Editor’s Observe: Most of the ports we visited on our first-ever Thriller Cruise are new to Windstar; for those who’re enthusiastic about Calabria’s Reggio Calabria and Puglia’s Taranto, take a look at Bella Italia itineraries. In Greece, Kalamata is one other port that’s new (not less than in a decade or two to Windstar). It might be added to new itineraries in future. And Sicily’s Giardini Naxos is already a signature port for the road on Mediterranean sailings. And Windstar has already introduced that its second annual Thriller Cruise will happen aboard Star Seeker within the Caribbean, March 20 – 27, 2026.
I don’t learn about you however there have definitely been cruises in my expertise which have stunned me. You understand, just like the Windstar voyage a 12 months in the past in Tahiti during which 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 wonderful journeys of my life). It was an outlier cruise, for positive.
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 just lately hosted the road’s first-ever completely deliberate “thriller cruise,” beginning (April 19 – 27), and we had been onboard. All we knew about our voyage was that we had been crusing round-trip from Athens. Each different port we had been meant to go to within the area was a thriller to all of us who had booked this cruise. Sure, we selected it on function, not figuring out the place we’d be calling. And sure, too: that first Thriller Cruise was born out of the profitable Marquesas pivot in 2024.
I like this clarification from a good friend who’s a loyal Yacht Membership visitor: “I believe the Thriller Cruise is a terrific concept — solely actually attainable when you’ve gotten a neighborhood of small-ship, and particularly, Windstar followers who’re assured within the product and know it will likely 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; a lot of them had signed up for the Thriller Cruise, too. And I seemed ahead to assembly new, like-minded vacationers who journey with the same spirit of journey.
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 slightly 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 sort of neighborhood that’s so near Athens’ metropolis heart 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 during which nothing is because it appears, feels a bit predictable. Thoughts you, I’m not saying uninteresting.
Nonetheless, “predictable” didn’t final lengthy. Right now, 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 brief drive to the port metropolis of Piraeus. And but, final night time on the St. George, we discovered of slightly 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 a middle-of-the-night electronic mail, “the Corinth Canal is unexpectedly closed in the present day, 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 night time of Star Legend’s 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 (form of like how the Panama Canal signifies that vessels don’t should 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 fashion 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 staff, too).
In our case, we boarded motorcoaches at our resort for a four-hour, scenic journey to catch our ship, the place the spotlight was not crossing the Corinth Canal from inside however driving above it (and an ideal cease there to admire it). As I’d count on from Windstar, the motorcoaches had been first charge; there have been telephone chargers, electrical shops, a number of bottles of water, and even two stops at highway-side cafes that bought issues like recent squeezed orange juice and soulfully deep espressos.
If in the present day didn’t roll out fairly as anticipated, we received 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 might probably have anticipated.
The present 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 sturdy. We’ll take something karma needs 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 night time, a teaser card is delivered to our suites that offers us some clue to the place we shall be visiting subsequent — and offers some colourful particulars. Are you able to guess the place we’re going after our sea day on Monday?
Star Legend provisions in Piraeus earlier than we head off to go to our first Thriller Cruise port
The massive 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 needed 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.
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 latest cruise’s return to Piraeus, and our personal sail-away to the Ionian Sea).
Now thoughts you, every day this cruise, beginning this morning, obtained a card that gives some hints and suggestions for the subsequent port. On this primary name, the guidelines had been each particular (“an historic 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.
“Have you learnt the actor Quentin Tarantino?” mentioned 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 isn’t Greek, is he? Isn’t he Italian?” Certainly. “Our subsequent port is in Italy,” the Captain mentioned, “and it’s referred to as Taranto.” (Often known as Tarantino and likewise Tarantula, and certainly, the actor’s household’s unique dwelling).
At that second, there have been cheers and clapping, probably as a result of everybody is happy to be going to Italy. (“Toronto, did I hear proper?” mentioned a girl behind me; that will have been fairly the journey). Additionally, the passion was excessive as a result of it was such a brand new place for many of us and that sort 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 might 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. Positioned on the Ionian Sea, it’s received the Ponte Girevole, a swing bridge that traverses two bays, the Aragon Fortress and an outdated metropolis with Greek ruins. Tour choices that transcend Taranto embody adventures in wine tasting, a visit to Ostuni “the white girl,” a white-washed village, and one other foray to the wilderness exterior town. For meals fans, its delicacies is pushed by recent seafood, particularly “cozze alla taratina,” which is recent mussels with spices and tomatoes.
Our day (and night time) in Piraeus:
It being Easter Sunday, when nearly the whole lot however church buildings was closed (and even church doorways had been locked after their providers ended), many vacationers rambled across the port of Piraeus or loved a “sea day” with excellent 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 common.
And we nonetheless need to know: after Taranto, the place will we go subsequent?
An unplanned sea day aboard Star Legend
“In a world of many potentialities, perhaps the best alternative of all is trusting journey on a complete new degree.” –Teijo Niemela, editor of CruiseBusiness.com
As I’ve been posting updates on the weblog on numerous social media platforms, I’ve actually appreciated your options for thriller ports 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 manner that I haven’t skilled on a cruise (since, maybe, the Marquesas journey).
In the meantime, due to the Corinth Canal disruption, in the present day is an surprising day at sea since Star Legend is headed from Piraeus again to the Ionian Sea – the good distance. We’re on the best way to Taranto, with the craggy landscapes of assorted Greek Islands on our starboard facet for many of the day.
It has been a gorgeous, 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 discovered about our subsequent port; on Wednesday, Star Legend 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….
Our Thriller Cruise Introduces Us to Puglia’s Taranto
You understand that when your tour information/vineyard proprietor, the visionary behind Campi Deantera, introduces himself by saying that he created his vineyard out of a mid-life disaster, that it’s going to be an attention-grabbing tour. And it most undoubtedly opened hearts and minds on so many ranges.
Considered one of a handful of shore tour choices Windstar supplied from Taranto, a first-ever port go to for the road (it will likely be a part of new itineraries specializing in southern Italian ports) what was enjoyable, positive, was tasting his wines. And but, much more fascinating was his story: Mauro Di Maggio had run an enormous wine-making conglomerate in Puglia and determined he needed to desert the executive lifetime of a CEO and get again into the enterprise of merely making wine. To do this, he purchased again his household’s one-time palazzo, about 20 minutes exterior the Ionian Sea’s Taranto, and finally mixed that with one other winery property simply throughout the peninsula, on the Adriatic coast.
Whereas touring the backyard and winery itself, the place the bitter and likewise candy scent of oranges ripening on bushes was an aphrodisiac about rediscovering life exterior the principles, he shared his journey and his struggles and his optimism about transformation. In doing so, he gave us an expertise a lot extra broadening than merely tasting a number of completely different types of wine (the wine was scrumptious, by the best way, and a bottle of Campi Deantera’s rose is at present sitting in my mini fridge).
In his candor, he linked us – who doesn’t have a journey to share – right into a world each acquainted and unique. “We expect there may be nonetheless one thing to inform about our panorama,” we discovered there, “with the concepts, phrases, tales and smells of those that, conscious of their roots, are in a position to think about new horizons.” This was our introduction to Puglia, and Taranto.
Creating magic out of complete belief:
Our go to to Taranto (my first time in Puglia), simply the sort of place unfamiliar to me, was precisely what I hoped for after I signed up for Windstar’s first-ever Thriller Cruise. The town itself, dwelling to 200,000 residents, has its charms. It’s a mélange of Greek and Roman civilizations with a powerful dose of up to date Italian life. Its financial system is pushed extra by maritime commerce (it’s dwelling to the most important naval base in Italy) and fishing and agriculture than it’s by tourism.
On our lengthy day (and into the night) port name right here, associates, each established from different Windstar cruises and new ones, shared completely different experiences. Some merely ambled into Taranto, a pleasant mid-sized metropolis, to admire its church buildings, its Nationwide Archeological Museum (MArTA), and the Aragonese Fortress, with its Italian renaissance architectural fashion. It’s received a broad, pedestrian-only boulevard, lined with retailers and cafes, that provide a low-key glimpse into an Italian metropolis not but outlined by tourism.
And but, in line with Emiko Davies, an Australian-Japanese meals author, photographer and cookbook writer who has been primarily based in Tuscany for the previous few many years (and whose cookbooks sit on a shelf in my very own kitchen), “Taranto isn’t the primary place folks have a tendency to go to after they arrive in Puglia seeking white washed cities, crystalline seashores and plentiful good meals (although the primary two are shut and latter there may be undoubtedly no scarcity of). It’s a bit tough across the edges (a real port metropolis is with a crumbling, half-abandoned outdated city, a historical past of corruption and Ilva, the most important steelworks in Europe, polluting the in any other case charming skyline.”
Certainly.
Over dinner final night time, a number of us in contrast notes on the expertise on this mysterious port, primarily as a result of it was an absolute discovery to only about everybody. It introduced dwelling that the idea of a thriller cruise has, in Windstar’s telling, inspired us to broaden our boundaries in a manner that feels each adventurous and protected.
And yet another factor:
On our first true Thriller Cruise port, earlier than we even got down to discover Taranto, there was phrase of a particular occasion: an 11 a.m. folkloric efficiency onboard by a bunch referred to as Terra Ross. It was the same old effort that cruise strains make – or so I assumed – to convey a little bit of historic tradition onboard for a present. What stood out about this one? It definitely celebrated the area’s artwork of music and dance however with a few additional oomphs. First, they carried out the Tarantela, which is a nod to custom, and that custom is marked by a flirtatious power and choreography. Undoubtedly alluring. What else? We had been all inspired to bop together with them, to make up our personal variations of the Taranetela, to soak up the sensual class of the music (which appeared to have a Celtic temper to it, in my thoughts, although after I requested them about that they had been pretty puzzled).
That morning effort presaged what made Taranto – and its standing as certainly one of Windstar’s Thriller Cruise locations – such a rewarding port expertise. Why? As a result of all day it was all about serving to us to forge our personal connections with a brand new place. Isn’t that what journey needs to be?
Tomorrow’s Thriller Cruise port isn’t essentially as off-the-grid as Taranto has been and but I’m wanting ahead to reconnecting with Taormina (and Giardini Naxos, the Greek/Sicilian resort city the place we’ll anchor). Each are locations I do know from floor visits. I’m sure I’ll study one thing new there, too.
We anchor in Giardini Naxos, Sicily’s Leaping Off Port for Taormina
Our name in the present day at Sicily’s Giardini Naxos was virtually as large of a shock to Windstar’s expedition staff because it was to these of us on the thriller cruise! That’s as a result of, in gentle of the closing of the Corinth Canal on the very starting of our journey, the itinerary, which was rigorously curated and deliberate, wanted to pivot. The unique plan: A go to to the island of Lipari and a sundown BBQ out on deck as we cruised previous the Stromboli volcano. Fairly wonderful, proper?
And but Giardini Naxos, a small seaside resort city about 20 minutes from the globally trendy Taormina, proved a pleasant successor. One large benefit? It was the one port the place we had been at anchor, which meant that Star Legend opened its incredible marina for the afternoon.
A hilltop city overlooking the Mediterranean
Constructed into Mt. Tauro, Taormina, whereas not even remotely undiscovered, was probably the most glistening metropolis on our Thriller Cruise tour of southern Italy. There are 16 Michelin-starred eating places in and across the city. Buying is decadent; you’ll discover international manufacturers Dior and Louis Vuitton, superb Italian design retailers reminiscent of Lora Piana and Coccinelle, and my favourite of all, Ortigia, the Sicily-based perfumery whose scents, orange, sandalwood and bergamot, are impressed by the countryside round us. A pal scored a gorgeous Ferragamo purse and he or she tells me that in Santorini “the Italian purveyors provide baggage right here which you could’t discover within the U.S.” And she or he provides one other useful tip: “While you present them your U.S. passport, they take away the tax, refund it to your bank card, and also you don’t have to attend in line on the airport to get your tax a refund. It’s achieved robotically.”
I encourage you to additionally take in a few of Taormina’s historic historical past, relationship again to its creation in 6 BC by the Greeks (one more spot on our incredible south-of-Italy-focused itinerary that has Greek roots). After all, one of the best place to try this is within the ruins of the Teatro Greco, its amphitheater, that’s nonetheless in use in the present day as an alfresco theater. Actually it will be superior to soak up a efficiency on this magical setting nevertheless it’s additionally enjoyable to easily wander across the grounds, admire the views over the Mediterranean, and picture Teatro Greco in its historic glory.
Additionally depart slightly time for small moments that convert into magical ones. After fairly a hike round Teatro Greco, I found, simply down the road, a patisserie that was crammed with males arguing, lazily, over cigarettes, purple wine and sweets (at 10:30 on a weekday morning). I sat a nook desk, drank a fresh-squeezed orange juice, and watched the scenes unfold, together with a really grand funeral procession that handed proper on by.
Again at Giardini Naxos
There’s actually not an excessive amount of to do right here in our port city and that’s a part of its attraction. I found a small, upmarket grocery the place I picked up some favourite European snacks (inexplicably I solely crave Oreos in Italy). I wandered alongside the winding pathway that fronted the curving seaside.
And at last I wound up in what appeared to be the one open café on the town on our low season go to. Seize a desk on its seaside platform, whose form was impressed by the bow of a ship, and order from its massive choice of gelati and pastries. I savored a easy snack – Amarena (cherry) gelato, a complimentary bowl of potato chips and a glass of Sicilian rose. It was one other of these fantastic small moments which have made this journey so invigorating.
And we’re not fairly achieved but
It was exhausting to imagine that Giardini Naxos wasn’t absolutely the first selection port for Windstar’s signature on deck barbecue. As sundown approached, the views of its inexperienced, cactus-studded hills and Taormina shimmering above us, felt like we had been in one other world. Which after all, on this present day, we had been.
Tomorrow’s port: Are you able to guess?
“This port is one other first for Windstar. This metropolis is the birthplace of a well-known clothier…and its treasures embody historic bronze warriors.”
Melding Greece with Italy in Reggio Calabria
Earlier than we set out on our thriller cruise, the titles for every day’s port of name had been fanciful and eccentric (Taranto, for one, was listed as “perhaps on an island, who is aware of?”), which made me smile. On this present day, our go to to the thriller port was described as “a spot you’ve by no means been” and, certainly, Reggio Calabria was a brand new vacation spot for nearly all of us.
This being Windstar’s first-ever name at this fairly off-the-track metropolis of 180,000 or so, we had been passionately embraced, each personally and symbolically, by the neighborhood right here, which was so excited to welcome a cruise ship.
Each Puglia’s Taranto and Calabria’s Reggio are positioned in Italy’s boot; the previous is a part of the heel, whereas our port in the present day is within the toe, a brief hop (three miles) to Sicily’s metropolis of Messina, through the Strait of Messina.
Right here’s why Magna Grecia presents a recent but historic context to Italy
Our thriller cruise has taken such an attention-grabbing twist, which maybe is the purpose of a thriller cruise. Although our Athens-based itinerary has centered, not less than till now, on Italian ports, we’re studying that they’re a part of what’s referred to as Magna Grecia. That’s a time period for cities and cities in Italy that had been initially settled by Greeks. “Between the eighth and fifth centuries BC, Greek settlers based quite a few colonies on the coasts of modern-day Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily,” I discovered from Vacation in Italy, a web-based journey information.
“These cities turned cultural and financial facilities the place Greek language, philosophy, structure and political buildings flourished. Their affect was so vital that it even spilled over into later Roman tradition and continues to have an effect in southern Italy to this present day.”
You may spend a really nice day right here in Reggio Calabria simply strolling alongside the seaside promenade with its views of Sicily’s mountains, and perhaps even Mt. Etna on a transparent day. You may stroll alongside Corso Garibaldi, its pedestrian-only purchasing road (for those who surprise why the city appears extra fashionable than most in southern Italy it’s due to devastating earthquakes within the 18th and 19th centuries; a lot of it has been rebuilt). You may queue up for freshly-made gelato at Cesare’s, which dates again to 1918, and is a Reggio Calabria establishment.
And but, for those who don’t make it to Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia (the Nationwide Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria) you’ll miss an enormous a part of what makes this place a particular expertise. It’s greatest identified for its show of Riace bronzes, sculptures of a pair of warriors. These, roughly created within the time of 5 B.C., had been discovered – the story’s received a number of thriller to it – by a snorkeler off the coast right here in 1972. The invention was vital as a result of many statues from that period had been melted down and there have been few remnants. Nobody is aware of how the Riace sculptures wound up within the sea for therefore many centuries (there’s no remnant of a serious ship sinking within the area). And the ocean helped save them.
Upon their unintentional discovery, they had been transported and preserved and eventually established on the museum, the place the expertise of visiting the exhibit is as mysterious as each different a part of the story. To go to the bronzes, we spent a couple of minutes in a decontamination sort-of course of (you’re in an enclosed room however don’t scent or discover something uncommon) earlier than being ushered into the gallery, which is a designed as a micro-climate room that’s set on high of an anti-seismic platform.
The most important takeaway? How lifelike they’re. These two bare warriors have our bodies which might be sculptured with such excellent particulars, from their veins to beards to muscle tissues.
One final observe: It’s tempting to hone-in on simply the star-of-the-show Riace bronzes when visiting the museum, however I’d encourage you to take a while to study life in historic Reggio and the encircling space, as laid out with remnants from villages and tales about their lives, on its higher flooring. I got here out of a fairly leisurely stroll by its galleries with a newfound respect about certainly one of most intriguing features of life, historic or in any other case: Individuals by no means actually do change — even over centuries!
Our Vacation spot Discovery occasion:
The Calabrian countryside, with its villages, mountain ranges, and beautiful seashores lining the ocean and strait, is one other perspective on our go to right here. We received to glimpse that at tonight’s Vacation spot Discovery occasion held at Altafiumara, a hilltop resort overlooking the ocean. The atmosphere, accompanied by a tasting occasion of regional specialties, a folkloric efficiency, a three-course dinner with native wines, and a shock fireworks present, added a shock pop to our first go to to this comparatively undiscovered area
We’ll be again, as will Windstar, which has added Reggio Calabria to future itineraries past the Thriller Cruise.
Thriller Cruise Recap: Would You Take pleasure in a Thriller Cruise?
Wherever we went, no matter we wound up doing (even shore excursions had been vaguely purposeful, specializing in culinary/wine, recreation, and historic historical past with out telling us the place we’ll be), we had been excited to share our adventures with you . See under for a day-by-day recap of the expertise and please, add any questions or share your insights in our feedback part under ….
As our eight-night voyage from Athens’ Piraeus to all-sorts-of-ports-unknown started to wind down, I started to want we had much more time to see extra new locations. There was one thing liberating about having no actual expectations about our locations, apart from figuring out that Windstar, would, because it at all times does, make the expertise completely snug.
I like to plan journeys, don’t get me unsuitable. It’s a key a part of the enjoyable of cruise journey. And if, earlier than our Thriller Cruise, I undoubtedly tried to determine what our itinerary may very well be (my guess for one port was Albania’s Sarande, which, alas, didn’t make the reduce). As soon as I received on board I simply let all of it go. The consequence? The spontaneity of the itinerary made me calm down fully. I hope I’ll see you subsequent 12 months on the 2nd annual President’s Thriller Cruise, within the Caribbean
Are you questioning if this fashion of cruise is supposed for you?
I’m advised that 80 % of the vacationers on this cruise had been skilled with Windstar and all knew just about what this was about: being open-minded, nimble, and adventurous. The every day “revealing the port” bulletins had been hotly anticipated.
Once I signed up, I assumed lots of the ports can be centered round Greece and Turkey. That’s partly as a result of we had been homeporting in Athens’ port of Piraeus and partly as a result of there are such a lot of comparatively undiscovered islands and ports in that area.
The last-minute discover of all of it, which was the purpose of the thriller expertise, was ameliorated by the incredible job that was achieved by Windstar’s shore excursions’ division; Felipe’s nightly port talks had been so thorough that you just actually didn’t have to go down the rabbit gap to do a number of analysis. And I cherished that the excursions – and keep in mind, most of those ports had been fully new to Windstar’s personal locations staff – coated main pursuits, from wine and culinary to historical past and cultural immersion.
The truth that we went, principally, to Italy as a substitute – notably the “boot,” of Puglia and Calabria, locations I’d by no means visited – was the largest surprise-and-delight of the complete cruise.
And for those who want a bit extra construction, then stick to any of Windstar’s itineraries within the areas you favor to go to.
A number of learnings from the Thriller Cruise:
Cities by and huge had been good diversions with the occasional museum and cathedral (or gelato store) value trying out, however for connections with life right here on this area, the excursions exterior of city had been extra layered and gave a deeper sense of connection. I’ll name out, specifically, the vineyard tour and tasting exterior of Taranto. Studying about life in Puglia, strolling by the winery and gardens, assembly Ciccio, the proprietor’s goofy, lovable canine, and sampling actually scrumptious wines together with a groaning buffet of native meals, was an ideal introduction to the area (and to our fellow vacationers; nothing is extra connecting than wine and meals)!
If there was a little bit of Grecian affect in our beginning and ending ports (Kalamata in addition to Athens and Piraeus), the largest and most fascinating historical past lesson was that our locations in Italy had been all initially settled by Greeks earlier than the Romans conquered them. What a cool option to study in regards to the ties that join Greece and Italy (and historical past abounds if you wish to study extra on the bottom, whether or not it’s the archeological museums in Reggio Calabria and Taranto or the awe-inspiring Greco-Roman theater in Taormina). And right here’s a tip: Each Reggio Calabria and Taranto have now been added to new Mediterranean itineraries in 2026, so you may also expertise them then.
The 80 % of us who had traveled on Windstar beforehand cherished the thriller of the locations, however we additionally appreciated that onboard traditions (the deck barbecue, very good delicacies, leisure establishments just like the crew present and the newer, and equally fabulous, crew/visitor line dancing exercise) had been all simply as they need to be. There was sufficient downtime that you would benefit from the spa, the pool, the ship’s marina, and the whirlpools. And Windstar additionally prolonged different traditions, like an on-land vacation spot discovery occasion, and welcoming native tradition teams from our ports to carry out on our ship.
Having debarked from Piraeus to spend yet another day and night time in Athens, I went for a sundown dinner at a rooftop restaurant with the stately and majestic view of the Parthenon and Acropolis. It looks like the vista you must have in your final night time. And but, that night, I requested for a desk with a view of the ocean, as a substitute. Within the shimmering distance, I looked for any glimpse of Star Legend, now heading again out into the Mediterranean Sea, on a brand new cruise, with principally new visitors. I felt the heartstrings of the ship tugging on my coronary heart and pulling me alongside.
That’s the best way it needs to be.
