A Mediterranean Windstar Odyssey
By Rebecca Antioco

Did you get that luxury yacht you wanted for Christmas? Right. Me neither, but that doesn’t mean you can’t spend a week or more sailing from port to port in luxury, living a life of casual elegance.

Windstar Cruises specializes in intimate cruises to the exotic locales and hidden harbors of the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Aegean and South America. Their ships are officially designated as motor-sail yachts, and the billowing white sails take just two minutes and the push of a button to unfurl. There are three such vessels in the Windstar fleet: Wind Surf accommodates 312 guests, Wind Star and Wind Spirit each house 148. The staff to guest ratio is more than one to two, resulting in some of the best service at sea.

Service is just one of the features that puts Windstar in the luxury class. While there are no balconies, large portholes provide a view of the passing ocean. And the cabins are large, by cruise-ship standards. My husband and I sailed on the Wind Surf, where our standard-size stateroom featured two spacious closets, plenty of storage cubbies and drawers, a decent sized desk and room under the queen-sized bed for luggage. Windsurf also has 31 suites that measure 376 square feet and two luxury suites at 495 square feet.

Cabin amenities include flat-screen televisions with CD and DVD players, two safes, a refrigerator and mini-bar and L’Occitane toiletries. To our delight, rooms also come furnished with Bose SoundDock speakers for your iPod (and if you don’t have an iPod, you can rent one, free of charge and fully loaded with music, from guest services). And for those who like to stay connected, there is wireless Internet access and even cell-phone service. Lest you be worried about people chatting on cell phones in the dining room or in the common areas, I can’t recall a single instance of poor cell-phone etiquette over the entire journey.

Travelers who prefer to leave the wireless world on shore can grab a book from the library and find a quiet place on one of the teak decks to enjoy some solitude. The library also features more than 500 DVDs and CDs, plus a wide selection of board games.

Windstar patrons are generally a well-traveled, well-heeled bunch that meshes well with the country-club casual style of the cruiseline. Even dinner is a casual affair, with open seating in The Restaurant from 7 p.m. on. Reservations are required, however, for the no-additional-charge alternative-dining venue, Degrees, whose menu rotates between Italian, French, Indonesian, and steakhouse fare. While it’s worthwhile to choose a night to dine at Degrees, we found the food at The Restaurant to be comparable, and sometimes superior to, Degrees’ cuisine.

After dinner, you won’t find Vegas-style entertainment extravaganzas, rather quiet evenings in the lounge with cocktails and perhaps a spin around the dance floor to the tunes of the resident cover band. Or, you can try your luck in the onboard casino. Cruisers who choose Windstar aren’t looking for non-stop entertainment and scheduled group activities.

On our eight-day itinerary from Barcelona to Rome, there were no “at sea” days. We were in port each day, and set sail in the evenings. Thus, the destinations provided all of the diversion. We spent the days of and immediately prior to the cruise exploring Barcelona on our own, checking out the main tourist sites and trying to get adjusted to the time difference.

Our first port was Palamos, Spain, where city tours to Girona and Bisbal were on the shore-excursion agenda. Honestly, I took a pass on the excursions here, choosing to relax with a massage in the WindSpa, recover from jet lag, and save my excursion budget for Monte Carlo and Florence.
 
Next, it was on to the small port of Sete, France, where we chose a to tour the town of Montpellier and wine tasting at Flaugergues Castle. The other option was a transfer to Carcassone. Here, we had ample opportunity walk the narrow, cobblestone streets, peer into shop windows, enjoy a crepe and some coffee in the town square, and become acquainted with the old-meets-new environment that is the hallmark of so many European cities. And, you really can’t fault any tour that includes wine tasting in a castle.

Monte Carlo was next on the agenda, with an overnight scheduled so that passengers could make like James Bond at the famed casino. In May, Wind Surf’s stop in Monte Carlo coincides with the Monaco Grand Prix, and a package including reserved seating at the event is available for purchase. Alas, we sailed in October and had to satisfy our automotive lust with a visit to the Prince Rainier III Auto Museum. It did not disappoint.
The collection consists of approximately 100 vehicles and state coaches, spanning decades, makes and styles. Vehicles are displayed from oldest (a 1903 De Dion Bouton sits near the start) to newest. The spaces in between contain Maseratis and Peugeots, Vespas and Volkswagens, Model A’s and Jeeps. It’s a must-see for any auto enthusiast. 

Monaco is a principality spanning a mere 485 acres. Most famous for the casino at Monte Carlo and American actress-turned-princess Grace Kelly, Monaco is easily explored independently. We chose a city-tour excursion, which provided an excellent historical and cultural framework for the principality, but much preferred the free day we spent sightseeing on our own, stopping at the palace and the Oceanographic Museum.

On the second day in this port, we opted for a trip to St. Paul de Vence and Nice. The walled medieval town of St. Paul de Vence, rich with art galleries, boutiques and charming cafés, is not to be missed by lovers of artisan culture and quaint, yet historic surroundings. Coupled with a city tour of Nice, the day provided a perfect snapshot to the contrasts and similarities of the region. My only complaint, other than the rain, was that we didn’t get more time to shop, stroll and eat here.

We were scheduled to depart Monaco for Portofino, Italy, that evening. Alas, the weather did not cooperate. Heavy rains and, more importantly, big waves kept us at port and in Monaco for another full day. Disappointed in missing out on Portofino, we were grateful for the extra day in Monaco, which we used to do the aforementioned independent exploring. Others chose to take the short journey to the village of Eze, also offered as an optional tour through Windstar.

The Wind Surf departed Monaco that night, rocking and rolling toward Livorno, Italy. By the time we arrived the next morning, the sun was shining and, happy for the change of scenery, we boarded the motorcoach for Florence. A few options are available in Livorno. The most popular was the bus transfer to Florence, with a full day to explore on your own. Another tour takes passengers to Pisa, where they can gaze at the Leaning Tower for about 40 minutes before moving on to Florence for a guided walking tour. A Pisa-only tour is also an option, as is a Tuscan countryside wine tasting trip.

Having heard that once you’ve seen the Leaning Tower, you’ve seen all there is to see in Pisa, the Florence bus transfer was most appealing to us. Michelangelo’s David, the cathedral in Piazza del Duomo, amazing displays of ancient sculpture and priceless art — you can’t miss Florence on any trip to Italy. And leather — shoppers will salivate over it here. The value of the dollar was horrendous in relation to the Euro, but like pirates hauling their plunder, people bounded onto the tour bus loaded down with new leather bags containing more leather bags, purses, wallets and jackets. 

As we sailed into our final port the next day, I was sad to leave the comfort and luxury of our private yacht for 300 and the new friends we made. But, a day in Rome lay ahead. In retrospect, I would have planned two days in that final city, but ultimately this voyage left us wanting for nothing — except more time to enjoy the journey.