SEATTLE — Windstar Cruises is set to embark on its longest itinerary ever featuring stops in an incredible 22 countries.
The new 79-day ‘Grand European Bucket List Adventure,’ now on sale and featured in the company’s new Voyage Collection brochure, sets sale on Windstar’s new all-suite Star Legend yacht carrying only 312 guests. It departs Stockholm, Sweden on July 25, 2023 before travelling travels the Baltic, Northern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea, and ends on Oct. 12 in Istanbul, Turkey.
In total, the itinerary includes 71 days in port (with only 8 at sea), plus 11 overnights in destinations like Bordeaux, Seville, Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Other highlights include two first-time Windstar ports in Hamburg and Binz, and the addition of a new Norwegian port, Arendal.
According to Windstar, the ‘Grand European Bucket List Adventure,’ along with other grand sailings like the 60-day ‘Grand South Pacific’ and 56-day ‘Grand Caribbean Adventure,’ are part of a growing trend of extravagant voyages and world cruises. The company has seen a record-breaking number of reservations for tits 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 in destinations like Petra, Portugal’s Douro Valley, Iceland and Italy’s Lake Como and Bellagio.
The brochure will land in mailboxes this week. A digital version can be accessed at https://www.windstarcruises.com/request-a-brochure/.