This was our first sailing with Windstar and we were looking forward to the "Luxury" experiences that they advertise. We were sorely disappointed. We are seasoned travelers. This was our eleventh sea-going cruise and we have sailed with other luxury lines, so we know that our expectations were not out of line. We sailed with Crystal twice, and Seabourn four times and never were disappointed. We sprang for one of their more expensive suites - came to over twelve thousand dollars, so naturally our expectations were high. We did like the itinerary - Northern Europe. Sailed from Copenhagen with stops in Northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, then to the North Sea with stops in Amsterdam and Belgium. The shore excursions were very enjoyable, though pricey. The problems were with the service. The staff that deals with the public could not adequately speak or understand English. We have never encountered this before. It was close to impossible to understand some of the waiters. It was very difficult to make our needs and wishes known, to the reception desk, to our steward.

Some specific mishaps: a non-existent wake-up call; extremely hard pillows, when I asked for down pillows was given more of the hard ones, asked a second time, same results - ended up sleeping without a pillow for the next six nights; minibar not refilled, then filled sporadically, but charged us as if it had been restocked; whirlpools closed more often than open, info book in room stated they were open until 11pm, were locked at 9pm.

Food was only average. Twice I had lamb chops, both times they were tough and flavorless. Read more