Live from the Star Legend by a brand new to Windstar sailor. Menus, wine lists, bar menus included. Istanbul to Athens Oct

[HaveDogWillTravel]

When I book a cabin I like to see what the outside of the ship looks like around it. You can see where the platform is for the tenders and where the cabins are that are near it. We did have exhaust that one day but in Santorini we didn’t have that problem. Of course it’s just about how the wind is blowing. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2023 by HaveDogWillTravel

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Here’s a shorter version of the sail away ceremony. 

Edited October 19, 2023 by HaveDogWillTravel

[ssawjo]

5 hours ago, hamrag said:

Not as such, but the whole point of my posting was that the WS deck BBQ looks similar to the Az White Night!

 

Are you on the 18 Nov sailing from Barbados?

Understood and yes, we (4 of us) are on this sailing from Barbados and we will continue on to Aruba.

 

Hope we catch up at one of bars.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

We ate at Amphora for the first time last night. Everything was beautifully prepared and presented. The seafood fricassee was stunning, the lasagne & crab balls were great and both salads were gorgeous but one had a prune - mustard dressing that was not our favorite. 
 

Disembarkation was easy. We left at 7 am with our own luggage (the crew were incredibly helpful even though we knew we were supposed to do it ourselves). You have to take a shuttle bus -driven by a grumpy Greek to a building that’s off the pier. No immigration just nice people letting you know what your options are. We decided on taking the cab waiting there to E8 (15 euro) where we switched  our tickets to an 8 am ferry.
 

I let our host know we would be getting to Hydra early and he met us at the dock. Our apartment at Hydra Chromata was ready so we moved right in. 
 

It’s a great apartment in a great location and we found an amazing restaurant , Plakostroto just around the corner. 
 

We leave for Athens Monday afternoon for 5 days. Until then it’s Island time.  
 

Edited October 20, 2023 by HaveDogWillTravel

[HaveDogWillTravel]

I will post some pictures. I hope this thread has been helpful (well for everyone) but particularly for those who are Windstar curious and haven’t been able to find as much information as they’d like. 
 

Amphora

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by HaveDogWillTravel

[HaveDogWillTravel]

I’m still amazed by the room service. Especially being able to order this on the last morning. And yes that’s a glass of wine. I had a bit left over from an open bottle. Don’t judge me lol. Waste not want not. 
 

I love that Kinfield sunblock. It’s reef safe (not just reef friendly) and it’s zinc base. I put it on once in the morning and I don’t burn all day. It’s really lightweight and does not go on all pasty white. 

Edited October 20, 2023 by HaveDogWillTravel

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Hydra Chromata 

Edited October 20, 2023 by HaveDogWillTravel

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Plakastroto 

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by HaveDogWillTravel

[Cruise Raider]

Brilliant!  

[HaveDogWillTravel]

I wanted to come back and share some photos of one of the biggest highlights of our sailing

The Corinth canal. It was magical. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

 

a very tight fit

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2023 by HaveDogWillTravel

[new_cruiser]

37 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

 

a very tight fit

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm so jealous! We were supposed to go through last year but the canal closed for many months, so our itinerary had to change. We still had a lovely cruise.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

1 hour ago, new_cruiser said:

I'm so jealous! We were supposed to go through last year but the canal closed for many months, so our itinerary had to change. We still had a lovely cruise.

Our itinerary changed as well before sailing due to the canal being closed. But juuuuust before embarkation we were told they had kept it open. Still I dared not hope. Not until we saw the mouth of the canal. The energy on the deck was palpable. We all knew this was a special and rare moment. We put the shortest of us in front and tallest in back. Adam and I bought a bottle of Prosecco to celebrate the occasion while we sailed thru. 
And thank you for letting me know someone is listening. ☺️These boards are so very quiet. 

[wine-wine-wine]

On 10/17/2023 at 2:18 AM, oakridger said:

If Santorini/Oia was that jam packed on a day in October, I can't imagine what it's like in July!!!  It's a good thing your group got there early to enjoy it.

 

~Nancy

I think the only way to sanely see Santorini these days is to go in late October or later, stay in Oia and retreat for a nap in the middle of the day. Late nights and early mornings are magical. 
 

Loving this thread and review! 

[Misty Morning]

2 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

☺️These boards are so very quiet. 

Loved your live reports.  Glad you enjoyed the Star Legend.  We are long time Windstar cruisers (4 stars) and have done both the Star ships (pre and post stretch) and the sailing ships and given the renovations on the former, I would say we prefer the layout of these to the sailing ships (hope they spruce up the WindSurf soon, Club Med just spent $10mm on Club Med 2 and it looks great)  The Star Bar area is where we would spend most of our time pre and post dinner as for us cruising is being on top deck and outside feeling the air.  That being said, we are booked 2 weeks on the Surf in January and I am sure we are going to love it just as we do every time we board a Windstar ship.  Like a second home 

[new_cruiser]

21 hours ago, wine-wine-wine said:

I think the only way to sanely see Santorini these days is to go in late October or later, stay in Oia and retreat for a nap in the middle of the day. Late nights and early mornings are magical. 
 

Loving this thread and review! 

We were there in October 2021. I guess we got lucky as only Star Legend and one other ship - not a large one - were in port so it wasn't crowded at all. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

7 hours ago, new_cruiser said:

We were there in October 2021. I guess we got lucky as only Star Legend and one other ship - not a large one - were in port so it wasn't crowded at all. 

That would be lovely, but apparently it's impossible to predict in advance [as other ships seem to show up at the last minute...]

[Pudgesmom]

As far as the boards being quiet, it’s important to remember that on any given day, Windstar will have no more than about 1500 passengers sailing. 
 

In comparison, Princess, the world’s FIFTH largest cruise line, can carry 46,000 each day! That’s 16,800,000 passenger days in a year! There are so many fewer people to post.

 

I also totally agree with the captain’s comment about people reluctant to share their secret, lol.

 

[new_cruiser]

On 11/8/2023 at 10:01 AM, Pudgesmom said:

As far as the boards being quiet, it’s important to remember that on any given day, Windstar will have no more than about 1500 passengers sailing. 
 

In comparison, Princess, the world’s FIFTH largest cruise line, can carry 46,000 each day! That’s 16,800,000 passenger days in a year! There are so many fewer people to post.

 

I also totally agree with the captain’s comment about people reluctant to share their secret, lol.

 

An officer on our recent Wind Surf cruise mentioned that the passenger capacity of Wind Surf is about the same as the capacity of a tender on the 6000-passenger ship he previously worked in. 

[islabahia]

I thoroughly enjoyed your review.  If I am considering a new cruise line I research extensively.  Definitely going to check out their destinations!

[HaveDogWillTravel]

17 hours ago, islabahia said:

I thoroughly enjoyed your review.  If I am considering a new cruise line I research extensively.  Definitely going to check out their destinations!

Thank you for saying so.  We can’t wait for our next sailing on Windstar. I may have to book something last minute in 2024 as our current WS cruises are not until Oct 2025 and May 2026 

[srvpoo]

What was the general dress for dinner??

[HaveDogWillTravel]

9 hours ago, srvpoo said:

What was the general dress for dinner??

I went back over all my photos to see if I took pictures. I seriously never really pay attention to what others are wearing unless of course it’s something completely out there and can’t be ignored. 
 

I can tell you what we wore lol. I wear linen, Cotten or silk typically. I had casual cotton skirts, linen tops, and Hoka sandals or sneakers due to plantar fasciitis.  Adam wore non jean pants and short sleeve button up shirts. I really don’t remember seeing suits or fancy dresses but that doesn’t mean people didn’t wear them. My general impression was people dressed like well mannered adults. But again I simply didn’t pay attention.  

[worldtraveller99]

Thank you so much for this - so helpful! I am trying to work out how we could sneak an extra week's cruise in soon!

[mxp]

Thank you so much for your very thorough review and wonderful pictures. We haven't sailed on Windstar yet, but are tired of giant ships, so this information is very helpful. Now I just have to decide which itinerary to try first 🙂.