Are Windstar Transatlantics Popular or Not?

Hi,we have never cruised Windstar but have cruised on many other lines, including a lot of transatlantics which used to be very good value but now are much less so.

We love seadays and so we were intrigued to receive an email offer of a 14 day transatlantic voyage with no port days from Barbados to Lisbon, on Wind Surf, for about $50 per day plus taxes. Spring 2018.

This seems like a very good deal, and there is lots of availability at the moment.

We are very interested in being on a motor sailer and a small ship.

Sorry about the spelling in the title, it wont let me correct it. [Corrected. Host Walt]

Is there anything we should know? It seems to be too good to be true?

I read online that in the past these voyages have not sailed full, even at these bargain prices.

Is everything on the ship the same as usual or do they cut back on some things?

I think we might buy the drink package, do they ever offer it as a perk on transatlantics, even at a higher fare?

We'd be grateful for any information, thanks in advance.

We have done 2 trans. tlantics with WS and one trans Pacific with WS all on the sailing ships and crosdingvthe Pacific we did on the smaller sailing ship. We loved them. I do not think they skimped in any way despite the cost reductions. On WS there is hardly any entertainment, a few activities. You need to really enjoy your solitude, read, doing puzzles, walking the deck, gazing out etc. We found that there are groups of people who only do the trans ocean cruises and they meet yearly. We have seen artists cime and paint, people getting together for cards, knitting and needlepoint gatherings. We love it because we can utterly relax, read, listen to music, we are unplugged. It is very wonderful to be so close to the water. We also love being on the water. We find it as 2 weeks of shear bliss. Happy sailing.

We have done 2 trans. tlantics with WS and one trans Pacific with WS all on the sailing ships and crosdingvthe Pacific we did on the smaller sailing ship. We loved them. I do not think they skimped in any way despite the cost reductions. On WS there is hardly any entertainment, a few activities. You need to really enjoy your solitude, read, doing puzzles, walking the deck, gazing out etc. We found that there are groups of people who only do the trans ocean cruises and they meet yearly. We have seen artists cime and paint, people getting together for cards, knitting and needlepoint gatherings. We love it because we can utterly relax, read, listen to music, we are unplugged. It is very wonderful to be so close to the water. We also love being on the water. We find it as 2 weeks of shear bliss. Happy sailing.

Thankyou so much for the useful feedback, with 94 views and no replies I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get one.

TAs on Windstar are a bit like the fight club. ;)

TAs on Windstar are a bit like the fight club. ;)

I am sorry but I have no idea what that means, I don't think I like the sound of it though, it maybe time to reconsider the T/A.

Only fight I ever saw on board ship was in the laundromat on Princess.

I am on the Wind Star trans-Atlantic right now. We have 6 previous crossings on Windstar ships but they were all many years ago. So far, with the exception of one tiny blip that bothered some passengers, all has been fabulous.

It was a thrill to see not only some passengers we had met on previous crossings (who still have their yearly get-together); it was also wonderful to see crew members we had sailed with in the past. The service from all of the crew has been fantastic!

The ship is not totally full. It appears to be a happy group of people onboard. There has been no fight club (if that means people staking out specific spots).

If you have any questions, I’ll try to reply but the internet can be a bit finicky so my apologies if there is a delay.

Thankyou so much for the useful feedback, with 94 views and no replies I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get one.

We do our first TA and our first WS leaving Lisbon this coming Saturday! Will let you know how we liked it once we get home in about a month.

TAs on Windstar are a bit like the fight club. ;)

Don't worry Griller. I also haven't seen Fight Club (well I watched the beginning with one of my sons once, but didn't enjoy it and quit), but I know that the cultural reference for the comment was: "The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club."; she was making a joke about the lack of response, not a comment about the atmosphere on board. Fellow passengers have been delightful on the Windstar cruises I've been on. I haven't done an ocean crossing yet, but expect to find relaxed friendly folks there.

Really response is low because you have ships with capacity of 140 to 300 that are sailing lightly loaded on a couple of ocean crossing voyages per ship per year. So there is a relatively small body of people available to comment. The Windstar board is relatively quiet even for heavily booked cruises and ocean crossings are a more extreme version of the same. I've had a similar problem trying to find reviews of small group tours we wanted to take such as when we were deciding whether to go to with Intrepid to China.

The price is low partly because there are no intermediate ports. (Do Windstar ships have a lower top speed than the big ships? - Main line ocean crossings are often 8 days or so for the crossing plus some ports at one or both ends.) And partly because there aren't the activities and entertainment that a big ship has.

I'm taking the plunge on a trans-Pacific crossing next spring - not quite as low a price as the trans-Atlantics but the timing is right and I'm also staying on for the Alaska cruise after the crossing. I think the price is higher partly because it has 3 port stops in Japan before setting out across the Pacific.

I forgot to mention a few things. We are hardly drinkers so it is not worth it for us to purchase a package. On the Pacific crossing there were 79 passengers for 149 max. 35 five stayed aboard for the first Tahiti Cruise, fabulous. The two Atlantic crossings were on the Surf(300 pax ) and each time there was about 100 people. People are friendly, most are repeaters of crossings, I have no idea what fight club means there is never people saving pool side seats ever, never have seen it and I have 21 cruises with WS. People are lovely and interesting with varied interests, experiences. They tend to be quiet. When the ship is fully under sail the only noise is the wind. Hope this answers your questions. Happy Sailing.

I guess that movie reference didn’t work. The line from the the movie is; “The first rule of fight club is you don’t talk about fight club.”

We have done the transatlantic on the Windsurf four times. It is much loved by all the regulars, who love sailing on a partially filled ship. So we pretty much never tell people how much we love it. We once went with just 33 people and a full crew complement. I’ve heard though, that lately some have gone out full which has lately caused us to book other sailings. ( and enjoying them. )

The reference was me (poorly) trying to say we have loved it. I hope you enjoy too.

I understood your reference, Pudgesmom.

Are there many solo cruisers on the Trans-ocean cruises? I'll be solo because DH isn't interested in an ocean crossing.

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On the trans Atlantics and the one trans Pacific on each there were about 5-7 solo travelers. More men than women and the men tended to be older sailers. The folks we met were fascinating people full of life. They all had plenty of people to eat with/talk to. The trans oceans tend to develop a type of friendly neighborhood. Happy Sailing

I saw this week's sale has some great deals on TAs. I think I would love it but rest of the family not so sure, so one of these days...

Here's a link to a discussion on this subject with the previous CEO of Windstar that took place on our boards 2 years ago:

More Creative Trans-Atlantic Itineraries

I received a message from a WS passenger who is on the Surf crossing now, there are 140 passengers. The Surf takes 312 passengers. He stated that it is great.

The trans-Pacific ones on Star Legend have some stops. More so on the West bound. Maybe they'll see how that does vs the East bound.

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My sister and b-I-l did one two years ago and there were 61 people on the Windsurf. She said there were so many crew just looking to help. We're on Star Pride in April. Loading up my Kindle...

With so few pax aboard, does Windstar upgrade on the transatlantic voyages?

With so few pax aboard, does Windstar upgrade on the transatlantic voyages?

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