Star pride inaugural cruise

[2LoveToTravel]

Does anyone know the status of the Star Pride inaugural cruise for alumni on May 5, 2014? We were originally booked on it, but changed our minds, mainly because it was only 6 days. We have instead booked the May 11 cruise....10 days circling Sicily. The inaugural cruise no longer appears on the list of itineraries for Star Pride! Is it cancelled or sold out??

[PSsailor]

We are booked on this trip departing from Barcelona but have heard little else. Curious as to the ships refurbishment, if it is on schedule, etc.

 

J&S

[2LoveToTravel]

PSSailor,

Have you contacted Windstar? Curious as to their plans, it was supposed to be alumni....maybe VIPSs??.

[Emperor Norton]

We are booked on this trip departing from Barcelona but have heard little else. Curious as to the ships refurbishment, if it is on schedule, etc.

 

J&S

 

Itll be hard to know whether or not the refurb is on schedule as it's the Seabourn Pride until sometime after 13 April when its turned over to Windstar to start the refurb.

[stcruise]

Here are a couple of recent articles regarding Star Pride's refurbishment:

 

http://www.windstarcruises.com/starpride-transformation.aspx

 

http://www.windstarcruises.com/blog/2014/01/star-prides-transformation/

[BULLISHFROG]

We are booked on this cruise. I just logged in to their refurbished website and was able to see their port excursions. I assume they stopped listing it because it is fully booked.

[Sunprince]

Can anyone confirm the total guest capacity of the Star Pride under Windstar. The ship had a capacity of 208 with Seabourn, but I am seeing Windstar refer to the ship as having "fewer than 300 guests" (see wording on the Windstar blog). Is Windstar adding more capacity or they just being vague on the details?

[2LoveToTravel]

Windstar shows the capacity of the Star Pride on the website as 106 suites and 212 guests. We just returned from the Windsurf in the Caribbean, and met with several crew who will be joining Star Pride in May. We understand that Capt Alan from the Surf will be in command, and that Capt Peter Harris will be joining later in the year. We are excited about our voyage on May 11 aboard Star Pride for 10 days visiting Sicily and Malta. We originally were booked on the the first cruise from Barcelona, but changed because we wanted a longer cruise. Will write a review when we return!

[laurelguy]

I'm exited to see the pride too..just booked Rome to Venice for August..wonder if whole ship will be redone or just cabins..have done 11 sailings with this wonderful line and hope the new ship is a good addition..first one who sails write a review and post pix!

[JDiver]

We're booked on the inaugural cruise as Star Pride, and on from Rome around Sicily - we'll see some of you aboard, apparently*! And for those who know him, Capt. Doogie ;), er, Capt, Alan MacAry (he's not looking quite as young anymore!) will be the captain for these voyages. (Later this year we will do Athens - Istanbul and Istanbul - Istanbul via the Black Sea / Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria).

 

Captain Alan MacAry

 

The 'Pride will have the same number of passengers (Windstar says 212) as it has under Seabourn; no changes like that will be made. Only the Wind Surf has 300 passengers.

 

Here's a video with some information about Star Pride's full (suites and all other spaces) refurbishment: http://www.windstarcruises.com/starpride-transformation.aspx (artists' renderings at this point, of course).

 

A little bit on Capt. MacAry and why he may have been selected: during time between cruise contracts, he fills in on other ships, from suprtankers to you name it, for a little exposure to varied ships. We enjoyed the Wind Surf in December under his command, and are looking forward to Barcelona-Rome-Sicily-Rome. Another bit highlighting Wind Surf's 2013 rescue (under Capt. MacAry) of a sailboat in the Adriatic can be seen here: http://www.windstarcruises.com/blog/2012/10/wind-surf-to-the-rescue/

 

BTW if you're not using Windstar's transfers, I can recommend

Filippo Biasini and his Mercedes van

filippo@rome-tours.org

+39 333 7413375

http://www.rome-tours.org

 

(Filippo has a livery license - meaning he can access the dock up to the ship, as well as bus and taxi lanes in Rome... and speaks English pretty well to boot.)

 

and some others I find reliable have used Rome Cabs: http://www.romecabs.com/

 

*PM me if you want to meet during either voyage... especially 2LoveToTravel, lots of Windstar cruises! (We began with five cruises with Wind Song...)

Edited February 16, 2014 by JDiver

[JDiver]

OP, I forgot to address your original question! (And I can't edit after 20 minutes...) OP, all seems good so far. Windstar leased the three Seabourn ships back to Seabourn, and we saw the Pride in Siint Maarten in December. She will transfer over after the cruise season and go (I suspect to wet dock) for refurbishment and the inaugural cruise from Barcelona is, as many of you know, May 5.

[JDiver]

By the way, for those of us on IST-IST via the Black Sea, Turkey will institute new visa requirements as of 10 April 2014. Visa on arrival will no longer be a possibility; you will have to secure an electronic visa in advance of going to Turkey:

 

I you are American (and several other nationalities) you can get a visa on arrival up through April 9, as of April 10 2014 you will need to secure electronic visas for each and every traveler ($20 each, online, Visa or MasterCard, good for 90 days multiple entry within 180 days of entry date validity; your passport must match, of course, and be valid 180 days beyond your last date of Turkey visa validity - this last bit is according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which I checked because it is not so clear on the e-visa site.)

 

http://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/

 

Of course, you can also get a ninety day visa at your local Turkish Embassy or Consulate, or via a (expensive) visa service.

 

If you are on a cruise:

• You don’t need e-Visa, if you will not leave the ship.
  
  
• You don’t need e-visa, if you only tour in the respective port city of Turkey (You will be given a permission by local border police authorities to enter Turkey).
  
  
• You need e-Visa, if you want to tour beyond the respective port city of Turkey.