Luxury goods have been particularly hard hit by the economic slow-down, and travel is no exception. That means there are more discounts than ever before for this category of travel for those who are able to take advantage of these unprecedented savings.
One such deal that crossed my desk this week is for one of the most awarded small luxury cruise lines—Windstar Cruises. Windstar operates just three yachts in Europe, the Caribbean and the Americas, carrying between 148 to 312 passengers, max. Its smaller ship sizes means a higher crew-to-passenger ratio, for more attentive service, as well as the ability to dock in intimate and secluded spots that are off-limits to larger vessels.
Photo: Courtesy of Windstar Cruises
Starting today, Oct. 15, 2009, Windstar is offering a “30 Sailings for 30 Days” sale on 30 select cruises set to depart in 2010. Rates start at $1,849 per person, double occupancy for 29 of Windstar’s 7-day sailings on the 312-guest Wind Surf and the 148-guest Wind Star and Wind Spirit yachts. The Wind Surf’s April 18, 2010 sailing from Rome to Athens starts at $1,649 per person, double occupancy. (The regular starting rate for this trip is $2,399.) Overall discounts add up to roughly 25 to 30 percent savings per person. That’s decent enough even for me for to consider making a booking, and I’m not even a cruise person.
Here’s a list of the itineraries on sale for each ship:
Wind Surf Sailings:
4/18/10 Rome to Athens 8/08/10 Rome to Nice
4/25/10 Athens to Rome 8/22/10 Barcelona to Nice
5/30/08 Rome to Rome 8/29/10 Nice to Rome
6/20/10 Venice to Venice 9/12/10 Venice to Venice
7/04/10 Rome to Nice 9/19/10 Venice to Rome
7/18/10 Barcelona to Rome 9/26/10 Rome to Nice
Wind Star Sailings:
3/06/10 Costa Rica Roundtrip 7/31/10 Istanbul to Athens
3/20/10 Costa Rica Roundtrip 10/23/10 Rome to Rome
7/03/10 Athens to Rome 10/30/10 Rome to Barcelona
7/10/10 Rome to Rome 11/06/10 Barcelona to Lisbon
7/17/10 Rome to Athens
Wind Spirit Sailings:
3/13/10 St. Martin Roundtrip 10/23/10 Athens to Rome
5/08/10 Nice to Rome 10/30/10 Rome to Rome
5/15/10 Rome to Rome 11/06/10 Rome to Barcelona
7/17/10 Venice to Venice 11/13/10 Barcelona to Lisbon
7/24/10 Venice to Athens
Offer cannot be combined with any other promotions or programs, except for CLIA’s “World’s Largest Cruise Night” $50 per person shipboard credit promotion. Taxes are additional. Offer is capacity controlled and may be withdrawn or modified at the discretion of Windstar. Offer valid on new bookings between Oct. 15 and Nov. 14, 2009.
For more information including rates and itineraries call Windstar at 800-258-7245 or visit www.windstarcruises.com.
