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This has to be simply the best cruise ship in the water!
I had never been on a cruise, or even on the ocean, so bear with me as
I gush, but in my opinion this is the *best* there is.
WINDSTAR is a 452-foot four-masted sailing ship (with Diesel auxiliary
power) with a ship's crew of -- get this -- eleven! Eight seamen and
three officers. Besides this, there is a hotel staff of 72 people.
The total passenger load is 152, so there is a ratio of about
two-to-one passengers to staff. This allows for *VERY* personalized
service. The total concept is one of making the passengers feel that
they are on a private yacht. And they succeed.
The effect is that of a five-star hotel and restaurant on a ship.
The chef is French, with the philosophy that he will not let passengers
succumb to what he calls "cruise-ship gluttony". To this end, meals are
sensible (but eloquent) with smaller portions of very good food. No
midnight buffets, but 24-hour room/cabin service more than makes up for
this. All food is FRESH, with an emphasis on excellent preparation and
presentation. Just for the fun of it, I counted the different fruits
and vegetables I consumed in a day. There were TWENTY-SEVEN different
kinds, and that doesn't even count the seven or eight I didn't bother
to eat. The only vegetable known to man not on the boat was okra... at
least, I didn't see any. I'm sure that if I decided I wanted some
they'd scare some up.
Thr ports of call for a seven day cruise were: Antigua, St. Barth's,
Tintemarre, Sint Maarten's, St. Kitt's, Barbuda, Ile-des-Santes, and
back to Antigua.
There were few organized activities. The only daily activity was
aerobics (which was welcome). There were some island tours, and two
barbeque lunches (with the likes of leg-of-lamb and grilled lobster!)
...but there was a full complement of water-sports available, from
water skiing to snorkeling to SCUBA and swimming off the boat. (there
is a large boat-launching hatch in the fantail you could swim off of).
The whole concept is one of relaxation, winding-down, and quiet, as you
sail through the ocean. Which is not to say staid, or old-fogey, but
quiet. There was a lounge and pool bar which got QUITE lively,
especially the night we sailed under a full moon.
The staff felt that their sole function was to cater to the passengers;
this they did, with a minimum of fuss and actually, we made some good
friends of some of the crew members. One, the wine steward, invited us
to visit him in France and sample his 20,000 bottle private stock!
As you could guess, this cruise is NOT CHEAP. The price was $2300 per
person, which included air fare from Dallas (the closest of seven
cities they have deals from) to Antigua. However, it was worth every
penny. If you go, take along your compamion and be prepared for a
*significant* experience. You will come back a changed person.
There are three ships in the fleet; two of them are stationed in the
Caribbean in the winter and the Riviera in the summer; the third, Wind
Spirit, is permanently stationed in Tahiti.
I cannot recommend this cruise highly enough.
...mike
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I've read in other notes about Wind Song cruises in the South
Pacific: Fiji, Bora Bora, Moorea, etc. Has anyone done such
a cruise recently? I'm looking for honeymoon ideas here...
I'd love to hear about accomodations, food, sights, water sports,
and cost...
(If you know of cruise lines other than Wind Song that do cruises
in French Polynesia, I'd love to hear about them, too.)
Thanks,
Scott J.
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| If you mostly want fun in the sun and to play in the water, Wind Song
is almost certainly your best bet. If you want to see the South
Pacific, Princess has a cruise that departs from Paypette (sp?), and
has ports of call at Moorea, Bora Bora, American Sumoa (sp?), Fiji,
NZ, Bay of Islands north on the North island, and Sydney. The island
venue was/is the most beautiful I've even seen. Also, I think the price
is right?
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| Funny you should mention Wind Song...
My wife and I were at a hospital last week. While I was getting xrays
one of the doctors overheard my wife say that we'd just returned from
vacation aboard Holland America's Westerdam. The doctor came over and
told my wife that he'd be the resident doctor on the Westerdam in a
couple of weeks. Well, we found out that this doctor has been
practically on every cruise line so we asked out of all of them which
did he enjoy the most (doctors do have some fun time while on board).
He stated without a doubt, the most wonderful cruise he'd been on with
his wife was Wind Song in the South Pacific. If I recall the cruise he
was on was a 23 day one. Everything was top of the line, five star!
Oh ya, cost. Big bucks, but you get what you pay for. Best thing is
to pick up a brochure and look it over.
Have fun!
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