Stretch test

Like a stretched limo, the Star Breeze has been given a new lease of life via a newly added midsection. And she’s heading to Australia. David Dickstein tries her out.

Clockwise from left: A new 25-metre section was inserted into the Star Breeze at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy; a bird’s eye view of the ship’s stern; galley crew members strike a pose. Below left: the sun-soaked pool deck.

The lounge chairs by the ship’s pool were no more than a centimetre off being lined up in a perfect row. But that wasn’t good enough for the hotel officer, who used a crew member’s linear faux pas as an opportunity for some impromptu retraining.

In the crewman’s defence, he probably hadn’t performed that chore for well over a year. The incident caught my eye while I was gazing out a window of the Windstar Star Breeze’s fitness centre, where this early-rising passenger was working off the scrumptious beef wellington enjoyed the night before at the elegant Amphora dining room.

When I commended for his attention for detail, the maître d’ said that making a good first impression with each guest every morning is vital in delivering on the luxury cruise line’s brand promise of offering “private yacht-style cruising that’s 180 degrees from the ordinary”. Promise made, promise kept. I can happily report that the Star Breeze crew went above and beyond on a recent ‘inaugural’ sail of this 32-year-old cruise ship, which will be periodically homeported in Australia starting in late 2022.

Inaugural isn’t a term you’d normally use in reference to a vessel that’s over three decades old. But my seven-day voyage heralded a new era when our ship was finally unshackled from a worldwide no-sail order and released from the north-east berth of the Port of Sint Maarten in the Caribbean.

Half of Windstar’s six-vessel fleet is being reclassified under the American ratings system from Star to Star Plus. For the Windstar faithful, the extra word means there’s now more to love with the Star Breeze, Star Legend come September, and Star Pride in November.

The staggered rollout of these eight-deck sister ships involves expanding – or “stretching” – them by cutting them

in half and inserting a new 25-metre section into the middle of the ship. The inserted section adds 50 suites that can accommodate up to another 100 passengers. It’s a truly amazing engineering feat.

The added real estate raises Star Breeze’s gross tonnage from 9,975 to 12,995. Unlike the more indulgent cruisers who put on a few kilos while sailing, this weight gain is intentional. The results of the maritime makeover are evident from bow to stern on what is presently the flagship of Windstar’s US$250million Star class transformation.

Left, from top: Windstar president Christopher Prelog; a chilled bottle of prosecco awaits in an Owner’s Suite; inside one of the two Grand Owner’s Suites on the Star Breeze.

/ DINING Cuadro 44, open only for dinner, is the most novel concept among the new dining options. This small Spanish-influenced restaurant accented with whimsy is on deck 6, in the former location of the gift shop.

Here New York chef Anthony Sasso offers up tapas worthy of note, including the jamón ibérico, featuring a 24-month-aged leg of pork from pigs raised solely on acorns in southern Spain; and the pulpo gallego with charred Portuguese octopus. Vegetarians will savour the potato tortilla, which may well be the best frittata served at sea.

Winning entrees include a salad take on gazpacho with calamari; the mint salsa verde-topped lamb chops; and a light, yet flavourful olive oil-poached bacalao. It’s a superb selection that’s let down somewhat by a menu that poorly describes some of the items.

FACT FILE

CRUISE LINE: Windstar Cruises VESSEL: Star Breeze ENTERED SERVICE: 1989 as Seabourn Spirit (2015 to present as Star Breeze) STAR RATING: 5 TONNAGE: 181,541 PASSENGER DECKS: 6 PASSENGER CAPACITY: 312 CREW: 188–190 FACILITIES: 5 dining options; 24-hour room service; various bars, coffee bars and lounges; 1 pool; 2 whirlpools; duty-free shop; fitness centre and spa; water sports platform. BOOKINGS: Star Breeze will sail from various Caribbean and Central America ports throughout August before embarkations in Tahiti from September 19, 2021 to April 7, 2022. Itineraries out of Australian ports begin November 2022. deals.windstar.com.au/ windstar

THE VERDICT

HIGHS: Genuinely warm and meticulous staff, expanded food options, impressive renovation and expansion, the pinnacle of small-ship luxury cruising. LOWS: Confusing menu at Cuadro 44, expensive internet, no jogging track, evening shows suffered from rash of technical gaffes that will hopefully be ironed out.

Eclectic fare is also found midship on deck 8, at the new buffet-style Star Grill, conceived by renowned grilling god Steven Raichlen.

Flanking the two or three types of meat at the carver’s stations are a salad bar and dessert/fruit station, but guests may also order protein-heavy dishes more representative of the eatery’s name. The burgers are tasty, although not quite in the league of Guy Fieri’s on Carnival ships. The restaurant, situated under a sprawling canopy next to the spirited, refurbished Star Bar, is a lovely spot come rain or shine.

Rounding out the dining options (alongside the 24/7 room service, of course) are the relocated and rebuilt Amphora main dining room, which serves up exquisite dinners on deck 3 (the aforementioned beef wellington and no-sugar-added desserts are sublime); a newly built space on deck 7 that doubles as Veranda, for buffet-style breakfasts and lunches, and full-service Candles at dinnertime (the sea bass, lemon tart and views off the stern are to die for); and the refurbished Yacht Club Café, for sweet and savoury snacks washed down with barista-made coffee.

/ CABINS & MORE The two Grand Owner’s Suites, each with a balcony, are the ultimate place to rest your head, offering 128 square metres across three connecting staterooms for a total of three ensuite bedrooms, and one additional bathroom.

The two suites that make up this new category are within the existing block, but you’d never know it from the completely refurbished interior. In fact, all cabins now have new bathrooms, bedding, smart TVs, carpeting and wallpaper, and, in the pre-stretch staterooms, reupholstered furniture. The renovated cabins look just as sharp as the new ones. Even where the splicing was done it’s seamless – a marvel in engineering and interior design.

Entertainment aboard the Star Breeze also has been upgraded. The professional singers still vibe with solo and duo acts, but now are showcased in the refurbished 124-seat Lounge with a live band. More cabaret-type shows are expected to roll out across Windstar’s Star Plus ships, making better use of an existing theatre of proportions not seen on Windstar’s sail-class yachts – the Wind Spirit, Wind Star and Wind Surf.

Other features include a bigger pool, enlarged World Spa with brand new equipment, a well-stocked Star Boutique with branded merchandise, and a more dramatically staged Windstar Signature Sail Away to Vangelis’s rousing Conquest of Paradise. Behind the scenes are four environmentally friendly engines that have replaced the previous seven-engine set-up deemed by Windstar as inefficient.

/ AUSTRALIA-BOUND Windstar president Christopher Prelog sailed on the landmark voyage out of Sint Maarten to join the crew in welcoming guests back and showing off the revamped ship. “This feels really, really, really amazing,” he said. “I’m super-hyped for crew and passengers alike to see this completely renovated 32-year-old rebuilt.

“This is the result of a lot of work. Whoever knew that not operating a fleet is so work-intensive?”

Despite a delayed Australian debut, due, of course, to coronavirus-triggered rescheduling, Mr Prelog expects the Star Plus class and private yacht-style cruising to go over well in this market even before the Star Breeze arrives for various itineraries embarking from Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns and Port Douglas starting in November 2022. “These ships are built for longer distances, yet have a really intimate feel,” he said. “We know that even with social distancing requirements that will be with us for a while, Australia will love the close interaction between guest and crew that small-ship cruising allows. It’s a family-type dynamic that will be popular in a market that Windstar has been trying to grow for a number of years.

“After the lockdown is lifted, Australians will be absolutely hungry for this type of cruising, and a silver lining with the pandemic is that we can now do that with the right ship in terms of size and features.”

From left: crew perform a Windstar Signature Sail Away; the magnificent new-look Star Breeze.