twoboys

I really love this virtual community! Thank you. Also, Indian is my favorite food so if there is some Indian flavored options (even on a cruise through Italy) I will be thrilled! We both love breakfast and it seems like there are lots of options. This is our longest cruise so I imagine at some point it will all seem repetitive. I have never found lunch on any cruise to be a highlight, so thats fine

thank you both for taking the time to respond. I feel much better about our upcoming cruise. Like life perspective is the key. And FYI, when we were on Seabourn we met lovely people, we never heard any complaints, the staff was top notch, the towels were actually quite fluffy and they had an incredible attention to detail. It was the "fanciest" cruise we have ever taken, but it was not stuffy or snobby. Maybe we got lucky, I dont know. But I would suggest you give it a try

I know I should stop reading reviews (especially from first time posters) since I am booked and leaving in September. But the last two reviews of the Star Breeze are really, really awful! I think they are from the same voyage so I am hoping it is more of a blip. But as a newbie to Windstar, I am starting to think I should have stuck with Seabourn. On a positive note, I have met some very nice people on this site who we will be touring with, so that is wonderful. But....oy!

Thats great! Thank you for the info

MJC, thank you for the photos. I am only 5'3" so I will be fine :) My husband is 6' so I will warn him . I know we will be walking alot on our excursions, but we both love to work out. The smallest ship were were on previously had 450 passengers which was great. They had a small gym by big ship standards. but it was perfect, never waited for a machine. I also did Pilates twice during the week which was nice. We have never been on a 10 day cruise. So that combined iwth the small size is making me a little nervous in general. Hopefully the weather and waters in September in Italy will cooperate.

Thanks for the info. We are taking the Star Breeze in September. Its our first Windstar. We have been on one of the larger Seabourn ships and it was fabulous. Did you happen to use the gym at all? That is my one concern..although now you did make me a little nervous about our cabin. I forgot the number but it is BS1

We will be on the Star breeze in September. I have read thousands of reviews of private tours and I have contacted several companies, and it has left me further confused. I also responded to a post on our not so active Roll Call. We were going back and forth between doing Pompeii, Vesuvius and Herculaneum instead. But we wanted to see Positano and have a lovely lunch. The prices range from $270E to $600E for the 2 of us depending on what is included. So its an expensive venture. If anyone has a glowing recommendation for a company (that I have probably already emailed :), or is on that cruise and is not in the Roll Call and wants to share an all inclusive (kind of expensive) excursion, please let me know. Thank you.

PS I am a top contributor to Trip Advisor, so I have been researching there as well

I have walked all over Europe (and US) in Bernie Mevs and Birkenstocks. I also have a very light pair of walking shoes/sneakers from Easy Spirit that I bring to work out in or if we are on particularly rocky terrain. I dont love how they look as much as the Mevs, but they are sturdier for more of a hike than a stroll

We are booked on the September 12th sailing. We picked it specifically because we have never visited any of the ports (except for Rome). It looks like there are so many interesting things to see and do. we are pouring through both the excursions offered by Windstar as well as through independent operators to try to find active options. Should be a great trip

We are staying 3 days pre-cruise. Two of them are through Windstar. They calculate the VALUE of the hotel nights at $750 each but if you decline the difference in price was only $200. So we took the 2 nights from them and booked the 3rd on our own for about $400. They definitely have a couple of choices. I did not book directly through them but with a cruise specialist. But I did call Windstar directly to ask about hotel options.

We will not be on the cruise until September. But after reading negative reviews of that hotel I asked what others they had. We will be staying at the Grand Hotel de la Minerve. It is not necessarily what I woudl have chosen on my own because I prefer smaller more boutique hotels. But the location looks great for a short stay and it includes breakfast which is nice

How is the gym on board? We have been on a larger Seabourn ship. But we are a bit concerned about the gym on the Breeze

Glad to hear that you enjoyed it. Im looking forward to your review. We are booked on our first WS on the Star Breeze in September

Thank you,LTC Dan. We are actually going Sept 2016...join us :) We booked it far in advance so I could stop constantly comparing different ships, itineraries etc and so we could book airfare with points

we are doing the Sicilian Splendors on the Star Breeze

After months of reading everything I could on this site and posting questions and doing searches, we finally put down a deposit. The best cruise I have ever taken was Seabourn I know that this will be a bit different. But it will be nice to see parts of Italy and Malta that we have never seen, be on an even smaller ship and be totally casual. It may not have the level of "luxury" of our Seabourn cruise on the Quest, but I think it will be a wonderful and romantic way to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Thanks to all who answered my questions. I will, of course, be continuing to read this forum and the reviews...so keep 'em coming.

I woudl appreciate any tips you want to share about the excursions, the gym, the food and WS itself

Thank you. I did check. The 2 nights "included" are at a significant discount. So if we take them out it only changes the overall cost of the cruise by about $300. But the third night, is much higher. So I think we will do that on our own. But I may also look at VRBO or Home Away to see about renting an apartment

thank you so much. I am leaning in that direction

We are getting ready to book the Sicilian Splendors in September. Windstar has a pretty good deal for a 2 night pre-cuise stay. There are two choices Ambasciatori Palace or Grand Hotel de la Minerva. Any thoughts or experiences that anyone can share will be very much appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and experience. We are just about ready to book it

We are considering our first Windstar cruise for our 25th anniversary on September. Our all time favorite cruise experience was the Seabourn Quest which we are on the 2nd week it was in service. The food, the cabin, the staff were all top notch. We loved that after spending 3 days in Athens we could do our laundry on the ship. We loved that all drinks and gratuities were included. But good friends swear by Windstar. At first glance the Windstar does seem to be much more affordable than Seabourn. We are not HUGE drinkers, but while on vacation, especially one in which we are not driving, we will have a couple of drinks and a bottle of wine with dinner. We are very active and in our early 50s so we loved a good fitness center and active tours. I know things like food are subjective and I know that Windstar is more laid back (which is a good thing), I just wonder if it will be the right cruise for our special occasion and if we will love it as much. I wish there were more reviews of the Star Breeze. any other sites I should check?

Thank you once again for your generosity. Taking the time to post your amazing photos of the food and the menus is greatly appreciated. It has also given me the incentive I need to drastically diet for the next 2 weeks before I leave on the Queen Isabel! This way I can drink Port and eat dessert, guit free on my vacation :)

If Cruise Critic gave awards for the most informative and beautifully photographed posts..you would win the prize! I know I have thanked you already. But the closer our date gets the more I find myself obsessing about minor details. Reading your post and looking at your photos (even though we are on a different ship) has turned my apprehension into excitement.

I have written quite a number of reviews on TripAdvisor. Some of my friends ask why I spend so much time "talking to strangers" and writing the reviews and putting up photos and how I have the time with a full time job and two teenagers. But, this is why. Because if any of my reviews have been an entertaining and helpful to someone before they embark on a journey, then I feel I am paying it forward and its worth it.

So just wanted to let you know...its worth it :)

The room and bathroom really did look small. Our last cruise was a Seabourn and the room was bigger than most hotel rooms in Europe :) I am still waiting for Uniworld to post more photos of the Queen Isabel. But we did book a Jr Suite because I can be claustrophobic is a room without a balcony in general. Thank you for posting the daily activities. That was the first time I have seen this posted on CC and it was really helpful for me to get a sense of the day.

Im very appreciative of all the time you are taking to do this.

We leave on the Queen Isabel on June 26th. I cannot thank you enough for writing such a detailed post..and the photos!! This will be our first River Cruise. Despite reading these boards almost every day for the past 7 months, I still feel like there is more I want to know. I also do a ton of research (for others as well). I enjoy the research, I love reading reviews and posts from fellow travel lovers. But I am also getting a little nervous about aspects of this vacation. But reading your spot this morning has been not only enlightening but almost "calming". It also validates my belief that boards like this one and TripAdvisor are so crucial. Anyone can look at a glossy brochure from the company. But it is invaluable when someone shares their personal experience. Of course the trick is always to try and decipher the subjective from the the objective and to understand that we come from different places, have different perspectives, different priorities and different expectations. But if you read enough of these...the "truth" emerges.

Looking forward tot he menus!