Luxury travel network Virtuoso has officially launched the Virtuoso Cruise Icon program in Australia and New Zealand. As exclusively foreshadowed by LATTE in March, the program has been broadened beyond the USA to new regions, with 29 ‘cruise icons’ named in this region in 2024.

Windstar Cruises’ Star Breeze has commenced its year-round deployment in Tahiti and French Polynesia this week, replacing Wind Spirit. The move, foreshadowed 12 months ago, provides a significant bump in capacity for Windstar Cruises in the Pacific.

Windstar Cruises has released its sailing schedule through summer of 2025, with several key deployment moves for its fleet of six ships.

Windstar Cruises is intent on expanding its fleet of six ships, President Chris Prelog confirmed at an event in Sydney last week, saying “we’re actively looking”. Prelog was in Australia meeting with travel partners and media following the first visit by a Windstar Cruises’ ship, Star Breeze, to local waters between November 2022 and mid-February 2023.

Windstar Cruises has unveiled two new themed suites and a mural aboard Star Legend. The two specialty suites are inspired by Windstar’s Forbes Five-Star sister companies The Broadmoor and Sea Island and will also be introduced aboard Windstar’s two Star Plus class yachts: Star Breeze in the first half of this year and Star Pride in 2024.

Windstar Cruises’ all-suite Star Breeze yacht made its first-ever call in Australia last week when it arrived at Sydney.

Windstar President Chris Prelog has just completed the most whirlwind week in a career at sea that started 25 years ago.

Windstar Cruises has debuted the first of three onboard murals as part of a collaboration with Miami-based Fountainhead Arts.

Windstar Cruises has confirmed the debut of its all-suite Star Plus Class Star Pride yacht, sailing from Athens on a sold-out, eight-day voyage to Barcelona, stopping at ports including Gythion, Corfu, Argostoli, Messina (Taormina), Trapani, and Cagliari. Star Pride is the third and final of Windstar’s Star Plus Class yachts to emerge from Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard following a complex lengthening and transformation project.

Windstar Cruises has released details for the full lineup of James Beard Foundation-affiliated guest chefs for its series of three themed culinary cruises in 2022. The all-female trio includes Atlanta’s Chef Jennifer Hill Booker, San Francisco’s Chef Tanya Holland, and Boston’s Chef Irene Li.

Windstar Cruises has recommenced its cruises in French Polynesia/the Islands of Tahiti aboard Wind Spirit, signalling the restart of half the small-ship cruise line’s fleet since the pandemic pause.

The second Windstar Cruises’ ship to undergo an end-to-end transformation has been delivered back to the cruise line by the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo, Italy.