Windstar Cruises is a familiar name in the world of luxury cruising. Now the company’s Star Legend yacht is sailing with two more familiar names – Sea Island and The Broadmoor. Those famed resorts each are parts of the Xanterra Travel Collection that owns Windstar Cruises, along with The Grand Canyon Railway & Hotel; The Oasis at Death Valley; and Cedar Creek Lodge and Conference Center just outside Glacier National Park.
So when it came time to renovate the Star Legend – and Windstar’s other “Star’’ class yachts, it made sense to keep things, well, all in the family.
“They are extremely unique for a cruise ship,’’ Windstar Cruises President Christoper Prelog said of the suites. “Not like you usually see.’’
Indeed. Each 400 square-foot suite – located in Star Legend’s bow – has separate living and bedroom areas and features artwork and wall coverings that pay homage to Sea Island, the legendary Georgia resort, and the iconic Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. The suites were designed by Liz Scheider, whose Seattle-based company, Liz Schneider Interiors, specializes in cruise ships, yachts and residential work.
“I was inspired by the overall aesthetics of the resorts,’’ Schneider said. “I wanted to make sure we had some artistic interpretations of the resorts themselves.’’
The Sea Island and Broadmoor suites each are part of a recent Star $250 million renovation of Windstar’s “Star’’ class yachts that included lengthening each ship by 84 feet to make each 522 feet long; increasing passenger capacity to 312 from 212; adding two new restaurants; and adding four new engines. In addition, the suites and bathrooms on each ship have been refurbished.
The Star Legend is the first of the three ships to sail with the Sea Island and Broadmoor suites.
“We started working on the project six months ago,’’ Schneider said. “It’s a little like putting together puzzle pieces. We worked on a lot of rendering and probably had three designs.’
“This ship (Star Legend) is 30 years old, but to me, it’s a new build,’’ Prelog said. “It’s all pretty much brand new.’’
And all in the family.
https://www.windstarcruises.com/
Feature Photo: The Broadmoor Suite