The company signed a lease for 9,000 square feet on the fifth floor in the Doral Concourse, next door to the CityPlace Doral shopping and entertainment complex. The location has easy access to the Palmetto Expressway, Dolphin Expressway and Florida Turnpike and is minutes from Miami International Airport.

Moving by June

Windstar will be moving from Seattle by June.

'Miami is the center of the cruise industry in the US, and this new office will help us build industry relationships and attract new talent,' Windstar President Chris Prelog said. 'It will also let operations employees in Miami be closer to our yachts and crew, as well as shorten our flight times to Europe and the Caribbean, where so much of our operations take place.'

Some employees to remain Seattle and Denver

The Miami office is expected to open with about 30 to 35 employees and grow from there. About 15 current employees are moving to Miami and new talent will be hired there. Some current employees will remain in the Seattle area and continue to work remotely. Some, too, are moving/being hired in the Denver office of parent company Xanterra Travel Collection.

Windstar recently hired Stijn Creupelandt as VP hotel operations and product development, while Paul Barrett was promoted to VP marine & technical operations. Both report to Prelog, and all three will be based in the Miami office.

'Many of our roles can be effective from anywhere'

'The pandemic has taught us that with the right technology, many of our roles can be effective from anywhere, so we’re not requiring every Windstar employee to make this move to Miami,' Prelog explained. 'However, most new hires will be based in the Miami office.'

Prelog and many key members of Windstar’s team have already relocated to Miami to assist with the logistics and coordination of the new office.

Five of the line’s six yachts are back in service and operating with a full vaccination mandate for crew and passengers.

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