Windstar Cruises has announced plans to establish an operating presence in the UK to “significantly expand” its distribution to domestic travel agents

As part of the expansion, Windstar has established Windstar Cruises UK Ltd and is in the process of securing consumer bonding through ABTOT which will allow the company to book cruise only with full consumer protection.

Later this year, the line aims to attain ATOL bonding to sell flight-inclusive cruises in the UK for the first time. The move will open the opportunity for more UK agents to contract directly with Windstar for the first time, backed by direct access to the line’s online booking engine for cruise-only reservations.

Windstar will continue to support and extend its existing agreements with Traveltek, Odysseus and other platforms, ensuring system access for all UK trade partners.

It comes after the line’s Star Pride arrived in Tower Bridge last Friday (15 May) and ahead of a significant fleet expansion programme with a total of eight yachts sailing globally: Star Seeker, the newest Star class all-suite yacht, which joined the fleet in December 2025 and Star Explorer, which will debut in December 2026.

Christopher Prelog, president of Windstar Cruises, said: “We’re excited to strengthen our presence in the UK and expand our support for the travel trade. We’ve been welcoming guests from the UK for over 40 years and we are delighted that as we grow the number of travel agents working directly with us we get to welcome back our loyal guests and welcome new-tobrand, especially those cruise sceptics that are looking for a more intimate cruise experience that is 180 Degrees from Ordinary.

“We’re grateful to The Cruise Line for serving as our UK general sales agent since May 2022, and we look forward to continuing to work together as we grow in this key market.”

The UK expansion is led by Helen Beck, managing director, global commercial. “This is the first step in significantly increasing Windstar’s distribution in the UK,” she said. “We’re committed to working directly with more agents than ever before, while continuing to value and invest in our platform partnerships meaning UK agents can now book cruise-only with full confidence.”

To support the expansion, Windstar is looking to appoint a new manager, sales operations & enablement. Based in the UK, this role will contribute to global sales operations and support partners across all international markets.