How do you compare Windstar to larger lines

[stanjj111]

I saw a brouchure for Windstar and was interested in doing a Europe trip this Sept-Oct. Not knowing anything about this type of cruise compared to HAL, X, ands Princess to the Carib just wondering how you would compare Windstar to a larger line in the Med. Thanks for the input.

[new_cruiser]

I haven't yet been on a cruise in Europe, but I can give you information comparing a Caribbean cruise on a big ship, Celebrity Constellation, and a small ship, Wind Surf. Wind Surf is the largest of the Windstar ships with a passenger capacity of a bit over 300. The other two carry about half that many. We will be taking a cruise on Wind Star in Europe in a bit under a month.

 

From my experience so far, I greatly prefer cruising on a small ship and will probably continue to do mainly that.

 

Some of the differences are due to small ship versus a large ship, though with Windstar and the lines you mention, you are also moving from mass market lines to a luxury line which also leads to some differences.

 

The upsides: Service on Windstar is great even compared to Celebrity which has about the best passenger to crew ratio of the mass market lines. Windstar has a better passenger crew ratio. With the small number of passengers, the crew gets to know you and your preferences quickly though there isn't any fixed seating at dinner. The waiters seemed much less stressed than on Celeb. Almost everyone eats at the same time so they don't have to go through two dinner seatings.

 

Once you are on board and get to know a few people, you are always seeing them so you always have friends to talk to. In port, we were always running into people we knew from the ship so it was simple to arrange to share a taxi tour on the spur of the moment. I'm told that this is even more so on the two smaller ships.

 

There seemed to be more public space per passenger. Lots of deck space with many lounges. No chair hogging. The passengers were relaxed and didn't seem to have the space protecting behaviors one sometimes ran into on Celeb. No chair hogging. Even when space was more premium such as the chairs outside in the shade at Compass Rose at tea time, "May I sit here?" always got a gracious yes. It feels like you are with a bunch of friends rather than strangers.

 

You can go into smaller ports than the bigger ships which leads to some more interesting, less mass tourist itineraries. The tenders were big enough that we always got onto the next tender.

 

There are a couple of food differences that are important to me. The specialty coffees (lattes and mochas) are included so you aren't signing chits all the time. The orange juice is fresh squeezed. The food quality is very high in general. At dinner, there was one downside though - they don't have as many items on the menu each night. Over the course of the cruise they did have a lot of variety. When my roommate didn't find anything that fit her needs one evening, it was no problem to get a variation of something whipped up for her. They do post the menu for the main restraunt and the Bistro in the morning so you can expand your choices by choosing between the two.

 

If you do go, don't miss the treats they whip up for tea time.

 

The downsides: With at most 600 passengers on Windstar ships at any given time and a good repeat customer base, there is a much smaller pool of posters on this Windstar board (and similarly for the other small ship lines). One is lucky to find one other set of passengers on your roll call. :eek:

 

While the staterooms on Windstar are all of a nice size, well furnished, including flat screen TVs and DVD/CD players and you can get double the space with a suite, none of them have balconies and they have portholes rather than expansive windows.

 

Entertainment: There was a small group playing in the main lounge and a duo in the Compass Rose bar. One night there was a crew show. Other than that, you are on your own for evening entertainment. There is a small casino, but it wasn't much used. On the other hand, the other clients were very friendly and we had great conversations. Most of the cruises are very port intensive and they tend to spend a fairly full day in the ports. I didn't miss the shows but if they are an important part of the cruise to you, this probably isn't your ship.

 

These ships are not suitable for the handicapped. The two smaller ships don't have elevators and, though Windsurf has a couple of elevators, one has to use stairs to get on and off the ship, there is a step up into the bathroom, etc.

[stanjj111]

Very thoughtful and informative. Thank you.

[realproperty]

couples only, no kids. kids are out of place on Windstar, not enough of them and activities that do not cater to kids. Windstar is upscale, no silly formal nights, but very classy. Most passengers are physically fit and active and given the cost and the itineraries, reasonably well heeled. Hey, it is a cruise for yuppies and "not so young anymore" yuppies. And we are going to cruise Windstar again one of these years. Our most memorable cruise was Istanbul to Athens on Windstar--it was just awesome.

[rickcohen2]

I agree with the statement that Windstar cruises are port intensive and there is little "nightlife".

 

On Windstar cruises, after dinner we tend to layout under the stars-n-sails, drinks in hand, and just relax. My DW is not a nightowl, but I am. So after tucking her in, I head to a bar, the little casino or my favorite, the bridge. Sometimes all three.

 

Even on the large ships (we've been on a few, see below), the entertainers and movie theaters aren't much of a selling point for us. We've never heard a shipboard entertainer that we'd buy concert tickets to see, and some have been so bad (as in not being able to stay on key), we don't even bother. We do like and watch crew shows. And as for movies, we can do that in the privacy/comfort of our cabin.

 

On the large ships (1200-2200 pax), we sometimes feel herded and rushed to do things. There's so many shipboard activities available, it's difficult to come back aboard after a shore excusion and just unwind. After the vacation (although we've had a great time, always) we don't always feel relaxed, recharged and ready to go back to work. After a Windstar vacation... well, two outta three ain't bad.

 

We also like to eat. Doesn't matter what line we are on, we eat a lot. Of the few lines we've sailed, HAL and Windstar satisfied our gastronomical desires the best, and equally well. We love their food. Even if nothing jumps off the menu a particular night, there was always something delicious to try. :p

 

I'm not sure the staff's (cabin steward, wait staff and bar staff) proficiency is a large-ship vrs small-ship issue. It does seem to be a cruise-line issue, however. Windstar (small ships) and HAL (larger ships) do it right, for us. We've never felt disappopinted or wanting for better service on either of these lines. The same cannot be said of other lines. :(

 

Of course, experiences vary. A relaxing cruise for some may be boring for others. Not everybody's taste buds respond the same to the same meal. And, an interesting port of call for some may be seen as missing a buffet to others.

 

All I can say is, Windstar works for us... those other people are nuts. ;)

[Mr Miserable]

Oooops! A duplicate post - sorry

[pixiegirl]

I just want to correct what one previous poster said, Windstar does allow kids, granted there are not many of them and they do have a policy that they must be over a certain age (like 18 or 24 months) but they welcomed us.

 

I travel and cruise extensively with my 13 year old daughter. Last year we took a 10 day cruise on the WindSurf and not only did my daughter love this ship far better then any of the big "fun" ships we've been on but everyone loved her. Now granted because of our travel experiences and my wonderful mothering skills (LOL) she has wonderful manners. (well on vacations, at least).

 

The ship does have a pool, games, DVD's for kids, the water sports, and everyone went out of their way for us. Everyone knew her name after about 2 hours (being only 1 of 2 kids onboard) and when the crew heard she loves hot chocolate and popcorn it was delivered to our cabin every single evening. They would spend time talking to us about what she enjoyed doing and at every port would suggest place for us to go that she could enjoy.

 

We had other passengers requesting to eat with us because they heard so much about her conversational abilities! (I better brush up on mine!) So everyone welcomed us and not one crew member or passenger had the slightest problem with her being onboard.

 

So I didn't want anyone to pass up a cruise on this cruise line because they might have kids. Its definately not a boat for yelling, running and screaming, but at 13 my daughter is way beyond that.

 

Susan

[sandbag7]

I've been on about 14 cruises on 8 cruise lines with ships ranging from 170 to 2200 passengers (I stay away from the really big ones). I was on the Wind Spirit this March in the Carribean, and it is by far the most beautifully designed ship I've been on. At night you could go to the front of the ship and watch the stars against the white sails, in darkness and quiet; it was awesome; You could also converse with the officer on deck, review charts and interact on a more relaxed level than with the bigger ships, both with the officers and the crew in general (but especially the officers). That being said, I've immensely enjoyed some of the middle size ships I've been on, and have met people on every cruise regardless of size. The advantage of a small ship can also be a disadvantage if you continually see some lout you have reasonably (or unreasonably) taken a dislike to; in general, as people have a tendancy to the positive, the small ship experience is more friendly.

The cabins on the smaller Windstar ships are all basically the same, on two decks, doing away with the class system operating on most ships. You also have open dining and no costume parties (i.e., no "dress up"), a custom I feel is a throwback to a time when cruising was reserved for the rich.

While Windstar has been evaluated against Seabourne and Raddisson, it is more comparable to Sea Dream. The dollar value compare to any of them is terrific.

As drawbacks to some people, I would say the food was good but not great and you pretty much must make your own entertainment; most did not find that a problem.

[fendbass]

We did the Windstar to Tahiti last November. First, make sure that you are in at least decent shape, there are no elevators. There are 23 steps down to the docking/tendering level, which doesn't sound like much unless you are lugging snorkeling gear, cameras, purchases, etc. By the end of the cruise, I was really getting tired of stairs.

 

The food was excellent, and there are no set seating assignments, so you have the opportunity to be meeting new people all the time

 

Don't be deceived by the term 'pool', it is only about 8 feet long, along with a small hot tub. There is a nice swim platform off the back of the ship, but we never took advantage of it.

 

To sum up, I'm glad we did the Windstar, but, I probably wouldn't do it again.