jilliboo

I would also recommend that you check out the Sheraton Hotel which is well-located near the harbour area.

Not a fan of the 'man-made' ports at Costa Maya, Harvest Caye and Santo Tomas.

Wow the Windstar loyalties run strong! I posted a review that I believed was an accurate representation of our experience on our recent Windstar cruise and instead I get scolded because I described the food as mediocre and over-cooked, and advised that I should order more or go to the cabin and get room service, instead of expecting that a main course would be a main course. I have no idea what the comment about "impartial smarter travel-comment" means but I take note of the comment. I was naive to believe that what I did post might be of some help to others. Next time I'll keep my thoughts to myself.

We sailed on the Star Breeze from Rome to Barcelona in August. It was our first Windstar cruise, having sailed on Silverseas before. We loved the size of the Breeze and our cabin was lovely. The food, however, was quite mediocre. We aren't big three square meals a day types, usually we had breakfast in our cabin and lunch off the menu, so my comments apply mainly to the dining room. The portion sizes were tiny and for the most part overcooked. The side veggies were repetitive and lacked imagination. The lamb lollipops!! lol, what can you say? Also Hubert the Maitre d' seemed to be challenged in organizing and seating his dining room, but that's a whole other story.

In our opinion, Windstar would be wise to provide another dining option on board the Breeze. Candles is a one off experience for most of the passengers and the dining room is stuffy and not too fun. An outdoor dining option for lunch especially at the pool bar area would be a wonderful addition. Right now you can get a pre-made sandwich at the Yacht Club and then eat in by the pool but the sandwiches aren't too tasty and that menu is too limited. That is one feature of the Silverseas experience that we missed, along with the all inclusive approach, of course. We did find we didn't drink as much on this cruise so that might be a good thing! Our comparison of the costs of the drinking plan and our consumption indicated that we would be better off just paying per drink. In the end, spa services, excursions and drinking adding just over $1500 to the costs of our 6 day cruise.

We thoroughly enjoyed the itinerary and our excursions. It's true that the stop at Livorno rather than Porto Venere was disappointing and the replacement excursions involved too much travel by way of motorcoach so we passed on them and ended up staying onboard for the day.

I do disagree with the posts about the laundry service. I don't think it was worth the money and I would much prefer having access to a launderette and an iron/ironing board as most other cruiselines provide. The pressing I had done was not that great.

All in all we enjoyed our experience, the weather was great, the sea was smooth, our cabin comfy and the ports of call unique-Corsica, Sardinia and Mallorca.