MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 9, 2026--
Smaller ships. Smarter itineraries. Access to ports and waterways that larger vessels can’t reach. That is what sets Windstar Cruises apart. In 2026, the leading small ship cruise line is introducing nearly 30 new voyages while offering a final chance to take advantage of the line’s most valuable Wave Season promotion to date.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260309627099/en/
Available for bookings made through March 31, 2026, the promotion includes a complimentary all-inclusive upgrade (select unlimited alcohol, Wi-Fi and gratuities), a pre-cruise hotel night with transfer (where available) and up to $1,000 in onboard credit per guest on select voyages sailing through March 31, 2027. Windstar’s “ Beyond Inclusive ” Wave Season offer unlocks more opportunities to experience sought-after destinations—like Europe in summer—where Windstar’s small yachts invite travelers to explore the coastline and dock close to the action, all while avoiding the inland crowds.
“There are so many incredible moments throughout the year to plan a Windstar voyage — from summer along Europe’s storied coastlines to shoulder-season escapes in the Mediterranean,” says Janet Bava, chief commercial officer at Windstar Cruises. “Our yachts are designed to bring you closer to the places you’re exploring, whether that’s sailing into Venice’s lagoon, dropping anchor off a quiet Greek island, or stepping ashore in a tucked-away harbor. When you pair that kind of access and intimacy with our most compelling Wave Season offer to date, it becomes the perfect time to turn those travel plans into something truly unforgettable.”
What Makes Windstar’s Small Ship Cruises Beyond Ordinary?
With just 148 to 342 guests per yacht, Windstar delivers an intentionally intimate experience. On board, the atmosphere is relaxed yet refined, with attentive service and open bridge access that invites guests behind the scenes. Food is another signature. As the Official Cruise Line of the James Beard Foundation, Windstar elevates every voyage with destination-inspired cuisine, complimentary specialty dining, and curated culinary experiences ashore.
What are the New Highlights for Windstar Cruises in 2026?
Windstar’s 2026 lineup spans bucket-list moments and off-the-beaten-path discovery. Here are five of the most anticipated additions to the 2026 lineup.
Where and When to Make the Most of Windstar’s Wave Season Offer
Certain seasons are simply meant to be experienced from the water. The buzz of summer in Europe unfolds along its coastlines, where islands, seaside villages, and café-lined harbors come alive. On board, the ship’s Marina transforms the stern into a private waterfront playground, where guests can lounge, swim, paddleboard, and kayak in scenic bays. With the surge in European travel in the summer, sailings such as Treasure Troves of Corsica & Sardinia spotlight dramatic limestone cliffs, vineyard-lined hillsides and intimate anchorages, while Italy and the Allure of the Aeolian Islands explores volcanic landscapes and seaside villages best approached by water. September in Italy offers softer light and harvest-season flavors that create a more intimate rhythm along the Mediterranean. In December, French Polynesia invites warm breezes, turquoise lagoons, and days spent swimming straight from the yacht’s Marina.
Looking for a Shorter Escape?
In response to growing demand for shorter vacations across Europe, Windstar has introduced a collection of Quick Getaways with three- to five-night sailings designed for travelers who want meaningful coastal access in just a few days. Ideal as standalone escapes or paired with a land stay, these Quick Getaways offer a flexible way to experience Europe at its peak, with the same intimate scale and elevated onboard experience that defines Windstar’s longer itineraries. Options range from La Dolce Vita in Italy & France (a Rome roundtrip with Riviera flair) and A Taste of Southern France (a Mediterranean escape from Barcelona) to a delicious Northern European adventure in Belgium: A Sweet Getaway.
When to Book for the Best Value?
Windstar’s “Beyond Inclusive” Wave Season promotion is available for bookings made by March 31, 2026, on select voyages sailing through March 31, 2027. The offer gives travelers a limited window to lock in added value and secure preferred stateroom categories on popular itineraries.
Highlights of the offer include:
For more information, visit WindstarCruises.com, contact a Windstar vacation planner or call 866-258-7245
Windstar Cruises imagery here, credit to Windstar Cruises.
About Windstar Cruises:
For four decades, Windstar Cruises has been reimagining small-ship cruising with a distinctive blend of relaxed luxury and genuine connection to the world’s most captivating destinations. From its origins with motor sailing yachts tailored for upscale yet casual travel, Windstar has grown into a diverse fleet of four Star Class all-suite yachts—including its newest addition of Star Seeker in December 2025—and three Wind Class sailing yachts, offering voyages that are both intimate and inspiring. It’s highly anticipated yacht, Star Explorer, is set to debut in December 2026, expanding the fleet to eight yachts accommodating 150-350 guests. Windstar’s legendary Wind Class sailing yachts are also undergoing a meticulous two-phase redesign to be completed by 2027. Windstar yachts sail to more than 330 ports across Europe, the Caribbean, Costa Rica and the Panama Canal, Alaska, Canada and New England, Japan, the South Pacific, and Asia. Unlike most cruise lines, Windstar sails year-round in the Mediterranean and Tahiti, offering different destination experiences seasonally. Each Windstar voyage is designed to immerse guests in authentic cultural experiences, all while delivering the comfort, service, and style that define the Windstar difference.
Windstar Cruises is proud to be part of the Xanterra Travel Collection®, a distinguished group of global hospitality and travel companies with a legacy spanning over a hundred years. Xanterra operates iconic national parks, including Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Glacier, and Death Valley. The Xanterra Travel Collection® is owned by The Anschutz Corporation, the ultimate owner of the Broadmoor, Sea Island, and entertainment giant AEG, Anschutz Entertainment Group.
Wind Surf sails off Gythion, Greece
Iran launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf countries Monday, hours after Iranian state TV said Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the country’s late supreme leader and long considered a contender, had been named his successor.
Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard answers to the supreme leader and the younger Khamenei will have a central say in the war strategy.
Oil prices skyrocketed Monday, leading to more worries that higher energy costs will fuel inflation and lead to less spending by U.S. consumers, the main engine of the economy. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunged as much as 7% in early Monday trading, while other Asian markets also tumbled.
Saudi Arabia sharpened its warnings to Iran, telling Tehran Monday it would be the “biggest loser” if it continues to attack Arab states. The Saudi statement came after a new drone attack apparently targeted its massive Shaybah oil field.
Here is the latest:
Monday’s interception was second since the start of the Iran war. Iran has fired missiles and drones at several countries across the region since the United States and Israel attacked it over a week ago.
The United Arab Emirates says 15 ballistic missiles and 18 drones were fired on the Gulf country on Monday.
That has brought the total projectiles fired at the UAE since the start of the U.S. and Israel war against Iran to 253 missiles and 1,440 drones, the Emirati Defense Ministry said. Four foreign nationals have been killed and 117 people wounded in the attacks, it said.
The U.S. State Department on Monday ordered non‑emergency staff and family members to leave the U.S. Consulate in Adana, in southern Turkey. It also advised American citizens to depart southeast Turkey.
The decision marks the 10th U.S. diplomatic mission placed on ordered departure since the start of the war with Iran, and the first such move involving a NATO ally.
Israel said it had begun “a wide-scale wave of strikes” in Tehran, Isfahan and in southern Iran.
In the early days of the war there were barrages with dozens of missiles, but that has dropped to less than 10 or 20 missiles being launched at a time, said Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani.
Iran is still firing missiles frequently toward Israel, sending people running for shelter multiple times per day, especially in central Israel.
Shoshani noted that Iran still has “a significant amount” of missiles, as Israel has concentrated on attacking Iran’s missile launchers rather than its weapons arsenals. Israel claimed previously it has destroyed around 60% of Iran’s launchers and has also targeted missile production facilities.
Funeral processions were held Monday for two Palestinian women and a 12-year-old girl who were killed in an Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip.
The three were killed Sunday when tank shelling hit two tents in Abu Shemeis camp for displaced people in central Gaza, according to Awda Hospital. A 6-month-old boy was severely wounded, it said.
The camp is located around 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the so-called Yellow Line separating Israeli-controlled areas from the rest of Gaza. The dead included a journalist, Amal Shamali, who worked for Radio Qatar, according to the hospital.
The Israeli military didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Lebanon’s state news agency said legislators voted 76-41 with four abstentions. Hezbollah’s 13-member bloc in parliament voted in favor of the extension.
The latest conflict with Israel that began last week has displaced over half a million people and made it difficult to organize a vote in large parts of the country. The next parliamentary elections had been scheduled for May.
Iran has been using cluster munitions against Israel on a “nearly daily basis,” an Israeli military spokesperson said Monday. He said Iran had fired similar missiles at Israel during the 12-day war last June.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said that the cluster munitions fired at Israel so far have targeted Israel’s most “densely populated civilian areas” in Jerusalem and central Israel.
A cluster munition is a bomb that opens in the air and releases smaller “bomblets” across a wide area. The bomblets are designed to take out tanks and equipment, as well as troops, hitting multiple targets at the same time.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a telegram to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to congratulate him on becoming Iran’s new leader.
The message, published on the Kremlin’s website Monday, reaffirmed Moscow’s “unwavering support for Tehran,” and said that “Russia has been and will remain a reliable partner of the Islamic Republic.”
“At a time when Iran is opposing armed aggression, your tenure in this high post will undoubtedly require great courage and dedication. I am sure that you will honorably continue your father’s work and unite the Iranian people,” Putin’s message read.
There was no advance warning, suggesting rocket fire from Lebanon.
In naming Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader, the Assembly of Experts and Iranian state media referred to him as “ayatollah,” one of the highest titles given to clerics within Shiite Islam. Khamenei’s father, Ali, similarly became an ayatollah with his appointment as supreme leader in 1989.
French President Emmanuel Macron says Group of Seven nations could dip into their emergency oil stockpiles in response to soaring energy prices.
Speaking to reporters en route to a visit to Cyprus, Macron said “the use of strategic reserves is an envisaged option.” He said G7 leaders could meet this week to coordinate a response to climbing energy prices, expected via a call or a video conference. France currently holds the rotating presidency of the G7 group.
Separately, finance ministers from the G7 nations are meeting Monday afternoon by video conference to discuss the repercussions from the Iran war.
The man was killed in an attack that targeted central Israel.
It marked the first death from missiles in Israel in a week.
China’s government said the authorities “have noted” the reports of Iran naming Mojtaba Khamenei as new supreme leader and called on all parties to go back to negotiations to avoid further escalation.
“This is a decision made by the Iranian side in accordance with the country’s constitution,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Monday.
He added that “China opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs under any pretext” and said that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran “should be respected.”
Around 70,000 Syrians have crossed the border from Lebanon “under duress in a rush to Syria because they were so afraid of what is happening in Lebanon,” Karolina Lindholm Billing, the representative of the U.N. refugee agency in Lebanon, said Monday.
Lebanon was at one point hosting more than 1 million Syrian refugees, but the numbers have declined, particularly since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024. Today around 532,000 registered refugees remain, with potentially hundreds of thousands more believed to be unregistered.
The United States and Iran have offered sharply different accounts of the sinking of an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
Washington has rejected Tehran’s claim that the warship IRIS Dena was unarmed when it was sunk in a submarine attack near Sri Lankan waters on March 4.
In a statement Sunday on X, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command called Iran’s assertion that the vessel was unarmed “false.”
Iranian officials say the vessel was operating in a noncombat role as it returned home after taking part in a naval exercise in India.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said last week the warship was “unarmed.”
Israel said Monday it has carried out airstrikes in Beirut.
The Israeli army earlier Monday said it would operate against targets associated with the Hezbollah-linked financial institution al-Qard Al-Hasan. It repeated the warning to residents of Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburb to flee.
Israel says Hezbollah uses al-Qard al-Hasan to finance its military activities.
Smoke billowed over Beirut after the attacks. The first strike destroyed a building housing an office of al-Qard al-Hasan in the southern suburb of Chiyah.
Israel’s military targeted several branches of al-Qard al-Hasan in southern and eastern Lebanon last week.
During the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2024, Israel’s military carried strikes that destroyed more than a dozen branches of al-Qard al-Hasan across Lebanon.
Emirati authorities have reported another missile attack in the capital, Abu Dhabi, urging people to remain in safe locations.
Israel has identified another launch on northern Israel shortly after a previous warning of an incoming missile attack from Iran on Monday.
Israel said in a new warning Monday that it has identified missiles launched from Iran toward northern and southern Israel.
Sirens sounded in Israel warning of a missile attack from Iran for the sixth time Monday.
Bangladesh on Monday closed all universities, bringing forward the break for Eid al-Fitr as part of emergency measures to conserve electricity during the conflict in the Middle East.
The South Asian country, which depends on imports for 95% of its energy requirements, already has experienced instances of panic buying. Car owners and drivers have struggled to collect fuel as shortages are reported.
The government has shut most fertilizer factories, redirecting available gas to power plants to avoid widespread outages.
Islam’s biggest festival is expected to be held either March 20 or 21, depending on the moon sighting, at the end of a month-long fasting ritual.
Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud urged people to remain calm, saying Bangladesh has sufficient fuel stocks.
The capital of the United Arab Emirates came under Iranian attack Monday, with two people hurt by shrapnel from interceptions in Abu Dhabi, authorities said.
South Korea says it will cap oil prices for the first time since 1997 to stabilize soaring fuel costs driven by the war.
Kim Yong-beom, the presidential policy chief of staff, said in a briefing Monday that Seoul plans to introduce the caps sometime this week.
The government did not immediately provide details on how the caps would be structured and operated.
The move will help make fuel prices more predictable and prevent refineries and gas stations from raising prices “abnormally,” Kim said.
The Korea National Oil Corporation says it is holding several months’ worth of strategic oil reserves at nine storage facilities across South Korea, a stockpile that exceeds the International Energy Agency’s recommendation of 90 days.
South Korea last released its strategic reserves, which are used to address serious supply disruptions, in 2022 when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shocked global energy markets.
India’s foreign minister says two Indian mariners have been killed during the war.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar confirmed the deaths in an address to India’s parliament Monday and said the victims were working on merchant shipping operating near the conflict zone.
One sailor was still missing, he said.
The minister did not give further details of the vessels involved.
“This ongoing conflict is an issue of particular concern for India,” Jaishankar said, explaining that nearly 10 million Indians live and work in Gulf countries.
The region also is central to India’s energy security and trade, accounting for nearly $200 billion annually in commerce, he said.
Jaishankar reiterated that India favors peace in the region and urged a return to dialogue and diplomacy.
“We advocate de-escalation, restraint and ensuring the safety of civilians,” he said.
Turkey has deployed six F-16 jets and air defense systems to the Turkish-Cypriot part of the divided island of Cyprus to bolster its security, the defense ministry said.
A ministry statement said Monday additional measures would be taken if deemed necessary.
A British air base on Cyprus’ southern coastline was hit by a drone last week.
Ankara maintains some 30,000 troops in northern Cyprus, which broke away from the Greek south in 1974. Turkey is the only country to recognize the northern administration.
Iran’s judiciary reiterated it can order the assets of “enemies” abroad seized in the country.
It made the announcement Monday on the judiciary’s Mizan news agency.
Reporters for Farsi-language media abroad have seen their assets seized over the years.
The report also said “any intelligence or espionage activity conducted” abroad for the Israeli or U.S. governments “could lead to the confiscation of all assets and even the death penalty.”
Mourners carry the bodies of Hezbollah fighters who were killed by Israeli airstrikes during their funeral procession in Khraibeh village, eastern Lebanon, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Israeli tanks are parked in a staging area in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, Israel, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
This image taken from video provided by Iran state TV shows Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran's slain supreme leader, who has been named as the Islamic Republic's next ruler, authorities announced Monday, March 9, 2026. (Iran state TV via AP)
Flames rise from an oil storage facility south of the capital Tehran as strikes hit the city during the U.S.–Israel military campaign, Iran, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
