A Touch of Colonial Spain Reviewed by Debbie

Silver Wind 03/2007 ? A Touch of Colonial Spain (3/18 ? 3/26/07)

Trip Preparation
We took our first Silversea cruise in April, 2006 on Whisper. That was a voyage out of San Juan. We had a wonderful time ? saw beautiful places, had a great cabin, wonderful food, met other nice guests and staff and relaxed. We liked it so much that we booked 2 other cruises while onboard. One of those was to be in 2/2007. Something came up at work, and we switched to 3/2007, but we kept all of our booking incentives and still had a wonderful trip. This time we were booked on Silver Wind.
I research everything to death, so I had a good idea of what we wanted to do. We planned for FIT sightseeing vs. tours, so I only signed up for the spa (manicure and pedicure) and for the free Silversea Experience, a beach party at Prickly Pear Island in Virgin Gorda. We paid in full in time to get the maximum savings and also got a 2% onboard booking discount and 5% Venetian Society discount. This all added up to only 27% off, I believe.

We had a good idea on the dress codes, and I bought a number of outfits to fill in what we were missing for informal and casual. I really thought about what we would wear for each day and occasion, and I am happy to say that we wore everything we brought, except I did not wear my gym outfit and tennis shoes!

Trip and Time in San Juan
I chose American to bump myself over the points I need for a freebie on the next trip, but I didn't realize Todd already had enough Continental points to go free this time. When I was pricing the trip, it was under 400 but then 2 hours letter, it went to $600 plus for coach on all airlines. So, I booked the first/business class combo for about $660 each. This turned out to be wise. We had a nice omelet and fruit and biscuit on the first segment, and on the second segment we had edible pizza and salad. They had chicken tenders/pasta, but they gave that to all the kids (many) in business who ate not a bite. Either their parents ate it or it was tossed untouched. They also had hot nuts and hot chocolate chip cookies.

We took a cab to Sheraton. The standard government fare is $19 plus $1.50 for each bag. We had 3 bags. Todd handled most of that since they were heavy. There were about 3 people in front of us to check in. We got to our room at 5:55 p.m. We were given 2 card keys. The room had an electronic safe, a nice armoire with hangers, iron and ironing board, a chest of 6 large drawers, a comfortable king bed with so so pillows, a large TV, 2 sitting chairs, free wi-fi in the room or an ethernet for $9.95 a day, coffee/tea, and also they have a decent sized tub and decent shower. Waffle robes would be nice. This is not the Ritz, but for a night before or after a cruise, it met our needs, and we had a lovely time. The SS terminal is almost across the street.

Todd checked out his March Madness scores while I explored. I found the same trendy restaurants as before - Asian, seafood, steak houses, all infused w/ Latino. I also found a very interesting seafood place I hadn't seen with tremendous selections by the item or pound. Lots of places in the section I hadn't discovered before had tables outside. This one had great looking spiny lobster. Next I saw a girl eating cotton candy, so I went in pursuit. I wandered into a street fair where there were candy apples, cotton candy, ice cream and lots of local treats including oranges where they were coring off the peeling and using the inner white peeling like a cup. These were wildly popular. There was a band playing and people sitting everywhere and then a local bar/restaurant at the end. Further up the hill, there were a lot of souvenir stands mixed with pina colada stands and then what else, a Starbucks.

Near the hotel there is a homemade hamburger joint that sells breaded shrimp for $3.50. Also across the street now there is Senor Frogs.
I went to check out the casino and the pool before my walk and then came back for Todd after spending $1.30 on cotton candy.

We got in the hot tub. It was dark, and by then nobody was up there. You walk through a decent fitness center to get there, and they have nice towels up there that you just pick up with no hassle. We sat in there for a long time.
Next, we took $100 each to the casino. We aren't big on slots, but the roulette tables were full. We shared $40 of my allotment, and gave that all to the casino. Next, we played roulette. They have a $2 minimum and $20 max per bet. I turned my $60 into $150, and Todd turned his $100 into zero. So, I made $50 total, and he lost $100. We played for several hours, and they do bring drinks if you want them. It was a great time, I just love roulette and enjoy turning 60 bucks into 150.

Then it was time for a shared burger from Senor Frogs. Don't go there for the prices. A cheeseburger and fries is $11, but one was all we needed. We had that in the room after watching all the games. They were playing Name that Tune and then a game we saw at Beaches Turks where people have to sing a song when they are called until they can't think of anything.
The pool and hot tub are open from 9 am to 11 pm. Checkout is at noon, but they will keep your bags until you can get on the ship. We enjoyed the room and the pool/hot tub until checkout and then focused on getting over to the ship asap.

The Sheraton's $270 internet rate ended up being $340 with the 3 different types of taxes added in. Others might consider El Convento. It is cheaper and quainter but not nearly as convenient.

Embarkation
We checked out and decided to go to the ship and pay the $100 each to board. There was nobody there to greet but quite a few wanting on. A security guard let everyone trot up to reception and pay. We walked up some steep steps and did this. Our room cards were ready. They snapped our pic, and we gave the card imprint so we would not have to come back to settle up. This was a far cry from the early embarkation we did on Whisper where a tuxedoed gentleman was waiting, dealt with our bags, gave us champagne, escorted us, etc. The receptionist did point out that we were not on the early embarkation list (we weren?t last time either since there WAS no list, as they said they did not allow it in Puerto Rico). Things were efficient, and it was all still pretty simple.

We went to Panorama lounge where they offered nuts, Ritz crackers and the Oriental snack crackers and any drinks in a relaxing atmosphere with very good service. At check-in, we asked about dining for lunch, the receptionist did not volunteer the information. However, the head waiter came around at Panorama and invited everyone personally one by one.
We next went up to the restaurant and had 5 course lunches. We had a mixed seafood appetizer that had mussels, shrimp, and calamari. Next we had a cream chicken soup. I had a salad with Balsamic. For entrée, I had the Thai seafood (only OK), and Todd had a carved Kansas steak. For dessert, I had crème Brule, and he had apple crumble and ice cream.
Next, we toured the ship. All the public areas are a lot smaller than Whisper. I was surprised, but then when I saw the ship from Sheraton, I was surprised at how small it is.

This is a good time to sign up for La Terraza if you want, though we found it pretty easy to get into now that they have an Italian theme all the time.

Our Veranda Cabin
We were in cabin 621, a veranda category that is fairly midship. We checked on the cabin at 2:30 and got in. Our bags came right after 3. Olga, our stewardess was there to meet us. We asked for extra pillows, this time foam ( nice for sitting up on the bed and to complement the down ones), and we asked for more club soda and Diet Coke. We also took her up on some Neutrogena things to go with the Bulgari (they also offer the Aqua de Parma). The cabin is smaller than the Whisper but well organized. The closet is smaller, but there are nice drawers, and there are little cabinets and nooks everywhere in the cabin to stick things. The TV/DVD player is a little awkward, but you can see it from the bed and from the living room. There was some welcome champagne and all the juices and such. They had white wine in there and two types of beer (1 Becks and 1 Heinekin). We had the whole fruit waiting and also the orchids. Most everything is one of each in the fridge for drinks. Of course, they will bring whatever. There is lots of recessed lighting and lamps appropriately spaced. The closet had room for all of our stuff after we requested a few more hangers, and our two big and one small suitcases had room to be tucked out of the way. We found that the stewardess comes twice a day, and she likes to do the fridge stocking on the nighttime visit. Certain provisions are locked down when in port. That means if you have a night where they sail at 11 or 12 p.m., you may do without or have to see what you can get from room service.

The balcony door swings out vs. the sliding door on the Whisper. The lock can be tricky. You have to pull the door in tight and turn hard to the left. Also, if you don?t lock the door, if it is windy, it may come open! The balcony has a teak floor, and the chairs are plastic but have cushions that are removed at night and tucked beside the couch.

The tub/shower setup is a bit tight. There are lots of towels, and above the tub, there are two very nice large bath towels. There are two hooks in the bathroom for the nice robes that are hanging in the closet.

The first day, the cabin was fairly hot. This improved after that, but it was hotter than Whisper.

The Rest of Our First Day
I went on the spa tour. They have lovely lounges there and nice steam and saunas separate for men and women. I had already signed up for mani/pedi for the sea day, and I signed up for a massage while there on the tour. Already at 3:10 the sea day was almost sold out.
Upon my return to the cabin, I found out that the room keys did not work and went and got new ones.

I checked out the high tea. The Panorama lounge was almost full within minutes. They passed out the stacked silver trays even to people alone. They were loaded with cookies, cakes, and pastries, along with fancy sandwiches and such. Scones were available, also. I had a delightful pot of jasmine tea. They had a number of teas from London and India and maybe other places. Fine tea served in china.

The pianist played at this time. Relaxing. I drank the whole pot. Of course, before this, those that had just boarded could get a whole buffet of gourmet salads and grilled things at the pool from 3 to 4. This is just about the only venue we skipped that day! They had also had canapés at boarding which we didn?t do either.

Next, it was a couple of more turns in line over the room keys as more people discovered they did not work.

We went out for the lifeboat drill at 5. This was much more unpleasant than the Whisper. Everyone was herded into the panorama lounge, so most were standing. That included us. Then we went out on deck in 3 lines. This torture was over in 20 min, and everyone went out to the sailing party. More food was offered here. They had delightful clams (cooked) with spicy peppers on them. They also had cocktail shrimp, mini tacos, steak on a stick, chicken on a stick, and shrimp on a stick and some other stuff. They circulated this stuff every two min. or so, as they had discovered ALL cabins had no keys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They also told us sailing was delayed until 6:30 while they were still getting provisions on the ship. People were ready to go. We had intended to be on our balcony, but the key thing was a hassle, so we stood out and had a good time chatting on 9 as the wind blew.
They put out tables by alphabet for keys, and within one minute, we had keys that worked. Well, alas, they found out everyone?s key worked once.

We got ready for dinner. Todd perused the news stations, and I read the literature in the room. It was casual that night, and we welcomed that.

This ship seemed much more crowded than Whisper, but not badly so. There was a good mix of many nationalities and ages from 10 to 80s (one child). In our mid 40s, we are at the young end. Thankfully, there were all sizes, as well. This was an older bunch than last year.
We asked for a quiet table for two. Like Whisper the room was a little loud, but we expected it, and it was all just chat. La Saletta, the fine dining pay room was packed.

We got to dinner at 7:40. I?ve discussed that down in the Dinner section of this report.
I was so tired since my face was a little burnt from laying out at Sheraton and it is exhausting doing nothing. I made Todd keep me awake so we could go see the magician at 10.

We managed to walk down the hall to see Craig Christian, the master illusionist. He did a great show, and we had nice seats. He did rope tricks, card tricks, fire tricks, and the head removal trick. I was so sleepy but made it. The show was about 40 minutes.

We called it a night. The duvet and the pillows were nice. I slept until daylight at 6. Each day, I drew the drapes between the bed and sitting areas so it was like we each had our own room, and I could do my internet and enjoy the view while Todd slept a couple of more hours. I had woken up to the sea day, and I saw the first scenery as we sailed around the Virgin Islands.

Sea Day
This is a day where a lot of ladies book the spa. I did this as well, booking 60 days in advance on the web, as soon as appointments are available. This was not a good idea for me because on the sea day, they offer the enrichment lectures. They offered the food and wine pairing lecture and a gem lecture. Todd went to the food and wine pairing lecture where they were discussing shrimp preparation, spices, and rules about wine. He left early, though, as this is not his cup of tea. I hate that I missed it. Also, this was the day with the Italian lesson. We did this together. Maria, the International hostess led this. There were 4 of us there. Todd?s group at work is largely Italian, so he was happy to get the two phrase sheets. Of course, he has had the least exposure to languages of the small group in attendance, so he struggled a little. We wish they had done some more things like French since we had a French port.

This is also one of the formal nights, and they have the regular daily activities this day, as well as the bridge tour. Wind did not have a galley brunch on our cruise.

Other Activities
Some repeat guests do not get into things like the Captain?s Welcome Party, Captain?s Farewell Party, etc. Todd is not that into them. The first one introduces staff, the second one thanks them and plays the ?simply the best? song as they parade (I think Whisper did that at the pool bbq). This time there was a nice touch where they had compiled a DVD of people all around the ship at various activities.

The cruise started with the regular embarkation process, followed by the spa tour and then the lifeboat drill and then the sailing/welcome party.

Every day, they had a big-screen movie. They also had shuffleboard, table tennis, bridge, team trivia, bingo, and golf putting. We did not try table tennis or bridge. The team trivia was a daily bonding experience, and when we got home, Todd said he was really going to miss it. They use questions from Millionaire, Jeopardy, and Trivial Pursuit. Our team won 3 days, tied two days and then lost the last 2 days.
The golf putting was fun. I was not great but got better at the end. I was terrible at shuffleboard.

We each won a bingo one day, the biggest of the day.

All of the organized activities would have points. Also, there was a daily ?silver? quiz that we won two days where you pick up the quiz at 8:30 a.m. and try to be the first to fill it in with all the right answers. We collected 158 points throughout the cruise and got a t-shirt, cap, duffle bag, and business card holder. We had a great time bonding with others. Since we are typically the ?dine alone? types, this was a great time for us to get to know other guests.
We also attended an Italian lesson with Maria, the International hostess. On the pool bbq night, Chris the golf pro that also led shuffleboard, table tennis, was the dj, led volleyball at the beach party, etc. He was a great bit of fun. Maria, along with Allesandra, the assistant cruise director and Michael, the cruise director gave us a good time of dancing, shows at night, the organized activities above, making us feel welcome at entertainment each night, and Chris even played with us at the beach in Virgin Gorda.

They also have in-room movie channels that run movies that are about the time of pay per view. These run day and night on several channels, and you can get DVDs, books, games, etc., along with daily news and puzzles.

One night, we went to the Venetian Society party. We found that 39% of the guests on board were repeat guests and that the membership is now around 90,000.

On the embarkation day, I went to afternoon tea. I had very nice jasmine tea. They offered very nice pastries, sandwiches and cakes, along with scones. Service was individual here, while on Whisper the food part was more of a buffet.
We just loved sitting on our balcony watching the sailing or being on deck for it. This was one of our favorite activities on both ships.

When the ship was not in port, the casino was open. We went there one night in between golf putting and dinner. We had a dedicated roulette dealer (and they even changed at the appropriate interval). We played only 30 minutes, and Todd was up $99, and I was up $66. The casino has blackjack and slots, also.

One day I checked out one of the boutiques. I bought a beaded SS logo shirt. They had many nice items there, including cosmetics, souveniers, designer clothes, and logo merchandise. There was also jewelry, watches and the like.

Breakfasts
Most days, we had room service breakfast. The card now has a side for guest one and a side for guest two. You won?t see simple American bacon (they list Canadian or English) or mixed berries, but I wrote both in on several days and got lovely crispy bacon and beautiful strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries. They always showed up 5 to 10 minutes before our scheduled time. They set up an elegant setting in our room. Todd tried omelet, blueberry pancakes, cereal, fruits, juices, milk, bacon, potatoes, etc. I tried fried eggs, waffles, toast, fruits, bacon, sausage and such. My least favorite was the waffles, as they were a bit crispy. Fruits available were things link mango, papaya, grapefruit, watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew, pineapple, berries, and dried and canned fruits.

One day when we had somewhere to be (Sandy Lane in Barbados), we went to the buffet. We did not have any but they had champagne there. They had made to order eggs. People seemed to stand in line, but I am sure they could have ordered from their table like on Whisper. They had smoked salmon, cured meats, many fruits, some carved on the spot, a number of hot European items, yogurts, cereals, nuts, dried fruits, and great freshly baked bagels and such. They had fresh squeezed juices, as well. We also did the buffet on debarkation day and did the champagne that day as a last hurrah.
They had a sit down breakfast offering that we never got around to.

Lunch
Monday: On both of our cruises, one of my favorite meals has been the lunch on the embarkation day. Both times, we did the early embarkation. Service both times was exemplary, and both times we had a 5 course meal. On this trip, we had a mixed seafood appetizer that had mussels, shrimp, and calamari (we don?t ?do? calamari). Next we had a cream chicken soup. I had a salad with Balsamic. For entrée, I had the Thai seafood (only OK), and Todd had a carved Kansas steak. For dessert, I had crème Brule, and he had apple crumble and ice cream.

On Tuesday sea day: I had pumpkin soup, melon, and grilled catfish. Todd had pumpkin soup, melon and fish and chips.

Wednesday: We came back to the ship from Les Saintes for lunch and dined at the buffet. Mainly, I had paella (just the shellfish - mussels and clams) and salad with balsamic. I did taste the gazpacho and a few other items for a sampling but only a taste. Todd tried a lamb chop and some beef dish. We both did try and liked the grilled fish. He indicated he would have been happier with a burger. At any rate, we had some incredible views at this meal and a good experience with service and ambiance.

Thursday room service lunch in Barbados after Sandy Lane day: Todd had a bacon cheeseburger, and I had grilled salmon. He also had French onion soup and spring roll. I had tomato basil soup, a green salad, and shrimp cocktail.

Friday, Bequia: we came back from our island tour and decided to have lunch on the pool deck. I visited the salad/fruit buffet, and they brought us gourmet burgers and fries to our seat.

Saturday, Antigua: We spent time here at Sandals. We had ribs for lunch. Todd enjoyed the mashed potatoes, while I had a nice salad.

Sunday: This was the Prickly Island Beach Party (included) in Virgin Gorda. They had burgers, dogs, grilled steak and swordfish, along with a variety of salads, fruit carved onsite and cookies and cakes. The restaurant was open on the ship for those that did not want to do this. We had steak sandwiches at the party.

Dinner
Monday, casual embarkation day: We got to dinner at 7:40. By 7:50, there was a line the whole time we dined. There were always tables but maybe not the setup people wanted. If you want to dine alone, be there at 7:30. I had steamed black mussels in white wine sauce, Maui red onion soup, crispy greens, and wiener schnitzel, while Todd had Silversea spring rolls, the same soup, Caesar salad, and grilled filet of beef with jalapeno and cilantro dressing. We did not have dessert. We finished by 9. They had offered a wine we did not like. We asked for the one from lunch. It was fruity and light.

Tuesday, formal: At dinner, we got in quickly and sat at a table for two. They filled up quickly, and eventually there was a wait by 8:30. We had 4 courses. I started out with the goose liver. I had the celeriac apple soup and greens with balsamic and then lobster. Todd had berries in Blue Curacao, the same soup, Caesar and prime rib and lobster. He loved the prime rib immensely.

Wednesday, informal: We had pumpkin soup. Todd ordered prawns, and they brought him the shrimp martini (happened every time we ordered alternate ?vapor? prawns that the staff really talked up. I had the king scallop ravioli. This was only OK, and I only ate half of the one scallop and half of the one ravioli. I had salad, and Todd had another delicious spring roll. For entree, he had chateaubriand, and I had veal Marsala. The sauces were good, but they gave only a tiny amount. Mine came with some great mashed potatoes and asparagus.
Thursday night, casual: We stopped by the pool bbq setup to take pics and then went to have a sit down dinner in the restaurant. There were about 50 people there, and Saletta was full, also. I had them make me a grilled fish, and they selected sea bass. It was very nice. Todd had a grilled sirloin. We both had shrimp bisque. I had sorbet, and he had some sort of cake. After dinner, we joined the dance party.
Friday night, informal: We had dinner with a couple we'd spent time with at the team trivia each day (Howard and Loraine from Albuquerque), bingos and such. It was their 54th anniversary. We had soups, salad, the spring rolls, and Todd had another beef dish, while I had veal saltimbocca.

Saturday night, formal for some: We decided to dine at La Terazza to avoid the 2nd formal night, but we wish we had done the course by course in our cabin. This alternate restaurant is authentic Italian, and each night is a theme of a different region of Italy. Todd would rather have worn the tux because he likes Americanized Italian. I must shamefully say that the pizza brought early on was our favorite. Wow. We had antipasto, salads, and some desserts. Todd got prime rib and lobster bisque from downstairs, and I got veal scaloppini from La Terraza and also the bisque from downstairs. Service was incredible. The head sommelier was very attentive and interested in teaching things, and attention to detail was amazing. This is not for everyone, so read the menu on 6. Getting in here was quite easy.
Sunday night, casual: Todd had chateaubriand, and I had sole. We were so full, had all the courses. I could not eat everything. Next, I chatted with Howard and Loraine as we passed their table. I stayed with them for some time.
I particularly enjoyed the sorbets and wish they had not done away with the palate cleanser. Todd enjoys the vanilla ice cream. They will bring around the cheese and fruit trolley if you like, along with having coffee when they serve dessert. They also bring petit fours They also offer the after dinner drinks, and during the meal, they will start out by offering white wine or red and then offer to switch to red when the main course comes out. At La Terazza, they started with sparkling wines.

Ports & Sights
Old San Juan ? we have been here more than once. I like to just walk around and look at the architecture, shop, see the restaurant offerings, etc. It was interesting to run into the street fair. You can also see the fort. If you have enough time, you can always check out more of Puerto Rico and visit the rain forest or spend time at one of the hotels or beaches. We chose this time to just enjoy the Sheraton so we could walk across the street to the ship terminal area.

Monserrat ? This was not a port, but we got to spend a few hours seeing it in the day and at night, and some guests even did the helicopter over it (on a separate day). Only about 1/3 of this island is now inhabited. We saw a lot of ash. At night, Todd was fascinated to watch the tiny eruptions and splashes of red.
Sailing on Sea Day ? we saw St. Kitts and most of the Virgin Islands one by one as we sailed along. This is the time that it is nice to have a balcony so that you see the postcard before you. Of course, the picture windows are nice, too.

Il de Saintes, Guadaloupe (Les Saintes) - Well, some of my fears about Les Saintes were true. We went to the breakfast buffet and had some hot items and fruits and then ventured on the tender over to Les Saintes. There was one scooter shop that ignored us when they heard the American accent and rented to all the Europeans behind us until they ran out. Next we went to another place, and the woman was cooking in her kitchen and told us she didn't speak English. Finally we found a place that rented us one scooter for 38 Euros for the day. You need your driver's license, and that is it. We shared one scooter. You cannot rent by the hour, only by the day or week. We were told to go to "the garage". This was no small feat since we didn't know and all along the way did not like Americans.

Well, we did get on our way and made our way up and down every travelable road on the island!! We had such a blast and saw every beach accessible. If you are adventurous, this is a DON'T MISS!!!!!!!!!! One of these had a number of topless women, and when we looked it up later, we read it can be a nudist beach. We also traveled up to the fort for great views of the ship.. The beaches were free, and some were pretty secluded. At any of them, you could easily bring a romantic picnic and not be bothered by anyone else. If you did not want to do all of this, you could set out on foot until getting tired and see the fort or the closest beaches. Be aware, some of the island siestas from noon to 2:30. Plan accordingly.
Barbados/Sandy Lane: We only saw the west side of the island because we planned to spend much of our day at Sandy Lane in Barbados. I wrote golf@sandylane.com and spa@sandylane.com after viewing their website.

We went out to the terminal in Barbados and asked for a cab to Sandy Lane hotel. We paid $20 US plus tip. The spa and hotel are on one side of the road, and the 45 holes of golf are on the other side and down the road.
I was brought curbside to the spa. For a hotel with 112 rooms, I was not expecting it to be so large. I'd seen pics of certain things but not the whole overall picture.

Todd played the country club course alone. He brought his own shoes and rented clubs. They have mandatory caddies, and he had a cart, etc. He shot a 78. The course is very scenic, and he saw monkeys. He finished in under 3 hours. During that time, I had a 90 minute facial and then toured the hotel.

I was impressed with the spa at Sandy Lane. I wish I had booked like a half day there. Normally, I like to spread my spa treatments throughout a trip, but I loved the facial so much that I would have loved to have more done here.

The dressing rooms are very nice and well appointed. The treatment rooms are even nicer. My room had two lounge chairs, and my view was a beautiful fountain. The treatment started out with choice of water or tea in my lounger in my treatment room. Then the facial started, and Judy adjusted a bed that molds itself in all directions to your body shape.

I had a rose anti-aging facial because it was 90 minutes and seemed different than anything I'd done. There were a number of phases, including some ice cold stones that were massaged on my face. The therapist was honest about any questions I asked, and she never tried to sell me a thing.

I toured the facilities, and they have a nice gym, fitness center, etc, and a great water area back there. I was very impressed with the hotel. It opened in 1961, but they tore it down in 2001 and rebuilt, preserving most of the look. Added were modern things, such as a panel that controls everything in your room, even the drapes. I toured a dolphin luxury suite. It had 42 in. plasma in the bedroom and living room, a stereo system, a fax machine, desk, etc. The bathroom had a large tub in the middle, but it was not a jet tub. There was a kitchenette where the mini-bar is customized, as are the snacks.

On the beach, beautiful loungers are set out for each guest daily, whether they show up or not. They have an assigned spot. The beach was nice, and a few waves came up. The beaches are public in Barbados, but it was pretty secluded.
There are a number of pools running around the property, and there are many places to find serenity. The hotel has some meal plans, but they don't have an all-inclusive plan. They are 5 diamond AAA for 2007, no easy feat, and their Conde Naste rating was 91.6 in the last book, though the dining got 77.

Bequia: Here, you could take the Mustique tour with the ship or some other St. Vincent tours, etc. We chose just to see Bequia. We took the tender over and hired a cab driver for an island tour. He said $25 per hour. We were gone an hour and gave him $32. We saw some scenic points and went to the turtle sanctuary. He did not try to sell us anything extra or anything. It was very nice, and we were able to spend a lot of time on the ship and still got to see some breathtaking sites.

Antigua: Here they offer nice sightseeing tours. Last trip, Todd had a great golf outing here. You can also get off the ship and go to King?s Casino right near the pier or look at the shops. We had day passes for Sandals. We took a cab - $13 going and $11 returning. We walked the beach, had ribs for lunch, sailed a hobie cat and laid in a garden pool on floaties and used the hot tub there. We also observed the Mediterannean Village that is set to open late this summer.

Virgin Gorda: If you haven?t been here, don?t miss seeing the Baths. We did that last time. This time, they stopped the ship to tender some guests for that and then went on to North Sound and anchored there. We had some more spectacular views. They started tenders at 11. Lunch was from 12 to 2. They had a bar and service in the chairs for everything from water to whatever. You could stay total;y under cover, also. They had burgers, dogs, grilled steak and swordfish, along with a variety of salads, fruit carved onsite and cookies and cakes. They had a vocal group singing Caribbean and adult contemporary tunes. Todd joined the volleyball game. There was swimming and snorkeling if you had your own gear.

Entertainment
Night 1 and night 5: Craig Christian, the master illusionist. He did a great show, and we had nice seats. He did rope tricks, card tricks, fire tricks, and the head removal trick. I was so sleepy but made it. The show was about 40 minutes. It was a little different each time but somewhat similar.

Night 2 and Night 6: He sang Frank Sinatra, Commodores, Bobby Darin (that Carnival theme song), a song in French (he is French Canadian, and many others backed up by the SS Trio. He said the SS trio gets the music the same day and just magically does a fabulous job. What a good show!!! It was well attended and well enjoyed. Quite a few gave the singer a standing ovation. He sang different songs on both nights. The second night, Michael, the cruise director sang 4 songs as an opening act. This included New York New York, and opera, and a couple of others.

Night 3 and Night 7: This was the comedian/juggler. He did some interesting tricks. The two shows were completely different. I enjoyed them both.

Night 4: This night, they did the SS trio during dinner and then had the dance party led by Chris up until midnight.

Other entertainment involved the pianist during tea and beyond and then again a 10 p.m. in panorama lounge. In The Bar, they had the SS trio at night. There were a couple of disco parties we did not stay up for, and they had ballroom, jazz, etc. as well. They also had a big screen movie either at 2 or 10 every day.

Spa
The spa is managed by Steiner, like most ships. You can easily read about the treatments on My Voyage on the website 60 days before departure. You can book in advance, if you want. It is very traditional for the sea day to fill up the fastest, but this is when there were many other things going on that were a one-time thing, so I was sorry I did this. They have what they call the relaxation room where you can sit in lounges and look at the ocean. While waiting for a treatment, they have water and dried apricots, but they were often out of water. There are separate sauna/steamroom areas for men and women, and you don?t need to have a treatment booked. They offer traditional treatments in Mandarin style for face, body, and nails. They are willing to discuss wellness, and in fact there is a full program of exercise classes, gym equipment, and spa cuisine on board.

Manicure/Pedicure: This is not your nail throne type experience you might have at home. This is the old traditional experience. I picked a long one because I wanted more pampering. I did not like that I had to lean my arm over the copper bowl to get into the nice rose milk. Even after a long time, the polish did not dry, so my toes got messed up. They redid everything the day before departure with no charge, and I went home in beautiful shape. They did not try to sell me anything.

Massage Around the World: This was an 80 minute treatment, and it really was cut off at 75, which was slightly annoying, but the pressure was perfect, and the experience was very nice. The therapist asked a lot of questions along the way and spent a lot of time making sure I was taken care of. She did try to sell me stuff at the end, but it was not high pressure.

Staff, Officers, Crew
They hailed from 36 countries. A number of them are away from their families for months at a time, while others have their spouse also working on the ship. Service tends to be formal and courteous, but the staff warm up to guests so easily, and it becomes a respectful bonding and shared experience. You will see staff going ashore to enjoy themselves between their duties and having a good time participating with guests in dining and social activities. Our stewardess was efficient. She did bust in on Todd once in a t-shirt and undershorts when she barely banged on the door before putting in a customs form. She was embarrassed, and the next day (last day), we had a substitute! Requests were honored once we figured out the system. Some provisions are locked down in port, so you might not get something until the night, especially since they do their service twice a day. If you get any whims during the day, you need to call room service or a concierge.

Service was wonderful. Around the pool deck, they took orders for food and wanted you to go relax and receive it wherever. They took drink orders in the hot tub, around the pool, on the deck above. If you sat out there even 30 minutes, you might get offered fruit skewers, cold towels, ice water, drinks, sorbet, or ice cream and maybe all of that in a short time.
At the bars, if you once ordered a club soda, they would ask if you wanted that every time you visited from then on. If you ordered several things, they would run through the list and asked if you wanted any of those or something else. I watched Edna make a mango and banana smoothie for a lady, and she offered Todd and I the rest. That was so delicious. The panorama and the pool bar had chips, pretzels, nuts, and chex mix and sometimes the Japanese cracker mix in Panorama. Panorama also had consumme and crackers at 11. You did not go hungry.
Our cabin stewardess was efficient. You could put out your Service Please ticket daily. We were offered Neutrogena and Aqua de Parma toiletries in addition to the Bvulgari that was there. Our fruit was always refreshed, and if we wanted anything in our fridge, we just left a note. Room service came in minutes. Reasonable requests were honored, always.

The maitre d? at dinner bent over backwards for people. The sommeliers were in attendance, the head waiters were always around. All the staff were everywhere. Even at the beach party, they were all there in their shorts serving. I liked how they let staff go into port between their duties and do some other things.

The hotel director, Hermann was great. He personally responded to my mid-cruise comment card, and I only mentioned 2 tiny things, and these were fully addressed. From then on, we were called Mrs. and Mrs. Hoffren by him and many others and checked on all over when all I?d done was mention that my spa service was interrupted and that once or twice the food wasn?t hot enough.

Guests
The Wind will hold 296 guests. Our cruise had 262 guests and was considered sold out. There were some singles who paid the supplement, and some rooms were taken out of commission for repair to please San Juan, the first American port in 2 years. There were 191 from the US. Other guests were from the rest of North America, Europe and Asia. Ages were from 10 to 80s. Kids on board were one 10 year old and two girls that were possible 15. There were a few couples and a small group in their 20s. The older crowd was in high attendance, but there was a good balance of us in the 35-55 range. There were a few handicapped, and they had scooters in the halls, wheelchairs, etc. This hardly affected anyone ever. There were also some with canes, etc., and they got around everywhere. It really just did not matter AT ALL on age or physical ability. The 10 year old girl was just as interesting as the Spanish man that may have been over 90 that was all alone. We saw no incidents of improper dress, improper conduct. Instead, we saw camaraderie, respect and a civilized good time. There were a couple of ?my pile is big? types, but most were just there and themselves, whatever the case might have been?doctors, attorneys, retired or current upper officers of major companies, day to day professionals, honeymooners, etc.

The Ship
The ship has a number of public areas. They are much smaller than those on Whisper, but it was fine. The panorama lounge is a lot smaller, but it only was really full during the lifeboat drill and the Venetian party. Other times, there was plenty of room for tea, sitting around, piano time, etc. The bar has plenty of room. A lot of the daily activities are held here. At that time, they put out soft drinks. At night, they had some dancing music performed here. The card room/meeting room was where they had the bridge games, and they had soft drinks set up in there. The library/internet room had a much smaller selection of videos and books than Whisper, but the cabinets underneath were stuffed with books, and they also had games you could take elsewhere. There was a sitting area where some sat and read their books or the daily papers there. Those w/o laptops did their internet in the center there, and they had printing available.

The fitness center had some nice equipment and room for classes. It was also smaller than Whisper and a different setup. Most noticeably, Wind does not have an observation lounge.
There are two nice Jacuzzi brand hot tubs that are at the end of the pool, and they have the two outdoor showers. There were plenty of deck chairs on 8 and 9.

Dress Code
On a 7 day cruise, they typically will have 2 casual nights, 2 formal nights, and 3 informal nights. These rotate.

For casual most women wear slacks. If not, they wear casual dresses. Men on those nights usually wear golf shirts or tropical silk or cotton prints with khakis and deck shoes. On the pool bbq night, some wore shorts. A few men wore jackets on casual nights.

On informal night, men wear jackets and either a dress shirt with or without a tie or the nice silk round shirts and things of that nature. Women may wear a really snazzy pant outfit or a nice dress.

On formal night, a lot of men wear tuxes, I?d say it was around half. Others wore dark suits and fit in just as well. You could dine ensuite on formal night, even course by course or go to La Terazza in informal attire and then visit the public areas later in that attire. We found that many men took off their bow tie before the entertainment and some even their jacket. On informal night, some took off their jacket before the show, also. Women wore cocktail dresses, gowns or just nice dresses with accessories. People were not flaunting jewelry or anything like that, and it was not super formal.

During the day, most men wore golf/polo shirts or tropical print shirts and golf type shorts. Think country club casual. A few wore t-shirts. Women wore Capri pants or beach/resort casual dresses. Around the pool deck, some wore swimwear, while others wore resort casual wear. Some just sat in the covered area and read books or napped or chatted.

Debarkation and Trip Home
We had to have our bags out by 11 the night before departure, whereas on Whisper, it was 11:30 p.m. We were ready at 10 p.m. and then enjoyed a little time on our last night with the ship activities.

The ship got into San Juan before 7:30. They started the immigration before 8. We had put our two large bags out at 10 pm. That left only our small bag to pack. Unfortunately, we did not bring a ziplock baggie and had lots of toiletries.

Our color was orange, and we went for our passports when called at 8:25. At that point, we did not return to our cabin.
We went to the buffet and had a champagne breakfast. Next we went to the panorama lounge where juice, coffee, tea and Danishes were available if desired (or you could ask for something else), and guests could also go to the sit-down breakfast at the main restaurant. Our color was called about 9:45. The last call was at 9:50. By then, we'd said a sad goodbye to Maria, Allesandra, and Chris (the social bunch), and Hermann, the hotel director.

We took a cab back to the airport, which cost $23 including tip. We had an 11:52 flight on American. This went off without a hitch. In business class, they served a choice of enchiladas or hot roast beef sandwich. I had enchiladas, and Todd had the sandwich. We enjoyed them, along with the salad. They did not even have the TV shows for entertainment.
Oh, in Puerto Rico, they SOLD us a zip lock baggie for $1. They threw out my dry suntan oil and 4 oz toothpaste gel and did not throw out Todd's 6 oz one. Everything else, they watched us stuff in the baggie that they sold us. Lame.
In Miami, we walked the trek to our C3 gate where it was VERY crowded. We had to sit in a seat far away. We did board on time. On all 4 of our American flights, they served hot nuts, then gave hot towels, served a meal and then hot chocolate chip cookies. This flight they showed the same CBS shows we saw coming down and then followed with some more sitcoms. This flight was delayed 45 minutes due to a tire needing changed!

We arrived at home at 8 p.m. It was back to the grind in one day, but we had a wonderful, wonderful trip without one single complaint.