Catching Up With Windstar Cruises’ Christopher Prelog and Janet Bava

Windstar Cruises is in the midst of a burst of momentum that began with the launch of its first-ever newbuild, Star Seeker, in January and has continued with the launch of a new website, completion of Wind Star’s full refurbishment, a new partnership with Approach Guides, a another new-to-Windstar ship coming late this year, and more.

To find out what’s on the minds of Windstar’s executive leadership during such a busy time, TMR sat down with Windstar president Christopher Prelog and chief commercial officer Janet Bava at last month’s Seatrade Cruise Global conference. We talked about how Windstar approaches growing its fleet while maintaining a consistent experience, new technological initiatives for both guests and travel advisors, what advisors need to understand about small-ship cruising, and more.

To kick off the conversation, TMR asked Prelog how he has approached growing the fleet’s capacity over the past several years – first through stretching the Star Class Yachts and now with the addition of two ships.

“What we do when we look at growth is first protect what is most dear to us,” Prelog said. “Our essence, the DNA, the culture amongst our people. We need to preserve that in order to continue to deliver a very differentiating product to our guests.”

The second piece of the growth puzzle that Prelog said he thinks about is whether the company is growing in a way that’s “healthy.”

“You can put a lot of quick growth on the map, but are you growing healthy? That means, are you able to reach our occupancies? Are you able to reach your APDs [average per diem] and grow your guest database in a way that allows you to get more ships?”

No Growth Without Travel Advisors

Bava added that Windstar’s growth would not be possible without travel advisor support.

“You cannot experience the growth that Windstar has experienced in the last decade without the travel advisor community. You would need a lot more marketing dollars and direct marketing dollars to fill that gap,” she said.

Advisors, she added, are especially important for bringing new-to-brand guests to Windstar.

“They’re the ones that know who to identify for our brand.”

Investing in Frictionless Technology

As Windstar continues to grow, Prelog told TMR much of his attention is turning to how to ensure that the journey from booking to cruise and beyond is smooth – for guests and travel advisors.

“Going from six to eight ships, we really need to focus in on the technology… to create a frictionless experience,” he said, adding the primary focus is on pre-cruise and post-cruise because the onboard product is already delivering “very well.”

To start with, Windstar recently updated its website, a project that was supposed to take two years but was instead done in one.

“Guests were complaining about our previous website, so we had to accelerate the new website launch,” Bava said.

The new website, Prelog added is “ready for AI, is ready for the consumer, ready for travel advisors.”

But things sometimes get missed when timelines are accelerated and there is still work to be done, Prelog admitted – specifically, when it comes to guests being able to book excursions pre-cruise. Right now, due to “architectural design limitations,” the process is cumbersome.

“We are moving them out over the next few months and we’ll be able to sell directly through the website,” he said.

Prelog is committed to getting everything working smoothly.

“There are so many things you can control and so many things you can’t… I can’t control a TSA line, but I can control the website experience,” he said. 

Other changes Windstar has been making have been advisor facing, with still more to come.

“Two years ago, we didn’t have a dedicated group department,” Bava said, explaining that advisors that sell groups need different kinds of support than other advisors. “Being able to provide that service to them is important for a frictionless experience.”

And, while the new website is primarily customer-facing, the infrastructure of the site finally allowed Windstar to partner with Approach Guides to create co-branded microsites.

[Speaking of Approach Guides, Bava said more than one thousand advisors have already registered and more than 300 attended a recent training webinar.]

Prelog also just approved a budget to build an all-new travel advisor portal, which Bava said they hope to launch this December.

“It’s exciting,” Bava said. “The amount of investment that we’re getting on technology to improve the experience, not just for the guests, but for travel advisors.”

Small-Ship Cruising Misperceptions?

Taking a step back to look at small-ship cruising as a segment, TMR asked Prelog and Bava if there’s anything travel advisors are getting wrong when trying to move big-ship clients to smaller ships.

Prelog was quick to point out he doesn’t think the question of big ship or small ship is the right one to ask.  Instead, what really matters is the intent behind the vacation.

“Are they looking for expedition, for river, for destination immersions, for crossings… it’s the intent behind the cruise and the ship size that is really important for advisors to figure out,” Prelog said.

Bava further clarified. “The biggest misconception is that all small ship cruising is the same… It is a very different experience when you’re coming onboard Windstar than when you’re going on Seabourn or Explora… This is where the travel advisors come in to really educate them [clients] on the variety of small ship experiences that exist today and how Windstar could fit or if it is a fit for their client.”

That Windstar Feeling

If all small ship cruise lines are different, how, then, we asked Prelog and Bava, would they tell travel advisors to position Windstar to their clients based on the feeling Windstar gives its guests, not the hardware or the itineraries.

“Fun loving,” Bava said. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously. There’s a light-hearted, casual, laid-back atmosphere on the ships that people just enjoy. It’s not regimented. It’s relaxing and rejuvenating.”

It’s a feeling that’s consistent across the Windstar fleet, regardless of itinerary. And, that is thanks to the crew, both Bava and Prelog said.

“We have a 95% return rate of crew,” Prelog said. “It’s having that consistency amongst the crew. We have beautiful ships, but they are just beautiful ships without the crew. The crew brings the to life… no matter where you put the ship, you will get a Windstar experience.”

Itineraries to Push

Finishing up our conversation, TMR asked Prelog and Bava if there are any Windstar itineraries that aren’t getting enough love – from clients or travel advisors.

Bava chose Windstar’s summer European sailings, while Prelog picked the cruise line’s new short sailings.

“I think summer in Europe has gotten such a bad rap in terms of crowdedness,” Bava said, adding she what she really thinks is that people are doing summer in Europe wrong.

“As somebody who spends my summers in Europe, there’s nothing like being on a yacht in the water. This is the Mediterranean, Adriatic. These are waters that are renowned for being crystal clear and blue, whether you’re in the Greek Isles, Italy, the French Riviera… Imagine being on a yacht with a marina that’s open and enjoying those waters. You don’t have to be with the crowds. You don’t have to be in a long line at the museums.”

Prelog would like to see travel advisors pushing Windstar’s shorter sailings, particularly because he sees them as a great way to introduce clients to not only Windstar or small-ship cruising, but cruising in general. “From a travel advisor’s perspective, you’re building a curated program for your guests to go to Europe for a week… You can now add on a short cruise in and out of London [and other gateways] without going through a security line, without taking another flight… and for those who want to dip the toe into the water and say, let me try it out. I can deal with a three- or four-day cruise… for advisors, it’s a perfect way to convert a non-cruiser to a cruiser.”