divermandan:
Wife wants a cruise, she's not certified and not sure if she wants to be certified. So, I don't think she'd be happy on a livaboard where everyone is diving all the time. I am wondering about Windjammer or something similar and asking for experiences/ideas. It looks to be about the same price range as a decent cabin on Princess or NCL, maybe a tad higher. Thanks for any feedback!
If you really want a cruise rather than land based diving with non-diving alternatives, I like their approach. They cost more because they don't have the economy of scale, but they're fun. You get to know everyone on board within days. They stop at small islands often not avaialable to the big ships. Their arranged tours are really fun. Dressing for dinner is A Clean T-Shirt.
A few things to NOT expect:
(1) The sails are usually for show. Capt Neal would actually sail the ships, but that was a few years ago. To my knowledge, most them use the motors for primary push.
(2) Diving is incidental to them. They advertise as a liveaboard, but I only got 5 dives in a week, and they didn't have any considerations for gear.
(3) Hot showers, or even convenient showers. The nicer rooms are on the main deck, but you'll want to shower at the same time as the people on the lower decks.
I used to go out on the Polynesia - have 6 or 8 times, but then 3 years ago, I did 3 Resrot dives with Austin at St.Kitts & Nevis. Got hooked, got certified, went back 2 years ago to dive with Austin again, but only got the 5 dives in a week.
Still, if you're wife is a non-diver, it's a good compromise, if you really want to cruise. I'd rather fly somewhere, dive 2 every morning, then do land based tours with the wife in the afternoons.
Oh, yes, they have their own chatrooms, where you'll get up to date advice, like: "Bring duct tape to control air conditioning."
good luck,
don
