gymswim

Has anyone taken the Windstar tour from the Barbados port that brings you to the airport? If so, what time did you get to the airport? The website indicates this is about a 4 hour tour but doesn't indicate what time you leave the port. We have a 5:00 flight and I don't want to be sitting at the airport for hours.

One additional factor to consider is that the airlines don't allow you to check in more than three hours before departure and until you can check in, you'll be sitting in a non air-conditioned area of the airport. You only get to the air-conditioned enclosed part of the airport after you've got your boarding pass and your luggage has been checked in for the flight.

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Thank you very much for your follow up, Mariners. Very interesting. On our trans Atlantic Crossing this past November on Windstar Surf, we had workers aboard as well. All of the workers (mostly Eastern European) were housed in deck 1. Every passenger who had originally been assigned on deck 1 were moved up to deck 2. Fortunately the workers activities didn't impact us as much as they apparently impacted you on the smaller ship. The bulk of the work was being done in the crew quarters bathrooms forward. There was only one evening when we heard banging and welding noise around 9 pm which fortunately didn't last long.

There was also work being done in two of the life boats as well as some outdoor caulking / painting. Like you, we were not so bothered by it that we would hesitate signing up again in a future trans Atlantic voyage. We had a lovely cruise.

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My review of our trans-Atlantic crossing has been posted:

 

 

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599880

 

 

 

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask away.

Thank you for your review of the Trans Atlantic Crossing on Windstar. How many passengers were aboard? Sorry to hear about all the noise from workers who were aboard doing maintenance. Was there any effort made by the officers or hotel manager to mitigate it, or to confine the time work was being performed?

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Found this tonight. A nice bio about Jean-Claude Potier (1928-2010), original builder and dreamer of the Windstar Company and Paul Gaugin Cruises.

 

 

 

In addition, I bought this book about the design and building of these marvelous WINDSTAR sailing shIps a fascinating read. Available on Amazon and Kindle.

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So happy that Windstar finally did the right thing. Persistence pays off.

We are looking forward to our 2 weeks aboard the Surf on January 27. Have never done the crossing in our 20 trips. Would love to see more posts Gymswim.

Would love to know who our captain will be. Last year they changed captains mid February during our 2 week trip, so we had one week with Capt. Hogan and one week with Capt. Pinto. Both delightful. But we do miss Capt.John Clark.

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After sailing on Windstar 45 times over the years, I'm happy to report everything has never been better aboard! The condition of the ship, the outstanding level of service by the crew and the quality of the food have never been higher.

The only glaring execption has been the string of false promises from the Windstar Seattle Headquarters made to us and other passengers about refunds in the form of a check or as shipboard credits we would receive at embarkation for (in our case $500 total) for costs related to rebooking our return air flights from Barbados instead of from St Martin because of Windstar's last minute rerouting change.

On embarkation last week, we provided the on board guest relations manager with the email evidence from Windstar Seattle about the $500 promised to us and now the Seattle office is not fulfilling their promise.

Not only that, Windstar Seattle are no longer committing to the amount promised us and have told the on board guest relations manager they will be reviewing every submission again and then mailing checks at some unspecified date in the future. This has many of us feeling very angry. I will update this string as the situation evolves.

 

 

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Good news to report. Windstar Seattle Office Supervisor of Voyage Services, Jermaine Tagi, notified the Guest Relations Manager aboard our ship that he would finally approve the $500 refund Windstar promised us back in September. According to Marina, our on board Guest Relations Manager, Mr Tagi apologized for the multiple failures by the Seattle staff to issue refunds before now, even after receiving the passenger airline documentation months ago. Our shipboard account has been fully credited the $500 amount promised by Windstar.

The staff aboard Windstar ships work so tirelessly to provide passengers with the very best service, I hope the Seattle Office will work harder to better emulate the high standards consistently achieved shipboard.

The overall on board experience on this crossing has been supurb. We love and so cherish the personalized attention by the dedicated crew every time we board A Windstar vessel.

One highlight of this crossing has been the opportunity to take a tap class every day offered by Larry Crummer, one of the passengers, andthe for the entire class to perform during the cocktail hour in the Windstar Lounge. It's been a really fun way to get exercise and make new friends.

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Ahoy Suzanne, Thank you for adding your comments. I remain hopeful that Seattle Windstar will do the right thing with all of us quickly. Honestly, most of us already have charges on our shipboard accounts that exceed what Windstar owes us! Why they don't make good on their promises is beyond me.

Our Captain on the crossing is wonderful Gerald Hogan. I remember when he was First Officer on the Wind Song years ago!

There are approximately 140 passengers. And yes, Larry's tap class is in full swing and very popular and well attended again. Wish you were here! :D

After sailing on Windstar 45 times over the years, I'm happy to report everything has never been better aboard! The condition of the ship, the outstanding level of service by the crew and the quality of the food have never been higher.

The only glaring execption has been the string of false promises from the Windstar Seattle Headquarters made to us and other passengers about refunds in the form of a check or as shipboard credits we would receive at embarkation for (in our case $500 total) for costs related to rebooking our return air flights from Barbados instead of from St Martin because of Windstar's last minute rerouting change.

On embarkation last week, we provided the on board guest relations manager with the email evidence from Windstar Seattle about the $500 promised to us and now the Seattle office is not fulfilling their promise.

Not only that, Windstar Seattle are no longer committing to the amount promised us and have told the on board guest relations manager they will be reviewing every submission again and then mailing checks at some unspecified date in the future. This has many of us feeling very angry. I will update this string as the situation evolves.

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I've always been intrigued by the notion of doing a transatlantic crossing on one of the sailing vessels, probably Wind Surf. I've always wondered what weather patterns would be most prevalent.

 

 

 

All other things being equal, I think I'd want to sail when the conditions were most enjoyable. So which one seems to be more pleasant -- April (heading east) or November (heading back west)?

I prefer westbound better not only for the reasons mentioned, but also for the fact that I get an extra hour of sleep every few days due to the time changes.

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I am considering this cruise 2/1/2018 and have found the comments here very helpful. It doesn't seem like the included shore excursions are all that good and I am concerned about Tunis and Algeria but would love to see these areas. What other countries require visas and what is the cost? Also, this is intended to be a very special birthday cruise so am interested in the food - are there regional options for each country?

The included excursions are good, but some of the optional ones (like Bardo Museum in Tunis) are better in my opinion so you just have to be sure to check to be sure the shore excursion times don't conflict.

Not sure what you mean by "concern" going to Tunis and Algeria. Terrorism and unrest is a threat in so many places around the World these days. I felt well protected on our tours. We did not need Visas in advance for our itinerary.

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Thank you for your cruise review. The ports sound really interesting.

 

Do you now the prices for massages in the spa?

These are approximate prices based from memory: 50 minutes deep tissue $140; 80 minutes $180.

Thank you, dhsamso and gymswim for your responses. Very helpful, especially the information about the visas in Algiers.

 

Did anyone do the "Best of Tunis" tour? That is the one I have my eye on.

 

What was the weather like in Tunis and Algiers?

Don't know anyone who took the full day BEST OF TUNISIA tour. Last week when we were there, the weather in both ports was sunny, clear. Low of 55 F high of 65 F.

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Thank you, dhsamso and gymswim for your responses. Very helpful, especially the information about the visas in Algiers.

 

Did anyone do the "Best of Tunis" tour? That is the one I have my eye on.

 

What was the weather like in Tunis and Algiers?

You're welcome. When we were there last week the weather in both porrs was clear, sunny. Low of 55 and a daytime high of 65 F.

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In Malta, take an organized tour or use the hop on hop off bus to go to the ancient walled city of Mdina. Don't miss visiting the old Roman house just outside the gates there too. It's easy to miss. Nora was worth visiting, but the guide provided by Viking was terrible. You'd have to choose between these, otherwise you will have a very long day and be rushed. The island is beautiful.

In Tunis, don't miss the Bardo Museum tour. It costs extra but is worth every penny. It has the finest collection of Mosaics anywhere in the world. It was the highlight of our week.

In Algiers, the free tour is great. If you have time take the optional tour to the botanic gardens.

Hopefully Viking will adjust the timing of the optional tours so you can still go on the included tours. They didn't do that in every case on our trip, but enough people complained, hopefully Shore ex will have fixed that.

Valencia included tour is fantastic. It's called Impressions. In the afternoon we took the optional tour Treasures of Valencia. Both were terrific. Hope this helps

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I just disembarked the Viking Sea. The ship is lovely and offers great amenities throughout the ship as well as in the cabin.

Being a techie, I loved using the free WiFi Web Access throughout the cruise as well as being able to access my personalized daily calendar which listed my booked excursions and restaurant reservations on my phone, tablet or cabin tv.

In the cabin, I had plenty of power outlets as well as usb plugs just above the bedside tables. Each headboard also has a built in swivel reading light making it easy to read in bed without disturbing your partner.

The spa and gym were well equipped and open most of the time . A nice amenity in the spa was having an ample supply of robes, towels, even comfortable plastic sandals to wear in the spa or up at the pools. It eliminated the need to use the robes in your cabin and to get them wet unnecessarily. The mid ship salt water pool was open all the time which was nice. The temperature was set about 81degrees F. The aft infinity pool was out of commission and I never found out why.

The ship has the look and feel of a fine five star hotel rather than a cruise ship. The public areas and the spa on Decks 1 and 2 are beautiful but somewhat enclosed so it's easy to forget you are on a ship.

The staff go out of their way to be cheerful and helpful although I found the service in all the dining rooms a bit uneven at times, depending on the waiter. Several times during the week we our entree didn't arrive for 15-25 minutes after our salad. I don't know if the delay is caused by the kitchen backup or something else. I suspect Viking will work it out with time. Viking promotes having women serving people in the dinnertime which is nice to see after so many male dominated cruise lines.

My favorite space in the entire ship is the Explorer Lounge on Deck 7 forward. It is simply stunning and a great place to read, get a snack and watch the world go by. There is ready access to the outside as well if you want to venture out for photos or to get a broader view.

The the World Cafe is nicely designed and the food was just as good or better than the dining rooms. The only problem we encountered was on days when there were many excursions returning to the ship at the same time, or excursions leaving around the same time. Then it was really crowded and not especially pleasant. I'm sure Viking can work this problem out over time by staggering their tours better.

The singers and dancers performed in the theater which has a state of the art sound and lighting system, including the latest in LED screen technology. The shows were not always successful in showcasing the talented singers and dancers, a couple of show themes kissed the mark. But the Abba song show was a huge crowd pleaser as well as a perfect way to showcase their singers.

The two classically trained dancers could have been used more effectively and more often.

For those who enjoy non alcoholic beverages, they have the best selection of choices of any cruise line I've been on, including, non alcoholic beer, wines and even champagne.

EMBARKATION and disemarkation was the smoothest of any cruise line I've been on too. They break up the departures for example in 15 minute intervals so that there isn't that giant crush of people looking for their luggage at the same time. Bags are tagged and organized ashore according to each group of 25. Very nice.

Our cabin attendant did a great job, although I hardly saw him and couldn't get him to understand my desire to keep the beaker of fresh water provided in the cabin each day in the bathroom where I used it.

I was so busy with extra excursions that I didn't spend much time aboard during the day.

One disappointment on our itinerary was that in two ports we couldn't take advantage of the included tours because the optional paid cruises we took returned to the shop 15 minutes after the free tour departed. I would have expected Viking to work this out and to make accommodation. The Excursion desk people said they could not.

Overall, I am very impressed with Viking Ocean. Their ships have much to offer above others in the small ship market. The staff are a wonderful United Nations, especially of Eastern Europeans etc. And having women servers was nice to see.

Our cruise director was a very talented Mezzo soprano who at times was a bit too overbearing/ dictatorial and somewhat condescending to passengers for my taste, but she softened and grew on me as the cruise progressed. She went out of her way to give credit to the entire staff the lady night and made the passengers feel appreciated.

One big advantage Viking has over other American based cruise lines is that Viking goes to more places off the beaten track like Algiers, Vallencia and Tunisia, Egypt and Istanbul that I want to continue to visit. They are a little pricy but I hope they can offer sales that will enable me to use them more often.

We used their air offering both going and coming. The pricing was unbeatable given our itinerary arriving and departing from different ports.

ship.

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If you have flexibility in your travel plans, I think it's advisable to choose another ship that isn't going into drydock at the end of the cruise. As other experienced CC contributors commented, oftentimes workers are brought aboard during the cruise to begin work which can be disruptive as well as noisy. It's happened to me.

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Thanks for the update, BartonX. That's great news! My very first opportunity to learn to scuba dive was on the Windsong in Tahiti in 1986 in their Discover Scuba program which ultimately led me to become a certified diver.

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To the best of my knowledge, regretfully Windstar no longer offers their Discover Scuba program. During the 1990s Windstar fostered an entire generation of new divers, me included. It was a fantastic program. Rising insurance costs and restrictions imposed by local ports of call prohibiting diving from the ship without paying for a local shoreside dive master to come along contributed to the program's demise.

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More details on Princess magic pipes!: http://maritime-executive.com/article/princess-makes-pollution-history

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Here are some of the specifics as reported by the Washington Post. What is deeply troubling is the reported extent to which Carnival Corporate leadership not only encouraged the policy, but engaged in a cover up.

At the heart of the criminal case lies one ship in particular, the 3,192-passenger Caribbean Princess, which prosecutors said used a “magic pipe” to bypass the ship’s usual equipment and illegally discharge thousands of gallons of oily waste into the ocean. The practice came to the attention of authorities after an engineer on the ship reported the problem to British investigators in summer 2013. The ship was sailing off the coast of England at the time, and the whistleblowing engineer quit his job when the vessel reached Southampton, England.

Officials from the Justice Department said the ship’s chief engineer and senior first engineer tried to cover up the practice, removing the magic pipe and ordering subordinates to lie to authorities. Upon the ship’s arrival in New York the following month, U.S. Coast Guard investigators conducted an examination of the Caribbean Princess, during which some crew members continued to mislead them about the illegal dumping practice.

[We’re trashing the oceans — and they’re returning the favor by making us sick]

Investigators eventually determined that the ship had been making illegal discharges since 2005, the year after the ship was put into service. They also discovered a handful of other illegal practices taking place on the Caribbean Princess and four other ships — the Star Princess, Grand Princess, Coral Princess and Golden Princess. The practices included allowing salt water in to prevent alarms from sounding when too much oil was being discharged, and discharging oily bilge water when storage tanks overflowed in the engine room, according to the Justice Department.

Carnival’s Princess Cruises will pay a $40 million fine for dumping oily waste into the ocean – the largest penalty of its kind in history. The company also pleaded guilty to seven felony charges.

A whistleblower discovered the elaborate workaround system three years ago and alerted investigators. Investigators charge the cruise line had been dumping thousands of gallons of contaminated water for at least eight years, reports CBS News’ travel editor Peter Greenberg.

“Our open seas are not dumping grounds for waste,” said Miami U.S. Attorney Wilfredo Ferrer.

According to the Justice Department, ship engineers aboard the Caribbean Princess repeatedly polluted the ocean and went to great lengths to cover up their criminal actions.

“There was a campaign of obstruction in an effort to hide the deliberate pollution of our seas with oily waste,” Ferrer said.

Cruise ships store so-called “bilge water” -- a mixture of water, oil and other chemicals below deck. They’re required to filter it and store it until they get to port, which can be expensive.

The DOJ said Princess Cruises used what’s called a “magic pipe” connected to a hose, to feed the dirty water into a tank that holds water from the ship’s sinks and showers. In some places, cruise lines can dump that water at sea.

A whistleblower turned over pictures from inside the ship. Investigators said the cruise line used illegal practices on five of their ships over the eight-year period.

“We are very sorry for any harm done to the environment and regret the actions of our employees,” said Princess Cruises President Jan Swartz.

Swartz said several employees were fired and many retrained.

“We have worked very hard to improve and strengthen our operations and learn from our mistakes,” Swartz said. “We’ve dramatically changed our shipboard and shore-side fleet operations, organizational structure and leadership. We invested millions of dollars upgrading our equipment.”

It’s not the first time a cruise line has been hit with big penalties for similar charges. In the late 1990s, Royal Caribbean paid $27 million in two separate cases and three of the ship’s engineers were indicted.

“We’re sending a strong message in this case to the entire industry. The message is that lying to the Coast Guard and polluting the environment will be identified, investigated, and vigorously prosecuted,” said Assistant Attorney General John Cruden.

The plea agreement also requires all Princess ships to participate in a court-supervised environmental compliance program. Ten million dollars of the settlement will go toward community service projects to benefit marine environments.

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Thanks VERY much for this thread. Really helpful.

Milepig.Thanks for posting the latest

Milepig. Very helpful. Thank you for posting.

You will have great stories to tell. Do you think the ship was badly damaged? Did the officers stay in board while the ship was towed? It must have taken awhile to offload everyone into the Legand.

CHALUPAMAMA, Thanks for responding about the Captain. I know Captain Alan MacKay and happy to know he wasn't in command. It sounds like you are making the best of the situation. There is a lovely resort outside of San Jose called Xandari. It was designed and owned by an architect from Santa Barbara. It might be a lovely place for Christmas dinner. It's a beautiful property with nice views...part of a coffee plantation.