The windspirit, windstar cruise was brillant. Ive been on about 7 cruises and this surpassed them all. What a great way to see six islands in seven days without hassles of unpacking, travel time and moving. The windspirit only had 130 passengers and 100 crew. The food was fabulous - available 24 hours. The crew were so friendly and helpful. They were amazing at remembering names. Our standard cabin level 1 was spacious and comfortable. The shower was really good. And the clothes line got lots of use for drying our wet swimwear each day. We visited Moorea, Raiatea, Taaha, Borabora (2 days) and Huahine. Highlight tours included the stingrays in Moorea. Just do it. They are much much much better in Moorea than borabora (we did both). The motu (island) day in Taaha and borabora. These were fantastic with a great show in Borabora. Sailing away with music, sails and sunsets - magical. But the music is only played at the back of the boat so if you are standing at the front like us on the second day you will miss the music. Drinks were reasonably priced (us8 for a cocktail). But all non alcoholic drinks are free so if you wanted a mocktail they were all free. We booked a private charter in borabora with pure snorkelling. Totally recommend this. It was fantastic. The disappointments were Huahine. Locals just werent welcoming of cruise ships and expressed their displeasure numerous times. I also got tired of the male put downs by the “female” island tour guide. We did a snorkelling trip and dont recommend it at all. it was suppose to be three hours and was less than two with one stop. And the guide didnt even get in the water and point things out - too busy on her phone, Others didnt think their land trips were much better. So do your own thing in Huahine. The food was fantastic. We booked candles (outside deck) in bora bora and this was very nice (although we missed out on the seared tuna at the restaurant that night). Room service available 24 hours and we ordered nacho chips, salsa and guacamole a few times. Also once we were late back from our private tour so we had room service lunch. Variety at breakfast was very good - french toast our favourite. My other disappointment was the water platform. We did the sea biscuit in Moorea at the water platform on the boat. This was great fun. I tried to do it again with my son on other days but one family dominated the water platform water skiing. One day we were told they were closed for lunch for an hour, so we came back and they said they were packing up in half an hour and couldnt take us. The paddleboards were old and waterlogged. However, we did enjoy swimming at the water platform. I think they need a booking system for skiing, wave boards and sea biscuit I highly recommend a windstar cruise and a fantastic way to see so much. Read Less

My husband and I just came home from the Lisbon to Barcelona cruise in April. It is our third cruise with Windstar. Pros: The staff is wonderful. They know your name by the second day. The food is good particularly the barbeque on the deck. There is a nice variety of food to please everyone. The suites are spacious. King size beds, a sitting area, a double variety bathroom, and a walk-in closet. The ship is very clean. The security on and off the ship is good. The shore excursions to Gibraltar, Alhambra and Seville were very good. The daily programs and nightly talks are very helpful for background information. Embarkment and disembarkment are quick and efficient. We extended our stay at the end of the trip to Barcelona. It was wonderful! Cons: The shore excursions are expensive. WiFi is not included and should be. Wine and beer should be included not an additional charge. A lovely vacation! Read Less

We got a flight out of Philli the day before and had a nice hotel at the Simpson Bay , with a decent beach. So no rush or stress at sailing day. Taxi to the cruise terminal was no problem Embarkation easy and fast. Since there were only 150 passengers we had more crew than passengers. The cabins are standard size with enough storage space. Bathroom are small but good equipped. Restaurants were not full and the choice of food good. However some dishes were very salty and some dishes did not deserve their name. Crew and officers were polite and customer oriented. Entertainment was just so so Even the crew tried their best. Good was the visit on the bridge , where you always could ask the officer on duty about what’s going on and of course how the weather will be for the next days. The cost for local WiFi is outrageous expensive. For unlimited access they charged $ 650. The drinks are a little expensive , but do not take the beverage option. We did not do excursions at the Azores, but there are enough taxis in Ponta Before Lisbon enjoy the to the Tagus river even its past 11:00 pm When arriving in Lisbon take a cab to the airport and pay not more than € 20. locals pay € 10. For an excursion to Sintra you can take a train , which takes 40 min. Otherwise enjoy Lisbon by foot or by tram. The No 15 tram ( la quince) takes you to Belem and the sights Read Less

This was our 7th WindStar cruise (over the last 14 years) -- the 4th on one of their sailing ships. We'd talked to lots of fellow cruisers over the years and asked what they'd recommend for seeing Tahiti, and WindStar seemed the top pick. We're quite active and enjoyed the sporting options this itinerary and this ship provided. We found the food to be really good -- better than our second most recent cruise, a crossing on Seabourn. This Windspirit ship a very small ship and you do get to know the staff quite well. All staff did exceptional jobs. Special requests were handled with pleasure. The reception staff were the best I've ever seen on a cruise ship. All staff except for one waiter met or exceeded our high expectations; that one waiter, unfortunately, was consistently disappointing. Cocktails were also well done. We've sailed at least 3 times with this Bar Manager, Bien. The team is enthusiastic. We asked for several special mix cocktails and all were great. There is minimum entertainment on the ship -- so if you want dancers and musical shows, look elsewhere. I struggled ahead of the cruise with logistics -- what nights of the cruise were special items on offer, what time would be be allowed aboard, and what time are we kicked off at the end? I offer the following Day-by-Day rundown in case it's helpful to others. We try to pack minimally, and it would have been useful to know that we could wear shorts/jeans on 3 of the 7 nights. Tuesday -- arrive Tahiti from San Francisco on United. Overnight on our own Intercontinental. Wednesday -- Overnight Intercontinental Thursday -- Embarcation, starting at 1pm. We arrived at the pier at about 1:30 and waited about 30 minutes to board as there was a line. Biggest hold up seemed to be the physical inspection of luggage -- looking for bottles and confiscating bottles of Alcohol. We had 2 bottles of Champagne per cabin, which was allowed through. We booked Candles this night -- dinner on the back deck of the boat; so shorts/jeans allowed this night. Friday -- Moorea, via Tender. Saturday -- Raiatea, Docked. Deck Barbecue this evening, so shorts/jeans allowed. Sunday -- Taha'a -- all day on a private island, including lunch. You really don't go ashore to Taha'a, unless you're on a tour that goes there. Monday -- Bora Bora, via Tender. Tuesday -- Bora Bora, via Tender. Evening event is dinner with dancers on private island -- so shorts another night for dinner. This private island is available mid-morning to mid-afternoon for any guests who just want to be on a beautiful quiet beach. Wednesday -- Huahine, via Tender. Thursday -- Disembarkation. I believe we had to be off around 9am. Sofitel had a much better day-room option than the Intercontinental, so we arranged day rooms at the Sofitel and used taxis to get to/from the hotel. We flew out this same evening, on United. More details on what we did by day. Pre-Cruise -- we arrived in the evening 2 days ahead of the cruise, flying in on United from San Francisco. On arrival it was really hot, still, and very humid; I'd read this would be the case and I was still very surprised. I live on an island off the coast of South Florida -- so I'm used to warm days and nights -- this was downright hot. While we cleared immigration within minutes, others on our flight took about an hour to finally get through. There was a small group of singers/musicians welcoming the passengers to Tahiti. We'd rented a car from Avis to drive ourselves to the hotel for the night and to take us around the island the next day. The rental worked out well. Wednesday -- Full day on Tahiti. We'd arranged for a guide to take us on a 1/2 day hike to Fautaua Waterfall. The flora and fauna were spectacular, and the water was very refreshing. It was a pretty moderate to difficult hike given some of the roots and boulders we had to traverse, and we stopped short of the waterfalls given our pace and schedule. We did spend some time swimming in the river before we headed back down the trail. After the hike, we headed off toward some local sights including a great lookout, the Point Venus Lighthouse, and the Three Cascades Waterfall. We were about 1/3 of the way around the island at this point, and we decided to drive back / return the car as we'd only rented the car for one day. While the hotel is walkable to/from the Airport, it's quite a busy journey; we turned in the car and caught a taxi back to the hotel. Thursday -- We were out of our room by 11am and the hotel held our luggage until our departure at 1pm. Taxi from the hotel to the pier was about $25 USD. That was for 5 people and luggage. Once aboard the ship and after we'd unpacked, several of us went into Papeete to visit the Catholic Church and Market. The Church as interesting but incredibly warm. The market had some breeze blowing through it; none of the goods for sale spoke to us so we walked away having not purchased anything. Sail away was around 6pm. Some of our companions had never experienced a WindStar sailing ship sail away and they marveled at spectacle. We'd arranged for dinner on deck this evening, so we didn't need to change out of our shorts. It was a very short 2.5 hour sail to Moorea, where we anchored off shore for the night. We knew our sailing month, April, was near the end of rainy season, and we had a small shower near the end of dinner. Staff had anticipated this event and arranged all tables under cover. The shower was over quickly. Friday -- We'd arranged for a rental car on Moorea so that we could do two things -- hike the Three Coconuts Trail and drive around the entire island. Avis picked us up at the dock...but as we were 5 people and their car only fit 4, two of us had to drive to the rental office, get the rental car for 5 people, and drive it back. So we wasted some 45 minutes; this came back to haunt us as we tried to get some local fish (Poison Cru) at the highly rated beachside restaurant Snack Mahana; they had run out of food and closed early this day. Besides our Windstar ship, the Paul Gaugin was also on Moorea. The Three Coconuts Trail was beautiful; as it had rained the night before, some of the path was very muddy slippery. One of our folks abandoned the hike and headed back to wait for the rest of us. We didn't have a guide this day but did have a detailed GPS map that came in handy twice on the return as we somehow lost the trail. The drive around the island was mildly interesting; we were, however, tired and hungry. Saturday -- Raiatea. In the morning we'd planned to hike to the Mt. Tapioi, where the Communications Tower is located, for a great birds eye view of the island. The afternoon we'd booked a spectacular drift snorkel through the coral gardens -- one of the highlights of the trip. We were not successful on the hike as the path traverses private property and the property owners close the road to tourists on the weekend; we were in Raiatea on Saturday. I'd emailed the listed address on the sign asking permission to hike the trail on Saturday and the mailbox was no longer valid; some locals asked us to leave. We had a wander along the coast and visited a local market. The afternoon drift snorkel was arranged through Te Mara Nui Plongée. Cost was 8,000 CPF/person, payable day of, in cash. We were told to bring masks, snorkels, and water shoes; not fins. We had 3 or 4 runs through the coral gardens. It was surreal to see such beauty as you floated by in the current. The boat anchored off a little island and we waded ashore. We then walked the length of the island with the guides (there were 2 guides with us). The guides explained that we entered the current and floated back towards the boat. The float took maybe 20 minutes, where we waded back to the island and repeated. We saw lots of fish, some beautiful soft coral, some blue lipped clams, and even an octopus; the octopus was just as interested in us as we were in it. There were far less snorkelers this day than the ship's organized tour the next day to the same location. When we returned to the ship, some local ladies were instructing guests how to make outfits from local fabric and how to dance. The evening's deck barbecue was great -- I especially liked the suckling pig and the lobster. There was lots of line dancing, and then dancing under the stars. The last dancers left around 11pm. Sunday -- Taha'a. We enjoyed the private island all day. WindStar had all of the water toys at the beach for guests' use; there was a full bar set up, and there were tons of longers, both in the sun and in the shade. We stayed at the beach all day. Monday -- Bora Bora. We hadn't planned anything for the morning. For the afternoon, we'd arranged an island tour with Natura Discovery. Cost was $70 each, payable day of in cash. The met us at the dock, with an covered but open 4X4 vehicle. We took a trip around the island, stopping at the beach, a plantation, a WWII site, and several lookouts. First stop was at the famous Bloody Mary's restaurant and bar. It was a really nice tour. Once back at the ship, several of us tried wakeboarding with the Watersports crew. All of us got up on the wakeboard -- some of us for a few seconds and others for a few minutes. One other in our group loved lounging on the floating pads behind the ship. Tuesday -- Bora Bora. In the morning we'd arranged a single dive with Dive 'N Smile. Three of our group were certified divers and two were not. Cost was $100 for the certified folks and $110 for non-certified. Patrick was the Dive Master and he had a great casual way about him that relaxed everyone -- he was superb! The scenery was good, not great. We're very glad we did this as we wanted to say we've been on a dive in Bora Bora. Patrick brought us directly back to the ship. We grabbed a quick lunch and changed into our swimsuits as we were headed to the island where tonight's dinner was planned. The water toys were on the beach but no other services were provided (towels and drinks had to be brought with you from the ship). The evening dinner was really good. The food was good, the dancers were good. It was a pretty magical evening under the stars. Wednesday -- Huahine. We'd planning to rent bicycles and do a self tour around the island. Instead it rained quite hard for a few hours this morning. I understand some tours went as scheduled and some guests had a lovely picnic on a sand bar in the rain. Once the rain stopped, we did have a wander about the town -- drinks in the yacht club, a visit to the beach, a visit to the church, and a visit to the Distillery, where we purchased several local concoctions. Our "rent bicycles" plan seemed very flawed as there were no apparent places to rent bicycles. Huahine is quite a sleepy place, so make sure you plan ahead if you want a car, bike, or driver for wandering around. Thursday -- We'd booked day rooms at the Sofitel. They offered us day rooms for 18,000 XPF per room. We had the room from 9am - 6pm. I wrote to the concierge email address listed on their website to get his offer. The Intercontinental wanted us to purchase rooms 2 nights in order to use the facilities during the day from 9am-6pm. Hope this is helpful to others. I'd highly recommend this cruise. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the itinerary. We were tired of the same ports visited by the big cruise ships and wanted to explore other islands, particularly Montserrat. We were not disappointed. While we did visit Antigua and Barbados, which are visited by the large ships, we also explored other islands and different ports. Anguilla, Montserrat, Dominica, St Lucia and Grenada were also stops. Neither of us are "foodies" but the food was incredible. All meals were very well done. The crew was so friendly and helpful and the officers were very accessible. Each night at 6:30 the Destination officer gave a presentation on the next port that was very insightful. All of the wait staff were versatile and did a great job of learning your name and room number. Anything you needed they could assist with. The ship is smaller obviously and rough seas had an effect but we experienced no big problems. There is some age on the boat but it was very clean and well maintained. There is not much entertainment but we were not seeking full shows. We met so many nice people on the boat too. We will definitely sail on Wind Star again. Read Less

Having done this exact cruise last year, albeit a little later in the Spring, and enjoyed it so much we booked it again when offered. In full disclosure we got an AMAZING deal that we couldn't pass up. The crossing was originally scheduled for the end of March but was moved up two weeks. We found out at the end of the crossing that it was to complete a 10-day dry dock before SP began her Med season. Only 62 people were onboard compared to 168 last year. Did it make a difference? Yes, in that there wasn't enough for the crew to do, and it seemed they got a little bored. Can't blame them. With the exception of the trivia games and "name that tune" the guests didn't seem to want to participate a lot - maybe they were a little bored too. The Spa was rarely used as was the gym. Several times on leaving the gym in the late afternoon the hair salon area was dark and there was no one at the front desk. Rarely saw anyone in the casino (which we heard is being eliminated during the "stretching"). Cruiselines use the days at sea to get done repairs, both cosmetic and mechanical, that couldn't be completed during the ship's Caribbean season. This resulted in some noise, loud at times, that really bugged some people - us not so much. After receiving complaints the ship did the best they could to complete the repairs when guests weren't on deck. As another reviewer wrote Star Pride is showing her age and isn't due to go into full dry dock for "stretching" until 2020, so it's no wonder WS schedule a mini-dry dock now. Hopefully these repairs will be enough to see the ship through. The crew was fantastic! Learned your name quickly and your preferences for things like coffee, wine, etc. They were always smiling and always greeted you by name. With only one exception, we felt they worked hard and enjoyed what they did. We couldn't say the same for our stateroom attendant. Nice guy but seemed not to have been well trained. The food was outstanding and, we both agreed, actually better this year than last. Really it was the highlight of the trip. Our stop in Horta was pretty worthless, although it was nice to get onto dry land for a few hours. We ventured forth and found the grocery store to buy some liquor to take back on with us for the remaining 3 days. We had taken liquor on in our bags when we boarded so we thought this wouldn't be a problem. I understand the liquor confiscation reasoning and policy, especially for Caribbean cruises, but with only 3 days left it would have been nice if someone had told security to waive it. Instead we didn't get to enjoy drinks in our room and went to the Compass Rose instead. In fairness the port that we had also brought and was confiscated with the liquor, was returned to us that same afternoon. Still, we kind of resented what we felt was petty on WS's part. SP is an older ship and I'll be interested to see what she looks like after her "stretching" in 2020. We won't do another crossing though. Even at a great price it just lacked anything that would compel us to return. Read Less

I just saw one of their ads on a day I was thinking about a trip. I enjoyed the cruise so much I have signed up for another. The staff couldn’t have better. The food was good and the dining room staff in both restaurants were extremely attentive. Each evening you had the opportunity to dine as a couple or to sit with others. That was a great way to meet others. Each evening there were “Port Talks” which gave lots of info on the next port. There were many interesting shore excursions for multiple interests and physical abilities. We had a great beach bbq on St Lucia. I never felt that the cruise line was constantly trying to sell you something. The ship was good but the staff in every service is their strength. The airline connections for a group of passengers had changed while sailing and the Captain and crew made changes in docking time to accommodate them. We loved the small boat atmosphere and would highly recommend this cruise line. We were amazed at how many repeat customers they had! Read Less

We had sailed on the Wind Star in Costa Rica a few years ago and were impressed. The Wind Spirit experience was even better. At the end of the cruise, the disembarking guests were hugging the crew members, something I had never seen on any other cruise. It felt like we had actually become friends during the 11 days on board. We had exchanged stories about families, careers, and felt we got to know them personally. Special recognition is owed to our cabin steward (Farid) the ladies at the front desk (Maggie and Gretchen) and the servers that took care of us (DeDe, Bambang and Edison). They consistently went above and beyond whatever was asked of them and seemed to genuinely enjoy working with the guests. The maitre d' (Rafal) runs a great operation. The food was consistently excellent, and included locally sourced seafood, as fresh as you can get. The picnic dinner the staff put on ashore on the small island ("motu") involving native dishes must have involved a huge amount of work, but was done flawlessly. Many small touches added greatly to our enjoyment. When we returned to the ship from an excursion, we were usually hot and sweaty. Right at the top of the gangway were cold, wet towels to wipe your face and neck....pure heaven. We did three of the excursions offered through the ship and loved them all, especially the "shark and stingray encounter" which was magical. Martina, the "Destination Manager" was always available with good advice on shore trips. I honestly can't offer a single serious criticism or suggestion to improve the cruise. In fact, my only negative observations would be very minor : more shade on the afterdeck would help cool off while sipping a tall drink following a day in the tropical sun. Tables with umbrellas were at a premium. My second observation seems trivial even to me, but I was not impressed by the musical due "Wake Up" that played in the lounge. They seemed to be lip synching nearly every song. Sometimes one or the other would stop in the middle of a song but the singing/playing continued. I heard several other passengers comment on this. The sailing crew, the ones behind the scenes, made sure everything went smoothly, like the tenders or zodiacs for shuttling passengers between ship and shore and the distribution of snorkeling gear. Although not for small children or those with mobility problems, I would recommend this cruise to anyone, and will always have fond memories of my Tahiti vacation. Read Less

We travel with a group from local travel agency. We had 20 in our group and this was my first time on Windstar. I love the smaller ship. The cabins were spacious and the biggest of any cruise line. There was a walk in closet and large bathroom. Our cabin was clean and well stocked the entire cruise. Our group mostly hung out at the Star Bar during the afternoon. The pool was small and did not really have a spot to all meet up. Sevice at the bars on board was friendly and great at getting items for our group when possible. (Coors Light and Baileys). I enjoyed the Dining room meals and was happy with service, offerings and taste. Some of travelers in our group were not as impressed. We ate at Candles one night and was very impressed. Great food and loved the outside dining experience. The entertainment was a bit slow for our lively group. Enjoyed the one night we spent dancing. Steve did a great Elton John show. We would have liked more dancing upbeat music. There was a small casino open most nights for a few hours. All ports were nice and most days had to tender to shore.There were excursions offered but we did our own thing at each stop. We found the embarkation and disembarkation an easy process without any issues. We were also happy we took the drink package. Overall it was a great time with our group. Read Less

We were excited about this cruise, having been on a cruise on the Royal Clipper several years ago and expecting it to be a similar experience. We were disappointed that it wasn't. Prior to the cruise the admin left a lot to be desired as we didn't get any final documentation until a few days before we left despite having paid in full when we booked. Although loyal Windstar cruisers on CC assured us that we didn't need any paperwork, we did actually really NEED to know which port to go to and at what time!! Fortunately this info did arrive in time and we were otherwise happy with the embarkation process which was very straightforward. Although our cabin was one of the cheapest we were pleased with it and it compared well with our cabin on Royal Clipper which WASN'T the cheapest. The shower was one of the best we've experienced on a ship! We didn't have a balcony but we were hoping for an active cruise so didn't think we'd miss it. We did! Our fellow passengers were quite a bit older than we'd expected. We are active 60+ year olds but certainly didn't feel older than the majority.....the reason for this became clear as the cruise progressed. We were expecting this to be quite an active cruise......a sailing ship with a watersports platform going into bays where larger cruise ships can't dock. This was exactly what we experienced on Royal Clipper where, if the platform couldn't be put out due to rough seas or for any other reason, the staff took all the water 'toys' onto the beach and guests were able to use them there. There were sailing dinghys, windsurfers, kayaks, snorkelling gear and even an opportunity to try water skiing. The engines were turned off at some point during every sail so we could experience the feeling of truly sailing. Unfortunately, with Windstar the sails and watersports platform are just ornamental. We didn't ever sail without engines and the watersports platform was only in use for one short afternoon. And on that occasion the activities consisted of swimming and there were a couple of kayaks available, but the ship was so far away from the shore that there was nowhere interesting to go with them. We tried one for about 10 minutes then got bored, and one other woman went in one, paddled about 10 metres and then returned!! But even the opportunity to swim would have been welcomed but this wasn't offered more than on that one occasion.. Perhaps one of the reasons for this may have been that, if too many activities were offered for free, people may not have bought the very expensive shore excursions? And the company are making a killing from these!! Virtually everyone on the ship went on one every day.....and the reports back from them generally weren't very good. Though there were occasional exceptions. The other very expensive extra being pushed by staff were the beverage packages. On arrival on the ship we were told that we only need to drink 4 drinks a day in order to make a package worth it. Not true.........in fact we would have needed to drink about 7 each! The barman tried again when we ordered our first drink. He told us we would be in profit at over 3!! And he was VERY pushy!! On the plus side, apart from that barman we found all of the rest of the staff to be excellent....extremely friendly, efficient and helpful. Another big plus was the food which I really couldn't fault. The whole dining experience was excellent. But our biggest disappointment of this cruise were the changes made to the original itinerary. As I said before, we were expecting a similar experience to the Royal Clipper and we were drawn to the itinerary which offered several islands and bays off the coast of Panama and Costa Rica. Even before the cruise started (and only 2 days after we booked!) we were sent an e-mail to say that one of the islands had been swapped for another day in Panama City. We were unimpressed as were a good number of other passengers. Many people had spent a few days there before the cruise so were really not happy to have yet another day added to the one we already had there. If they DID need to take out the original island then I think more effort could have been made to swap it for something offering an equivalent experience. To make matters worse, during the cruise the captain advised that high winds made it impossible to visit another island on our itinerary. This was then replaced by another port which again didn't offer anything like the experience (the Beach BBQ) we were expecting. It was a small port with virtually nothing to do unless you went on an excursion and with nowhere to swim. And to make matters worse the expected high winds did not materialise!! Windstar has a lot of repeat guests and loyal customers but I'm afraid we won't be joining them. We were expecting more of a small ship expedition experience but what Windstar seems to offer is a more traditional cruise ship experience (with expensive excursions, drinks packages etc) on a smaller scale so without some of the amenities you would expect on a larger ship (no balcony cabins, no swimming pool, no casino and only very limited entertainment consisting of one pianist and a not very good vocalist) This isn't what we want though it certainly seems to keep quite a few people happy so I accept that it's 'horses for courses.' Read Less