Windstar gave me something a little bit different

Having sailed on very large mainstream cruises and then a couple of medium-sized ultra luxury ships, I was very excited to sail on a sailing ship with Windstar Cruises.

I knew it would be something totally different, and I was right!

As we approached the ship in Barcelona port, Wind Surf really did stand out. The mast stood taller than the port building, making us even more excited to get on board.

The check-in process was smooth and quick, and once boarded we were taken directly to our stateroom. We’ve never been taken to our stateroom on cruises we’ve been on before; normally we’re just directed to where it is. I thought this was a really nice touch from the lovely Windstar Cruises crew.

At each sail away there is the signature Windstar sail away event. Guests gather on deck to toast the opening of the sails and the loud and proud music of 1492: Conquest of Paradise. I still get goosebumps when I think about it now, it’s a proper Pirates of the Caribbean moment!

The suite

We were in Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom 309 -- a cosy room with all amenities we needed!

We were surprised by the size of the room. It was much larger than expected compared to the smaller size of the ship. My favourite thing about the room, along with the rest of the ship, was the fact we really felt like we were on a ship and not in a hotel. By this, I mean I loved the dark wood décor and the use of little silver buttons instead of switches.

In the stateroom there was a fresh fruit plate, two jugs of drinking water and an ice bucket. They were refilled twice a day. Tea, coffee and soft drinks are included in the standard fare, but we treated ourselves to the all-inclusive package. All drinks were included and the minibar was also restocked every day!

There was plenty of room for the two of us in the stateroom. We had a little poke around and found an old school DVD player in one of the cupboards! It was very nostalgic and I loved it.

More of why later…

The food

The food was just as expected; every meal was top standard. The Windstar Burger at lunch was one of the best I’ve ever eaten and perfectly juicy! For dinner, there’s a choice of the main dining room which rotates menus daily; Stella Bistro, which is the French restaurant and Candles, which is open-air dining on the deck.

One night of the cruise was dedicated to the signature Windstar barbeque. All other dining options were closed during this evening, which meant all guests were together on the deck enjoying a range of barbeque buffet food, complete with hog roast and free-flowing sangria.

The atmosphere was fantastic every night we were on board, but the barbeque evening was on another level. Once the barbeque had been put away, guests were invited to join some of the crew for line dancing on the pool deck. This made me realise how uncoordinated I am!

The ship

My favourite area of the ship was Compass Rose, the go-to place each evening. It’s a bar which opens onto the deck to allow for alfresco drinks every evening.  We spent every evening here as there would always be a band or singer entertaining. The atmosphere, with the other guests dancing and enjoying themselves, really made it a great evening each night.

On one of the evenings we decided to have a night in with our in-suite DVD player and a DVD! This meant spending a good amount of time looking through the hundreds of DVDs available to borrow. It reminded me of a Friday night in Blockbusters! Once we had finally decided on which film to watch we headed back to the room. On Windstar’s in-room dining menu they actually had popcorn for two. It put a cherry on top of our movie night!

Weather permitting, and on days that the ship tenders, the water sports platform is opened at the back of the ship. I’m not a great swimmer but had to make sure I took advantage of the platform; it looked like so much fun!

We were lucky enough that the weather allowed for the platform to be open on all three of our tender days.  When open there are floats leading out to a water trampoline. You can also make use of the paddle boards or kayaks. There are also plenty of floats available to take out and life jackets to use if, like me, you aren’t a confident swimmer.

If you want to experience the joy of Windstar Cruises like Kim, give our cruise connoisseurs a call on 0161 513 8200!