Q – We are booked, along with my semi-annoying brother-in-law and his lovely wife, on a Windstar cruise aboard the Star Breeze. My agent says this is a former Seabourn ship and they are fixing it up. This sort of worries me. Will I be getting a nice-looking ship or should we rethink this? The critic boards have been pretty negative online. 
A – Well that could be because Windstar is not paying them enough in advertising fees. The Sea Breeze and the Star Legend have both come over from Seabourn after years of wonderful service. They needed major refurbishment and they have received it at the San Giorgio del Porto yard in Genoa. You can expect that the AmphoraA restaurant (sounds like the name of a mothball manufacturer) is going to be extremely impressive with new furniture, lights, and decor. There is now an outdoor dining area named “Candles” that should be very romantic. The old swimming pool has been replaced by weather-protected outdoor seating. The lounges have been redone as has the Starbar.
Your ship only carries 212 guests and has just gone through a $9 million rehab. That works out to about $90,000 per stateroom. Given Windstar’s excellent price points, we think you will really enjoy your vacation. To make it really swell, you might tell your brother-in-law that the ship still belongs to Seabourn.
