Wind Surf

This is my 5th with Windstar so they are doing things as right as they get for me. Thanks for all, Kurt in Houston xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My friend likes to cruise, I don't.  So we compromised on a small ship cruise and couldn't have been more delighted.  The Wind Surf was lovely, our room comfortable, and the crew were fantastic.  The food was very good and there was always good variety.  And of course we met some very lovely people and had a great time.  The excursions were good, however, we hit a few glitches.  Taormina; maybe I picked the wrong excursion, but the tour with the winery lunch didn't leave enough time to stroll and shop in the town, which the description said we would have.  The winery was at such a distance that at the end of the day it felt as if we had spent most of the day on the bus.  The winery lunch seemed as if they wanted to just get us in and out ASAP.  The day scheduled for tours of Pompeii and Herculaneum was the first Sunday of the month.  All sites and museums are free to Italians on the first Sunday.  We stood on line for 2 hours at Herculaneum and later heard that of two busses only one got into Pompeii because the site closed due to the crowds.  Additional tours were scheduled for the next day but we were so tired we cancelled our tour of Pompeii and stayed on the ship all day.  Not really a bad thing, we had a very relaxing day.  All in all, we had a great time and before we disembarked we were already talking about another cruise.

The cabins were excellent the public areas need some improvement.  The food except the grill was mediocre. Plenty of space for passengers in restaurants and public places.  Nice and friendly crew members. 

After sailing on a few large ship cruises, we had forgotten then benefits of small quaint ports, fewer more seasoned travelers and few children on board. Loved this experience again after 20+ years since our last Wind Star voyage. Looking forward to doing it again soon. Despite the fact it takes more work to get off the ship when tendering, love not being at a dock and out in the bay. Loved most of the ports and were glad to be well taken care of in semi-luxury.

Positives for customer service and ease of operations. The team works to give you a good experience.  The ship is in need of maintenance - rusty and uncared for exterior. It was sad. The interiors were functional but quite dated in appearance. Overall, the winning itinerary was just what I wanted and the reason I booked this particular cruise. I had a good time but wish the ship had been in better form. This is small ship cruising but not luxury cruising and too expensive for what you get.