Puffins and Star Pride
- Amaris Scipione
- Aug 4
- 4 min read
Today we are seeing puffins! We walk about a mile from our hotel to the pier where we will meet our tour. We check-in at the window at 9:35am for our 10am tour and are given our tickets. We can board the boat right away, so we walk down the pier to our boat. I’m glad we arrived early so that we can get a decent spot on the boat!
The boat leaves promptly at 10am and it’s the first time on our trip where we see the sun. It feels so much warmer today and the perfect weather to see puffins. The island where the puffins are located is about ten minutes away. We sail there seeing seagulls and even jellyfish on the way. There is a marine biologist onboard the ship and she helps us find the puffins. They are much smaller than I expected and the key to finding them is their flying style. Puffins do not glide. They flap their wings the entire time they fly, and wow are they fast! I have a lot of respect now for those action-photos of puffins flying. They are incredibly cute and I’m so glad we got to see them. I get what all the fuss is about. Seeing puffins should be on your list of things to do in life!
We walk back to the hotel to gather our luggage which is in storage at the hotel. Once collected, we ask the front desk to call us a van which she does. We arrive to port about 10 minutes until 1pm which is perfect for our 1pm boarding time.
The porter takes our bags while we wait in line for check-in. The pier is relatively small and there is not a huge port building like other cruises we’ve sailed. Our passports are checked as we board the ship, and the actual check-in process happens in the lounge of the ship. We are given medical forms to complete which are a little tricky to fill out while standing in line. Then, mimosas are offered which we take, but also tricky to drink while holding travel documents and luggage. (I have my carry-on bag with me.) We make it to the desk, and they check us in. There wasn’t an online check-in before the cruise so this takes a little time to complete for each person. Once we finish at the desk, we move to the key table where we are handed our cabin cards. The nice thing about a small ship is that we can enter our cabins right away. Mine is located on deck 4 AFT which I will find out is an ideal location. The other cabins in our family are deck 6 forward.
I am a host on this cruise to 48 people. My hosting duties begin now. I confirm the manifest with the ship and then deliver folders to each cabin that is part of the program. I will have a cocktail hour tomorrow, a galley tour another day, a shore excursion, and office hours. The folder contains details about the program. Once all the folders are delivered, I explore the ship so I have a sense of where some of the events will take place. The cocktail hour is at the Yacht Club which takes me awhile to find. Once I know my way around the ship, I call each cabin in our group. First, I dial the cabin number, but that doesn’t work. Then, I think I must need to dial 0 first. I do that and get the reception. They tell me that the call transfers to them if the people in the cabin don’t answer. I call a few more and I’m transferred each time. Then, I realize I need to dial 8 to call out and not 0. I do this and finally get through. It takes awhile to go through all the cabins and call some a few times. This ship doesn’t have voicemail so I can’t leave a message. Once my hosting duties are complete for the day, I can finally get some food.
I walk to deck 6 where my family is located and wow can I feel the ship move. This is the first time I’ve noticed a difference on how rocky the ship is based on location. The front of the ship is significantly rougher than the back of the ship and motion sickness medicine is needed even for some who are typically not prone to motion sickness. Arctic waters are no joke and it’s a relatively “calm” day.
We arrive to Amphora which is the main dining room and are seated quickly. We’re in a circular booth that holds three people, and the other half of the table has three chairs. It’s a cozy table for us and my son loves that there are pillows. I order a salad and a beef entree. The food was outstanding! This is the best meal I’ve had on an ocean cruise.
My 8-year-old son isn’t always the best eater. He ate a full salad, chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots, and mango sorbet. I think it’s the most I’ve ever seen him eat in one sitting. This gives you an idea on the quality of the food!
Overall, I’m very impressed with Windstar. The staff has all been incredible and the cabins are much more spacious than I was expecting. The ship holds 312 guests and is quite different from our last family sailing on the biggest ship at sea. There are less activities and attractions on the ship, but there are other amenities to keep us all happy. My son loves the on-demand movies which currently has unlimited plays for The Minecraft Movie. It’s good for him, but I know I’m going to be sick of hearing. “Lalala Lava, Chchch chicken, Steve lava’s chicken…” Also, I’m hoping hearing about a lava attack all the time isn’t a precursor to what’s to come.
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