We were tired of staying home and have always loved Windstar. Although we were somewhat put off by the COVID restrictions imposed by CDC and other governmental authorities, foreign and domestic, on the cruise lines, we decided to give it a try. It was probably the best cruise we have ever taken (and that is a lot of cruises). We boarded after a mandatory COVID test and stayed in our cabin until the negative results came back. After about a half hour, the captain personally called us to apologize that the results were a bit slow. We were busy guzzling champagne and chocolate strawberries and hadn't noticed. We were called again a short while later telling us we were COVID-negative and could wander around the ship.

The masking of passengers and crew and mingling with other passengers were not so strictly enforced to make them a burden. Windstar seems to have found a happy medium between safety and enjoyment. There were just 57 guests on the first leg (Caldera to Colon) and I think 56 on the second leg (Colon to Barbados). Wind Star holds 148 passengers when full. We probably met all of them and had dinner or drinks with most of them over the 18 days on board. A very pleasant social atmosphere.

We had mandatory COVID tests a couple of times as required by various port authorities. Only in Grenada were there "bubble tour" restrictions and as fate would have it, the winds resulted in cancellation of that port call. Been there and was not planning to go ashore anyway. We often stay on board in the Caribbean...been there, done that and don't need more tee shirts. There was not a single COVID case among passengers or crew during our stay. The only noticeable differences were that the open-bridge policy was suspended and there were no special dinners with the captain or crew. I'm sure those will be restored after the hysteria settles down a bit more. Read more