I don’t learn about you however there have definitely been cruises in my expertise which have stunned me. You realize, just like the Windstar voyage a 12 months in the past in Tahiti wherein a set-up of three cyclones unexpectedly manuevered us on the trail to the in any other case undiscovered Marquesas Islands (nonetheless one of the vital superb journeys of my life). It was an outlier cruise, for certain.
And but, right here’s the factor: within the spirit of journey, would you purposely set out on a cruise the place you didn’t know the place you had been going? Sure! Windstar’s Star Legend is internet hosting the road’s first-ever completely deliberate “thriller cruise,” beginning Saturday, April 19, and we’ll be onboard. All we learn about our voyage is that we’re crusing round-trip from Athens. Each different port we’re visiting within the area is a thriller to all of us who’ve booked this cruise. Sure, we selected it on objective, not realizing the place we’ll be calling. And sure, too: this week’s voyage is born out of that profitable Marquesas expertise.
I really like this clarification from a buddy who’s a loyal Yacht Membership visitor: “I believe the Thriller Cruise is a terrific concept — solely actually attainable when you have got a neighborhood of small-ship, and particularly, Windstar followers who’re assured within the product and know it is going to be nice, irrespective of the place you go.”
And there’s this, too: I’m excited to reconnect with travelers-now-friends who shared our fabulously unplanned Marquesas’ expertise. And I look ahead to assembly new, like-minded vacationers who journey with the same spirit of journey.
Wherever we go, no matter we wind up doing (even shore excursions are vaguely purposeful, specializing in culinary/wine, recreation, and historical historical past with out telling us the place we’ll be), we will’t wait to share our adventures with you . We’ll be posting a weblog daily all through the cruise and hope you’ll tune in for the newest (and please, add any questions or insights in our feedback part beneath) ….
Day Three: We Loosen up Aboard Star Legend
“In a world of many potentialities, possibly the best alternative of all is trusting journey on a complete new stage.” –Teijo Niemela
As I’ve been posting updates on the weblog on numerous social media platforms, I’ve actually appreciated your strategies for thriller ports (Amanda Bateman, would love to go to the Isles of Scilly sometime however I’m guessing it’s too distant for this itinerary) and feedback. The quote above, which appeared within the feedback on Windstar Cruises’ Official Yacht Membership Members web page, from a traveler who’s not on our journey however following it, actually moved me. It completely nails why this expertise has already been particular. The environment onboard is joyful, open-hearted, lighthearted. The “thriller” of our ports has introduced passengers collectively in a approach that I haven’t skilled on a cruise (since, maybe, the Marquesas journey).
In the meantime, due to the Corinth Canal disruption, at this time is an sudden day at sea since Star Legend is headed from Piraeus again to the Ionian Sea – the great distance. We’re on the way in which to Taranto, with the craggy landscapes of varied Greek Islands on our starboard facet for many of the day.
It has been an exquisite, enjoyable sea day, and I’m resting up for the thrilling adventures that begin tomorrow in Taranto, in Italy’s Puglia. And, within the meantime, we’ve realized about our subsequent port; on Wednesday, Wind Spirit calls at Sicily’s Giardini Naxos. To me, it’s the jumping-off level for Taormina, Italy’s St. Tropez. However there’s a lot extra….
Day two: we spend the day provisioning in Pireaus earlier than heading to our first Thriller Cruise port
The large occasion of tonight’s 6 p.m. pool deck cocktail gathering is that this: it’s the reveal of our first clue to our first thriller port. Clearly, nobody wished to overlook this, and the deck pulsed with power, pleasure and anticipation. To get into the spirit of issues, we elevate the specially-designed President’s Thriller Cruise flag.
Now thoughts you, every day this cruise, beginning this morning, we’ll obtain a card that gives some hints and suggestions for the subsequent port. On this primary name, the guidelines had been each particular (“an historical metropolis boasts a bridge that swings, a fortress stands guard and a historical past that dates to the Spartans) and obscure (“identified for a wealthy maritime heritage). Most bets I heard had been centered on Greece’s Lefkada.
Windstar’s itinerary gurus weren’t going to make it straightforward for us.
Which was half the enjoyable.
The announcement: we’re going to Italy’s Taranto. The place’s that?
“Are you aware the actor Quentin Tarantino?” stated Captain Pinto, proffering a sealed envelope containing the title of the port. “How’s this for a clue for the subsequent port?” At that time, fellow thriller vacationers had been wanting round, as if to communally ask, “however Tarantino just isn’t Greek, is he? Isn’t he Italian?” Certainly. “Our subsequent port is in Italy,” the Captain stated, “and it’s referred to as Taranto.” (Also referred to as Tarantino and likewise Tarantula, and certainly, the actor’s household’s unique residence).
At that second, there have been cheers and clapping, presumably as a result of everybody is worked up to be going to Italy. (“Toronto, did I hear proper?” stated a girl behind me; that will have been fairly the journey). Additionally, the keenness was excessive as a result of it was such a brand new place for many of us and that form of discovery is what has pushed a lot curiosity in Windstar’s Thriller Cruise.
Then the Captain quipped that in ten minutes the shore tour briefing would start, as soon as Felipe, Star Legend’s vacation spot supervisor, had an opportunity to Google Taranto so he may inform us extra about it (I’d guess although, since Felipe’s presentation was as on-point and compelling as the same old Windstar port discuss, he’d had a little little bit of warning).
What do that you must learn about Taranto?
In a fast sketch – we’ll have extra data for you after our go to — Felipe shared with us that Taranto, positioned in Italy’s Puglia (the boot), dates again to the Spartans in 8th century B.C. Situated on the Ionian Sea, it’s bought the Ponte Girevole, a swing bridge that traverses two bays, the Aragon Fort and an outdated metropolis with Greek ruins. Tour choices that transcend Taranto embrace adventures in wine tasting, a visit to Ostuni “the white girl,” a white-washed village, and one other foray to the wilderness outdoors the town. For meals fans, its delicacies is pushed by contemporary seafood, particularly “cozze alla taratina,” which is contemporary mussels with spices and tomatoes.
Our Thriller Cruise, in just some days, has been a protracted and winding highway. Windstar President Chris Prelog shares some fairly quirky particulars.
A part of the presentation of our first port was a colourful chat with President Chris Prelog about what impressed the Thriller Cruise within the first place – and insights on the challenges posed by the abrupt scrubbing of the time-saving Corinth Canal (which affected the newest cruise’s return to Piraeus, and our personal sail-away to the Ionian Sea).
Our day (and evening) in Piraeus:
It being Easter Sunday, when nearly every little thing however church buildings was closed (and even church doorways had been locked after the service ended), many vacationers rambled across the port of Piraeus or loved a “sea day” with good climate to lounge by the pool. We cherished the moody sundown over mountains. Dinner at Cuadro 44, Star Legend’s Spanish-focused restaurant, was simply as scrumptious as ordinary.
After Taranto, the place can we go subsequent?
Day one, departure day: we head out from Athens. And Windstar’s Thriller Cruise is already shocking us
Many people have arrived a day or two early in Athens, main as much as our Thriller Cruise, to bask in somewhat little bit of the predictable: an evening or two at a stunning resort (in our case, the St. George at Lycabettus, positioned within the pleasant downtown neighborhood of Kolonaki. It’s the form of neighborhood that’s so near Athens’ metropolis middle that you’re photobombed at each flip by the Acropolis and the Parthenon.
All has gone simply as deliberate, which, to be trustworthy for somebody who’s so completely embracing the idea of a mysterious journey expertise wherein nothing is because it appears, feels a bit predictable. Thoughts you, I’m not saying boring.
Nonetheless, “predictable” didn’t final lengthy. At present, Saturday, our embarkation day, all of us had a deliberate half day to discover numerous bits and items of Athens earlier than boarding a switch for the quick drive to the port metropolis of Piraeus. And but, final evening on the St. George, we realized of somewhat shake-up. Star Legend, simply ending up its Istanbul to Piraeus (Athens) voyage, was delayed.
“In a real twist worthy of our journey,” Windstar tells us in an electronic mail, “the Corinth Canal is unexpectedly closed at this time, April 18th, forcing Star Legend to make a detour. However by no means concern, the journey remains to be very a lot on! Tomorrow’s embarkation will now happen in Greece’s Katakolon as a substitute of the unique embarkation in Piraeus, Greece.”
Basically, the final evening of the final cruise was meant to be a brief hop from Greece’s west coast to Athens, on the east, particularly facilitated by the slim and craggy Corinth Canal (pictured within the hero picture, above). It connects the Ionian Sea to the Aegean, which funnels cruise ships into Piraeus. It cuts hours off the journey (kind of like how the Panama Canal implies that vessels don’t need to cruise round South America’s Cape Horn). The truth that the water ranges are all of the sudden too low to permit even a yacht type ship like Star Legend, one of many few small ships in cruise that may even transit right here, is so uncommon it was a wow second (and we think about it was a super-turbo-charged wow second for the captain and his navigation workforce, too).
In our case, we boarded motorcoaches at our resort for a four-hour, scenic experience to catch our ship, the place the spotlight was not crossing the Corinth Canal from inside however using above it (and an excellent cease there to admire it). As I’d anticipate from Windstar, the motorcoaches had been first fee; there have been telephone chargers, electrical retailers, a number of bottles of water, and even two stops at highway-side cafes that bought issues like contemporary squeezed orange juice and soulfully deep espressos.
If at this time didn’t roll out fairly as anticipated, we bought right here to Star Legend. We had been welcomed with heat greetings and even hugs by these crew members we’d sailed with earlier than, simply as at all times. And we loved our conventional raise-the-flag Star Legend sailaway.
What’s Subsequent? A short time later, our captain got here onto the intercom to share the reveal of the primary port of our Thriller Cruise. “We’re going to Piraeus, for Athens,” he says – acknowledging that that’s exactly the place we had come from earlier within the day.
We had come this far to return to our unique homeport. This Thriller Cruise began out with a thriller, involving the redeployment due to the Corinth Canal closing, that none of us may presumably have anticipated.
The reward of this primary thriller port? Having been to Piraeus so many occasions, I booked myself a therapeutic massage therapy in Windstar’s World Spa.
And if the Thriller Cruise is having enjoyable with us a bit sooner than we anticipated, we’re robust. We’ll take something karma desires to check us with. Deliver it on. In spite of everything, Windstar’s totally-planned first-ever Thriller Cruise was billed as something however predictable. We’re okay with that.
Tomorrow’s Teaser: Every evening, a teaser card is delivered to our suites that provides us some clue to the place we will likely be visiting subsequent — and offers some colourful particulars. Are you able to guess the place we’re going after our sea day on Monday?
