Booked first WS cruise

[twoboys]

After months of reading everything I could on this site and posting questions and doing searches, we finally put down a deposit. The best cruise I have ever taken was Seabourn I know that this will be a bit different. But it will be nice to see parts of Italy and Malta that we have never seen, be on an even smaller ship and be totally casual. It may not have the level of "luxury" of our Seabourn cruise on the Quest, but I think it will be a wonderful and romantic way to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Thanks to all who answered my questions. I will, of course, be continuing to read this forum and the reviews...so keep 'em coming.

 

I woudl appreciate any tips you want to share about the excursions, the gym, the food and WS itself

[rafinmd]

Which ship did you book?

 

Roy

[Strenz]

Have a great time. If it is the sailing ship it should be glorious. Your cruise is one I want to take I adore Sicily and seeing it from the sea should extraordinary, I absolutely must go to go to Malta to see the Caravaggio. We have cruised 18 times with WS on the sailboats in 3 days we are trying a motor yacht. We are not fussy people but we certainly love WS: service, people, food, informal elegance, not ostentatious, it fits us. Congratulations and happy sailing. Susanne

[twoboys]

we are doing the Sicilian Splendors on the Star Breeze

[LTC Dan]

Enjoy your cruise, twoboys. My wife and I have spent a long time (way too long) waiting for our first Windstar cruise. Our 30th anniversary was a year ago, but due to circumstances we won't actually get around to accomplishing our special belated celebration until late September/early October 2016. I have dreamed endlessly about it. Make sure to write a detailed review and post photos, because this website helps with the anticipation.

[twoboys]

Thank you,LTC Dan. We are actually going Sept 2016...join us :) We booked it far in advance so I could stop constantly comparing different ships, itineraries etc and so we could book airfare with points

[LTC Dan]

Aw shucks, twoboys, aren't you sweet? That Sicilian Splendors itinerary is really inviting, especially since it's a 10-night deal. We'll be on more cruises with Windstar, so maybe later...

 

I admit I was really obsessive when I did the deep research for our cruise. Looked at it from every angle -- cruise line, itineraries, cost, uniqueness of experience, cabin size, etc. I started out considering two luxury lines and six upper premium lines in all (but never even glimpsed at the mass market behemoths like Norwegian, Carnival and Royal Caribbean at all). The more I filtered things the more I realized that Windstar was just my speed -- small ships, very romantic experience, and personal attention without the pretentiousness and expense of SS and Sb. Add to that the fact that I felt we absolutely HAD to take a cruise that included stops in Venice, Kotor, and Dubrovnik along the way, and our choice became clear. I was open to doing something on Star Breeze (still might), but I think Wind Surf in her majestic sails will be unbeatable.

 

We're going to add in several days for a land segment at a place in Slovenia that piqued my curiousity for years, Lake Bled. Absolutely gorgeous. So all in all, it with be almost two full weeks of really amazing travel in a part of the world I adore.

 

The DW used to work for American Airlines, so we can get an amazing cruise fare about three or four months out, we just have to be patient. Based on market precident, I think the 23 Sep or 1 Oct sailings will be optimal.

 

So the real question is what do we do next? After 2016, I think I'll start dreaming again for the next go-round. Could we do another Mediterranean trip such as "Sicilian Splendors"? Sure, awesome. Or how about something tropical like "Classic Caribbean" or "Jewels of the Windward Islands", and add on a week stay at a resort in Ste. Martin or on Barbados? Paradise. See, all this dreaming is way fun.

Edited December 3, 2015 by LTC Dan