Reviewed by: Kathy Fossati & Yula Geredov

Date: 4 December 2022

Cruise line and ship: Windstar Cruises -Star Breeze

Size of ship: 159.6 m (523 ft 7 in)

Passenger capacity: 312 (164 crew)

Year built: 1988 (2020 extended and refurbished)

Currency onboard: USD

Total inside cabins: Zero

Launched in 1989 by luxury line Seabourn, Star Breeze is not a new ship but underwent a complete refurbishment when Windstar acquired it in 2015. It was fully reworked and renovated in 2020, when it was stretched: Essentially, the ship was cut in half, and a new section was added, giving the vessel 50 additional cabins and ample public space.  

Most suited to:

This is for you if you are after the small ship experience with amazing personalised service, where staff remember your name, perhaps your favourite beverage and dining preferences. The demographic on board was mostly older, very loyal to brand clientele, largely 60 plus years of age. Windstar Star Breeze offers upscale small-ship cruising in a casual and non-pretentious way

Embarkation/De-embarkation Process:

We embarked at Melbourne Station Pier Port and and with luggage assistance were ushered onboard. Once we boarded the ship, we were in our cabins in no time our luggage arrived in our stateroom. At the time of our travel, we had to show a Rapid Antigent Test that was done within 48 hours and show our proof of vaccinations.

De-embarkation in Hobart was very smooth taking only minutes.

Staterooms:

The staterooms are lovely and immaculately clean, quite large and well laid out. The bathrooms are large and well designed. It had all of the amenities that I required including a hairdryer. A lovely basket of fresh fruit was placed in every cabin, with L’occitaine products in the bathrooms. Bring your Australian adaptors though.

Dining & Service:

The food in all outlets is wonderful. The daily menu change in Amphora, the main restaurant, ging passengers a great deal of choice throughout the cruise. The specials also changed in the Veranda (alfresco dining) every day, and it was made to order which made it very fresh. The burger grill at Veranda at lunchtime was also a very popular and delicious option.

The dining outlets to choose from included the Veranda, Candles (Veranda by day), Amphora and the Star Grill.

Cuadro 44 is a brand new Spanish restaurant by Anthony Sasso. All the delicious appertizers were small bites of very typical Spanish foods like you’re at a tapas bar, presented on small plates to share. The mains were also super delicious.

The menu options in all restaurants catered for all palates including seafood, steak and a great range of vegetarian options. If you requested something different the crew would do their very best to accommodate your request.

The service on every occasion was exceptional in every venue.  The bar staff in the Lounge and the Compass Rose were wonderful, as was the Cruise Director.

Onboard Activities:

There is also an immaculate very large salon/spa, 3 bars/lounges, a swimming pool, 2 hot tubs, and a well-equipped gym. A library in the Yacht Club with a selection of books, a cafe/bar and fabulous views.

There is a terrific ‘Open Bridge’ policy when at sea so passengers can watch the Captain and his officers in action. We also met the Captain and all the Bridge Crew during a function one evening.

We were also treated to a cocktail-making class, trivia and the Executive Chef showed us his art at a cooking demonstration – a delicious lobster risotto!

Favourite Experiences on the Ship:

Listening to Vangelis’s “Conquest of Paradise” whilst watching the sails being hoisted was a truly unique experience. 

On our final night our wonderfully delightful and clearly opera trained Cruise Director, PJ surprised us with a solo performance in the theatre performing amazing renditions from the musical classics, Le Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Jekyll & Hyde to name a few – just awesome.

Laundry:

No self-use laundry facilities on board but there is definitely a very efficient not too expensive laundry service for full wash and press or just pressing. It was returned back to your cabin by 5pm the following day.

Other:

This ship is not designed for young families,  there are no facilities for children, and there are no nightclubs or casinos.