I gor a brochure for Windstar for next year. Interesting that they are introducing selected "signature voyages" that include:
Free soft drinks, water, beer 24/7..free wine with lunch and dinner...1 bottle of your choice of liquor for your stateroom...and 1 free "special" excursion. There doesn't seem to be any price increase for these. Think they are testing the waters?

Sure sounds like it!

If they, as well as others, are "testing the waters," it hope it will be a real plus for cruisers in the long-run. I would welcome having options, and hopefully, competitive fares.

I got the same brochure. Those Windstar ships are gorgeous with sails up!

As Denise said, competition can have only good effects long-term, I would think. I have heard some good things about Windstar (although the photos certainly show a big difference in cabins from RSSC ships). My reluctance in investigating Windstar further has to do with the line's affiliation with Carnival, in which we have absolutely NO interest. A logical reluctance? I don't know.

I hear the Windstar experience is first rate and the food is excellent. My friends have been thrilled with their experiences.

Priscilla, I can understand your reluctance. Windstar and Carnival - Certainly they are on both ends of the spectrum.

If great deals were offered, I would not hesitate to try Windstar.

I went on Windstar when I first started selling cruises and I was considering selling them so I needed to try it out. It is fabulous on deck when the sails are out (but they dont do that very often) and I loved the cruise in Costa Rica. We went to very small islands and it was great. The Zodiacs were great too as was the open bridge policy. I liked the small ship feel but the ship did rock a lot and in the cabins you are very close to the water line when it gets a little rough. I never get sick so I was fine but it was a weird experience being that low. However, the ships are getting old, the cabins are small (although they make the best use of the space possible) there was always smells both musty and sewerage and the food left a lot to be desired. So few choices at lunch and I eat low carb and there was very little to choose from. Burgers and fries and very unusual salads, beets etc. The only good food experience was the outdoor barbeque which was quite superb. Of course each cruise can be different and everyones tastes can be different but I have to say I was ready to get off the ship at the end of the week and decided not to sell Windstar. My kids (who have done a lot of cruising) went on them about 3 months after I did and they loved it. So once again it can vary from cruise to cruise and person to person but I really have no desire to do Windstar again. The ship I went on was the one that sank in Tahiti. They have the sister ship to that one left and the Windsurf which is larger. If you ever plan on doing this I would suggest the Windsurf, newer and larger would be better.

Mark and I were actually thinking of booking Windstar inJan or Feb. But when our friends - who had never cruised before - decided to join us, we choose the Diamond instead. We couldn't think of a better introduction to cruising that RSSC! (you know the pressure's on you when your friends say , "oh, you decide what ship we should go on..."
There's a certain peace-of-mind in knowing the kind of service and food you'll get with RSSC.

After reading some of the reviews of Windstar - and reading about their recent renovations to the rooms - I definitely have them on my "someday" list. It's a different kind of cruise experience...but sounds like an inviting one.

We were on the Windsurf, a few years ago. We had a great time. The ship is very nice and we did enjoy the food. The service, over all, was pretty good. I found the staff to be very eager to please. When they put those beautiful sails up, it is a unique experience. The negative,IMO, would be, so little to do on the ship. The casino is tiny and very little entertainment on board.

Betty

I have sailed Windstar 3 times, althought it has been quite a few years, but I had a fabulous time. This was before I cruised on Radisson, and after I had cruised on the "other" lines, so it is hard to look back and really give them a fair shake. I certainly feel I cruised the lines in the best order possible....the "other" lines (RSSC, NCL, Costa,etc), Windstar, and finally I got it right with Radisson. :D

The sails are beautiful...very romantic...but I agree with Ngaire on several points....the sewage smell was pretty constant, which was not pleasant, and the sails were not up much.

I had no problem with the rocking, and I enjoyed the food.

I am just not sure that I would go back after being on Radisson. I think Radisson's food is far superior, and although the service on Winsdtar was good, it also didn't compare to the quality of Radisson.

I just didn't like that all the cabins( small) only have portholes..
The ships are really pretty and I did love that there was such a clubby feel but once was enough on that for us.

Priscilla:

Windstar's ownership by Carnival is certainly a negative factor. It has nothing to do wih the fact that the "Carnival cruise experience" isn't what I like. It has to do with corporate culture. With HAL, another Carnival line, this corporation recently tightened up all of its liquor policies which, in summary, made drinks harder to obtain and costlier. While this corporation may have the right to do what it wants in this regard, the fact is that the changes were made with no notice to already-booked passengers, and with no opportunity for them to cancel without penalty. Many previously booked passengers were long time HAL regulars, who THOUGHT they knew what to expect. As a fellow lawyer, I'm sure you will agree that when one party unilaterally changes an executory contract, "it just don't seem right", regardless of any super-fine print relied upon.

We will continue to avoid lines owned by Carnival, RCI, and NCL for several reasons. One of them is these lines have a bad habit of making such changes detrimental to the passengers (or at least THIS passenger), even if made after booking --- all with no notice or ability to back out. This is like Radisson deciding to go to a tipping environment on our May cruise that has been booked for many months, without telling us in advance and letting us back out. Radisson, of course, won't do that. And that is one reason we prefer to do business with them.

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)

Richard, forget about Carnival, they're smart enough to know that you do not fool around with success, and, they do not!

In fact, the only stupid decision they've ever made was to charge a 3% surcharge for Casino advances....they started this when they aquired Princess, who, stupidely, was charging 2%. Quite possibly it wasn't such a "dumb" decision since it's still in force!

Carnival allows their aquired ship companies to operate same as b/4 aquisition as long as they remain profitable.....and, that's the way it's been!

As an addendum, we cruised the Wind Surf once in the Bahamas in 2003.....it was a pleasure....the food and service were excellent, and, the rooms were very acceptable!

I have also seen one of the Windstar ships leaving port when I was on a land (business) trip at a resort in St. Thomas, and it was a pretty sight watching the sails go up as they left the port. But if I want to be on a sailboat, and have friends cruising with me, my choice is a private crewed charter. Everything is included except tips. The food is great, never anything other than less than country club casual. Just a great way to enjoy the islands if you have a group of 6 or more. Tiny cabins, but the ship is your own, the itinerary your own, and you even choose the menu if so desired in advance. After having done so many of this type of trip, it just didn't seem like a real "sailing" trip to me watching those sails come up electronically!

O.....as they say, it's "horses for courses"!

aaannnthony. You have to explain what you mean by that. I hope you are not making fun of me!

Olivia - of all places, I found this in an Indian newspaper!

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/edu/2003/06/24/stories/2003062400040200.htm

aaa - I'm guessing that this is like "to each their own"? :)

Masaki

O....I was not making fun!

M....exactly!

JHP, the fact that the are raised electronically is as bad as they are for looks only. We were told in Tahiti they are not even funtional, that the engine is running and the ship is under thier power even when the sails are up. Oh well as AAA said "horses for courses".
By the way I had never heard that before but I will use it in the future on my buddies to raise a few eyebrows.

Tickets+.....disagree....the sails are surely functional....they use them when they can, usually the first hour or two after sailaway, and, about two hours before port arrival, and, also depending upon the nautical miles they must travel.

On our Bahamas cruise, the Wind Surf did about 1/3 the cruise under sails only, primarily because of the short distances between ports.

The Captain acknowledged that they use motor power, with sails for show, if necessary.

Richard, thanks for sharing your perspective. You have touched on one big reason I would think hard about trying Windstar, and that is that we are so spoiled by Radisson's great service -- and never having cruised any other line except a small 25-passenger sailing ship through the Greek Islands -- that trying another line gives me pause. For us it is not quite so much about the cabin size and amenities (remember, we were big Song of Flower devotees) as about Radisson's general attitude about service before, during and after a cruise. We have a good level of confidence that Radisson will do the right thing, whatever comes up.

That said, aaanthony and BettyK and others have had good experiences on Windstar, and I take that into account as a positive. We love smaller ships, so that too is a big plus. I don't like what Ngaire and Sheri say about smells, etc. though. That would be very unpleasant. All in all, who knows? Not me, at this point. Right now our 2005 RSSC cruise is the only one on the horizon.

Aaanthony, I used your "horses for courses" phrase already! New to me, but now in my lexicon.