Visiting Italy, France and Spain onboard Star Legend earlier this year was unexpectedly magnificent. I say unexpectedly because I learned then that this part of the Riviera has, for centuries, been a winter haven for northern Europeans. I get it now. The late winter week was pleasantly cool, I loved the calmer-than-summer ambience, there was […] The post This May Surprise You: Winter Can Be the Most Magical Time to Cruise in the Mediterranean appeared first on Windstar Cruises Travel Blog.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
What if, traveling throughout the islands of French Polynesia, you could choose to sail and to cruise, both? It turns out that you can. Beginning in February 2027, Windstar is shifting its 148-guest Wind Star to its new year-round homeport of Papeete where it joins 312-guest Star Breeze, already ensconced there. The addition of a second year-round […] The post Can Your Cruise Vary Depending on the Style of Ship You Choose? In Tahiti, It’s Definitely Possible. appeared first on Windstar ...| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
One of the questions we often hear from travelers is “when is the best time to cruise?” It’s hard to answer because there are so many possibilities! Do you prefer peak season in the Mediterranean or shoulder or winter voyages there? Do you like cooler climates or more tropical ones? Are you interested in marquee […]| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Like many travelers, I’ve enjoyed Christmas market cruises on European rivers like the Rhine and Danube, visiting the sometimes-snowy markets in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and France. But what if you could enjoy Christmas markets in the Mediterranean?| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Did you know that rainforests abound in the region? In fact, rainforests (not to mention volcanoes) set the stage for our favorite hikes in places like Nevis, Puerto Rico, Dominica , Tobago and more.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Explore San Blas and island off the coast of Panama during our Panama Canal Cruise voyage. This island makes you feel like you went back in time.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Get an inside look at the places, people and experiences that move us. Find food and drink recipes, travel tips, guest travel stories and Windstar's latest news.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
For Windstar, celebrating 10 years of its partnership with the New York-based James Beard Foundation®, means it’s spent the last decade not just significantly upgrading the cuisine served onboard its ships, but also introducing travelers to chefs with diverse backgrounds and approaches to food.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Star Explorer, the 224-guest sister ship to Windstar’s Star Seeker, will make its debut on December 28, 2026 and will cruise year-round in the Mediterranean.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
What I love about the Caribbean in the shoulder seasons of late fall and early spring, and all winter long, is the just-warm-enough sunshine, tropical breezes, and the delicious sense that the world here often stops still. It’s the best possible peaceful respite from the Northern Hemisphere’s winter.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Tobler, in addition to overseeing many crucial functions, including housekeeping and public spaces, is a visionary whose gift for the culinary arts has lifted the line with new accomplishments.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
There’s a reason they call these islands Europe’s Hawaii. From black-sand beaches to cities with Spanish and Portuguese influences, it always felt to me like it was everything you could want in a vacation destination.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Imagine my delight the first time I saw a Windstar ship with its marina open, beckoning me to take a placid kayak ride or a slightly more daring paddleboard adventure, or simply diving into the cooling blue water.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
And yet, here’s the thing: in the spirit of adventure, would you purposely set out on a cruise where you didn’t know where you were going? Yes!| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Today, Windstar has revealed renderings, which are digital images that show how rooms like the Yacht Club, Main Lounge and Amphora will look – when they are completed.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Ocean crossings — most commonly the journeys between Europe and North America each spring and fall as ships reposition for the seasons — are one of the most underrated experiences in travel.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Have you wondered how Windstar plans its itineraries, chooses the wines for its onboard wine lists and develops shore excursions in ports of call? Welcome to Windstar’s new Winds of Change podcast, just launched in January 2025, which is all about offering insider access to how cruises are developed.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
More and more, when travelers begin to invest, first in planning a trip and then by taking it, they’re wanting to spend more time in the places they’re going to. In fact, longer trips to long-haul destinations is a big trend in 2025.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Debbie Dixon recently returned from a two-week Atlantic crossing on Wind Star and was still feeling the glow from the trip, which she describes as transformative. “It was such a great place to change the dynamic of what cruising is,” she tells me a few days after arriving home. “It’s an opportunity to lean into […]| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
I always thought that all Greek salads were created equal. Our Athens-to-Athens Greek Isles trip aboard Wind Spirit this summer proved me wrong.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
On our Treasures of the Greek Isles cruise on Windstar, we were not as familiar with the ports in the Peloponnese as with the Cyclades. We loved them, equally.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Volcanoes are not something I am normally drawn to as I am to, say, a Caribbean beach or a Parisian café. And swimming in the crater of one wasn’t exactly on my bucket list. But I am drawn to adventure and to stories. As we were looking over the various excursions offered aboard Windstar’s “Treasures of the Greek Isles” cruise, “Sailing the Caldera” appealed to me. The description — plunging into the green sulfur waters and a Greek lunch served on board — was alluring. The ...| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
More than just focusing on trendy, in-demand places to visit in 2025 we’re seeing that travelers are intrigued by experiences and trips that allow explorations in new ways.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
If you have traveled with Windstar Cruises, you’ll already know that its crew is the secret sauce that makes a cruise extra special. Here's one reason why.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Learn more about Japanese cuisine and what to eat in Tokyo. Get a taste of traditional Japanese food culture today with Windstar Cruises today.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
One of the most popular themed cruises Windstar has offered over the past decade, its chef-led partnership with the James Beard Foundation, continues in 2025.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
And soon we were being guided to Wind Spirit where she stood waiting, docked, just back from a previous voyage but shipshape and awaiting her new and eager voyagers. It’s not a big ship. It only has about 130 cabins. But it’s a sleek, tight sailing vessel with six sails that would soon be unfurled.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
For all who prefer to experience the Mediterranean through their tastebuds, celebrating Christmas in the region with seasonal culinary traditions offers an authentic European experience. Of course, far better to be exploring the Mediterranean itself during the festive season (and our year-round voyages allow you to do just that). There, between visiting Christmas markets and […]| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
It’s Saturday morning on our 11-day James Beard Foundation cruise through Portugal, Spain and France. "Shop with the chef" is a complimentary excursion offered, (when possible) on specific itineraries.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Windstar’s beverage packages are the perfect complement to your cruise. For everyone from wine dabblers to wine connoisseurs, cocktail enthusiasts and spirits lovers, you’re sure to find an option that suits you. Most non-alcoholic beverages aboard Windstar ships are complimentary, but you may want to enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail under the setting sun, choose a […]| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Windstar has begun a multi-million-dollar, multi-year refurbishment initiative for Wind Surf, Wind Spirit and Wind Star| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
If you’ve been to Tahiti with Windstar over the past few years, you likely know about its partnership with Coral Gardeners, the Moorea-based nonprofit.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
What are your "unfinished" cruise destinations? Where are the ports or countries you crave more of, even as you dream of new places? I think it's common to have at least one place we've traveled to that calls us to return. Sometimes it's simply because there were things we didn’t have time to see. For me, it's often more about the experiences I had in a destination, not the things I missed out on.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
By the end of the seven days, something else had taken hold. The waiters, bartenders and cabin stewards remembered our names and drink orders, always delivered with an easygoing smile. We started to feel at home.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
I’ve built a Windstar Dad list, mostly from watching the best dad I know — my husband — light up with joy at somewhat surprising things while cruising with Windstar.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
I was at a writers’ retreat last month in New Orleans with some friends — travel journalists and editors — whom you might call extremely experienced when it comes to trip planning. One pal had booked a cruise on a large ship and was facing issues. She told us she doesn’t even want to go […]| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
The Marquesas are the most isolated islands in the world — farther from any continental landmass in the world| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
Ephesus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the best-preserved Greco-Roman cities on the planet.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
We all expected that Star Breeze’s cruise in February, as it began sailing year-round in French Polynesia, would be something special. The ship, replacing Wind Spirit as the line’s 12-month designate in the region, would begin its homeporting there with an 11-night trip around the Society and Tuamotu Islands, featuring some of Earth’s most beautiful places, such as Huahine, Rangiroa, Bora Bora and Moorea.| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
In a festive celebration tinged with just a hint of sentimentality, Captain Belinda Bennett, who has served at the helm of Wind Spirit throughout its most recent year-round series of seasons in French Polynesia (the ship has served the region for ten years), handed over the ceremonial French Polynesian flag to Star Breeze Captain Terry […]| Windstar Cruises Travel Blog
