By:   Michael A. Winkleman

windstar-cruise-shipFrom our fifty years of helping passengers (and crew) injured on cruise ships, we know full well that even a luxury cruise is not free of risk. Although most passengers on cruises enjoy a fun vacation and a relaxing time in the sun, cruise ships can be deceptively dangerous. No one likes to think about the possibility of a cruise going wrong, but you need to know what to do if it does happen to you.  

The Windstar Cruises Fleet

Windstar Cruises was founded in 1984, and its headquarters are located in Seattle, Washington. Windstar has a fleet of small luxury cruise ships. The company has six ships with passenger capacities of only 150 to 350. Because the ships are so small, they have the ability to enter some ports that are not accessible to a typical, larger cruise ship. Windstar has a reputation as a high-end cruise line and has been the recipient of multiple cruise ship and travel industry awards for the best small ship cruise line or boutique cruise line. Windstar sails to 150 ports throughout Europe, Central America, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific. Windstar’s ships include:

  • Wind Surf
  • Wind Star
  • Wind Spirit
  • Star Pride
  • Star Breeze
  • Star Legend

Types Of Accidents Common On Windstar Cruises

Windstar may be a luxury cruise line, but it is not immune to the types of accidents that occur on all cruise ships. Common accidents and injuries on Windstar and other cruise ships include:

In addition to accidents involving individual passengers, cruise ships can also suffer ship-wide accidents, such as loss of power incidents and unintentional groundings, which can injure passengers as a result. Incidents on Windstar Cruise ships include:

  • In November 2015, a female passenger on the Star Breeze fell overboard in the Mediterranean Sea near Italy and spent an hour in the open sea before being rescued.
  • In June 2019, in French Polynesia, the Wind Spirit suffered an electrical failure and complete blackout, which caused the ship to lose steering and strike two boats and the quay.
  • In May 2014, while docked in Italy, the Star Pride was hit by another ship attempting to dock and sustain minor damage.
  • In December 2015, the Star Pride ran aground while anchoring off of Panama. The ship suffered hull damage and took on water, rendering it unseaworthy. Due to the remote location of this incident, there was no major port and no marine support vessels available in the area. The ship’s passengers had to be transferred to Costa Rica by the Star Breeze and another cruise ship navigating nearby. The ship had to be towed to port for repairs.
  • In April 2018, the Star Pride experienced power problems which caused most of the ship to lose electricity for three days.
  • In August 2018, the Star Pride was off the coast of Massachusetts when it suffered a failure of the engine’s cooling system that caused the automatic shutdown of the engines and partial power loss for two hours. The ship lost propulsion and had to be escorted to Newport, Rhode Island for inspection by the U.S. Coast Guard before being allowed to continue on its journey.

When a cruise ship suffers incidents such as power loss or loss of propulsion, they may seem like minor incidents in the grand scheme of things. For these types of incidents, passengers are generally offered compensation in the form of free perks, refunds, or free rebooking on another cruise, but it is still possible for passengers to suffer injuries when these incidents occur. For example, passengers may suffer injuries from overheating when air conditioning is lost or injuries from sudden stops when a ship runs aground.

windstar-cruise-accident-lawyer

Finding A Qualified Team To Sue Windstar Cruises

Many people don’t realize that cruise lines play by their own set of rules. If you were injured in a typical business, you and the business would be subject to the standard local laws. You are probably at least somewhat familiar with the laws that govern personal injury lawsuits. However, suing a cruise line is different. For tax and other reasons, cruise lines almost always are registered outside the United States, and they often operate in international waters. This means that cruise ships are subject to maritime law, which operates very differently from standard U.S. law. When you’re thinking about suing a cruise ship line, you need to find a qualified attorney who has experience and knowledge of maritime law.  We have successfully handled numerous maritime injury cases against Windstar Cruises, and we can do the same for you or your loved one.  

Get Justice With The Help Of A World Famous Team

At Lipcon, Margulies and Winkleman, P.A., our attorneys are some of the most experienced maritime lawyers in the world. Our firm was founded in 1971, and we celebrated our 50th year in 2021. LM&W has successfully handled more than 3,000 cases and secured over $300 million for our clients. Our team of highly skilled attorneys boasts over 200 years of combined experience, and three of our lawyers have been named “Best Lawyers” by US News & World Report. LM&W is the only plaintiffs’ maritime and cruise ship law firm in the U.S. that has been named “Best Law Firm” by US News & World Report on a national level.

LM&W’s attorneys are experts in their field of practice, so much so that they have been featured on over 100 nationally broadcasted television programs in the U.S. LM&W attorneys have been trusted for their expertise and featured on CBS News, ABC News, Fox News, MSNBC, Inside Edition, Fox Business, CBS This Morning, CNN Headline News, the Today Show, Good Morning America, and multiple international news stations.

At LM&W, we have the knowledge, experience, and manpower to fight for our clients against the powerful cruise line industry. If you have been injured on a Windstar cruise, Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. is ready to help. Call America’s leading maritime attorneys at 877-233-1238 today.

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