Mystery cruise

[Redtravel]

Windstar announced that Star Legend will do a mystery cruise in April 2025 RT Athens

Would you take a cruise not knowing where it will stop?  My spouse says book it. When you book a cruise, the cruise is the major destination.  I am not sold. 

 

 

[Ski Mom 2]

Look at where WS goes in that area of the world. That should give you a good indication of where you might stop. Do you enjoy Greece and Turkey? That would be my bet and in April the weather should be pretty enjoyable I would think. I’m with your spouse…book it! It will be an adventure!!

Edited February 17 by Ski Mom 2

[Misty Morning]

Good article attached.  This cruise replaces one that went to Cyprus and Israel.  They say most of the ports will be new ports and will be known only 24 hours ahead to allow people to book excursions.  This will also be a President's cruise with Prelog onboard and in the dark on the ports like everybody else.

 

Should be interesting.  

 

https://www.travelpulse.com/news/cruise/travelers-won-t-know-where-they-re-going-on-this-new-mystery-voyage-from-windstar-cruises

[Strenz]

3 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Windstar announced that Star Legend will do a mystery cruise in April 2025 RT Athens

Would you take a cruise not knowing where it will stop?  My spouse says book it. When you book a cruise, the cruise is the major destination.  I am not sold. 

 

 

I am with you Redtravel. I love WS and am adventurous but Greece can be extraordinary or for us a disappointment. We did Istanbul to Athens, which was wonderful with the exception of  Santorini, Mykonos and Rhodes a huge disappointment because of the crowds, this was in May few years back  and the crowds were horrid. I would love  the  chance of going to remote islands in Greece, do I want to spend all that money again with the chance of getting even one of those islands. I do not need to see what the world sees, we are more interested in the obscure. Example after our cruise we were in Athens and went to the island Athena where the 350 tiny medieval churches were built and painted with frescos on a side of a hill, the government has been restoring them.  The Temple of Athena, is also there, it is the third vertex of the great equilateral  triangle. No one was there, fascinating. It is an enticing idea, a mystery trip, but  I simply would not want to be disappointed. Good Luck, WS, sounds fun, maybe if I hadn't experienced those 3 islands I would give it a try. I know my likes are different but art and the ancients are my passion when we travel. Happy Sailing

[Misty Morning]

32 minutes ago, Strenz said:

Santorini, Mykonos and Rhodes a huge disappointment because of the crowds, this was in May few years back  

This cruise is on April 19th, so crowds should not be as bad as May.  This being said, the destination manager quoted in the article mentioned that they would all be new ports (a few in Crete would be nice as Windstar hasn't done that island much) so I don't think crowds are going to be an issue on this cruise

[Strenz]

53 minutes ago, Misty Morning said:

This cruise is on April 19th, so crowds should not be as bad as May.  This being said, the destination manager quoted in the article mentioned that they would all be new ports (a few in Crete would be nice as Windstar hasn't done that island much) so I don't think crowds are going to be an issue on this cruise

If they were all new ports that would be worth a look. I would love Corfu, the Cornish Canal, Crete etc. I think you are correct that April would be less people. I need to relook at my dates because going through the  Dardanelles  from Istanbul was beautiful and thrilling and cold once we were in Greece it was in the 30s C. all the other ports were stunning. I simply soured on the hoards of people 9n those three islands. Visually spectacular. 

[r&rd]

I suppose you could check all the port schedules in the area and get a pretty good idea. At least the ports need to know if a ship is scheduled to dock or anchor.

[Strenz]

4 hours ago, r&rd said:

I suppose you could check all the port schedules in the area and get a pretty good idea. At least the ports need to know if a ship is scheduled to dock or anchor.

Great idea! Happy Sailing

April 2025 we are on the Star Pride Canary Islands, N. Africa  18 days. My husbands 80 th hard to believe!  

[gsutiger2]

I don't see the cruise advertised. 

[Misty Morning]

3 minutes ago, gsutiger2 said:

I don't see the cruise advertised. 

It’s not yet but it’s the 2nd leg of the 16-day Star Collector cruise that departs Athens on April 11th. The 8-day cruise itself is not showing yet but if you click on the cruise above, you will see in the itinerary section that the 2nd leg is all sea days while the map still shows the previous Cyprus and Israel itinerary.

[IpswichChris]

On 2/17/2024 at 4:15 PM, Strenz said:

If they were all new ports that would be worth a look. I would love Corfu, the Cornish Canal, Crete etc. I think you are correct that April would be less people. I need to relook at my dates because going through the  Dardanelles  from Istanbul was beautiful and thrilling and cold once we were in Greece it was in the 30s C. all the other ports were stunning. I simply soured on the hoards of people 9n those three islands. Visually spectacular. 

When you mention temperatures in the 30s in Greece, was that in April?  Greece and Turkey are on our wish lists for a WS cruise and were definitely looking at April as a way to avoid hordes of people.  We saw April as a shoulder season with mild and pleasant sightseeing weather in that part of the world.

[Strenz]

19 minutes ago, IpswichChris said:

When you mention temperatures in the 30s in Greece, was that in April?  Greece and Turkey are on our wish lists for a WS cruise and were definitely looking at April as a way to avoid hordes of people.  We saw April as a shoulder season with mild and pleasant sightseeing weather in that part of the world.

30 C is 82-84 F.,  25 C is Fahrenheit 75 approx.  I use Centigrade all the time,  I lived  in Europe and Centigrade simple makes more sense to me think 28 C is 82 gives you an approximation, a math teacher speaking, don't worry the weather will be great. Have a great trip. 

[IpswichChris]

51 minutes ago, Strenz said:

30 C is 82-84 F.,  25 C is Fahrenheit 75 approx.  I use Centigrade all the time,  I lived  in Europe and Centigrade simple makes more sense to me think 28 C is 82 gives you an approximation, a math teacher speaking, don't worry the weather will be great. Have a great trip. 

Oh, duh....I should have realized you meant centigrade!  Glad to hear it...April it is (or maybe October) when we finally get to Greece.

[Misty Morning]

April weather should be anywhere from 18 to 24C (65-75F) and although it's only April, if you look at cruise schedule for Santorini, it's already getting busy by mid April with a caveat that most of the ships in April are smaller ones

[mnocket]

On 2/17/2024 at 8:57 AM, Redtravel said:

Windstar announced that Star Legend will do a mystery cruise in April 2025 RT Athens

Would you take a cruise not knowing where it will stop?  My spouse says book it. When you book a cruise, the cruise is the major destination.  I am not sold. 

 

 

I remember seeing another post recently about this mystery cruise.  The responses there were generally positive. People seemed excited.   I don't understand it.  Would anyone really prefer to book a cruise where the ports are unknown over one where they know the itinerary in advance?  It seems some would, but it's certainly not for me.

[Nearpost345]

6 hours ago, mnocket said:

I remember seeing another post recently about this mystery cruise.  The responses there were generally positive. People seemed excited.   I don't understand it.  Would anyone really prefer to book a cruise where the ports are unknown over one where they know the itinerary in advance?  It seems some would, but it's certainly not for me.

I think it helps that they  are going to be places that windstar have not visited before. Agree with you that it’s not for everyone. Personally I’d give it a go.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Are they including shore excursions?  Otherwise you are unable to plan your own.  Or is the idea that these are all such small islands that all you can do is walk around the port?

[Misty Morning]

Captain will advise next port 24hrs ahead and depending on the port, guests can book excursions, which will be offered concurrently with the announcement or decide if they want to do independently 

[Host Jazzbeau]

There are 'mystery' river cruises, which make a little more sense to me because all excursions are always included on river cruises [most lines, including the one I'm thinking of].  Scrambling to decide what to do at the last minute is not my cup of tea.

[Redtravel]

15 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

There are 'mystery' river cruises, which make a little more sense to me because all excursions are always included on cruises [most lines, including the one I'm thinking of].  Scrambling to decide what to do at the last minute is not my cup of tea.

I agree.  My spouse sits back and lets me do all the work.  I plan. Often book with private tour companies just for the 2 of us.  I also print maps, get directions, learn about the local transportation, and ask questions on location forums. That cannot be done overnight. Using WS WiFi is expensive.  WS wants to sell their excursions.  I have taken many WS excursions.  They are usually good. However, we have slowed down and tend to avoid group tours if possible.  The shore excursion person often is unfamiliar with the ports.  We got taken in Malaga. We asked the excursion person how can we get to the Picasso museum. He told us that it was far from where we were docking. He sold us a tour that included the museum.  The tour went to many venues and mad a brief stop at the museum. Not knowing the lay of the land, we continued on the tour.  It ended at a church close to the museum. Guide told us how to walk back to the ship.  We walked back. Took us about 10 minutes.  We passed the museum on our way.  We were had. After that experience, I now research each port and expect no info from WS. They don’t even provide decent maps.  You are your own best tour guide.  

 

[Strenz]

10 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

I agree.  My spouse sits back and lets me do all the work.  I plan. Often book with private tour companies just for the 2 of us.  I also print maps, get directions, learn about the local transportation, and ask questions on location forums. That cannot be done overnight. Using WS WiFi is expensive.  WS wants to sell their excursions.  I have taken many WS excursions.  They are usually good. However, we have slowed down and tend to avoid group tours if possible.  The shore excursion person often is unfamiliar with the ports.  We got taken in Malaga. We asked the excursion person how can we get to the Picasso museum. He told us that it was far from where we were docking. He sold us a tour that included the museum.  The tour went to many venues and mad a brief stop at the museum. Not knowing the lay of the land, we continued on the tour.  It ended at a church close to the museum. Guide told us how to walk back to the ship.  We walked back. Took us about 10 minutes.  We passed the museum on our way.  We were had. After that experience, I now research each port and expect no info from WS. They don’t even provide decent maps.  You are your own best tour guide.  

 

I agree with Redtravel, We do all our own tours as well because our interests are so different than others. I am not in any way say better simply different. We have taken many tours with WS and they have generally been good. Also it depends where WS takes us: Caribbean it is beach, Med. it is art, culinary, history and avoiding crowds. I am well a where that some tours can be awful when done privately as well. I usually go into a deep dive in my research. Our Reykjavik tour, we were not on with WS at that point, grim, horrid guide etc, on the WS trip down the St. Lawrence from Greenland in Newfoundland WS's tour was one of the best we had. Careful, ahead study on all group tours with or not with WS requires research. I cheaped out in Reykjavik not getting a private driver, my fault. Do I regret it! Yip!  I think a river cruise, all inclusive, mystery ports would not be my cup of tea. I had a private tour in Malta, waited, due to Covid, 2 years, I seriously went to see the Caravaggio, my guide was awful, I knew more than she did. Yet, on the Amalfi Coast we had a driver who was supreme. I really regret not taking the WS tour to  Herculaneum.  What I am saying research for me onboard a WS or not requires study. The Malta Cruise was fabulous with WS. I generally blame myself. I agree Redtravel WS needs to up the quality of their info and maps. Happy Sailing

[Breckski]

I think a mystery cruise's target market would be those who do not take their travel/vacations overly serious.  We'd certainly consider one if the timing was right and in a general area of interest.  But we don't research the places where we travel a ton.  We take this approach intentionally.  We like visiting places without any self-inflicted prior biases based on research.  

 

Our favorite thing to do is simply to wonder around the city/location for the entire time in port.  We normally find stuff to keep us busy/entertained.  If we miss something others say is a must see, we don't get worried as long as we're enjoying ourselves.  We don't put pressure on ourselves to make sure every vacation/port is a 10 out of 10 because for us that pressure makes sure it won't be a 10.

 

Simply offering a different perspective from most of those presented in this thread.

[gsutiger2]

I think you will find adventurous and well traveled people drawn to this cruise.  The fact the ports will be new to Windstar is intriguing.  If this was a large cruise line, I would have no interest as the ships are limited to certain ports due to size restrictions. 

[stcruise]

Tom and I are discussing taking this cruise.  We have traveled in Europe/Med/Greece areas multiple times both by land and sea.  Some of our cruises have been duplicate itineraries.  And, yes, I am one of those who plan every day out in advance with both independent and Windstar tours as well as on our own things to do.  Leave home with a folder for each day of the trip.  

 

This would certainly be different.  The only planning on my part would be flights & hotels.  But as we discussed it - how wrong could it go?  Cruising around Greece with Windstar and just enjoying each day as it unfolds.  Maybe we're getting old or maybe just seeking a new kind of adventure, but we are certainly thinking about it.

[gsutiger2]

I agree @stcruise. April is a great time of year to travel to this region. I sure hope they can keep the ports a secret as planned.