Windstar Rookie

We've been bumped off the Diamond in the mediterranean. Found an interesting itinerary in Sept. on the Windstar. We know nothing about this cruise line. Could someone please fill us in?

We have previously cruised on Carnival, HAL, Celebrity, RCCL, QM2, Silversea and SeaDream. I am guessing that Windstar falls somewhere in the middle?? We are active, in our mid 40's, like to get out and explore, love the water, enjoy meeting others. We don't need a ton of nightlife but do like to have a cocktail and gamble a little.

Any comments from previous passengers would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance,

Lisa

You'll probably find a lot of similarities with Sea Dream. The Wind Star has about 148 passengers, vs. 110 on the Sea Dream ships. (If you're actually on the Wind Surf, that has 300 or so passengers.) The staterooms are almost exactly the same size, and there are no balconies. Service is very personal, and there's a high staff to passenger ratio for Sea Dream and the Wind Star. Neither line has much night life, but both have bars. The Wind Star has, I believe, a tiny casino. Both lines have sports platforms, which on Windstar are used only in tender ports. Both lines make you feel pampered and special. You will not find many people on this board who didn't love sailing with Windstar, especially on the two smaller ships, Wind Star and Wind Spirit.

We spent two weeks on the larger ship, the Wind Surf, in the Med., and loved our experience despite blustery November weather.

One correction, the sports platform is used many times when the ship is docked. It all depends on the port.

My wife and I love Windstar. Would not cruise on any other line.

It sounds like Windstar would be prefect for you! Mid-40s is the average age on most Windstar cruises. Active, love water and want to meet people is exactly what Windstar is about. We preferred the smaller Windspirit over Windsurf, because we got to meet almost everyone on board, but even Windsurf was great for getting to know people from all over the globe. I don't think you could go wrong!

Great. Thank you for your responses. The ship is the Windstar. We like to try different cruise lines and destinations. So far, smaller has been better.

Will my husband need a sportcoat? For ladies at dinner, will I need skirts, dresses, capris or walking shorts?

Lisa

No sportcoat for your husband. Most men are dressed in "Tommy Bahama"-type of clothes, nice sport shirts and casual/dress pants.

Women wear sundresses, fancy capris. No shorts.

I tended to wear "polo" type shirts to dinner with Docker pants.

I tended to wear "polo" type shirts to dinner with Docker pants.

I too wore khaki pants and polos most nights. That is acceptable I think. However, that is toward the most casual end of the "elegant casual" scale in the dining room if my cruise was typical. Many of the men were slightly more dressy (by my scale anyway - things like the Tony Bahama type shirt) and some of the women went as far as little black dress outfits. On the average, the women looked more dressed up then the men.

Thank you for your help on Windstar's dress code. Looking forward to our Sept. cruise.

Lisa

The Windstar Rookie

If you dress "Country Club" casual you will be fine. Several gentlemen wore blazers but I think I only saw three neckties all week. The women were slightly more formal, but I really women's clothing is very subjective in terms of formality. All I can say is that no one "pushed" the dress code and EVERYBODY looked nice enough to dine with your mother for dinner.;)

I really belive that Windstar has guidelines and not "rules" and it works. I daresay you could wear dress shorts in the dining room at dinner and you would not be turned away; you would be very out of place, but you would not be turned away.

To me, Windstar's attire suggestions fit like a glove.

We did a cruise on the Windstar in November; of course, we had the advantage of the cruise being in Tahiti.

We enjoyed the Windstar, but, it is a different experience than what you might be used to. The 'pool' is only big enough for 3-4 people, and the hot tub is not any bigger. There was only a 2-person combo in the lounge,that was teh extent of their entertainment. No elevators, and climbing the stairs at the end of a long day got a little old after a while.

For breakfast/lunch in the Windjammer, pretty much anything goes (within reason). At dinner, my wife usually wore a dress or top/skirt (she was in cruise mode, after all), and I had khakis and a collared shirt.

Probably more a matter of personal preference than anything else, but I like the bigger ships better