Windstar Cruises Sale

Windstar Cruises, which operates a three-ship fleet of luxury yachts that explore hidden harbors and secluded coves of the world’s most treasured destinations, announces its biggest one-week sale of the year on 2012 luxury sailing voyages.

The Fourth of July Sale concludes on Friday, July 6th, and features fares as low as $976 per person in the Caribbean, $1,476 per person in Northern Europe, and $1,776 per person on many popular voyages in Greece, Italy and the Mediterranean.

Along with reduced fares, guests will experience the chic, stylish new look of the line’s $18 million renovation.

All three yachts now feature completely redesigned staterooms, owner’s suites, corridors, and public spaces. The four-masted Wind Star and Wind Spirit will introduce a new design in The Restaurant, Veranda, Lounge, Pool Bar, Library, and WindSpa.  Wind Surf, a five-masted sailing yacht, will feature a newly designed style in The Restaurant, Degrees, Veranda, Compass Rose, WindSpa, Yacht Club, and Pool Bar.


Prow's Edge Cruise Magazine guide to Windstar Cruises





Diane Moore, President Sales & Marketing of Windstar Cruises offers her View from the Bridge 







Cruising with Windstar Cruises across the Atlantic






Cruising with Windstar Cruises in the Caribbean (1)



Cruising with Windstar Cruises in the Caribbean (2)

News about Windstar Cruises renovations





Windstar Cruises ranked #1 by Celebrated Living for fifth year



Windstar Cruises Announces 2-For-1 Fares on Select Fall European Sailings

Windstar Cruises, which operates a three-ship fleet of luxury yachts that explore hidden harbors and secluded coves of the world’s most treasured destinations, offers exceptional values to some of the most remarkable places in the world with 2-for-1 fares on select fall European voyages plus up to $750 per person bonus savings for new bookings made now through September 5, 2010.

Wind Surf 7-Day European Voyages:
· October 17, 2010, Venice to Venice Sailing: Venice, Italy (overnight); Rovinj, Croatia; Opatija, Croatia; Trogir, Croatia; Dubrovnik, Croatia; At Sea; and Venice, Italy from $1,299 (brochure fare $3,899) per person.
· October 31, 2010, Rome to Barcelona Sailing: Rome, Italy; Portoferraio, Italy; Porto-Vecchio, Italy; Alghero, Italy; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Mahon, Spain; and Barcelona, Spain from $1,249 (brochure fare $3,799) per person.
· November 7, 2010, Barcelona to Lisbon Sailing: Barcelona, Spain; Tarragona, Spain; Ibiza, Spain; Almeria, Spain; Malaga, Spain; Tangier, Morocco; At Sea; and Lisbon, Portugal from $1,175 (brochure fare $3,799) per person.

Wind Star 7-Day European Voyages:
· October 23, 2010, Rome to Rome Sailing: Rome, Italy; Ischia, Italy; Sorrento, Italy; Amalfi, Italy; At Sea; Cagliari, Italy; Porto Cervo, Italy; Porto-Vecchio, France; and Rome, Italy from $1,249 (brochure fare $3,899) per person.
· October 30, 2010, Rome to Barcelona Sailing: Rome, Italy; Port Cervo, Italy; Cagliari, Italy; Carloforto, Italy; Mahon, Spain; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Valencia, Spain; and Barcelona, Spain from $1,249 (brochure fare $3,899) per person.
· November 6, 2010, Barcelona to Lisbon Sailing: Barcelona, Spain; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; At Sea; Almeria, Spain; Malaga, Spain; Cadiz, Spain; Portimao, Portugal; and Lisbon, Portugal from $1,199 (brochure fare $3,899) per person.

Wind Spirit 7-Day European Voyages:
· October 30, 2010, Rome to Rome Sailing: Rome, Italy; Port-Vecchio, France; Porto Cervo, Italy; At Sea; Amalfi, Italy; Sorrento, Italy; Capri, Italy; Ischia, Italy; and Rome, Italy from $1,249 (brochure fare $3,899) per person.
· November 6, 2010, Rome to Barcelona Sailing: Rome, Italy; Ischia, Italy; Sorrento, Italy; Amalfi, Italy; At Sea; Carloforto, Italy; Mahon, Spain; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; and Barcelona, Spain from $1,199 (brochure fare $3,899) per person.

Windstar’s 2-for-1 Europe fares are not combinable with any other promotions/programs or shipboard credit offers. Offer is valid on new bookings made August 30, 2010, through September 5, 2010. Offer valid for U.S. residents only. 2-for-1 fares are per person, double occupancy based on a 50 percent discount off brochure fares as published in the 2010/2011Windstar Cruises Sailing Atlas. Bonus Savings of up to $750 per person on select sailings, is in addition to the 2-for-1 fare and is valid on select sailings only. Rates shown are for Category B staterooms, and once allotted staterooms are sold, the promotion is closed for that sailing. Government fees and taxes additional. Full payment is required within 24 hours of making the booking. Offer is capacity controlled and may be withdrawn or modified at the discretion of Windstar.

See the Prow's Edge Cruise Magazine profile of Windstar Cruises or visit the official website at http://www.windstarcruises.com/

Shore Excursions - Finding the Jewels!

Forum members at the Prow's Edge Cruise Forum have lots to say about shore excursions, and our favorite comment comes from one of our regular readers who complains about the "sheep mentality" of the majority of cruise passengers when they take a cruise.

In the forum, Cruising Mike says: "I can't believe how much like sheep cruise passengers are - especially when it comes to shore excursions - they blindly follow the crowds to the shore excursion desk and book away their tours without doing any research and then wonder why they paid $100 for a bus tour they could have done just as interestingly by themselves - FOR FREE!"

While the generalization may be a little unfair, it is astonishing to discover how few cruise passengers really prepare for the shore activities before they get to the ship and their port of embarkation.

Our favorite example of this occurred on a cruise to Alaska calling in at Sitka, where passengers paid over US$100 for a bus tour of the town, including a stop off at a famous landmark. The entire tour could be seen from the deck of the cruise ship. Passengers watched the "sheep" line-up for half and hour to board the bus (the walk into town would have taken 3 minutes) and then followed the progress of the bus as it wound it's way slowly around the tiny town, stopped at the famous church, off loaded the tourists, waited half and hour for them and loaded them all back on – to head back to the dock where it took them all another 20 minutes to get off the bus and head back to the ship.

It's a great dinner story, but a sad indication of how so many cruise passengers fail to do their research before going on a cruise.

The key is to spend as much time, if not more, on finding out about the destinations on your cruise as you would on the cruise and the cruise ship itself.

There is a wealth of information about the various ports of call on the internet. This is what Google is here for. And it's your responsibility to find out what your options really are – before you board the ship.

As in the case of the Sitka tour above, clearly a little probing and research would have saved those hapless passengers a lot of money.

Of course, not all shore excursions are designed to take advantage of gullable cruise passengers. And indeed, that Sitka example may well have been perfect for the elderly and those unable to walk very far, and even for those with money to burn who don't want to be bothered to do the research. For some, part of a cruise is not having to think for themselves.

Also, many of the cruise tours and shore excursions are beyond simple internet research – like helicopter tours to fly up to the glaciers in Alaska, or around bubbling volcanoes in Hawaii, and a good number of cruise lines offer fascination and unusual excursions that are simply beyond the the scope of you and I and Google : like those offered by Windstar Cruises as outlined in our news page at http://www.prowsedge.com/cruises-news-050310-windstar-cruises.html. who offer exciting options like a bike ride on the city walls of Lucca, Italy, or painting lessons with a well-known Croatian watercolorist in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

The bottom line is that you need to take a look at your destinations, see what the various cruise lines offer in the way of exploring the areas, and make your decisions - but make them on the basis of being informed.

This way you might avoid being the butt of a great dinner story and get to take home some truly memorable cruise stories of your own.

Unusual "Concierge Collection" Shore Excursions from Windstar

For a long time, here at Prow's Edge, we've been vocal about some of the shore excursion "rip-offs" – like the Sitka, Alaska bus tour for $100 in which you spend more time loading on the coach (and off again) than you do on the tour itself which you can do just as easily on foot from the cruise ship gangway.

This is why it's good to see new innovations in the shore excursions on offer these days, like the 33 Concierge Collection excursions Windstar is showcasing in Croatia, France, Monaco, Greece, Italy, Spain and Turkey. Due to the intimate style of these excursions, they are limited to small parties. Some of the really unusual New Concierge Collection excursions include:
• Roman Ferrari Adventure in Rome, Italy: Drive a Ferrari F430 Spider F1 along the legendary Mille Miglia
• Watercolors with Antonia Ruskovic in Dubrovnik, Croatia: A painting lesson with a well-known Croatian watercolorist
• Galimard Perfumery in Monte Carlo, Monaco: Guided tour of perfume museum and exclusive workshop to create a unique fragrance presented in a 100ml decorative bottle
• Bike Ride on Lucca’s City Walls in Lucca, Italy: A bike ride around the city, high atop the city walls with a guide viewing Lucca’s famous monuments, gardens and highlights
• Bodrum Castle with Underwater Archaeology Expert in Bodrum, Turkey: Tour the Castle of Bodrum with an underwater archaeology expert to view the castle’s Underwater Archaeology Museum and 1000-year-old Glass Shipwreck exhibit
• Sailing on Caldera Lake in Santorini, Greece: Board a traditional sailing vessel to explore the volcanic crater islands of Nea Kameni, Palea Kameni and Thirassia.

For full details on all the new shore excursions on offer from Windstar Cruises visit the latest news page at Prow's Edge at www.prowsedge.com/cruises-news-050310-windstar-cruises.html

For more information about Windstar Cruises visit the recently updated profile at Prow's Edge Cruise Magazine at http://www.prowsedge.com/cruise-lines-windstar-cruises.html

Sunny Costa Rica and Caribbean Winter Sailings At Incredible Savings For One Week Only

Windstar Cruises, which operates a three-ship fleet of luxury yachts that explore hidden harbors and secluded coves of the world’s most treasured destinations, begins a one-week sale today on 2010 Winter Costa Rica and Caribbean sailings.

With most of the United States under a deep freeze, Windstar offers incredible savings on sunny and warm Costa Rica and Caribbean voyages. Cruise fares start from $1,199 per person, double occupancy on January 16 through March 20, 2010 sailings.

Wind Star’s 7-day Costa Rica cruise departs and returns to Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica, visiting picturesque San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua; Playas del Coco, Quepos, Bahía Drake, Curu (National Wildlife Refuge), and Tortuga Island, Costa Rica.

Wind Spirit’s new 7-day St. Martin roundtrip itinerary features pristine beaches, lively island culture, and additional daytime sailing. Port of calls include St. Kitts, Tortola, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda and St. Barts.

Wind Surf’s 7-day roundtrip sailings from Bridgetown, Barbados call on a variety of vibrant ports on northbound and southbound itineraries. The northbound itinerary includes St. Kitts, St. Martin, St. Barts, Guadeloupe, Iles des Saintes and St. Lucia. The southbound itinerary includes Bequia, Dominica, St. Lucia, Mayreau, Grenada and Tobago.

Windstar’s one-week sale is not combinable with any other promotions/programs. Taxes additional. Offer is capacity controlled and may be withdrawn or modified at the discretion of Windstar. Offer is valid on new bookings only and full payment required. Sale ends January 16, 2010.

For more information including rates and itineraries contact a professional travel agent or call Windstar at 1-800-258-7245. Visit Windstar Cruises online at www.windstarcruises.com.

Or for reviews on Windstar Cruises visit the review pages of Prow's Edge Cruise Magazine at where you will find two articles about Windstar - one at www.prowsedge.com/cruises-caribbean-windstar.html and one at www.prowsedge.com/cruises-atlantic-windstar.html

WINDSTAR TAKES ITS PLACE AT THE WHEEL ONCE AGAIN

Big news about Windstar Cruises – the world's “Favourite Small-Ship Cruise Line” – as the company takes over shipboard management of its luxury yachts.

Yesterday, Windstar Cruises announced that it will be ending its management agreement with V. Ships Leisure and taking complete control of managing its shipboard deck, engine, and hotel operations, as well as shore-based management functions such as port operations, technical and hotel purchasing, compliance, and human resources.

New positions have been created at Windstar’s headquarters in Seattle to manage the new responsibilities.

For more information on the news visit http://www.prowsedge.com/cruises-news-080709-windstar-cruises.html