Star Breeze

The 1989-built (as "Seabourn Spirit") cruise ship Star Breeze is the second of all three identical superyachts in the Windstar fleet - together with Star Pride (Seabourn Pride) and Star Legend (Seabourn Legend).

History - construction and ownership

Windstar Cruises is a luxury travel brand operating a fleet of smaller-sized ships (mega-yachts) with capacity up to 340 passengers. The company call at 150 ports throughout the Caribbean, Central America, South Pacific, Asia, Europe. Currently, Windstar is a subsidiary of Xanterra Parks and Resorts (USA's largest national and state park concession management company).

The 340-passenger ship Star Breeze is a German-built luxury liner inaugurated in 1989 and drydock stretched/enlarged in 2020. In 2005, the 212-passenger vessel (back then named "Seabourn Spirit") was rated by Conde Nast "best small cruise ship". In April 2015, the liner left Seabourn's fleet and in May joined Windstar's fleet as "Star Breeze". The ship was built at Schichau Seebeckwerft (shipyard in Bremerhaven Germany) and christened (as Seabourn Spirit) by Aagot Brynestad - the mother of Seabourn's founder Atle Brynestad.

In 2020, the 134-m long Star Breeze was enlarged (to the current 159 m LOA length) by cutting in two and inserting a 26-m long prebuilt midship section. The project was conducted at Fincantieri's shipyard in Port Palermo Sicily.

Cruise itinerary program

Star Breeze itinerary program is based on luxury Mediterranean cruises with departures from France, Italy, Spain, Greece and Turkey) and Caribbean voyages with Panama Canal transits leaving from Colon and Puerto Caldera. The ship also offers Transatlantic repositioning crossings.

On each cruise, at one call port there is one free excursion (shoreside activity) provided complimentary to all passengers. These events are usually a highlight of the voyage and include such land trips as a visit to a private villa in Malta, a glass-roofed canal boat ride in Amsterdam and an outdoor folkloric dance implementation in Nafplion Greece.

Following the drydock stretching in 2019-2020, the bigger Star Breeze was scheduled to restart operations with 7-day Caribbean roundtrip itineraries. Starting on January 2, 2021, out of homeport San Juan Puerto Rico the ship's itineraries visit the Caribbean islands:

• 7-day itinerary to Grenada (St George's), St Vincent (Bequia), St Lucia (Pigeon Island), Guadeloupe (Iles des Saintes) and St Maarten (Philipsburg)
• 7-day itinerary to St Thomas USVI (Charlotte Amalie), St Barthelemy (Gustavia), Montserrat (Little Bay), St Maarten (Philipsburg), Jost van Dyke BVI (Great Harbour) and Virgin Gorda BVI (Spanish Town).
• B2Bs (back-to-back cruises) combine both 7-day roundtrips into a 14-day voyage roundtrip from San Juan.

Star Breeze schedule 2021 (January through November) initially included voyages in Australia New Zealand (Sydney NSW-Auckland NZ), Asia (Japan's Tokyo and Kobe, China's Hong Kong) and Alaska (Vancouver-Seward).

Decks and Cabins

Star Breeze staterooms (156 total, in 13 grades) are all outside and in suite categories - the lowest being Porthole Suite (10 cabins). All cabins are with modern amenities including fully-stocked minibars, Wi-Fi Internet, smart HDTVs (infotainment system), spacious wardrobe with electronic safe box, phone (direct dial), large bathroom (double-sink vanity, bathtub, shower, WC-toilet, L'Occitane bath products), premium bedding sets (top-quality pillows and linens), fresh fruits and flowers.

The largest accommodations are the 3-Bedroom Grand Owners Suites (1375 ft2 / 128 m2 with included outdoor terrace).

The boat has 8 decks, of which 6 are passenger-accessible and 4 with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Star Breeze guests may choose from various inclusive dining options - AmphorA Restaurant, Yacht Club, Sky Bar & Grill. Windstar travellers usually like to dress up. There are 2 formal nights on weeklong cruises and 3 on 14-day voyages. On these nights, a lot of the men wear tuxedos. Women wear luxury cocktail dresses or ball gowns. Other nights are casually stylish (jacket for men, but tie optional; nice outfit for women), or casual (no jacket for men; sundress or slacks for women). For those who do not like formal nights, the Veranda Cafe offers a casually stylish alternative.

Follows the complete list of Star Breeze restaurants and food bars.

• AmphorA Restaurant (ship's main dining room, open-seating, dinner-only between 7-9 pm; offers 5-course gourmet dinner menu which is changed daily; along with onboard-made bread, in all ports of call the executive chef goes to the local markets to shop for fresh ingredients)
• Candles Cafe and Candles Veranda (a smaller "dining room" which offers buffet-style breakfast and lunch, as well as a la carte menu through the wait staff; its indoor area is called "Candles Cafe" and features floor-ceiling panoramic windows; the outdoor seating area is called "Veranda" - in the evenings, it transforms into "Candles Grill" al-fresco steakhouse)
• Star Bar (serves the top deck open-air-area).
• Cuadro 44 by Anthony Sasso (deck 6 aft-portside-located specialty restaurant with an Iberian food menu)
• Star Grill by Steven Raichlen (deck 8 midship-located alfresco dining venue serving complimentary BBQ food)

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

While Star Breeze offers the signature Windstar experiences (as the famous deck barbecue), she also promotes the company's product development initiative - intimate access to call ports, themed sailings and active interaction with villagers. Activities onboard are very limited and range from food market purchases to performances by local musicians. Public areas include the casino, library, computer center, WindSpa, fitness center, pool and three whirlpool tubs.

Various bars and lounges, scaled for sociability, invite travelers to get to know one other. The complimentary fine wines and spirits service contributes to the club-like atmosphere inside and on the open decks, where passengers can find plenty of cozy seating in the sun or shade. Windstar's attentive service includes full bar service, mineral water spritzes fresh fruit sherbets and smoothies, frozen towels and sun lotion. A pair of whirlpool spas grace sun deck, and the third one is forward on Deck 5. In warm water cruise destinations on certain days, the captain anchors off a stretch of beach and deploys the ship's watersports fold-out Marina, creating a private island resort for water-skiing, sailing, swimming or snorkeling right from the ship.

Follows the complete list of Star Breeze lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens and adults.

• The Marina (retractable watersports platform for water skiing, windsurfing, snorkeling, kayaking; the ship provides water rafts, wakeboards, paddleboards and a water trampoline island; the steel cage forms a swimming pool in the sea)
• A Whirlpool (with sunbathing area and lounge chairs)
• Card Room (bridge and board games); Library; Screening Room
• Computer Center (discount Internet packages and rates per minute)
• Lounge (ship's theatre/main show lounge for live evening entertainment)
• The Boutique Shop (now Signature Shop) sells duty-free luxury fashion clothing and accessories
• The Casino (gaming lounge aft on deck 6, with blackjack/roulette gambling tables, slot machines) was replaced with the Cuadro 44 restaurant.
• Compass Rose (ship's main bar lounge with grand piano)
• The Wellness Centre (WindSpa, Beauty Salon, Gym). WindSpa (operated by Steiner) has treatment rooms (for massages), Saunas, Steam Rooms.
• The Fitness Center (with floor-ceiling windows; has free weights, treadmills, elliptical machines; offers complimentary exercise classes); Courtyard
• Pool Area (with one rectangular swimming pool, two whirlpools on platforms and a 3rd whirlpool at the ship's bow, sunbathing and shaded areas)
• The Yacht Club (Constellation Lounge with floor-ceiling windows for 270-degree views)
• The Sun Deck (with padded luxury sun loungers and deckchairs).

Star Breeze was originally built for Seabourn as "Seabourn Spirit". The liner was christened In November 1989 by godmother Shirley Temple Black (1928-2014, US actress, singer, dancer). In 2001, Seabourn Spirit changed its flag-state from Norway to the Bahamas. In 2005, the vessel was ranked 1st in Conde Nast "best small cruise ship" ranking chart. The vessel was purchased by Windstar in February 2013 and was leased by Seabourn until handed to Windstar in May 2015.

Star Breeze's christening ceremony was on May 6, 2015, held pier-side in Nice France, Ship's godmother is Wendy Perrin - independent vacation travel expert, former Conde Nast Traveler employee. The naming ceremony was attended by Hans Birkholz (Windstar's CEO) and around 250 VIP guests.

Ship's namesake is the Carnival Cruise Line-operated liner Carnival Breeze (2012-built).

During Star Breeze's drydock 2018 (April, in Lisbon Portugal) was installed Transas A-Suite (e-navigation system) and Navi-Radar 4000 (by DP Marine) with incorporated JRC sensors. The system consists of 2 radars (X-band and S-band), Dual ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information) system, K-Nav ECDIS (route planning station (by Kongsberg Maritime) and PilotStar NX (autopilot by Anschutz). Also were modified all consoles and the ship's antenna.

WINDSTAR cruise ship reconstructions 2019-2020 drydock refurbishments review

On November 15, 2018, Windstar Cruises announced company's "Star Plus Initiative" - drydock refit and refurbishment program budgeted USD 250 million. The project was partially financed through Export Credit facility guaranteed by SACE Italy (financial and insurance products and services). The "Star Plus" drydocking project includes enlarging (stretching) and engine upgrades for fleet's three Star-Class vessels (in brackets - completion dates) - Star Breeze (February 20, 2020), Star Legend (July 2, 2020) and Star Pride (November 20, 2020).

Windstar's "Star Plus" project increased the fleet's capacity by 24%. When completed, the project will result in bigger capacity (254 to 320 passengers, 140 to 190 crew), increased GT tonnage/volume (9975 to 12995 tons), increased length (134 to 159 m), more staterooms (106 to 156), adding new venues and public spaces, machinery upgrades (new Wartsila marine diesel engines). The project was scheduled for the period October 2019 through November 2020, at Fincantieri's shipyards in Palermo (Sicily Island, Italy) and Trieste (Italy).

The ships' drydock lengthening included cutting each vessel in two and installing a new (prefabricated) midship section with length 25 m (83 ft). Vessel's LOA length will be increased from 134 m (439 ft) to 159 m (522). The midship section has an additional elevator. These sections were built (pre-fabricated and assembled) in Trieste, then barged to Palermo to be inserted into the vessels.

Following the drydocks, each ship has 2 new dining venues (Cuadro 44 by Anthony Sasso, Star Grill by Steven Raichlen), new / expanded retail shopping space (Signature Shop), enlarged Gym (Fitness Center with Motion Studio for classes), expanded wellness complex (WindSpa by Steiner), new bar lounge (deck 5), larger sundeck and swimming pool (deck 7), new tender loading area (deck 3 midship), two new tender boats (90-seat each), new whirlpool and enlarged swimming pool (on deck 8), expanded and upgraded staff-crew areas and crew cabins. The two new dining venues are a specialty restaurant (Cuadro 44, aft-portside on deck 6, the former Casino area) and a casual outdoor BBQ restaurant (Star Grill, adjacent to Star Bar on deck 8).

Cruise ship's powerplant was upgraded from 4x Bergen diesel engines (model B33:45, combined power output 7,3 MW) to 4x Wartsila engines (model Wartsila 46F, combined output 5 MW) running on the cleaner ULSD (ultra-low sulfur diesel) fuel.

Each liner received 50 new cabins (to a total of 156), which (based on the total investment) means shipbuilding cost per berth USD 267,000. Among the new cabins are two Midship Owner Suites and two enlarged Forward Grand Owner Suites - all located on Deck 6. All existing staterooms will be completely refurbished, including bathrooms, balconies, sliding doors, furniture, equipment. The new public spaces and staterooms were designed by the NYC-based "The Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry".

The vessel's cutting started in October 2019. The new engines were installed in February 2020. Following the stretching, Star Breeze started sea trials on October 4, 2020, out of Palermo.