This Cruise Line Is Now Sailing Year Round to The Most Enticing Ports in the Mediterranean
Travelers rejoice – after pivoting to a first-ever winter cruise season in the Mediterranean this year, Windstar Cruises has announced its intent to keep sailing to the most enticing destinations in Spain, Italy, France, and beyond on a year-round basis. After an influx of bookings this past winter season, enhanced winter Mediterranean sails, including new itineraries and longer voyages, await in 2024/2025. Here’s why Windstar Cruises might be the best way to enjoy Europe at any time of the year.
Windstar Star Legend
Windstar Cruises is an award-winning small-ship cruise line known for its immersive experiences, innovative culinary program, and refined luxury. Windstar’s vessels sail throughout Europe, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific, among other attractive destinations around the globe.
Windstar Cruises
The luxury cruise line operates six boutique all-suite vessels and sailing yachts carrying less than 350 guests on each vessel. Windstar Cruises recently announced the upcoming addition of two new ships to its fleet, with the new Star Seeker sailing in December 2025 and the Star Explorer hitting the seas in December 2026.
More Space – And More Luxury
The vessel to take to the Mediterranean this winter – the Star Legend – was part of Windstar’s $250 Million Star Plus Initiative, which transformed three of the fleet’s all-suite Star Plus Class yachts with new suites, restaurants, and a world-class spa and fitness center. The new spaces take the cruise experience to another level of luxury.
New Destinations
Winter itineraries on the Mediterranean marked something new for Windstar. “On our inaugural sailing in December, every single travel advisor and guest on board told me ‘this is genius’ as we enjoyed the sunny weather of Europe’s most walkable cities when few cruise lines sail Europe’s oceans,” said Windstar’s Chief Commercial Officer Janet Bava. This winter, the Mediterranean itineraries involved routes between Rome, Italy, and Barcelona, Spain, with stops at cities like Livorno, Italy, near Florence, and the French cities of Marseille and Nice.
New Year
“Our biggest learning from this winter’s season was we were limited by the possibilities and experiences we could offer with just the one itinerary – from Rome to Barcelona and the reverse and we have responded to that with a variety of new itineraries for our guests to enjoy the Mediterranean’s most storied destinations in the winter,” says Bava.
New Opportunities To Explore Europe
In the upcoming season, Windstar will offer even more itineraries, exploring both major cities and tiny ports of call. Mediterranean itineraries will also provide a variety of lengths for travelers looking for more time spent exploring the region that is so stunning year-round.
Tucked-Away Ports
One of the most exciting itineraries travelers can look forward to with Windstar Cruises in the upcoming season is the Winter Italy & the Dalmatian Coast sail, to be offered on five occasions during the season. The 8-day itinerary sails from Rome to Venice, with stops in Naples, Taormina, an overnight in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and a full day in Zadar, Croatia before ending with an overnight in Venice.
Small Ship Luxuries
All the while, guests will get to enjoy the newly expanded and refurbished Windstar Star Legend. The elegant ship offers luxurious suites, an impressive spa and fitness center, and a number of new indoor and outdoor dining options that guests will love.
Enjoying The Star Legend
The ship has plenty of the amenities you’d want from any cruise, like stellar entertainment and programming every day, plus an impressive culinary offering and much more. However, Star Legend carries a maximum of just 312 guests at any given time, meaning you’ll never have to fight over a pool chair or dinner reservation.
Culinary Experiences
One of the ship’s newest highlights is Cuadro 44 by Anthony Sasso. Its Spanish menu is perfect for preparing passengers to explore Spanish ports like Barcelona on their Mediterranean itinerary.
Spanish Scenery
Barcelona will continue to feature heavily on Windstar’s winter Mediterranean itineraries in the coming season. The Southern Spain Winter Escapes itinerary will be a 9-day roundtrip sailing from Barcelona offered on four departure dates. The experience starts with an overnight in Barcelona before sailing to ports like Valencia, Cartagena, Malaga (for an overnight), Gibraltar (U.K.), and Palma de Mallorca.
Europe’s Greatest Monuments
It will allow guests to see some of the very best of Barcelona’s historic center, located just a short walk from the port, while also providing the opportunity to encounter more destinations and cruise ports in Spain that are further afield or that larger ships can’t access.
Far Fewer Crowds
One of the major benefits of traveling the Mediterranean in the winter is the lack of crowds in some of the region’s most popular destinations. With tourism booming at record numbers in many of these coastal European cities, it’s more imperative than ever to look to the shoulder season or off-season to avoid a less-crowded, hurried travel experience.
The Small Ship Advantage
Another benefit of exploring the Mediterranean with Windstar Cruises is that the fleet’s small, luxury ships can get into tucked-away ports to reach off-the-beaten-path destinations that larger ships could never access. Even at larger ports of call, the smaller size of the Star Legend means it often gets the most conveniently located berths within walking distance of town.
Your Own Yacht
The luxuries of the Star Legend and the exclusive Windstar small ship experience make the adventure feel like you’re enjoying your own luxury yacht excursion across the Mediterranean – a fantastic escape.
A Legendary Experience With Windstar
There are plenty of ways to enjoy the winter season with Windstar in the Mediterranean. Unique sailing itineraries will even allow for Christmas and New Year’s experiences you can’t get elsewhere, like Christmas mass at the Duomo in Florence, Italy, or New Year’s Eve in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, known to be one of Europe’s best destinations for a party. It’s all part of the one-of-a-kind Windstar Cruises experience.
Carley Rojas Avila is a bilingual New York-based travel writer, editor, content marketer, and the founder of the digital travel publications Explorers Away and Home to Havana. Carley is an expert on all things Latin America, the Caribbean, and Cuba, having lived and worked in four different countries in the region. Her writing has appeared on the Associated Press wires and in Travel + Leisure, Yahoo, MSN, Euronews, The Weather Channel, and more. When she's not writing about her travels, find her front row at a Bad Bunny concert, befriending street cats, and taste-testing every pizza in Havana.