Windstar Oct 29 Barcelona to Lisbon

This was by far the best cruise we have ever been on. This was our first time on Windstar and also on a small vessel (we've been on several cruises with 3000 other people before), and also our first time cruising in the Mediterranean. We had a fantastic time! Here are our impressions (in no particular order).

Cabin and ship: Our cabin was very nice - we had more than enough room for everything, although it was a tight fit for the luggage in the closet. I really appreciated the bathrobe. Since we had traveled a week in Spain prior to embarking, I had quite a bit of hand laundry that I needed to do once on board. There isn't a lot of room in the bathroom to hang things, so our cabin steward had to work around several hangers with socks and underclothes drying at the beginning of the week. I used the ship's laundry service for some shirts and slacks, and was very pleased with the cost, promptness and quality of the service. The bed, however, was not particularly comfortable as it was rather concave. I had heard prior to sailing that someone thought that the ship was looking a little aged and faded -- I don't agree. It's not shiny and glossy but it looks comfortable, the way a pair of favorite jeans looks comfortable.

Dining: There was nothing wrong with the food but at times the choices seemed a little limited. This affected my pickier DH more than me. However, it was all very well prepared and presented. Breakfasts and lunches were a combination of buffet and table service, and the selection for these meals were great. I know that a lot of people really like the on-deck BBQ dinner, but to me that was the weakest of the meals, maybe just because of the buffet service and the fact that the deck was so crowded and a little cool to dine. Service was fantastic for all meals. We found the wine list to be somewhat overpriced and uninspired. We also like to drink the wines of the areas we were visiting, so we made it a point to pick up a bottle while in port. We ended up with some really good inexpensive local wines, and were never charged a cork fee for service.

Entertainment: What more entertainment can you ask for than being on deck and watching for shooting stars? (Oh, yes, the blackjack table and slot machines, and the lounge 'band' which consisted of two people, one who looked alternately bored and irritated, and the other who played a decent keyboard. I was told that I couldn't request songs if I wasn't going to dance, so I stopped going to the lounge. I don't dance. I was one of three people in the lounge at the time.)

Bridge: We changed captains mid-cruise. I never had a chance to talk to the first captain, but the second one was the second-best entertainment on the ship (shooting stars first). It was really interesting to watch and learn about what was going on, and it was also a good place to duck into to get warmed up a little.

Ports: One of the more disappointing things about this cruise was that some of the ports we visited were resort areas that were mostly shut down for the season -- Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Portimao -- not the fault of the cruise line of course, just bad timing. We even managed to be in Tangier on the last day of Ramadan. We also wished we could have stayed in port a little longer. (Portimao in particular had been cut short by an hour, due to weather conditions.) We went on two shore excursions -- for the Alhambra in Malaga and one in Morocco, the rest of the ports we simply explored on foot or by bus. I felt like the cost of the excursions were worth the money, but as with all shore excursions I've ever been on, they felt a little rushed.

As I mentioned, this was the best cruise we've ever been on. Before we arrived in Lisbon, we were already trying to determine when we could sail again. We absolutely loved the ship and the experience, and are looking forward to sailing again.

This was by far the best cruise we have ever been on. This was our first time on Windstar and also on a small vessel (we've been on several cruises with 3000 other people before), and also our first time cruising in the Mediterranean. We had a fantastic time! Here are our impressions (in no particular order).

 

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Bridge: We changed captains mid-cruise. I never had a chance to talk to the first captain, but the second one was the second-best entertainment on the ship (shooting stars first). It was really interesting to watch and learn about what was going on, and it was also a good place to duck into to get warmed up a little.

Thanks for the great review. I leave in two days to catch the Wind Star on Saturday.

On our first (this one will be our second) Wind Star cruise we had three captains. The first, Ian Wardhaugh, I don't remember much. He had to leave due to a family emergency. The second, Robert Watson, was acting captain. He went out of the way to make sure the guests were happy, from running out from the bridge to set up lounge chairs for people. The third, Chris Turner, was a hoot. I'm wondering if he's the same entertaining guy that you had.

I'll report back next month on our cruise.

Jackie