Windstar Cruises Review: Windstar Star Pride

Can affordable luxury cruising get any better?

We’ve cruised on the Wind Spirit in French Polynesia twice now – one of the best cruises in Tahiti!

Now we’re sailing on Windstar Cruises’ Star Pride.

One takeaway from our Windstar Cruises review?

Windstar is hard to beat for romantic small-ship cruises in the “won’t-break-the-bank” luxury category.

But we know you want all of the nitty gritty, so read on!

Windstar Cruises review: Ships

At one time, Windstar was known for their three motorized, tall-ship, sailing-style yachts – Wind Surf, Wind Spirit and Wind Star.

The line then acquired the Seabourn Pride from the luxury Seabourn fleet. It set sail as the Star Pride under the Windstar flag in 2014.

Two sister ships were also plucked from Seabourn.

After a multi-million-dollar transformation (double the upgrades of the Star Pride), they were launched by Windstar as the Star Legend and Star Breeze in May, 2015.

All six ships have since been extensively renovated.

But the three “Star Class” yachts – Star Pride, Star Legend and Star Breeze – offer an enhanced level of luxury for port-hopping Windstar guests.

Windstar Star Pride review in brief

We’re relishing our spacious suite on the Star Pride.

All 156 staterooms are outside suites that come with huge picture windows or balconies plus living areas (where we can get room service of multi-course dinners, if we wish).

There’s even a walk-in closet.

Look, we have deluxe L’Occitane bath products and his-and-hers sinks in the marble bathroom.

And, oh, the food.

How are we going to zip up our pants with the food being this scrumptious?

Welcome to Windstar’s Star Pride!

While we focus on the Star Class ships in this Windstar cruise review (Star Pride), our review also covers all the Windstar ships.

Windstar Pride cabins

The three Star Class ships were stretched – they were cut in half and a new block was added in the middle.

This increased each ship’s capacity to 312 guests. The staterooms were refurbished and received new bathrooms

On the Star Pride (an all-suite ship), we especially loved the extra-roomy suites that all passengers get to enjoy.

At 277 square feet in size, they have lots of elbow room.

Décor:

Star Pride’s suite accommodations are all about serenity.

They feature dove grey carpeting and blonde wood cabinetry topped with creamy-colored marble.

Color accents come in blue satin borders on the bed linens and a navy blue leather desk chair.

The walk-in closet was a lovely surprise too.

We had oodles of hangers and hanging space – more than enough to hang every item of clothing we packed.

Add to that all the shelves, cupboard drawers and hooks. No living out of suitcases here!

We really felt like we had settled in – and that’s a nice feeling, especially on longer cruises.

Stateroom choices:

We couldn’t sit outside on our balcony.

But throwing open the sliding glass doors to let the sunshine and breeze in from our balcony gave us that same outdoor feeling.

With the recent renovation, larger Owner Suites were also added. They have private verandas.

Windstar dining

As for dining onboard, the welcome Windstar philosophy of “casual elegance” is the same on all Windstar cruise ships.

Eat with whom you want (or just the two of you). Eat when you want.

As for dress code, gents, don’t worry – there’s no need to wear a jacket or tie.

AmphorA:

AmphorA, the main dining room, is attractively decorated with Murano glass panels. Usually open only for dinner, it serves international and ethnic specialties.

On our cruise, the Indian lamb biryani and chicken curry were so delicately spiced they were as popular as the beef tenderloin main course.

The Veranda:

The Veranda is the casual breakfast and lunch buffet venue. It has indoor and outdoor seating at the stern (white tablecloth setting).

At night, the outdoor space becomes the reservations-only Candles Grill, offering expertly prepared steak, lamb chops and seafood.

We liked eating alfresco, watching dusk work its magic on the scenery ashore, as the Star Pride pulled out of port.

Cuadro 44:

This is a new restaurant – only on the Star Pride, Star Legend and Star Breeze.

The 38-seat dinner restaurant serves up modern Spanish cuisine. It includes a chef’s counter and communal dining table.

You’ll want to share various small and large plates, tapas-style.

Additional dining venues:

One evening on each cruise on every ship, Windstar pulls out all the stops with its gala deck barbecue under the stars – suckling pig, grilled lobster and paella, cooked a la carte.

There’s no extra cost for specialty dining or cappuccino and sparkling water (but you pay for wine and alcohol).

How many calories does wakeboarding burn?

Good thing there’s a unique watersports platform at the back of each yacht, open when conditions are right.

You can burn off some of those calories with complimentary water toys like wakeboards, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, sailboats and water skis.

What a way to make you feel like this is your own private yacht!

There’s also a delicious sense of freedom about swimming right from the yacht to floating rubber mats tied to the platform.

As well, the ships each have a small pool and hot tubs.

Prefer your activities on land?

Windstar carries state-of-the-art folding bicycles for rent – perfect for exploring some of Europe’s coastal villages.

Windstar Cruises itineraries

The Windstar cruise line prides itself on their ports-of-call being one of their chief attractions.

We fondly recall our Tahiti and Amalfi Coast cruises on Windstar’s tall sailing-style ships – intimate enough to nose into hidden bays, small ports and secluded villages that the big ship contenders can only dream about.

You can also enjoy small ship cruising with Windstar on their tall vessels in other destinations, like in the Baltic.

As for the Star Class yachts, they go many places.

Alaska, the Caribbean, Greenland, Europe, Central America and the Panama Canal, southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand are just some of the destinations visited.

One Windstar Cruises itinerary between Venice and Athens entices with scenic cruising along the coasts of Croatia and Montenegro and through the Corinth Canal (which the height of the masts of Windstar’s sailing-style yachts prevents).

Or do you fancy exploring Iceland?

For example, in the South Pacific, the event is an extravagant beach barbecue with Polynesian fire dancing.

Onboard activities and entertainment

Windstar’s fleet of small luxury cruise ships is quite relaxed when it comes to onboard activities and entertainment.

There are no annoying public announcements – just a light schedule of cooking classes and other shipboard activities.

But informative and entertaining guest lectures by an anthropologist with three Master’s degrees kept our brains in gear on our Star Pride cruise.

Sparkling service

No Windstar Cruises review would be complete without mentioning the truly excellent, friendly service onboard – a standout feature.

Perhaps it has to do with the 1-to-2 crew/guest ratio.

But how the dining room staff knew so quickly our personal preferences – sparkling vs. still water, skim-not whole-milk lattes – is a marvel.

The sports-and-swim team, doubling as dining stewards at dinner, were fun and ever-helpful.

Every time we reboarded the ship after going ashore, there were cold facecloths waiting for us.

And the crew entertainment one evening had us all in stitches.

They’re affordable. Really!

Surprisingly, you don’t have to pay a fortune for all that Windstar Cruises offers.

Windstar Cruises at a glance

That’s a wrap for our review of Windstar Cruises!

You may know we’re cruise fans (we’ve sailed on more than 60 different cruises now).

The Windstar cruise line is a favorite. We love the intimacy and small ship cruising experience.

And the Star Class yachts, in particular, boast lots of star power!

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Photo credits: 2, 10, 11, 13 © Janice and George Mucalov, SandInMySuitcase | Remaining images Windstar Cruises

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