A Very Special Way to Celebrate 50 Years
When Bob and I began planning our 50th anniversary cruise, we weren’t looking for the biggest ship or the most elaborate entertainment. We wanted something more personal—an experience that would let us slow down, enjoy the Mediterranean and truly celebrate this milestone together. A Wind star Surf Review.
After 24 days aboard Wind star’s Wind Surf, sailing from Barcelona through the Mediterranean and Adriatic to Venice, we came home convinced that we had made the right choice. We visited wonderful ports, ate exceptionally well and, most importantly, spent nearly a month surrounded by a crew that made the entire experience feel remarkably personal.
It was a wonderful way to celebrate 50 years together.
⭐ Our Wind Surf Ratings
Service: 5/5
Food: 5/5
Excursions: 4.8/5
Entertainment: 4.8/5
Wind Surf: 4.5/5
👥 The Heart of Wind star: The Crew
If there is one thing that defines the Wind star experience, it is the people.
From the moment we stepped onboard, there was a sense that this wasn’t simply a ship staffed by people doing their jobs. The crew genuinely seemed to enjoy what they were doing, and that attitude carried through virtually every part of the voyage.
Our cabin stewards, dining staff, officers and even Captain Matt and Cruise Director Carla contributed to an atmosphere that felt warm, relaxed and personal. Service was rarely scripted or mechanical. Staff remembered preferences, anticipated needs and seemed to find small ways to make each day a little better like telling us funny stories each morning.
I experienced that personally after injuring my back during the cruise. A member of the Spa Team stayed late one evening to provide some relief and make sure I was comfortable. By the following day, I was already feeling significantly better. It was a simple act of kindness, but exactly the kind of thing you remember long after a cruise ends.
After 24 days onboard, many members of the crew had become familiar faces we genuinely looked forward to seeing every day. That connection with the crew may be Wind star’s greatest strength.
🍽️ Dining That Surprised Us—in the Best Way
One of the biggest surprises for us was the food.
We had sailed Wind star previously in 2017 and enjoyed it, but the culinary program has clearly moved forward since then. Wind star’s partnership with the James Beard Foundation has helped elevate the dining experience, and during this voyage we thought the food was every bit as good as what we have experienced on much more expensive luxury cruise lines. Chef Danielle, has personally changed the food preparation process to a true cook to order restaurant style and it has seemed to make a difference.
Amphora quickly became our go-to dining room, with changing menus, excellent seafood and meats, interesting preparations and some very good desserts.
Stella Bistro delivered meals that felt much more like dining in a fine steak restaurant ashore than eating in an alternative cruise-ship restaurant.
Then there was Candles, served outdoors beneath the stars. Combine good food, warm Mediterranean evenings and sunset views from the deck of a sailing yacht and you have one of those experiences that reminds you exactly why you chose Wind star.
Breakfast and lunch at Veranda were also excellent, combining a substantial buffet with made-to-order choices.
For us, food was easily a 5/5.
🎵 Entertainment: Small Scale, Big Talent
Entertainment aboard Wind Surf is intimate rather than theatrical, which is exactly what you would expect aboard a ship of this size.
Cruise Director Nikki was warm, energetic and an exceptionally talented performer. Drew’s Elton John tribute show became one of our favorite evenings of the entire voyage, and saxophonist Vladym provided consistently excellent music throughout the cruise.
You are not going to find Broadway productions or giant theaters aboard Wind Surf, and anyone looking for that type of entertainment is probably looking at the wrong cruise line anyway. What Wind star does have is a small group of talented performers who work extremely hard and make the most of the space and resources available to them.
We enjoyed them enormously.
🛏️ Our Deluxe Suite
For a 24-day cruise, having enough living space matters.
Our Deluxe Suite gave us separate spacious living and sleeping areas, with a comfortable king bed, a living room area,two bathrooms and two work spaces. For a shorter cruise we probably wouldn’t need quite that much room, but for nearly a month onboard it made a tremendous difference. We did miss having large sliding doors and a veranda, but we were either out exploring or working so it was not and issue for us.
We could spread out, work independently when we wanted to and never felt as though we were living on top of one another.
The suite itself was comfortable rather than cutting-edge, which is probably a fair description of Wind Surf as a whole. The ship has tremendous character, but she is an older vessel and doesn’t have the sleek interiors or technology found aboard some newer luxury ships.
⛵ Wind Surf: A Classic Sailing Yacht
Wind Surf isn’t the newest or sexiest ship in the luxury cruise market, and I don’t think there is any reason to pretend otherwise.
What she does have is personality.
Her five enormous masts and sails create a sailing experience that feels completely different from traveling aboard a conventional cruise ship. Sail-away, particularly when the sails begin to rise and the music starts, never really gets old.
Wind Surf feels like a classic yacht that has been lovingly maintained rather than a floating luxury hotel. There are newer ships with larger spas, flashier suites and more dramatic public spaces, but few have quite the same character.
For some travelers, that distinction will matter a great deal. After talking to other guests over three weeks, we found many that were VERY loyal Wind star fans and would not think of going on a different cruise line.
🚲 Excursions and the Advantage of Smaller Ports
One of the reasons we love small-ship cruising is access to ports that larger ships simply can’t visit, and this itinerary gave us plenty of them.
Some of our favorite experiences included cycling from Palamós, an olive oil and wine experience in Elba, exploring Korčula, and a cooking experience in Dubrovnik.
Over a 24-day cruise with numerous ports, not every excursion is going to be a home run, and we did have a couple that we felt could have been better. Overall, however, the excursion program was excellent and gave us experiences that went well beyond simply taking a bus around a destination and stopping for photographs.
That’s one of the areas where Wind star’s small-ship model really works.
🏋️ Fitness and Onboard Facilities
I was pleasantly surprised by the fitness center. For a ship carrying only a few hundred passengers, it was well equipped and had what I needed to maintain my workouts throughout the cruise.
The spa and fitness areas cannot compete with the enormous facilities Viking offers on its ocean ships, but they were more than adequate for a vessel of Wind Surf’s size.
🌊 A Different Kind of Cruise Experience
Wind star feels less like traveling aboard a conventional cruise ship and more like sharing a large private yacht with a few hundred other travelers.
There are no crowds, no enormous atriums, no casinos and very little formality. You quickly learn your way around the ship, recognize other passengers and get to know the crew.
That relaxed atmosphere is one of Wind star’s greatest strengths.
It also means Wind star isn’t necessarily right for everyone. Travelers who want extensive entertainment, dozens of restaurants and activities scheduled from morning until midnight will probably be happier aboard a larger ship.
But if your priority is service, food, interesting ports and a relaxed small-ship atmosphere, Wind star makes a very strong case for itself.
Wind star Windsurf Review: Best Overall Value
For us, Wind star currently offers the best value of the three.
Wind Surf’s continued refurbishment is good news for loyal Wind star guests because the ship’s hardware is probably the one area where the experience trails its competitors.
I would especially like to sail one of Wind star’s newer Star Class ships. If they can combine updated suites and modern amenities with the food and crew culture we experienced aboard Wind Surf, that could be a Grand Slam.
❤️ Final Thoughts on Our Wind star Anniversary Cruise
For our 50th anniversary, Wind star turned out to be exactly what we were looking for.
We wanted a smaller ship, fascinating Mediterranean ports, excellent food and enough time to simply enjoy being together. What we didn’t necessarily expect was how much the crew would become part of the experience.
Twenty-four days is long enough to see beyond the first impressions of a cruise. You notice the little things—how problems are handled, whether service remains consistent and whether the people taking care of you genuinely seem happy to be there.
That is where Wind star impressed us most.
Wind Surf may not be the newest or most glamorous ship we’ve sailed, but by the time we reached Venice, she and her crew had given us something much more important: a wonderful 50th anniversary and a cruise we would happily do all over again.
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