Legend, Pride, & Spirit

[DCCruiser57]

For those of us who sailed on and remember the little sisters, Windstar is spending $256 million to stretch (adding 50 new suites) and modernize them.  See the following article.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/19952-windstar-to-stretch-three-ships-in-250-million-refurbishment.html

[SKP946]

We were discussing this with some of the officers on Ovation last May. They thought it strange that Windstar would spend so much money on 30 year old ships. Also they commented that the handling might be affected with the extra length.

[markham]

It’s gonna to make it possible for Windstar to make more revenue until such time, of course, that the market catches on that there will be even less space per passenger in the common areas and the product delivers less luxury than it does pre-stretch. But this concern may be unfounded if the dining room, deck space, bars and lounges are somehow stretched too. 

 

I hate to think about the stack ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap approach to revenue capture being foisted on the little sisters which had an admittedly rather small customer base and narrow demographic following years ago. Ok, they did not have much of a pool and no balconies to speak of (which is why many former Silversea customers have told me they were loath to try Seabourn then), but they created the brand of Seabourn that many, many more know today, and sets the standard for all other small and mid-size brands that market themselves as luxury. The Ody class with 30% more space per passenger than the former little sisters to my mind sets the new Seabourn standard whereas maybe the Encore class delivers some things better or differently for others.

 

Time and customer reviews regarding Windstar will tell how the market takes to this stretching event.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[Hanoverian]

I would not be worried about negative affects from lengthening.  Fincantieri, Palermo, is the yard that is going to perform the refurbishments.  It overhauled and lengthened the "Silver Spirit" last year by adding a new midsection and I have yet to see any negative reports about the quality of work performed or the the ship's performance post-refurbishment.  Silver Spirit is a much larger ship than any of the Sisters and Fincantieri  certainly knows what it is doing, so there is every reason to expect a good result.  The Sisters badly need new engines for the purposes of fuel economy, ship speed, and conformity with environmental regulations which would have either required major and expensive surgery just to replace the engines and associated systems or simply scraping the ships.  Something of a "do or die" moment.  Windstar has already announced a new Spanish cuisine restaurant, an expanded pool and outdoor deck space, a bigger and better spa and fitness center and two new owner’s suites on the lengthened ships.  The new verandah-type cabins also appear to be the same size as those of the Sisters.  MHO is that this is a very smart move for Windstar.  

[wripro]

I'm pretty sure I will try one of these expanded "little sisters" if just our of curiosity. My hear has always belonged to those ships.

[Hanoverian]

Totally agree, wripro.  We are booked for October 17, 2020, on Legend.  Our TA has arranged for a group of us to sail then.  This will be our fourth voyage on Legend, obviously the previous three under Seabourn, and she is my favorite of the Sisters.  We are looking forward to seeing her refurbishment and happy that Legend will have a new lease on life for another thirty years.

[markham]

This sounds very promising: smart cruise line management coupled with passengers who have fond memories and hopeful expectations for the legacy product = success!!

 

I hope the vision is realized. Please do sail on these “new” Windstar ships and let us know.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[lbkjj]

We sailed on a Windstar version of the Legend several years ago and were appalled at the lack of exterior maintenance. Have seen the former Pride in port and had the same reaction as to maintenance. I suggest you read the Windstar reviews before booking.

[Carolfay]

I was aboard Windstar's Star Pride from August 18 to 28, with a "Lands of the Midnight Sun" itinerary.  My prior experience with the Pride was in 2013, when she was still being operated by Seabourn.  I had an enjoyable time on board, the only real negative being rough weather in the North Sea and several occasions of heavy swells.  My impression of the ship is that she's showing her age, with plenty of nicks and dings and scratches both in the suites and in the public areas, so next year's facelift is certainly needed.  I was overall happy with the facilities and maintenance, and the flaws appeared to me to be mostly cosmetic.  I believe we had our full capacity of just over 200 guests.  That's just about the perfect size of passenger list for me, but adding space for another 100 people won't be a deal-breaker.  I was particularly impressed by the service on board.  Staff and crew had a genuine eager-to-please attitude, and I felt well looked after.  Seabourn will probably remain my first choice for future cruises, but I'll certainly continue to consider Windstar's offerings.

[princeton123211]

On 7/20/2019 at 2:58 AM, SKP946 said:

They thought it strange that Windstar would spend so much money on 30 year old ships.

The biggest thing they are doing is replacing the original engines with newer, more efficient ones, so mechanically these ships will be as good as new when they complete the operation. The only downside is that you have a mechanically new ship with 2/3rds of the passenger space that is still 30 years old. Hope they really go all out in that area. 

[wripro]

5 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

The biggest thing they are doing is replacing the original engines with newer, more efficient ones, so mechanically these ships will be as good as new when they complete the operation. The only downside is that you have a mechanically new ship with 2/3rds of the passenger space that is still 30 years old. Hope they really go all out in that area. 

I was under the impression that they are adding new restaurants, redoing all the suites and public spaces etc. So the look will be as new as the engines.

[Carolfay]

Judging from comments in the Windstar forum, the setbacks in the ships' renovation have resulted in several canceled cruises - and a lot of disgruntled customers.

 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/windstars-star-plus-renovations-delayed-asbestos-removal