A cruise line like no other, Windstar Cruises.
Windstar Cruises stands out in the cruise industry—rooted in bold innovation, boutique luxury, and a unique heritage. Here’s the full story: where it began, who founded it, and how it evolved into one of today’s leading small ship players.
Origins & Concept Development
In 1984, Windstar Sail Cruises was launched as a consortium founded by Swedish-American entrepreneur Karl Gosta Andrén, joined by several maritime investors—including Jacob Stolt-Nielsen Jr. founder of Stolt-Nielsen Limited conglomerate, who played a role as one of the early partners in the venture.
Also instrumental was Jean‑Claude Potier, who had previously served as the last North American manager for Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (the French Line, famed for SS France and SS Normandie). Potier brought deep industry experience and helped shape Windstar’s early strategy, stating from the outset that success meant finding a niche rather than following mainstream trends.
Alongside these founders, Wärtsilä, the Finnish engineering giant, served as a crucial design partner. Its prototype concept—codenamed Windcruiser—allowed automated, computer‑controlled sails on a motor‑sail vessel. This Windcruiser design became the technical foundation for Windstar’s first three ships, blending diesel-electric propulsion with elegant sail systems that deployed at the push of a button from the wheelhouse.
1986–1988: Launching the Fleet
Windstar unveiled its first vessel, the aptly named Wind Star, in 1986—built at France’s Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre. After a promotional tour in North America, the 5,307gt ship was based in the Caribbean. In fact the popularity was so immense that records show that she was private chartered by four separate travel groups before setting sail on her first official cruise for Windstar. The MSY Wind Star was followed closely by her identical sister ship the Wind Song in 1987 which was based year-round in Tahiti.
It was at this time that Holland America Line acquired a 50% stake in Windstar Sail Cruises in June of 1987, marking the beginning of a closer relationship between the two companies. The remaining 50% was still held by Taconic Holdings (a joint venture that Andren was the majority holder of and Stolt-Nielsen still a large shareholder in.)
Windstar Sail Cruises used this as a opportunity to secure financing for two more ships on preliminary order. The third identical sister, the Wind Spirit, was launched in 1988. While these were intended to be a quartet of ships, the fourth sister to be named Wind Saga was going to be launched in 1989, this never came to be.
While Holland America’s leadership originally saw this purely as an investment opportunity due to the popularity and potential it saw in this unique concept, in 1988 the Dutch line purchase the remaining 50%, making Windstar a wholly owned, independently operating, subsidiary of Holland America.
Holland America wanted to pivot and build larger ships for the line, working with the French Government to secure financing to build a two larger 14,745gt 187m LOA, sailing vessels, provisionally named Wind Surf and Wind Saga.
In 1989, Carnival Corporation acquired HAL—and with it, Windstar—bringing the boutique sail cruise brand under the Carnival umbrella. Carnival, at that time, didn’t see the need to spend the money on the two larger sister ships so the canceled the project. These ships were under construction at the French shipyard that had built the other three vessels, Société Nouvelle des Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre. The partially built ships were instead completed for the popular Mediterranean resort company Club Med, entering service as Club Med I (1989) and Club Med II (1992-still sailing today with the ‘II’ suffix even though there is no longer a ship named ‘Club Med I’).
In 1998, Windstar finally acquired the Club Med I for $45 Million, refitting and renaming her to the MSY Wind Surf. The second vessel, Club Med II, the largest sailing cruise ship in the world by a mere 238gt, was never acquired by Windstar as they admitted many times that they have tried to purchase the vessel.
2000s: Turbulence & Transitions
In late 2002, Wind Song suffered an engine-room fire in Tahiti and was declared a total loss; she was subsequently scuttled in early 2003.
By 2007, Carnival sold Windstar to Ambassadors International. Carnival CEO Micky Arison explained that while Windstar was an excellent product, it simply didn’t fit into the company’s future growth plans as it focused on expanding core brands while exiting out of the niche markets. For Ambassadors International, which had built its cruise business around river cruising through its US flagged Majestic America Line, the Windstar acquisition represented a major expansion into ocean cruising. Ambassadors saw Windstar as fitting perfectly within the luxury cruise market segment they wanted to enter and expand into.
However, the Ambassadors period proved to be turbulent. The company struggled financially, particularly after the 2008 financial crisis forced it to shut down its river cruise operations. By 2011, Ambassadors International was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company had initially planned to sell Windstar to Whippoorwill Associates, its largest creditor, but Xanterra Parks & Resorts entered a surprise $39 million cash bid that ultimately proved successful.
2010s: Expansion and Growth
Beginning in 2013, Windstar added three all-suite yachts—Star Pride, Star Breeze, and Star Legend—purchased from former Carnival Corp. subsidiary Seabourn Cruise Line and refitted to Windstar’s standards. These 212‑passenger vessels expanded the line’s luxury reach and global itinerary flexibility. While not motor sailing yachts, the small 9,975gt trio still maintained the yacht experience that made Windstar popular. Even sharing the aft marina and watersports platform that the motor sailing yachts had. The Seabourn Spirit, Seabourn Pride, and Seabourn Legend were all renamed with the Star moniker to Star Breeze, Star Pride, and Star Legend respectively.
From 2019 to 2021, Windstar undertook its ambitious Star Plus Initiative with each Star-class ship being cut in half at Fincantieri’s Palermo yard and ‘stretched’ by about 25.6 m (84 ft). With retrofit work led by Wärtsilä on new engines and systems, capacity grew by 24%, and new amenities like restaurants, spas, and fitness centers were added to meet modern luxury standards. As a result, each ships gross tonnage, increased from 9,975gt to 12,995gt, and their length over all from 134m (439ft) to 159m (522ft).
Leadership and Modern Era
In 2020, Christopher Prelog was named president of Windstar Cruises. Prelog brought a unique perspective to the role, having started his cruise industry career as a waiter aboard what was then the Seabourn Legend in 1998. His rise through the ranks at Seabourn and later Windstar leveraged the hands-on, guest-service-focused culture both companies cultivated.
Under Prelog’s leadership, Windstar has continued to expand and innovate. The company relocated its headquarters from Seattle to Miami in 2022 to be closer to the center of the U.S. cruise industry. More recently, Windstar has been working to position itself as the dominant luxury cruise brand in French Polynesia, moving the larger Star Breeze to Tahiti year-round in 2024 to replace the smaller Wind Spirit.
Fleet Expansion and Future Growth
In 2024, Windstar announced its next major expansion with the acquisition of two additional vessels from Portugal’s Mystic Invest Holdings (parent company of Atlas Voyages). The Star Seeker, currently under construction in Portugal, will be Windstar’s first newbuild vessel since the Wind Spirit in 1998, and is scheduled for delivery in December 2025. The Star Explorer, a 2019-built ship currently chartered to Quark Expeditions, will join the fleet in December 2026 after extensive refurbishment.
Both ships will accommodate 224 guests and feature ice-strengthened hulls, allowing Windstar to expand into new destinations including Alaska and polar regions. The addition of these vessels will bring Windstar’s fleet to eight ships, representing a 33% capacity increase.
Current Operations and Market Position
Today, Windstar operates six ships serving nearly 50 nations with calls at 150 ports throughout Europe, the South Pacific, the Caribbean, and Central America. The line has maintained its positioning in the luxury small-ship segment, competing with lines like Seabourn, Sea Dream Yacht Club, and Sea Cloud Cruises.