Star Clipppers VS Windstar

I was talking to a client today who was bored of the usual big ocean going cruise vessels and wanted to try something new. She still wanted to cruise, she just wasn't sure what she was looking for.

After chatting to her for a bit I recommended to her that we have a look at some Star Clipper cruises and some Windstar cruises. Like a lot of other people out there, including a lot of experienced cruisers, she had never heard of either of them.


In a  nutshell they both operate what are referred to as tall ships. That's ships with sails for anyone who doesn't recognise the term. There are however differences between the two cruise lines.
The main difference is that Star Clippers are 'real' sailing ships. That is the sails work, can power the ship and are used, (about 70% of the time). Although Windstar ships have sails they don't use them, the ships are powered by the engines.
I always thought this was the main, if not only, difference between them. Whilst I was looking for prices for my client however I found out that the Windstar prices were consistently higher than the Star Clipper prices. This seemed strange to me as Star Clippers were the ones with the working sails so I decided to dig a little deeper. After all why would anyone pay more for a 'fake' product?
Now Star Clipper Cruises are by no stretch of the imagination 'basic' but they do have smaller ships than Windstar. The cabins won't be as big or as luxuriously appointed, there will be less restaurants to dine in, smaller pools and no casino. The staff that serve you in the bars and restaurant will also be the staff that help sail the ship.
Windstar on the hand are bigger, more luxurious and with more facilities. Like a bigger pool, like a casino, like staff that have separate roles on the ship.

So in conclusion  a Windstar cruise will give you the appearance of sailing on an old fashioned cruise ship but still surround you in the luxurious environment of  cruise ship, even if they are smaller than normal. Think 'super' yacht.
Star Clipper cruises on the other hand will, whilst still pampering you, give you a much more realistic 'sailing experience although you still have the option of just chilling out and doing nothing if you want.
I'm pretty sure if I had to pick it would be the 'real' option, but that's just me.
Which one would you pick?

Happy cruising.