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Celebrity fan interested in Windstar....have questions


DENIE
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A bit about ourselves.  My wife and I are in our "late 50's". We've been on a Celebrity cruise about 1x per year for the last 3 years - Infinity, Reflection, Constellation - and in August, the Reflection.  So, both of their M- and S-class size ships. On these ships, we have had ocean view cabins and balconies, and enjoyed both.  The age of the M-class ships did not bother us at all. We have never been on a real "mega-ship" and don't care to try. We enjoy good dining, wine, martinis, coffee bar, and a solo/duo-type evening entertainment.  Don't need big production shows. We don't spend any time in casinos, art shows.  We do enjoy an evening or 2 in specialty restaurants, though.

 

We are looking at an April 2022 itinerary on the Star Breeze - 10-night San Diego to Puerto Vallarta, with overnights in Cabo San Lucas and Loreto, MX.  Several days will be in the Sea of Cortez.  Most larger lines don't sail up into the Sea of Cortez. We are fans of Cabo and Puerto Vallarta.  We also live in Arizona, so EASY to get to San Diego, and fly back directly to Phoenix. So, this itinerary is very appealing.

 

I have read a few reviews, and seems as thought there is a lot to like, since we do not need "big ship" amenities. I would appreciate any advice or suggestions from regular Windstar cruisers, or even those who have sailed on both lines.  Regarding the food - is there a big difference (plus or minus) in quality? Wine/beverage selections (we would probably invest in a drinks package)? We also know these smaller ships may "rock" more than the larger ships in rougher seas. 🙂

 

Much appreciated!

 

Dale

 

 

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Hi Dale,  We have been on many cruise lines over the last 20 years....Crystal, Azamara, Holland, Disney, Oceania and Celebrity (most recently Celebrity Summit and Infinity) So we know the M class ships on Celebrity. Having said that, we have been on Windstar 24 times. So you can see that it is our favorite line. We have been mainly on the sailing yachts, but since they acquired the motor yachts from Seabourn, we have been on Star Pride twice and Star Legend once. As you probably know, all of the motor yachts are in the process of being elongated and totally transformed. The result of this stretch and refit will be essentially new ships with all of the benefits that that brings . We are looking forward to our trip on Star Pride, post refit, just booked for December 2021....a long way off, but we  just need to have something to look forward to in these uncertain times. 

To compare Celebrity to Windstar is difficult, but I will try. The Celebrity M class boats are about 2000 people compared to 300+ on the motor yachts. The atmosphere on Windstar is very personalized with probably the best ships crew in the business. They are are attentive, caring and will frequently address you by name after the first day. We have enjoyed the food on Celebrity and found the quality to be excellent. Windstar is a step above in quality,  with food choices more creative and beautifully prepared and served. Incidentally, all speciality restaurants are available without a surcharge. Additionally you can bring 2 bottles of wine on board! There is a wonderful ship board barbecue on all voyages. The itineraries are designed to take advantage of unique areas unavailable to larger ships. A holiday on Windstar is like cruising on your own private yacht with a watersports platform and marina for use of many watersports toys. There is an Open Bridge policy,  unique in the industry and highly valued by many guests. We enjoy going there at all hours, especially in the evening and observing the dynamics of navigation; with the captain and officers always available to answer questions. As far as entertainment....no big shows or casinos. There is music in the evening, a small combo and the crew performs one night as well....a real treat!  

Overall....Windstar gets a 5 Martini rating compared to a 3 Martini rating for Celebrity!

Bon voyage!  Donna

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I completely concur with everything Donna says. We are Elite Plus on Celebrity and have done 37 Windstar cruises - definitely prefer Windstar. We actually are also booked on the April 2022 San Diego to Puerto Vallarta sailing for the same reasons - we live in San Francisco. We did the same itinerary pre-pandemic and enjoyed it so much we are doing it again (hopefully) this coming May and again in October but from Puerto Vallarta to San Diego. Right now, until the pandemic is a distant memory,  the easy flights are much more appealing than the itineraries. 

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Donna and r&rd.....THANK YOU SO MUCH!!  I think we would enjoy Windstar for all of the reasons you indicated.  We will continue to sail Celebrity, but looking for something unique, different, and very personal.  Prices on this particular itinerary seem very reasonable now, and it is very far out. 

 

We are also planning on inviting a couple other couples, so this sounds like the perfect kind of environment to get to enjoy each others company!

Edited by DENIE
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Hi Dale, We’ve done about a dozen with a celebrity and a total of 34 over other lines. Simply put, once we tried Windstar we haven’t looked back. Celebrity is a great product and we really enjoyed but came to appreciate the intimate setting and personalized service of Windstar. I cannot say enough about the crew!

 

We’re on our early 40s, work long hours and look forward to Windstar to really relax. No FOMO, no daily cruise planner sheet with loads of activities and nice relaxing evenings.

 

As far as the food goes, we’ve always done Aqua class on Celebrity because we really liked the food in Blu. We find the food on Windstar to be a step above. You can also get hot breakfast, lunch and dinner items via room service and a really good bacon cheeseburger done medium if you wish.

 

The Yacht Club area would be akin to Cafe al Bacio but much quieter and all coffee drinks (no booze) are complimentary. Lovely snack sized sandwiches, cupcakes, cookies and chocolate mousse pots.. We really got used to having a drink package (thanks Celebrity!) and enjoy afternoons in the Yacht Club having a few iced coffees with grand marnier. One night we had the hotel/beverage manager bring out a bunch of rums he picked up in Barbados, set the bottles down at our table and asked if we’d join him in a rum tasting. Ummm yea!

 

We’re from San Diego and have done the 7-day version of the itinerary you are looking at. It was amazing! The Sea of Cortez is like glass and teeming with sea life. We even saw a blue footed booby as they migrate to the area.

We may do it again in May depending on how things unfold with scheduling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

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1 hour ago, minidonuts85 said:

Hi Dale, We’ve done about a dozen with a celebrity and a total of 34 over other lines. Simply put, once we tried Windstar we haven’t looked back. Celebrity is a great product and we really enjoyed but came to appreciate the intimate setting and personalized service of Windstar. I cannot say enough about the crew!

 

We’re on our early 40s, work long hours and look forward to Windstar to really relax. No FOMO, no daily cruise planner sheet with loads of activities and nice relaxing evenings.

 

As far as the food goes, we’ve always done Aqua class on Celebrity because we really liked the food in Blu. We find the food on Windstar to be a step above. You can also get hot breakfast, lunch and dinner items via room service and a really good bacon cheeseburger done medium if you wish.

 

The Yacht Club area would be akin to Cafe al Bacio but much quieter and all coffee drinks (no booze) are complimentary. Lovely snack sized sandwiches, cupcakes, cookies and chocolate mousse pots.. We really got used to having a drink package (thanks Celebrity!) and enjoy afternoons in the Yacht Club having a few iced coffees with grand marnier. One night we had the hotel/beverage manager bring out a bunch of rums he picked up in Barbados, set the bottles down at our table and asked if we’d join him in a rum tasting. Ummm yea!

 

We’re from San Diego and have done the 7-day version of the itinerary you are looking at. It was amazing! The Sea of Cortez is like glass and teeming with sea life. We even saw a blue footed booby as they migrate to the area.

We may do it again in May depending on how things unfold with scheduling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thanks minidonuts85.....sounds like we would really enjoy this.  We are also looking at the shorter version as well!

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Dale

 

While we may not have as many cruises under my belt as some of the board members above, we were Celebrity fans in the late 90s and mid 2000’s and sailed 5 times on Century Class and Millenium class and one more recently on Solstice class.  We really enjoyed our cruises on Celebrity but were looking for newer stops where big ships would not go. We also wanted good food, low key entertainment, no dressing up and off the beaten path itineraries at a decent price. After researching for some time, we finally decided to go with Windstar in 2013.  We have never looked back since and have now sailed with them 10 times.  We are also in our late 50’s and based on what you outlined above, Windstar would suit you very well.  Like I said food is amongst the best at sea, one notch above Celebrity, great staff, ability to meet interesting people, nice large suites on the Yachts, access to the Bridge ( for the geeks in us), the great Sail Aways, the swimming platform, amazing free cappuccinos at the Yacht Club, decent wine list at attractive prices (I posted pictures of the wine lists on this forum) and I could go on and on. These are truly relaxing ships where nothing is complicated. When they say Windstar is truly 180 degrees from Ordinary, it’s true and to think that we may not sail on one of these great ships next winter makes me really sad (we were on the last Windsurf cruise before everything stopped on March 14).  Happy sailings

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I am elite plus on Celebrity.  Celebrity is good. I have sailed on 10 Windstar cruises.  Windstar is fabulous.  The ships are older,  but are well maintained.  Cabins are nicely appointed. The service is friendly and certain to please. The crew is amazing. The food is the best that I have had at sea.  Food selections often include local items.  Windstar isn’t flashy and does not have big entertainment. The atmosphere is casual with many interesting activities.  No crowds, ever.  Try it.  After my first Windstar cruise, I was more relaxed than on any other cruise.  

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On 9/28/2020 at 12:59 PM, Redtravel said:

I am elite plus on Celebrity.  Celebrity is good. I have sailed on 10 Windstar cruises.  Windstar is fabulous.  The ships are older,  but are well maintained.  Cabins are nicely appointed. The service is friendly and certain to please. The crew is amazing. The food is the best that I have had at sea.  Food selections often include local items.  Windstar isn’t flashy and does not have big entertainment. The atmosphere is casual with many interesting activities.  No crowds, ever.  Try it.  After my first Windstar cruise, I was more relaxed than on any other cruise.  

Thanks Redtravel!  Sounds perfect! 🙂

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