Simply must celebrate!...plus any advice

Just booked my first ever Windstar cruise (DH has sailed a number of times)- B2B Rome to Venice, Venice to Athens next summer on Star Breeze!!! :D I'm so excited I can scarcely contain myself! The Windstar agent was laughing along with me in my joy...

Having only ever cruised on Holland America to Alaska, any and all advice or redirects to threads about Windstar, warm weather cruising, ports, etc., would be most welcome!

We have done Windstar twice now in the Caribbean and loved it after many big ship cruises. Booked on another in Europe in five weeks. Service is great and so much better to be one of hundreds than thousands!

I have done that itinerary on the Surf, it's fantastic! Make sure you are awake for the sail in to Kotor, look for the keyholes in the cliffs where they hid the Soviet subs during the Cold War. Use Venice as a shore day. You will need your passports to get off and on. Your room key will,likely need to be reactive tee when you return. We took the alilaguna (I might have that a little wrong) from the port to St Marks and took the Doges secrets tour. You must book well in advance, it sells out and they only offer English once a day at a time that will work for you. Don't overpack, buy the laundry package, enjoy! There is a tour in Hvar that will take you to a small restaurant and winery that we have very fond memories of. Ask me if you have specific questions.

Just booked my first ever Windstar cruise (DH has sailed a number of times) Any and all advice or redirects to threads about Windstar, warm weather cruising, ports, etc., would be most welcome!

Lucky you! Can't wait to book our next Windstar cruise. My advice would be to do some prelim research on all the ports you are expecting to visit. We've really benefited from doing this in the past because we prefer to do independent touring where we can, but I think its a good idea for anyone for maximum enjoyment and more importantly maximum pre-trip excitement!.

If you have the same ports we did, here is my advice on excursions... Pompei, take the train and hire a guide outside the gates. Make sure you wear sturdy walking shoes, clothing which will keep you cool, a hat, and about double the water you might think you would need--it is very, very hot there. Dubrovnik, walk the wall and explore the city on your own. Hvar, take their tour that visits the restaurant and small winery. Venice, DIY, although I definitely suggest doing the Secret Itinerary tour at Doges Palace. Kotor, explore on your own. (I do not feel Kotor is safe after dark, there was a mugging with serious injury on our cruise in Kotor at night.) We took a privately arranged group tour in Sicily, which is probably the same one Windstar offers as a freebie. Santorini is easy to take the bus to Oia and back, exploring Oia on your own. It cost about $2-3 r/t per person for the tickets (converted from Euro of course), plus the funicular ride which was maybe $5 each? We took a tour in Split which was OK but I would probably try to find a local tour guide and customize if I ever get there again. I knew that was all of the ports we visited other than of course Rome and Athens. We had two days in Rome, not nearly enough pre-cruise, and a couple days in Athens--enough to see most major sites--by then we were exhausted and ready to go home anyhow.

Plan on taking a nap before dinner most days, and plan on catching up on sleep on your sea days, it is an exhausting itinerary--but so worth it!

I'd also recommend reading through some of the topics here. There is so much useful information you'll be able to gather...stuff about laundry, drinks package, dining, dress, etc etc etc.

Thank you, ALL, for the great suggestions and insights!... especially about which ports to venture out on our own, which to find a guide for, and which are safe/unsafe at night. DH and I are adventuresome, having lived abroad for a number of years, and believe it's always best to get pre-trip advice from those who've gone before. I'm an avid researcher and can't wait ti dig deep into all these threads!

One more WS question - given that we're doing B2B, in your experience what's the likelihood of a cabin upgrade?

We were upgraded about a month before we sailed, but had to accept moving from a B category mid ships to an A category near the front on the starboard side. We were fine with it, in fact we loved the cabin and would book it again, it was very quiet. We wouldn't have accepted the upgrade if it meant changing cabins between the two sailings. Being able to unpack and settle in for two weeks was so relaxing.

My thoughts exactly, Ducklite. And BTW, absolutely loved your packing list! I'll be following it almost to the letter. :D