This cruise was thrust upon us. We had booked a mid-Feb cruise on the stretched Star Breeze from BCN to MIA but construction delays cancelled that a few days before Christmas. Since we were within 60 days of sailing, and Windstar had all my vacation money, switching to another line was not possible. So I scrambled and came up with this cruise.

With a 20% cruise credit plus the price guarantee, this eastbound (I swore I'd never do another EB T-Atl!) from SJU to LIS was an excellent value. The Star Legend was heading into dry-dock for its stretching so this was its last sailing with passengers in this configuration. There were ~107 of us, so the ship was half empty.

The Deluxe Suite I had booked on the Breeze wasn't available on the old layout ships, but we were approved for the mid-ship deck six cabin. It turned out to be the best cabin on the ship (and I'm sad I will never have an opportunity to book it again, after the stretching it will be way too big and expensive for me.) The WS agent had warned me about the obstructed views and she was right. But they didn't matter at all to me. I choose to cruise on small ships because I want to be on a ship, not a floating resort. The constant view of equipment out my window reminded me I was on a ship and actually made me happy. And the lifeboat hanging over top of us when we were on the balcony sheltered us from the view of people on the pool deck above us. The suite was gold. Large, comfortable, luxurious. Read more