Little-ship line Windstar Cruises will extend its winter season presence in the Mediterranean by means of at minimum the 2024/2025 year, featuring 5 distinctive itineraries aboard one ship, Star Legend. The ship began featuring wintertime sailings in Europe in late 2023, and significant desire has prompted the boutique line to commit to the location on a for a longer period-term foundation.
Guest Suggestions Prompts Deployment Change
For the initial time in its record, Windstar Cruises deployed one of its 6 ships to the Mediterranean for a wintertime year. The choice arrived in late Oct 2023, just after the Israel-Hamas war prompted the cancelation of Star Legend’s planned Center East cruises in wintertime 2023/2024. Rather, Windstar Cruises deployed the 312-visitor, all-suite ship to the Mediterranean, wherever she is sailing a series of voyages concerning Barcelona and Rome.
Windstar Cruises’ launch of its initial-ever Middle East itineraries had been set for November 2023 and was to continue into the spring of 2025. A lot more than a dozen itineraries were prepared, alongside with a established of cruise excursions available in Dubai, UAE, and Muscat, Oman.
Following the redeployment, positive feed-back from visitors and vacation advisors spurred the line’s decision to increase its wintertime application in the Mediterranean.
“On our inaugural sailing in December, every one travel advisor and visitor on board explained to me ‘this is genius’ as we enjoyed the sunny weather conditions of Europe’s most walkable cities when handful of cruise strains sail Europe’s oceans,” reported Janet Bava, main commercial officer of Windstar Cruises.
“Our major understanding from this winter’s season was we were being restricted by the alternatives and ordeals we could supply with just the one itinerary — from Rome to Barcelona and the reverse and we have responded to that with a range of new itineraries for our visitors to take pleasure in the Mediterranean’s most storied places in the wintertime,” included Bava.
Star Legend will supply five itineraries in the Mediterranean for the 2024/2025 year, and two getaway cruises — for Christmas and New Year’s — moreover just one special function sailing to the south of France, exactly where the ship will be showcased at the International Luxury Vacation Market place Cannes expo.
New Itineraries Incorporate Two Holiday getaway Cruises
The new slate of itineraries will enable friends to e book again-to-back again sailings and take pleasure in extended holidays at sea without the need of repeating ports.
A person itinerary, “Winter in Italy and the Adriatic,” is an 8-day cruise departing on November 6, 2024 from Athens and transiting the Corinth Canal to Delphi, Greece, in advance of an right away continue to be in Corfu, Greece. The ship will then sail to Crotone, Italy, and Taormina, Sicily, in which she will right away prior to arriving in Naples. The cruise concludes in Rome.
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Yet another interesting cruise will tempt getaway season guests. The ship’s Christmas cruise will sail from Rome to Barcelona, December 23 to 30, 2024, and attribute an right away in Livorno, where by visitors can show up at the Christmas Eve mass at the Duomo, the popular cathedral in Florence. The sailing proceeds to Genoa, Italy, and Wonderful, France, in advance of ending in Barcelona with an right away in the port.
Deployment Makes it possible for Year-Round Existence in the Med
The addition of Star Legend’s winter sailings by way of spring 2025 usually means that Windstar Cruises will, for the 1st time, have a yr-spherical existence in the Mediterranean, given that 3 ships, Wind Surf, Wind Star, and Wind Spirit will run summer voyages in the area.
Star Legend will not continue being in the Mediterranean for summertime rather, she will be deployed for Scandinavian voyages. The 342-guest Wind Surf, Wind Star, and Wind Spirit, each and every with a potential for 148 company, released in 1989, 1986, and 1988, respectively.
Windstar Cruises in December 2023 declared a multi-million-greenback financial commitment to update all a few vessels, with considerable renovations and modernizations. Wind Star’s upgrades ended up completed in late 2023, while Wind Surf and Wind Spirit will endure their refits in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
The ultimate two ships operated by Windstar Cruises are Star Breeze and Star Delight, the two accommodating 312 friends.
