New ship. Star Legend?

We are thinking of booking the Barcelona to Lisbon cruise on the Windstar Star Legend (formerly Seabourne Legend) in May 2015. The only reviews for this ship are under the old Seabourne site, which of course being Seabourne, are outstanding. Does anyone know anything about what Windstar has planned for this ship? It looks like it's transferring over from Seabourne in March 2015. It looks like the Seabourne ships being transferred over to Windstar are much older and in need of a lot of repair. Any thoughts? Thanks.

So happy you posted this, Boomer, as I am making the same decision about the Legend. We have been on

Seabourn many times, including a cruise on another to be transferred ship, Spirit, a few months ago. We loved our cruise, but did feel that the ship was in need of TLC. Our hope was that Windstar would take the time to really scrub and refurbish the ship but reviews of

Star Pride, the first ship transferred, suggests that they rushed it into service. It seems like they redid some of the public areas, but could have/should have done MUCH more.

As well, the Spirit and Legend are going to be with Seabourn for another year, allowing more time for aging without investment. It seems like a shortsighted decision, as these ships might attract many new customers to Windstar and they should make the best possible first impression.

That said, I am still considering a summer, 2015 Legend cruise but am a bit concerned about

the ship feeling tired and wondering how we will like Windstar service, after so many Seabourn cruises. Look forward to the thoughts of others.

Hopefully, some who have recently been on the Pride will see this and provide us some more information than the few reviews and comments that have appeared so far.

We are signed up for the Legend's Gaelic Explorer cruise on June 26. Also, have been a little concerned by some of the reviews and comments regarding the Pride. Have considered changing to the Surf, same itinerary three days later.

We'll have to make our final decision on whether to change or not very soon since we will be making airline reservations using miles.

Otis, I have never been on a Seabourn cruise so I cannot make a true comparison regarding the service between the two lines. However, I have been on five Windstar cruises and have found the service outstanding. My only concern with Windstar will be that they might suffer some "growing pains" during the transition of adding two additional ships in such a short period of time. Hopefully, they are taking steps now to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible with the type of service we have come to anticipate.

Thanks for the input. We are still considering the Legend next May as it has the exact itinerary we want. Another option for us, however, is the Silversea. Similar itinerary, Barcelona to Lisbon, but a new ship I think. We are generally not cruisers, prefering to travel on our own, but are interested in doing this cruise next year. Any thoughts on Windstar Legend vs. Silversea?

We have only been on Silversea once - the Shadow - and had a very poor experience. I think that a lot of the problem was the itinerary (a one off Asia cruise that had a port canceled and a lot of rough sea days), but we were also not that impressed with the food and crew. As you may know, the Shadow then had a widely publicized sanitation problem. As a result, we are avoiding the line. However, I am certain that our experience wasn't typical and a perusal of SS boards will provide many fans of SS. A newer ship would also be a plus.

One of the reasons we were attracted to Windstar was the prospect of a bit more casual atmosphere. That would certainly be a difference vs. Silversea which may be a positive or negative to you.

Am in the same "boat" as all of you. Wife and I are thinking of booking the "Lands of the Midnight Sun" cruise on the Legend which is scheduled for next Aug. It is a new and different itinerary for WindStar so we are very much looking forward to the cruise. I know it is over a year away but was very surprised when I called Windstar to find out about availability and they said that ALL the BS cabins were available so obviously there is no rush to book.

Windstar also seems to really be pushing the Asia cruises. All of this makes me wonder if people are shying away from the new ships because of the initial Pride reports? Would love to see more reports to see what is really happening.

I was also thinking one of the new ships (Star Breeze Barcelona/Lisbon), but I am hesitant to book given some of the feedback on the Star Pride. I have also read that these former Seabourn ships have some space limitiations (outdoor space, pool etc) which concerns me since we like to spend as much time on deck as possible. Also, I find Windstar prices to be somewhat high. When you factor in the additional costs of alcohol (on a drink package) and grautities etc, it comes out close to what you would pay per day on Silversea. Although more formal, I will probably go with the added inclusions/benefits of SS and wait for the Windstar ships to prove themsleves

I plan to go on the Legend next year. It had a 93% approval rating on members reviews as the Seabourn Legend. Add to that Windstar's amazing crew and service! I am forewarned about the deck space, but our itinerary has no sea days, so that doesn't worry me too much at all.

I will post my review Athens to Venice very soon....:)

Bigdogwon - Looking forward to your review. Hope others post their Pride reviews, also.

So, after discussions with Tom, we have decided to stick with the Gaelic Explorers on the Legend. After being forewarned about deck space, we feel on this itinerary it will not be as important - port intensive and possibly coolish evenings going from Dublin to Edinburgh. We probably won't be out sunning ourselves like we would in the Med or Caribbean!

This cruise should give us a good feel for the ship and help determine whether or not we would cruise other itineraries. Since we have had some incredible cruises with Windstar, we know what they are capable of delivering. Only by trying one of the new-to-Windstar ships will we be able to determine if they are able to meet, exceed, or fall short on our expectations. Worst case scenario - we don't enjoy the ship and stick to sails in the future!

We're thinking of booking the Legend's inaugural cruise May 25th. Never been to a ship's christening. Something different! I like the 6-day itinerary, too; including special night event in Monte Carlo (like Azamara's AzAmazing Evenings).

We too are planning the May 25, 2015 Star Legend cruise. Wonderful itinerary. Only 6 nights so with great service, food and wine plus these fabulous ports, we believe it's worth it.

Sharron

Atlanta, GA, USA

We too are planning the May 25, 2015 Star Legend cruise. Wonderful itinerary. Only 6 nights so with great service, food and wine plus these fabulous ports, we believe it's worth it.

 

Sharron

Atlanta, GA, USA

We sailed several time on the Legend when it was part of the Seabourn fleet and love the ship. Since we are also fans of Windstar it should be a wonderful experience. Wish we were going with you.

Shirley

We too have enjoyed sailing on Legend and on Windsurf. I do hope Windstar will adopt the Oceania approach of delivering a high standard of service, good food and in a country casual style at a realistic price. With Star Pride so far they have not delivered. Setting Seabourn prices but not including drinks and tips. I note they are now heavily discounting several of their cruises next year. I will await to read Members reviews on Cruise Critic before booking a cruise.

We're thinking of booking the Legend's inaugural cruise May 25th. Never been to a ship's christening. Something different! I like the 6-day itinerary, too; including special night event in Monte Carlo (like Azamara's AzAmazing Evenings).

We will be joining you on the Legend on May 25th. We sailed on the Starpride in May on a great itinerary which included Sicily. If you are not sure about trying the "new" ships, the Windsurf will be doing the same trip next May.

We had a wonderful cruise on the Starpride. Yes, the ship has seen better days but the cabins are completely refurbished and so is the interior of the ship. Food and service were great and we loved meeting some of our crew friends from the Surf.

The pool area leaves a lot to be desired but WS can't change the layout of the ship.

There will be sail away music and WS has found a clever way to compensate for the lack of sails. I will let you find out for yourself.

We are looking forward to the inaugural ceremony in Rome.

Lorraine

We have not sailed on the ships you mention, other than Windstar's tall ships. Service always excellent. Friend of ours went on his first Windstar tall ship some years back (the Wind Star). He gets up at 4-4:30 each am. First morn, he wanted coffee. Was about to help himself to some in the galley, when one of Windstar's staff appeared. From that day on, when our friend got up each (very early!) am, he was presented with a cup of coffee as soon as he came on deck.

We have only sailed on one of the Windstar tall ships. The service was wonderful.

Whoops- I meant we have only sailed WINSDSTAR on their tall ships.

Windstar also seems to really be pushing the Asia cruises. All of this makes me wonder if people are shying away from the new ships because of the initial Pride reports? Would love to see more reports to see what is really happening.

I don't think people are "shying" away because of initial report. Demographic tends to show that the majority of Windstar and/or Seabourn are not regular readers of board such as CCs so it<s hard to judge if they stau away because of comments on this or other website. If you look at Roll Call, the % of passengers registered is very low. In addition, many company are now focusing on the small ship experience. Viking, which is well know for it's river cruise are now adding small cruise ship.

Don<t forget that they can revamp a ship while doing a transatlantic sailing. Amazing what they can do in 2 weeks.

I don't think people are "shying" away because of initial report. Demographic tends to show that the majority of Windstar and/or Seabourn are not regular readers of board such as CCs so it<s hard to judge if they stau away because of comments on this or other website. If you look at Roll Call, the % of passengers registered is very low. In addition, many company are now focusing on the small ship experience. Viking, which is well know for it's river cruise are now adding small cruise ship.

 

Don<t forget that they can revamp a ship while doing a transatlantic sailing. Amazing what they can do in 2 weeks.

We are shying away because of the initial reports. Having recently been on one of the Seabourn ships to be turned over to Windstar, our feeling is that the ships need more work than the perfunctory refit that has been done and we want to see how this progresses as Windstar gets

more accustomed to the new ships. We love the ships, but they are a bit tired and Windstar might be squandering an opportunity to really freshen them up by rushing them out. I'm sure there will be a learning curve given the different style of the new ships and we'd rather wait until the kinks are worked out. As well, the clunky website was not a good introduction to Windstar.

We are pulling for them and do hope they successfully integrate these three wonderful ships, but for us, we'd rather have more evidence that things are fully under control.

Otis, I see from your postings you haven't sailed on Windstar cruises yet. I know Seabourn service is excellent, but I think if you had experienced Windstar service you would not be so concerned.

I think we all share the hope that they refresh the ships as required. And there is bound to be initial resistance from some Windstar cruisers since many of us enjoy the aspect of the sails. But it seems that some of the negativity was directed at the Star Pride's deck space (which would likely have been the same/similar when it was with Seabourn?).

I am looking forward to trying the Legend next fall.

Otis, I see from your postings you haven't sailed on Windstar cruises yet. I know Seabourn service is excellent, but I think if you had experienced Windstar service you would not be so concerned.

 

I think we all share the hope that they refresh the ships as required. And there is bound to be initial resistance from some Windstar cruisers since many of us enjoy the aspect of the sails. But it seems that some of the negativity was directed at the Star Pride's deck space (which would likely have been the same/similar when it was with Seabourn?).

 

I am looking forward to trying the Legend next fall.

I'm sure that the service is excellent on Windstar - we have many friends who will take no other cruise line. We do, however, like to spread out in larger rooms/suites, so we haven't chosen Windstar in the past partly for that reason. That's why we were so excited about the Seabourn ship transfer. Everyone has different priorities, but for us, a fresh room and environment matter and we would prefer to wait until everything shakes out. To each his own, I guess. But we do look forward to this becoming an option in the future.

My sympathies about the clunky website. The old one was great - so they changed it! Now it's impossible to use. Thanks Wiindstar!

Two months ago I wrote we were thinking of booking the Legend's inaugural cruise with Windstar - May 25th, Rome to Barcelona. Well, we have.

We're mating this 6-day cruise with a 7-day Azamara cruise in the Adriatic, r/t Venice. Have 5 days in between. Will spend a couple in Venice (been there twice before - we love it!), but trying to decide what else for 2-3 days.

I'll look forward to your review next year - we'll be doing the same itinerary (Rome to Barcelona) on the Star Legend in October 2015.