We are fairly new to ocean cruising. We have been on several river cruises in Burma, Vietnam, Assam and India. Our only 'big ship' experiences have been with Princess Cruises out of Sydney. Both of these ships were much larger, with a passenger complement of up to 3000 people. Although we liked the two big ship cruises, we found the endless entertainment schedule a bit tiresome as we are not interested in cabaret shows, magic shows, retail events (disguised as jewellery 'presentations), Keno, BIngo and the seemingly endless rotation of activities designed for people who can't amuse themselves.

And so we decided to go to the other end of the spectrum, to a motor yacht than can carry up to 148 passengers (but which took only 133 on our cruise).

Not surprisingly it was an altogether different experience and one we much enjoyed. The downside, of course, is the lack of activities and entertainment. There was one duo who sang out on deck in the evenings. We enjoyed what they offered and appreciated the fact that the volume was subtle, allowing us to talk and think while they entertained us. The upsides were many: we got to know almost all the crew, we also met many of our fellow passengers and - on a small ship like this with a fairly 'active' itinerary - we also encountered people for whom cruising is not just a food-and-drink-fest. One of the things that amazed us about Princess Cruises was the number of people who seem to spend their entire day gravitating from breakfast to the bar to lunch to the bar and then to dinner (and the bar!). Surely there's more to life than this? Windstar's clientele seems a little more discerning, interesting and active, and although there was an element of the 'all you can eat and drink' type on board, there were also lots of others for whom the booze and food was secondary. Read more