Joanandjoe

Definitely a joint venture. We both come up with ideas, then sit down and make our choice. Sometimes we even have a secret ballot: we put down four or five choices, both of us rank the choices (which usually include cruises and land vacations), then compare rankings. There's a good chance that the second choice will result in a future vacation, after we go on our first choice vacation. In crazy 2007, when one vacation was booked 5 days after I was told I could go on vacation and started 21 days after my vacation approval, while the second was booked 3 days after I was allowed to go on vacation and taken 22 days after approval, we basically called our TA and asked what could be booked quickly. That turned out to be two cruises, in a year when we planned to go on two land vacations instead.

It's thrilling to sail out of NYC, past the Statue of Liberty and under the Verazzano. We've had 3 1/2 cruises (one was Montreal to NYC, so I count it as half) from NYC, and it's wonderful. Nice was also wonderful, but only a ship as small as the Wind Surf, or smaller, could start a cruise there. Bad ports to sail from? Haven't had one yet.

When we were in Roatan in 2003, we spent the day at the Sante Wellness Center, http://www.santewellnesscenter.com/ . Angela, the owner, gives or supervised massages, and prepares a wonderful light lunch. There is a swimming pool and a small beach, and Angela's husband (a former California fireman) can take you snorkeling or diving. A wonderful day in a small slice of paradise.

We've booked an 8 day Alaska cruise for 5/27/08 on the Regent Seven Seas Mariner. Whether we go or not is iffy, due to the fluid situation at my office, which probably won't have been clarified by the time payment is due. As of now, figure that we have a 30 percent chance of going, 70 percent chance of not going.

Both of us our list makers, so of course we make lists of what to pack and what to do before and during a cruise. Our starting point is always the Cruise Crazies packing list. That not just a plug: we really use it, and have even sneaked in a thread or two praising the list in postings on the "critical board". We hope that our "critical" postings of the list have attracted some new crazies.

On the ships which have large entertainment venues (that's about 6 of our 11 cruises), our most enjoyable shows have been singers, musicians, and bands. Sometimes we like the stage shows, sometimes not: it seems that we dislike anything that is "Las Vegas style!", and enjoy shows that are Broadway style. We've seen seven or eight comedians, enjoyed one or two. Not a good percentage. Even lower percentage are magicians and novelty acts: can't remember ever enjoying one on a ship.

Happy new year 2008 to all Crazies and all of their loved ones. J & J

Except for Southwest Airlines, I can't recall ever being unable to choose seats (not that the choice is always very good). On the two occasions that we used cruise line custom air (JFK-Nice and Lisbon-EWR one trip, EWR to Montreal one way for the other trip), , we were able to choose our seats on all flights.

We requested specific flights--that's what custom air is for.

You'll have to ask the cruise line, Joey. It depends on what the line uses for that particular itinerary; so even the experience of someone on the same cruise line may not be helpful. For our Med cruise on Windstar in 2004, our custom arrangement through the cruise line was a nonstop from JFK to Nice on Delta going to Europe, and a nonstop home from Lisbon to Newark on TAP. So for us, we not only had different airlines,. but different NYC area airports.

Half of our cruises have been on small ships, and they don't have late night buffets, chocolate or other (so we don't agree with the statement that all cruise ships have chocolate buffets). For Joe, who is allergic to chocolate, a chocolate buffet is an absolute no-no: just the smell makes him dizzy. Joan went once during the viewing part of the buffet, and took some pictures; but she was asleep when the viewing ended and the eating began. We're early birds, so on our five medium size ship cruises, we've only been to late night buffets two or three times, tops. The only one I remember was an Indonesian buffet after the crew show on HAL; but I think we may have gone to one or two others.

Nothing fancy. We usually have a glass of champagne. However, our last sailaway was at midnight, when we were sound asleep; so no sailaway beverage at all.

Our week on the Wind Surf was about $1,100 per person, plus airfare. Is that so exepnsive as to be out of most people's price range? The trick is to have your TA find flash specials.

We've just completed our fifth cruise on a ship with fewer than 500 PAX (308, 308, 490, 140, and 312, to be exact). We've only sailed on a ship with over 1,450 PAX once (new Noordam, 1912 PAX), and thought that the ship was immense. However, most Crazies seem to prefer very large ships. If you have sailed on small ships, did you enjoy the experience? Obviously, we do. If you haven't sailed on small ships, why not? We welcome your views, and know that "different strokes for different folks" certainly applies to cruising.

Thanks for the good wishes, everyone. Recovering from an appendectomy and a fall is a slow process, but I'm getting better every day. Joe

Title :: 12-02-07 Author :: Joanandjoe Category :: Wind Surf Information :: As was the case in 2004, a fantastic trip, despite some glitches! Once again, Bravo, Wind Surf! Description :: Southern Caribbean Review Windstar “Wind Surf†– “The Tender Trap†by Joan of Joanandjoe Cruise: 12/2-9/2007 – Barbados to Barbados Overview This was our third cruise on the Wind Surf, after back to back cruises in the Mediterranean in November, 2004. We sailed to small ports, all the while feeling that we were privileged and pampered. Nothing beats the feeling of being on a ship under sail, and we spent quite a bit of time under sail, with the engine disengaged. It’s a pleasure to sail with a few hundred other passengers, rather than a few thousand. Why is the title for our review “the tender trapâ€? Because four of the six ports were ports where we anchored and then took tenders to shore. That got to be something of a drag, and limited our ability to come and go off the ship. Description of the ship The MSY Windstar is a “motorized sailing yachtâ€. It is about half the length of a mega ship, but much narrower, and with far fewer decks (6, plus a partial sun deck). There are a maximum of 312 passengers and 190 crew. Most staterooms are 188 square feet, with portholes (no balconies), with everything built in. The rooms, despite their relatively small size, are so well designed that they feel roomy. Best of all, they feel nautical, as if they are staterooms on a yacht. In contrast, cruise ship rooms, even elegant ones such as our suites on the Noordam and Regent Seven Seas Navigator, feel like hotel rooms that happen to be on a ship. There is one main public room, the lounge, and several bars. There is a fairly large (for 300 people) gym, and a sports platform that is lowered when the ship is anchored and not docked. Dress code is elegant casual: suits and fancy dresses are not seen at all on this itinerary or in the Med., and they supposedly have a rule that anyone caught wearing a tie will be banned from the dining room. This is not really a family ship. On our three cruises, two had no kids at all, while the third had two or three. While perhaps 60 percent of the PAX were over 50, there was a pretty good mix of younger people as well. Shore excursions tended to be active: perhaps a bit too much so for the age mix. If you are not fairly mobile, this probably is not the ship for you. Best part of the trip The crew was friendly and helpful, the passengers were interesting, the ports were relaxing, and the ship itself was fun. It was great having a feeling of elegance, yet not having to dress up – Windstar really does have “casual eleganceâ€. Worst part of the trip Transfers, embarkation, disembarkation, and the tenders. The tenders were needed for almost every port – hard to enter and leave, with strong gas fumes, they meant we never made a second trip back to the ports after we boarded the ship. The visit to the emergency room (see below). Embarkation My husband underwent an emergency appendectomy Monday night before the cruise. He couldn’t lift our suitcases, stand for long periods, and was certainly mobility impaired. American Airlines’ wheelchair techniques at JFK were honed to perfection (true as well at the end of the trip), and we settled in our coach seats philosophically, if not comfortably. We had opted for Windstar’s own hotel and their transfers – a waste of time and money, if not worse. We staggered off the plane, and tried to find our luggage. In Barbados, we had to walk down 12 steps to get to the tarmac. No wheelchairs. We were herded onto a bus, jammed in at the airline’s convenience. No wheelchair. No Windstar representative. It took an hour for our luggage to come out of the luggage carousel, and the porter we found took another party out in the time it took our luggage to come out. Where was our Windstar transfer? All through the airport, people were standing holding signs. Windstar’s representative was a block from the exit, and when we found her she had just sent the bus away. We waited, and waited, and waited…When we got to the Accra Beach hotel, they had NO RESERVATION for us. The Windstar representative at the desk found us a hotel room long after my comfort level plummeted to “wish I’d stayed homeâ€. Their upgraded room, meant as a generous gesture, turned out to be a menace when Joe had a bad fall coming out of the hot tub, and injured his back. We spent Saturday night in a Barbados emergency room. . Two Windstar ships were loading from the same hotel the next day. They loaded within a few minutes of each other, a BIG MISTAKE. Why did the company combine three different busloads? One busload went on a tour, one went to the Wind Star and one was supposed to go to the Wind Surf. All three groups jammed the lobby, milling around and causing confusion. We stood in three lines…an ordeal for my husband. Once we got on board, Joe went for a walk off the ship, and found our luggage in a shed on the pier. It was nearly loaded onto the wrong ship! Joe had to do a lot of negotiating to get our luggage onto the proper ship. Accommodations The Accra Beach hotel might have been charming if we’d arrived promptly, had a shower, and a nap. Instead, we were overtired by the time we entered our room. Joe fell on the Jacuzzi, and the resulting trip to the emergency room on Saturday night further depleted our health. Fortunately, Debbie the manager trainee and her male counterpart were compassionate and helpful. The got us into a taxi, both ways, found us a clinic with an x-ray service, and even managed to make the process seem dignified. They got us to a clinic, where Joe had an X-Ray and the M.D. on duty urged to get back on the cruise ship the next day. I’m still grateful to Debbie and the male night manager for the happy outcome. They were the difference between a lawsuit and a commendation. Still, I wouldn’t pay for Windstar’s own transfers and hotel again. It was poor quality for the money. As indicated in our 2004 review of the ship, these were the smallest rooms we’d had on our ten ocean cruises (188 square feet), but we knew that the room had not been a problem in 2004. Though compact, our stateroom was very comfortable, and we had no cabin fever. There seemed to be room for all our belongings. We did miss having a bath tub; but we knew that in advance. The steward was unobtrusive. Our room was kept clean, and when we asked for something (ice, more shampoo, etc.) it arrived promptly. The towels and bathrobes were good, and the fruit bowl was kept filled. Dining The food in the dining rooms was so good, and so convenient, we never felt a need to eat elsewhere. . Breakfast and lunch were served in the Veranda room; however, we quickly found that we could avoid crowds, and get waiter service for several items, if we sat in the adjacent room, Degrees (formerly known as the Bistro). The breakfast choices always included pancakes, French toast, waffles, and at least one light cuisine choice. Eggs were made to order, smoked salmon was available every day, and the fruit was fresh and abundant. There was lots of fruit, meusli, great breads and pastries, and stuff we never even tried, such as British breakfast, cold cereal, breakfast meats (hot and cold), etc. We ate every lunch on the ship, except for the beach barbeque. Most lunches had themes (Italian, Spanish, Asian), and the choices were generally interesting. Grilled food, such as fish and burgers, was always available. The salads were especially varied and interesting. There were always lots of desserts, including low fat and the famous HAL bread pudding. The review of “sfg†of a 2002 cruise mentioned the need for a sandwich bar, and said that buffet choices were not too good. We felt that buffet choices were excellent. While there still is no area where the ship crew makes cold sandwiches, there are plenty of sandwich ingredients available, including great bread, for making your own sandwiches. I have a habit of making sandwiches from the breakfast buffet to ease the munchies, and we found this helpful when our American Airlines flight failed to serve edible food. Yes, a Windstar raisin bread and cheese sandwich smelled better after 8 hours than the airline’s $5.00 sandwiches. The barbeque on the beach at Mayreau was one of the highlights of the trip. The succulent ribs, lamb chops, and corn were culinary standouts. The steel band was a hoot, the vendors were laid back and had colorful things to sell. They had some of the best prices for shells here. We had the entire island to ourselves…and it was lovely. I went into the ocean three times, lined up for food and dessert twice, and even shooed away the crows. Unlike Pigeon Island, we COULD find our way to the appropriate area, and enjoy the time on shore. The alternate restaurant outdid itself on Indonesian night, but we like that type of food more than most people. The alternate restaurant was otherwise OK, but the regular dining room was superb. EXCEPT for a 40-minute wait for our entrees on the last night, while people who came after us were served before us, the service was fine. We were hungry by 7:30 PM, the hour the restaurant opened, so often sat at a table for two for prompter service. Ports, Itinerary, and Excursions All ports except two (Dominica and Grenada) were tender ports. In Dominica, a larger cruise ship took the convenient port near the center of town, and we were docked more than a mile from town. It might as well have been a fifth tender port. Joan missed lunch to shop at her favorite “native†store, J. Nassief, and it was a stretch. The crew did their best with the tenders, but they remained a source of seasickness and fumes. I believe Joe’s lack of mobility made us more sensitive to this drawback, but we found it a negative. The ports varied: in Pigeon Island, thanks to the useless port talks, we never found the correct beach and regretted getting off the ship; in Mayreau we could see the tenders going back and forth with food and drink and almost smell the succulent barbecue. In most of the other ports, we shared private tours with Rochelle and Elliot, whom we met through another cruise board. The sports platform was open on all four tender days, with sailing, kayaking, swimming and snorkeling (off a boat launched from the platform, not the platform itself), and other activities. We didn't try it, but it looked like fun. In Bequia, we engaged Noel, the driver of a safari taxi. The three hour tour, for four people, was under $30 per person, maybe close to $20. The ship's tour, which includes one thing (moon holes) that we didn't see, is in the $85 range. In Grenada, I took a river tubing tour from the ship, and it was a hoot – flying past huge rocks in a tube, getting wet and muddy, and laughing our heads off . The driver in the River Tubing graciously drove us to world-famous Annandale Falls before taking us back to the ship. loved it. Joe, Rochelle, and Elliot took a tour with a & e Tours. A rather standard tour, but quite nice. Later, Joe and I walked through the market, and bought spices. Tobago taught us something about ship's tours. The ship has a snorkeling and glass bottom boat tour, for $59 per person. They use all three glass bottom boat providers at a place called Speyside. We booked a $20 glass bottom boat ride, plus $10 per person for transportation, from Top Ranking glass bottom boats, and were surprised, when we arrived, to learn that our tour would be delayed by 30 minutes. Why? So the tour for the Wind Surf, on the same boat, could be completed. Our tour was actually better, because we had 10 people (8 from the Wind Surf), while there were about 25 people from the Wind Surf on the boat before we got on. Also, we had a choice of snorkeling or a nature walk on Little Tobago, while they had no choice--just snorkeling. Our tour cost half the amount of the "official" tour, on the same boat. What the heck is Windstar's profit margin? In Dominica we used Fredos taxi again, as we did last year. We went up to Carib Indian territory, and saw parts of the island that we didn’t go to last year, such as the emerald pool. Mr. Nice Fruits is a touristy place, but it’s still fun sampling many of the local fruits. All in all, a great tour. In Barbados we relied on the wonderful Glory Tours, as described below under disembarkation. Entertainment There wasn’t much of it, and we didn’t miss it. There was a small casino, and there were usually bands in the two lounges. They were not well populated most of the time: people were simply too tired after exciting days on shore. Most people rented DVDs, and watched them in their rooms. Had we been night owls instead of early birds, we could easily have made our own entertainment. Nonetheless, if you want big, glitzy shows, this may not be the ship for you. The only “show†was the weekly crew show, which was quite interesting. Level of service Generally excellent, except for the port talks. The crew made us feel pampered and special. The trip helped Joe recover from his surgery and trauma. Once we got on board the ship, Windstar couldn’t do enough for us. Tipping A standard $11.00/day is added to your room bill. I didn’t think it was enough, considering how hard the crew worked. Iced Tea and water were free at the bar, no tip. They cheerfully brought us many glasses of iced tea, just as if it was the best champagne, which carried a 15% tip. Disembarkation Always a downer. Windsurf had a tie-in with some flights, so some people left before 5 a.m. We left at 8:30 and were met by Sarah Taylor, the owner of Glory Tours, who took us on a personalized tour for much less than the ship charge. When we found we still had time to kill before our late afternoon flight, she even added an extra hour to the tour (we went to the northern tip of the island) for no charge. Fantastic, and (including the cost of a fish lunch at a local restaurant) we saved about $30 per person compared with the ship’s tour. View Review

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We're back from our Wind Surf cruise to the Southern Caribbean. For someone who was convalescing from an appendectomy, a cruise was perfect, and we had a great time. The Wind Surf is not for everyone: limited eating choices, no balconies, and only a few activities; but for us, this 300 PAX ship is perfect. Oddly enough, many of the people on the cruise prefer ships that are even smaller. It may be a while before we write our review; meanwhile, you can read the review from our 2004 Wind Surf cruise. Despite a change in ownership, little has changed other than (hooray!) elimination of the Park West art auctions. That's definitely addition by subtraction.

We took a jazz cruise on the Regent Seven Seas Navigator from Montreal to NYC, with 11 jazz greats onboard. There was music virtually nonstop, in combos from two people to the entire ensemble. When they weren't performing, the artists mixed with the PAX, and we ran into them everywhere, from the flight to Montreal with Bucky Pizzartelli and his wife, to the departure procedure. A great experience, and tied with our two weeks in the Med on the Wind Surf for best cruise ever.

Our best excursion ever was in a port we weren't supposed to be in: Villefranche, which the Wind Surf went to when Mistral winds kept us from going to Corsica. The town of St. Paul de Vence was fantastic, and it had a beautiful Italian graveyard with Chagall's grave. We each placed a stone on the grave (a traditional Jewish custom), making sure that we placed the stone to continue the pattern left by previous visitors. Unforgettable!

Thanks, Mary Lou. The surgeon basically said that I was better off on the cruise than at home. I was sent home approximately 40 hours after the surgery. I don't know if I was lying down, but I certainly was "under". We probably won't have time to check CC in the morning (6:30 a.m. pickup), so TTFN. So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Thanks, everyone. The surgeon gave me the go ahead, so we plan on being on the plane tomorrow morning. Joe

We haven't been to Belize, but we have been to Roatan. What we did there probably won't help you: we went to the Sante day spa, and had a great day with massages, lunch, and would have had snorkeling if the sea hadn't been too rough. From what we understand, Roatan is the second best (after the great barrier reef in Australia) snorkeling spot in the wold, so plan on that. We can't recommend specific places, but suggest that you look at printed and online tour guidebooks/web sites or (if you are a member) the port of call portion of "the critical board". Raoatan has a good web site, which might be a start. Google it.

Thanks, everyone. Cross your fingers and hope we can go. I had an emergency appendectomy at 10 p.m. Monday night, and they kicked me out of the hospital at 2 this aftennoon. Right now, I wouldn't be able to go to the airport, much less fly to Barbados to take the cruise. Hopefully, I'll be sufficiently recovered by Saturday morning to take my flight to Barbados. Somehow, nothing is ever simple. Joe