Windstar Setting Sail To Miami In 2022
Windstar Cruises said that it plans to relocate its office from Seattle, Washington to Miami, Florida in June 2022.
In late February, the small ship cruise line alerted guests and travel advisors that it was pushing back its restart of operations from May to June 2021.
Windstar Cruises’ president Christopher Prelog, explained that: “With time and space away from our Seattle office, we’ve thought about our location and other possibilities once our two year lease is up.”
Prelog continued: “Although we have all adapted to working remotely with great success, we have been working on a plan for a new office location. A long timeline is needed to facilitate a smooth transition.”
The Miami office will accommodate mostly cruise operation functions and some direct supporting teams to operations. Other functions such as marketing, revenue, accounting and IT will have the opportunity to move to parent company Xanterra’s Denver office to collaborate with team members there. Windstar Cruises is owned by Xanterra Travel Collection, a group of global hospitality and travel companies, based in Denver.
Andrew N. Todd, CEO of Windstar Cruises and Xanterra Travel Collection, said that: “Windstar is poised for success in the small ship cruise segment,” “Our expert team is nimble and adaptable with many years of experience. We are looking forward to the advantages of a new Miami office, combining teams in Denver and collaborating remotely as we have done this past year.”
Windstar plans to open the new Miami office and transition shared/support services to Denver in June 2022.
The cruise company indicated that it expects some employees will choose to work remotely from the Seattle area and others to relocate to Miami or Denver depending on job function.
Prelog said that as the centre of the cruise industry in the U.S., a Miami office will be beneficial for building industry relationships and attracting new talent. It will also enable operations employees in Miami to be closer to the line’s ships and crew as they pass through Florida and shorten up flight times to the ships in Europe and the Caribbean.
The new timeline for Windstar’s resumption of operations is as follows:
- Wind Spirit – June 10, 2021 – Tahiti
- Star Breeze – June 19, 2021 – Caribbean
- Wind Star – June 19, 2021 – Mediterranean
- Wind Surf – June 29, 2021 – Mediterranean
- Star Legend – July 4, 2021 – Mediterranean
- Star Pride – July 14, 2021 – Northern Europe/Iceland
Windstar is also extending its wave season offer through March 31, 2021. Originally scheduled to run Jan. 5 – Feb. 28, 2021, the offer encourages prospective cruisers to book early so as not to miss out amid the coming rush of travel planning.
The Sail Small, Live Large with Big Perks offer lets travellers choose from a set of complimentary perks plus a reduced deposit of 5%.
Now extended through March 31, 2021, “Pick Your Perk” savings options include:
- Up to $1,000 shipboard credit per stateroom or
- One night hotel pre- or post-cruise on Europe voyages or
- Premium beverage package (wine, beer, spirits, soda) or
- Free Wi-Fi
Guests may pick one complimentary perk which vary depending on the length of their cruise and room category. Along with this offer, deposits have been reduced from 15% of cruise fare to 5%.
Windstar’s updated Travel Assurance Booking Policy allows cancellation up to 48 hours prior to departure on 2021 cruises.
Sail on over to www.windstarcruises.com for more.
