Editor’s Observe: Most of the ports we visited on our first-ever Thriller Cruise are new to Windstar; in case you’re excited by 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 (no 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 find out about you however there have actually been cruises in my expertise which have shocked 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 probably the most 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 have been going? Sure! Windstar’s Star Legend not too long ago hosted the road’s first-ever completely deliberate “thriller cruise,” beginning (April 19 – 27), and we have been onboard. All we knew about our voyage was that we have been crusing round-trip from Athens. Each different port we have 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 goal, not realizing the place we’d be calling. And sure, too: that first Thriller Cruise was born out of the profitable Marquesas pivot in 2024.
I really like this clarification from a good friend who’s a loyal Yacht Membership visitor: “I feel the Thriller Cruise is a terrific thought — solely actually potential when you’ve gotten a group of small-ship, and particularly, Windstar followers who’re assured within the product and know it will likely be nice, regardless 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 appeared ahead to assembly new, like-minded vacationers who journey with an analogous spirit of journey.
Departure day: we head out from Athens and Windstar’s Thriller Cruise is already stunning us
Many people have arrived a day or two early in Athens, main as much as our Thriller Cruise, to bask in a little bit little bit of the predictable: an evening or two at a beautiful resort (in our case, the St. George at Lycabettus, situated 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 wherein nothing is because it appears, feels a bit predictable. Thoughts you, I’m not saying boring.
Nevertheless, “predictable” didn’t final lengthy. In the present day, Saturday, our embarkation day, all of us had a deliberate half day to discover varied 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 realized of a little bit 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 e-mail, “the Corinth Canal is unexpectedly closed as we speak, April 18th, forcing Star Legend to make a detour. However by no means worry, the journey remains to be very a lot on! Tomorrow’s embarkation will now happen in Greece’s Katakolon as an alternative 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 (kind of like how the Panama Canal signifies that vessels don’t must cruise round South America’s Cape Horn). The truth that the water ranges are out of the blue too low to permit even a yacht model 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 group, too).
In our case, we boarded motorcoaches at our resort for a four-hour, scenic trip 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 have been first price; 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 recent squeezed orange juice and soulfully deep espressos.
If as we speak didn’t roll out fairly as anticipated, we bought right here to Star Legend. We have 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 while 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 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. Convey it on. In any case, 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 provides us some clue to the place we can be visiting subsequent — and supplies 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 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.
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, acquired a card that provides some hints and ideas for the subsequent port. On this primary name, the information have 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 have been centered on Greece’s Lefkada.
Windstar’s itinerary gurus weren’t going to make it simple for us. Which was half the enjoyable.
“Have you learnt 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 have been wanting round, as if to communally ask, “however Tarantino will not be 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 called Tarantino and in addition 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 happy to be going to Italy. (“Toronto, did I hear proper?” stated a girl behind me; that may 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 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 speak, he’d had a little bit little bit of warning).
What do it’s essential to find out about Taranto?
In a fast sketch – we’ll have extra data for you after our go to — Felipe shared with us that Taranto, situated in Italy’s Puglia (the boot), dates again to the Spartans in eighth 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 exterior town. For meals lovers, 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 every thing however church buildings was closed (and even church doorways have been locked after their companies ended), many vacationers rambled across the port of Piraeus or loved a “sea day” with excellent climate to lounge by the pool. We beloved 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 varied social media platforms, I’ve actually appreciated your ideas 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 ambiance 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, as we speak is an sudden day at sea since Star Legend is headed from Piraeus again to the Ionian Sea – the good distance. We’re on the way in which to Taranto, with the craggy landscapes of assorted Greek Islands on our starboard facet for many of the day.
It has been a good looking, stress-free 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, 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 realize 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 fascinating 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, certain, 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 wished to desert the executive lifetime of a CEO and get again into the enterprise of merely making wine. To try 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 in addition candy odor of oranges ripening on timber 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 kinds of wine (the wine was scrumptious, by the way in which, and a bottle of Campi Deantera’s rose is at the moment sitting in my mini fridge).
In his candor, he related 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 realized 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. Town itself, residence to 200,000 residents, has its charms. It’s a mélange of Greek and Roman civilizations with a robust dose of latest Italian life. Its economic system is pushed extra by maritime commerce (it’s residence to the biggest 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, buddies, 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 Fort, with its Italian renaissance architectural model. It’s bought a broad, pedestrian-only boulevard, lined with retailers and cafes, that supply a low-key glimpse into an Italian metropolis not but outlined by tourism.
And but, in accordance with Emiko Davies, an Australian-Japanese meals author, photographer and cookbook writer who has been based mostly in Tuscany for the previous few a long time (and whose cookbooks sit on a shelf in my very own kitchen), “Taranto isn’t the primary place individuals have a tendency to go to once they arrive in Puglia looking for 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 biggest steelworks in Europe, polluting the in any other case charming skyline.”
Certainly.
Over dinner final night time, plenty of us in contrast notes on the expertise on this mysterious port, primarily as a result of it was an absolute discovery to simply about everybody. It introduced residence 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 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 traces make – or so I believed – to deliver a little bit of historic tradition onboard for a present. What stood out about this one? It actually 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 have been all inspired to bop together with them, to make up our personal variations of the Taranetela, to soak up the sensual magnificence of the music (which appeared to have a Celtic temper to it, in my thoughts, although after I requested them about that they have been pretty puzzled).
That morning effort presaged what made Taranto – and its standing as one in every 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 will not be 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 as we speak at Sicily’s Giardini Naxos was nearly as huge of a shock to Windstar’s expedition group because it was to these of us on the thriller cruise! That’s as a result of, in mild 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 superb, proper?
And but Giardini Naxos, a small seashore resort city about 20 minutes from the globally modern Taormina, proved a pleasant successor. One huge benefit? It was the one port the place we have been at anchor, which meant that Star Legend opened its implausible marina for the afternoon.
A hilltop city overlooking the Mediterranean
Constructed into Mt. Tauro, Taormina, whereas not even remotely undiscovered, was essentially the most glistening metropolis on our Thriller Cruise tour of southern Italy. There are 16 Michelin-starred eating places in and across the city. Purchasing is decadent; you’ll discover international manufacturers Dior and Louis Vuitton, superb Italian design retailers corresponding to 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 good looking Ferragamo purse and she or he tells me that in Santorini “the Italian purveyors provide baggage right here you can’t discover within the U.S.” And she or he provides one other useful tip: “Once 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 finished routinely.”
I encourage you to additionally take up a few of Taormina’s historic historical past, courting again to its creation in 6 BC by the Greeks (one more spot on our implausible 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 as we speak as an alfresco theater. Definitely it will be superior to soak up a efficiency on this magical setting however 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 a little bit 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 stuffed with males arguing, lazily, over cigarettes, pink 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 really 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 seashore.
And eventually I wound up in what gave the impression 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 great small moments which have made this journey so invigorating.
And we’re not fairly finished but
It was onerous 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 have been in one other world. Which after all, on at the present time, we have 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 dressmaker…and its treasures embrace 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 have been fanciful and eccentric (Taranto, for one, was listed as “perhaps on an island, who is aware of?”), which made me smile. On at the present time, 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 slightly off-the-track metropolis of 180,000 or so, we have been passionately embraced, each personally and symbolically, by the group right here, which was so excited to welcome a cruise ship.
Each Puglia’s Taranto and Calabria’s Reggio are situated in Italy’s boot; the previous is a part of the heel, whereas our port as we speak is within the toe, a brief hop (three miles) to Sicily’s metropolis of Messina, by way of the Strait of Messina.
Right here’s why Magna Grecia provides a recent but historic context to Italy
Our thriller cruise has taken such an fascinating twist, which maybe is the purpose of a thriller cruise. Although our Athens-based itinerary has centered, no 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 have 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 realized from Vacation in Italy, a web based journey information.
“These cities grew to become cultural and financial facilities the place Greek language, philosophy, structure and political constructions flourished. Their affect was so important that it even spilled over into later Roman tradition and continues to have an effect in southern Italy to at the present time.”
You possibly can 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 possibly can stroll alongside Corso Garibaldi, its pedestrian-only procuring road (in case you marvel why the city appears extra trendy than most in southern Italy it’s due to devastating earthquakes within the 18th and nineteenth centuries; a lot of it has been rebuilt). You possibly can queue up for freshly-made gelato at Cesare’s, which dates again to 1918, and is a Reggio Calabria establishment.
And but, in case you 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., have been discovered – the story’s bought plenty of thriller to it – by a snorkeler off the coast right here in 1972. The invention was important 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 have been transported and preserved and at last 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 odor 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 largest takeaway? How lifelike they’re. These two bare warriors have our bodies which are sculptured with such excellent particulars, from their veins to beards to muscular tissues.
One final be aware: 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 find out about life in historic Reggio and the encompassing space, as laid out with remnants from villages and tales about their lives, on its higher flooring. I got here out of a slightly leisurely stroll via its galleries with a newfound respect about one in every of most intriguing elements 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 bought 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 have been vaguely purposeful, specializing in culinary/wine, recreation, and historic historical past with out telling us the place we’ll be), we have been excited to share our adventures with you . See beneath for a day-by-day recap of the expertise and please, add any questions or share your insights in our feedback part beneath ….
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 realizing that Windstar, would, because it at all times does, make the expertise completely comfy.
I like to plan journeys, don’t get me flawed. 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 might be (my guess for one port was Albania’s Sarande, which, alas, didn’t make the minimize). As soon as I bought on board I simply let all of it go. The end result? The spontaneity of the itinerary made me chill out utterly. 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 model of cruise is supposed for you?
I’m advised that 80 % of the vacationers on this cruise have 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 have been hotly anticipated.
Once I signed up, I assumed most of the ports can be centered round Greece and Turkey. That’s partly as a result of we have 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 implausible job that was finished by Windstar’s shore excursions’ division; Felipe’s nightly port talks have been so thorough that you simply actually didn’t must go down the rabbit gap to do plenty of analysis. And I beloved that the excursions – and keep in mind, most of those ports have been solely new to Windstar’s personal locations group – coated main pursuits, from wine and culinary to historical past and cultural immersion.
The truth that we went, largely, to Italy as an alternative – significantly the “boot,” of Puglia and Calabria, locations I’d by no means visited – was the largest surprise-and-delight of your complete cruise.
And in case you want a bit extra construction, then follow 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 have 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 have 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 via 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 have been all initially settled by Greeks earlier than the Romans conquered them. What a cool solution 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 it’s also possible to expertise them then.
The 80 % of us who had traveled on Windstar beforehand beloved 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) have been all simply as they need to be. There was sufficient downtime that you may 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 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 as if 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 an alternative. 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 largely new company. I felt the heartstrings of the ship tugging on my coronary heart and pulling me alongside.
That’s the way in which it needs to be.
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