Reviewer: Don from Toronto.
Cruise Line: Windstar Cruises.
Ship: Wind Star.
Destination: Greek Isles.
# of Nights: 7.
Departure Date & Ports: July 23, 2016, round-trip from Athens/Piraeus, visiting Mykonos (replaced by Milos), Santorini, Rhodes, Kalymnos/Myrties and Nafplio.
OVERALL RATING: 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Have you been on a small ship cruise before? Yes, 10+ with Windstar.
Review: Great itinerary that included two ports we’ve never been to before.
We had initially booked a 7-day Windstar cruise entitled “Greek Isles and Turkish Delights,” but two weeks before departure Windstar cancelled that itinerary because of the situation in Turkey and replaced it with one that included only the Greek Isles. As this was a special itinerary put together at the last minute, it is no longer available. However, Windstar’s “Treasures of the Greek Isles,” now on offer for 2017, is almost identical.
While disappointed that we couldn’t visit Turkey, this revised itinerary was great nonetheless as it included a couple of places that we hadn’t visited previously including Nafplio, a pleasant seaside town famous for the UNESCO site of Mycenea, and the Isle of Milos, another last-minute switch as the sea was too rough to operate the ship’s tenders in Mykonos.
Wind Star is not a typical cruise ship. It is described more aptly as a yacht, as it has functioning sails and accommodates only 149 passengers (with almost the same number of crew.) Service is consistently excellent, as is the food, which is served either on deck or in the larger dining room. Cabins are approximately 190 square feet but are designed well so that they seem larger. Bathrooms are nicely appointed with granite counters and high-end toiletries. All cabins have 2 portholes. Cabins are situated on the first and second decks. We always book a cabin on the first deck as they’re identical anyway, slightly less expensive, and more stable should seas be rough. Passengers were about 60% American, with a remaining mix of Europeans, Canadians and Australians. Age range was between 30 years to late 60s, early 70s. As the ship does not have elevators and does not offer much in the way of entertainment it tends to attract an active clientele who are more interested in exploring the ports of call. One of my favourite features of the ship is the watersports platform that is extended when the ship is anchored off shore — great when cruising the Greek Isles. Overall, a wonderful experience. Highly recommended.
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HEIDI SARNA
