What did you think of… Windstar’s Star Legend

In this series for Facebook, we ask members of our team to give us their opinion of a cruise, on which, they have recently participated. We spend tens of thousands of dollars each year in sending our team members away on our preferred products, so they will have first hand knowledge to help you choose the perfect cruise experience…

Here are three quick questions we posed to Craig & Louise Bowen, our Managing Director and his lovely wife (and our customer liason officer), after they returned from a small ship cruise onboard Star Legend by Windstar Cruises to Japan in October 2018

Question 1: You recently cruised with Windstar to Japan. What stood out the most about your experience?

Craig: I had previously been only to the major Japanese cities for business – so to be able to visit the wonderful regional towns and regions was a real highlight. The people were so friendly and everything in Japan was incredibly well organised. The itinerary also included a stop in Busan , South Korea – which was fantastic.

Louise: Windstar make a big fuss about Sail-away which I really enjoy! Everyone gathers on-deck, they play the amazing ‘Conquest of Paradise’ song through the PA, we cast off and cruise out of beautiful small ports, generally with the locals waiving and smiling until we are well out of sight. A highlight on the ship was the friendliness and camaraderie on board – not just the friendly and efficient crew but also travelling with like-minded fellow guests, who all mingled so well together. The people we met were from America, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, Japan, Korea and even a charming couple from Mexico. This small ship cruise line with an elegant, casual ambiance on-board, makes for a relaxing holiday from the very first minute. The dining venues and the menu choices were of a very high quality and plentiful with dietary requirements well taken care of. The on-deck seafood BBQ night was a stand out.

Question 2: Windstar are known for their boutique style. Can you give us an example of an instance where you experienced this?

Craig: There were so many , from only taking literally a few minutes for our initial embarkation , the casual dress , personal friendly service and all the benefits of travelling with only 200 like- minded people.

Louise: The Windstar Legend carries only 212 guests and she can visit small ports the bigger ships cannot go to. It took us only six minutes to embark from the time our taxi dropped us off at the cruise passenger terminal entrance. We were escorted to our beautifully appointed suite and our luggage was only two minutes behind us. Windstar Legend feels more like a private yacht with elegant furnishings yet a casual, relaxing ambiance. Windstar offer destination immersion with on-board enrichment programs and when ashore we enjoyed very high quality excursions. We were offered interesting choices of shore excursions in small groups. The guides had interesting commentary delivered in excellent English, the coaches were new, clean and spacious. We were both new to Japan and Windstar offered us a great way to explore the smaller, intimate ports in complete comfort.

Question 3: Would you travel again on Windstar and, if you could take anyone with you (Celebrity or other), who would that be?

Craig: I wouldn’t hesitate to travel with Windstar again & in fact looking at a few options already. My favourite travel companion is my wife Louise!

Louise: I would definitely recommend Windstar for people looking for a totally relaxed cruise holiday, away from crowds, lines and queues! I would love to try their sailing yachts next time, Wind Surf, Wind Spirit or Wind Star, for all the same reasons as above, but with a different twist seeing the sails hoisted at Sail-away!

Find more Windstar Star Legend Cruises here

Find cruises to Japan here