Short cruise itineraries are a staple in the Caribbean megaship market. But they are no longer just for megaships -- or for the Caribbean.
Windstar Cruises has expanded the model for small ships in Europe with "quick getaway" itineraries of just three to five days.
Like the traditional short itineraries on larger ships from key Florida homeports, Windstar's offerings may attract locals seeking a weekend getaway. But most of Windstar's guests are North American, and for them, the itineraries offer a flexible way to extend either a land vacation, a cruise or both.
Windstar president Christopher Prelog gave the example of tapping into clients booked on a weeklong U.K. tour and suggesting that, before they fly home, they add on a three- or four-day cruise from London that would also take in Belgium and France.
In that sense, he said Windstar is "flipping the script," since guests can extend land tours with short cruises rather than extending cruises with short land tours.
Offerings this year included a roundtrip, three-night stint from London to Belgium and a five-night journey from Italy to Spain.
Through the new offerings, Windstar learned how important flexibility is to travelers, said Jess Peterson, its director of destination experience and itinerary planning.
A kayaking excursion in Collioure, France, during a three-night Windstar cruise. Photo Credit: Teri West
"Guests appreciate having options that allow them to customize their vacations, whether that's combining a cruise with a land-based itinerary, extending a longer voyage or simply fitting travel into a shorter timeframe," he said.
For a three-night round trip sailing from London to Belgium, guests sailing multiple cruises outnumber those who only booked that itinerary, Peterson said.
"That tells us these shorter voyages are working exactly as we hoped," he said.
Windstar anticipated that existing customers would gravitate to the short voyages, but it also expected new guests might view them as an opportunity to sample a small ship cruise, Peterson said.
The initial itineraries did successfully draw new-to-brand travelers, but "we are surprised by how much our loyal guests also resonated with this short cruise option," Peterson said.
I got a taste of the new offering on a three-night cruise aboard the Wind Surf in early June from Barcelona to France and then back to Spain.
A small ship proved to be a lovely mode of transportation for such a brief cruise; it offered a relaxed atmosphere for dinner and sunset viewing that supplemented long days on land.
Many passengers on my sailing stayed on for the eight-night itinerary that followed, which continued up through Spain to Portugal. Some I met had sandwiched the cruise in between stints on land in the region.
Short cruises, big impact
Large-ship cruise lines have embraced short sailings in recent years as they developed roundtrip itineraries from Florida to their private destinations in the Bahamas. They have found the itineraries to be particularly popular with millennial and Gen Z passengers and have begun placing newer and newer ships on the itineraries.
As a small-ship cruise line without private islands and onboard waterparks, Windstar's foray into short cruising was much more experimental. Because it is a small line that's privately owned (by Xanterra Travel Group), Windstar embraces the opportunity to experiment without abutting significant hierarchy, Prelog said.
"We are willing to try out something new and learn from it," he said.
Windstar is also looking to grow its customer base beyond North America, Prelog said, and for Europeans, he envisioned the short cruises as an easy long-weekend vacation.
He described a short cruise out of London as a more efficient way to get out of the country for a short trip than via plane.
"If you're in downtown London, it takes you, on a good day, three hours to get to Heathrow and get checked in whichever flight you're going to take, and then you fly somewhere for several hours, and then you have to go from that airport to your final destination hotel," he said. With Windstar, passengers embark on the Thames, right next to Tower Bridge in central London.
Windstar currently has 10 more quick getaway sailings of three to five nights on sale through August 2027, and Peterson said it's too early to share expansion plans.
But, he said, "We're encouraged by the response so far."