We sailed Windstar Costa Rica twice, but not since new ownership, so I don't know if itinerary is th

Hi there! Why haven't you registered yet?? You are missing out on our FAMOUS Roll Call forums, where you can meet other cruisers sailing with you and share a tour or shore excursion and SAVE MONEY! Register Now!
Can someone who has done this cruise before give me your overall opinion? I chose it for these reasons: 1. most of the ports we have never been to before 2. the ability to use the water sports platform 3. the port stops for experiencing wildlife and nature at the Costa Rican national parks 4. going to beaches for snorkeling. 5. seems like it would be a more active busy cruise
As my one and only Windstar cruise was in the Med in Oct. 2012 we weren't able to take advantage of the outside activities of the small ship. But I was very impressed overall with the Windstar rv travel in mexico product.
Star Flyer of Star Clippers does a very similar itinerary 4 times in Jan. 2014 for far less money than Windstar, $500 less per person. I'm thinking about this cruise too and may switch the booking. I've sailed Star Clipper once, in Thailand, and I enjoyed it but wasn't impressed with the food or service. I usually choose a cruise for the ports as number one criteria.
We did this cruise with Windstar a few years back. Previously we had visited Costa Rica 5 times, adore the country and people. My sister and friends proposed that we take the cruise we love the Windstar so much we said ok but did not have expectations. IT WAS THE BEST! It is a wonderful way to see this great country. We adore Manual rv travel in mexico Antiono, the Golfito and the beaches were extraordinary, I, alone, in our group took the side trip to Grenada which was fascinating. Since we had been to CR previously we had done a lot of the nature activities the cruising for us and the swimming was what we loved. I have been on 13 cruises with WS loved everyone rv travel in mexico but Costa Rica was very special. I have also been interested in the Star Clipper ships but I hsve heard tht the rooms tend to be smaller, rv travel in mexico deck life less comfortable and the food not as good. We have never been able to make the jump to another company, we have so enjoyed the Windstar product so much. Not knowing your budget to save $1000 between the two of you I would take the Windstar rv travel in mexico hands down. if you go have a great time in a wonderful country. Susanne
We did the old one, Puerto rv travel in mexico Caldera and back. Loved the parks. Only low was the first stop in Nicaragua. We also did the eastbound repositioning from Puerto rv travel in mexico Caldera to Bridgetown. Loved that as well. The canal transit was special...we were next to a huge Princess ship and were on lounges getting spritzed and given cool towels. We have also visited the Kuna Indians on several of the San Blas islands and really enjoyed the visits during a transit on a Princess ship. FWIW, Jack
We did the Windstar cruise in 2009..had a great time..was only dissapointed in the snorkel tour we took. ( We are spoiled since snorkeling in Tahiti ) Hiked up to the hotel in Nicaragua rv travel in mexico with the infinity pools great view..had a relaxing time with fellow passangers....only had to buy a drink to enjoy their facilities...Some passangers did the volcano tour....we skipped it ...seen enough volcano on Maui ...The 4 hour tour to Manuel Antonio Park was great. If all you want is to visit the ports save the extra $1000...For us it would be worth it for the accomodations, great food service. We also saved a few $ by booking the same hotel as windstar independently...but the cost of the transfer was worth it as it was around a 3 hour trip to the port.
We did this itinerary also, in 2010 I think. First time to Costa Rica, and we loved it. We skipped Granada in favor of an independent horseback ride, and then visited the same hotel, rv travel in mexico I believe, as Honumaui. Ate lunch and had an infiniti pool all to ourselves for the afternoon. I agree that snorkeling in the Pacific is not the best, having been to Tahiti and the Virgin Islands. Divers in our group had more luck, better visibility.
We sailed Windstar Costa Rica twice, but not since new ownership, so I don't know if itinerary is the same. As others said, we loved our itinerary, but we didn't get to Nicaragua due to bad weather and very high winds when we sailed in January 2010. On our cruises, no one snorkled because the Pacific waters aren't rv travel in mexico conducive to seeing much: too much churn. The sports platform rv travel in mexico was never used. Favorite shore trips among our fellow passengers included riding horseback on the beach, the jungle zipline tour and the mangroves boat ride.
In addition to loving the itinerary, we LOVED Costa Rica. So lush and beautiful rv travel in mexico along the coasts, such happy friendly people. I would suggest going early and/or staying after your cruise and taking the opportunity to play and tour. We loved the butterfly farm and the coffee plantation tours, especially.
We have done the old itinerary 4 times and last year did the Canal itinerary. The old itinerary is far better. Other than the canal, I was not impressed with any of the stops on the new Costa Rica/Canal itinerary.
We have never done the Panama canal itinerary but did the old itinerary in March 2009 on the Windstar. We loved this itinerary and enjoyed all the port stops. This is not the itinerary for snorkelling however - we optimistically took our equipment but never used it. We were able to use the water sports platform a couple of times and there was also enough wind to really sail! I pre-booked some private excursions and we also did a couple with the ship. The beach at Manuel Antonio was stunningly beautiful. We saw lots of animals and birds on our visit to the park. We spent time pre-cruise around Arenal (the volcano area) and did some hiking in the rainforest. Post cruise we spent on a beach just north of Tamarindo. We flew into San Jose and out of Liberia. It's an itinerary we would do again!
Star Flyer of Star Clippers does a very similar itinerary 4 times in Jan. 2014 for far less money than Windstar, $500 less per person. rv travel in mexico I'm thinking about this cruise too and may switch the booking. I've sailed Star Clipper once, in Thailand, and I enjoyed it but wasn't impressed with the food or service. I usually choose a cruise for the ports as number one criteria.
My husband and I loved the ship (the Star Clipper, which has a twin: Star Flyer), loved the food, and found the cabin to be very nice. Because Star Clipper line is based out of Europe, passengers tend to be much more varied: rv travel in mexico lots of Europeans, as well as from NZ, Australia and Canada. We found that to be a lot of fun. Star Clipper is a bit more casual than Windstar and more like a working sailing ship (uses her sails more than what we found on our Windstar cruises).
But I must note that it's been a while since I sailed either Star Clipper or Windstar (and not on Windstar since new ownership). In 2010, we discovered small windjammer-style tall ships that always use their sails and carry far fewer passengers and we fell in love with them. Not to say we won't sail either Windstar or Star Clipper again. Because we enjoyed them both. But I'm sorry to hear Windstar isn't doing the CR itinerary we so enjoyed.
We love Windstar and we're hoping to do the old CR itin this December. However, since it has been replaced with a new itin that is mainly Canal oriented, we sadly had to find another option. We have opted for SeaDream and hope it will be as enjoyable as our cruises have been with Windstar. In terms of the new ownership, I have nothing but praise for them and think they have only improved the ships and product.
#1 Grk Isles Jupiter;#2 E.Carib rv travel in mexico Rotterdam;#3 St. Lawr. Rv Stephan Batory;#4 W.Carib Song of Norway;#5 E.Carib Paquet Rhapsody;#6 PanCanal rv travel in mexico Royal Princess;#7 E.Carib Norway;#8 E.Carib Homeric;#9 S.Carib Rotterdam;#10 Hawaii Independence;#11 S.Carib RV Star;#12 Bermuda Horizon;#13 S.Carib Song of Norway;#14 Bahamas WindSpirit;#15 E.Carib Regal Princess;#16 S.Carib Cunard Countess;#17 E.Carib Amer. Advent.;#18 NewEng. SB Pride;#19 Mex Riv. CCL Holiday;#20 S.Carib Silver Wind;#21 W.Carib Sun Princess;#22 E.Carib Westerdam;#23 Alaska Crystal Symphony;#24 Italy Star Clipper;#25 S.Carib Norw. Sea;#26 Burgundy Cnl Lafayette;#27 Polynesia SS Paul Gauguin;#28 W.Carib Enchant. Capri;#29 Grk Iles WindStar;#30 S.Carib Crown Dynasty;#31 Malaga - Soton Caronia;#32 FL - BA Crystal Harmony;#33 Lisbon - Rome SS Song of Flower;#34 Grenadines Star Clipper;#35 Venice - Barcelona SS Mariner;#36 S.Carib SS Navigator;#37 W.Carib SS Navigator;#38 Alaska Zaandam;#39 W.Carib SS Voyager;#40 E.Carib Carib. Princess;#41 rv travel in mexico Baltic SS Navigator;#42 NewEng rv travel in mexico QM2;#43 Marquesas SS Paul Gauguin;#44 Rome - Venice rv travel in mexico Pac. Princess;#45 Venice - Fla Emer. Princess;#46 Valpo - BA Radiance of Seas;#47 W. Carib Veendam;#48 Grk Isles/Turkey Solstice;#49 NewEng Constellation ;#50 Hawaii - LA Golden Princess;#51 PanCanal Crystal Symphony;#52 Soton - NY QM2;#53 Norway SB Sojourn;#54 BVI WindSpirit;#55 Soton - NY QM2;#56 Singapore - Sydney SS Voyager;#57 Sydney - Auckland SS Voyager;#58 Soton - NY QM2;#59 S.Carib WindSurf;#60 British Isles SB Pride; #61 Costa Rica SeaDream I;
I just looked at the Windstar website and noticed that there are two Costa Rica cruise itineraries. If you click on Destinations rv travel in mexico and then click on Panama Canal, you get CR Panama Canal/Panama Canal Crossing. rv travel in mexico Clicking on CR as a destination gets you CR Panama Canal/Naturally Costa Rica.....and that latter rv travel in mexico one IS the same itinerary we've sailed via Windstar twice, and thoroughly enjoyed.
rv travel in mexico The ship offered a cooking class on shore at a private restaurant in Nicaragua, I would enthusiastically recommend that to everyone. It is run by a local se�orita and helped by her two daughters. Very well worth the 100 dlrs I think it was.
Fishing was great all the way down, nice river cruise to look at local monkeys and gators, lots of opportunity for zip lining, fantastic beach BBQ, I think that was our 5th cruise with Windstar, one evening the wind came up to about 30 knots, you need a lot to move that ship because of her stable hull design. I was on the brid