I'm Gary Bembridge of Tips For Travellers. Join me as we go on a tour of Windstar
Star Pride, a beautiful yacht-style ship which holds just over 212 guests, has
150 crew and we're going to go and explore this whole ship.
It was originally launched, and it's hard to believe, almost 30 years
ago as a Seabourn ship and in 2014 it got bought by Windstar and turned into
a Windstar product. So let's go take a look around the ship starting with the centre
of the ship. So the real heart of the ship is this circular staircase and
on one level is where you have the Reception area, you have the Shore
Excursions Desk and then just leading off that you have the Lounge. The Lounge is
where you have your nightly port talks and if there's any form of entertainment,
whether it's the crew show or whether it's one of the musical duo's that are based on
board the ship, they will perform in here. So as we head up the ship, we head up
onto the upper levels and get the area which is the open decks. There's no
large sized swimming pool here but there is one of these small pools which you can
basically swim against the tide, and there is also a hot tub. Up on the open decks you have
the Star Bar which is very popular of course for the Sail Aways when ship is
setting off in sunny climates. This is a very popular for Sail Aways and hanging out.
Also up here on the top is probably one of my favorite rooms of all, which is the
Yacht Club. It's a beautiful space. It is really nicely done. On three sides you
have fantastic views across to the bow of the ship and on to two sides. Now in here
you have a small sort of coffee shop area and it has various snacks during
the day. You can have speciality coffees, hot chocolate and also play games up
here. It's also where the photographs are displayed and sold. So the on-board
photographer has this computer here where you can basically go on and all of
the photographs that are taken of you during the cruise are. There is also a space
outside where you can go and stand outside watching yourself coming in and out of
Port or just general sightseeing. As we head back down into the ship one of the
popular venues, particular before and after dinner, is the Compass Rose. Again another
nice space towards the back of the ship. There is a bar where you can have drinks and
you have one of the two duo's that are based on the ship who will perform here
before dinner and after dinner - giving you chance to dance. There is also the
small casino here. So you have some tables and some slot machines.
Just a bit further along from the Compass Rose is the library. Now in the
library there are both books, reference books and port guides and also quite a
large DVD library - because there are DVD players in the cabin. It is also has
some space here to sit and relax and read or if just you want some quiet time.
Now on this level is the shop. It's quite a small shop but has quite a nice
big range of the usual stuff you'll find like watches and jewelry and a very big
collection of Windstar Cruises branded merchandise. So very nice little shop.
Let's talk about dining venues. Now the most important dining venue of all is
the AmphorA restaurant. The AmphorA restaurant, if you are on a colder
climate cruise, will be the main restaurant for breakfast, lunch and
dinner. Breakfast being buffet. Lunch being buffet, although they are also
a la carte options too, and then it's open seated dining in the evening. And it's
great because you can basically have tables for one if you wanted, two or more - whatever
you want basically! The restaurant can hold
everybody so they can do whatever combination you want. Very big menus.
It's a very beautiful venue. Now if you are on a warmer climate
cruise, the Veranda is actually where breakfast and lunch are held. So although
in these particular shots that I've got, because I was on a slightly colder
cruise, you don't see it to its best advantage, it it's a nice big open
space and then it has inside space too. At night this becomes the Candles
Restaurant. This is the speciality dining restaurant. It's a seafood and steak
restaurant and it's included in your fare, and all you have to do is pre book. The
other great feature of the ship is in terms of spa and fitness. So there's
obviously a spa on board and it has a fitness center a hairdressers and of
course usual spa treatments. The Star Pride has a space at the back
of the ship which can be opened when in warm cruises.
It's basically a watersports deck so you have an RiB boat and
they'll put out stuff that you can go and splash around about off the back
of the ship. If you're also looking for some deck space right in front here is
another whirlpool right down the bow of the ship, and this is also a great place
to be on a nice sunny day heading out of Port. It's great place to relax have a
drink and spend some time in the whirlpool.
Another great feature of Windstar is the open bridge policy. So pretty much at any
time during the cruise you can go onto the bridge, chat to the bridge crew and
find out what's going on. So as you can see the ship it's a nice size. It
holds about 212 guests, has about 150 crew and just over a hundred
suites. The suites themselves are very large. If you just take look at the cabin that
I was staying in, as you can see, it's a large space. A great size as it's a
luxury ship and was built as a very luxurious ship. So these are big
comfortable cabins. So there you have it, that is a tour of Windstar Star Pride, a
beautiful ship. If you enjoyed that video tour, I'd really appreciate it if
you gave the video a "like" and very importantly also watch my other video
tours of Windstar where I give you ship tours and also I give you a whole series
of tips if you're thinking of cruising on Windstar to help you decide if
it's the right line for you, but also how you give the most once you are onboard. Very
important also please subscribe to the Tips For Travellers channel and get more
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