Windstar is making waves within the small luxurious cruise area with the debut of its seventh ship.
The primary new-build vessel for the road in three many years, Star Seeker, was unveiled in a naming ceremony on the Port of Miami on Thursday evening.
Designed to be intimate and upscale, Star Seeker is an all-suite ship with simply 112 rooms — a notably small quantity within the cruise world nowadays. Every of those 112 lodging encompasses a full non-public veranda or floor-to-ceiling home windows.
Chatting with the ship’s highlights, which embody numerous open decks, cozy tucked-away seating areas and a coffee-to-cocktail-bar space generally known as the Yacht Membership (an amenity iconic to the model), Stijn Creupelandt, Windstar’s chief working officer, instructed TPG that “this was our first alternative to essentially construct and design a ship that type of actually will encourage these kinds of experiences that Windstar is understood for.”
Accommodating 224 company, Star Seeker’s top-tier facilities embody a full-service spa, a pool and a whirlpool, a gymnasium and 5 eating venues — a big quantity for a ship of this measurement.
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For the adventurous traveler, the smallness of the ship provides each an intimate expertise and the flexibility to entry ports that larger ships cannot enter, executives famous.
“I need to see locations that the large ships cannot take me to,” Janet Bava, Windstar’s chief business officer, instructed TPG. “I believe Windstar goes to be a fantastic product for an energetic traveler that wishes experiential, culturally immersive, actually good delicacies, high quality meals, once they come on board.”
Hoping to redefine what a cruise is for vacationers who affiliate cruising with massive traces, Bava believes that Star Seeker has the “alternative to proceed to welcome company to a method of cruising that I believe just isn’t fashionable” with many cruisers.
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Working example, the ship has a marina that lets passengers kayak, snorkel and paddleboard proper off the again of the yacht — one thing you will discover on all Windstar vessels however not on most cruise ships.
With a brand new ship added to its portfolio, Windstar is increasing its itineraries. Star Seeker is spending its inaugural season within the Caribbean however quickly will redeploy to Alaska for the summer season — a vacation spot the road has not been capable of provide since 2023. It will then transfer on to Japan in late 2026 and 2027.
“The one means we may return to Alaska, to go to Japan, to go deeper and so as to add extra locations, was to develop our model. … So I believe that is the largest connection is absolutely, you recognize, having the ability to provide extra locations to our company on the platform that is uniquely designed,” Creupelandt mentioned.
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The ship’s small measurement will enable Star Seeker and a soon-to-debut sister ship, Star Explorer, to not solely go to ports which are inaccessible to bigger cruise ships but in addition provide extra off-the-beaten-path itineraries.
The ship, as an example, will be capable to dock in Venice, Italy, one thing that massive ships not are allowed to do, giving passengers walk-off entry to one of many world’s most well-known locations. Many massive ships nowadays should dock greater than an hour away by motorcoach from Venice because of new rules.
“We’re sufficiently small to … be allowed into Venice,” Bava mentioned. “And so folks, once they say experiential means I get off my ship, I get to unpack as soon as and see a number of locations, similar to the large ships … however the locations [that Star Seeker can access] are much more, I believe, the locations that folks need to see once they journey.”
Permitting for a continued enlargement into different markets, Star Explorer will debut in December and repair European itineraries, crusing to river ports and metropolis facilities.
The 2-hour christening occasion kicked off with gentle hors d’oeuvres, adopted by speeches from Windstar’s president, Christopher Prelog, and Star Seeker captain Tom Schofield and blessings from Star Seeker’s appointed godmother, Libby Anschutz. The ceremonious evening concluded with a little bit of sparkle as an attractive fireworks show lit up the Miami harbor.
Following the occasion, Star Seeker mentioned farewell and formally set sail to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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