New Star Pride Review with 1 Star

" We had been told there were floor to ceiling windows yet there were regular sized portholes looking out onto a public deck. "

It was hard to believe what I was reading in the review, but when I read that they had portholes, I wanted to check with you all! I have never sailed on the Pride, but have spent 10 weeks on her "sister ships" and I don't think that any of the rooms have port holes. They all have picture windows.

Any thoughts?:confused:

Please read other reviews of Star Pride; I sailed many cruises on Seabourn Pride and never saw portholes, only large windows. The main dining room can accommodate all cruisers for dinner; there should be tables for two available.

Windstar has only advertised Star Pride as "new to Windstar", not as a brand new ship. Perhaps the reviewers had unrealistic expectations.

Confusing review from the person who left the ship at the first stop. She said she had a Classic Suite, but that this had only portholes? How is this possible if this type of suite has a veranda?

Looked up pictures of these suites, and they don't have portholes. If this reviewer also thought this was a new ship, perhaps she has a very bad travel agent and/or did no research. Can't imagine leaving the ship at the first stop, and losing that much money.

I think the reviewer mixed up the ships and is probably talking about the Windsurf, not the Star Pride.

Also, that 1-star reviewer sailed on the Pride in May 2014 but just now posted a review 11 months later?? The ship he/she describes is not the ship that is currently sailing. It is in very good condition now and the 1-star review is hugely unjustified.

I'm also very leery of single post. Her review was flawed in many ways.

$ 17 000 cruise, satellite phone, Holiday Inn!!!!

Doesn't add-up.:confused:

Also, that 1-star reviewer sailed on the Pride in May 2014 but just now posted a review 11 months later?? The ship he/she describes is not the ship that is currently sailing. It is in very good condition now and the 1-star review is hugely unjustified.

I read through some of the more recent Star Pride reviews from this past year ... the five stars through the one star reviews. One of the common comments, even on the five star reviews, is that the Star Pride does show it's age. And of the combined ratings for the Windstar ships here on Cruise Critic, it has the lowest rating at 55%.

But like you, I get annoyed with people who leave reviews like the one discussed in this thread. Their expectations were just way too high ... and I know Windstar service well enough that even with a few blemishes on the ship, the people on the ship are wonderful and do there best to make everyone comfortable. There's no way that people should have been that miserable to abandon their Windstar cruise after a day.

Here's a USA Today review from the same time period.

Several days before this thread started, I actually contacted Cruise Critic requesting that they investigate it. I have stayed out of the conversation on this thread so far because I was curious as to what others thought.

There were a number of red flags for me:

1. If someone had such a terrible experience and lost so much money on a cruise, would they really wait almost a year before posting?

2. There is another one star review from last year that almost sounds like the same person wrote it (sketteroo). Both use the comparison Four Seasons vs. Holiday Inn. Both say they were first-time cruisers. Both say they had expectations of a new ship. Both refer to Hans Birkholz (one by name, the other by CEO) and use the phrase "shame on him."

While I feel very strongly that everyone should post their reviews whether positive or negative, I have to wonder whether these two are legitimate. And because of the small number of reviews posted for Windstar ships, a couple of one-star reviews can have a very big impact on the overall rating and it would be a shame if it is undeserved.

It probably came down to a business decision.

Star Pride (ex Seabourn Pride) - Launched 1988

Star Breeze (ex Seabourn Spirit) - Launched 1989

Star Legend (ex Seabourn Legend) - Launched 1992

Perfectly normal that WS chose to do a complete redo of the newer ship, based on feedback from customer on the Pride (which got a light renovation). WS is probably gauging the economic of redoing all three ship in such a short time.

One star is harsh especially since the Pride has no portholes! But 4-5 stars is generous. WS has done a lot but there is more to be done, Seabourn must have run this into the ground and the last few reviews under the old owner are mostly far from complimentary. In the end we had a great cruise mostly due to the great WS team, but even after 12 months and much work there is much, much more to be done.