By
Rebecca Gibson |
Xanterra Parks & Resorts, the owner of Windstar Cruises, purchased three Seabourn ships on 15 February 2013, doubling the size of its recently renovated fleet and increasing the scope of its itineraries.
The acquisition will take place over the next two years with Seabourn Pride, Seabourn Legend and Seabourn Spirit entering the Windstar fleet in the Mediterranean in April 2014, April 2015 and May 2015 respectively. As part of the Global Windstar project, each ship will be renovated and renamed before beginning service, making the company the market leader in small-ship cruising with 300 or fewer passengers.
“This expansion is the perfect way to build on the momentum following our recent fleetwide renovation, providing us with the much needed capacity to match the accelerating demand for our intimate style of yacht cruising,” said Andy Todd, chief executive officer of Xanterra Parks & Resorts, owner of Windstar Cruises. “Global Windstar enables us to extend our unique small-ship experience throughout the world.”
The development allows the cruise company to offer new Asian and South American destinations in addition to the fifty countries included in current Windstar itineraries. The line will also return to Tahiti in May 2014.
“Windstar is proud of its heritage in sailing, but what our guests are most enthusiastic about is our intimate, yacht style of cruising,” added Hans Birkholz, chief executive officer of Windstar Cruises. “This style is the core of our brand experience and the new ships are a perfect fit to build on that foundation.”
Windstar’s shoreside operations will continue to run out of the company’s Seattle headquarters.