2016: Portugal, Morocco, Spain + Windstar Cruise: Windstar Cruises

The largest of the yachts of the Windstar cruise line is Wind Surf and has staterooms for 310 passengers. First of all I never thought I would be comfortable "confined" to a ship for 8 days! They went by so fast! Days we were docked in port and sailed at night.
Was hard to get a good shot of this information about the ship.

Prior to boarding, the cruise line collected our bags which had been color coded with a ribbon. Then, a quite nice coach (bus) collected us and delivered us to the dock. Upon boarding, we had our photo taken, of course.

At 6:30 p.m. a mandatory life boat drill was held. Seven short beeps and one long beep indicated the need to grab your life jacket from your room and go to your muster point. Crew members guided us. We were instructed which life boat we would be on and the function of the life jacket. Those who arrived late were requited to attend a "make up" session the next evening. They take this seriously and crew had a separate exercise mid week while we were in port.

My stateroom (they are all called staterooms) was on the first deck near the front of the yacht. I consider them a nice size but if sharing it must be with someone with whom you are extremely close.

All rooms have portholes. Those on the third deck have windows. A single person from house keeping is assigned to a group of rooms and is your friend when you lock yourself out. Plenty of bottled water is supplied daily. Room service is available 24 hours.

Crew members you interact with frequently learn your name and cabin number and address you by your name. I was "Ms Mary" to them. They could even remember what wine I drank.

It took a day to get my sea legs. One night it was a little rough in that it felt like a baby must feel being rocked to sleep in their cradle.

First day was at sea so it gave those who were new time to explore and learn where the restaurants, lounge, reception, gym, and pool were.

WiFi, excursions, casino, spa, and laundry were separate packages to add as well as all alcohol. Tips are built into the total bill.

The evening before we were to dock we were presented with a slide show and talk about the port. Written information was also available.

The story was that almost half of the passengers were repeats with the Cruise line. That was believable as I met several who were repeats and one couple a dozen times.

I will do a separate blog with photos for each of the ports: Tangier, Malaga, Almeira, Cartagena, Ibiza, and Tarragona. I did organized excursions the first three ports and walked into Ibiza on my own. Two days I stayed on board.

Every time you go back on board you go through security. Exiting and returning to the yacht required your room key card that they would scan. That was how they kept track of people.

Two of the three evening restaurants required reservations and had separate menus. Reservations filled up early but I did manage one for Stella Bistro. Dress code for these Stella Bistro and Candles had a dress code and were on a top deck. Amphora, the main dining room off the lounge on deck 4 was more relaxed and food was excellent and plenty. I dined alone several times, but all but the first night ended up in conversations with nearby tables or was seated at a table with others.

The gym had a full time trainer and all the requisite equipment. I did use the treadmill when I stayed on board.

One of the crew when I asked her if we were experiencing a little roughness (I knew I had not drank that much) said, "if you can walk a straight line on a rolling cruise ship, you should have no problem if a cop stops you."

The bridge was open except for docking and leaving port. The officers and captain were willing to answer all questions. The males on board loved this.

Disembarking was well organized as was everything. Bags were left outside the room the night before and were color coded with tags provided. When your color was called you could then disembark, collect your luggage and be on your way.

One night was the Captain's bbq which was an amazing spread on top deck. A band played every evening until late. One night the crew put on a talent show.

Those 8 days went very fast! The crew and the food were outstanding. Would I recommend this cruise line? Yes if you like smaller ships. I would sail with them any day!