Onboard the Star Legend

[misguy]

We are cruising on the Star Legend from Barcelona to Civitavecchia.  We sailed from Barcelona yesterday.  We boarded the day before, and then went back ashore to do some sightseeing.  We were in Barcelona 2 nights on land, and one on the ship, and it wasn't nearly enough time to explore the town like we would have wanted to.  We booked an accessible room, and my wife brought her Whill Ci2, which is a medium sized power chair. 

 

When we booked they asked if she could deal with a few steps, but that was the wrong question.  They have asked if should deal with a lot of steps.  Now she could, but it would have been an issue if she couldn't.  Also, the room is not fully accessible, it is more like an ambulatory accessible on Carnival in that you have to be able to walk into the bath room.  It does have enough bars to help her on and off the toilet.

 

The crew have been very good about carrying her chair on or off the ship.  We just docked in Marseille, and the Viking Venus just pulled as well.  It is cold out this morning.  We should have brought warmer clothes, so we will wait a little while to go off the ship.  The crew has been super, and the food has been great so far.  I will share some pictures and more details.   

[misguy]

iI haven't tried the wifi on the ship, but with Google FI service at the dock this is what my connection is like.

[misguy]

I also had service last night for several hours after we left Barcelona.

[wrk2cruise]

Hope to hear more about your trip.  We are doing this itinerary in March.  Leaving next week for first Windstar sailing on Star Breeze Auckland to Tahiti.

[misguy]

Today, we were in Marseille, and the weather was cold and cloudy with some occasional rain, we got off late and went to the art museum across from the port, we walked around the old fort, and we tried to see the other museum of Mediterranean history, but it was closed, then we were back on the ship.

[Mike B Landlubber]

I’ll be aboard on a different itinerary this Fall. how are the different restaurants?

[misguy]

I will have to let you know later.  When we got on board, between those that booked an extra day and boarded before us and those that are doing a R/T Rome, there were only a couple of days available.  We are doing Candlelight in Livorno, since that is the warmest day for this sailing and then Cuatro 44 in Rome.

[misguy]

Google Fi in Nice onboard 

[misguy]

We are headed to do the Monaco and the Monte Carlo excursion this afternoon.  The cold cloudy weather that plagued us in Marseille followed us to Nice, this morning was bright and sunny but now it cool and cloudy.

 

Last night the sea was a little rough, and while you wouldn't have even noticed it on a bigger ship, it was very apparent on this ship.

[flydc]

Doing the reverse cruise (Rome to Barcelona) on 4 Feb. 

Thanks for all the great information. 

Hoping it is a quiet time of year in each of the ports - and maybe not a full ship!

[misguy]

On this cruise the ship is about half full.  We are in Nice for the second day, yesterday we took the excursion to Monaco and to Monte Carlo.  The guides were good and we got to explore the capital area near the Palace and we enjoyed our day.  We put Cheryl's power chair under the coach, and as long as a guest has the mobility to get on and off the ship, the excursion would not have been an issue.

[misguy]

The food has been consistently good, whether on the buffet, or in Amphora, the service is very good as well.  The staff onboard is amazing. Today, we are planning on exploring Nice on our own, and I am also going to try to get signed up for the Galley tour.

[misguy]

We were able to sign up for the galley tour, so going to do that before we go walkabout in Nice.  

[misguy]

The galley tour was followed by a cooking class with the Chef, and it was very interesting.  The chef has a cooking school he instructs and a yearly competition in Jamaica where he lives now.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Thanks for doing this review!  It’s great to get more information about WS from those onboard. We sailed on star legend in October 2023. Sounds like the same executive chef we had, Joseph. We missed doing the Shop with the Chef excursion as we had a different one that day. I loved his cooking demonstration.  
 

I’m glad it’s working out well for you even though there’s a bit more mobility required than you expected. Was it a third party TA or a Windstar cruise vacation planner who initially asked if your wife could “handle a few steps?”.

 

Please post photos if you are able. Especially of your favorite crew. Thank you for taking the time to do this!  

[misguy]

We just got back from walking about in Nice, both the area around the harbor, and we also walked over to Old Nice and went to the flower market.  It was like a farmers market with lots of different things, including soaps orange liqueur, pizza by the slice, and amazing fruits, Take Euros, most places don't take plastic, and no one takes dollars.  There doesn't seem to be any issue bringing fruit on board, we brought clementines, oranges, and a mango.  We also bought bread and cookies back as well.

[misguy]

It was a Windstar rep.  We are travel agents, and my wife and I document accessible travel.  We are glad we made the trip and we are having a great time.  

 

[misguy]

Our morning before boarding the Star Legend.

 

We were exploring Barcelona, using public transportation, which is very accessible, we never had any trouble getting Cheryl's power chair on board.

One of the most famous landmarks is the Sagrada Familia cathedral. The architect is Gaudi, and I jumped to the conclusion that this was where the word gaudy comes from because all of his designs are very gaudy.

However the word predates him by several hundred years.

When

[misguy]

We just arrived in Livorno, and what went from a great forecast at the start of the trip has now turned ugly, rain all day and mid 50's for temp.  We had private tour arrangements, and now we are checking to see what they can do with a power wheelchair and the forecast rain.  

[misguy]

In Livorno, we hired a private guide and visited two old towns south of Livorno, both had castles, and we saw several others, we also ate at a country restaurant, the food and wine were excellent.  The day was cloudy, and it started raining in the afternoon, so it diminished the pleasure of walking around.  But it was a very interesting day.  We saw new grape vines for the wine being produced and also olive trees that were several hundred years old.  We could have done Pisa, but we chose to go to less traveled places. 

[misguy]

First Dinner on the Star Legend

The first meal was on New Years Eve, and so it was a special menu, see below.

 

For starters we both ordered the watermelon and tomato salad.  The dish was well prepared, but for me I am very picky about tomatoes and the tomato was as ripe as I would have wished, not a reflection on the cook, but the time of year.

I had the Paprika seared Tuna Loin, and it was delicious, I just forgot to take a picture.

 

We both ordered the Butter Leaf Salad with Pomegranate Seeds.

 

Between the salad and the main course they served a Green Apple Granite to cleanse the palate.

For the main course, I had the Butter Cooked Lobster Tail; and this was the best lobster I have ever eaten.

 

Cheryl had the Pan Basted Black Pepper Beef Tournedos, and thought they were very good as well.

 

For dessert, I had the Southern Pecan Pie, which was not what I would call Southern Pecan Pie, as it was somewhat dry and crumbly, rather than oozing syrup like I often get.  But the flavor was amazing. 

 

Cheryl was full and skipped desert.

[JavaJana]

Thank you for your report! I am newish to these boards, new to cruising ( this will be #2, my first was this past Aug on Alaskan Dream Cruises), and taking this cruise in reverse Jan 21. I am flying in to Barcelona early to spend a bit of time there as I've never been. I had a trip to Italy last year so interested in your tour in Livorno, I really don't feel like going into Florence or Rome for such a short period of time and looking to spend the day doing something different than I already did. Would you share the contact info please? Thanks again

[medskis]

We will be doing the 3/17 Rome to Barcelona itinerary.  We’ve cruised both Pride (Caribbean 11/22) and Legend (Central America 4/23) and did not have anything else booked for a while.  Then I saw the notice about Legend going to the Med. We have done most of the ports before but could not pass up the deal.  By coincidence we will already be in Switzerland in March with our ski club so easy to fly from Zurich to Rome. Packing will be complicated ….never saw apres ski boots in Compass Rose. 
   Who is the Entertainment/Cruise director on Legend now?   We were super impressed with Sin on Pride ….he set the bar very high for fun and passenger engagement. We missed him when in Legend in April. 
  Enjoy and thanks for sharing your experiences.  

Edited January 8 by medskis

[portofrome]

Sin was on the Legend during my Christmas cruise.

[wrk2cruise]

16 hours ago, medskis said:

We will be doing the 3/17 Rome to Barcelona itinerary.

 

We will be getting on for 23 days when you get off.  Watching this thread.  We leave for Auckland on Thursday to board Star Breeze next week for our first Windstar sailing.