For More Information:
Windstar Cruises Public Relations
Amanda Graham
[email protected]
206.733.2970
Wagstaff Worldwide Public Relations
Sally Spaulding
[email protected]
970.429.4182
Windstar Cruises Appoints ‘Influential Woman in Travel’ as Godmother
Wendy Perrin Named Godmother of Windstar’s Star Breeze Yacht
Seattle, March 18, 2015 – Windstar Cruises is pleased to announce the appointment of travel
influencer Wendy Perrin as Godmother of the fleet’s newest yacht, the Star Breeze.
The company is adding two yachts to its fleet in May of 2015, including the 212-passenger Star
Breeze and Star Legend. The addition of these two ships make the company the market leader
in small ship cruising with 300 or fewer passengers, with a total of 1,242 berths. Star Breeze will
set sail from Nice to Rome, May 6-10, 2015, with stops in Monte Carlo, Portofino, and
Portoferraio.
Wendy Perrin is the founder of WendyPerrin.com, a groundbreaking site focused on travel
solutions and travel planning. Prior to founding WendyPerrin.com, Perrin spent two decades
at Condé Nast Traveler as its Director of Consumer News and Digital Community. During her
time at Condé Nast Traveler, Perrin amassed a wealth of travel knowledge and
recommendations, thus positioning herself as one of the travel industry’s most influential
women. In addition to creating her travel website, Perrin is currently serving as TripAdvisor's
first-ever Travel Advocate.
“I am so pleased to sail on the inaugural voyage of Star Breeze as Godmother,” says Perrin. “I
can’t wait to experience the yacht, as well as those charming harbors that only small ships can
sail into, and I look forward to exploring even more of the world’s hidden-gem places aboard the
Star Breeze in future.”
Perrin has sailed on Windstar twice as a guest lecturer, including on her honeymoon. She fell in
love with the company’s devotion to bringing guests closer to the world through small ship
cruising, coupled with the personalized service for which Windstar is known.
Perrin’s Godmother duties include hosting the Star Breeze Christening Ceremony on May 6,
which involves a pier-side celebration and ceremonial champagne bottle breaking across the
yacht’s bow. In addition to the ceremony and interacting with guests, Perrin will participate in the
onboard press conference and attend the Lifestyles of the Glitterati Private Event in Monaco.
“We are thrilled to name Wendy Perrin Godmother of the Star Breeze,” says Hans Birkholz,
CEO of Windstar Cruises. “She is one of the most respected and influential women in the travel
industry, and has made it her life’s work to provide accurate and inspiring travel experiences to
her readers. At Windstar, we strive to deliver a vacation experience 180 degrees from ordinary.
We are proud to have a Godmother whose career of telling stories about the most magical
moments in travel matches our philosophy.”
Perrin’s appointment to Godmother of the Star Breeze comes after an $8.5 million, three-week
renovation in Genoa, Italy. Windstar receives delivery of the ship on April 15, 2015, and relaunches Star Breeze on May 6, 2015, after a full stem to stern transformation, including
overhauls of the public spaces, dining venues, and suites.
About Wendy Perrin
Wendy Perrin is the founder of WendyPerrin.com, where she shares her encyclopedic
knowledge of travel solutions and travel planners. As TripAdvisor’s first-ever Travel Advocate,
Wendy advises its 315 million monthly visitors – the world’s largest travel community.
Wendy was formerly Director of Consumer News and Digital Community at Condé Nast
Traveler, where she wrote her practical advice column, The Perrin Report, for 17 years. She
started out long ago as the magazine’s Ombudsman (consumer advocate), investigating reader
complaints about travel companies and helping wronged travelers get compensation, and that
led to her book Wendy Perrin’s Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know.
Wendy has been a keynote speaker at conferences worldwide, on cruise ships, at Harvard
University, and at the United Nations. Television appearances include The Today Show, Good
Morning America, and many programs on CNN. She has won the Travel Journalist of the Year
award, earned a Lowell Thomas award for investigative journalism, and been a finalist for a
National Magazine Award—the magazine industry’s most prestigious editorial honor. She
graduated cum laude from Harvard, where she majored in History and Literature.
Follow her on Facebook and @wendyperrin for all her best tips.
About Windstar Cruises
Windstar Cruises operates a fleet of small luxury cruise ships known for its intimate yacht-style
experience and unique voyages to the world’s best small ports and hidden harbors. Its yachts
carry just 148 to 310 guests and cruise to 50 nations, calling at 150 ports throughout Europe,
the South Pacific, the Caribbean, and Central America. Windstar expands their fleet from four
ships to six in May 2015 with the addition of two small luxury yachts, with 212 guests aboard
each. The inclusion of Star Breeze and Star Legend to the fleet makes the company a market
leader in small ship cruising with 300 or fewer passengers, with a total of 1,242 berths. Windstar
was recently named Condé Nast Traveler’s #1 small ship cruise line in the world.
For more information including rates and itineraries, contact a travel professional or call
Windstar at 800.258.7245, or visit www.windstarcruises.com.
###