MLCS

what do you all think about Windstar cruises?

Merriem

We did Windstar when they were in Tahiti a few years ago. I believe they are back there now. We were not impressed with the attitude of the staff. The open seating was nice, but for the cost it was overpriced. I liked the concept of sailing, and we did have a nice time, but we were on the Windstar, and they were not terribly helpful at all. E-mail me if you want more details.

Polecat

We are about to go on our 4th Windstar cruise. Of the 15 cruises we have been on they are our favorite. The crew has always been great, the food is great, the itineraries are great, and we love to be under sail. Windstar is not for everybody however. If you need to be entertained you should look at one of the Carnival clones. If you enjoy meeting other well traveled people, quiet time to yourself, or adventure on a small ship with 144 passengers rather 2000 passengers being herded around, Windstar may be for you. It really depends on what you are looking for. Windstar can be very romantic for newlyweds or people celebrating their 30th anniversary (like we are). Like anything, the experience is more dependent on your attitude then on anything selse.

David

I would have to agree with Polecat. We have done two cruises on the Windsurf. On both we found the staff to be most accomodating. The food was very good and we loved the open seating policy. We also thought it was nice not to have a wear a jacket or tie to dinner. Not much entertainment but nice people to talk to. Cabins were extremly comfortable. Loved the trip from Venice to Rome; the Caribbean was okay (but we are not into beaches). Friends just came back from Barcelona-Lisbon trip and they thought it was great.

Alexandra

Hi Lisa,<BR>I just returned from 2 back to back cruises on the Wind Surf, and I have also cruised on RCCL in the Southern <BR>Caribbean itinerary.<BR><BR>During our trip I met several people that had travelled on the smaller windstar vessels, and they all said that<BR>the service was even better in the smaller ships.<BR>I have only tried the Wind Surf and I liked better the WidSurf than my previous cruise on RCCL.<BR><BR>The food was better than RCCL, but not exceptional. The Bistro (alternative restaurant) was a bit better than the regular restaurant, but not that much.<BR>The dinner selection at the regular restaurant was: 2 appetizers, 2 soups, 4 entrees, and 4 - 5 dessert <BR>options, plus a Sail light Menu and a vegetarian main dish. Their vegetarian menu definitely needs some work one of the veggie main dishes was steamed carrots and mushrooms, another one was roasted eggplant slices<BR>with mozarrela cheese on a bed of greens (not very exciting)!<BR><BR>We had lobster 4 times during the week and King crab twice (if you like seafood, this is great!).<BR><BR>Everybody gets complimentary Terry cloth Robes to use during the trip, and a basket of Fresh fruit in your cabin. <BR><BR>The rooms may need a bit of updating (they were OK, but I think that my expectations were high after reading <BR>all the raves in this forum).<BR><BR>You can arrive at the restaurant for dinner anytime between 7:30 PM and 9:30, and you can choose to dine alone <BR>or with other people. This is great flexibility because it allows you to plan your schedule, specially if the <BR>boat is in the port longer hours, and you can dine with people that you meet during the cruise.<BR><BR>There are no long lines for breakfast or lunch, and it was always possible for us to get a table in the outside <BR>deck during breakfast or lunch.<BR><BR>The crew was very nice, and some of them remembered our names and our dining preferences: For example, we like <BR><BR>fresh ground pepper, and capuccino instead of regular coffe for breakfast and mint tea after dinner. So these <BR><BR>crew memebers will remeber these preferences.<BR><BR>The provided us for Free shuttle transfer to the downtown area, when the boat was docked far from it.In RCCL, <BR>you are on your own, and have to pay for what usually is an expensive taxi ride to the town.<BR>During the Captain's cocktail, they had free champagne, in RCCl you had to buy your own drink.<BR>The waiters at the bar were not peddling drinks, I was able to sit at the Open air bar in the back of the ship<BR>and not have them try to sell me drinks just because I was sitting there.<BR>I enjoyed having drinks and watching the ship move away from the Ports from the outdoor bar at the back of the <BR>boat. You can find a table or chairs fairly easily as there is less people, in RCCL, you had to arrive very <BR>early to find a chair in the outdoor deck. If the weather is nice, it is a wonderful experience to sit outside <BR>and watch the stars.<BR><BR>Complimentary aerobics, Yoga, Abs and Kick boxing classes (I was told by another passenger that she had to pay <BR>10 USD for a Yoga class in RCL).<BR><BR>Complimenatry capuccinos and iced tea troughout the day (my husband really enjoyed this!)<BR><BR>The sports platform was good too, although in the Lisbon to Barcelona itinerary we could only use it once, and in the Barcelona to Nice, it was only possible to use it 3 times, and the schedule was very short(the sports <BR><BR>platform was only open from 1 to 4 pm).<BR><BR>I also like the quiet atmosphere and the lack of entertainment. It was very nice to be on the deck and just <BR><BR>watch the stars or have a conversation. <BR><BR>I definitely preferred the Windstar that the larger cruise.<BR><BR>Alexandra