Windstar Cruises Ranked Among Top Three Best Small-Ship Cruise Lines

Seattle, July 8, 2013 – Windstar Cruises, a leader in yacht style cruising, was named one of the Top Small-Ship Cruise Lines in the prestigious Travel + Leisure 2013 World’s Best Awards readers’ survey. The line was ranked #3 with a score of 90.96 beating out five other small-ship lines. This is the third time Windstar has been named a “World’s Best Small-Ship Cruise Line” by Travel + Leisure, ranked at #5 in both 2011 and 2010.

Cruise line rankings in the 2013 Travel + Leisure's World Best Awards are based on readers’ ratings of cruise ships on the following characteristics: cabins, restaurants/food, service, itineraries/destinations, excursions/activities, and value. This year’s full results will be published in the August 2013 issue of the magazine, as well as on www.travelandleisure.com.

"We're so proud to have our unique itineraries, personalized service and private yacht style cruising recognized by our loyal cruisers,” said Hans Birkholz, Windstar Cruises’ chief executive officer. “Our teams both onboard and onshore continually strive to create memorable experiences for our guests, and it’s an honor for us to be acknowledged by the people we serve every day.”

This is not the first time Windstar guests have spoken, last month Windstar’s Wind Surf and Wind Star were named as the “Best Small Ships” in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2013 Reader’s Cruise Poll and CruiseCritic.com voted Wind Surf #3 in “Best Overall Small Ship” and #1 for “Best Embarkation” in its 2013 Cruisers’ Choice Awards. In addition, Yahoo! Travel named Windstar Cruises’ Passage Through Panama voyage as the top Central American cruise for its 2013 Cruise Picks; and FOX News ranked Windstar as one of the top 10 Caribbean Cruises for 2013.