Reviews/comments on Star Legend?

We are booked on this ship in October next year. I have been looking for postings on first impressions/reviews but they have been few and far between.

We have only cruised on the Windstar previously. Any feedback or tips would be gratefully appreciated.

Many thanks.

We just returned from a trip on the Star Legend... first time not on one of the sailing ships. Yes, we missed the sails BUT the size of the suites made up for it... at least this time... AND.,, the food in the dining room for dinner was the best we have had on any ship. We usually don't pay much attention to the food as we have found that on all cruises the food has gotten pretty mediocre. Not the Legend. If you have the same head of dining... Krashmire and chef... you will be in good hands. Our waiter in the dining room was also top notch... even for Windstar. He was not over the top as some of the staff are... just very helpful and competent... Weidi. The ship is clean and spacious. We did not spend any time on the decks.. unfortunately we had awful weather... rain and cold. I don't think there is as much outside space as on the sailing ships but I could be wrong. The reception staff, although nice, need to be better informed. It was difficult to get information about transportation in some of the ports... whether Windstar was going to provide a bus or not... they did in most of the situations where we needed them to but trying to get that information in advance was difficult to say the least. Travis, the activities guy was very helpful and went above and beyond. Since we were on an itinerary that was a first for Windstar there were some "unknowns" but Travis sorted it all out. Any other questions let me know. I would be happy to answer what I can.

Hi Firststeps..we are leaving next week for our very first cruise. We are on the Legend from Dover to Lisbon..and we are going with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Really not sure what to expect.. would love to get some additional insight from you

Thanks

firststeps, did you do the Iceland cruise ?

We were on the Legend from Dover to Copenhagen. We had a fabulous time. This was our 4th or 5th Windstar cruise ... can't remember any more. The good news is that the suites are really nice... large comfortable, etc. At least by our standards. We did miss the sails of the other ships though.The balconies on this ship are "french" balconies which means you can not sit on them. I would not recommend paying extra for a balcony on this ship. We enjoyed having the additional space. It was a luxury. I think this ship has less common outside deck space than the sailing ships but I could be wrong. We really were not outside much because of the temps.

We had rough seas going through the English channel and could not get into Brugge... sad but gives us an excuse to go back. Hope that doesn't happen to you but that's just the way it is with cruising. Be prepared.

The weather this time of year is very changeable. We went from mi 50s to mid 80s from one port to the other. Best to plan on having layers.

The laundry package is well worth considering. We always do it and it lets us pack fewer items of clothes. These ships are very casual and even though they say no jeans, etc. in the dining room, a lot of folks had nice jeans on.. not cut with holes! You will not see tee shirts... casual shirts for men but jeans are really okay.

The ship is nicely done... they are still working on some of the areas that need a little more sprucing up. Service as always is exceptional on a Windstar.

Hawaii... is this your first Windstar cruise? That would help me know how to answer you. This is a SMALL ship.. no big shows, not a lot of entertainment, etc. The focus is really on the ports. Depending on where you are going I might be able to recommend some guides as well if you would like. Are you spending any time in London? We had an amazing guide there for one day...

Now more on the ship... our biggest surprise was the high quality of food in the dining room... very impressed for the very first time. Our waiter, Widhi was perfect and on top of all of our every want/need. You might ask where his serving station is. Also the dinning room supervisor... a big guy with dark hair. His name is Krashmire is great. Tell him Pat and Terri from the July 27th trip (and will be with him in Costa Rica in DEC.) say hi. He is very interested in the clients and does what he can to ensure a good experience. The CHEF... now there's the real deal. Food was served beautiful and was cooked to perfection. As I said, we were amazed.

We had room service two mornings. Again we were surprised by the quality of the food... it was hot when it arrived.

The only complaint we would have is with drink service. When we would come back to the ship from a day of touring tired and wanting to relax, there was no one serving drinks in the lounge... you had to go out to the bar, get your drink and bring it in... I think they need to work on that a bit.

And... since this was the first time for our itinerary, the folks at reception really did not have enough information to share with passengers when they were asked questions. Travis, the activities director, was of great help this way. If he could not answer a question he found the answer and got back to you. At some of the ports Windstar provided busses to take you from the dock in to the city. When we asked in advance - the day before - if transportation was going to be provided the reception girls did not have a clue... Travis knew however. You might want to find out about where the port you are coming in to is in relationship to the town and see if they are providing busses to go back and forth.

If you have not done windstar before you should know that a $12.00/person/day is added to your bill for tips. Also, 15% is added to any beverages to cover tips. We usually tip in addition to that depending on service... room steward, waiter, and we also gave a tip to the guy who took care of our drinks.

If you get a bottle of wine at dinner and don't finish it they will keep it for you in the kitchen and bring it out the next night. They will also bring it out to you out on deck if you want... very nice option. And, you are allowed to bring on two bottles of wine of your own. If you take them to the dining room they will charge a $10.00 corking fee.

Toiletries in the bathroom are top notch... not cheap stuff. You don't have to bring shampoo, cream rinse, soap, etc. unless you want your own brands.

People are friendly on this ship as they are on all Windstar cruises... both the passengers and staff. Relax and enjoy!

Any other questions feel free to ask.

Sorry, Cirman, we have not done Iceland as of yet. we head to Costa Rica and Panama in December.

Karen, where are you going in October?

First steps..thanks for that great info..no this is our first cruise period..our vacations over the past 35 years have pretty much consisted of going to the Big Island of Hawaii and turning our brains off for 2 or 3 weeks. Not sure about the etiquette of this message board, but would it be possible to arrange a phone call with you?

First steps..thanks for that great info..no this is our first cruise period..our vacations over the past 35 years have pretty much consisted of going to the Big Island of Hawaii and turning our brains off for 2 or 3 weeks. Not sure about the etiquette of this message board, but would it be possible to arrange a phone call with you?

There is no way you can do this without revealing your phone number to the public.

However, if you wish you can email me asking me to send a private email to the other member requesting a response. If he/she chooses not to reply, that's it. If he/she does reply it would be to just you and off you go.

First steps..thanks for that great info..no this is our first cruise period..our vacations over the past 35 years have pretty much consisted of going to the Big Island of Hawaii and turning our brains off for 2 or 3 weeks. Not sure about the etiquette of this message board, but would it be possible to arrange a phone call with you?

You are overthinking this. Just prebook a few shore excursions, pack a carry-on, and then show up at the pier (with your passports and a credit card). Go with the flow, relax, and turn that brain off ;) Don't try to do everything. And if you want something, just ask the crew.

We went through the hyper stage before our first cruise too (brought 220 lbs of luggage for a 10 day trip...). Not necessary. The ship's crew will ease you through everything. No easier way to vacation. And you are starting out on a good line, in a nice, easy to navigate ship. I can't stress enough not to stress about it :D

Hi, we are on the cruise from Venice down the Dalmatian coast ending up in Rome in October 2016. This is to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary and we chose this ship because the dates matched and it visits Rovinj in Croatia where we spent our honeymoon. Thanks for all the information, very helpful.

Enjoy your trip, Karen. This is one of the itineraries that we have yet to do but is calling us. I would love to hear about it when you return.

firststeps, did you do the Iceland cruise ?

This cruise doesn't start until next summer (2016).