Fantastic Cruise Onboard Star Pride

[Misty Morning]

Just got back from a wonderful 16 day back to back cruise on Star Pride.  I had some hesitancy as to how it would be post covid (we were on the last Wind Surf cruise in March 2020) and would the 100 additional guest on post stretched ship have an impact on the overall experience.  Well I can report that any doubts I had were gone in the first day.  It's the same great Windstar experience.  

 

Highlights:

 

Staff is amazing.  There were 6 of us, and we all agreed that the level of service was excellent everywhere.  Whether it was in the bars or dining rooms, staff is smiling and always looking to help.  Our stateroom attendant was always on top of keeping our room clean and laundry services was top notch.  Management was  always around and responsive to our comments (i.e diming of Amphora dining room lights, thanks Merrick).  Reception desk staff was responsive.  One of our friend's luggage did not make it and although this was not Windstar's fault, they offered free laundry and a $100 OBC to spend at the shop

 

Cuadro 44:  Great experience, not to be missed (went 3 times).  Sit at the counter and just watch the plates come to you all night.  No need to look at the menu.  Chef is extremely friendly and proud of what come out of his kitchen.  Understand he was chef at the prestigious Queens Grill on the Queen Mary 2 so this is a good catch for Windstar.  Don't miss this.  Only 44 seats but we managed to get in 3 times during our 16 days and could have gone more often if we wanted

 

Star Grill:  mostly open for Grab n' go breakfast items and served burgers and daily special for lunch.  Was open a few times at night.  It's fine but we did not use much.  But it is convenient

 

Food:  Still as good as it was.  Yes there is no more lobster or lamb at the Deck  BBQ but they now have lobster night at Amphora on the last night of the cruise.  Candles no longer has the veal chop but the lamb and steaks were excellent (try the sides of onion rings and prosciutto parmesan potatoes, divine).  Good choices for breakfast at Veranda.  Sandwiches at Yacht Club just as tasty as they were and caffe lattes at Veranda are now as good as the ones in Yacht Club thanks to new espresso machine.  Ice cream machine was there at the Star Grill but it was not running as they are missing some parts.  They offered a large variety of hors d'oeuvres on deck at cocktail time on several evenings (more often that in previous cruises).  We did not take the drink package this time as we were drinking wines by the bottle but approx 50% of the passengers did.  Mostly the same selection of wines as  pre covid with prices up slightly. Company continues to have supply issues with some products not always available (they ran out of French Rosé for a week and only got some back when in St Martin on last day of cruise). 

 

The ship:  The ship looks very good.  I read some earlier comments that the ships looked like rust buckets.  Maybe pre stretch but this is no longer the case.  The new bathrooms in the suites look great, there is now an additional 220v outlet on the dresser with 2 USB chargers on top the existing 110 and 220V outlets by the desk (none by the bed, no issue for us). Pool and Star Deck furniture has been replaced and looks very good.  Pool and hot tub area have been redesigned nicely.  Candles/Veranda area redone with additional room at the back and all new furniture.  Spa area and gym have been completely redone and expanded and look inviting.  Gym equipment is all new and top quality. All public bathrooms have also been redone. We had AC issues but this was fixed after a few days (they flew in a team from the US which stayed on the ship through the remainder of the cruise to make sure things were running properly) and got a $450 credit for the annoyance.  New engines installed are much cleaner with much less soot on deck.  Speaking of decks, all deck flooring (teak and vinyl) has been redone and looks very nice.  Elevators have also all been redone with the new central one capable of holding at least 6 people.  Despite having 260 people onboard on the first leg, it never felt crowded (it was one of my worries which quickly dissipated).  There were always chairs available on pool deck even on a sea day and we never waited for a table for very long as there are now more options for dinners (additional space at Veranda and new Cuadro 44 and Star Grill options).  The Star Bar has also been expanded .

 

Tenders:  With the stretch, the tenders were updated (this was overdue) and are much larger, cleaner and faster than the previous ones (although we did like the yacht style of the previous model).  Also the new tender boarding area on Deck 3 Mid is much more accessible with elevator next to it which was not the case prior to stretch.

 

This was our 10th Windstar cruise and this one was just as good as our previous ones.  Should anyone have concerns or doubt about cruising with Windstar,  do yourselves a favor and go.  For 2 weeks it was pure pleasure, we did not hear about covid during the whole time (did not hear there were any on board or did not notice any people in the 300 level rooms used for quarantined passengers) and we totally disconnected from our daily lives. To me that is a sure sign of another perfect cruise.

 

Don't hesitate to ask any questions

 

Misty Morning

 

 

 

 

[marinaro44]

Veal chops were available at least until November 2.

 

With 260 on board and the outside area of Veranda closed due to cold weather in Greenland, Labrador, etc., Veranda was packed and people were carrying plates of food waiting for a table to open.  Shortage of wait staff precluded opening Amphora for breakfast or lunch.  Not an issue, of course, in the Caribbean.

 

Hotel manager Andreas said he would insist on additional wait staff if he's onboard for the 2023 Iceland/Greenland cruises.

[Misty Morning]

Definitely, these ships are more warm weather ships than cold weather ones

[molemaui]

3 hours ago, Misty Morning said:

Just got back from a wonderful 16 day back to back cruise on Star Pride.  I had some hesitancy as to how it would be post covid (we were on the last Wind Surf cruise in March 2020) and would the 100 additional guest on post stretched ship have an impact on the overall experience.  Well I can report that any doubts I had were gone in the first day.  It's the same great Windstar experience.  

 

 

 

Your review is pretty much exactly how I would characterize my Boston/San Juan cruise three weeks ago. A really excellent cruise. 

[RMS Olympic]

Thank you for this posting. It’s got me even more anxious to get on the Pride this January.

 

[MRGACRUZR]

On 11/20/2022 at 10:12 PM, molemaui said:

 

Your review is pretty much exactly how I would characterize my Boston/San Juan cruise three weeks ago. A really excellent cruise. 

You must have been one of tge lucky ones with Air Conditioning.

[molemaui]

3 hours ago, MRGACRUZR said:

You must have been one of tge lucky ones with Air Conditioning.

True, we were in the "new" section. Many of the friends we met weren't so lucky. 

 

My understanding is the problem is finally resolved. It took halfway into the next cruise out of San Juan for that to happen. 

[minidonuts85]

I’m seeing posts today on another page of pax on board currently and are reporting a/c issues in cabins.. Sounds like they've been told another part is on order….