Lisbon to Dublin seemed like an interesting itinerary so we booked a mid-ship stateroom. We had cruised on Star Pride's Inaugural sailing and prior to that when it was a Seabourn ship. The cabins are spacious albeit somewhat dated now. The ship is compact. Two staircases so you gain a sense of where everything is quite quickly. The main restaurant is deck 3 and the Veranda (self service/buffet/back of ship area) which at 7pm morphs into 'Candles' grill style restaurant where a dinner reservation is required. Both restaurants served wonderful food and the menus were imaginative and varied. The service was attentive and friendly. Windstar's room service is in our experience always first rate, whether its an early breakfast or a late night snack. Our orders were delivered in a timely fashion by a cheery friendly waiter or waitress. The Compass Rose Bar was our go to destination after dinner where there was always a duo playing together with the crew taking part in Liar or a music quiz. What really works for us is the friendliness of all the crew: they make sure that they call you by your name which everyone appreciates. When we were moored in the Scilly Isles I didn't get off the ship as I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to getting on and off tenders. The ship was almost empty so I sat on deck and over the course of a couple of hours three crew members came to chat, check I was okay and ask if they could get me anything. Windstar is a firm favourite for us and our eight day Star Pride trip was a really great cruise. Read Less

We chose this cruise on recommendation from our travel agent. We flew to lovely Lisbon a few days beforehand, the joined the ship,looking very tiny berthed near some very large cruise ships. The welcome was decidedly perfunctory, and we found our way to our deck 4 cabin. It was pleasantly large, but definitely needed a good spring clean. The bed seemed hard and sagging, not a good start we felt. We liked the white marble bathroom and noted approvingly that the toiletries were quality Occitan. We explored briefly then went for a buffet lunch in the stern Verandah. It was a very ordinary buffet choice and we were astounded at the cost of the drinks on offer. We learned that many passengers had bought a drinks package, but as the wines were fairly mediocre in our opinion, we decided not to take up the package offer. It was lovely to note the teak decks , a small outdoor pool and hot tub, and plenty of deck lounge seating. We looked through the daily program, but it lacked variety or imagination, so we decided that a comfortable spot with a good book might be a good way to relax. Much ceremony was made of the sail away flag raising to the music of Vangelis’ 1492, used on other cruise lines we recalled. There was a comfortable lounge with busy coffee bar and a tiny library, but little else of note. It was a port intensive cruise with only one sea day, but we had visited all the ports previously, so did not read the excursion offers. In each port the ship laid on a shuttle bus to the centre of town , a useful service for those who wished to be independent . We were happy to wander, sample the local cuisine and bars in each port. We were right in our estimation... the bed was horribly saggy and worn, leaving us both with aching backs! Entertainment was decidedly limited, with a singing duo , but little else, with the exception of a lecturer with a sole topic. Dining was open seating, with varied menus and good service from the friendly Asian servers. It was not gourmet dining, but perfectly adequate. It would not be a ship we’d choose on future occasions, but it was an interesting experience. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the intimacy of the ship. We might have sacrificed all of the bells and whistle of a larger ship, but being on a smaller ship was well worth it. Embarkation was done in a very smooth and orderly fashion and we were in our cabin within 15 minutes of boarding the ship. After ready some of the previous reviews, I was nervous about the age of the ship and it's condition, but our balcony cabin was clean and extremely spacious Yes, the cabins do need some updating, which they are planning a full refurbishment in the next year or so, but we were pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as bad as I had read. One of the things that makes this cruise line special are it's crew. They are so welcoming and friendly. They know your name with in the first day or so. The service level is amazing. Before you even take your last sip, they are right there asking if you would like another. Never a dirty glass or plate is sitting in front of you. And the FOOD!! Every night they offered their James Beard Foundation specialties along with other gourmet dishes and for those who are picky, they offer steak and chicken every night. Everything was done to perfection. The Executive Chef went over and above when we asked for a special dessert that was not being offered that night. The breakfasts were very good also. You can have made to order omelets along with a buffet. Or you can order something off the menu like waffles or pancakes or Egg Benedict. Same goes for the lunches where you can order a hamburger or chicken sandwich along with the buffet selections. Also the deck BBQ that they offered the evening we were in Cannes was spectacular! They bought fresh Sea bass that day and cooked it right there on the spot. Also, they had lobster and roasted pig, shrimp, carved beef, BBQ chicken and so much more. Then afterwards, they had line dancing that was so much fun! The crew really makes it a special night. The entertainment was what you might expect from a smaller ship. They had a duo singing every night up on the pool deck. And usually a special event in the Compass Lounge with fun things like a "Name that Tune" trivia game or the "Liars Club" where you had to guess which of the crew was telling the truth, and the crew talent show, which was very entertaining. But if you are expecting a big production show like what is on a large cruise ship, you will not see that here. We arrived in Rome a few days before the cruise and explored the city. We had Rome Cabs pick us up at the airport and give us a mini 1 hour tour of the city where we go out and visited the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. We had never been to Italy and we went to the usual touristy spots. The next day we went to The Colluseum where an archaeologist gave us a tour of the underground parts of the Colluseum then we had our regular tour guide take us round the rest of the Colluseum and the Forum. Very informative tour of these spectacular historical wonders. And on our last day in Rome, we went to the first entry to the Vatican, then it was off to our ship. The ports of call were very good. We did take a shore excursion through Windstar in Portofierro, Elba. It was well organized, even though it was supposed to be a morning departure and they had to change it to afternoon due to work being done on Napoleon's summer house. But our guide was very knowledgeable and got us back to our ship in time. We especially loved Portofino and Sanary Sur Mer probably because we like how small and quaint these ports were and their beauty! In Portofino, we walked to the top of Castle Brown, were the views were spectacular. Then we just walked around the beautiful little village. And Sanary Sur Mer was the prettiest little fishing village. There was a farmers market at the time where they had the fisherman, who just came in from the sea, put their fish on display along with fresh fruit and vegetables and lots of other items. Cannes and Monte Carlo, we just did our own thing, but the they are beautiful cities. The Grand Prix was just the week before, and they had an exotic car show going on the day we were in port. We saw many high end luxury sports cars being displayed and driven around the streets. Fun to see! We stopped in the small fishing village of Palermo, Spain where we did a lot of shopping. The prices were much more reasonable there and enjoyed our stay there. Our last stop was Barcelona where we disembarked. Again, this went very smoothly. We had a driver and guide waiting to pick us up for a private tour of Barcelona. Barcelona is a beautiful city with amazing architecture. We enjoyed our tour very much. I enjoyed our trip so much and was so sad to see it end. This is an older ship, but Windstar has kept it looking nice and clean. The service, food and overall experience was top notch! I would not hesitate to return to Windstar and am looking forward to our next cruise with them! Read Less

Choose the Star Pride predominately for the race and then the wonderful different ports of call. Food was some of the best cruise food ever and the staff were wonderful. The rooms are a good size, but don't bother with the balcony upgrade. The size of the ship makes it easy to get around without needing a map. If you get the opportunity check out the bridge when it is open as the crew is very informative about the ship and navigation. All the staff are very friendly and a joy to be around. The dinner selections are excellent and it feels like you are dining in a five star restaurant. Before buying the drink package take into consideration your on board credit as well as how much you plan on drinking, we skipped the package and didn't come close to using our credit. Same for the wi-fi package it was easy to find free hot spots at each port of call to catch-up and send photos. Read Less

My husband and I just came home from the Lisbon to Barcelona cruise in April. It is our third cruise with Windstar. Pros: The staff is wonderful. They know your name by the second day. The food is good particularly the barbeque on the deck. There is a nice variety of food to please everyone. The suites are spacious. King size beds, a sitting area, a double variety bathroom, and a walk-in closet. The ship is very clean. The security on and off the ship is good. The shore excursions to Gibraltar, Alhambra and Seville were very good. The daily programs and nightly talks are very helpful for background information. Embarkment and disembarkment are quick and efficient. We extended our stay at the end of the trip to Barcelona. It was wonderful! Cons: The shore excursions are expensive. WiFi is not included and should be. Wine and beer should be included not an additional charge. A lovely vacation! Read Less

Having done this exact cruise last year, albeit a little later in the Spring, and enjoyed it so much we booked it again when offered. In full disclosure we got an AMAZING deal that we couldn't pass up. The crossing was originally scheduled for the end of March but was moved up two weeks. We found out at the end of the crossing that it was to complete a 10-day dry dock before SP began her Med season. Only 62 people were onboard compared to 168 last year. Did it make a difference? Yes, in that there wasn't enough for the crew to do, and it seemed they got a little bored. Can't blame them. With the exception of the trivia games and "name that tune" the guests didn't seem to want to participate a lot - maybe they were a little bored too. The Spa was rarely used as was the gym. Several times on leaving the gym in the late afternoon the hair salon area was dark and there was no one at the front desk. Rarely saw anyone in the casino (which we heard is being eliminated during the "stretching"). Cruiselines use the days at sea to get done repairs, both cosmetic and mechanical, that couldn't be completed during the ship's Caribbean season. This resulted in some noise, loud at times, that really bugged some people - us not so much. After receiving complaints the ship did the best they could to complete the repairs when guests weren't on deck. As another reviewer wrote Star Pride is showing her age and isn't due to go into full dry dock for "stretching" until 2020, so it's no wonder WS schedule a mini-dry dock now. Hopefully these repairs will be enough to see the ship through. The crew was fantastic! Learned your name quickly and your preferences for things like coffee, wine, etc. They were always smiling and always greeted you by name. With only one exception, we felt they worked hard and enjoyed what they did. We couldn't say the same for our stateroom attendant. Nice guy but seemed not to have been well trained. The food was outstanding and, we both agreed, actually better this year than last. Really it was the highlight of the trip. Our stop in Horta was pretty worthless, although it was nice to get onto dry land for a few hours. We ventured forth and found the grocery store to buy some liquor to take back on with us for the remaining 3 days. We had taken liquor on in our bags when we boarded so we thought this wouldn't be a problem. I understand the liquor confiscation reasoning and policy, especially for Caribbean cruises, but with only 3 days left it would have been nice if someone had told security to waive it. Instead we didn't get to enjoy drinks in our room and went to the Compass Rose instead. In fairness the port that we had also brought and was confiscated with the liquor, was returned to us that same afternoon. Still, we kind of resented what we felt was petty on WS's part. SP is an older ship and I'll be interested to see what she looks like after her "stretching" in 2020. We won't do another crossing though. Even at a great price it just lacked anything that would compel us to return. Read Less

Our first Windstar cruise, based on a recommendation from a friend who knows that we like smart and engaging people, don't like rowdy drunk crowds, and want a genuine experience. We learned a lot and immediately signed back up for more Windstar! What can I say other than "amazing!". While the large ship experiences bring their own attributes, this ship size, itinerary, and staff have us sold on Windstar, since they brought so many terrific benefits. I could go on forever, but I'll limit it to a few key topics, and a story of special coverage by the crew that was exceptional. SHIP: small, as cruise ships go, but never felt crowded, never waited in lines (except for the topside cookout in which everyone rushed the line but ten minutes later was cleared). There are plenty of places to get alone by yourself, do morning stretches, have a quiet moment with a loved one, etc. BARS: the outdoor topside bar was by far the most popular given weather, ability to spread out, but also to meet nice and interesting folks. FOOD: Terrific all around! Main dining Amphora was stellar every night. Candles night was intimate, delicious, and fantastic! Breakfast and lunch buffets are great, fresh, and the staff is totally focused on making your meal ideal, so just ask for anything special. All-day breakfast and sandwich counter made a great fill-in when we got back from sightseeing. OFFICERS, CREW, & STAFF: This is where I have to focus most. Incredibly nice, friendly, accommodating, and professional from top to bottom. Every individual we met was terrific. But the real story was about a bad situation that they made infinitely better. Just prior to the cruise, a family friend passed away, who was not only my godfather but also as much a father to me as my own, and in recent decades more so, and a dear friend. Our families consider each other extended family. The funeral had to occur during our cruise, on Day 8 of 10, so we worked with Windstar to allow us to disembark in Grenada, fly home to make the funeral, of which i was to officiate and sing. Needless to say, a very emotional situation. We had shared the fact that we were leaving early with staff that would be affected or those that simply asked and expressed condolences. We disembarked, went to the airport, and long story short, found that our flight was cancelled, and at 5pm found out that we would NOT be able to leave the island until the following afternoon, thereby missing the funeral we worked so hard to coordinate to make. With literally NO time to spare, we called the ship, asked if we could reboard, sailed through customs with the help of American Airlines staff, had a cab fly through town, and we made it to the pier with just minutes before Sail Away. Although devastated by the events so far, the next 24 hours were incredible. The Chief Pursor, front desk staff, Hotel Manager all met us and assured a smooth process, even to the extent of them asking if there was anything at all they could do to help. They were amazingly empathetic, and genuinely worked that day and the next to give us every assistance we could want, including calls, Internet, etc. The Dining staff gave us special attention, delivered us a wonderful in-room meal, and the bar staff brought us wine as we "licked our wounds". The next day, every staff member we came into contact expressed genuine concern, and went out of their way to help us enjoy this day at sea with tons of kindnesses and support. We were incredibly moved at the empathy and wonderfulness of the entire crew including officers, the bar team, the dining team, the breakfast cooks, and so on. While they may have forgotten us as they move forward to accommodate every guest every day, we will never forget them. Thank you Windstar! Read Less

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

We chose this cruise because it its itinerary. We liked the ports of call better than any itinerary we found in this region. However there is something missing with this line. The ship is worn out ( broke down the day before we were to embark) and it shows throughout. Atmosphere on board was dull. Employees were nice but lacked skill and polish. Docking locations were not good. Tenders were terrible and we got wet almost every time! We felt we paid luxury prices for sub luxury experience. We still had a great time when we were off the boat as this is a lovely part of the world. We hired our own guides in most ports but did the Windstar excursion in Gaspe and it was very nice. The other guides on board were very nice. The food was good but lacked variety over the the day period. I would not use this line again. Read Less

The Star Pride is relatively small (abt 250) with everything scaled down to that size. Service was competent & friendly & more than sufficient to handle the guests efficiently. With all of the well publicized problems with virus transmission aboard ship, one would have expected a staff more focused on this issue. Although there were hand sanitizer stations available on the ship (e.g. outside of dining areas) the staff was not involved, at all, in encouraging passenger use as was the practice on other cruises. There seemed a fetish to learn every passenger's name by the 2nd day as if that would automatically elevate one's perception that it alone signified personal service. Perhaps that desire to provide personal service motivated some dining & cabin staff to inappropriately address guests by their given name. Food quality was uniformly superior. A free "specialty" restaurant (Candles) was disappointing. It was not special in any sense of the word. The space used for serving breakfast & lunch was utilized. The tables were "on top" of each other. The service was competent but not fine dining. The menu was limited. After our initial experience, we cancelled our future reservations there & chose to dine in the main dining room. The Fitness Center was poorly conceived--mediocre equipment was squeezed in to a too small low 'ceilinged' room that almost always felt crowded & somewhat unsafe because of that. Two different mediocre duos (keyboard & singer) provided the "entertainment." Too many of the shore excursions were excessively priced. For those who did not choose strenuous activities, they generally consisted of long boring bus tours sprinkled with differing quality of attractions. The disembarkation process was flawless as was the transfer to the airport. Read Less

How many other small ship cruise lines provide these cabin offerings? If you're looking for a small ship cruise line, Windstar Star Pride should be a ship to consider. The 'standard' cabins are BIG in comparison to others. Additionally plenty of space for ALL of your clothes. Having a sitting area with two chairs and a couch is a benefit. For relaxing. For morning breakfast. The boat offers many places to relax. Up at the bow in the yacht club. In the aft in one or two different lounges. The food is very very good. Quality offerings especially at dinner time. Fresh fish. Fresh vegetables. Great flavor combinations. Yummy desserts. And the wine pairings are perfect. Best of all is the staff/crew. Everyone is well trained in genuine service with a genuine smile. Not stuffy at all. The crew talent show shouldn't be missed. It brings a very big smile. There is a very concerted attempt for the crew to get to know passengers. By name. Read Less

I can sum up the Star Pride, in a few words, barely adequate. Not a very high mark for a line that charges luxury prices. After 36 days on her, it’s more like Star Rust Bucket. The number of things that have gone amiss is quite long. To put this review in perspective I am not a princess type and I certainly do not expect complete perfection. Too start off, a promised cruise credit of $2400, completely disappeared. I booked directly with Windstar, so can’t blame a TA. I did have some email paperwork, but was told it had to be emailed to the office. We had a hotspot, but it never seemed to go thru properly, even though the copy to myself did. After days of excuses, we were told the credit was $2000 and the first amount was an error. I was just too tired of the whole drama to pursue it farther. A vacation should be fun, not a miserable angry experience. We did get our free laundry package with no problem. The ship is quite tired and desperately needs a complete refurbishment and dry dock. The cabin is spacious, but looks to not have been changed since the 80’s. The chairs and loveseat appear somewhat newer, but the rest of the cabinets, table, desk etc are dinged, scratched and nicked. The carpet is worn. The bed is uncomfortable and overall linens poor quality. The steward does his best to keep things clean. Our bathroom, an accessible with shower only, has been remodeled in a very haphazard manor. A glass doored cabinet in front of the commode has no closer and shattered during a rough night at sea, I asked repeatedly to have the closer fixed to no avail. It stayed in a dangerous shattered state for 2 days before it was replaced. Still no closer after 36 days. A piece of folded paper was stuck in it to keep it closed. The toilet has broken four times. There is mold in shower grout etc. The shower water is often tepid to downright cold, at least 1/3 of the time. The light in the walk-in closet burned out 3 days ago, have asked reception, steward etc to fix. Finally after 4 days it was fixed.The worst has been for 5 days out of 32, there has been no heat and the room was like a meat locker. Repeated attempts to fix the problem, work for a few days, then it’s back to freezing. Other times it was excessively hot. Just today it was announced the HVAC is out shipwide. Finally,after over 3 weeks were offered a different room. I felt that the accessible shower stall was worth keeping the lemon room at this point. I’m onlly 4’10 with knee and back issues and having to step over the side of the tub, did not seem worth the trade off, plus the added work of repacking and unpacking again. The accessible room is what I booked and the expectation of having what I paid for did not seem too much, although evidently it is. We did receive a bottle of wine, as some compensation... The windows on the whole ship including our cabin have been filthy. On day 30 a halfhearted attempt at window cleaning occurred, with water sprayed onto the window. It helped marginally. Every other longer cruise I’ve ever been on, I have noted windows have sporadically been cleaned. Often there is a notice to close draperies etc. The hall on our floor flooded at least 4 times, adding to the general moldy smell. The public rooms are for the most part, equally tired, dingy, often smelling of mold and crammed with too much furniture. The dining room is ok and the Yacht club ok, except for dirty windows. The staff overall is beyond wonderful and the food has been excellent, probably the best of any cruise line we have been on. That pulled the bar from the pits to adequate. there are only two dining venues; the buffet and the main dining room. The “alternate”dining Candles, is just in the same buffet, but served with a slightly different menu. Near the end of the long cruise, the Candles was moved to the Compass Rose area, which was nicer, but seemed a huge amount of work for the staff, bringing food down an outside stairway. Evidently, Windstar used to have special events. That doesn’t seem to be the case any more. There have been Barbecue nights, which basically mean instead of getting served in the dining room, you get to stand in a long line snaking through the kitchen, fill you plates and try to find a free seat to eat. A confusing and not very fun event. Meanwhile,the singer blares Frank Sinatra songs. Most cruisers seem to be in the 50-75 age group and Frank would be appropriate for their parents. This should seriously be rethought. On our 4 b2b they did manage to get the barbecue on deck once, which was pleasant in the beautiful Norwegian fjords. Be advised the ship is quite small, which in most of our past cruises has been a plus, in this long one, there is nothing to do on sea days. Resting and reading are about it. Which is fine and what I anticipated. There are about 4 tv channels, repeating endlessly and some very outdated dvds available in the library. They do a wine tasting ($20) and a few other tiny events. There is one mediocre singer and a pretty good duo. They don’t add much. The crew talent show is cute and they give it their best. The worst thing overall, considering the cold and rough weather has been the many tender ports and the dismal, if not downright extremely dangerous condition of the tenders themselves. One has broken down twice. The front overhead hatch does not seal on either of them, and if a wave washes over, water pours into the tender. Getting on and off has been so hazardous in a few instances, I can only say thanks to the excellent tender crew, no one has been injured. One crossing was so bad I was fearful for my life. Not the most wonderful cruise experience. The few ships excursions we have taken have ranged from good to really awful. They are extremely overpriced, but that is usual with cruise tours. Many of the ports have been in industrial areas and many miles away from the main cruise port. This seems odd and involves taking a shuttle or public transportation to what you want to see. We have been at anchor and tendered many times a docking experience seems available for other ships. I’m not sure if this is a money saving issue.... In 36 days we only missed one port because of weather. So a positive on that. Our previous cruise with Windstar, on the Windsurf was a much better experience, but the ship had recently been refurbished and it was a much shorter cruise. I would not in any way recommend sailing on the Star Pride, in fact I would run the opposite direction as quickly as possible. We have heard there will be a complete dry dock refurbishment in Aug 2020 and perhaps they may add a section onto the ship. It may be a better experience at that time, but extremely doubtful I would give it a second chance. I know there are many cruisers that swear by the casual, small ship Windstar experience that will disagree. In my opinion there are much better options available for the price point ,general style and ambience As for the corporate office, I should not have had to hassle for a cruise credit I was promised and to top it of not receive the promised amount. If you are looking for a casual experience, other lines ,such as Oceania, give a much better value for cost. Read Less

The staff and quality of food was outstanding. The suite was large and never felt confining. Double sink vanity, large tub, walk-in closet all made the 8 day experience just like home! Every evening after dinner and drinks, we came back to a cabin that had been picked up and a bed folded down. Fresh water and a filled ice bucket everyday. The wine selection and knowledgeable wine steward was first class! The barbecue out on the deck was beyond anything we expected. The staff always made sure we had a drink. Deck chairs were plentiful and blankets were brought out for those chilly evenings. The duo that sang and played music were very good and entertained our requests making for fun evenings after dinner. The shore excursions were extremely organized and getting on and off the ship was easy and streamlined. Our only criticism, and this is very minor, was that the cabins could use a little updating, especially the bathrooms. But, storage was plentiful, and the laundry service was super and worth the extra money. Read Less

Bait and switch!!!! The publish destinations are as follows, 1. Grenada 2.Pigeon Island 3. Bequia 4.Guadeloupe 5. St Martin THAT IS NOT WHERE WE WENT!!! Where we went was: 1. No Grenada, they instead took us to Anse Mitaln Martinque. All I can say is we got off the boat at their 'so called beach' and it was a few feet wide, not pretty sand, and the locals looked like they would mug you! 2. we ..did go to Pigeon Island, it was ok, no place I would ever go back to. They had a lunch on the beach. 3. Bequia....never saw it!!! 4. Guadeloupe, never went there either, the generator went out and with that the air conditioner and some of the bathrooms. You would wake up in the night pouring sweat! Several people left the boat. You could smell the bathrooms and with the heat, well you can just imagine! 5.Little Bay, Montserrat....JUST PLAIN GROSS, Not where we were suppose to go!..Again!!! They keep hyping this 'buried city'. It seems the volcano erupted and buried a 3rd world city. We gave up and ..tried...to go to their beach and it just might have been the worst of all. They called it a black sand beach, but it was more like a big mud pie. We didn't even stay 30 minutes. 6. St Barts, not on the route but the best. But that was trashed too, as we paid $175.00 a person to go their snorkling deal. When we went to get in the water, they told us we had 20 minutes! When I got home, I looked at the tickets they had emailed us. It seems that even though I talked to their booking agents at length about the stops POSTED on their web site, they changed them and put them on our confirmed tickets before we ever hit the boat! THAT IS JUST PLAIN WRONG! Bait and switch! They took us to every pile of hot rocks and no beach they could find. They refunded $450, but you can't give me back a week of my life. I would never take them again because I don't trust them not to pull the same stunt again. Also, I would like to add, after they roasted us for 3 days and never got the generator working, I asked if they were going to put the boat in dock back in San Juan and fix it. The answer was "no", they were going to have someone stand there and manually turn it on every time it tripped! One of our group went on from San Juan to Portugal, which was the next trip. He stated it went out again in the Atlantic. They slept with their cabin doors open and it wasn't so bad. I will bet you that thing sails the Mediterranean with the air out! Read Less

Ship was tired. Carpet tired and dirty. Staff was tired/ not energetic. Communication poor between staff and guest about were to be when especially on disembarkation. Had to wait on luggage both on embarkation and on disembarkation. This wait caused us to miss a tour each time which the staff did not seem to worried about but cut down on our experiences. On disembarkation the wait also caused us to miss our connection to our next destination even. Staff called you by your first name or did not use yes sir or yes ma'am. Very cheap liquor and poor drink selection. Drinks made were weak ? watered? And staff very very careful to about not pouring too much and charging for every drop. Overall the food was excellent . Overall not worth the money or least wait to last minute and get last minute deal. We paid earlyt o reserve the date and got no incentives. Read Less

My husband & I took a back-to-back Windstar cruise sailing from Lisbon to Barcelona & Barcelona to Rome. We loved the 200 passenger ship for its intimacy, its room to breathe without being surrounded by 1000s all the time & its list of passengers from all over the world. Our cabin was wonderful - roomy with a curtain separating the large screen TV/reading lounge from the sleeping area, a walk-in closet, a sparkling well equipped bathroom, a bar console, ample storage/writing space & a wall window (not that we spent much time gazing out of it). Embarkation had minor delays, luggage delivery & disembarkation very smooth. The food - in the Veranda breakfast/lunch deck & the main Dining Room - was excellent & sophisticated & the service was impeccable. Ditto for the cabin stewards who went out of their way to accommodate requests & wishes (often unexpressed !!). Seating was open at dinner & we had a lot of interesting dinners by asking to be seated with other guests & offering to share our table with them, too. Although the setting was fairly formal, the atmosphere was not, due to the senses of humor of the 2 maitre d's who were lively & solicitous at the same time. Since I was coughing & sneezing at night, I didn't have much a chance to sample the entertainment but my husband did & loved it. There are several areas with live music, drinking & dancing where my hubby outdid himself singing karaoke & dancing with women with stationery husbands. My big regret is not feeling well enough to see all of this person but the staff & other guests regaled me with the stories. We've usually found the ships' shore excursions to be about average & only took one on the entire cruise. I had booked private tours in every port & thought they were absolutely fabulous, living up (with one exception) to all our expectations. I would highly recommend future guests to do the same - I used ToursByLocals &NotJustATourist & did a lot of reviewing before booking them. I'd also recommend spending extra days if you can exploring the departure & arrival cities as it provides a fascinating way to start & end a cruise. The one big negative for us was the itinerary on the second half of our cruise. My husband chose it as it extended our original cruise in the right time frame but we were disappointed by Windstar's choices, namely, 3 stops on the islands of Corsica & Elba as well as the Algarve of Portugal. Perhaps it was not possible but, looking at a map, there were a number of destinations that seemed a lot more appealing. We WOULD sail on Windstar again but make shore that (most of) the ports were places on our bucket list. Read Less