I Cruise The World's "Most Popular" Small Ship Line: Windstar

Editorial Summary

The creator evaluates an eleven night cruise aboard the Windstar Star Pride to determine if the small ship experience offers advantages over larger vessels. The reviewer notes several trade-offs associated with the 312 passenger capacity, including a lack of evening entertainment, no casino, and limited dining variety. While the food quality is praised due to partnerships with the James Beard Foundation, the creator finds the lack of casual evening dining options and the smaller menu selections to be compromises. The ship is described as easy to navigate with high quality cabins, though the balcony on the booked suite was smaller than expected. Through conversations with other passengers, the creator discovers that repeat travelers value the ship for its ability to access remote, less visited ports and for the informal atmosphere and close crew interactions. Ultimately, the creator concludes that while the unique itineraries and destination access are appealing, the lack of onboard activities and the potential for more ship movement in choppy seas make the experience perhaps too small for their personal preferences unless the itinerary is port intensive.

Written by TripBacon from this video's transcript.