Celebrity/HAL Cruiser looking at Windstar?

[Wilcoam]

My Wife and I and another Couple want to a European Cruise in Europe in Oct. Greek Islands is our first choice.

 

We are very familiar with Celebrity M Class Ships and did one cruise on HAL Oosterdam. We LOVE Celebrity for everything, especially the service, food, concierge class balcony cabins, and a high percentage of non-americans, but we dislike the 'dressing up formal' part in the evening.

 

HAL was solid, but also a little too formal for our tastes, and the passengers a little too much on older side.

 

We are young, and very liberal/young in that we make our living in the music industry. Thus, we are very non-formal people, but also have 'better than average tastes' in food, accoms, dare i say 'luxary' (lol)

 

So NCL, Carnival, RCI is too 'mass-market' for us, and the likes of Cunard, Seabourne sound way too stuffy, old-guard, etc....

 

I hear Windstar is 'less formal' and has a large sub 50 or younger clientale? True? How much do you miss the balcony? How is the Windstar experience different than HAL and Celebrity.

 

All advice is welcome...

 

jc

H-Shoe Tavern

Toronto

[Joanandjoe]

We're in our late 50's but "think young"; so maybe we can be of help. We've been on all three lines. The average adult on Windstar was younger than on the other two lines. (There were no children during our two weeks on board the Wind Surf last November, but there were plenty of 30ish people and few over 70-the itinerary was very active!)

 

Windstar ships are much smaller than the M and Vista ships on Celebrity and HAL: 150 or 300 people vs. around 2000. That has pluses and minuses, with the pluses more significant.

 

The food on Windstar is better. Maybe too good - we each gained about 6 pounds in two weeks. You'll never need a tie or jacket, or a fancy dress. The dress code on Windstar (to the extent there is one) is casual but elegant.

 

There's more personal attention from the staff, which makes the Windstar ships seem more luxurious than the others even though Windstar doesn't have fancy lounges or showrooms. The rooms (approx. 198 square feet) are smaller than balcony rooms on HAL or Celebity, but they are well laid out. A balcony would be nice in the Med.; on the other hand, on HAL and Celebrity you won't get the wonderful feeling of being under sail. If you go to places where you can dive, the dive instructors are very friendly and (we hear, but didn't try) very good.

 

150 or 300 people do not crowd a port, and you'll never see long lines on Windstar. You can go into interesting ports on Windstar that are either unavailable to bigger ships, or at which bigger ships must tender while Windstar docks. In Marseille we docked at a lovely area, while the big ships dock at a grubby industrial port.

 

The minuses? Really only one, but it may be important to you. There's very little night life on Windstar, so you have to make your own. The casino is small, there are no "Vegas-type" shows, just two small combos (on the Wind Surf - maybe only one on the samller ships). On the other hand, the ships are so friendly that, if you bring your instrument, the musicians just might invite you to join them on the bandstand.

 

Try Windstar, you'll like it!

[corbes]

I've been on 4 cruises, two on the HAL Zuiderdam and two on the Windstar. On the carribbean ports, it was important to us to have a private balcony, thus why we booked on the Zuiderdam. We had booked it in the middle of busy working times and really needed more of a relaxing cruise, not sightseeing and making new friends cruise, so just hung out on the balcony reading etc. On the two Windstar cruises, the ports were more the destinations and we were up for sightseeing and interacting with people. I sometimes cruise with my aunt, she 50+ and myself 30, and we both always find interesting people to chat with and make new friends on the smaller ships. So younger and older, I think the Windstar is perfect, that is if you're up for meeting people and sharing the big balcony that encompasses the whole ship :-)

[johnnycruise]

I have cruised on all three lines. HAL is for the elderly ... PERIOD. Celebrity has a nice blend of passengers and good entertainment. Windstar works if you do not require much evening entertainment. I think Windstar is slightly superior to Celebrity because of the smaller size. There is minimal waiting, the evening dining has great options without surcharges, formal dress, or set times; room service is excellent; and the crew gets to know your preferences pretty fast. Plus, Windstar usually includes a couple of smaller ports that are not regularly overwhelmed by cruise ship passengers. The Thallostherapy pools on the Celebrity ships are very relaxing, but the free banana boat rides on Windstar brought out the kid in me (which was fine because there were ZERO children on board)!

[Pudgesmom]

We have cruised twice on HAL, and are in our 40's. We liked the Statendam, not so much the Oosterdam, except for the SS suite where we spent most of the cruise just hanging out.

 

We're booked on a Windstar cruise, with our two teenagers for next New Year's. I'm hoping we won't miss the balcony too much, but the ports look sooo much more interesting. We don't really care at all about dressing up, so that seems a plus, and never attend any of the entertainment, so we won't miss that either.

 

I guess I'm disagreeing with the last poster as to the age of all HAL customers and the suitablility of Windstar for children. Mine are really looking forward to the SCUBA program and the sports platforms.

 

However, since we haven't been on Windstar yet, I guess I'm sharing what I hope will be getting.:rolleyes:

Beth

[g2cruise]

Windstar is a great way to do the Greek Islands! You will never go back to Celebrity of HAL unless of coarse you have to . I have traveled throughout many parts in the world and would love to offer some advise. staceysell@aol.com:)

[dawgiedad]

My wife and I have sailed on WindStar 4 times and I agree it's a great way to see the Greek Isles, or for that fact any of their destinations!

[lovecruisingtoo]

My wife and I have been on both Windstar (4 times) and Celebrity once. We would never go back to Celebrity. The food and service on Windstar are significantly better than Celebrity. You also do not have the long lines to go ashore. Even if you have to tender in on Windstar it only takes a couple of tenders to get everyone on shore. A far cry from the number of trips it takes a Celebrity size ship.

 

My wife and I also loved the open seating for meals as well as not having to get dressed up at night.

[rickcohen2]

We have also been on HAL (x2) and Windstar (x2), as well as a couple of other lines (NCL & REN). Windstar is our favorite, even without balconies (which were usually only used to stow wet dive/swimming gear).

 

Our group consists mostly of people 40-something. We've never, on any line, found the age of fellow shipmates an issue. Meeting nice people having a good time on vacation bridges most all generation gaps.

 

Even on an NCL trip, the line had a way of keeping several hundred pre-teens from disturbing those who might have at first wished they taken a HAL trip instead. Speaking of HAL, some of the nicest people we've met have been 20-30 years our senior or 20-something honeymooners. Like age itself, it seems to be mostly in the mind.

 

And, I agree with the person who mentioned the banana-boat rides. Wanna feel 15 again? But, remember to bring your meds.