How to choose a travel agent specializing in WindStar?

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum and new to cruising overall. My husband and I are interested in the Windstar Instanbul--Athens cruise. I just started my research about a week ago. I thought, surely there is a cruiseline out there that caters to folks like us. We are friendly, outgoing people but not interested in the use of "partying" as a verb, faux Vegas reviews, hairy chest contests etc. We are low-key and Windstar sounds perfect for us.

My question is: are there travel agents who specialize in Windstar cruises? Will they help you with an air-cruise package? I've read that buying a cruise can be a bit like buying a car -- no set price, it's what sort of deal you get. That's anathema to first-time cruisers like us. Would be interested in hearing any good/bad travel agent experiences/suggestions.

Many thanks and happy holidays!

We just booked on Cruise .com Seemed ok. Need to ask for Jennifer. Experience helps.

We found a TA a few miles from us using the Windstar web site. Pick out an intersting cruise, then click on "find a fare". The next screen lets you find a nearby TA who specializes in Windstar. We needed a new TA because our previous TA couldn't get us the deal we wanted (low airfare and inexpensive second week on the Wind Surf), and the one we find on the Windstar site could get it. We like the new TA so much that we've booked our next cruise with her on Radisson, which lists the same agency as a specialist.

hi, happy holidays to all! I hope everybody has a Happy New Year. I have an agent I have used numerous times who gets it- She is very knowledgable , friendly and gives nice rates. Contact me at reggiescoobie@aol.com if you want a name. I cant post it here. If not -good luck and happy sailing

I booked our first cruise...Rome to Nice this past October on "Vacations to go." They have a 90 day sell off and we paid $1729.00 Canadian for a week...I know for a fact that others on the ship spent up to 4 times that much. That price was cruise only. Windstar offered us our air for $1428.00 US and I was able to book it for $1128.00 Canadian, a substancial savings. Our air tickets were sent to us direct from the airline, so we never paid the $100.00 fee per ticket our travel agent would have charged. Our cruise package came direct from Windstar and everything was perfect! No complaints. www.*****.com And yes, you do sound like the type to enjoy a Windstar cruise, average age was 40-50 ish, with some young honeymooners, and 82 year old skuba divers...I wrote a review on November 27, 2004...check it out!

Hi, I have cruised on the Windstar and really enjoyed it. I am in my late 30s and everything was just wonderful. I got a good discount with an agency in detroit. I see some postings above but I do not think we are suppose to do that. Contact me at Denenbergj@aol.com and I will email a great web name.

We did this cruise 3 years ago and it is still the most memorable cruise or vacation we have taken (and we do a lot of travelling.) If you don't have a good travel agent, then try to find a travel agent in a big city that speciallizes in cruises and you should be OK. Prices can be all over the map. We found that on our cruise, we paid in Canadian dollars what some Americans were paying in US dollars and our dollar then was 2/3ds the value. You might even try a Canadian TA like The Cruise Professionals in Toronto to see if there is a difference. They do huge volumes. If you have travelled on any previous Carnival related cruise line, you may get a further discount. If you haven't, your agent will tell them that you have. Give yourselves 2 or 3 days in Istanbul before you get on the ship. Istanbul is a remarkable city and is not like any other European city--it is part Asian, part European, with lots of great history. Find a private guide through your hotel concierge and get them to give you a city tour-it will be on foot and will really introduce you to the history, the mosques, Topkapi palace, the bazaar, etc. Way better than self touring in a city like Istanbul. Take a turkish bath-quite an experience and price carpets at home before you go. If you can afford it, there is no better hotel in Istanbul than the Ciragen Palace Kempinski (pronounced Sheeran Palace) right on the Bosphorus. Athens on the other hand is worth a day or two, tops. The ports of call are all different and very interesting. And the ship itself is quite an experience. It is a perfect cruise for active yuppies. Very memorable.