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180° From Ordinary has been the Windstar Cruises tag
line for many years. The name still applies and
actually has been strengthened. With the recent refit
of the Wind Spirit and the Wind Star not only are the
vessels in tip top physical condition, the service and
the food remain unbeatable. We had over 85 repeat
passengers on our journey through the French West
Indies, the US and British Virgin Islands and everyone
I spoke to said it was the best food and service they
had encountered on any Windstar cruise. Many of these
passengers were on for their 6th or 7th
cruise with Windstar in Europe, French Polynesia and
even Alaska and the Far East. In fact, we met a
couple who sailed with us in Alaska in 1990, the only
year Wind Spirit did that itinerary. The overall
cruise experience was definitely a TEN.
Our itinerary was one of the best I had taken. We
left the Crown Bay pier in St. Thomas at 0600 on the
second day of the cruise and arrived in Cruz Bay St.
John at 0800 for a full day of activities which ranged
from relaxing on the ship at anchor or going to the
National Park beaches or shopping if you missed the
opportunity in St. Thomas the day before. The entire
island of St. John is 80% national park. St. John is
definitely the prettiest of the US Virgin Islands and
offers diverse rugged terrain and beautiful white sand
beaches and bays.
The next two days were spent in the French West Indies
on the Islands of St. Martin and St. Barts. We
anchored off the French side of St. Martin and
tendered to the small Capitol of Marigot. On the
other side of the island we were told 9 ships were
visiting Phillipsburg that day. St. Barts was
different story as they do not allow the BIG ships to
call on this very upscale 8 square mile French
retreat. Only one other small deluxe ship was in port
at this time. On-board we prepared for the evening’s
BBQ under the Stars, this was an evening not to forget
as the Excutive Chef and his staff prepared a
fantastic buffet with three grills doing lamb chops,
tenderloin of beef, fresh mahi mahi short ribs,
chicken and lobster tails. In addition there was a
whole roast sucking pig waiting to be carved in you
could make room on your plate. Of course, a complete
selection of fresh fruits, salads, vegetable and
desserts completed the evening’s gourmet fare. In
addition to the fantastic food this is the evening the
crew all enjoy the most…..Line dancing for and with
the passengers. Some of the Indonesian and Filipino
crew must practice for hours on end to perfect their
dancing skills. It was a wonderful evening set among
the stars in St. Barts harbor….How perfect.
Our last three days were spent in the wonderful
British Virgin Islands of Tortola, Jost Van Dyke and
Virgin Gorda. In my opinion these are some of the
best islands in all of the Caribbean. As you sail up
and down Sir Francis Drake Channel you are never out
of sight of land. On this 440 foot sailing yacht it
is still a wonder to see the number of people who have
chartered small sailboats to gaze up and wonder what
this monster sail ship was all about. The call at
Tortola was an anchorage just outside of Soper’s Hole
which a quaint little town with a rich sailing
history, I understand the Captain of the Wind Spirit
changed from visiting Road Town to Soper’s Hole to
give the passengers a more positive experience, and he
was right. In the afternoon we moved the ship to Jost
Van Dyke for a beautiful sail down Drakes Passage to
anchor for another evening under the Caribbean stars.
Thursday AM, no visit to Jost Van Dyke is complete
without a visit to Foxy’s who has entertained Yankees
from all over the world for over 30 years. You have
to have at least one T shirt from Foxy’s and his CD
with all of his favorite ditties. Over the years the
gift and T shirt boutique has doubled in size while
the bar still serves the same rum punch and Carib
beer. The Wind Spirit actually runs tender service
from the ship to two beautiful bays…Great Bay where
Foxy’s is located and White Bay with the Soggy Dollar
Bar and a much better swimming and snorkel beach.
Friday…sadly our last day on board Wind Spirit was the
beach party day. The ship anchors off Bitter End
Yacht Club on Virgin Gorda and runs a triangle tender
shuttle service to the yacht club and Prickly Pear Cay
where the staff prepared a fabulous BBQ on shore for
all Wind Spirit passengers. The traditional
hamburgers and hot dogs were supplemented by
bratwurst, lamb chops, ribs, chicken, fresh fish and
all the salads and even homemade ice cream being
churned by the waiters. What a perfect ending to a
week of 180° from everything.
Any incentive group of less than 40 passengers or who
can justify a full ship charter of up to 140 pax +
needs book this cruise. The Wind Spirit and the Wind
Star are sister ships built in 1986 and 1988 in
France. The Wind Surf with just 308 passengers was
acquired by Windstar cruises in 1999 and is the Big
Sister to the small fleet. Any groups or charters
will come again and again on these unique and
comfortable vessels. They don’t have the big suites
or the balconies, they don’t have multiple alternative
dining rooms and lavish entertainment, but they do
have great cabins, great food, great service, casual
atmosphere, good dancing and mood music and a unique
sailing experience second to none.
If you have not had an
incentive on Windstar Cruises you are missing the
boat… Call your sales executive at worldwide and
we will make it happen… |
