MV Star Legend
ex Seabourn Legend, Queen Odyssey, Royal Viking Queen
© Robbie Cox (05/08/22 Dun Laoghaire, Ireland)
Steel twin screw “Star Class” motor vessel built in 1992 by Schichau-Seebeckwerft AG, Bremerhaven, Germany (Yard No 1071) as a Passenger (Cruise) Ship for Royal Viking Line (Kloster Cruise)
Technical Data
- Original Cost: $87 million
- Length: 135 m (overall) 112.4 m (between perpendiculars as built), 159.6 m (after lengthening)
- Breadth: 20.5 m
- Depth: 6.6 m
- Draught: 5.415 m
- Tonnage: 9,961 gross/3,019 net/790 deadweight (as built), 12,969 gross/1,862 deadweight (after lengthening)
- Engines: Two 12-cylinder and two 8-cylinder Normo-Bergen diesels (as built), Four Wärtsilä 26 diesel engines (after lengthening)
- Power: 7280 kW
- Speed: 19.2 knots
- Passenger Decks: 6
- Capacity: 208 passengers (as built), 312 passengers (after lengthening)
- Crew: 164 (as built), 200 (after lengthening)
- Call Sign: LAZJ4, C6FR6
- IMO Number: 9008598
- Official Number: 8000352
- Port of Registry: Nassau/Bahamas 🇧🇸, Oslo/Norway 🇳🇴, Nassau/Bahamas 🇧🇸
- Sister-Ships: Seabourn Pride, Seabourn Spirit
Current AIS Location
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History
April 26th 1990: Keel struck.
May 1991: Launched.
February 11th 1992: Trials.
February 28th 1992: Completed.
February 29th 1992: Delivered to Kloster Cruise, Nassau, Bahamas cruising for Royal Viking Line.
Chantry Classic Postcard (left) and © Brian Fisher (right)
1995: Renamed QUEEN ODYSSEY.
January 12th 1996: Sold to Seabourn Cruise Line, Oslo, Norway and renamed SEABOURN LEGEND.
© Marc Piché
1997: Starred in the film “Speed 2 Cruise Control”.
© Gena Anfimov
© Cees Bustraan
© Aleksi Lindström
June 2013: Sold to Star Legend Ltd, Seattle, USA.
Windstar Completes Purchase of Three Seabourn Ships
Windstar Cruises announced today that its owner, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, has reached an agreement with Seabourn, a cruise company that operates six luxury cruise ships, to purchase three of their ships: Seabourn Pride, Seabourn Legend, and Seabourn Spirit.
Under the project name Global Windstar, the expansion will double the size of Windstar’s recently renovated, three luxury sailing yacht fleet, making the company the market leader in small-ship cruising with 300 or fewer passengers, with a total of 1,230 berths.
The purchase on February 15, 2013, is one of several recent Xanterra Parks & Resorts acquisitions, including VBT, an adventure travel company, and The Grand Hotel in Tusayan, AZ, adjoining the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
“Windstar Cruises has experienced four straight years of revenue growth. This expansion is the perfect way to build on the momentum following our recent fleet-wide renovation, providing us with the much needed capacity to match the accelerating demand for our intimate style of yacht cruising,” said Andy Todd, chief executive officer of Xanterra Parks & Resorts, owner of Windstar Cruises.
“Global Windstar enables us to extend our unique small-ship experience throughout the world.”
The delivery of the three 104 all-suite ships, which hold 208 passengers each, will take place over the next two years in the Mediterranean. The Seabourn Pride will be the first ship to enter into Windstar’s luxury fleet in April of 2014.
Following a Windstar branded renovation, which will give the ship a new name and casually elegant look, the Pride with set sail a month later in May 2014; voyages are expected to go on sale in May of this year. Windstar Cruises will take possession of Seabourn Legend in April 2015 and Seabourn Spirit in May 2015. These two yachts are scheduled to start sailing in May of 2015 following their dry-dock period.
“Windstar is proud of its heritage in sailing, but what our guests are most enthusiastic about is our intimate, yacht style of cruising. This style is the core of our brand experience and the new ships are a perfect fit to build on that foundation,” added Hans Birkholz, chief executive officer of Windstar Cruises.
The fleet expansion will provide Windstar Cruises access to new destinations such as Asia and South America, in addition to the fifty countries the company already sails to. Known for visiting hidden harbors and secluded coves of the world, Windstar will continue to focus on the unique destinations that large ships cannot call on. The opportunities of Global Windstar are already evident with the recent announcement of Windstar’s return to Tahiti in May of 2014. Tahiti has been one of the top destinations requested by Windstar guests and travel partners.
Source: Cruise Industry News
May 25th 2015: Christened STAR LEGEND by the ship’s godmother Gloria Bohan in Rome, Italy.
© Dennis Mortimer
November 15th 2018: Windstar Cruises announced announced the “Star Plus Initiative” . The fleet renovation program was budgeted at €200 million ($232 million) and would see the enlarging (stretching) for the fleet’s three Star-Class mega-yachts Star Breeze, Star Legend and Star Pride.
“In 2018, Fincantieri signed a contract worth over €200 million ($232 million) with Windstar Cruises to extend and modernise three of its ships: Star Breeze, Star Legend and Star Pride. Each of the projects involved four main activity areas: lengthening the mid-body by 26 metres; replacing the main engines; upgrading the electrical generators and automation systems; and completing an extensive interior refurbishment of public areas, passenger cabins and open decks.
Work began on Star Breeze in 2019 and, after successful lengthening and completion of sea trials, the ship was redelivered to Windstar in early November 2020. Star Breeze is now berthed in Palermo for finishing works. Fincantieri has started work on both Star Legend and Star Pride, with the former scheduled for completion in the first half of 2021, and the latter for mid-2021.
At Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, the vessels were cut in half and had a new 25.6m section added to the middle portion. The engines of the vessels were also replaced for improved efficiency, environmental performance and ship lifespan.”
Source: Cruise & Ferry
© Windstar Cruises
May 21st 2021: Re-delivered to Windstar Cruises from the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo, Italy.
© Windstar Cruises
September 28th 2021: Resumed service with a 10-day sailing from Lisbon to Barcelona.
© Marcel & Ruud Coster (03/08/22 Ijmuiden, Netherlands)
© Robbie Cox (05/08/22 Dun Laoghaire, Ireland)
All information is believed to be correct and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions. All items included in this article are subject to © copyright. We would like to take this opportunity of thanking: Gena Anfimov, Cees Bustraan, Brian Fisher, Aleksi Lindström, Marcel & Ruud Coster, Dennis Mortimer, Robbie Cox and Marc Piché for their assistance in producing this feature.
Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)
