With few exceptions (Seabourn being one), you’ll rarely find a cruise line where the top brass are women. Windstar Cruises has two at the top: Diane Moore (pictured left aboard Wind Surf in Portoferraio, Italy, on the island of Elba), the company’s president; and Sandy Stevens (right), vice president of sales.

What does female leadership bring to a cruise line? For starters, a woman’s touch.

You certainly won’t have a hard time finding a romantic outdoor dining venue on Wind Surf, the company’s flagship. There are four: Compass Rose, the Veranda, Candles and Le Marche. The latter two are open for dinner only and often while the ship is sailing but sometimes when anchored or docked, with backdrops such as Monte Carlo.

“During Windstar’s Degrees of Difference refurbishments, we added full length mirrors, makeup mirrors and sumptuous L’Occitane amenities to the staterooms and suites,”  Moore says.

Those who enjoy a little extra pampering will also appreciate an array of refreshing poolside spa treatments, Stevens adds. “One of the favorite places our guests love to relax is in our Balinese chaise lounges on deck.”

Windstar has been named the “most romantic cruise line,” and on a cruise just last week, there were three engagements. Clearly, the women of Windstar have made a difference for a cruise line that hangs its hat on being “180 degrees from the Ordinary.”