Star Legend Jan 31st Trip Review: Fantastic time!

Just returned from our Fantastic seven day cruise which departed from San Juan on January 31. We are a recent empty nest couple in their late forties who love to travel. We have cruised over nine times but always on the bigger ships. Decided to try the smaller ship and see some new port sites. Really liked that we didn't depart three of the islands until after 10 pm.

Overall, we loved the cruise, especially the personalized service and the wonderful fresh, delicious food. It was true that the staff learns your name and we bonded with several and enjoyed talking and seeing them everyday. Our fellow 183 passengers were a mix of mostly well-traveled, friendly age 40 thru 60s. There were a couple of family groups with older teens and twenties and some older folks but most were 50 to late 60s.

Embarkation: So easy! Boarded at 1 pm. Walked to the room and then had a delicious lunch. Toured the ship. Won a treatment in the spa raffle and enjoyed the sail away out of San Juan Pier 4. We had a small snafu as the captain changed our port in Saint Maarten to Phillipsburg from Marigot as the previous two weeks the seas were too rough to tender in. I was glad he let us know at the start so we could rearrange our independent booking.

Stateroom: We were in 129, an ocean view category S1 on Deck 4. The bathroom was great with a nice size tub and shower. The suite had lots of storage and space with a nice couch and sitting area. The only negative about the stateroom was the bed/mattress was too hard but after the first night we asked to have something put on it to soften the mattress and our steward took care of it right away and we were much happier.

It was also the first time we didn't have a balcony but thought the large window kept the room bright. Missed having a balcony when we were coming and going into islands but really was not that important as we anchored out in the bays and tendered in so it wasn’t the same as being docked. For sail-away we always just went out on the decks. I would definitely do the ocean view again for the price. The room itself was large and our attendant kept the mini bar stocked with free soda and water. We did not buy the alcohol package as we wouldn't drink that much but my husband bought three bottles of wine which each cost 45 dollars and we had some mixed drinks that cost about 12 dollars a piece. I also brought my own bottle of wine on board which you are allowed up to two. I poured a glass before dinner and on the BBQ night I easily went back to my room for a second glass. All nonalcoholic beverages were free.

Amenities: beach towels and water supplied port side and rooms stocked with good vanity necessities

Dining: breakfast and lunch were served on deck 7 aft. Breakfast was great and you could have eggs and omelet’s cooked anyway you liked and they also had made to order items such as French toast, pancakes and waffles. The buffet was also very good with fruit, pastries, yogurt, and various meat items. We had dinner in Amphora on deck 3 and thought the variety and freshness of the food was very good. Candles, located where breakfast was served, was the specialty restaurant we ate at one night. Made reservations the first day for one of the days we were in port late. Loved the filet mignon, other food and service but the area was much noisier than Amphora so we didn’t enjoy the atmosphere as well as the dining room. We did get coffee and snacks in the Yacht club, which is very beautiful and loved sitting in there talking with others at the end of the day.

Water sports: this is where my husband was a little disappointed with the lack of equipment. No waterskiing. Passengers were not able to take dinghies by themselves etc. But we spent most of our days on the islands so it wasn’t a priority for us. On Prickly Pear we were too late in the day to be able to use the bigger equipment: the one Hobby cat always had a line and we were too late i.e. another wait list to go tubing. We did kayak and many others took better advantage of the floats, paddle board etc. I did see the younger family groups spending a lot of time at the platform deck

Spa: Did a massage, which was good but expensive. No real extras/sitting areas. They did have a very small steam room and sauna.

Tenders: All worked well on this trip without problems. Minimal wait in the morning. We were either on the first or second tender as they gave priority to the passengers that bought their shore excursions but we never waited long coming or going.

Ports

Culebra: 8-5pm. We rented a golf cart for $44 from Jerry's. Had a small snafu as they were supposed to meet us at the dock but only saw Carlos Rentals at dockside. However, a very friendly taxi coordinator called them for a local taxi and they took us to Jerry’s for free. My husband says he would rent a jeep next time instead of a golf cart, as it was only 10 more dollars, because the roads were bumpy. I don't think he liked getting passed by everyone! We went first to Flamenco Beach, which had beautiful white sand with crystal clear water. It is in the middle of the national wildlife reserve. We walked the length of the beach enjoying the breaking waves and sheer beauty and then went back thru the parking lot thru a loosely chained gate where an old minefield used to be to take the 20-minute trail to Carlos Rosario Beach. There we snorkeled and then went back to Flamenco for some authentic Puerto Rican food. Next we drove around the island and ended up for a little while at Zoni beach. Nice views on the way but I would stay and spend more time at Flamenco or hit Tamarindo beach to see the turtles.

St. Bart’s: 8-10pm. This was my favorite island. We rented our own jeep from Turbe rental for about $100 total including gas. They picked us up at the port in Gustavia and then took us to the airport to register the car. Super nice people and then we went to the supermarche near the airport and bought supplies for our picnic lunch. Cheese, fruit etc. cost 31 Euros for supplies that lasted for two days. We then drove to Colombier but took the wrong path to the beach. We took the high, steep path (ouch) but it helped me work off all the calories I was eating on the cruise. I suggest trying to park near Flamands beach and take the lower path instead of what we did. Anyway you reach the lovely beach tucked in a cove out at the tip of the island after a 20 to 30 minute walk. Another good snorkeling spot. Wear walking shoes and bring water and food. We ate our picnic lunch on the beach. Next we drove through Saint Jean and did a little shopping, drove around the island to my now favorite beach: Anse du Grand Saline. Parked and walked 5 minutes over the sand dunes to a wide, undeveloped, beach with turquoise water. Loved spending the afternoon there. We did stop by Gouverneur Beach for a little while which is also beautiful. Ended the day walking at the marina and seeing the mega yachts.

Phillipsburg, St Maarten: 8-10 pm Big, busy port but we rented a car from Hertz and took off for our own tour of the island. We drove the perimeter and saw Maho beach near the airport. The Dutch side is very commercialized. Our favorite places were on the French side: Friar's Bay and Happy Bay. Beautiful coves with sandy beaches. Friar's had a couple of eateries and we drank pina coladas. Happy Bay was more secluded (10 minute walk from trail at end of Friar’s Bay.) We had our picnic lunch, swam, snorkeled and sunned. Also spent a little time on Orient Beach but it was too crowded for our taste. Traffic was terrible getting back to Phillipsburg but we were leaving port late. We did make it back for the ships BBQ and had a great time meeting people and dancing. A very fun night.

Montserrat: 8-5 pm. We did the ships Buried City Tour, as I was afraid we couldn't get back into the evacuation zone. However we met two couples later that both got off the ship took local drivers back into the zone and had a great time. Our excursion was very good but more expensive. We were in a van with 10 people total and took a four-hour tour of the devastated areas and had lunch on the beach. We went back to the ship as there wasn't much else to do on the island but it was good to have a short day.

Jost Van Dyke: 8-midnight: We splurged today and rented our own private boat from Jost Van Dyke Scuba and the captain took us to Norman Island, Indian Rock and then to Great Thatch for the best snorkeling on the trip. It was so beautiful and clear. We walked Great harbor and shopped at Foxy's at the end of the day.

Prickly Pear Island: My husband did the ships diving excursion near Virgin Gorda, as we were told no tenders/taxis to Virgin Gorda on our own. He saw whales and liked the dives. I slept in and went to the beach day on the island. It was relaxful but it did rain a little. Water sports had lines at the end of day so we ended up just kayaking at the end of the day.

Disembarkation: Easy off the boat at 830am after a full breakfast. Walked our luggage for about 10 minutes up into old San Juan and left them at Barrachina. No charge but they asked for donation. We gave them five dollars a bag. That allowed us to walk the old city and outside the wall on the trail around to el Moro. Did some shopping, ate lunch and then took a 25-dollar cab ride to the airport. Security line was long at the airport but we bypassed as we have TSA pre-check

Ended a wonderful, relaxed cruise that exceeded our expectations.

Thanks for the very thorough review! Sounds like a great week!!! We board next Saturday.. We did get notice of the port change from Marigot to Philipsburg a couple of weeks ago. I wonder if it will be that way the rest of the season?

Pam

Nice review and very good info.

Would love to hear more about the whales your husband saw while diving Virgin Gorda.

Cheers

Mark

Great review! You should also write it under the general Windstar Cruise Reviews. They have had some really bad reviews lately and since you had a great experience it would be nice for all to see. We took our first Windstar cruise last may on StarBreeze and also loved it!

Yes, thanks for alleviating our concerns.

We just went out and updated our cruise wardrobe, so it's gett'n real :p And all shore excursions, drivers, etc. booked. And to calm our jitters, we purchased the booze package :D

Oh, and bought several types of mosquito spray and repellant, as we are staying on Barbados a few days :eek:

Tiki_Man: Had an excellent dive experience. I (IndyBeachGal_Husband) normally book my dive trips directly and not through the ship, but because we were not sure about the availability of water taxis from Prickly Pear Island, I let Windstar handle the arrangements. They took us by dingy to Gun Creek where we picked up a taxi to BVI Divers on the other side of Virgin Gorda. We were 3 divers from Windstar of 11 divers total (3 dive masters). Our dive sites were Ginger Steps and Carval Rock. Both excellent dives. As we were headed to Ginger Island and the first dive site, the Captain spotted a couple of "water spouts" (about 3/4 of the way between Virgin Gorda and Ginger Island). He slowed the boat and called out to the divers. We spent the next 15-20 minutes looking out for the whales. They were spotted again behind the boat closer to Virgin Gorda. The whales looked to be a mother humpback and her calf. They put on a great show of "blowing", tail smacks and pectoral fin smacks.

Enjoyed the review, thanks!

It was also the first time we didn't have a balcony but thought the large window kept the room bright. Missed having a balcony when we were coming and going into islands but really was not that important as we anchored out in the bays and tendered in so it wasn’t the same as being docked.

Does the Balcony Suite actually have a balcony you can sit on?

 

[/b][/i]Does the Balcony Suite actually have a balcony you can sit on?

No. The balcony is a french balcony where it is only about 6-8 inches deep.