I Cruise The World's 'Most Popular' Small Ship Line: Windstar

After loving recent cruises on 600 and 700 passenger ships, like Oceania Insignia, Azamara Quest and Seabourn Encore, I wanted to see if going ever smaller was even better, so I booked myself on an 11-night Windstar Star Pride “Lands of the Midnight Suns”. Now this ship only holds 312 passengers, and they claim to be the market leading small ship line and have both these yacht style engine-driven ships that I went on, but they also have sailing vessels as well.

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00:00 Start
01:18 Dining Trade Offs
05:30 Excursion Trade Offs
06:22 Facilities Trade Offs
08:17 Activities Trade Offs
10:30 Passenger Trade Offs

[alans]

No shows, no casino, no hordes. All sounding pretty good to me. Quality food, space to sit and enjoy bring at sea, comfortable cabins. I’m sold - but then we’re all different. Good review. Thank you.

[rweadon]

Thanks to small ships like Windstar's, those of us who value no queues, no casinos, no ear-splitting “entertainment, ” great personal service, well prepared meals properly served and true relaxation, also have cruses to enjoy.

[loisblake]

This is exactly why we love WINDSTAR, it is the non "cruise" cruise. Low-key, relaxing and quiet.

[brianlemke]

What you call limitations or trade-offs are in fact advantages. We sailed exactly this ship almost exactly 10 years ago when it was the Seabourn Pride. Simply fantastic. Food, amenities, excursions, all great. But the massive advantage is no crowds and the intimate atmosphere.

That was our first cruise and we were permanently spoiled. We will never, ever book a ship >500 passengers. Ever.

[gogotraveler]

Windstar is my absolute favorite cruise line. F un. Friendly. Most people rarely go out on any balcony on any ship and just like to open the slider. As far as a table for yourself arrive at 7PM. I find a great selection of food more than on larger ships with great food.

[wolcottwu]

Thanks much Gary.

As a repeat Windstar cruiser, I was trying to describe the experience to an interested couple. Your clear framing allowed them to make a better informed decision.

They booked.

[apainlessone]

When you get off of a Windstar ship you get to see what the port or town is really like. When you get off a 3, 000 + passenger ship, the port becomes the people on your ship walking around the town.

[Bobrogers]

Some people want to cruise on a floating Las Vegas, but not me. This sounds like my kind of cruise: informal, unique ports of call, small tour groups, good food and comfy cabins. Most of my cruising has been on rivers in ships smaller than this one, and you have enumerated the benefits. The lack of onboard entertainment wouldn't bother me a bit.

[gogotraveler]

We love cruising windstar. It's by far our favorite cruise line. Everyone knows your name. The food is made from scratch. They have an open bridge. You are waited on hand and foot. We were on Windsurf for 18 days in January. We have booked 18 days from Venice to Rome in October and we have booked 15 days from Rome to Lisbon. As far as excursions have found a good mix of tours in all price ranges.

[marymaryquitecontrary]

All I can say is, this sounds PERFECT!! for me. I wouldn't miss the crowds and buzzy activities a bit—the leisurely approach floats my boat.

[gogotraveler]

I love windstar. We did 2, 18 day trips in 2023. We had a fabulous time. Food is wonderful and made from scratch. We booked 3 more back to back trips. As experienced cruisers this is our favorite cruise line. Regarding the excursions there are plenty of non active excursions in my experience. Fyi the staff from our trip in January that stayed on actually remembered our names on our return in October. I prefer the socialising of a small ship although I am conversational.

[ellenriddick]

It's a french balcony and that's exactly what they call it. We've never had an issue getting whatever seating we asked for. And thank goodness they don't have those horrible shows to suffer through. The food is wonderful and nonpretentious. They have the best excursions and if in Alaska you get expedition trips. No better cruiseline than windstar. We love, love everything about WS!

[markthomas]

I’ve been retired a couple of years and, only being aware of big flashy busy casino ships, have never previously had any temptation at all to go on a cruise. This excellent overview, including all the “downsides”, sounds absolutely wonderful and I’ll now definitely be looking into experiencing this for myself.

[blacksquirrel]

Based on your comments, this is the first cruise I’ve been tempted to take.

[seashelify]

We did 14 days cruising the Caribbean on the Star Pride last March. It was amazing. The entertainment director at that time was also an Opera singer who entertained us several times. This was a huge plus. The ship also has an area where one can jump off the ship into the ocean & go for a swim. Not as casual as it may sound as there were many currents & it was often closed…but a highlight for sure. Twice we had BBQs ashore & they brought the paddle boards, kayaks & swimming platforms ashore for all to enjoy. The crew was wonderful & it was one of our favorite trips.

[lisacraze]

My very first cruise, back in 1993 was on Windstar to French Polynesia. I loved it. The cabin was very comfortable, excellent food as you mentioned, and all round, the experience was fantastic. I had nothing to compare it to. But, having cruised over the years, on larger and more active lines (most recently Cunard's Queen Elizabeth to Alaska) I would still happily cruise on Windstar again. It's just as you put it. A very different experience. And, as I'm not a person who has to or wants to be busy all the time, I would find it relaxing.

[BobJohnson-hk]

We LOVE Windstar. Just booked them for summer 2024 in Tahiti & Bora Bora. Expensive, yes - but WELL worth it !

[TVHouseHistorian]

As a less-experienced cruiser, my cruising experience extends only to some of the largest commercial cruise lines, such as Princess, RCL, and NCL. What strikes me the most about your Windstar experience is the focus being primarily on exploration rather than the “floating resort” experience the larger ships offer. This cruise experience is very reminiscent of what’s offered on some of the smaller expedition-intensive luxury cruise lines where passengers attend a briefing every evening on the next day’s expedition, which requires rigorous exercise. Windstar seem to be much more in that vein. The whole ship experience has more to do with supporting what’s really important to guests, which is EXPLORATION. I love that.

Don’t give me any shows. I don’t care about huge food variety, but the food *must* be somewhere between excellent and exceptional. Excellent cuisine always lends itself to convivial atmosphere among guests.

As a solo cruiser, I’m ecstatic about sharing my dinner table with other guests. I hate dining alone.

Bottom line: I find myself yearning for a smaller, more sedate ship experience, good food on offer, and less being CRAMMED in with the masses. I adore children, but when it comes to cruising, I detest families with all the drama they bring. Enough with the party atmosphere, which lends itself to unruly, uncouth behavior by passengers who can only afford to vacation “on the cheap.” Sorry to sound like such a snoot. I’m just over the “floating resort, loud family-friendly, drink till you drop, party hardy”experience the larger cruise lines offer.

[lindalaceyblevins]

Gary, I love that you are so comfortable in being by yourself on these cruises. This is one aspect that terrifies me: that I will find myself alone, which is fine, but forced to table share and feel like a third or fifth wheel. You are so at ease, taking it all in. Good for you! ❤

[heidixxx]

I didn't know cruise ships this small even existed. Thank you for introducing!! As an introvert, this would probably be fine for me. It would just be many more laps around the deck to walk off the food!!!