Windstar Cruises has been quietly crafting hybrid ocean-river itineraries for years. Now the small-ship line is highlighting these itineraries to travel advisors with river cruise clients, aiming to capture new customers.
In a river cruise market where itineraries overwhelmingly focus on the same collection of rivers, Windstar’s hybrid itineraries present alternative waterways, like Spain’s Guadalquivir River and Thailand’s Chao Phraya River.
In its effort to deliver that message to travel advisors, Windstar had representatives at this year’s ASTA River Cruise Expo, where they spoke to advisors about the brand’s reach into river cruising. New language in promotional materials calls its offerings “ocean-to-river voyages.”
“It really is about positioning,” said Windstar chief commercial officer Janet Bava. “It’s about positioning and attracting a new demographic into Windstar.”
Advisors say that the positioning is resonating with travelers who seek new experiences. Rob Stuart, president of Creating Magic Vacations, called river cruising “the hottest product in travel” and added that Windstar is astute in trying to tap into that. He lauded Windstar for its new marketing, pointing out that river cruising and small-ship ocean cruising appeal to a similar customer.
Though Windstar hadn’t previously promoted its river cruise calls in the way it is now, it had noticed that it was attracting travelers who like river cruises, Bava said. She sees river cruises as an entry point for “cruise skeptics.”
“We all know that the majority of the population still feels that ‘cruising’ is those big, massive ships that you see along the Port of Miami,” Bava said.
By promoting Windstar as a brand whose ships can ply rivers, it gives prospective guests a sense of “how small we really are,” she said. That helps welcome travelers who might be persuaded to give ocean cruising a try but are turned off by a perception of huge ships, fighting the crowds for a lounge chair by the pool and standing in a buffet line.
“This absolutely provides a solution to travelers who may not want to do an ocean cruise or get seasick, and they don’t want the crowded, sometimes chaotic experience of the larger cruise ships,” Stuart said.
A good example of the hybrid experience is an upcoming seven-night cruise on the 312-passenger Star Legend. The cruise begins on the Garonne River in Bordeaux, France, then heads to the Atlantic, cruising through a series of coastal ports in western France, including La Rochelle and Saint-Malo.
On the cruise’s final full day, the Star Legend heads inland up the Seine through Normandy to Rouen, where it overnights. Guests disembark the next morning.
Another hybrid itinerary visits Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore during an 11-night cruise on the 224-passenger Star Seeker.
The trip concludes in Bangkok, where the ship is docked “as close to Bangkok as any ship can get,” according to Windstar, because it cruises up the Chao Phraya River.
What other lines offer
Other small-ship cruise lines offer river cruises, but ocean-river hybrid itineraries are more rare.
American Cruise Lines sails the U.S. coast and rivers and has some hybrid itineraries. A fall foliage sailing takes cruisers along the Atlantic coast and also makes calls on the Kennebec River in Maine and the Hudson River in New York.
“If you enjoy a Mississippi River cruise with American, you are likely going to enjoy a Maine coast cruise, a Puget Sound cruise and so on,” said spokeswoman Alexa Paolella.
National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions and Aqua Expeditions have both river and ocean fleets. Aqua keeps its river vessels in fresh water and ocean vessels in salt water. Lindblad has several ocean ships that sometimes go into rivers, like the Sea Lion and Sea Bird, which sail the Columbia and Snake rivers in the Pacific Northwest.
For Aqua, the marketing focus is on the destination rather than what type of ship will take you there, whether that’s the Amazon rainforest, the Galapagos or Vietnam, said founder Francesco Galli Zugaro.
The line doesn’t currently offer hybrid itineraries; Zugaro said that those sailings can present logistical challenges for Aqua because of the shape and mechanics of the ships and local regulations.
