Our experience on Windstar Cruises was excellent. We had originally chosen an itinerary from Istanbul to Athens. However, Windstar pulled out of Istanbul after the attempted coup, and gave us the opportunity to stay with the ship's new itinerary or change. We chose to change to an earlier sail date from Rome to Venice, with stops in Montenegro, Croatia and Italy. Windstar was very responsive to our requests and questions as we made these changes.

We stayed in Rome for one night prior to the cruise, and took the train from Rome to Civitavecchia on our embarkation day. This ended up being slightly stressful (we missed the express train and ended up on a local -- cutting it very, very close to missing the all-aboard time). We made these arrangements independently, and might have been better off using Windstar to make the arrangements for us. That said, they welcomed us to the port and helped us get aboard. The registration process once on the ship was quick and easy, and we relished the opportunity to relax.

The Wind Surf is a gorgeous ship. Upon leaving each port, she unfurled her sails and the ceremony was invigorating. The decks are very pleasant, with plenty of seating. The deck bars are responsive to your needs, but not pushy, which has not been our experience with other cruise lines. Read more