Windstar Cruises Adds ‘Quick Getaways’ to Europe Lineup for 2026
The new three- to five-night itineraries target time-crunched luxury travelers.
Star Legend in London, United Kingdom
Windstar Cruises will break from its traditional weeklong format in spring 2026 with the launch of “Quick Getaways,” a collection of three- to five-night European yacht voyages designed to appeal to time-crunched travelers. The program features nine departure dates across five itineraries, each pairing marquee cities with smaller, rarely visited ports that typically don’t appear on the same sailing. The pivot dovetails with a broader shift toward shorter, higher-frequency trips: Deloitte’s 2025 summer travel survey finds more Americans adding quick getaways to their calendars even as they rein in budgets, with trip frequency rising while spend growth moderates.
The format unlocks easy packaging for advisors: Fly overnight from East Coast gateways and board the same day in London or along the Med, or fold a short cruise into a longer land itinerary without burning excessive PTO. That composition also mirrors how U.S. travelers are traveling now. Hotel Dive’s readout of summer behavior—drawing on AAA, Bank of America and Deloitte—notes travelers plan an average of 3.1 summer trips (up from 2.3 in 2024), and a larger share this year (41%) is opting for getaways of three nights or fewer; among those trimming spend, the most common lever is simply taking shorter trips.
Inside the new collection, itineraries stay firmly experiential: kayaking near Sète and a Carcassonne run on A Taste of Southern France; Corsican markets and Tuscan pours on La Dolce Vita in Italy and France; Bruges and artisan chocolatiers on Belgium: A Sweet Getaway; and a St. Malo Getaway that sails under London’s Tower Bridge before sweeping the Normandy coast and Mont St. Michel. The onboard proposition doesn’t change: sub-350-guest ships, a relaxed yacht atmosphere, and an open-bridge policy, all useful talking points for clients who want intimacy without committing a full week.
The timing is also cruise-friendly. CLIA’s 2025 outlook cites a robust near-term environment powered by new capacity and “slightly shorter average durations” on those high-capacity ships in 2024–2025, with the average ocean cruise at 7.1 days, leaving headroom for even briefer samplers that can convert new-to-cruise clients already in Europe for work or leisure.
Meanwhile, micro-cation behavior is measurable: Allianz’s 2025 Vacation Confidence Index reports 34% of Americans say their first trip of the year will be two nights or less, and the average trip length dips to 4.2 nights (from 4.6 in 2024), evidence of a “shorter but more intentional” planning mindset.
Commercially, Windstar is seeding early momentum with incentives through Aug. 31, 2025—special pricing, up to $200 per stateroom in onboard credit, the All-In package, and an extra 5% for pay-in-full bookings—plus first pick of premium suites. Position these as “ease-in” sailings for corporate incentives, European FITs who want a low-friction add-on, or affluent clients stacking multiple short trips across a season, patterns consistent with this year’s rise in shorter stays and multi-trip calendars.
