Compare Windstar to Viking Ocean

[PGI GUY]

Anyone have a recent experience to compare Windstar to Viking Ocean.I am interest in your overall experience from booking to food to tours and flight arrangements. 

[philw1776]

Viking Ocean has no sails

[CILCIANRQTS]

11 minutes ago, philw1776 said:

Viking Ocean has no sails

Half of Windstar fleet has no sails.

[Haqdeluxe]

Windstar yachts are about 1/3rd the size of a Viking Ocean ship too. Can you really compare? 

[JDincalif]

We've had two recent Windstar voyages and two previous Viking Ocean voyages. Windstar was adequate but in our experience Viking has provided a superior product across the board.

[rjp50]

32 minutes ago, Haqdeluxe said:

Windstar yachts are about 1/3rd the size of a Viking Ocean ship too. Can you really compare? 

There are a lot of factors besides size of ship that warrants comparison, e.g., variety and quality of food, quality and friendliness of service, size and quality of cabins at similar price points, decor, variety and quality of excursions, variation in ports of call and itinerary.  Having first-time reservations on both of lines for our next two cruises, it would be interesting to hear firsthand observations on all of these things.

[rjp50]

14 minutes ago, JDincalif said:

We've had two recent Windstar voyages and two previous Viking Ocean voyages. Windstar was adequate but in our experience Viking has provided a superior product across the board.

Am I reading your response correctly that your two most recent cruises were on Windstar and your Viking cruises were prior to that?  If so, what were the reasons for leaving Viking in favor of Windstar?  Secondly, is it possible that the Viking experiences were pre-Covid versus post-Covid for Windstar?  There seems to be a general consensus among most cruisers that the entire cruise industry was taken a downturn in overall quality after Covid.  Is it possible that this could this be a reason for your observations?

[Selion]

🍿

 

I'm interested to hear more.  Have Windstar booked for March 2025 and Viking for December 2025.

[JDincalif]

17 minutes ago, rjp50 said:

...what were the reasons for leaving Viking in favor of Windstar?  Secondly, is it possible that the Viking experiences were pre-Covid versus post-Covid for Windstar?... Is it possible that this could this be a reason for your observations?

We didn't 'leave' Viking; we choose cruises based on interesting itineraries rather than limiting our selections to specific cruise lines.

Our most recent Viking cruise was in May 2022 when Viking faced the same post-COVID industrywide challenges affecting all cruise lines, yet continued to provide us with a better overall experience.

[JDincalif]

16 minutes ago, JDincalif said:

We didn't 'leave' Viking; we choose cruises based on interesting itineraries rather than limiting our selections to specific cruise lines.

Our most recent Viking cruise was in May 2022 when Viking faced the same post-COVID industrywide challenges affecting all cruise lines, yet continued to provide us with a better overall experience.

We will give Windstar one specific point: the open bridge and the friendliness and willingness of the officers who offered to take photos of us there and at the ship's bow.

[rjp50]

2 hours ago, JDincalif said:

We didn't 'leave' Viking; we choose cruises based on interesting itineraries rather than limiting our selections to specific cruise lines.

Our most recent Viking cruise was in May 2022 when Viking faced the same post-COVID industrywide challenges affecting all cruise lines, yet continued to provide us with a better overall experience.

 Thanks. We are looking forward to both.  We chose Windstar for their Tahiti itinerary which Viking doesn't really match.  We chose Viking for their Scandinavian expertise.  We'll see what the future holds after experiencing both cruises.  One decided advantage of Viking that Windstar can't match at a like price point is the availability of balcony cabins.

[Breckski]

3 hours ago, rjp50 said:

 Thanks. We are looking forward to both.  We chose Windstar for their Tahiti itinerary which Viking doesn't really match.  We chose Viking for their Scandinavian expertise.  We'll see what the future holds after experiencing both cruises.  One decided advantage of Viking that Windstar can't match at a like price point is the availability of balcony cabins.

And remember most Windstar balconies are French balconies.  Even the handful of large suites have pretty small balconies.  So obviously, stateroom balconies are not what makes Windstar successful.  

 

We have a Windstar trip booked and did so mainly to try out a smaller ship.  Quieter restaurants???, smaller/different ports, more private spaces on deck???, cozier feel...

[PGI GUY]

Thank you to those who so far who have provided answers to some of my questions.  To some of the others I know about the sails and size differences  between  Viking and Windstar,

[CDNPolar]

I think that this kind of question has been discussed a few times on CC.

 

I have not been on Windstar, but have researched the line.

 

Personally I don't think that they have a comparable product.

 

I believe that you choose a cruise line for the itinerary and of course other aspects, but would be easier to compare other "like Viking" ocean lines than Windstar to Viking.  Just my opinion.

[PGI GUY]

I posted my questions based on an itinerary that I am interested in offered by Windstar , we are regular  Viking customers.. I am interested in the opinion of others who may have experience with both cruise lines. I did not think it would be this difficult. 

.

[mariners]

We have well over 100 nights on Windstar (the most recent 2022), but all of our sailings have taken place on the ships with sails.  We have sailed on the other ships when they were with Seabourn and do not have any recent experiences onboard those ships.  We have only had one sailing on Viking Ocean, and that took place in late 2023. 

 

Here is a link to my review of our 2017 Transatlantic.  I think it continues to give a good overview of what to expect if you are planning an ocean crossing on Windstar, as well as an overview of the typical cabins onboard:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599880

 

Please note, despite how much I wish that it was true, I was not in my 20's.  I have no idea how that age demographic was given to me on the review.

 

Here is a link to the thread where I described our cruise in 2022:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2890521-live-from-wind-star-october-29-barcelona-to-bridgetown/

 

I wrote a live thread when we were on the Neptune crossing in December, but the thread is not showing when I try and find a link for it so that you can read what I wrote about the sailing.  It was also a fabulous cruise, and we are happy to be sailing with Viking Oceans again this year.  Hopefully you, or someone else, can post a link.

 

We did not book air through the cruise lines so I cannot comment on air.

 

We paid for our Windstar tours and felt they were well worth the money spent.  Given the number of passengers, the tours are small and the guides were all excellent.  The destinations person onboard was fabulous as were the maps and information provided.

 

One is not allowed to bring unlimited alcohol onboard Windstar, but there is an option to book the cruise to include alcohol, wifi (terrible), and other amenities.  We loved having the included laundry.

 

If you have any specific questions, I will try and provide you with answers.  We will happily sail with either Viking Oceans or Windstar.

 

[JDincalif]

22 hours ago, mwike said:

We have a Windstar trip booked and did so mainly to try out a smaller ship.  Quieter restaurants???, smaller/different ports, more private spaces on deck???, cozier feel...

Fewer passengers is its own pleasure.

 

Smaller ships can have a cozier feel.

 

Specific ship allocation of public space is a big determinant in whether venues felt crowded. On the Windstar ships, we found the main dining rooms to have comfortable spacing between tables, but even with smaller capacity than larger ships the main dining room volume could get pretty loud at peak times. In the buffet areas there seemed to be less space between tables, so even at less busy times it had a more crowded feel. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Several earlier posts have mentioned itineraries.  We book for itinerary first, food second, and the ship third.

 

We are preparing for our first Windstar cruise in January, because they had a Southern Caribbean itinerary that really appealed (Windward Islands & Spanish New World, 14 nts from Barbados to Panama City).  Our Viking Ocean cruise was also because they had a really attractive itinerary (British Isles Explorer from Bergen to Greenwich).  

 

We loved the Viking cruise [esp. the ship and the food], but not the included excursions [ended up not taking any – that really affected the value proposition] and haven't been enticed by any of their other itineraries.  

 

We will be on Star Pride, one of the old Seabourn 'sisters' now stretched from 212 to 312 passengers; the ship experience will not be as good as Viking [French balcony], but all reports say the food should be equal or better; my curated combination of ship excursions and private excursions looks far better than what Viking offered [and the combined cost still makes a good value].

 

So I agree that you're comparing apples to oranges.  But it's a very good apple, and a very good orange.

[CCWineLover]

Just saw this in an email.

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/04/windstar-cruises-welcomes-two-new-ships-to-fleet/

 

Windstar has two new ships coming, with 224 guests each.

Maybe one will be in Tahiti.

[Host Jazzbeau]

On 4/11/2024 at 12:57 PM, CCWineLover said:

Just saw this in an email.

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/04/windstar-cruises-welcomes-two-new-ships-to-fleet/

 

Windstar has two new ships coming, with 224 guests each.

Maybe one will be in Tahiti.

Not one of the new ones [the ice-strengthened hull would really be wasted there] – but they will be positioning one sailing ship (Wind Star) plus one yacht (Star Breeze) full-time in French Polynesia.

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/shipbuilding-equipment/windstar-cruises-acquiring-two-mystic-invest-ships-one-newbuild

[linda_22003]

They are completely different experiences, but we love them both (as you can see from my signature line).  Windstar has the edge on food, probably inevitable because they are cooking for fewer people, and they have the James Beard connection.