I thought I'd give a read, as we will doa transat repositioning cruise in two weeks.

We depart Danta Cruz de Tenerife Sunday 5 Nov and arrive Bridgetown Saturday the 18th (with a few days each in Tenerife and Barbados) on Windstar's Wind Surf, a motor sailing ship built more like a sailing vessel and a capacity of just over 300 passengers.

Mostly, this is a sailing holiday, and usually sails do get used. The ship is definitely under-canvassed, but nonetheless they're useful, can render significant fuel savings and a more "at sea" experience. There's not the breadth of activities one has on the big ships, but there are various lectures and activities, as well as the opportunity to visit on the bridge.

This will be our second on the 'Surf, but we have done others - mostly as April or November repositioning cruises, but my early transats were many years ago: eastbound New York to Southampton on the Ile de France (French Line) and a return Cherbourg to New York on the RMS Queen Elizabeth (Cunard, no number, just QE).

We have made some very good friends on these cruises over the years, including some staff (we abd a couple of Captains keep in regular touch), a benefit of the smaller ships. But I suspect there are significant differences among those of us who prefer shorter, more formal trips and those of us who prefer more informal and lengthier cruises for repositioning / transatlantic.