I Won’t Do A Sailing Ship Cruise Again. But Here’s Why You Should

After the first night of my first sailing ship experience, I was, for the first time in the over 100 cruises I’ve done, considering leaving the cruise. But before I get into that, let me step back and explain exactly why I ended up on a sailing ship.

I’ve tried many types of cruising: regular ocean ships, expedition ships, river cruising boats, and I’ve even been on a 14-person barge cruise in France. So, after seeing sailing ships in ports around the world, I decided to try one.

Which One

The first issue I faced was which one.

I knew there were several lines offering sailing ships, but there were not companies I knew much about and I was worried about how reliable they would be.

While my research showed dedicated sailing ship lines like Star Clippers, Sea Cloud, and Cloud Med, I went with that Windstar, a line I’d happily travelled on their cruise ships before as I knew they had sailing ships too. So, I booked an 8-night Venice to Rome cruise on their flagship Wind Surf. Though, as you’ll hear, that choice wasn’t entirely the best one.

The cost was higher than I expected, over $1,000 a night for two people for a mid-range Oceanview cabin on Deck Two. That was the same cost as my previous cruise on Holland America Oosterdam where that bought me a fancy, large Neptune Balcony Suite.

On top of the $1,000 a night, there were add-on costs for drinks, Wi-Fi and gratuities, plus items like laundry and excursions were extra too. Though specialty dining, sodas and specialty coffees was included.

So, based on the price, expectations were very high, wondering what the fare would get me instead of a nice big cabin.

This high expectation is probably why the issues I ran into on embarkation day weighed so heavily in me.

Not The Best Start

When I first saw Wind Surf, it looked larger than I imagined. It is one of the world’s largest sailing ships, with five masts, carries 342 passengers, and it did look old, which it is. 36 years old.

Though on the plus side, it did look unique and different to anything I had cruised on, and although it seemed bigger than expected it was small enough that it could sail right into the heart of Venice, unlike even small cruise ships that are no longer allowed.

We sailed out past St. Mark’s Square, and as we did, I was reminded that one reason people pay the premium for sailing ships is because they can go to places like this that other ships can’t. Although, that didn’t always play out as I expected.

For example, I thought checking in would be simple being so few passengers. But it was rather slow and took me longer than even on some big mega ships I’ve been which have a more automated process via Apps and online to speed things up.

I joined a long line to just get the health and Marina use waiver forms. Then had to sit and wait while filling it out. Then, slowly, small groups were called through security. Then, once on board, had to lineup to check in the lounge.

Once checked in, I had a chance to explore, and several things struck me about both this specific sailing ship but also sailing ships more generally.

The older nature of this ship did show in parts. I noted as I boarded that the carpets on the stairwells were rather threadbare. Other guests commented on that too, which struck me as strange because the Wind Surf public areas had been renovated in the last year.

But the public areas that had been redo looked stylish and contemporary. They had the feel of Windstar yachts I’d been on, and I did like the palette and decor. Although in some ways, it jarred with a traditional-looking sailing ship on the outside. It did look good though.

As I explored the ship, it struck me that I had expected a sailing ship to be way more different to cruise ships. But it was not.

It largely had what all have, a choice of bars and lounges (the largest being cabaret theatre style for shows and talks), coffee shop with all-day snacks, Shop, Fitness Centre and Spa, and Reception, Shore Excursions, and Future Cruise Sales desks.

There were also several dining venues (including a buffet, main dining room and specialty dining). By the way, over the course of the cruise I found the food in the buffet to be fine, but the Amphora Main Dining and Speciality very good, helped by their partnership with the James Beard Foundation chefs that have dishes on the menus.

Outside there was a pool deck with hot tubs, and plenty of deck areas with chairs and lounges.

Though unlike some cruise ships it did not have a casino, photo centre, art gallery and art sales, or guest laundry rooms.

But it did have a Marina at the rear of the ship that was open for swimming and watersports when anchored off a port.

Though, once I got to my cabin, this is where my doubts about the premium returned.

On a sailing ship there are no cabins with balconies. The cabins are quite small, have portholes as all cabins are in the hull of the ship, and the bathroom was small and dated. In fact, the whole cabin was dated but I knew that would be the case, as they are scheduled for an update at the end of this year.

I realised, straight away, that a bigger cabin and the lack of balcony was something that I was going to miss.

However, my cabin had an issue. It was freezing cold, the air conditioning was noisy, and the controls didn’t work to adjust it.

Someone came to fix it during sailaway but while getting the temperature more reasonable, it was still very noisy.

That first night, I struggled, even with earplugs in, to sleep. This is when I thought I could not stay without it being fixed.

In the morning, they sent the engineers back, who basically said this is an old ship and this is how the air conditioning is. They stuffed some added padding in to reduce the noise some, and I found it was with earplugs now possible for me to sleep.

Speaking to others they also had issues with air conditioning. I also had my toilet flush a little erratic at times. So, signs the age of ship infrastructure at play perhaps.

There weren’t the plugs to charge phones by the bed. But again, this I assume will change in the cabin refurbishment.

But not having got off to the best start, I focused on looking at where my fare was delivering the value I was seeking. The unique experience of cruising with sails would be one. Or so I thought.

Sailing

I quickly discovered that the Wind Surf always sailed under power, and the sails were there to increase speed and reduce fuel usage.

I noted the first night as the sails were put out for the first time sailing down the canal in Venice that we were under power, and the sails seemed to be playing no real role.

So, I went to talk to the Officers, which you can as there is an Open Bridge, and they confirmed that the ship operates under power which can take the ship up to 10 knots, and, when the wind is right, they can use the sails to increase speed by up to 5 knots.

They also said the ship in theory could, in the right conditions, sail with only the sails, but to stick to the itinerary and because the weather and wind doesn’t always play ball, the ship sails under power.

At the Captain Q&A later in the cruise he said the sails being put out at every Sailaway was often more for effect, as they were on our sunny sea day.

I should have researched sailing ships better, as it only dawned on me during the trip that I was wrong to assume that all sailing ships are the same. If I really wanted a fuller sailing experience, with big, billowing sails, I should have booked one of the lines like Star Clippers and Sea Cloud that I had discarded, as they have what are known as Tall Ship” lines using sails more fully.

I had also expected sailing ships would move differently to cruise ships. But partly because we were sailing under power, but also because Wind Surf has stabilisers like regular cruise ships do, it moved no more than any small ship I have been on.

Despite all that, I kept on enjoying the ports and looking at where the strengths and advantages of going on a sailing ship were.

At the start of the cruise, the weather wasn’t great, which made the smaller daily program and less appealing cabin to relax in versus bigger ships meant there wasn’t as much to keep me busy when sitting out on enjoying the warm weather and sights wasn’t viable.

Across the trip, the program did include trivia, cooking demonstration, Galley Tour, occasional dance class, occasional local cultural performers, and daily port overviews. There was live music around the ship from a Saxophone player, pianist and Dance Band Trio, and more low-key singing shows put on by the Cruise Director.

But once the weather changed the sailing ship vibe and experience changed. There were many cosy places on deck to relax, and the fact there was more seating in the Veranda buffet outside than inside, more seating outside of Compass Rose Bar than inside made these popular venues become more energized, busy and the vibe really changed.

When I’m on a large, regular cruise ship, there’s so much more to do indoors. There’s a much busier program, so it is less reliant on good weather. I felt with a sailing ship with fewer venues and lighter program, good weather really is key to the experience.

So, I enjoyed the on-board experience during second half of my trip more than the first with the great weather.

I enjoyed the ports we visited, but I was conflicted about the much-touted advantage that sailing ships claim to have when it comes to ports. Let me explain.

Sailing Ship Ports

It is argued by the lines that sailing ships have several big plusses when calling into ports.

The ships can dock in, as I mentioned, in the heart of Venice, but also sail into the heart of other popular ports like Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh City, and Marseille, where cruise ships must dock in working ports out of town. They can even anchor by old town Dubrovnik, while bigger ships must dock in a port much further away.

They can also go to ports too small or out of the way for cruise ships to call on, as they can anchor and it is easy to tender so few people to and fro.

However, while both are 100% true and fantastic, I found the reality once out in the port is worth considering when choosing which route to do a sailing ship trip on.

As most of the ports on my itinerary were places popular with tourists, they were rammed and busy. Although of course I was in most ports right on the doorstep and avoided the need for lengthy transfers from working ports.

Some examples.

In Split, there were two large cruise ships there that day too plus with the land-based tourists, the town was bustling and I had to shuffle through parts like everyone else.

The same situation I found in Kotor, where by mid-morning two ships also arrived, and the Old Town filled up.

In Sorrento, which only the smallest cruise ships, like Azamara Quest the day we were there, go to as there is no dock, it is a very popular place for land tourists and so was busy packed with tour groups.

So, while I saw huge upside on the sailing ship as it is easy to get on and off and can dock or anchor in places cruise ships cannot, this benefit varied based on the actual itinerary and ports.

So, to find out why some people swore by the sailing ship experience and told me they kept coming back, I spent time finding out why.

The Passengers

The size was key. People loving the experience saw cruise ships, even the smaller ones, like the 700-guest Azamara Quest with us in Sorrento as having just too many people. Interestingly, a lot of people I spoke to went on river cruises as they liked the fewer guest numbers, but that I felt also helped explain things that I was less keen on they had no issues with.

They loved that with so few passengers the crew got to know many by name and their likes.

They all were passionately interested in the destinations and the ports and wanted no or minimum sea days to see as much as possible. They also valued the longer and more destination immersion tours offered by Windstar.

So, whilst they wanted a nice ship, good food, and a decent cabin, they were less concerned about some aspects I valued more being used to cruise ship trips. .

For example, I noticed that the daily program activities were sparsely attended, even trivia. The only events that drew most passengers were the daily port overviews and the Crew Show.

On board as they spent so much time out in the ports, they valued the quiet, low-key cruise the sailing ship offered on return.

The highlight for many on board was the scenic sailaway, where it felt like everybody was out on deck watching sailaway.

The other set of people who really enjoyed it were those who didn’t want a cookie-cutter experience. So, whilst I like cruise ships, which are familiar, have lots of facilities, bigger shows, larger cabins, and more dining options, they preferred something a bit more unique and different, which a sailing ship like Wind Surf delivers.

I realised that while for most sailing ship fans found the fare gave them good value based on their priorities and needs, for me it did not.

I rate things like a bigger cabin with a balcony for sure, more choice including dining venues, more things to do and more packed daily program of events. And I do value having a casino, and I want bigger shows. Ports and itinerary of course are key, though having done so many cruises, 130 at time of making this, I am fortunate to have been to many of the ports, and this helped show me that the ship and that experience has become more important to me.

So, while this wasn’t for me and I am glad I tried it, I doubt I will go back. But I am sure this sailing ship experience will have sounded ideal for many, perhaps you too?

If it doesn’t but you love the idea of a circa 300-passenger small ship experience, join me over in this article where I review the Windstar yachts.

 

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