbean…maybe I shouldn’t drink wine while posting on cruise critic LOL!!

We are taking this for 7 months on board the same ship (B2B2B cruises). Normally for every trip we take the 2 backpacks and the 2 smaller rolling suitcases. Carry on for any airline if we have to fly. Hated adding the large suitcase but needed it this time.

They amaze me. My memory has never been as good as theirs!

Thank you! I’ll check itineraries for sea days and crossings. Sounds like you’ve had some wonderful experiences …..looking forward to cruising with Windstar.

The layout of the sideways cabin we were in on the Zaandam felt roomier than most inside cabins we’ve had. Sounds like that isn’t always the case.

Thank you for reminding me of that 2017 post. I wondered how things are now, 6 years later and post covid. As you can see I’ve been thinking about this line for a while.

We’ve never sailed with Windstar but have wanted to for several years. The sailing yachts are so beautiful. I know there are also Windstar motor yachts, but, for now, we are interested in the those with sails. Does it feel the same as a sailboat when you are under sail? To me that is a feeling of peacefully and quietly gliding across the water. The largest boat we have sailed on was around 35-40ft. How often do you sail with the engines off? Are you more likely to sail with engines off on certain itineraries or yachts?

Ooooo….is that grilled octopus? Where?

We’ve cruised in all 3 room types. And, yes, some interiors are larger than others. I really haven’t paid attention to the actual square footage of the rooms. The sideways interior rooms have felt roomier and I liked the layout better. The OVs I’ve had felt about the same size as an interior. We’ve never had a space issue in any HAL room - but we tend to be light packers. We are getting ready to sail for 7 months and are taking about what we would take for anything over a week plus extra toiletries since we’ve found it can be difficult to find things like shaving cream elsewhere. So, we don’t need that much space and wouldn’t really notice a storage difference in rooms. Hopefully a heavier packer can answer the question too. We do typically have any furniture (table, chair, not the couch) removed that we won’t be using and that helps on space too.

We always take our covid vaccination cards when traveling - never know when rules may change and we need them. Had to show them twice (2 different states) early summer 2021 in the western US when no one else in the US was requiring them. Almost left them at home that trip - glad we didn’t. Both times it was required to shop in a store without a mask after all mask mandates were lifted and no one else in either town required a vaccination or a mask. I realize that was a couple of years ago, but we travel for months at a time internationally and you just never know what will happen.

Thank you!

Help….I understand “Rare” on a name with a ship icon means you’ve done a “Live From” thread. But what does your “Rare” with a computer screen icon mean?

Always check the cruise before and after to see if you want to add one of those. Start the vacation when you leave home, not when you board the ship. If you can, take cruises longer than 7 days. Research port day options so you don’t return back home wishing you had done something different. But be open to changes for the same reason.

We carry our luggage on so we drop that in the room, grab a drink and explore the ship. Later, we will unpack while watching the muster video and then enjoy the sail away on an open deck - and start meeting other cruisers.