Wind Song 10/02 
  My husband and I just returned from the October 4th sailing of the Wind Song ship in Tahiti and the Society Islands. Windstar is one of our favorite lines, and this was our third Windstar Cruise. We are happy to report that this is a great cruise. The islands are a lush green, and the clear water ranges from aquamarine, azure, and topaz blue to royal blue in the deeper water. Hotels and restaurants are very pricey, though, so a cruise makes a lot of sense. You might be surprised how natural and undeveloped these islands are. No 3000 room hotels!



Outside the terminal, the Wind Song people were waiting. We received Tiare flower leis (this flower is only in Polynesia), and baggage folks got our bags off to a separate truck. It’s a short ride to the marina, and then we were ‘home’ to cabin 207. All of our bags were in our cabin when we arrived. The captain had been there to greet us, and the paperwork went smoothly.

The Ship
The Wind Song has 2 sister ships: the Wind Spirit (we cruised the British Virgin Islands on this ship) and the Windstar (we will cruise on this ship in November 2002 from Barcelona to Lisbon). They hold 148 passengers double occupancy. Their fourth ship, the Windsurf is larger and was acquired from Club Med. That was our home during our French and Italian Riviera cruise in 1998. I recommend all of those trips, too.

The Wind Song is a four mast sailing ship, but also has engines, so they can keep on schedule. They also have an open bridge policy. In addition to the captain greeting up when we arrived at the ship, I had a wonderful chat with him when I visited the bridge. Note: He is not always there. One time we saw him in the Veranda restaurant checking out the cook’s stations at the breakfast offerings. These are hands-on officers.

All cabins are outside, but there are no balconies. I don’t think I have ever seen a sailing ship with balconies, however.

Our itinerary was Papeete to Raiatea, Huahine, Bora Bora (overnight) and Moorea (overnight). We sailed back to Papeete on Thursday night before our dis-embarking Friday morning. The Polynesian people are so beautiful and kind.

The Cabins
One thing I really like about Windstar is that they do not have a large variety of cabin categories. I think this is their way of saying that all passengers are equal in their eyes. One cabin (the owner’s cabin #107) has 220 square feet. All of the rest are 188 square feet. All cabins are outside views with 2 porthole windows (16” in diameter each) keeping with the sailboat theme. Deck 2 prices are normally about $100 more for a 7 day cruise. There are no elevators, so you will walk less coming from Deck 2 instead of Deck 1 to go to the restaurant or the Veranda.

Each cabin is equipped with a nice-sized TV with CNN, TCM, and other piped in movie channels. There is also a CD player and a VCR. Bring your own or check them out from the Windstar library. There is a sitting area with 2 chairs, and there is a foldout table if you decide to order room service at any time.

Fellow Passengers
The majority of passengers on Windstar trips are in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. We found more of the twenty-something and thirty-something couples on this trip than on our other Windstar cruises. There are very few non-man-and-woman couples, and almost no children. Since there are a lot of SCUBA diving and snorkeling port trips, this would attract a younger and/or more active crowd. We met 4 honeymoon couples on board, but one of our favorite couples was starting to plan their 50th wedding anniversary, which occurs next year. It’s very special seeing people of all ages having fun conversations with people 20 years younger or older. Romance is in the air here, also, and everyone got along beautifully.

Most people are from the United States, but there was a couple from Canada, two Latina ladies, and some French speaking folks, also. Announcements are only in English.

Dining
In a work, divine! Breakfast and lunch are served in the Verandah. For breakfast, there is a buffet of fruit, yogurts, cereal, breads, smoothies, and luncheon meats. In addition, there is a changing breakfast menu to order from. Lunch consists of a salad, soup, and dessert buffet with a luncheon menu to order from. Each day, there is also a chef’s special at lunch.
The Executive Chef on the Wind Song is Stephan G. from Germany, and Scot and I first met him on the Wind Spirit in 1997. I was the usual ‘tourist in a fog’ at the first luncheon buffet (we’d missed breakfast), when a voice said ’Would you like to try the chef’s pasta today?’! I looked up from my fog, and saw the ‘Executive Chef’ embroidered on this shirt. On previous cruises, all of which had been on large ships, I had seen the Executive Chef only at the welcoming and farewell parties, and here was this guy right in front of me! I don’t know when Stephan sleeps. He does the chef’s special at lunch, and he prepares appetizers in the bar at cocktail time before dinner. There is a beach bar-b-q once during the week, and one fabulous dinner prepared on deck under the stars (all weather permitting). He admits that he sleeps only in 2 to 3 hour cat naps, but he loves his job. Last year, he got a promotion and is now also a consultant for the other 3 ships in the Windstar family. Way to go, Stephan!

There is also a continental breakfast served by the pool if you are a late riser on any day.

Dinner is served in the Restaurant from 7:30 to 9:15 each evening other than the dinner on deck. There are no assigned tables, or set dining times. Each night we dined with different people, and loved that arrangement. By the end of the cruise, we knew almost everyone by name. The dinner menu consists of a choice of appetizers, soups, and salads (usually 2 of each), followed by a choice of 4 entrees. In addition, there is a vegetarian entrée, and a selection of low calorie ‘Sail Light’ options. Desserts, after dinner drinks, and yummy coffee drinks are offered on a separate menu.

The Casino
In the casino, there are 11 slot machines, and 2 tables. One table is a black jack table, and the other is an ‘Ocean Poker’ table, but can be flipped over to become a second black jack table. The minimum price is $5.00.

Anke and Dan (married 15 years) are the casino staff. They are the sweetest people you would ever want to meet, but they are also the luckiest dealers I have ever seen. Be afraid, be very afraid! One fun event is the black jack tournament, which costs $25.00 to enter. I did better there (with play money) than any other time.

Entertainment
David and Brooke (also a married couple) are your cruise directors, and they do a great job. There is a musical two-some called ‘Satin Doll’, and they are very talented. She sings, he plays the keyboards, and does a little singing, too. Twice (once in Raiatea and once in Moorea) local dancers presented a one hour show that you should not miss.

Port Trips
Beginning and Certified SCUBA diving activities are available throughout the trip. There is also a sports platform off the back of the ship with banana boats and ocean swimming, etc. Zodiac boats are available at some of the ports for scenic boat trips.
There are several snorkeling trips, horseback riding, and four wheel drive port trips available. There is a trip to a pearl farm, a canoe trip, and Polynesian History and Cultural trips. There are also the usual bus tours, safari tours, deep sea fishing, and whale and dolphin watching, in addition to helicopter trips, para-sailing, and aqua-scope trips. Whew!

Activity levels are listed for each trip: Easy, moderate, etc.

Prices range from $26 to $69 for all but the Deep Sea Fishing and the helicopter trips, which are considerably more expensive.

There were 2 expert speakers, Dr. Bill Kolans and Dr. Michael Poole who provided information about Polynesian History and Marine life, respectively.

I would recommend signing up for tours on Raiatea and Huahine, as each town in about 3 blocks long, and I saw no taxi cabs ’ready and waiting’ at the docks.

In Bora Bora, there is more of a town, so the shopping level picks up. There are also cars to rent. Some people went to Bloody Mary’s for dinner and had a great time. Moorea seemed to be the place that most people bought pearls.

Disembarkation
All too soon, we were back in Papeete, and had our tags for disembarkation. This was truly no-muss, no-fuss. We packed the last night, but our bags weren’t scheduled to be picked up until 7:00a.m. the last morning. After that, we went to the Verandah for breakfast, and then left the ship (reluctantly) at 8:10a.m. We picked up our luggage from the dock, gave it to the handlers, and boarded the bus for the Sheraton, where we had a day room.

The Sheraton has a water taxi to downtown, so we shopped, had lunch, came back to the day room, napped, and ate dinner at their restaurant. Our bus transferred us to the airport, and we were on our way back to LAX. What a fabulous trip, even though our flight wasn’t scheduled until 11:45 p.m.

Service and Tipping
I would be remiss if I did not mention how fabulous the service is on the Wind Song. When we got back from the port visits, the bartenders would have glasses of water and/or ice tea waiting for us by the pool. The first night, the staff wanted to tell us their names, and by the next morning they all knew our names.

When they found out that we had been on other Windstar cruises, they asked if we had favorite crew member’s names from prior trips. We did, and they immediately told us what ship they were on now, or if they were ‘on holiday’. It’s quite a family.

Tipping is officially ‘not required’, but we always leave our cabin steward at least the same amount as the mass market cruise lines. We give each bartender an envelope with a little ‘goodie’, and we also have envelopes for our favorite waiters. Since we were at different dining tables each night, we picked our 2 favorites from the breakfast and lunch venue. Everyone seemed very happy, and we took lots of pictures that last night.

If you have read this far, I hope you have found this useful.

Happy Sailing!