Review on Breeze

---Our Cruise----

Our cruise was Classic Italy and Dalmatian Coast on Star Breeze. The itinerary was Venice – Rovinj – Split – Dubrovnik – Kotor – Messina – Capri – Rome. Overall, the biggest pro were the ports and the biggest con was the service.

---Type of Traveler----

We understand that every traveler is different with varying expectations. So first I will give you a quick intro to the type of travelers we are. I am 35 years old female and my husband is 49 years old. Typically we take cruises that are 7 to 10 days and prefer only 1 day at sea. We are active travelers and usually do things on our own in the ports. In the evenings, we like some type of entertainment and some mingling with other cruisers. On the days at sea, we prefer a good mix of pool/reading time with some onboard entertainment.

We have taken a handful of cruises with different lines. We have done NCL, Celebrity, Crystal and now Wind Star.

---Check-In and Our Suite---

The check-in process was very quick. They had you complete a simple inquiry while sipping a complimentary Mimosa. They provided you with the keycard and some information on the ship.

We were on Deck 4 and our room had a large window. Typically we get a balcony but they were sold out when we booked. For those that are not familiar with the ship, the balconies are not traditional. You basically just have a sliding door…there is no sitting area. Regardless, the window is very large, so we were ok with it. They updated the carpet, furniture (Chairs/Sofa) and bedding which were really nice. The “cabinetry” is dated. It is pink/white-washed wood. It is not pretty but it is just “cabinetry.” The closet and the bathroom are large. The cabin was kept VERY clean. Our room steward did a GREAT job!

WARNING PET PEEVE AHEAD. Like every other cruise, everyday they provide you with a newsletter which includes a summary of the upcoming port and daily schedule. I found that there were many errors in the newsletter i.e. typos, incorrect port info, etc. Every newsletter had an error. The errors were obvious, for example, they said we would be heading to Capri next although we were going to Messina. Although this did not cause any issues, it was simply sloppy. They definitely need a better editor.

What we did not like was that the rooms are set-up to have 2-in-1 rooms (not sure of the correct term). They are set-up for families. The problem is that you hear the door slam EVERY time the neighbors comes in/out. Our neighbor was out in the morning REALLY early and it woke us every time. We have never had an issue with this before in other cruises.

---Breakfast---

You had a choice of either room service, the Veranda, or Yacht Club (mostly pastries with cereal and coffee). We always had breakfast in the Veranda. The area was really nice. It had an outside, inside and also their newly renovated area. We usually sat outside. You could have the buffet or order off their menu. Their menu items were omelet, Benedict, French toast, or pancake everyday but they each had a different twist each day. The buffet had a hot side, cereals, yogurt, fruit, pastries, cheese, deli meat. The food was good.

The service was mediocre. You will notice that service is my biggest complaint. I ordered off the menu once and my husband ordered 2/3 times. Each time, we had to ask the waiter to check on the order. When they checked on it, they quickly returned with the order. Which to me means that the order was sitting there. Also, it would take them a while to get us our drinks or clear the plates. I am not sure why this was an issue. They did not seem to be short staffed. They are just not efficient. When speaking with other passengers, they also said that service at breakfast was slow.

---Lunch---

We had lunch on the ship 3 times. Each time we ate at the Veranda and the food was good.

---Dinner---

We ate at Candles one night, room service one night and the rest at Amphora. At Candles, the service and food were good. When we were in Dubrovnik they had the special BBQ. Since we were in port until 10 pm, we decided to stay in the port instead. That evening we ordered room service. The service was quick…maybe 20 minutes. My steak sandwich was not great but my husband’s burger was good.

Amphora was where we had most of our dinners. The food was average. There were 2 nights that they offered a special dish. The 2 specials dishes were really good….one was curry and the other was a local fish. The biggest issue we had was service. All servers were very nice but everything was incredibly slow! The first couple of nights the servers took a while to take our order. The 3rd night was the WORST! After 20 minutes, we had to ask who our server was! We would go to dinner early so there was never a rush at that time. MAYBE he had 3 tables at that time. After taking our order (without introducing himself or making recommendations), he messed up my husband’s entrée. Needless to say, we did point it out to the manager. The next few nights service was better but still average. The last night, the order was taken in a timely fashion but it took our entrée 15 minutes from the time we finished our salads to get to the table. There was no flow.

On the pool deck, we were NEVER asked if we wanted a beverage. We had to flag someone down or get it ourselves.

In the past, we never had bad service, even on the larger ships. Service was good on NCL, great on Celebrity and absolutely excellent on Crystal. In fact, we sent letters to both Celebrity and Crystal complimenting their service and attention to detail. We are simply surprised that service is our biggest complaint for Windstar. On a ship with 200 passengers and 150 crew members…I don’t think it should be an issue. It was disappointing to say the least.

---Sporting Deck---

Unfortunately, it was never available. Also, disappointing.

---On-Board Entertainment---

They had 2 Duos playing at the 2 different bars. We did not enjoy the entertainment. Overall, we thought the entertainment was lacking and not many passengers at the different bars. I did enjoy the galley tour and the cooking demonstration during the day at sea.

The sail away and raising the flag was a bit cheesy. Again, we thought it was sloppy that one of the speakers was not working properly. When you are known for your sail-away....make sure

---Conclusion----

We are not going to say that we will never cruise Windstar again because we like their destinations and believe in second chances. We will definitely, however, look to other options first. Again, it is just extremely disappointing that we received such a low level of service on a highly praised cruise line.

Thank you for your review! We will be taking the same cruise in September and can't wait! This will be our second Windstar Cruise -- the first on Wind Surf from Barcelona to Rome which was amazing!! We couldn't find fault with anything... which is why we are cruising again with Windstar.

On that cruise, there was an end of cruise party with the entire crew providing entertainment -- many, many talented people onboard -- lots of dancing and lots of fun. Most passengers were dressed up -- cocktail party dresses -- even some gowns -- men in jackets. Did you experience this on your cruise? Or was this more casual? Our first cruise included Monte Carlo, so that may be the reason why so many people had more formal clothes... your input would be appreciated, so that we bring the proper clothing.

Perhaps the crew will be too new to do this?? That may also explain the service you experienced -- new crew trying to get the kinks out?? We found the staff most attentive on our last trip, obviously more experienced than you found. But I'm sure that will come with time on the newer ships.

We are older -- just a tad -- and enjoy not having the Vegas atmosphere offered on most larger ships -- we go to Vegas twice a year for that. Port-intensive itinerary and laid back romantic evenings are perfect for us, so the light music entertainment and a cocktail is a very enjoyable way to end a busy day.

Do you have any tips for the ports?? Places to see -- cheaper on-shore tours -- places to eat?