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 night time.
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 personal veranda or floor-to-ceiling home windows.
Talking to the ship’s highlights, which embody plenty of open decks, cozy tucked-away seating areas and a coffee-to-cocktail-bar space often known as the Yacht Membership (an amenity iconic to the model), Stijn Creupelandt, Windstar’s chief working officer, advised TPG that “this was our first alternative to actually construct and design a ship that sort of actually will encourage these varieties of experiences that Windstar is thought for.”
Accommodating 224 friends, Star Seeker’s top-tier facilities embody a full-service spa, a pool and a whirlpool, a health club and 5 eating venues — a big quantity for a ship of this dimension.
For the adventurous traveler, the smallness of the ship gives each an intimate expertise and the power to entry ports that larger ships cannot enter, executives famous.
“I wish to see locations that the large ships cannot take me to,” Janet Bava, Windstar’s chief industrial officer, advised TPG. “I feel Windstar goes to be an excellent product for an energetic traveler that desires experiential, culturally immersive, actually good delicacies, high quality meals, after they come on board.”
Hoping to redefine what a cruise is for vacationers who affiliate cruising with huge strains, Bava believes that Star Seeker has the “alternative to proceed to welcome friends to a method of cruising that I feel shouldn’t be well-liked” with many cruisers.
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Living proof, the ship has a marina that lets passengers kayak, snorkel and paddleboard proper off the again of the yacht — one thing you may 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 time — a vacation spot the road has not been in a position to supply since 2023. It will then transfer on to Japan in late 2026 and 2027.
“The one manner 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 feel that is the most important connection is basically, , with the ability to supply extra locations to our friends on the platform that is uniquely designed,” Creupelandt mentioned.
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The ship’s small dimension will enable Star Seeker and a soon-to-debut sister ship, Star Explorer, to not solely go to ports which can be inaccessible to bigger cruise ships but additionally supply extra off-the-beaten-path itineraries.
The ship, for example, will have the ability to dock in Venice, Italy, one thing that huge ships now not are allowed to do, giving passengers walk-off entry to one of many world’s most well-known locations. Many huge ships nowadays should dock greater than an hour away by motorcoach from Venice resulting from new rules.
“We’re sufficiently small to … be allowed into Venice,” Bava mentioned. “And so folks, after 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 feel, the locations that folks wish to see after 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 mild 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 night time concluded with a little bit of sparkle as a good looking 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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