Windstar Sets Sail With Enriched Loyalty Program

Windstar Cruises is introducing a new point and tier system that provides recognition and rewards as guests continue to sail with Windstar.

The small ship cruise line is focused on delivering a fortified loyalty program based on feedback from its most frequent guests that features larger discounts on select cruises, as well as a new system that rewards cruisers in proportion to the points they have earned.

Cruisers start earning rewards after their first cruise and progress from a One Star to a Four-Star tier of benefits.

Windstar Cruises’ Yacht Club has always provided members special benefits and access including a 5% discount on all voyages and an additional five percent “welcome home” discount on cruises booked within 60 days of disembarkation from a qualifying cruise.

Members also get a $100 shipboard credit referral gift both for themselves and each referred “first to brand” friend. Other perks include early notification on new ports and itineraries, advance notice on sales, private sales exclusively for Yacht Club Members, select Yacht Club Member sailings and additional discounts at sister Xanterra Travel Collection brands (such as a $200 resort credit at The Lodge at Sea Island), and insider experiences with the officers on board.

Yacht Club Members will now earn a point per cruise day (more points are earned daily for higher category suites), with discounts and benefits accumulating the more they sail.  They will also enjoy a 20% savings on select Yacht Club Member sailings (not combinable with other offers).

Rewards include:

• Onboard credits that can be used for almost everything, from spa services to shore excursions.
• Discounts on shore excursions, Wi-Fi, laundry service, a selection of logo merchandise, and two beverage packages.
• Interactions with officers and the Captain.

Windstar is kicking off the new program with a Yacht Club Member appreciation week and an exclusive private sale for club members the week of Oct. 26 that includes attractive pricing plus double alumni savings on all Windstar sailings in 2021 and 2022.

Club members can save on Windstar’s Top 10 Cruises, which usually sell out, plus have early access to new itineraries visiting Israel, the Black Sea, Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, Alaska, and cruises along the West Coast of the United States.

The newly transformed Star Breeze will sail in Tahiti from November 2021 through March 2022 for a chance to experience a Star Plus Class ship in the islands.

But while Windstar is focusing on previous guests and frequent cruisers with this new program, the line is being discovered in record numbers by travellers looking for a different type of cruise experience – one on yacht-like vessels with itineraries that feature smaller ports and waterways, along with less populated shore experiences.

Betsy O’Rourke, chief marketing officer of Windstar and parent company Xanterra Travel Collection, says that Windstar’s 2021 bookings are double digits ahead of where they were at this time in 2019 for 2020 sailings.

Said O’Rourke: “We listened to our most loyal guests and have responded with a program that truly recognizes and rewards those who sail the most with us. We are also really pleased to see an increase in bookings from people who have never sailed Windstar before.”

And she noted that “about 40% of our bookings are new to Windstar guests seeking our 180 degrees from ordinary small, intimate yacht experience.”

Windstar announced a new Beyond Ordinary Care program, which is a multi-layered strategy with 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 yacht.

The company worked with the Anschutz Medical Center department of epidemiology to design a multi-layered approach and believes this extra effort to provide a healthy environment on board will also give travellers (both avid past Windstar guests and new ones) confidence to book when paired with a Travel Assurance Booking Policy that gives flexibility to make plans and update them without fees if things change.

The cruise company operates a fleet of six small yachts carrying from 148 to 342 guests and is known for visiting small ports and hidden harbors around the world. The line will begin operating again in January 2021.

For more, sail on over to www.windstarcruises.com .