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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 lately. Every of those 112 lodging encompasses a full personal veranda or floor-to-ceiling home windows.
Chatting with the ship’s highlights, which embody a lot of open decks, cozy tucked-away seating areas and a coffee-to-cocktail-bar space often called the Yacht Membership (an amenity iconic to the model), Stijn Creupelandt, Windstar’s chief working officer, informed TPG that “this was our first alternative to essentially construct and design a ship that type of actually will encourage these varieties of experiences that Windstar is thought 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 power to entry ports that greater ships cannot enter, executives famous.
“I wish to see locations that the massive ships cannot take me to,” Janet Bava, Windstar’s chief industrial officer, informed TPG. “I believe Windstar goes to be an incredible 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 large 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 standard” 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 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 season — a vacation spot the road has not been in a position to provide since 2023. It will then transfer on to Japan in late 2026 and 2027.
“The one method we might 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 actually, you understand, with the ability to provide extra locations to our company on the platform that is uniquely designed,” Creupelandt stated.
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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 can be inaccessible to bigger cruise ships but in addition provide extra off-the-beaten-path itineraries.
The ship, for example, will have the ability to dock in Venice, Italy, one thing that large ships not are allowed to do, giving passengers walk-off entry to one of many world’s most well-known locations. Many large ships lately should dock greater than an hour away by motorcoach from Venice attributable to new rules.
“We’re sufficiently small to … be allowed into Venice,” Bava stated. “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, identical to the massive ships … however the locations [that Star Seeker can access] are much more, I believe, the locations that folks wish to see after they journey.”
Permitting for a continued growth 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 lovely fireworks show lit up the Miami harbor.
Following the occasion, Star Seeker stated farewell and formally set sail to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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