We are planning a cruise for Sept.2007, to the Mediterranean.The Winstar in 7 nights Athans to Istanbul,Celebrity 11 nights Rome to Rome.The per night dollar amount is about the same for either line. Is there an advantage of one line vs the other?
Thank you- Bruce [email protected]

Bruce, last summer we were on the 11 night Celebrity cruise and it was great. This summer we are cruising for the first time on Windstar from Barcelona to Rome.

The lines are very different. Celebrity is a traditional cruise line with large ships (2-3,000 people), specific seatings for meals, plus the traditional nightly Las Vegas type shows. Also, there are formal nights, informal night(jackets), and casual dining nights.

Windstar, on the other hand, is a line of motorized sail ships that carry from 150-300 passengers. No dinner seatings, you eat when and with whom you wish. Food is billed as being upscale. Very casual also, no jackets, etc. Limited night life, small casino and no Vegas type reviews. Very service orientated, our ship this summer has 300 passengers, and a crew of 180.

Simply put, the advantage of one over the other is what type of cruise you are looking to do. We loved our Celebrity cruise, and look forward to the Windstar experience this summer.

Good luck-Glenn

Bruce,
As Rogfam suggested, this is a comparison of "apples & oranges", not only the ships but the length of the cruise as well. Perhaps you and your traveling companion should sit down and decide what you want from that cruise and then decide which fits closest to what you want. They are such different experiences. We have sailed all of the Windstar ships and loved them and the fact that they travel into small harbors and don't have all that "entertainment" stuff. On the other hand, we have also sailed on Princess and Oceania and love them for what they offer. Good luck on your choice.

We did Windstar from Rome to Athens last September and loved it. It was perfect for us. We liked the small size- no waiting to get on and off and there was no herd feel. Also, they docked right up to shore- no tenders. The port excursions that we took were very good, or we just wandered around ourselves. We liked to be very active during the day, have a nice dinner, then hit the bed with a good book. If you like a lot of night life, it might be boring for you.

We cruised on the Windstar from Athens to Barcelona (back to back cruises) last October and loved it. That was our first long term cruise. We really liked the intimacy of the smaller boat, the sailing aspect, and the lack of waiting in line for anything. The crew knew your names from the first day. The food was excellent in our opinion. There was plenty to keep us occupied, and we enjoyed dining late and retiring to our cabin to watch a DVD, or have an after dinner drink on the deck before turning in. Most excursions required that you be up bright and early, and we wanted to get a reasonable amount of sleep, so were not looking for late night entertainment. They did have a music duo playing in the lounge after dinner, and a small casino on board.

I think the nice thing about this cruise line was the personal service, great value for the money, the fact that we weren't part of a group of thousands.

We are cruising the Alaska inside passage this fall, on Holland America which I've been told is excellent as well. If Windstar had done Alaska, I'd be on it in a heartbeat. While the Holland ship has a lot more "amenities," I don't really like crowd scenes and am wondering how we will like that cruise. I think Windstar set such a high standard that I might be disappointed.

And did I mention how well I slept on the Windstar. I took an anti-motion pill (they have them free on board for the taking) once a day and had no motion sickness. The gentle rocking of the ship made me sleep like a baby.