17 Jul 2013
Windstar Cruises, a leader in yacht style cruising, was named one of the Top Small-Ship Cruise Lines in the prestigious Travel + Leisure 2013 World's Best Awards readers' survey. The line was ranked #3 with a score of 90.96 beating five other small-ship lines. This is the third time Windstar has been named a "World's Best Small-Ship Cruise Line" by Travel + Leisure, ranked at #5 in both 2011 and 2010.
Cruise line rankings in the 2013 Travel + Leisure's World Best Awards are based on readers' ratings of cruise ships on the following characteristics: cabins, restaurants/food, service, itineraries/destinations, excursions/activities, and value. This year's full results will be published in the August 2013 issue of the magazine.
"We're so proud to have our unique itineraries, personalized service and private yacht style cruising recognized by our loyal cruisers," said Hans Birkholz, Windstar Cruises' Chief Executive Officer. "Our teams both onboard and onshore continually strive to create memorable experiences for our guests, and it's an honour for us to be acknowledged by the people we serve every day."
This is not the first time Windstar guests have spoken, last month Windstar's Wind Surf and Wind Star were named as the "Best Small Ships" in Condé Nast Traveller's 2013 Reader's Cruise Poll and CruiseCritic.com voted Wind Surf #3 in "Best Overall Small Ship" and #1 for "Best Embarkation" in its 2013 Cruisers' Choice Awards. In addition, Yahoo! Travel named Windstar Cruises' Passage through Panama voyage as the top Central American cruise for its 2013 Cruise Picks; and FOX News ranked Windstar as one of the top 10 Caribbean Cruises for 2013.
About Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards
A questionnaire developed by the editors of Travel + Leisure, in association with ROI Research Inc., was made available to Travel + Leisure readers. Readers were invited to participate through Travel + Leisure magazine and online at TravelandLeisure.com. To protect the integrity of the data, after March 31, 2013, respondents were screened by Travel + Leisure and responses from any identified travel-industry professionals who completed the survey
were eliminated from the final tally. A minimum number of responses are necessary for a candidate to be eligible for inclusion in the World's Best Awards listings. For more information, visit www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest. Windstar Cruises Named One of the Best Small-Ship Cruise Lines in the World.
About Windstar Cruises
Windstar Cruises operates a fleet of small luxury cruise ships known for their intimate yacht-style experience and unique voyages to the world's best small ports and hidden harbors. Its three recently renovated sailing yachts carry fewer than 300 guests and cruise to 50 nations, calling at 100 ports throughout Europe, the South Pacific, the Caribbean, and Central America. In February 2013, Windstar entered into an agreement to purchase three all-suite motorized yachts with a capacity of 212 passengers each. Under the project name Global Windstar, the expansion will double the size of Windstar's fleet, making the company the market leader in small-ship cruising with 300 or fewer passengers, with a total of 1,230 berths. For more information including rates and itineraries, contact a travel professional or call Windstar at 800-258-7245. Visit Windstar Cruises online at WindstarCruises.com or Blog. WindstarCruises.com. Windstar Cruises can also be followed on Windstar's Facebook and Twitter fan pages.
For cruise information for Windstar, please contact Travel the World on 1300 950 622.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Nicole Craig, Account Director
BLACK Communications
Tel: 02 8399 3005 or 0405 105 676
