After nearly 30 years of cruising, my wife and I agree that one aspect drives the experience even more than the destination: the vessel’s size.
After all, you can expect to spend roughly 80 percent of a cruise aboard ship. Your likes and dislikes, budget, and companions should drive the choice: Pick a floating palace with glitzy shows, a casino, and oodles of dining venues? Or go with a smaller ship with access to more remote ports, personal service, and plenty of quiet spaces to relax?
We’ve found advantages with each. Generally speaking, vessels with fewer than 1,000 passengers are considered smaller, starting from a few dozen passengers to a few hundred. The world’s largest cruise ships, the recently launched Legend of the Seas (and two sister vessels), accommodate up to 7,600 guests.
For a fresh comparison, this spring we sailed on two of the world’s newest cruise ships. Both Windstar’s Star Seeker (224 passengers) and Princess Cruise Line’s Star Princess (4,300 passengers) sailed Alaska’s waters this summer. Star Seeker debuted in December 2025 and moved to Asia this fall; Star Princess, which was christened in November 2025, will winter in the Caribbean. Both will be back in Alaska for summer 2027.
Deciding on big or small partially depends on your sailing companions. Aboard the intimate Star Seeker, we met primarily 60s-plus couples like us, among them Ed and Kathy Sayers of Westport. They like the personal attention and amenities they’ve found sailing the Windstar line. But they’ve also enjoyed multi-generational trips aboard larger vessels.
“It just depends on what your goals are and who you’re traveling with,” Ed Sayers said.
One significant difference is cost. Small-ship cruises can be pricey — particularly so-called “expedition cruises” to remote destinations.
When comparing costs, says Chris Gray Faust, executive editor of Cruise Critic, it’s vital to do your homework. Cruise Critic describes itself as the world’s largest consumer cruise website.
“A cruise on a smaller ship is generally going to cost more, but on big ships you have to pay for everything you want — Wi-Fi, drink packages, specialty dining, and gratuities,” she said. “We tell people to not just look at the base fare for an entry-level cabin — account for all the things you want and will end up paying for.”
Here’s a look at two of the newest stars — small and big — in the cruising cosmos.
Star Seeker: Serenity and personal service
The Windstar line brands itself as “180 Degrees from Ordinary,” and it’s easy to see why. Basically, Star Seeker feels like an elegant, oversize luxury yacht that you’re sharing with a couple of hundred new acquaintances.
At 431 feet long and with eight decks, Star Seeker is easy to navigate. It took us only a minute or two to get anywhere — often we were happy just enjoying the ocean from our room’s veranda.
Windstar cruises are designed for adults, though children age 8 and older are allowed when accompanied by a guardian. Now that my wife, Mica, and I are empty nesters, we find ourselves gravitating toward more intimate, romantic experiences.
What does that look like on Star Seeker?
- Dinner (grilled jumbo shrimp, roasted shiitake mushrooms, sautéed baby spinach) under the stars at the Star Grill, one of three dining venues aboard. Others are Amphora, dependably excellent with mostly buffet breakfast and lunch offerings and plated dinners, and Basil + Bamboo, with an Asian-influenced menu including Hamachi crudo and free-range chicken.
- A spa visit, where I fell under the spell of something aptly named the “Himalayan Salt Stone Muscle Melting Ritual,” then a trip to the hot tub nearest our room. Relaxing there, I spotted a pod of dolphins frolicking in the distance.
- A bit of stargazing, then a stop in the lounge, where the soloist took on Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, and others’ standards with her haunting voice. Then dispensed hugs all around before calling it a night.
The pace is relaxed and unhurried. There’s no casino or rows of shops. Most of the common areas are on Deck 4. At dinner one night, Richard Maier, the hotel general manager, articulated their approach to service.
“A ship is steel and glass and plastic,” he said. “The crew is what makes the difference.”
Personal service took the form of an unexpected 11 a.m. knock on the cabin’s door. Lutfi, the cabin attendant, had noticed we were running low on in-room fruit. He had grapes in hand. Other staff appeared genuinely friendly and happy, and welcomed us by name.
Captain Tom Schofield makes a point of greeting passengers as they board, and finds opportunities to visit with them at mealtimes. Most of his career has been aboard larger cruise ships. On the smaller ones, he says, he’s engaged in a more enriching and personal passenger experience.
“The way we look at it, when we’re hosting people here, we want to do it the same way we would in our home,” he said.
It also means you can be more nimble, Schofield explained. On a previous cruise (on another Windstar vessel), he was able to delay a planned departure by several hours so guests could attend a local carnival.
In one Costa Rican port, the purser, with a phone call, was able to arrange for us to book a private boat tour of local beaches. Twenty minutes later we were motoring past golden sand and conversing with local divers about the day’s catch — one dangled an octopus before us.
Smaller ships have a tremendous advantage — they can anchor in more shallow waters and visit spots the big cruises simply cannot. For example, Alaska’s common ports are Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, and Skagway.
Star Seeker visits some of those, but has excursions in Wrangell, Misty Fjords, Haines, Kenai Fjords National Park, and more. Because it has both zodiacs and kayaks aboard, there is no van ride and waiting around at the dock. Expeditions can leave directly from the ship.
Star Princess: A dazzling array of choices
Those heady new impressions of a large vessel such as Star Princess are like experiencing Times Square or the Las Vegas Strip for the first time. It’s an adrenaline rush, and hard to determine where to begin.
One of our first goals was a top-to-bottom ship walk. With 21 decks and a length of 1,133 feet, that’s no small feat. As the second of two ships in the new Sphere class (Sun Princess debuted in 2024), the sleek, luxurious vessel is defined by a suspended glass sphere that floods the central Piazza with natural light.
Technology is present throughout, ranging from elevator touchscreen panels to touch-free meal and drink ordering through the MedallionClass app, which also has a much-needed mapping function. Star Princess also has three supervised kids’ venues, separated by age.
The ship has an incredible array of entertainment, dining, and drinking spots: five indoor performance spaces and more than 30 dining venues and bars.
Entertainment ranges from pianists or guitarists in lounges to candlelight concerts in the Dome to variety shows such as “Viva la Música” in the largest venue, the 990-seat Arena. The unique “Spellbound by Magic Castle” transports you from a Victorian speakeasy to a laugh-heavy, immersive magic show.
Specialty dining is available for added fees or with the Princess Premier package. Our favorite restaurants were Umai Teppanyaki (nonstop chef entertainment, sizzling steak bites and seafood around a flat-iron griddle), Makoto Ocean (buttery sashimi, hand-rolled sushi and incredible ocean views), ultra-romantic Love by Britto (heart-shaped dinner rolls, tender lobster tail, gooey lava cake) and casual Alfredo’s Pizzeria.
Notable among the lounges are O’Malley’s Irish Pub, featuring nightly music, and Good Spirits at Sea, where destination-based cocktails tell a story. Good Spirits at Sea is also home to an engaging, very English afternoon tea. The ship has a big (smoking allowed) casino, a small smoke-free casino, and a variety of shopping venues.
Those willing to pay higher fares can also access separate spaces such as the Sanctuary dining room and a private adults-only deck space with a pool, daybeds, and cabanas.
A huge fitness center has glass-walled views of the ocean and pool deck. The spa’s Enclave (paid pass required) includes a hydrotherapy pool, saunas, and steam rooms, and heated stone beds.
As tempting as it is to be dazzled by the ship, remember to keep your eyes on the ocean — especially in Alaska. We spotted humpback whales one morning from our veranda, at lunch from an outdoor table, and during dinner at Crown Grill. Those experiences shaped my best impressions of this bigger ship: its design allows guests to experience nature’s beauty around the clock.