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On any day, our 342-guest flagship, Wind Surf, the world’s largest sailing ship, draws admiring glances as she glides majestically into port with her tall sails billowing. And her beauty is far more than skin deep. During their cruise, you will find the perfect setting for ‘making an entrance’ in the beautiful reception area – and, appropriately, that’s only the beginning.
When you return to your stateroom, the luxury gets personal. Windstar’s signature bowls of flowers and fresh fruit will still be waiting for you, along with rich tufted headboards, soft seascape colors, beautiful new upholstery, and fine count Egyptian cotton linens welcome you to an oasis of relaxing indulgence.
Wind Surf underwent a significant renovation of public spaces and suites, including an expanded lounge with new lights and sound for upcoming stage performances. Relax into the destinations you’re visiting at the new World Spa by Windstar, which will offer regional spa treatments, including massage styles like Swedish, Japanese Shiatsu and Hawaiian Lomi Lomi. An Officer’s Suite, which might be the only one of its kind, provides you with the chance to stay in the heart of the officer quarters tucked right behind the Bridge.
Everything about Wind Surf speaks of welcome. Come aboard and see it for yourself.
This was our first post-Covid vacation. We have been aboard Wind Star 3 times previously. Embarkation was quite easy in Barcelona. They handed out numbers and called 5 numbers at a time. It went quickly. The ship is quite old (1988?) but it is well cared for. All the cabins are identical save for the few suites. Bathrooms are very small with small round showers. Definitely no room for 2 people in there. The crew is as amazing as I previously remember. They all work hard to satisfy every request. Cabin attendant, restaurant maitre de and women at the coffee bar are exceptional. Dinner in the main dining room was hit or miss. One night some type of fish(??) was horrible. Lobster tails on the last night were excellent. Desserts were good but nothing special. The place to have dinner is Candles on the top deck. We went there 3 nights. Always excellent. Filet mignon, seafood skewers, veal chop and the porterhouse steak (upcharge $27) were excellent. Service was mostly very good at dinner. Do not miss the barbecue dinner on the open deck. The entire deck is laid out with food stations and tables. (People get there early and save tables-turn off!) Breakfast and lunch are buffet style but the servers will order and bring you omeletes, french toast, pancakes (breakfast) and burgers, pizza, specials at lunch. Always something to eat. Entertainment is minimal. They have a band playing every night and a duo at night. Both were just ok. Do not miss the opera performances by one of the staff. Tours with tapas lunch were good save for the meals. No choices and not enough to eat. In summation, WindSurf delivers on service and food. It is for the vacationer who wants a small ship experience. No glitzy shows. No casino. Not much nightlife.
My husband and I just returned from the Wind Surf cruise RT Rome with stops in Sicily, Malta, Lipari, and the Amalfi coast. We are in our 60s,70s with over 25 cruises. This was our first Windstar cruise and we enjoyed it very much. I put it down as one of my top 3 cruises and we have done the mass market (Celebrity, NCL, Royal in suites) as well as Seabourn, Viking, Oceania, Azamara, and SilverSea. There were so many surprises that made this cruise special. I will start with the entertainment. I was so pleasantly surprised at the quality of the band, Queen of Aces as well as the more formal shows put on by the Hotel/Cruise Director (Alexander?). The Queen show blew me away and who in the world wouldn’t want someone singing Andrea Bocelli while you sail away from the Amalfi coast and past Capri in the late afternoon with a glass of wine while comfortably sitting in the shade in the Compass Rose deck. It is really hard to top that. Trivia was fun and enjoyed that most of the questions were reasonable. There were special surprises throughout the voyage. I was very struck that they thought out the specific itinerary and just how they could make it special. An example was timing passing Stromboli at 8:30 at night so we could see the action. They parked for a while and let us observe the volcano in action. Other surprises, chocolate covered strawberries at times when returning from excursions, a gift from Malta, and did I mention that Queen show? We loved Stella and especially our favorite crew member, Ita. The lamb, the onion soup, etc. were excellent. I also enjoyed Candles and the steak I had was one of the best I have had during a cruise. Amphora to me was only so, so. There were a couple of misses there including the Pavlova with frozen fruit as opposed to fresh fruit and the creamless spinach soup which quite frankly tasted like canned spinach pureed with an immersion blender. I was also taken aback because I had been looking forward to the souffle dessert ever since seeing the menus online and was told it was not available although on the menu that evening. They said they were out and had to prepare more. I said I would wait and I was basically informed that I could not. Breakfast was fairly good with many options. The tortilla one morning was outstanding. Drink service was always top notch and the wines presented in the package were better than those on Azamara or Viking. All excursions were run like clockwork and we felt they provided value. The Marsala tasting and a Lipari tour were our favorites. The stateroom was adequate in size. Bathroom had a good shower. The room steward, Farid, was excellent and met our every need. I want to comment on the service here. When we came in, the air conditioning was struggling a bit. The room steward immediately had someone on this and it was fixed right away (before the lifeboat drill). I would like to contrast that with another more expensive cruiseline that could never fix, acknowledge, or offer more than lies during an entire voyage to an entire block of rooms. Well done Windstar. I would also like to acknowledge the Captain who was very personable and visible the entire journey. Over all, a great cruise, great service, great entertainment. We now have another Windstar cruise booked. I just hope it can be as good as this one was.
I have sailed on the Wind Surf many times, and have 4-Star Yacht Club privileges. But my past voyages have always been with my wife and sometimes with another couple. I have planned many group travel adventures for my sports club (Ski Club of Washington, DC) and decided to give Windstar a try. I contacted Amy Conover, who is a Director of Charter and Incentive Sales, whom I had previously met on the inaugural cruise of the Star Pride. Amy referred me to Jennifer Brewster, who was my Planning Coordinator. Jennifer did an amazing job for us, and I cannot recommend her highly enough! We had 20 in our group, including 6 that flew in from Portugal to attend. There were only 3 couples in our group; the rest were single travelers, some of whom had never met previously. Jennifer arranged a private cocktail party for us, and the ship's Maitre d' Hubert coordinated our table seatings. The entire crew seemed to know who we were, and greeted us by name whenever possible. Several passengers asked me "who ARE you guys? " Everyone in our group greatly appreciated the attention and gracious service. The Wind Surf also offers a small private party just for single travelers, as well as receptions for new and repeat customers. Dining on the ship was superb. I enjoyed breakfast and lunch on the Veranda, with different versions of Eggs Benedict every morning, and grilled fish at lunch. I tried to avoid too many servings of bread pudding, but failed. I took all my dinners in the Amphora dining room, but many in our group preferred to dine al fresco at Candles. I was invited to join the Hotel Manager James Deering for dinner at the Stella Bistro one night, and enjoyed his tales of life at sea. Garetz (sp?) was the Director of Entertainment on board. He was simply amazing --- a fantastic singer, dancer and showman. He was very friendly, engaging and easy to talk to, and turned the afternoon Trivia contests into a comedy show. The musical entertainment in the Lounge and Compass Rose was also very good. Windstar offers several different excursions at every port of call. I did the "Twelve Metre Yacht Race Experience", which I have done previously. Over half of our group also decided to join me, based on my recommendation. We were all able to be on the same boat (True North) and won our race handily. What a great way to endo our cruise!
All accommodations feature:
We’ve upped the onboard dining game with our culinary program, featuring an array of fresh, seasonal ingredients sourced from each ports along the journey. The menu us crafted to highlight the spectacular flavors of the regional cuisine.
At Windstar, we don’t just take you to fascinating destinations, we take you into them, giving you unique access to knowledge and activities that enhance your understanding of the places you visit. Complimentary Destination Discovery Events treat you to iconic experiences that capture the essence of your locale. Guest Lecturers intrigue you with regional topics, adding new dimensions to your voyage. And small group excursions take you to meet locals who are delighted to share their homes, cuisines, and cultures with you.
Enjoy live music and cocktails at Compass Rose. Read your favourite book on our comfortable chaise lounges on deck. Test your luck in the casino. Try kayaking, waterskiing and windsurfing from our Watersports Platform.
Treat yourself to an aromatherapy massage at WindSpa, or work out on state-of-the-art equipment in the fitness centre.
Please note: Wind Surf does not offer any dedicated children's facilities.
