Best Of

Thanks. Are the public spaces on the Wind Surf similar to the river boats in terms of being more intimate?

In the Ponant bar we felt as if we were waiting for a sporting event to start. And the only thing French were the Captain and his crew. We had respectfully declined eating at the Captain’s table—not our thing—and were subsequently told by the Captain that we weren’t missing anything. My husband thought the infirmary was the highlight of the ship. He returned frequently just to chat with the physician.

Thanks, again.

The Wind Surf is very nautical as it is the world’s largest sailing ship (MSY). The public areas and suites were renovated last November, and the rest will be renovated next year. You can find pictures on Windstar’s website and online. The areas they call the Yacht Club are fairly intimate, and the pool bar is a place where many hang out. The lounge is the main bar and theater but it is not used much in the day time. There are nooks that can be found for reading. For us the cabin was just a place where we slept and changed clothes. We spend little time there.

kfnk….: I think the Tauck/Scylla riverboats have excellent food and service, In my experience it is much better than Ponant. We feel that Windstar boats have the best food and service … that why we have ‘booked’ a total of twenty cruises with them. Windstar’s power boats came from Seaborne which is quite upscale. The boats were cut in half and stretched and totally. renovated … new power plants air conditioning, rooms and public spaces. They are very nice. Even though the standard rooms are smaller on the Wind Surf, the Wind Surf is our favorite. We will be aboard the Wind Surf in September and aboard the brand new Star Seeker in January. On our recent trip on Ponant there was nothing French about the food, and it was very bland. Maybe they think Americans have no tastebuds.

Sealord - I look forward to your critique and especially your thoughts on the overall onboard experience…..Ponant versus Windstar/Surf versus Tauck’s riverboats. Sorry, I know I’m asking a lot but I value your opinion regarding comparing/contrasting the different amenities and common spaces. Thanks in advance.

P.S. - I use river cruising as my benchmark.

Not going to pursue an argument just an opinion. The rooms on the Wind Star are not large but bigger than many standard cruise ship rooms. The Star ships at Windstar are all suites. The Wind Surf has suites and the ship is three times the size of Wind Star. Windstar has gotten numerous awards for their food and in my opinion far better than Ponant from which I just returned. We have eighteen Windstar cruises on all of their ships and two more scheduled. We have five Ponant cruises.