$250 Million Star investment

[Bigdogwon]

Windstar will start stretching its STAR vessels next October, enhancements will include 50 more cabins, a casual BBQ restaurant by the Star bar area, a larger pool and more public space. It will also include a new fitness facility, and all new bathrooms!  They will also switch out the old engines and replace with more fuel and emission friendly ones.  

[dandee2]

Very close to what Silversea did with one of their ship. Silversea even strenghten the ship for arctic voyage by adding steel plate.

 

Good news.

[new_cruiser]

Star Legend is already an ice rated ship so they already have that covered as long as they maintain it when they stretch. That's why Star Legend is doing the Alaska cruises.

 

I'm not excited about making the passenger capacity bigger, but more outside space (especially on Star Legend where the zodiac storage deck and crane removed some) and an improved fitness facility would be welcome. Also updating the engines.

 

The article also mentions:

"A comfortable, new tender loading area located mid-ship and two new 90-passenger tenders that will ferry guests to port when ships are at anchor."

 

The current tenders are less than ideal. When it was raining during our Alaska sailing, leaks from the skylight dripped onto the seats. And the current tenders are a bit small so 90-passenger will be handy especially with the increase in cabins.

Edited November 15, 2018 by new_cruiser

[CruiseOrLand]

Could someone please post a link to the report/article/press release?

 

During the Star Legend cruise we finished this month, there was a passenger rumor (ONLY a rumor) that the improvements would involve taking space away from the existing cabins to create "Inside Cabins" amidships. I found that hard to believe, but I thought I ought to report it.

[Ski Mom 2]

I posted the entire article on my post "Breaking News from Windstar!!"

 

Here is the link as well:

https://d2xks5907lvzsh.cloudfront.net/media/our_company/press-media/press-releases/2018/WindstarStarPlusPressRelease.pdf

[O2B@Cagain]

This kind of makes me sad. Things I liked about the Star Pride were: basically everyone had the same size cabin and there were only 212 passengers. Guess it's time to start to look for a new small ship.

[Del Rio]

2 hours ago, O2B@Cagain said:

This kind of makes me sad. Things I liked about the Star Pride were: basically everyone had the same size cabin and there were only 212 passengers. Guess it's time to start to look for a new small ship.

From what I have heard related to this project, we are going to see mostly more of the same 277sqft suites being added.  When you divide 50 cabins, over three decks (and two sides of the ship) I don't think it will make the additional length seem like much.  The passenger count will be almost exactly what is on the Wind Surf.  And I think most of us who have been on the Star Class yachts, along with the Wind Surf, have not felt more crowded on a 310 passenger vessel.

 

The increase in public spaces and dining options, feels to me like a very positive step.  Even on sea days, my favorite place "the Yacht Club" never feels too crowded.  And based on the extent of upgrades planned for the suites along with engineering spaces, I feel like we are getting new ships.  All I want to say to Windstar is; "the bathrooms are big enough...so please don't steal any space from the walk-in closet."

 

And, an after thought; having an added mid-ship elevator, along with moving the tendering location, will mean better access for passengers with mobility issues.  A friend of mine, who walks with a cane because of reduced muscle strength in his legs, had difficulties with the open stairs used to the tenders last year.  He will be thrilled if he can get to the deck with the tender platform via elevator.

[dandee2]

WS is also thinking ahead for the next 20 years to cater to the the younger crowd who are vacationing on the megaship today (with all the bells and whistle). One of these days (when the are closer to retirement) they will want a more intimate setting and the 300 or so passenger count is OK with me. WS is proactive within their means.

If you look closely at the press release, Italy helped secure the loan to help their economy and protect shipyard job. Cruise operation are big business and if you check carefully, all ships (not only Windstar) belong to its own legal entity, either based in the Bahamas, some pacific island or even Mayryland. Financial dealing is very complex. Now if they can get another sail ship, I will be even more happy.

BTW, They will change 7 engines thru the fleet and install 4 new one. Maybe I'm missing something but were are the three missing in the count? 

[dandee2]

Fincantieri Press Release.

https://www.fincantieri.com/en/media/press-releases/2018/fincantieri-awarded-a-contract-of-over-200-million-eur-by-windstar-cruises/

[dandee2]

38 minutes ago, dandee2 said:

BTW, They will change 7 engines thru the fleet and install 4 new one. Maybe I'm missing something but were are the three missing in the count? 

Here's the answer

Moreover, with low-sulfur fuel regulations coming into play, the use of more costly MGO will be spread across a larger passenger base, keeping fixed costs per available lower berth day down. With the re-engining, each Star ship goes from seven engines (four for propulsion, three for hotel load) to four. The Wärtsilä engines will be more efficient and, therefore, more environmentally friendly.

[milepig]

This explains why there's no Asia next fall, and why they were so hush hush about why. The new cabins don't bother me, they'll still be small ships.

[gcmv]

Great news - looking forward to cruising with the yachts in the future!

Renewal of the existing bathrooms was way overdue.

310 passengers is ok for us, because they want to hire additional crew members.

[Sunprince]

I’m was disappointed to read this news. Although I am happy to have WS invest in the line, cutting and expanding the old Seabourn ships is not the best strategy.  WS has a niche in the market, expanding ships that were built for 200 people is not the answer.  You cannot make the ship wider, or the veranda at the stern bigger or the observation lounge bigger. Yes you can make the ship longer but the space ratio per passenger will decrease and most importantly the ambiance will suffer.  The money would be far better spent on investing in new ships of similar size to the existing fleet,  

[dandee2]

I think it is wise strategy for the company. Not updating them with the latest power plant technology means that they would have been stuck with them and nowhere to go because of new environment laws. To do this, they had to increase the passenger count to offset the cost. Those older ships will retain their value for quite a while, something that the financial world will consider when comes time to have new-built.

[Pudgesmom]

I would like to see the deck plans for the extensions, because from the description it doesn’t sound like an improvement for what we enjoy on a ship.

 

I’m my opinion, there is already a shortage of usable outdoor space. The top deck is narrow and not pleasant near the noisy engines at the stern. (Maybe the new engines will be quieter?) Raising the pools and lengthening the space on the deck below won’t really make that area anymore pleasant. I expect it will still

be dark and anyone seated will still have a view of the lifeboats. Adding 50 cabins will only create more people in the already crowded nice areas on deck. 

 

Improving the dining areas will be a welcome improvement. The veranda situation was untenable in bad weather and the space lacked ambiance for Candles. Seating was inadequate and crowded when the weather closed the outdoor area. The newer outdoor area near the pools was dark and not particularly pleasant. Adding venues - where will they be? - will hopefully be a good change, albeit with another 100 passengers.

 

I was on the Star Pride when the engines shut down off Martha’s Vineyard and we drifted for several hours. Windstar handled the situation very well for our cruise, but I assume the engine replacements will decrease the chance of that happening again.

 

 

 

 

 

[ridethetide]

I have found that finding a seat in the fabulous Yacht Club is often difficult, especially during bad weather, with 212 passengers.  Add another 100 passengers, and where will the passengers go who can't be seated?  Will passengers start putting their belongings on seats to claim them?  I just wish that they had decided to modify one of the ships first and then investigated how the changes were received by passengers.  Despite all of the positive changes that will be included, the addition of 100 passengers is a very big gamble in my estimation.

[Strenz]

I hope, with this large expense, that they do not ignore the sailboats. They are our love. While I enjoyed the motor yachts I did not like the lounge on them. It did not have a congenial feeling, no bar, I hope that is redesigned. I think WS had to do something because of all the complaints they have been receiving about the motor yachts. I wish they were buying another sailboat. For us it is really about the sailing. We had had such fabulously experiençes and trips. Happy Sailing

[milepig]

We’re onboard a WS right now and got some scoop. 

 

The engines needed to be replaced anyway which involves chopping a bit hole in the side of the ship to the timing was good. Without the new engines they’d be toast soon, and expanding was the option that increases total capacity. If they scrapped them they’d need to buy 3 more just to keep current plus more to grow. This was seen as the best option. 

 

The announcement speaks of new public and dining spaces and an expanded veranda (hurrah) and they’ll have tons of space up top for various things. 

 

I did hear that to do this they do the surgery in wet dock since they can float the new section into place. After it’s secure they then go into dry dock to do the rest of the work. 

 

I think it will be splendid. 

 

[dandee2]

That's how they do it. Great engineering feat - Better be good with the chalk line LOL.
 

 

 

 

[Ski Mom 2]

Well that was pretty darn cool dandee2! Thanks for posting. 

[gnld]

Sometime prior to the recent lengthening announcement for the power yachts, I read some place that Windstar was going to be doing some refurbing that included taking out the small casino on each yacht and replacing it with a casual cafe. I read nothing about the casinos in the new announcements. Anybody have any info on their fate? My wife likes to dabble in the casinos (it's entertainment), so not having one on a ship is a negative for her.

[milepig]

13 minutes ago, gnld said:

Sometime prior to the recent lengthening announcement for the power yachts, I read some place that Windstar was going to be doing some refurbing that included taking out the small casino on each yacht and replacing it with a casual cafe. I read nothing about the casinos in the new announcements. Anybody have any info on their fate? My wife likes to dabble in the casinos (it's entertainment), so not having one on a ship is a negative for her.

 

That is apparently the plan. There was a rumor that the one on the Spirit was gone, backed up by a new deck map showing a Yacht Club Cafe, but we’re on the Spirit right now and it is very much open. It seems like many cruise lines are removing the casinos. They can’t make much money, they’re always mostly empty. Perhaps you can challenge your wife to a friendly game of gin or cribbage. 

[new_cruiser]

I posted earlier that we received an email from Windstar that the casino would be removed from Wind Star effective Nov 4 so that one is already gone.

 

They have taken the casinos off all the deck plans so it is planned for all the ships. 

[gnld]

On 11/24/2018 at 6:16 PM, milepig said:

 

That is apparently the plan. There was a rumor that the one on the Spirit was gone, backed up by a new deck map showing a Yacht Club Cafe, but we’re on the Spirit right now and it is very much open. It seems like many cruise lines are removing the casinos. They can’t make much money, they’re always mostly empty. Perhaps you can challenge your wife to a friendly game of gin or cribbage. 

You're right. There are no casinos on Viking's ocean ships. And Azamara is experimenting with taking them out. There is not one on their new Pursuit, and they're replaced the live dealer tables with automated ones on the Journey; Quest still has a full casino (we were on her in April). When Silversea converted the Silver Cloud to an expedition ship, they replaced the casino with a photo studio.