At sea

Today we are “At Sea” on our way to the ABC Islands of Aruba, Bonair and Curaçao. The day started off overcast and rainy, unfortunately, weather systems move so quickly through the Caribbean that it cleared up by 9:30 or so and it’s now very warm when in the sun. I’m not.

While at sea, I thought I’d take a minute to let you know about the ship I’ve come to know well, as it’s my second trip on her. The Star Pride is one of three motor yachts in Windstar’s fleet which are pretty much identical. There are also three sailing ships which are powered by engines as well and I sailed on one, the Wind Spirit, from Tahiti to Fiji in 2020.

The Star Pride has only 156 cabins for a max of 312 passengers. (I think they said there were 280 on board this week). All three of the Star class ships have been “stretched” in recent years having been cut in half and an extra section being placed in the middle of the ship and other upgrades to the ship. I sure hope the marine engineers knew what they were doing!

On Deck 7 there is a small swimming pool, and hot tub and lots of deck chairs both in the sun and the shade and on the upper deck there are a pile more.

On Deck 8 is also one of my favourite areas of seating, with comfortable furniture, an incompatible view and easy access to food and drink!

Also on Deck 8, at the pointy end of the boat is the indoor Yacht Club, another of my favourite haunts. It’s a quiet place with a panoramic view where you can get tea or a specialty coffee all day, and continental breakfast in the morning and small sandwiches and other snacks in the afternoon.

There is a main dining room, Amphora, for dinners which is open seating anytime within their hours (6:30 – 9ish). Plus there are two specialty restaurants, Cuadro 44, which is a Spanish restaurant and Candles Steak and Chop house for dinners where you have to make reservations because they are small but there is no extra charge. And an indoor/outdoor buffet and table service restaurant for breakfast and lunch called Veranda, and the Star Grill which is open for most breakfasts, lunch and dinner, which is on deck and offers various grilled proteins, salad bar and desserts. That is my favourite. Casual dress fits with my style, and shorts and T-shirts are welcome at any of the restaurants during the day, and long pants, or dresses are required in the indoor dinner places but no one is in suits or ball gowns for sure. And there are no theme dress evenings, like on some cruise ships which I know some people enjoy.

Some people prefer the larger ships which have more variety of restaurants, and on board entertainment and the ship is the main attraction but I like the smaller, more casual experience on the Windstar fleet. The smaller ships are able to get in to many smaller ports and islands than the larger cruise ships carrying thousands of passengers. There are no line ups for anything on the Star Pride, and getting on and off the ship is a breeze where there are so few passengers. So pros and cons of each.

Windstar does a great job of a “Sail Away” when the ship is leaving port. On the sailing ships they unfurl the sails and on the power yachts they raise the Windstar flag with great pomp and circumstance (and some clowning around) to the music of Vangelis’ Conquest of Paradise, a beautiful dramatic and moving piece of music. (You might recall his music from “Chariots of Fire”.) With the port in the background, sometimes with the sun setting, it’s a lump-in-the-throat inducing experience.

One of the pretty unique things about the Windstar fleet is that the bridge is open to the passengers except when there are meetings going on, or they’re coming in or out of port.

Now I’m off to enjoy the sun and the sea! And likely more food.