Windstar Cruises has announced the sale of its new 79-day Grand European Bucket List Adventure – the longest itinerary ever offered by the award-winning small ship cruise line – along with new cruise adventures scheduled through 2023. The itineraries have been released online and in a new Voyage Collection brochure.
The Grand European cruise departs Stockholm, Sweden on July 25, 2023 and takes guests on a brand-new voyage spanning 22 countries through the Baltic, Northern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea. With 71 days in port (and only 8 at sea), the itinerary has just the right amount of rest and relaxation onboard between new discoveries and explorations. There are also 11 overnights in port, giving guests a chance to dine/sample the nightlife in destinations like Bordeaux, Seville, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen. With an intense exploration of Germany (a new Windstar offering), there are two first-time Windstar ports in Hamburg and Binz, in addition to a new Norwegian port: Arendal. The cruise finishes on October 12 in Istanbul, Turkey and takes place aboard Windstar’s new all-suite Star Legend yacht, carrying only 312 guests. The yacht is small enough to navigate through the tight Kiel and Corinth Canals on this special sailing.
The epic route along with other grand sailings like Windstar’s 60-day Grand South Pacificand 56-day Grand Caribbean Adventure are part of a growing trend of extravagant voyages and world cruises created to satiate a travel-starved cruise audience ready to book a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
Windstar has been seeing a record-breaking number of reservations for their crowd-free cruises and expects immediate sales of the newly announced itineraries, now listed online and in the print brochure.
“We’re attributing our bookings to a pent-up demand for travel after most of the world has been sequestered for a year,” says Windstar’s President Christopher Prelog. “It’s creating a swift recovery for us, so much so that my advice is to book early as increased demand is real.”
The cruises in the 2021-2023 voyage collection span the globe and include new regions like Australia and New Zealand (from remote islands to the Great Barrier Reef); rural Black Sea villages and all the wonders of Turkey, from Istanbul to Cappadocia; as well as the Holy Lands.
There are also additional Cruise Tours, with new land-and-cruise options affording a chance to venture into Petra at dawn as the sun illuminates the pink sandstone walls; sample fine port amid the terraced vineyards of Portugal’s Douro Valley; tour Italy’s beautiful Lake Como and the historic village of Bellagio by private boat; or marvel at Iceland’s geysers and waterfalls.
The brochure also outlines and details the differences among Windstar’s six-yacht fleet – explaining the romance of the three classic Wind Class sailing yachts as well as the newly transformed all-suite Star Plus Class yachts.
The brochure will begin to land in mailboxes this week, and those interested in requesting a copy or viewing a digital version can access the tools here: https://www.windstarcruises.com/request-a-brochure/. New itineraries and other details can be found at www.windstarcruises.com.