Author name: Carolyn Spencer Brown

Carolyn Spencer Brown has, for the past 20-plus years, been one of the cruise industry’s most knowledgeable journalists, first as a staff writer at The Washington Post and later as a longtime editor-in-chief of Cruise Critic. Over the past two decades she’s traveled on more than 300 cruises on ships big, small and downright tiny. An award-winning editor as well, her cruise stories have appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, Town & Country, and London’s Sunday Times.

This May Surprise You: Winter Can Be the Most Magical Time to Cruise in the Mediterranean

Visiting Italy, France and Spain onboard Star Legend earlier this year was unexpectedly magnificent. I say unexpectedly because I learned then that this part of the Riviera has, for centuries, been a winter haven for northern Europeans. I get it now. The late winter week was pleasantly cool, I loved the calmer-than-summer ambience, there was

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Monthly Update: What’s New in the Development of Windstar’s Star Seeker and Star Explorer?

For sure, Windstar’s announcement that it is acquiring two vessels – the 224-guest Star Seeker and Star Explorer, which debut respectively in December 2025 and 2026 – has generated a ton of excitement. We plan to keep you updated with new developments on a monthly basis, so keep checking in. And don’t be shy. Please

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Windstar’s Partnership with James Beard Foundation, 10 Years Strong, Continues Evolving

For Windstar, celebrating 10 years of its partnership with the New York-based James Beard Foundation®, means it’s spent the last decade not just significantly upgrading the cuisine served onboard its ships, but also introducing travelers to chefs with diverse backgrounds and approaches to food.   

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Getting to Know You: Windstar Cruises’ President Chris Prelog

In mid-June, Windstar President Chris Prelog was presented with the 2024 Excellence in Leadership Award. Presented by TravelAge West, a publication that serves the travel advisor community, Prelog’s award recognized his outstanding leadership, insight and innovation, and also his success at  impacting  both his own organizations and of the travel industry overall.

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Windstar Expands its Fleet. Of Course We Have the Inside Scoop

In case you missed it, yesterday Windstar President Chris Prelog shared a now-official and no-longer-secret announcement of good news: Windstar will be acquiring two motor-yacht ships, to debut in December 2025 and 2026. The 224-passenger yachts, one of which is new and the other, identical in design, just a few years old, will increase capacity

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What it’s Like: Our Year-Round Mediterranean Cruise on Star Legend

When Windstar announced last fall that it would be extending its Mediterranean season to year-round (from spring/summer/autumn), the first thing I wondered was this: How would a cruise in November–early March be different from one during the traditional April–October time frame? How would the new timings materially change the experience?

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Plan Your Port: Greece’s Pátmos

Like many of the islands in Greece’s Dodecanese, a group of 12 islands, Pátmos’ appeal lies in its whitewashed villages infused with lush, ancient olive groves roamed by goats, picturesque tavernas and a series of beautiful sun-drenched beaches. What’s different? This hideaway for famous celebrities and royalty is an intimate place, uncrowded and not yet discovered by larger cruise vessels.

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Windstar Reveals Details of its First-Ever President’s Mystery Cruise

If you had a chance to take a cruise without knowing exactly where you were heading, would you? Chris Prelog, president of Windstar Cruises, is betting that at least some of us are up for the challenge. In an entirely new twist for Windstar’s annual President’s Cruise, an eight day voyage departing on April 19,

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Intrigued by Ancient Greece? Plan your Cruise Around UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Greece is known for fabulous beaches, quaint villages, great food and thriving cities. But no trip to the Greek Isles is complete without exploring its history as the birthplace of Western civilization some 4,000 years ago. UNESCO includes 19 places in Greece on its list of World Heritage Sites, and many of them are part of our Greek Isles and Adriatic cruise experience.

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In Tahiti, a Magical Mystery Cruise on Star Breeze

We all expected that Star Breeze’s cruise in February, as it began sailing year-round in French Polynesia, would be something special. The ship, replacing Wind Spirit as the line’s 12-month designate in the region, would begin its homeporting there with an 11-night trip around the Society and Tuamotu Islands, featuring some of Earth’s most beautiful

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In Tahiti, Windstar’s Wind Spirit Hands Over the Year-Round Reins to Star Breeze

In a festive celebration tinged with just a hint of sentimentality, Captain Belinda Bennett, who has served at the helm of Wind Spirit throughout its most recent year-round series of seasons in French Polynesia (the ship has served the region for ten years), handed over the ceremonial French Polynesian flag to Star Breeze Captain Terry

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Windstar Cruises’ President Chris Prelog: Where Will the Future Lead Us in Travel?

As Chris Prelog and his team at Windstar Cruises contemplate not just what will be trendy in travel for 2024, they’re also thinking much more longer term. How will travel continue to evolve into the next decade? We had a chance to sit with Chris, president of Windstar Cruises, and talk about a wide-ranging series

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