I’ve been on one of windstars Mediterranean sailing cruises and it was wonderful, but the star pride Caribbean cruse has been a horrible waist of money. Not a nice experience at all. Unlike the sailing ships the star pride is run down. They run the engine so hard at night we can’t sleep because our bed shakes so bad. Not rocking of the boat or poor weather but engine rattling that makes your teeth chatter. Our shower has a back flow issue and we come back to find it filled with mearky water even when we haven’t been using it. The worst part is that the cruise is full of drunk rude and rowdy teenagers. They will keep serving the 16 year olds alcohol as long as the parents say it’s ok. But the parents don’t watch them and let them have the run of the ship. I didn’t pay $2000pp for the spring break in Tijuana experience. If I wanted that I’d go on a cheaper large cruse. This makes it a terrible cruse for couples dealing a quite nice experience. Communication with the crew is poor. Many of them don’t speak much English. I also get the feeling many of them are unhappy and probably live in terrible conditions from our interactions. The excursions are really disappointing for the money. We landed in Monserrat and they didn’t tell us until the night before there is no was of getting around the island and nothing to do unless you had booked one of the booked out excursions. We paid $100 per person to book the last remaining activity and it was just a drive to a place where you can see a few posters explaining the volcano and watch a 30 minute video. You couldn’t even see anything else. Then you get driven to a very small garden and told it’s another $10 to go in. The other “snokeling” excursion at St. Thomas was just a booze cruse. The boat is crowded and eating onboard for breakfast and lunch is fine because it’s a buffet but dinner is very slow. We wait on average an hour for our entrees. My husband has a special diet due to a very serious health condition but the crew we interact with don’t have strong enough English to understand what he needs. They run out of things constantly. Imagine being on a cruise where you can’t get any olive oil, only dressings with sugar on your salad. We tried ordering inadvance but it does no good. He still gets the wrong things when it comes time for dinner. Also it’s very hard to eat healthy on board we’ve found a lot of things have corn starch in them. The food it’s self is still pretty good for someone with no dietary needs. Read Less

We picked this cruise for the ports, price and small ship experience. With 210 passengers it was a clear change from the 23 previous cruises we have had on nearly all the major brands, sans Carnival. The week after Thanksgiving is a more affordable time to cruise the Caribbean. You WILL pay more to sail on Windstar. The price we paid is what made this particular cruise appealing, plus the fact there were no sea days. Be warned - sea days on the Star Pride would prove quite boring. Our entertainment at night was limited to four musicians performing in two separate groups. Nothing more. Most folks are in bed after dinner. Our cabin was quite spacious and of course clean as a whistle. We did miss having a balcony, but we would not have used it much anyway since we were busy in port during the day and the sun sets early in November.. The food and service were the best we've had a cruise - bar none. It is a major focus for Windstar. Can't say enough about how great it is. Fellow guests were for the most part quite sociable. You see the same folks at different venues and that results in pleasant shared experiences. Bottom line: If you find a cruise you like on a Windstar ship at the price you are willing to pay - go for it. But beware of sea days! Read Less

The Star Pride, food service and crew met all of our expectations and are the reason we continually pick Windstar. On board services were first class. Now for the cons: Since space is not available for a large swimming pool, the Swim Tub is a good idea; however, most passengers use it as a second jacuzzi and just sit there. This means that those of us wanting to swim, have no facility. Windstar needs to figure his out. We would like to see more reasonable priced ship sponsored tours that are comparable to local tours obtained through services like trip advisor. Our biggest grip and disappointment on this cruise was most port stops the first week did not met what I would call Windstar standards. We suggested to Windstar the following:(like they would listen to me.) No visits to St Thomas on Sunday , or better yet, none at all. Town completely closed down and a waste of time to visit. Folks in town that I spoke to said,” there is no way they will open on a Sunday to a 200 passenger ship”. Poor port choice. No stops in Montserrat, Little bay. Nothing, absolutely nothing to do but see the volcano.and exclusion zone. Waste of time. Roads are poorly maintained and dangerous to drive on. Taxis in poor condition. Why not cruise off shore from volcano, explain eruption and exclusion zone on speaker system and continue on to next destination. Very poor port choice Josh Van Dyke. worst port of all. Too devastated, a shanty town. White beach okay but figure out how to get tender there instead of docking on out skirts of town and then forced to take a taxi to beach. Virgin Gorda another do nothing stop. The chosen beach BBQ area was picturesque and fully functional but immediate surroundings were devastated by the hurricane. Due to rough seas we had an fabulous BBQ on the ship. Poor port choice. It feels Like no one from Windstar has really assessed the Montserrat, Jost Van Dyke or the Virgin Gorda environment. Very, very poor port choices Conclusion is Windstar must do a better job in selecting ports of call on the first week of the San Juan and Virgin Islands itinerary,especially for islands affected by Hurricane Irma. We were very displeased and disappointed. Our stops on the second week, Windward Island surf and Sunset cruise were far better than first week.In fact, if I would have known how badly devastated some areas were the first week, We would have only booked the Windward Islands segment.Shame on me, should of done my home work, I hate learning the hard way. I also feel more reasonable beverage prices would be appreciated . $7.99 for a mini bar beer is outrageous and gouging. I stopped drinking the second week. Beverage packages are not designed for those of us that have partners who do not drink or for those who have a couple drinks a day. Dress codes are hard to enforce but at times there are violations that should to be addressed. For instance every night at dinner either at Candles or Amphora, their are guests wearing shorts, or blue jeans, tee shirts and sandals. Windstar is a cut above the rest and dress code violations should not be permitted or Windstar should change the code. Overall we have graded this cruise experience as a 3 out of 5 due to the first week’s choice of ports. We have done four Windstar cruises this is our the first “3”, all the rest graded “5+”. Read Less

My husband and I had an excellent time on our 14 day southern Caribbean cruise. We spent one night pre-cruise in San Juan. Embarkation and disembarkation were flawless. The ports of call were fun and new places to explore. We especially enjoyed our time at Maho beach in Saint Martin, Princess Margaret beach in Bequia and Grand Anse Beach in Grenada. The weather was great but the highlight of the ship was the service and the food. The staff are so well-trained to provide very personalized service without being in your space. The food was by far the best food I’ve had in 80 cruises. We loved the sailaway ceremony in each port. Swimming off the back water sport deck is a fun way to end the day’s activities. WindStar has become our new top cruise line after having sailed many mainline larger cruise ships. The decor and the flexibility of being on a smaller ship fit our cruising lifestyle perfectly. Read Less

Perhaps because it was over the Thanksgiving holiday, the pricing for this cruise was a bargain, 14 days for around what most of the 7 day cruises run. We really did enjoy the 5 days we were on the ship, though not the itinerary change from Viequez to St Thomas (apparently Viequez is still recovering from Maria). The Sunset sail excursion on St Barth's was only 90 minutes instead of 3 hours, snacks nothing special, thus not worth the price. The buried city tour on Montserrat turned out to be a substitute that we weren't told about until everyone was on the bus and the door closed! Apparently a bridge was unsafe to cross due to flooding. So we got a tour of the current occupied portion of the island, did get to hear the personal stories of our guides, two women who had lived through the volcanic eruption and multiple earthquakes on the island. There were many complaints about not seeing the buried city (not sure why they couldn't have substituted one by boat that at least glimpsed it from the water--such a tour had originally been listed but later was not mentioned as an option) so Windstar ultimately gave everyone a 50% discount on the tour. Also the tour operators served a sparse, mediocre menu for lunch and even ran out of food since those on the first bus (accustomed to generous portions on the ship) consumed most of it and we who arrived later were lucky to get a chicken wing or 2, and some rice--veges were all gone, fruit & desert gone, drinks were only water or rum punch. The beach was a muddy path below us beyond a chain link fence and shrubbery. I do think many of their excursions are a bit overpriced. The America's Cup racing sailboat excursion on St Maarten was fun and worth the $. I still don't know, for sure, if I was charged for the one on which I nearly drowned, but I hope they have switched to a more safety-conscious operator. Only two leaders on the excursion boat (Captain + 1) and only one joined us in the water for about 20 guests. They passed out inflation vests but didn't explain how to use them (and you can't blow into one anyway if you can't catch your breath), didn't ask if anyone wanted a life jacket, or even tell us where to find them. Had to ask for water, none was offered. No instructions of advice of any kind (other than not to touch the coral) for newer snorkelers or those who hadn't done it in a long time nor in choppy conditions like we had. I floated on the surface but got tired continually clearing my mask, blowing out water, other than some schools of yellowtail snapper there wasn't a lot to see; got short of breath and decided to return to the excursion boat (no skiff/dingy had been launched), others had ventured further around the rocks, I made it to another excursion boat that was anchored closer, they let me rest there then took me in their skiff to our boat, our group was returning (leaders clueless about my not being with them), I thought I'd be ok to go with them to another part of Norman's Island (where a beach bar was located, snorkeling excursion guys probably getting a kickback) which they were going to snorkel from. But upon suggestion of the people from the other excursion boat, they decided to call the volunteer speedboat rescue squad, who came quickly (not sure if they checked my vitals, snorkeling guys sure didn't) who took me to Tortola where an agent for Windstar transported me to Peebles Hospital. Turned out my heartrate had soared to 182 and was irregular, though I'd never had any history of heart issues, high blood pressure, etc (only mild asthma). I naively thought I'd get checked out and return to the ship, anchored at Jost Van Dyke, the same day, but I was treated with IV fluids & meds, injections, nebulizer (for water in my lungs), pills, etc over two days till my heart rate dropped to normal rate and rhythm. My husband had stayed on the ship, it took him most of the day to make it to the hospital, couldn't get a tender ride for a few hours then had to take a ferry, check into an overpriced hotel a few miles from the hospital, etc. We hoped we could meet up with the ship at another port but inter-island flights are infrequent, afternoons only, so would arrive after the ship departs (not to mention they're expensive, and trip interruption insurance would not cover expenses to return to the ship). So we unfortunately had to make the decision to return home early and make expensive last-minute alternative flight arrangements from Tortola to San Juan (then stay 2 days in San Juan since flights were full with approaching holiday) then home from there. So we are in process of filing a reimbursement claim with our Allianz travel insurance, for the medical bills from the hospital (including $870 echocardiogram), 9 missed nights of our cruise + alternative flights, lodging, meals, ground and ferry transportation. Hopefully, all will be covered but it's been a hassle gathering all the documentation & receipts. My husband had to pack up our luggage once it was known I'd be at the hospital overnight (or longer), and was assisted very ably and courteously by our cabin steward, Ronnie--any way we could get an extra gratuity to him, somehow (hubby thought we'd be rejoining the ship so didn't think to offer one before he left)? Everyone on the ship was wonderful, had learned our names, treated us like royalty. The food was fabulous in both the main dining room and Candles, where we ate one night. Certainly our stateroom was comfortable and spacious. I would have enjoyed more entertainment aboard, there was only a duet couple performing after dinner, trying to switch between genres of music they didn't really seem to be 'into'. Also one night a Nashville recording Christian music artist, wonderful voice but we could have done without the sermons between each song (or exclusively Christian music that she performed). Apparently there was a group of people from Christian radio circles aboard the ship and she'd been invited/recruited by them. We met some nice folks aboard, many of whom had been on more than a dozen Windstar cruises. However, the general tone of comaraderie and shared adventure that we'd experienced aboard an UnCruise 75-passenger ship in Alaska was missing. The beach bar b que was moved from Prickly Pear to another beach on Virgin Gorda, but was excellent quantity and quality of food and terrific steel band and nice beach. Wish we could have finished out the cruise, we had been enjoying it so-far despite some disappointing excursions. Yes, we would choose Windstar again, subject to getting an equally attractive price again, perhaps Croatia or another itinerary where we could combine it with a land tour and/or bike n' barge river trip before or after. We have no desire to sail on a floating city, are even hesitant to consider one on an 800-900 passenger Crystal, Viking, etc. Read Less

Embarkation is a walk right on, and too long of a wait. They have different stations to visit, port excursions, spa, drink package, etc. They take your credit card and give you your key and you are free to go to your room and wait for your luggage or go to lunch. Our bags came just as we were about to go to lunch, so we unpacked and barely made lunch. We chose this cruise for the islands. It left and returned to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and stopped in St. Maarten, Guadaloupe, Bequia, Grenada, and St. Lucia. The food was amazing, and the service is impeccable. They really do anything they can to make you feel like family. So genuine. The entertainment is not that of a larger ship, but there was usually one or two places you could go hang out with live music, dancing, or a hilarious game. The staff puts on a dance/singing show one night, also. It's a bit quieter than a large ship because there are not as many people on board. We enjoy being able to get on and off the ship without ever waiting in a long line. Even on days where they tender you off. We really enjoyed St. Maarten, Bequa, and Grenada the most for the beaches. In Guadaloupe we rented a scooter. Very small island! Just know that they close for siesta between 12 and 2:30, so don't expect to turn your golf cart or scooter in during those times. We were hunting for a rental place during that time and found one still open. Good way to go to the top of the fort, but they were closed too! We found a beach for the day. We got chairs on Bequia at Fay's and had rum punch all afternoon. We walked over to Jack's and had a delicious lunch. Walked back to the ship after a lazy day in the water and on the beach. Some friends took a cab back. The day we were supposed to have a shore excursion on Grenada through Windstar, it got cancelled the night before due to not enough people. You would think they would've said something earlier so we could recruit, but we enjoyed our beach day. We took a cab to the beach and a guy was delivering rum punch to us on the beach. Grand Anse is beautiful! St. Lucia (Pigeon Island) was lovely. It rained off and on, but there was a wonderful beach party bbq lunch. The property is next door to one of The Sandals Resorts. We had a fun day in the water, and floating lilly pads and trampoline. You can walk up to a fort but we didn't because we thought it would be too slippery with the heavy rain. It was beautiful! There are locals with jewelry set up as you are walking to the private beach. Windstar also was selling bug spray, sunscreen, sweatshirts. They had steel drum music being played, too. At Disembarkation, we signed up for a Windstar Old San Juan Walking Tour. Could have done that on our own for way less and seen more because our tour got cut short due to someone not able to walk any further and the van picked us all up and took us to our hotel or airport depending where you were going. Oh well! This was our 2nd Windstar Cruise, as we did Tahiti last year and loved it! Yes we are hooked. I don't love waiting in lines or crowds. I enjoy finding a lounger at the pool when I feel like going out on the deck. Nobody hogging them with their towels all day long and nowhere to be seen. We had a fun time! Read Less

Chose for autumn colors and small port venue. Captain can’t control weather but after missing the fjord in Quebec and Our stop in Prince Edward Island there was no attempt to make it up to the passengers. No amenities offered. Ship was not really equipped for cold rough weather. Probably should not be used for northern cruises after mid September Times for events and shore excursions were often late. We expected to be docked in town in Quebec City and Halifax but ended up having to be bussed into town. Service staff was great but seemed overwhelmed at meal time.Food was excellent for the most part but took a long time to arrive. Cabin was nice and well maintained. Being in North America in the fall and stuck on the ship due to bad weather one would think there would at least be college football and NFL on tv . No! Games could have been streamed if they did it over the Internet. Lack of tender service ( only 1 per stop) caused huge delays when we could finally visit a port shortening our shore visits. Paid a premium for”the small ship experience “ do not feel they met our expectation. Read Less

Our travel agent raved about Windstar, told our group how excellent they were. She is now our ex travel agent. This experience was'nt even close to what she told us. Most everything was poor, I don't know where to start, but here is my review. Starting with the positive, the ship was clean, the room was of good size. That's the positive. NOW, for the negative, being genereous the food was hit and miss, mostly a miss. The service in the dining room was slow. The coffee bar had stale cupcakes, they were stored in the frig and displayed the next day, and the next day, etc. We were suppose to have fresh fruit in our suite, had it for a few days, then it stopped. I asked reception why I had no fruit as advertised, they told me that I had to request it, which I did. After a few days they ran out of bananas and plums. They also ran out of the kleenex that fits under the bathroom sink. Also the coffee bar ran out of oatmeal cookies. It looks like Windstar has cut alot of corners all over the ship and it shows. The staff looks overworked. The excursions were overpriced and hit and miss. One was so bad, Windstar gave us a full refund, when many guests complained. There were many unhappy people on this cruise. As far as entertainment goes I did not expect much, but got much less. Non existant, with two terrible hookey acts. No lecturers as promised, we basically got nothing. We had a Captian's party, one drink, one appitizer. This cruise was comparable to a Carnival cruise, if not worse. One guest who was on his third cruise with Windstar, was so disgusted, he said, he would never cruise with Windstar again, nor would I. There were many more negative things, but I don't even want to discuss then. All I can say is don't pay luxury fares for a low end cruise. , Read Less

We chose the ship for the itinerary and had been on the ship once before in Croatia. Great itinerary then and only 1 sea day. On this trip, The itinerary was changed about a month before departure, cancelling several experiences due to WHALE MIGRATION. The whales migrate every year so the company should have not been surprised and should have offered other ports. There were 3 sea days...keep in mind we were in Canada, so we did not expect warm weather. With 3 sea days, there was little to do and of course we couldn’t sit out on the deck...too cold and windy. We took 1 ship tour against our better judgment. We spent a lot of time waiting for people to come out of the bathroom. Food was good but service was inconsistent. Many times meals did not arrive together or parts were forgotten and never delivered. Often food was not hot. Reception staff was excellent. Captain did not keep us very informed about sea conditions and was also invisible. Disembarkation was smooth and pleasant. I would not recommend this itinerary (Canadian Maritime) on any ship in the chilly spring or fall if there are many sea days without programmed activities. The movies that were chosen during sea days were horrendous. Overall, not up to our previous Windstar experiences. Read Less

First cruise and probably the last. The list of problems on this ship are too numerous to elaborate. Briefly - no hot water some days, no self serve coffee/tea available - only available with room service after 6:00 pm, inadequate seating spaces for breakfast and lunch during inclement weather, options for meals are severely limited, old and outdated stateroom, poorly coordinated and overpriced excursions, movie room had seating for about 8 people. At embarkation they lost 2 of our 3 pieces of luggage so that we had to track them down. Three full days at sea with nothing to do - what a waste of time and money. TV program listings on the daily activity sheet were for the day before. They cleaned the brass handrails on the stairs with Brasso and failed to wipe it down thoroughly. Got black on our hands when we used them. Service providers were overly friendly but many did not understand English. One redeeming quality was the workout room was well equipped. Read Less