Older teens and young adults on Windstar

[NanciEA]

I am trying to get a feel for if Windstar would be a good fit for our family. Our sons will be 18 and 20 next summer and my younger one wants a Greek Island cruise for his graduation trip. The seven day trip seems ideal as we would have time before and after in Athens and Istanbul. We have cruised only large ships before, but much of what Windstar has to offer appeals to us, including no pre-assigned dining times or table mates, no dressing up for dinner, smaller more active excusions, and no infants or toddlers. We are a very active family and love hiking, backpacking and all watersports. We are certified SCUBA divers. My sons will eat just about anything and in fact they like trying new foods. They also do not need to be entertained, as they both like to read, play cards, etc., although I noticed that on the Greek Island itinerary there is only one day at sea and several nights we are in port well into the evening.

 

Any comments from Windstar alums would be helpful.

[Riverroad]

As long as your sons don't need to be entertained, I think Windstar would be a great choice for your family. You'll be in a different port everyday with lots to see & do. The service & food are great & I'm sure you will all enjoy being under sail. It's a very casual, relaxed atmosphere with lots of interesting fellow passengers. We're going to the Mediterranean on Windsurf in August & I can't wait. Go & enjoy!

[rickcohen2]

I think the sons will enjoy the change. Being so port-intensive, the nightlife on Windstar really entails a bit more R&R than one would find on a megaship. There are things to do, but our favorite is sitting out under the stars and sails and then turning in before midnight in preparation for the next days excusions.

 

About diving: I overheard a conversation on the Windsurf last March in which the Windsurf divemaster was saying they don't do much diving in the Med. On our trip, they had a full program of several available dives daily and a special dive program. All of the details were posted on their website. If diving is as important to you as it is to me, you may want to check the site. [On other Windstar trips the dive staff consisted of a husband/wife duo. On the Surf this last trip, there must have been six.]

 

Diving aside, I'm sure the guys are going to have a wonderful time. Make sure they get to spend some time in the bridge (open bridge policy). For me (a technonerd), it's more entertaining than what some of the megaships offer nightly.

[NanciEA]

Thanks for your imput. Windstar lists two dive sites on their seven night Med cruise - Santorini and Bodrum, this would be enough for our family.

[sandbag7]

I would just add that typically there are relatively few teen singles on these cruises; if your sons would be looking to meet some girls, the chances are lessened on the Windstar ships.

[upgrademe]

I concur. A few 17-20 year olds were on our recent cruise. They enjoyed reading during at sea days and were on many shore excursions. Didn't see them at night at all.

 

 

Keep in mind, if they will be 18 & 20, they can enjoy all the ship has to offer in the evening (bar & casino)

[ksg]

As the parent of two girls ages 17 and 21, I can say that they would have hated the Mayan Riviera cruise we were on last March. Of course it depends on your own kids, and on the itinerary, but mine loved the mega Royal Caribbean ships with the discos and many, many other kids their ages.

 

Perhaps there are more people their own ages on a summer Greek Isles cruise, but I wouldn't bet on it. Friends of ours took their kids last summer (similar ages) on Celebrity to the Mediteranean. Everyone was happy. Enough site-seeing during the day and partying at night.

[pixiegirl]

My daughter is 13 and she loved our Windstar cruise, more then the Royal Caribbean cruise we took the year before. She loved the smaller boat and fewer people, being one of only 2 kids on our cruise she was a novelty and loved it that everyone knew her. I can see that perhaps older teens might like the disco/night life that is offered at the teen centers on bigger cruise ships but my daughter and I so loved Windstar we are doing it again this year. Great ports, tons of water sports, good food, relaxed atmosphere and a good DVD library.

 

Susan

[NanciEA]

Windstar appears to be what we are looking for in a family vacation. (We won't cruise with Celebrity because of their assigned dining times.) My sons (18 and 20) enjoy a beer or wine with dinner but are not into discos, partying, clubbing, meeting girls, etc. on a "family" vacation. (They're at college for nine months a year if they are looking for those activities!) The main reason we all want to take the Windstar cruise is for the ports, excursions, and watersports. For their respective Spring Breaks this year, the older one went with his college's Ourdoor Club backpacking in Crete and the younger one wanted to go Rome and Venice with us. Both loved their trips.

[new_cruiser]

There were a couple of families with kids (or adults) around those ages on our Istanbul-Athens trip and they seemed to be enjoying the family trip. For kids who want the kind of trip Windstar offers, it is fine. Of course some young adults like some older adults wouldn't enjoy a Windstar cruise because they want the megaship features.

 

One area where you might be disappointed is the diving. I wouldn't have been able to dive anyway because I was having a congestion problem but I was still interested enough to listen to what the sports staff was telling divers. This isn't reef diving and there are okay dives to see fish here but nothing spectacular. On our trip I think they had three sites for dives - the two you mentioned plus Mykonos.

 

I felt the stuff on land was pretty similar in Mykonos and Santorini so one of those would be good to choose for a dive if you will be happy with a non-reef dive.

 

They had the water sports stuff out in the afternoon at Bodrum - banana boat rides, kayak, water ski and such. Your family might enjoy that.

[lilmermaide]

This post comes from experience. I am 18, and my family and I just got back from the Athens-Rome cruise for 10 days. I was the oldest "teenager" with my family on board, but there were 2 appx 21 year old sisters with their dad. There were 2 other twin yound adults, and a few others scattered around. The only thing I didn't like was that I never got a chance to meet the other kids for some entertainment on board. I absolutely LOVED the cruise, though. I completely recommend the cruise!

[Riverroad]

We just returned from the Windsurf 11-day Venice to Rome cruise. There were many teens as well as a few children that seemed to be around 8-10 years old, which surprised me. Your boys will have a great time!

[fourpines]

We just returned from 8/21 Nice to Rome cruise. There were quite a few family groups with children and grandchildren ranging in age from 8 to post high school/college. From all appearances they seemed to be having a great time! And we enjoyed the diversity.