Windstar Cruises

Windstar Cruises is a small ship cruise line headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The line operates a fleet of six boutique all-suite and sailing yachts carrying 148-342 guests throughout Europe, the Caribbean, Costa Rica and the Panama Canal, Asia/Australia, Alaska and British Columbia, Canada and New England, Tahiti and the South Pacific, Mexico and U.S. Coastal regions.

Windstar Cruises
TypePrivate
IndustryHospitality
Founded1984
HeadquartersSeattle, Washington, United States
Area served
ServicesCruise ship holidays
OwnerXanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc.
ParentThe Anschutz Corporation
WebsiteWindstar Cruises

The award-winning line is known for immersive experiences, destination authenticity, port-intensive itineraries, exceptional service, and an innovative culinary program.

Windstar Cruises is part of the Xanterra Travel Collection, a group of hospitality and travel companies, one of which traces its history back over a hundred years of operating our country’s iconic national parks, including Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Glacier, Death Valley, Zion and others. Xanterra Travel Collection is owned by The Anschutz Corporation, the ultimate owner of the Broadmoor, Sea Island and entertainment giant AEG, Anschutz Entertainment Group.

History

The line was established as Windstar Sail Cruises in 1984, and its first ship, the Wind Star was launched in 1986,[1] and was followed by the Wind Song which was launched in 1987 and Wind Spirit which was launched in 1988. Two additional ships were ordered from the French "Sociéte Nouvelle des Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre" shipyard: the Wind Surf and the Wind Saga. These two ships were to be larger than the originals, holding over twice the number of passengers and reaching a length of 660 feet (200 m), compared to the smaller vessels of 440 feet (130 m) in length.

Purchase by Holland America Line

Holland America Line (HAL) purchased 50% of Windstar Sail Cruises in 1987[2] and purchased the balance of the company in 1988. HAL became a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc in 1989.[3] The option to continue building the Wind Surf and the Wind Saga was passed up by HAL. With assistance from the French Government these two larger ships were built for Club Med as Club Med I and Club Med II, with HAL / Carnival retaining rights of first refusal for purchase. A few years later, HAL / Carnival planned to buy Club Med I and Club Med II with permission. However, Windstar cruises was unable to purchase Club Med I and Club Med II and rename them to Wind Surf and the Wind Saga because they had only enough money to purchase one ship. So in 1998, Windstar acquired the sail cruiser Club Med I from Club Med Cruises, and rechristened her to her original name Wind Surf.

msy Wind Surf

Sale of Windstar to Xanterra Travel Collection

In March 2007, Carnival sold Windstar to Ambassadors International for $100 million.[4]

On April 1, 2011, Windstar's parent company Ambassadors International filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.[5] A bankruptcy court in Delaware held a two-day auction and Anschutz Corporation won Windstar Cruises with a bid of $39 million. Subsidiary Xanterra Travel Collection is now the parent company.[6]

In 2013, Windstar purchased three more ships, effectively doubling the size of the fleet. Star Pride joined the fleet in 2014, while Star Legend and Star Breeze launched in May 2015.

Recent history

It was announced on February 19, 2013, that Windstar had completed the purchase of Seabourn Cruise Line's Star Pride, Star Legend, and Star Breeze.[7] The Star Pride entered service on May 5, 2014 with an inaugural cruise from Barcelona, after some upgrades.[8] In May 2015, Windstar increased its fleet from four yachts to six with Star Breeze and Star Legend.[9] Both yachts underwent a $17 million, three-week dry dock in Genoa, Italy, before a christening ceremony in May.[9] In 2016, Star Pride underwent a renovation to refurbish public spaces, expand the outdoor seating of the Veranda restaurant and remodeled the AmphorA restaurant.[10]

In June 2018, Star Legend became the largest cruise ship to ever travel through Seattle's Ballard Locks and the Lake Washington Ship Canal.[11] In November 2018, Windstar announced that the three "Star Class" ships—Star Pride, Star Breeze and Star Legend—would be lengthened by 84 feet (26 m).[12] The work is part of the company's $250 million USD 'Star Plus' initiative.[12] The work will take place at Fincantieri's shipyard in Palermo, Italy [12] and includes adding new suites, restaurants, and a world-class spa and fitness center, bringing each ship’s capacity from 212 guests to 312.

Star Breeze, the first of the ships to emerge from the extensive renovation/lengthening and re-engining process, is slated for completion in Q4 of 2020, while Star Legend is on track for a Q1 date. Star Pride will finish the process in Q2 of 2021.

Windstar has cancelled all sailings through 2020 and plans to resume sailing operations in January of 2021, instituting a new Beyond Ordinary Care program that focuses on key hospital-grade elements: HEPA filters and UV-C ultraviolet germicidal irradiation to filter and disinfect the air, plus EvaClean with PurTab to sanitize all surfaces throughout the yachts.

Fleet

Windstar is considered a high-end cruise line, with its ships typically getting a four-star (out of five) rating. The ships are relatively small, with the Wind Surf having a capacity for about 300 passengers, and the others about 150. Star Pride carries up to 212 passengers in 106 suites as well as sister ships Star Legend and Star Breeze.

The ships are registered in the Bahamas. Under this flag they are some of the few cruise ships in the world where passengers are still allowed on the bridge (though not when entering or leaving port). With a shallow draft of only 14 feet (4.3 m), the ships can enter ports that are inaccessible to larger cruise liners. In some cases, passengers need to take smaller boats into port (such as to Lipari) when the ship is at anchor.

Current fleet
NameBuiltBuilderEntered
service
for
Windstar		Gross TonnageFlagNotesImage
Wind Star1986Sociéte Nouvelle des Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre1986–present5,307 tons BahamasWindstar Cruise's First ship
Wind Spirit1988Sociéte Nouvelle des Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre1988–present5,307 tons Bahamas
Wind Surf1989Sociéte Nouvelle des Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre1998–present14,745 tons BahamasWindstar Cruise's biggest ship in the fleet and was previously Club Med 1 for Club Med
Star Pride1988Schichau Seebeckwerft2014–present9,975 tons BahamasPreviously Seabourn Pride for Seabourn Cruise Line
Star Breeze1988Schichau SeebeckwerftMay 2015–present9,975 tons BahamasPreviously Seabourn Sprit for Seabourn Cruise Line[13]
Star Legend1990Schichau SeebeckwerftMay 2015 – present9,975 tons BahamasPreviously Seabourn Legend for Seabourn Cruise Line[13]

Former fleet
NameBuiltBuilderEntered
service
for
Windstar		Gross TonnageFlagNotesImage
Wind Song1987Sociéte Nouvelle des Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre1987 - 20025,307 tons BahamasThe ship suffered an engine room fire on December 1, 2002 and was scuttled and sunk the next month on January 22, 2003.

See also

References
  1. Ristow, Bill (2005-10-21). "A cruise that's not a cruise? Try sailing on a Windstar ship". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  2. "Searching for That Offbeat Sunset". Los Angeles Times. 1987-07-26. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  3. "Carnival Buys Up Holland America". Los Angeles Times. 1989-02-12. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  4. "Carnival Sells Windstar - Windstar Cruises". Cruise Critic. 2007-02-22. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  5. "Windstar Parent Co. Files Bankruptcy - Windstar Cruises". Cruise Critic. 2011-04-01. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  6. "Xanterra Travel Collection Completes Purchase of Windstar Cruises - DENVER, May 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/". Prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  7. "Shake up in cruising as Windstar buys Seabourn ships". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  8. "Small-ship line Windstar Cruises christens vessel". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  9. Staff, C. I. N. (2015-01-15). "Windstar Unveils Plans for Star Breeze and Star Legend". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  10. "Windstar refreshes Star Pride: Travel Weekly". www.travelweekly.com. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  11. "Cruise ship squeaks through Ballard Locks". The Seattle Times. 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  12. Sloan, Gene. "Three Windstar Cruises ships to get bigger in major makeovers". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  13. "Windstar Completes Purchase of Three Seabourn Ships - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News". Cruise Industry News. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.