Hans Birkholz News

Today at a christening ceremony in Nice, France, Windstar Cruises debuted Star Breeze, the second of the fleet’s three new all suite power yachts. The christening ceremony and pier-side champagne celebration mark the luxury yacht’s introduction to the Windstar fleet, and the start of its inaugural voyage through France, Monaco, and Italy. Wendy Perrin, TripAdvisor's first-ever Travel Advocate and the founder of WendyPerrin.com, was honored as Godmother of the yacht, successfully breaking a traditional bottle of champagne over the bow in front of a crowd of 250 guests, media, trade partners, and parent company Xanterra Parks & Resorts. Wendy Perrin was joined on stage by Hans Birkholz, CEO of Windstar Cruises; Captain Krasimir Ivanov; and Father Jean Marie.

Cruise Shipping Miami 2015 is gearing up to offer the most comprehensive and robust roster of panel discussions featuring the industry's most knowledgeable and experienced executives. The panels will be grouped under several broad themes based on industry trends during the four-day conference. The 31st edition of Cruise Shipping Miami is scheduled for March 16-19 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Organized by UBM Connect, thematic topics include The Geography of Cruise Tourism, Safety and Ship Operations, Market Segments and Cruise Product Development. On Tuesday morning, March 17, the conference will open with the popular State of the Industry session. Participants in that plenary session will be announced in the coming weeks. This program may be subject to alterations and additions.

Windstar’s owner, Xanterra Parks & Resorts®, to double its fleet with the purchase of three small Seabourne cruise ships. The company has agreed to buy Seabourn Pride, Seabourn Legend, and Seabourn Spirit. Under the project name 'Global Windstar', Windstar Cruises will become a market leader in small-ship cruising with 300 or fewer passengers per ship, with a total of 1,230 berths. Windstar will take possession of the three 104 all-suite ships, which hold 208 passengers each, over the next two years in the Mediterranean.

The small-ship luxury cruise line finishes its US$18million refurbishment program on all three of its sailing yachts. With the completion of Wind Spirit's dry dock  Windstar Cruises' $18 million fleet-wide renovation project is now finished. The project, which began in December of 2011, encompassed all three sailing yachts in a stem-to-stern renovation that enhanced public spaces, dining venues, staterooms and suites, as well as new sails. The 148-passenger Wind Spirit, the last of the fleet to undergo refurbishment…