Considering our first Windstar cruise

[Sun Lover]

We have cruised several times to the Caribbean on Royal Caribbean large ships and have enjoyed them very much.  We recently received a brochure from Windstar in the mail and they have an itinerary that looks very good to me - Lake Como & Adriatic Romance cruise aboard the Wind Surf for 11 days.  I realize this would be a huge difference from the large ships we're used to so I have some questions:

1.  Do the sailing ships like Wind Surf use tenders at all ports?

2.  What is the difference between the sailing ships and the motorized ones?

3.  Is it likely you'll get seasick on the sailing ships?

4.  How does Windstar compare to other cruise lines and are there any others you would recommend for this type of trip?

 

Any advice and/or suggestions you could give me would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

[Misty Morning]

This is a cruise tour which includes an 8-day cruise and a 3-day land tour pre or post cruise.  You will likely be tendered in Sorrento and Giardini Naxos but all other stops you should be docked.

 

Sailing ships are motorized ships that also have sails to improve speed/fuel consumption.  They are extremely romantic but have smaller rooms (188 sq ft) and no balconies (which is not a problem given the amount of deck space on them).  The motorized yachts are exactly that: nice looking slender yachts with larger rooms (277 sq ft), 50% of which have small Juliette balconies. 

 

If you are prone to seasickness, a smaller ship will likely be rockier than a larger one.  But given you are sailing in the Adriatic, seas should be calm and all Windstar ships have stabilizers to help with rocking motion.  

 

Windstar is not for everyone.  If you are looking for shows and activities galore, Windstar is likely not for you as entertainment is limited to small bands and some trivia and games. Great food, amazing personalized service, smaller ports and a casual vibe onboard are what sets Windstar apart from the other smaller cruise lines.  

 

Hope this helps

[Sun Lover]

Thanks so much for replying - it definitely helps. I like the fact that this itinerary includes the 3 day land tour. I realize this would be very different as far as shows and activities. I would need to find out the hours the ship is in each port and how much time is actually on the ship. We like to keep busy so the lack of entertainment is a concern, but I really like this particular itinerary. 

If you have been on both types of ships, do you have a preference between the sailing ships and the motorized ones?  If you have any other advice, please let me know. Thanks again.

[Pudgesmom]

We have sailed many times on both types. We prefer the Windsurf (sailing ship) for good weather itineraries because of the incredible amount of deck space available and how it is apportioned throughout the ship. We usually book a suite on the third floor for longer  but for week long sailings we are fine in a standard room. They are exceptionally well designed and an open deck is a few steps away. As far as the sails go, expect to spend most of your time under engine power. 
 

 

For colder sailings, we love the larger cabins on the motor yachts as we love to sit by the cabin window. The outdoor space to me is not as good. I don’t care for the pool sort of down in a more enclosed area. 
 

We don’t see much difference between the food or service on any of the ships. Food is very good to excellent and service is always perfect. Staff will quickly learn your name and favorite drink. 
 

Tendering is not a big deal on these little ships. There just aren’t many people to move!   Small size to us is a huge plus. You can be seated in main dining at any hour it’s open. Except right at opening, when you might wait for a few couples in front of you, usually you’ll be seated right away. 
 

There is a tremendous amount of information here. I can’t get the search function to stay on the Windstar forum on my phone, but it seems to work well in my desktop. 

Hope you have a great trip!
 

 

[Misty Morning]

4 hours ago, Sun Lover said:

If you have been on both types of ships, do you have a preference between the sailing ships and the motorized ones?  If you have any other advice, please let me know. Thanks again.

We have been on both several times, and it's always a debate.  Our last 3 cruises have been on the Wind Surf and Wind Spirit but we are longing to go back to a Star ship as we like the fact they are renovated and contrary to Pudgesmom, we like their layout as everything is in one large area on 2 decks overlooking the pool say for deck BBQ, Star Grill and Star Bar, Sail aways. Just got back from Spirit with 125 pax onboard. and the ship looked great.  Can't wait for all 3 of them to get refurbished in the next 2 years.  Decision will then even more difficult between the 2.  Our first cruise was on the Wind Surf because of the sails, so I think any first Windstar cruise should be on one of the sail boats.

[new_cruiser]

I have only been on big ships a couple of times; I've over 150 nights on Windstar including crossing the Pacific, the Atlantic and Tasmanian Seas. From what experience I've had, I find the Windstar ships stability not particularly different from bigger ships. They may be small ships but they have stabilizers, good hull shape and don't, unlike the mega-ship floating hotels, don't have huge above water flat areas catching wind. 

 

One difference to be aware of depending on your mobility. The two smaller sail ships, Wind Spirit and Wind Star, don't have elevators. They only have 4 passenger decks (plus a small flying bridge area on a fifth).

 

We were on Wind Surf in Europe last fall and pre-COVID were on for 31 days in the Caribbean.

 

I'm happy on any of the Windstar ships.

 

Usually, they tender because they are going to a very small port that doesn't have docking facility or when at a busy port (e.g some Alaska ports) where large ships have all the docks tied up. Or occasionally because there is an advantage to tendering. We were scheduled to tender in Dubrovnik where we would have tendered straight into the old town and have a view of the town walls for the deck BBQ, but due to rough weather that might interfere with tendering, docked instead which meant a shuttle bus ride into town. All those apply equally to the Wind and the Star ships.

[new_cruiser]

5 hours ago, Misty Morning said:

They are extremely romantic but have smaller rooms (188 sq ft)

Generally true of the sail ships, but Wind Surf also has 18 suites that are twice that size. So far, we're happy enough with the regular cabins and haven't chosen to pay extra for the suites, but it's an option.

 

5 hours ago, Sun Lover said:

. I would need to find out the hours the ship is in each port and how much time is actually on the ship. We like to keep busy so the lack of entertainment is a concern,

 

You can find port times on the itinerary on the Windstar site. We have found plenty to keep us busy on the ships. There is usually a late afternoon or evening when the bring on local entertainers for some local culture. Sometimes there is a lecturer on board. One night will be the crew show, another line dancing after the deck BBQ. A couple of evenings will have a show with the entertainment director and the band. 

 

Sea days will have things like a cooking demo, cocktail making demo, lectures if the cruise has a speaker on board. 

[MNgardens]

There is a list of ports that use tenders on the Windstar webpage. It isn't easy to find. I just looked around and couldn't spot it. At one point it had been under the accessibility tab

[new_cruiser]

11 minutes ago, MNgardens said:

There is a list of ports that use tenders on the Windstar webpage. It isn't easy to find. I just looked around and couldn't spot it. At one point it had been under the accessibility tab

It isn't complete anyway.