Considering Windstar

[gskimmel]

Hi,

 

We are considering a Caribbean sailing on the Wind Surf in January 2015. The things that attract us to Windstar is that it is smaller and goes to ports that the large cruise ships cannot go. When we cruise, we rarely participate in the activities. We mainly cruise for relaxation.

 

With this said, I have a few questions that I hope someone can help me with:

 

1 - right now I see promos for 2-for-1 pricing that expire December 31. Is this a marketing trick or will prices truly rise after the 31st?

 

2 - considering the Wind Surf only has 310 passengers, do the sailings fill up fast?

 

3 - we typically book suites on the large ships mainly to have the ship within the ship feel. Considering the fewer number of people on the Wind Surf, I am wondering if we need to book a suite. Does anyone know the added amenities a suite has? So far it seems it is just size. With 310 passengers, I don't need to be concerned with priority boarding, etc.

 

Thanks!

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[VegasCrossfire]

Hi,

 

We are considering a Caribbean sailing on the Wind Surf in January 2015. The things that attract us to Windstar is that it is smaller and goes to ports that the large cruise ships cannot go. When we cruise, we rarely participate in the activities. We mainly cruise for relaxation.

 

With this said, I have a few questions that I hope someone can help me with:

 

1 - right now I see promos for 2-for-1 pricing that expire December 31. Is this a marketing trick or will prices truly rise after the 31st?

 

2 - considering the Wind Surf only has 310 passengers, do the sailings fill up fast?

 

3 - we typically book suites on the large ships mainly to have the ship within the ship feel. Considering the fewer number of people on the Wind Surf, I am wondering if we need to book a suite. Does anyone know the added amenities a suite has? So far it seems it is just size. With 310 passengers, I don't need to be concerned with priority boarding, etc.

 

Thanks!

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Thanks for asking about the pricing. We are just starting to look at Windstar and I wondered the same thing. Maybe we will see you in January 2015!

[acruisefan]

We have been on 2 Windstar cruises, with a 3rd planned for January. The first was on the Windsurf in a suite, the 2nd on the Windspirit, regular room. The 3rd will be on the Windsurf again, regular stateroom. The only advantage of the suite on the Windsurf is the additional space, includin 2 bathrooms. Basically, they took the wall down between 2 staterooms.

 

Was it nice to have the additional space? Yes! Nice enough to pay a lot extra - no, not for us. Tip: When you board, if there are some available suites, they offer them, first come first serve at a discount rate - 2 years ago it was $1000 extra per suite to upgrade, on board. Of course you can't count on this! The regular staterooms are small but very well laid out. All of our stuff was easily stored, including suitcases under the bed.

 

As far as sales go, they seem to be frequent and each time I have grabbed a great sale with less than 6 months to go before sailing. If you have a very specific time and route in mind, then you are more limited, of course. Personally, I would not worry about the sales going away this far out, unless it is a particularly popular location, time and perhaps a route that is not offered very often.

 

On our 1st cruise, in March in the Carribbean, there were 266 people on board, even after a big sale. 2nd one, Greece/Turkey, the cruise was sold out, I think (145 or so people). So you never know. I booked that one in August to sail in October, so that is fairly short booking.

 

Hope that helps. As you can tell, we love the Windstar.

[Smooth Sailing]

Hi,

 

We are considering a Caribbean sailing on the Wind Surf in January 2015. The things that attract us to Windstar is that it is smaller and goes to ports that the large cruise ships cannot go. When we cruise, we rarely participate in the activities. We mainly cruise for relaxation.

 

With this said, I have a few questions that I hope someone can help me with:

 

1 - right now I see promos for 2-for-1 pricing that expire December 31. Is this a marketing trick or will prices truly rise after the 31st?

 

2 - considering the Wind Surf only has 310 passengers, do the sailings fill up fast?

 

3 - we typically book suites on the large ships mainly to have the ship within the ship feel. Considering the fewer number of people on the Wind Surf, I am wondering if we need to book a suite. Does anyone know the added amenities a suite has? So far it seems it is just size. With 310 passengers, I don't need to be concerned with priority boarding, etc.

 

Thanks!

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I don't believe the prices will go up after the 31st - the 2 for 1 sale will last all year and the prices are more likely to go down than up.

The sailings do not fill up fast - they still have openings for Jan.2014 in all categories and at the lowest prices I have seen all year.

We are also looking at Jan. 2015 - no extras with the suites - just twice the size - depends on what you want to pay for.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Smooth Sailing

[2LoveToTravel]

You can see that we love Windstar! We will be on the Surf Jan 18. All of the rooms are the same...adequate in size with the suites , as stated, 2 staterooms with a large opening between them and one side has a spacious sitting area, and of course a second bath. We have waited until boarding, and acquired a suite for $1000 extra. But you can't depend on that, so if you really want the suite, suggest you book it. Either way, Windstar is the way to go in the Caribbean. No large ships in these ports. You truly feel like you are on a private yacht. We take the Yachtsman Caribbean each year because we love the eastern Caribbean and for R&R! Enjoy!

[gskimmel]

I have a feeling that we are going to like Windstar, too. However, we will need to wait until December 2015 or January 2016 for our first sailing with them. We previously booked another cruise for January 2015 and we want to try that first as we will most likely book Windstar every year after that sailing.