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Luxury and service around Iceland: A comprehensive review of Windstar Iceland Cruises

In the summer of 2022, we spent a week cruising with Windstar in Iceland aboard the Star Pride. The 7 night cruise is called Around Iceland. Read on for our review of this small ship that offers a trip around Iceland in luxury with Windstar Iceland cruises.

Overview of the Windstar Iceland Cruise Itinerary

This is a 7 night itinerary, and Iceland is small enough that you can cruise entirely around the island country in a week. And you get to port towns that are sometimes difficult to drive to, or that would take hours and hours to drive to. The itinerary starts and ends in Reykjavik, and makes 5 port stops along the way

These towns are some of my favorites in Iceland. There’s Heimaey Island, which I just call the Westman Islands. A massive volcanic eruption on the island just under 50 years ago made the island 20% bigger!

There’s Seyðisfjörður, a town over a mountain pass that looks like it was plucked from an animated Disney movie:

And there’s Ísafjörður, the largest town in the very remote Westfjords of Iceland:

The current itinerary also makes stops in Akureyri in North Iceland and Grundarfjörður in West Iceland. Read on to hear about the ship, the food, the excursions, and more aboard our Windstar Iceland cruise.

Windstar Iceland Cruises: The Star Pride cruise ship

Windstar has 6 ships: 3 have sails and 3 do not. The Star Pride, which spends its summers in Iceland, does not have sails. But no matter; this is a stunning ship which was recently lengthened. It’s mind boggling to me that a shipyard in Italy quote literally cut the ship in half and added a new section in the middle:

The lengthening added restaurant options, new guest suites, and just makes this ship look seriously impressive:

The lengthening, which was just completed in June 2022, adds capacity to the ship. Still, this is no massive cruise liner. Maximum passenger capacity is 312 people, and in reality you’ll probably won’t see it past 300. (The 312 assumes all rooms that can hold 3 people actually have 3 people in them.) My cruise in the summer of 2022 had 212 people and 198 crew. That’s a remarkable passenger to crew ratio. This ship is all about service.

Service aboard a Windstar Iceland Cruise

Service is what sets Windstar cruises apart, in Iceland and around the world. It’s tough to describe, since it’s not like other Iceland cruise lines don’t offer excellent service. Ships that go around Iceland are generally small, and you’ll be well taken care of. But Windstar goes beyond well taken care of. Crew members will know your name after a day. They honestly seem happy to help you. It’s not service for a tip; it’s service to make sure you have a good experience.

As one example, consider room service. There’s unlimited and free 24-hour room service. Order a full meal, or just evening popcorn. Room service was delivered very quickly, often in less than 10 minutes. Staff wanted to make sure we knew what each dish was, and they took time to make sure we had everything we need.

When I called to have our empty room service tray taken away, I did so just before leaving the room to head to a lounge. On the way I passed a crew member, who of course said hi to me. I turned around after we passed, and I realized he was on his way to my room to collect the tray. Our hallway interaction must have been less than 30 seconds from when I called.

Here are a very few of those crewmembers entertaining us one evening:

Food aboard a Windstar Iceland Cruise

The food on your Windstar Iceland Cruise is excellent, and sometimes exceptional. I’ve had very good food on other luxury cruise lines, but the best food here was better than the best food on the other ships.

Most striking to me were the options. You simply wouldn’t expect to have this many restaurant choices on a ship that holds 300 passengers. Part of the Windstar ship lengthening process, completed in 2022, added restaurants and restaurant seating. Here’s a sample day for my Windstar Iceland cruise:

This is a particularly choice-rich day for dining: 3 breakfast options, 2 lunch, and 3 dinner. Now, yacht club’s breakfast isn’t anything fancy, but it is a good grab and go option:

And Yacht Club is a great option for food any time of day: They change the display to lunch food at 11 AM, and so you can go there to grab a meal or a snack anytime from 6 AM to 6 PM. That’s not even listed as a lunch option, so really there were 3 restaurant options for every meal on this day! (Note that Yacht Club hours are listed under “Bars and Lounges.”)

Two of the restaurants listed share the same space. One location is called “Verandah / Candles;” it’s Verandah restaurant for breakfast and lunch, which serves a buffet. And it becomes Candles restaurant for dinner, where you order off of the menu.

You need to make a reservation for both Candles and Cuadro 44, which are both open for dinner only. When we boarded the ship, we were permitted to make 1 reservation for each restaurant for 2 different nights. (Premium cabins may offer the ability to make additional reservations at the start of the cruise.) After the first day, you can book more nights on a space available basis; we had no trouble reserving a second reservations for Candles toward the end of the cruise.

Back to the level of service onboard the Windstar cruise for a moment: MY son and I decided to order all 4 desserts at Candles one night. (Remember, every single dining option is included at no additional fee! There are some fancy upgrades at some restaurants that you can pay for, but that never seemed necessary to us.)

I asked the waiter a bit sheepishly if we could have one of each dessert. But rather than being annoyed, he seemed positively giddy that he would be able to give us what we asked for.

Cuadro 44 is one of the new options, and it’s really good. Everyone except for vegetarians will love this place; vegetarian options were limited, and while some of the menu options claimed they could be made vegetarian, we were told those were typos. You can tell I’m a terrible food photographer, because I forget to take a picture before I start eating!

In summary, the food is really good, and the options rival those on a much larger ship.

Excursions on a Windstar Iceland Cruise

Excursions in Iceland are, with very few exceptions, excellent. Locals love showing off their country, speak impeccable English, and the scenery is always stunning.

Windstar offers several excursion choices at each port stop, which is typical for Iceland cruises. Prices are higher than if you booked direct, which is also pretty typical. ( Ask us if you want to know the one cruise line where prices aren’t marked up!)

But the higher prices on WIndstar Iceland excursions include perks you don’t get on your own. First, if something goes wrong and you’re late, the ship will wait for you. And, you may need transportation to get to the start of your excursion. For example, we did both a hike in Seyðisfjörður and a boat ride in Ísafjörður; both required a bus ride. It sure is nice to have a bus waiting for you very close to the ship.

We also did some excursions on our own; we can help you with these if you use us as your Iceland cruise travel agent ! We know which excursions are “cruise passenger friendly” both in location and timing.

We did great boat tours on our own in both the Westman Islands and Seyðisfjörður:

Should you go on a Windstar Iceland Cruise?

There are several companies offering cruises around Iceland each summer. And the summer of 2023 offers more choices than ever !

Windstar offers the amenities of a large ship with the luxury and service of a small ship. That’s the bottom line. If you want both of those, you can’t beat Windstar.

If you’re willing to sacrifice some of the amenities, like restaurant options, you could consider Iceland ProCruises . Or if you’re willing to move up to a (modestly) larger ship, you could consider Viking.

But if you want to cruise around Iceland with small ship luxury, you can’t beat Windstar.

Let Iceland Step by Step plan your Windstar Iceland cruise! (Or any cruise or trip to Iceland.)

If you use us as your travel agent, we offer a planning package that you simply won’t get anywhere else. We only plan Iceland vacations and cruises, and so working with us means you’re working with an Iceland expert! We don’t charge any additional fees for our planning service; we only receive a commission from your cruise booking. (And you pay the same price for the cruise as you’d pay anywhere else– even booking directly!)

Here are just some of the things we offer to our clients:

• A free copy of our book, 100 Tips for Visiting Iceland
• Free power adapters to use on your trip (though you don’t need them on Windstar!)
• A small amount of Iceland currency to have before your trip
• Excursion recommendations, and direct booking options for third-party excursions. That means you don’t pay a commission!
• Detailed itinerary plans any for pre- and post- cruise tours
• Help getting your cell phone working in Iceland, and getting to and from the airport

Just fill out the form below and we’ll help you pick the best cruise for you.

Or just e-mail us !

Eric writes about Iceland for Iceland With Kids and Iceland Step by Step.

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December 10, 2022 at 5:30 pm

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The 5 best destinations you can visit on a Windstar Cruises ship

Where can you go on a Windstar Cruises ship? A surprising number of places, given the line's small size. Despite having just six vessels, the upscale line operates voyages to a wide range of destinations around the world, from North America and Europe to French Polynesia.

Among all the Windstar cruise destinations, Europe might be the most popular. As is often the case with higher-end lines, Windstar has a particularly large footprint when it comes to Europe itineraries. Nearly half of the 534 voyages currently on its schedule for 2024 focus on either the Mediterranean or Northern Europe. In a typical year, the line will deploy five of its six ships to Europe for at least part of the year.

Windstar also typically deploys at least one of its vessels year-round to Tahiti for sailings around the islands of French Polynesia. It's a particular specialty of the line.

In the winter, at least two and sometimes three Windstar vessels will move to the warm waters of the Caribbean, another area of focus. In addition to classic Caribbean sailings, those vessels also often do sailings through the Panama Canal, another specialty of the line.

Currently, Windstar's itinerary lineup offers sailings as short as six nights and as long as 55 nights. The company generally doesn't do short sailings of just three or four nights, unlike big-ship lines.

Here, a look at TPG's picks for the five best destinations you can visit on a Windstar Cruises ship.

Mediterranean

Of all the places that Windstar ships sail, none gets as much focus from the line as the Mediterranean . As of the publishing of this story, a whopping 212 of the 534 voyages on the line's schedule for the coming year included calls in the region. That's 40% of all Windstar itineraries.

The Mediterranean trips offer a wide range of port stops and vary greatly in length. There is everything from relatively short, seven-night sailings around the sunny Greek islands to 23-day voyages that span a good chunk of the Mediterranean from Montenegro and Croatia to the far western coast of Spain.

Windstar features voyages focused specifically on the Western Mediterranean or the Eastern portion and voyages that include days traveling beyond the edges of the Mediterranean to such places as the Canary Islands.

Typical of the latter is the line's epic, 18-night "Star Collector: Canaries, Casablanca and the Costa del Sol" routing. It's a one-way trip between Barcelona and the Canary Islands with a mix of stops in Spain, Portugal, Morocco and the Canary Islands. It's a deep exploration into the western side of Europe and North Africa.

Related: The best Mediterranean cruise for every type of traveler

Some of Windstar's Mediterranean itineraries also include a visit to Israel, although port stops in Israel have been canceled for the next few months due to the war between Israel and Hamas. For now, Israel remains on itineraries scheduled to depart in April 2024 and beyond.

Typical of the line's more focused, quickie Mediterranean itineraries are its eight-night "Myths and Marvels of the Aegean" routing out of Piraeus, Greece (the port for Athens) that concentrates on the islands of Greece and Turkey with seven stops in the countries.

In the Mediterranean, the line's main hubs are Piraeus, Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) and Barcelona.

Windstar has been one of the leaders in a trend that has swept the cruise world in the past decade: cruises that focus solely on Iceland.

In 2016, Windstar became the first traditional cruise brand to operate complete circumnavigations of the Kentucky-size island nation, joining a handful of expedition-style cruise operators such as Lindblad Expeditions and Hurtigruten that were starting to add Iceland circlings.

And while other cruise brands including Ponant and Scenic Luxury Cruises have since followed Windstar in offering voyages that take in every corner of Iceland, Windstar remains one of the biggest players in the market with regular summer sailings.

In a typical year, Windstar will offer seven-night circlings of Iceland every week from June through late August.

The trips begin and end in Reykjavik, Iceland's main city and capital. The ship will sail in a counterclockwise direction around the country with stops at some of Iceland's most remote areas. It's a chance to see the full range of Iceland's famously striking geothermal fields of geysers and fumaroles, mountains, glaciers, volcanoes and waterfalls without having to navigate the ring road that circles the country. And it includes stops in some of Iceland's smallest and quirkiest towns.

In 2024, the 312-passenger Star Pride will call on places like Heimaey Island, where passengers see the frozen-in-place lava flows of a famous 1973 eruption that covered a third of the town.

Another call at little-visited Grundarfjordur, along the remote Snæfellsnes Peninsula, offers the chance to hike onto the glacier atop nearby Snæfellsjökull volcano, the setting for Jules Verne's 19th-century classic "Journey to the Center of the Earth."

Other stops include Akureyri, the gateway to the geothermal fields of of Hverir and their bubbling mud pots and whistling steam vents.

French Polynesia

Windstar has been a longtime leader in French Polynesia cruises, too, operating in the region for 37 years. In fact, it's one of just two traditional cruise lines that dominate the market for French Polynesia voyages — the other being one-ship line Paul Gauguin Cruises.

Like Paul Gauguin Cruises, Windstar offers French Polynesia sailings year-round out of Papeete, Tahiti, the main hub for the region. Ranging from seven to 18 nights, the trips take in such iconic French Polynesian islands as Bora Bora, Moorea, Tahaa and Huahine. They appeal heavily to couples looking for a romantic getaway.

For many years, Windstar has used one of its sailing ships, the 148-passenger Wind Spirit, for its French Polynesia sailings. But in early 2024, it replaced that vessel in the region with one of its bigger motor-powered vessels, the 312-passenger Star Breeze.

The redeployment more than doubles Windstar's capacity in the region, a sign of just how popular these trips have become.

The voyages offer a large amount of time in each of the islands that are visited, thanks to the short distances between them. In most cases, the ship travels between the islands overnight and ties up or anchors in a new stunning bay each morning.

As is typical for French Polynesian trips, whether on land or water, days are spent exploring sandy tropical beaches, swimming and snorkeling in ridiculously clear water and visiting cultural attractions. You'll have a chance to visit the sites where locals harvest the cultured black pearls that account for more than half of French Polynesia's exports.

Diving is also a big draw on these trips. It's a top excursion during calls at the islands of Raiatea and Bora Bora. Snorkeling with stingrays and joining a marine biologist in search of dolphins and whales are other popular excursions.

Like many upscale cruise brands operating smaller ships, Windstar doesn't focus on Caribbean cruises . The Caribbean is more the domain of such big-ship cruise giants as Carnival Cruise Line or Royal Caribbean . Still, Windstar typically sends at least two of its six vessels to the Caribbean every winter to operate warm-weather-focused getaways to lesser-visited Caribbean ports — usually one of its motor-powered vessels and one of its wind-powered sailing vessels.

For 2024, Windstar's two main vessels in the Caribbean will be the 312-passenger Star Pride, a motor-powered vessel, and the 342-passenger Wind Surf, a sailing vessel. One other Windstar sailing ship, the 148-passenger Wind Spirit, will also make an occasional appearance in the region.

For the most part, WIndstar's lineup of Caribbean cruises is focused on round-trip, seven-night sailings out of St. Martin or Barbados.

When sailing out of St. Martin, the voyages typically include stops in St. Barts, Antigua, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands. When sailing out of Barbados, the ships will call at more southerly Caribbean islands such as St. Lucia and the Grenadines.

For 2024, most of the line's sailings out of St. Martin will take place in the first part of the year, while the Barbados-based sailings will come at the end of the year.

Related: The best Caribbean cruises for every type of traveler

In addition, the line also sometimes offers Caribbean sailings out of San Juan, Puerto Rico, with calls in St. Maarten (the Dutch side of the island of St. Martin), Guadeloupe, St. Lucia and the Grenadines.

At times, the line will run back-to-back seven-night sailings in the Caribbean with different itineraries. The two trips can be paired to create a longer, 14-night voyage with few repeating ports.

Panama Canal

In addition to Caribbean trips, Windstar is known for a large number of sailings that begin in the Caribbean and end in the Pacific, or vice versa — voyages that involve a transit between the two regions via the Panama Canal.

Such trips offer travelers a chance to see the marvel of modern engineering that is the 48-mile-long Panama Canal up close. An entire day is spent traveling through the canal, including transits of the locks found at each end.

As is the case with many Panama Canal cruises, passengers on Windstar canal cruises also get a second chance to experience the canal the day before or after the transit when their ship docks at one side or the other of the canal. Shore excursions will take them to the locks for an up-close view of the lock chambers that their ship will navigate the next day (or passed through the previous day).

In a typical year, Windstar will offer as many as two departures a week through the Panama Canal from late November through the end of March. It typically has two of its six vessels operating such journeys in winter — one sailing ship and one motor ship.

Related: The best time to cruise the Panama Canal

The trips all are one-way, starting in either Aruba in the Caribbean or the port of Balboa on the Pacific side of Panama.

In addition to the experience of traveling through and visiting the canal, the Pacific-bound sailings visit Colombia, Costa Rica and the Caribbean side of Panama.

The Caribbean-bound sailings bring calls along the Pacific side of Costa Rica and Panama.

Bottom line

Windstar is a relatively small cruise line with just six ships, but its ships visit a wide array of cruise destinations. The line is known for regularly moving its vessels around the world to offer a diverse lineup of itineraries everywhere from North America and Europe to French Polynesia.

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• Windstar Cruises

Are Windstar excursions worth it?

By puaviator , January 25, 2017 in Windstar Cruises

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I just booked Naturally Costa Rica on the Star Breeze. This is my first Windstar cruise and my first trip to Costa Rica. In the past I've spent months obsessing about what to do and booked my own excursions. As I leave next week and work right up until my flight leaves I don't have much time. So...are Windstar's excursions worthwhile? Also, when they say strenuous do they mean strenuous for a normal person or the elderly? I plan on spending a few days before and after in Costa Rica so I'm also trying to figure out what to do on the cruise and what to do while on land.

Thanks for any input,

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Haven't done this cruise but based on their others strenuous is for less mobile people. Age doesn't have as much to do with it as physical ability to get around barriers, stairs, long walks, etc.

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It looks like you will be at two stops we did back in 2014/2015 on the Wind Spirit although when I looked at your shore excursions most were not the ones we had available to us.

In Bahia Drake our two college age sons did the "strenuous" tour to Corcovado National Park. They were very disappointed in the fact that several people were obviously not able to do anything "strenuous" which made for a much slower hike through the park then they had hoped for. (Both boys are big into the outdoors and such; those folks should have never been on their hike.) If we had it to do over again, we would have found a private tour/hike for them to enjoy the park. They did see a lot of wild life but it could have been a better experience overall for them.

While the boys did the hike, my husband and I went to shore and hung out at Aguila de Osa hotel and enjoyed a snack and drinks and just took in the atmosphere and relaxed.

In Quepos, we booked a private tour with Quepos Canyoning. http://quepocanyoning.net/ It was one of the most adventuresome things I've ever done and was SO worth it! They have zip lining and repelling of a waterfall and the monkey drop and more. They picked us up and brought us back very close to the yacht. The four of us had a great day and even bought the DVD with over 100 pictures and video of us doing our thing.

Have a great time! Costa Rica was amazing!

We also did this itinerary (more or less) on the Wind Spirit a few years ago and did the Windstar excursions all week. From what I recall, they were just fine, but if you choose to go Windstar all the way, I would at least suggest varying the types of activities you do. By the end of the week, walking through a park trying to spot monkeys--while still nice!--started to get a bit been-there-done-that. We did one zipline excursion, but since we had been in Costa Rica for a few days before the cruise and had done a great zipline already, the one on the excursion lost a bit of its luster and novelty.

I see that your time in San Juan del Sur is very short, which is a shame. We were able to make it up to Granada and did a short boat tour on the lake. I see that Granada isn't even on offer, which is not surprising given the short time. You should do something that gets you out, though, if for no other reason than to see the contrast between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. It's quite fascinating to see.

I would echo the impression that strenuous is really more about mobility than physical exertion. If you're reasonably fit and able to navigate stairs, gravel, dirt paths, etc. it shouldn't be a problem. The only exception would be a zipline excursion, where you might have to be able to help hoist yourself onto the wire or be able to slow yourself down with your arms/hands.

Enjoy! Costa Rica is as lovely as you're expecting it to be.

Thanks. I'm more in line with skimom's sons. Strenuous to me is a 10 mi hike with a 4000'+ elevation gain. Will probably zipline up at Arenal and hike so looking to stick closer to the water. The Nicaragua stop is short. Considering trying surfing there and maybe heading back up after the cruise to see the lake. I have an as yet unplanned week after. Going to do the Cano snorkel in Bahia Drake as I've been told that's the best snorkeling. Maybe one of the horseback options earlier in the week.

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Each of Windstar Cruises yachts accommodates between 148 to 342 guests. This intimacy provides you with the luxuries of time, space, and freedom to immerse yourself in both the journey and the destination - in ways you may never have imagined possible.