Incredible Vistas
Star Legend Cruise Review to Europe - Western Europe
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 84
11 Night Lands Of The Midnight Sun (Reykjavik To Dublin)
Sail date: August 04, 2017
Ship: Star Legend
Cabin type: Suite
Cabin number: 202
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
I would book with Windstar again in a minute. Loved the Star Legend ship as the size of the rooms were so relaxing and tons of space to hold everything we brought with with and accommodate the new stuff we bought. Wonderful cabin attendant Desi who immediately was able to soften the bed for me a bit. I found the bed to be quite hard and also found softer pillows for us. Our waiter each night was Deva who we had met when we were on a prior Windstar cruise and remembered us. Met a new waitress Trisna who had a smile for everyone on board and learned my name the first day and what I liked to drink. Kristi who now works in the onboard tours, was our photographer on the Windsurf and immediately remembered us from our previous trip. Met the new photographer Rhea who was also extremely friendly and went on a tour at every port and got some amazing pictures. I love that they have reasonable package deals and you don't feel pressed into buying their pictures. Our captain was great and made sure to point out things as we were traveling. We had a pod of blue whales who swam with us for a bit outside of Iceland. We did a 360 spin in the Geiranger Fjord so we could all see the waterfalls. We had a piper playing his bagpipes as we left the dock in Kirkwall Scotland and then the captain got up closer to the Orkney Cliffs just outside of Kirkwall. We lucked out with amazing weather, sunny blue skies. Definitely a trip to remember!Embarkation
With only 200 passengers, it was pretty quick to board.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Amphora is the main dining room where we had breakfast, lunch and most dinners. The menu was varied and the food was really good. We were on the James Beard Chef cruise and 2 nights our chef's menu was featured and was wonderful.
Onboard Activities
When you go on this cruiseship you are aware there isn't much to do while onboard. The hot tub in the front of the ship was having thermostat problems so wasn't available the entire time. The library had a good selection of books. The DVD's are a little old, some new up to date titles would be welcome. The internet time was reasonable. There was always a few puzzles on the go upstairs in the Navigator lounge.
Service and Staff
The staff were ALL extremely friendly and smiling. I was shocked how quickly they learned our names.
Ship Quality
The upkeep on the ship was always being worked on, from painting to sanding etc. We were actually shocked to hear that the ship was going into drydock in December for updates as it was so fresh looking.
Cabin / Stateroom
These rooms are LARGE! Walk in closet with shelves, drawers and hooks not to mention 2 rods for hanging stuff. A safe in on top of the drawers.
The bathroom has loads of space with 2 sets of side shelves to hold the smaller things and a full shelf below to hold the larger items. There is also another mirrored cabinet you can open behind the door, upper only has a little push in button on the doorknob where they have the glasses.
In the bedroom area are 2 night stands with a drawer and a shelf, and a vanity with 3 drawers on each side. There is curtain you can separate the living room area from the bedroom for privacy if you are traveling with kids etc.
In the living room area is couch that pulls out to a bed, 2 chairs, a coffee table, bar area with glasses above and a mini fridge below. Across from the mini bar is the entertainment area with the wall mounted on a swivel tv, Bose bluetooth speakers and a DVD player in the cabinet.
Ship tip
We ordered popcorn every night from room service while we watched a dvd. They say it will take up to 30 minutes, it was always under 10 and always still warm.
Thumbs up
1
Ports of call
Iceland is beautiful. This was where our cruise started and we went in 2 days early. We went to the Blue Lagoon just after we landed (we had booked it ahead along with the bus into Reykjavik. We stayed 3 hours and it was so relaxing! We also booked the Golden Circle Tour through GeoTours and it was incredible. Small group of 10, stopped and petted the horses, saw the Geyser, several beautiful waterfalls. The whole tour was about 8 hours. Iceland has terrific cell coverage, you rarely go below 3 bars.
We did the Cliffside Boat tour through the ship. This is a DON'T miss tour. We were on the bus a bit to get to our destination but our guide talked about a lot of the history etc which was interesting. It was a little overcast when we first got on the boat, but by the time we got out into the open water the sun came out. The cliffs are awe inspiring. Tons of green and loads of sheep...shocking as the incline is quite steep. You weave into a few passages and went into 2 caves....the color of the water is Caribbean blue. Definitely a great tour. A little store at the dock which had free wifi, bathrooms and pretty good shopping. My husband got a gorgeous handknit sweater.
We did the waterfall hike through the ship on this tour. I would rate it 4.5 out of 5. It took about an hour to get to the waterfall area. Our guide was very knowledgeable and spoke at length about Molde. I was a little disappointed that we were on such a tight schedule for the hike. We were given 30 minutes up and 30 minutes to get back. My husband and I are in pretty good shape and live in the mountains in the US and go hiking. We had no problems getting up to the landing, but would have loved to have been able to go a bit further or have spent a little more time. There were several people who didn't make it up all the way as it's got a good incline and I felt bad for them. We had a meal included and the restaurant was fabulous. Probably the best meatballs I have EVER eaten. It was run by a family and they were so friendly. It's right beside a lake with breathtaking views of the mountains. Our guide then spoke at length on the way back....I personally would have preferred some quiet on the way back. We did have some time to go into the town shopping when we got back from the tour. Pretty area with loads of flowers everywhere. Lots of stores with various selections for every budget.
Perfection! Probably my favorite stop on the cruise. The morning started off with a Polar Plunge available to any passengers that wanted to. I think they were shocked as we had about 30 people decide to jump. They had them go off the back sports platform area 4-5 at a time. Warm water shower and towels were waiting for them when they got back on the ship. Great fun way to start the day!
We lucked out with sunny blue skies and were the only ship in the port. It is like being in a fairytale, it's that pretty! We did the rib boat tour here and got up close and personal to the waterfalls the 7 Sisters and the Suitor. Our guide Neils was really great and shared a lot of stories and answered any questions we had. We wore a fairly heavy waterproof suit which was good as it was early morning when we left. We were out on the water about an hour, it was over too soon.
We then walked around town and up the stairs to another waterfall. Stunning views of the port area. Great place to take pictures of the ship. Pretty little church, but we didn't go over to it. The shops in the downtown area by the dock are full of everything imaginable. The little chocolate shop has great handmade chocolate items.
We didn't do a tour here. We walked up to the observatory. The pathway starts in the park and goes up stairs 418 of them to the top. The view was gorgeous even though it was a bit overcast. We wandered down to the "old" section of town. Really pretty area. Then wandered around and found the most beautiful church and old graveyard, lanterns are inserted into the gravestones, I can only imagine how beautiful it is at night when they are lit up. We also found a fabulous antique store called Artifex Art & Antiques. The owner is very friendly and knowledgeable. We also found a very interesting store with yarn and handmade items called Home Arts & Crafts or Spøteriet. If you know someone who knits, they will love you if you pick something up here for them. Also a lot of clothing, slippers (seal skin) sheepskin items, jewelry etc. A really nice store to browse in and find authentic items.
We went on the market tour with the chef from the ship. It was a walking trip from the ship. Sadly it was raining, not hard, just consistent sprinkles the whole day. Found out it rains 280 days a year here. It's not a large market, but we did get to try whale meat. We did it in the form of whale sausage which was actually quite good. Whale looks and has a mouth feel like liver, which I don't like. Loads of fresh berries and fish. We then took the Funicular (bought our tickets on line ahead of time) and were able to immediately bypass the lineup and get on the Funicular. Pretty ride up to the top. There is a number of areas to view the city from including a glassed in observation deck that juts out. There is a playground for the kids, a lake to hike to, bicycles to rent. We opted to walk down to from the top to the city. There is a troll garden on the pathway down, just a short area from the top. It took us an hour to walk it and it was quite steep. My knee's were not thanking me. It's a beautiful walk, but if you have problems with your knee's not a smart thing to do as the incline is fairly steep. The city hall area is really pretty once we got back down. Tons of shopping. Free wifi at McDonald's...I stood just outside and was able to check my messages. Would loved to have had more time to explore the downtown area.
Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland
We didn't book a tour. We walked over to the church, they were just getting ready for a service (it was Sunday) so we didn't go inside, but the outside is really pretty. Right across the street is the castle and Bishop's house. We paid the admission and went inside. We met a gentleman who was playing lawn bowling with a group and invited us to watch. So we followed him over just behind the castle and watched and visited for about 30 minutes. Very friendly people. We then walked around exploring and taking pictures, then followed our map back to downtown where the stores that opened were opening around noon. Went into a wonderful place run by 3 sisters called Hume Sweet Hume. Bought a gorgeous shawl handknit by the sister who was working that day. They also sell jewelry and clothing. Really nice store and super friendly staff. Also went into a shop selling Orkney tartans and the Princess Diana tartan (in the front window). Also another shop was the Orkney Arts & Crafts Association and they had local art, pottery, glassware etc. Wonderful shop with authentic items.
We got into port early and had booked a car through our hotel, which was much cheaper than the cruiseline price. We stayed 2 days in Dublin and would loved to have stayed longer. We did a tour in the James Joyce House where the author wrote Ulysses. Then started walking around the city. Found a great fish and chip shop called Beshoff which has been there for 104 years. Really great place, ate there both days. Walked almost 11 miles around Dublin finding beautiful churches, graveyards, a beautiful park called St Stephen's Green and great places to shop. My husband bought 2 tweed jackets and a vest at a place called Kevin & Howlin. Wonderful staff who were SO helpful. Loads of tweeds to choose from. They have ready made and also you can design your own. Great prices and they ship to the US. Another great store is Kilkenny. Really beautiful range of items. Finally found the Celtic cross I was looking for here. The next day we had booked an early tour to see the Book of Kells with a tour company called Letzgo City Tours. They book smaller group tours. We had an amazing tour guide Neil who was amazing, Loads of great stories and information. It was a walking tour which also included the Dublin Castle. We had about 10 people the day we went. Learned a lot and had a wonderful time. If we had stayed another day, we would have booked with them to go to St Patrick's Cathedral. Great incentive to go back to Dublin.
Disembarkation
Easy process. Luggage was available as soon as we got off the ship.