Windstar Cruises has withdrawn a ship from the Middle East this winter and re-deployed it to the western Mediterranean.
The 312-passenger Star Legend will run itineraries from December to April covering Barcelona, Nice, Florence/Livorno, Marseille and Rome.
The switch follows MSC Cruises cancelling all sailings due to make calls to destinations in the Red Sea until April 17 due to the ongoing conflict in Israel.
Windstar president Christopher Prelog said: “The ship was originally scheduled to sail in the Middle East. We’ve postponed our launch in that region to begin in November 2024.
“With a ship in the Mediterranean, we saw an opportunity to offer guests a legendary winter season in Europe.”
Star Legend will operate 16 cruises between Barcelona and the port for Rome and a sailing to Athens. The new winter cruises will be available to book from November 6.
The schedule change has enabled Windstar with the opportunity to position Star Legend in Cannes to coincide with the International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) conference in December.
Windstar executives, including Prelog, sales vice president Dianna Rom, and chief commercial officer Janet Bava, will showcase the vessel’s renovation, completed as part of a $250 million investment, plus a two-night cruise after the event.