We thought this would be an excellent way to see the French riviera. The first location, however, was canceled when the ship, several hours from port, returned to take a passenger to the hospital. The last two ports of call, Roses and Le Levandou, were not major ports and there was not much to do at either one. All but one of the ports required tender services, which took time away from the site visit itself. My favorites were the visit to the perfumery in Grasse and the last minute excursion to Monaco. Generally the ship was not in the best condition and there were maintenance and engineering staff everywhere. Also, there was no special Windstar cultural event/excursion as we have had in the past. Excursion planning was hectic, with some full before the cruise began and others added on the fly. Staff were generally helpful and polite, but many seemed stretched thin and harried compared to our previous Windstar experiences. Food was excellent, healthy and well presented, although there were no local specialties as in the past. In all ways we saw evidence of cost cutting compared to our previous Windstar cruises. Although embarkation process was good, the disembarkation was poorly planned and many people, including a lot of senior citizens, were waiting considerable time for their luggage to be presented, with no chairs or air conditioning. The boat was largely dead after dinner, and the onboard entertainment was not very good.