Tahiti and Tuamotus: On board Windstar’s Wind Spirit

So what’s it like to be on board Windstar Cruises’ Wind Spirit…in Tahiti, no less?

Since the ship will be your temporary home for seven to 10 days, according to which itinerary you choose (7 day, Dreams of Tahiti or 10-day Tahiti and Tuamotus), it’s nice to get a feel for what life is like on board, while you are sailing from port to port and enjoying the amenities of your floating hotel.

We boarded ship — a 148-passenger four-masted sailing vessel on November 23^rd (Thanksgiving Day in America) and settled into our oceanview stateroom (one of 73, not including the owner’s suite) after a fairly brief check-in process.

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Our Cabin

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While our cabin was not quite as roomy as the one we had the previous year on the Star Pride yacht when we cruised the Greek Isles with Windstar (277 sq. ft. versus 188 sq. ft. on the sailing ships), it was comfortable and efficiently designed with plenty of storage.

All staterooms have ocean views (through two portholes), queen beds, flat-screen TVs with built-in DVD players, and Bose SoundDock speakers for use with Apple iPods.

My husband and I have learned to pack lightly and go all carry on, so it didn’t take long to unpack and there were still nooks and crannies we didn’t fill.

The Sail Away

As we left Papeete, passengers assembled on the top deck for Windstar’s signature sail away.

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As the motorized sails are unfurled, Vangelis’ 1492: Conquest of Paradise theme is played in the background, a bit of ceremony that is repeated throughout the voyage.

The Restaurants

Breakfast and lunch are served in the Veranda restaurant, where a buffet is offered along with a few special menu items that can be ordered from the grill. (The French toast and pancake specials were my breakfast favorites.)

Multi-course evening meals are served in the main dining room — AmphorA. One evening, moonfish, also known as opah, was offered as the evening’s fish special. The large colorful fish was displayed in the lobby prior to that night’s meal. I loved it!

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Order your favorite wine by the bottle and the wine steward will re-cork it and serve the rest to you the next night. This French rose´ was my favorite!

Once a week, passengers can reserve a table at Candles. Here is the special menu we were able to choose from for our evening of al fresco dining under the stars.

After breakfast, we were always off the ship, either SCUBA diving or taking a shore excursion.

We were usually back aboard for lunch and would often spend the afternoons resting in our cabin and taking part in one of the scheduled activities included in the Daily Program of events delivered to our cabin the night before.

On-board activities

We visited the Bridge, which my husband really enjoyed, as he was able to ask questions about navigation and other aspects of how the Wind Spirit gets us from port to port.

• We took a Galley tour conducted by the Executive Chef, which gave us an insight into all that goes into planning and preparing our meals throughout the cruise.

• On our first day at sea, I enjoyed a massage in the Spa, while my husband attended a Pearl Seminar, given by the shop manager and certified pearl expert. (Recommended for those who are planning to purchase Polynesian black pearls!)

• I attended a Fruit and Vegetable Carving demonstration, sat in on a cooking class with the chef who showed us how to make Tahiti’s national dish, poisson cru, and watched a cocktail mixing demonstration that included juggling (what?) bottles of vodka!

• Other on-board activities ranged from napkin folding and making towel animals to dance lessons, gaming lessons, morning yoga and more.

Special Events

A highlight of any Windstar cruise is its Deck BBQ under the stars — Grilled lobster is the star of this much-anticipated evening on the Wind Spirit’s top deck, followed by line dancing and a deck party by the pool.

 

 

 

 

 

Two other special events are included. One is the Motu Mahaea Island Experience – a barbeque lunch and drinks on this tiny private island near Taha’a, including being able to enjoy the beach, snorkeling and watersports.

The evening Destination Discovery Event on Bora Bora includes a Tahitian feast on the tiny islet of Motu Tapu, followed by a Polynesian fire dancing show. (We opted to do an overnight in an overwater bungalow on Bora Bora, which I will be covering in a future post.)

Nightly Port Talks and Entertainment

Before dinner, we made our way to the Lounge to get the inside scoop on the next day’s port in a talk given by the Destination Manager. Hors d’oeuvres were passed and drinks served as we learned what to expect during the shore excursions and some things to explore on our own as well.

We sometimes went back to the Lounge after dinner to enjoy the music and stay for some of the events, which included a crew talent show and a music trivia night.

If you’d like to play cards or try the slot machines, a small Casino adjoins the Lounge.

Windstar is small ship cruising so don’t expect elaborate shows like you’ll find on the large cruise ships. Most passengers turn in fairly early to be up and about for the next day’s adventures.

Making New Friends

One of my favorite things about small ship cruising is meeting and spending time with fellow passengers from all over the world. We found the majority of passengers on our sailing to be from various U.S. states (no others from Indiana) and Canada, with others from Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda and other locations.

We have kept in contact with several of them, including two couples from Canada who were our frequent dinner companions.

Service Above and Beyond

The ratio of passengers to crew is extremely high. Our ship wasn’t full; we had 131 passengers on our sailing with 101 crew. Everyone we encountered, without exception, did everything they could to fulfill our requests, including our Cabin Steward, Tauflik, from Indonesia, who was top-notch.

I’m pictured below with the Captain and several other members of the crew taken on the evening we were invited to a special party held on top deck for repeat passengers.

 

 

 

 

 

180 Degrees from Ordinary

The Windstar sailing experience in Tahiti and the Tuamotus met all expectations and I would do it all again if given the opportunity. Windstar’s brand slogan, 180 Degrees from Ordinary, says it all!

If you have questions about our Windstar Tahiti-Tuamotus cruise or the Wind Spirit ship that I haven’t covered, please leave me a comment and I’ll be glad to try to answer them. Or, email me at debbra@tropicaltravelgirl.com.

In future posts, I plan to cover each of the ports we visited on our 10-day voyage through Tahiti and the Tuamotus.

(All photos: © Debbra Dunning Brouillette unless otherwise noted)

In case you missed the previous post: Tahiti and Tuamotus: Choosing to cruise

Other posts in the series:

Tahiti and Tuamotus: Fakarava — our first port of call

Tahiti and Tuamotus: Rangiroa — our second port of call

Tahiti and Tuamotus: Taha’a and Motu Mahaea

Tahiti and Tuamotus: Huahine

Tahiti and Tuamotus: Bora Bora

Tahiti and Tuamotus: Moorea

Tahiti and Tuamotus – Tahiti – our fInal port of call