russg140 Posted March 31, 2018 #1 Share Posted March 31, 2018 So a week from today we board the Star Pride for the 13-Night Eastbound TA. I'm going to do my best to write daily about the crossing as I know there are people that are curious about it. I look forward to your questions and comments. Stay tuned...(p.s. We're spending one night at the El Convento in San Juan prior to boarding. If you have any questions about SJ, etc let me know!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judi666 Posted March 31, 2018 #2 Share Posted March 31, 2018 Love El Convento! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new_cruiser Posted March 31, 2018 #3 Share Posted March 31, 2018 Looking forward to your posts. I'll be boarding Star Legend for my first ocean crossing on May 4. Sent from my Pixel using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O2B@Cagain Posted March 31, 2018 #4 Share Posted March 31, 2018 Love El Convento. Jealous about your crossing. I would love to go across the Atlantic on the Pride. I'll be looking for your posts! Have fun...:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumelle Posted March 31, 2018 #5 Share Posted March 31, 2018 Have a great crossing. Looking forward to your posts. I am curious about the condition of the Pride. There was a review on CC from Dec 2017 calling it a rust bucket. They even had photos that made the ship look bad. I have not seen any other reviews saying the ship is in bad shape. I thought it had been recently refurbished? We will be on the Pride in May - Barcelona to Lisbon. Bon voyage!⚓️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judi666 Posted April 1, 2018 #6 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Have a great crossing. Looking forward to your posts. I am curious about the condition of the Pride. There was a review on CC from Dec 2017 calling it a rust bucket. They even had photos that made the ship look bad. I have not seen any other reviews saying the ship is in bad shape. I thought it had been recently refurbished? We will be on the Pride in May - Barcelona to Lisbon.Bon voyage!⚓️ I looked up the review as I will be on the Star Pride in June. It was actually in 2015 (although written 2 years later) I believe the ship has been refurbished since then. Let’s hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWhit Posted April 1, 2018 #7 Share Posted April 1, 2018 ... I am curious about the condition of the Pride. There was a review on CC from Dec 2017 calling it a rust bucket. They even had photos that made the ship look bad. I have not seen any other reviews saying the ship is in bad shape. I was on the Pride last month and I thought the ship seemed in great shape. It is an older ship, but I was very pleased with the ship's condition. To the OP, I hope you have a wonderful crossing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6rugrats Posted April 2, 2018 #8 Share Posted April 2, 2018 Article about refurbishment: https://www.avidcruiser.com/2016/06/star-pride-rejoins-windstar-fleet-following-refurbishment/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milepig Posted April 2, 2018 #9 Share Posted April 2, 2018 Old news. We were in the Pride in her first weeks and it was rough going. Then again more recently and everything was shipshape. I wouldn’t be concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russg140 Posted April 7, 2018 Author #10 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Here we go... Arrived in San Juan yesterday. It’s pretty sad. So many of the old homes in Old San Juan are destroyed. The El Convento was amazing and highly recommended. We arrived at the ship at 11:45 and told boarding wouldn’t begin until 1. Walked around for a bit and got back at 1:15. There was a little wait, but we were in our cabin in an hour. Lunch in the Veranda was great. 157 pax in all, and seems like a good mix of people. Muster at 5:15 where we had to don our life vests. Good practice! The captain then told us that we were leaving at 11 instead of 10 because some people were missing their luggage. Off for a drink at the Compass Rose and dinner in Amphora. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crisp1 Posted April 8, 2018 #11 Share Posted April 8, 2018 Was considering this cruise, but decided on the Surf- looking forward to your reports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russg140 Posted April 9, 2018 Author #12 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Dinner last night was good. Tonight’s was much better... First day at sea. Last night it was warm on the ship, a/c not working too well. We slept with our balcony door open, loved the fresh air. After breakfast went on deck and read, checked email, etc. internet service is pretty good, surprisingly. Glad we bought the package. After a nice lunch went back on deck then off to the gym. Kind of warm, but they were blowing air in. Still a good sweat. As I said, really great dinner then an after dinner under the stars. We’re sailing at 11 knots. Nice, slow, easy relaxing. Perfect. Questions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pudgesmom Posted April 9, 2018 #13 Share Posted April 9, 2018 To be honest, I'm sad to see you posting this. The transatlantic sailings have always been frequented by a very quiet bunch, many who go every year. We've gone many times; never posted about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strenz Posted April 9, 2018 #14 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Each to our own, I enjoy the postings and it brings back memories of two Atlantic crossings with WS and one Pacific with WS.Safe Crossing Happy Sailing and Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minidonuts85 Posted April 9, 2018 #15 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Looking forward to your reports! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb44 Posted April 9, 2018 #16 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Dinner last night was good. Tonight’s was much better... First day at sea. Last night it was warm on the ship, a/c not working too well. We slept with our balcony door open, loved the fresh air. After breakfast went on deck and read, checked email, etc. internet service is pretty good, surprisingly. Glad we bought the package. After a nice lunch went back on deck then off to the gym. Kind of warm, but they were blowing air in. Still a good sweat. As I said, really great dinner then an after dinner under the stars. We’re sailing at 11 knots. Nice, slow, easy relaxing. Perfect. Questions? Thanks for taking us along with you. TA on my list! Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lithlith Posted April 9, 2018 #17 Share Posted April 9, 2018 I sure hope that they have fixed the problems on the Star Pride. We were just on the 03/31/18 to 04/07/18 Caribbean sailing where the the Star Pride lost power for hours on end over over and over again the course of several days and in turn lost air conditioning creating unbearable conditions inside the ship for guest and crew alike. I wish you all the best! There is no way I would have stayed on that ship for a trans-Atlantic voyage after what we went through last week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russg140 Posted April 10, 2018 Author #18 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Beautiful day yesterday! Lots of sun and a little movement in the seas. Great outdoor grilled burgers for lunch. Took a dip in the splash pool. Very refreshing. Greg Redfern is our on board lecturer. He’s from NASA and after dinner held a star gazing session. Very cool. Dinner at Candles was delicious with prosciutto wrapped shrimp then a huge veal chop. The “red velvet” cake was actually neon pink, like something Barbie would make LOL! For those that want to know: while we were eating last night in Candles we asked about an additional reservation. No problem, which is great because we will probably have at least 2 more dinners there. So don’t fret too much about it. With regard to the A/C: yes, it wasn’t working at 100%. Between that and the San Juan sun it was a bit warm. The fixed it so that by day 2 it was working great. We like to sleep with our windows open for the sea breeze and sound, so it wasn’t really an issue for us. Remember that SP is an older ship and like everything that ages sometimes things break. They were aware of it and fixed it. That’s all anyone could ask for. For a small ship they have enough activities including movies with popcorn in the Screeing Room, lectures, and such for those people who don’t want to sit around the deck. The entertainment is a duo called Azucar and a pianist. Both are really good. Back on deck for another day of relaxing in the sun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb44 Posted April 10, 2018 #19 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Sounds perfect and having someone to show you the stars is a treat. That's one of the very best things about being at sea. Enjoy Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strenz Posted April 10, 2018 #20 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Love the star gazing. Perhaps in the near future we might do another crossing. We love them. Thanks for sharing. Safe Voyage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russg140 Posted April 10, 2018 Author #21 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I also wanted to mention that we bought the internet package. I am typing this post on deck and the signal is pretty good and relatively fast. Not as fast as home, but considering we’re 500+ miles from the nearest land, it’s pretty good! Just FYI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb44 Posted April 10, 2018 #22 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I also wanted to mention that we bought the internet package. I am typing this post on deck and the signal is pretty good and relatively fast. Not as fast as home, but considering we’re 500+ miles from the nearest land, it’s pretty good! Just FYI. That's great to know. I wondered if it would work at sea since it's always been pretty pokey in Europe. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russg140 Posted April 11, 2018 Author #23 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Day....what day is today? Yes. Easy to forget! Yesterday was another beautiful day at sea. The swells picked up a little, but nothing more than to remind you you’re on a ship. Three items of note: the gym is surprisingly popular as the treadmills and bikes usually seem to be busy. I came in 2nd in the embarkation day Spa raffle and won a $40 credit. I booked a Groom and Shave for Friday which includes a Men’s mini-facial and shave. Second, they served homemade ice cream on deck (rum raisin and chocolate) with various toppings. Nice little afternoon treat! Finally, they introduced the Star Bar Grill as an additional dining alternative. As the name indicates, they put tablecloths on the tables around the Star Bar on Deck 7 and see up a grill. Starters are buffet and entrees are waiter service. Supposedly this will be offered every 3 days, so we’re planning on going Friday. Stay tuned. Last night they had a “show” with 4 Ship’s officers where they were given a word and asked to define it, then the audience had to guess who was telling the truth. We didn’t stay for the whole thing, but it was very well attended. Well, the clock is telling me it’s time to eat again! Let me know if you have any questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumelle Posted April 11, 2018 #24 Share Posted April 11, 2018 I look forward to your post everyday! We will be boarding the Pride in about six weeks. Hope she is in good shape. Does the ship look good after the recent renovations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb44 Posted April 11, 2018 #25 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Sounds so nice and relaxing. Love Liars Club. How they keep coming up with crazy answers is hysterical. Enjoy! Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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