Windstar’s Luxury Yachts Offer Swimming From the Ship and Access to Smaller Ports

On my first day aboard Wind Surf, the flagship yacht of Windstar Cruises, I overheard a woman asking to book a cruise for January through April. “We’ll pay in full, up front,” she told the lady at the Future Cruises desk. “We just want to stay on the ship for four months.”

Later, a passenger from Bentonville, Arkansas, told me she had already sailed every Windstar itinerary in Europe and was now repeating her favorites. She gave me a hot tip: Once your cruise starts, you can ask for an extension. If there’s any availability on the next one, you can stay on board for an extra $200 per person, per day.

Windstar fans are obsessed, and after a week of sailing from Italy to the Dalmatian Coast, I get it. The brand brings the magic of ocean cruising to smaller ships that can navigate narrow passageways and shallower water. This means incredible coastal scenery and port days in cities where larger vessels can’t dock.

Get On Board With Yacht Life

I’ve been on more than a dozen cruises with six cruise lines, but this was my first yacht sailing. I was excited to try a more intimate ship with 300-ish guests after years of vacationing on mega ships with thousands.

My husband and I boarded Wind Surf in Rome and were delighted by how painless the process was. We stopped at a few checkpoints, walked onto the ship, and straight into our room — a first, in my cruising experience.

After a quick lunch, we went to make dinner reservations for the two specialty dining restaurants. That took less than 10 minutes. Then, I swung by the excursion desk to ask some questions, the customer service desk to get my internet set up, and the spa to book a treatment. There were no lines anywhere. It was incredible. I’ve never had such a relaxing first cruise day.

Settle Into a Life of Leisure

Unpacking once on a cruise vacation is a real joy. With our clothes hung in the closets and our suitcases tucked under the bed, we were all moved into Wind Surf. We set off to explore our new neighborhood. It had a light-filled gym, an intimate spa (where I would later get the best massage of my life), a pool with two hot tubs, a lounge, and a gift shop. There were walls lined with shelves of books, games, and puzzles to borrow, and, to my delight, a book exchange area.

My husband gets giddy about cruise food, so we also scoped out the restaurants. Veranda serves breakfast and lunch, with a new culinary theme each day. At night, this venue turns into Candles, for al fresco dining at sunset. Amphora is the main dining room, where rotating recipes created by James Beard Foundation-recognized chefs are served each evening. And Stella Bistro is the place to go for a French-inspired evening meal.

Then, of course, there are snacks. 24/7 room service is available; you can grab light bites and a latte from the Yacht Club Café, or you can head to one of the ship’s three bars. My husband and I quickly adapted to grazing and drinking our way around the yacht.

Take a Dip in the Sea

My absolute favorite thing about Windstar Cruises is that its yachts have built-in sports marinas. When anchored in calm seas, the ship’s stern opens for water fun.

On Wind Surf, I could not wait to grab a pool noodle and hop into the salty, warm Mediterranean Sea, right from the ship. My husband swam out to the water trampoline and others lay on a floating water mat in the sun.

The Wind Surf marina has an AquaBana for lounging and kayaks and stand-up paddleboards for the adventurous. There’s also a drink and snack station if you want to munch on a cookie while reading a book in the shade. The marina was only open three times on our cruise, but I was there every time, excited for the opportunity to swim in open water.

Port Towns So Pretty, You Don’t Need An Excursion

Yachts can sail into ports that larger ships can’t access, and the views sailing into these shallower waters are spectacular. The morning Wind Surf sailed 17 miles through Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor, my husband and I were on deck at dawn so we wouldn’t miss a moment. The panoramic views were breathtaking. My head was on a swivel and I couldn’t take enough photos.

Every evening on Wind Surf, we attended a Port Talk in the lounge to learn about the next day’s stop. These talks covered the town’s history, regional culinary specialties, available excursions, and pointers for exploring on your own, like where to find a taxi or local bus.

While the excursions all sounded amazing, we mostly winged it, ambling off the ship with loose plans to explore the old towns, shop, and swim at local beaches. After wearing ourselves out in the sun, we’d head back to the ship for a late lunch and a nap. It was a perfect schedule.

Luxe Life with Laundry Service

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Windstar Cruises offers a laundry package you can sign up for when you board. I’ve never done this before, but it came highly recommended by people in the Windstar Cruises Friends Facebook group. And oh boy, were they right.

For a little less than $10 per day per person, we sent our gym clothes and wet bathing suits off to be washed and dried. Our dinner outfits came back fresh and ironed. We used the service every day and went home with suitcases full of clean, pressed clothes. Budget for this service. You won’t regret it.

Low Key Fun Strikes the Right Note

While there weren’t the big, splashy entertainment shows found on larger cruise ships, our entertainment director, Matt O, kept us engaged with game shows, trivia contests, dancing, and a cultural folkloric showcase. His high-energy personality had us making new friends, bonding over trivia, and laughing while line dancing.

Every day on Wind Surf brought new offerings, from morning stretching, yoga, and pilates to evening guitar, piano, and a tribute trio. Whenever you were looking for people to hang out with, there was something new on the schedule to try.

Small Ships Make Connections Easy

Windstar cruisers are a friendly bunch. On the ship, nobody felt like a stranger. We paired up for games, shared tables at dinner, and even celebrated a couple who had an impromptu wedding.

There were 11 nationalities on board, with Americans, Canadians, British, Australians, South Africans, and Germans in the mix. I had expected more Europeans since we sailed from Rome, but it was a largely North American crowd.

Shadow the Chef

On a small ship, you’ll meet almost everyone, including the executive chef. Ours was Chef Darin Epp, who is a cookbook author, food photographer, and self-proclaimed kitchen chemist. He was very entertaining in an onboard cooking demo, so we also signed up to tour the ship’s galley and to join him on a shopping trip to a local market.

Epp’s claim to fame is that he’s developed more than 1,800 recipes using popcorn. He makes popcorn pasta, popcorn soup, popcorn burgers, popcorn ricotta cheese, and even popcorn vodka. “I want to raise the bar on popcorn,” he says. “It should be the world’s number one ingredient.”

On our chef-led market tour, Epp talked about how he stocks up on fresh food and local produce at each embarkation, then tops up mid-trip with local meat, bread, and fruits like peaches, apricots, figs, and currants. He talked through some recipes he would make from ingredients we found. But he was also on the lookout for regional specialties, and thinking about how to pair them with popcorn.

Befriend Officers on the Bridge

Another unique feature of sailing on Wind Surf is its open bridge policy. Passengers are welcome to stop by the ship’s central command and navigation room almost anytime. My husband went first to ask all of his engineering questions, then we went together for a tour.

Fourth Officer Ravikant Pandit showed us how each monitor is used to keep an eye on the weather, water depth, navigation, ship position, speed, and steering. He also explained each instrument’s purpose, from raising the sails to navigating if the ship loses electricity.

Plan Your Next Small-Ship Cruise

About 75% of guests on a typical Windstar sailing are repeat cruisers. There are so many interesting itineraries to choose from.

Here are three new 2027 and 2028 itineraries that have me daydreaming about our next Windstar getaway:

• Tulip Season in Holland and Belgium. See millions of tulips in Keukenhof, known as the Garden of Europe. Then enjoy small coastal stops in the Netherlands and Belgium, including one of my favorite cities, Bruges.
• Bella Italia: A Southern Italian Romance. Explore a part of Italy that larger ships are too big to reach, including the Aeolian Islands, Positano, and Lipari.
• Postcards from Northern Greece. Visit the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey and discover the Meteora Monasteries in Greece.

Also noteworthy, Windstar offers some quick getaway cruises, with itineraries all over Europe. These three- to five-night itineraries would be a great addition to your next European vacation.