Windstar vs. Sea Dream Yacht Club

[dejavu]

Hubby & I have been on SDYC before and loved it. We were recently in St. John on vacation and saw a Windstar ship in the harbor. It got us thinking about doing a caribbean Windstar cruise next February (09). SDYC is a little out of our price range but is more all inclusive than Windstar. Has anyone been on both? We have sailed on NCL & Princess too in the caribbean and we know we want a small ship experience, large mega liners are not us. Opinions anyone??

[whatnot]

We have been on both! We sailed on Sea Dream in late January of 2007 out of San Juan and loved it. I can not think of a better cruise experience. It was close to perfect. But you are right, it is pricey.

 

I had seen the Windstar ships at other ports we had been in over the last few years and the sails kept intriqueing me since I love to sail. So late this January, we sailed on the Windstar Costa Rica cruise. We also loved that trip.

 

I would rate Sea Dream higher in the areas of gourmet food, pampering you, the beach BBQ, and service. Let's leave out free drinks and tips for the moment. But all of these areas rated very good in our view. The staterooms had just been redone and were small but storage space, etc was excellent.

 

When the weather permits, the Windstar Captain will put up the sails, cut the engines and it is a glorious experience! We sailed all day on our first day which was a sea day going to our one port in Nicaraugua. There's a big + for Windstar. They also had a native Costa Rican who served as a naturalist, who gave info on each port and could answer almost any question you had about what to do one your own. Also tell you what that bird was you saw that you couldn't recognize.

 

Both ships have open bridges.

 

What it comes down to is, that I loved both ships. I would sail on both ships again.

 

The fare for us was probably $3,000 difference. We spent about $500 for drinks and tips on Windstar. So, if you can be happy with a little less luxury and not all inclusive drinks and tips, then I think you would enjoy Windstar. I would suggest either Windstar or Wind Spirit, not the larger ship.

 

Hope this helps.

 

I'll be glad to try to answer any other questions you have.

[Xoe]

I cannot compare Windstar and SDYC because I've not been on a Sea Dream ship. We saw both Sea Dream ships, anchored near one another, when we were on Wind Spirit's R/T itinerary out of St. Thomas in January.

 

After returning home I looked up prices for Sea Dream, and it appeared that Windstar is less costly.

 

My purpose in making this post is to give my high recommendation for Wind Spirit in the Caribbean, and Wind Star along the west coast of Costa Rica; both of these were top favorites among my life travel experiences. Also, after my first Windstar trip (Jan. 2007), I found the Foremast fare to be a bargain for my second (Jan. 2008).

 

Perhaps Sea Dream is more inclusive. That isn't much of a factor for me because I can monitor my "extras" and keep within budget without difficulty on the Windstar ships. And -- OH, THE SAILS! For me, that is a huge difference that will always sway me to choosing Windstar, if one of those ships is going where I want to go.

[dejavu]

Thank you for the speedy replies!! SDYC prices are too much in my opinion. We like a few cocktails each day(but do not need all inclusive) and really don't need the pampering. As long as the crew are friendly and my cabin is clean and the food is good. We are much more about the ports. Hubby cannot stand the "cattle car" atmosphere on most cruises so I will check out the smaller of the Windstar ships. Thanks again!

[Xoe]

You might want to read the recent Wind Surf review by englishtraveller. There were some negative reviews of Wind Surf in earlier months, but their recent experience was fine, which has me thinking about giving Wind Surf's Caribbean itinerary a try. Wind Surf is "big" compared to Wind Spirit and Wind Star -- but still tiny (312 pax) compared to the big ships.

 

I too start my selection process by itinerary, as the port calls are important to me. However, on our Caribbean cruise we met a couple who vacation every winter on Wind Star in the Caribbean, 2 weeks back-to-back, and very rarely get off the ship because they find it so relaxing and delightful to be on board. Their home is in Colorado, and this is their favorite way to have a change of pace, scene, and WEATHER! I think that is a very high recommendation of the ship itself.