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Windstar Cruises' Wind Surf Sailing Ship - Profile and Tour of the Wind Surf

By Linda Garrison, About.com

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Windstar Cruises' Wind Surf Overview

The Windstar Wind Surf in Ibiza, Spain

The Windstar Wind Surf in Ibiza, Spain

Wind Surf Picture (c) Linda Garrison
The Wind Surf is a sailing ship, but not in the traditional sense. This ship is all modern--from her five, 164-foot-high computerized masts with 27,000 feet of sails, to the DVD players and WiFi access in each cabin, to the water sport platform aft--all of these amenities and more make for a great cruise experience. The Wind Surf is large (as sailing ships go), with room for 308 passengers and 190 crew on 8 decks. Wind Surf's passenger space ratio of 47.8 is better than that of most larger cruise ships.

One word of note for sailing purists. The Wind Surf's amazing computer-controlled sails are raised electronically, and a computer keeps the ship on even keel via a water ballast system. Therefore, you will not find the rolling sensation felt on most sailing ships. On our Wind Surf cruise, we were in port most days and traveled at night, so the ship cruised without the engines for only a few hours. However, all on board loved seeing the white sails overhead, and none of us missed the rolling sensation.

I sailed on the Wind Surf on a wonderfully relaxing 7-day voyage from Barcelona to Lisbon, with these ports of call:

We also spent a day at sea sailing the Algarve coast of Portugal.

Join me on a tour of the Wind Surf, and view my Wind Surf Photo Gallery.

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