Four names, three owners, thirty-four years
Few hulls have changed identity so often. She left the Schichau-Seebeckwerft
yard at Bremerhaven in February 1992 as the Royal Viking Queen. She became the
Queen Odyssey in 1995, the Seabourn Legend in 1996, then the Star Legend in
2015, when Windstar bought her in April and put her into service in May.
In 2020 it was her turn to be lengthened: cut in half, a new
twenty-five-and-a-half-metre section inserted amidships, capacity raised to
three hundred and twelve guests. Work began in March 2020 and finished in May
2021, eleven months late. Two causes: asbestos found on board, and the
pandemic. It was the longest of the three projects.
What that means for you
A hull of this generation offers volumes and materials nobody builds any
more, and machinery that is refurbished rather than new. That is neither an
advantage nor a fault in itself: it is a choice, and it should be made
knowingly rather than in the belief that you are boarding a 2021 ship.
What the fare covers, and what it does not
This is where clients most often go wrong, because "small luxury ship"
suggests all-inclusive. Here the base fare covers meals, in every restaurant on
board and through suite service. That is all.
A daily service charge is posted automatically to your onboard account, per
person per night. It stays adjustable at the guest services desk, but you have
to ask. Drinks are charged, with a service charge added to bar purchases. Wi-Fi
is charged. Excursions are charged.
An optional package, called All-In, bundles drinks, Wi-Fi and the daily
service charge. It is bought before departure and it never covers excursions,
whichever way you buy it. Do the arithmetic before you sail rather than at the
counter: it is the only honest way to compare this fare with a genuinely
all-inclusive line.
Accessibility and comparison
This ship has a lift and cabins described as modified-accessible, with no
figure published. The three sailing ships in the fleet, including the
Wind Spirit, have none and have no lift. Her two
sisters are the Star Pride and the
Star Breeze, transformed the same way. All three come
from Seabourn.
Booking from Quebec
The contract is with Windstar Cruises Marshall Islands, a Marshall Islands
company whose principal office is in Miami. The general maritime law of the
United States applies, and where it does not, the law of Florida.
A claim for personal injury, illness or death goes to the United States
District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami, or to the courts
of Miami-Dade County. Every other claim goes to binding
arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in
Miami, and the contract imposes a class-action waiver.
The deadlines are short and they differ by claim type. Six months' written
notice and one year to sue, for personal injury. For everything else,
ninety days' notice after the cruise ends and six months to
start arbitration. The contract also excludes the carrier's liability for
communicable illness, including COVID-19, for emotional distress without
physical injury, and for consequential damages.
The carrier writes plainly that it does not guarantee the itinerary: it may
delay, change or cancel, and substitute another ship or another form of
transport. Nothing establishes a Quebec licence for it. Your protection comes
from here: Voyages AquaTerra holds a licence from the Office de la protection
du consommateur, your payments pass through a trust account, and your departure
is covered by the compensation fund for travel agency customers.