Star Breeze, the first of three similar ships of Windstar Cruises, has been cut in two at the Palermo yard of Fincantieri, the Italian shipbuilder and repairer, to allow the insertion of a 84 foot/ 25.6 metre midsection to the vessel, Fincantieri said in a statement.

Windstar is transforming three of its Star-class ships – Star Breeze, Star Legend, and Star Pride – and renovating each ship in succession at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. Work will be complete in late 2020.

Star Breeze, will sail from Barcelona to Lisbon on 20 February 2020, and celebrate re-inaugural activities in North America at the Port of Miami on 19 March. The second ship to undergo the transformation, Star Legend, will debut in Barcelona on 2 July and the third and final ship, Star Pride, is scheduled to sail on its first cruise from Barcelona on 20 November.

“The $250 million Star Plus Initiative is the most complex and comprehensive small ship lengthening, engine replacement, and renovation project undertaken in cruising, and we are very proud to be working with Fincantieri, the leader in major cruise ship renovations,” stated Windstar Cruises President John Delaney.

“The slightly larger ships and new enhancements will significantly build upon the signature onboard environment Windstar is famous for. The social and friendly public spaces on the ships create a welcome chemistry with guests and the crew.”

 The ships will also introduce two new restaurants including the eclectic, Spanish-styled Cuadro 44 by Anthony Sasso and a modern, alfresco Star Grill by Steven Raichlen capitalizing on the ships’ increase in deck space.

In addition 50 new suites will be added, whereby Star Breeze will now be able to accommodate 312 passengers compared to 212 before the refit. The expanded ship will also allow for more crew and maintain the enviable 1.5-to-1 guest-to-service staff ratio.