Windstar's Delaney: 'This brand needs a storyteller'

Though it was tough for him to leave Seabourn and the Carnival Corp. family, Delaney said he saw 'much potential at Windstar, and it was a great opportunity for me.'

In a one-to-one interview Tuesday—his first day on the job—Delaney shared a number of his priorities. They include getting out and talking with travel agents, expanding source markets, branching into destinations such as Asia and, most of all, touting the distinctive differences of the 'Wind' ships and the 'Star' ships.

'This brand needs a storyteller,' as Delaney put it.

Windstar has 'great hardware,' but 'there needs to be more differentiation between the Wind ships and the Star ships.' There's 'no more iconic way of seeing parts of the Mediterranean or the Caribbean or Tahiti than under sail,' he said. The Star ships, meanwhile, are 'intimate, all-suite. They are different experiences and not enough has been done to communicate that.'

If Windstar tells its story more effectively, 'We have an opportunity to own small-ship cruising ...

'I don't see us as competitors in the ultra-luxury space or in the all-inclusive battle that's taking place,' Delaney told Seatrade Cruise News. 'We can deliver a casual luxury, a more relaxed elegance.'

He expects to be a highly visible leader. That goes for interacting with consumers, media and retailers—he'll be at Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas in early August.

And Delaney sees team-building as another of his strong suits. Windstar's core positions are filled, and he plans to spend plenty of time getting to know everyone over the next 30 to 60 days and talking about how to 'create something wonderful together.' He particularly looks forward to working with the 'great team in marketing and sales' to craft the story.

Joe Duckett is vp sales and marketing, Steve Simao is vp travel agency sales, Alan McGrory is vp operations and Doug Santoni joined as vp deployment and revenue operations a few months ago.

Delaney considers Royal Caribbean veteran Santoni 'a key asset. We have big opportunities on the itinerary-planning side.' Asia is among those, especially since the Star ships are small enough to dock in the heart of alluring destinations like Bangkok. Santoni is currently working on Windstar's 2017/18 winter/spring deployment.

Windstar's new president also wants to court source markets like the UK and Australia. 'The Star fleet are beloved in the UK. There's a great opportunity to do more there,' Delaney said. 'Both the UK and Australia are good cruise markets. Both enjoy small-ship cruising.'

While at Seabourn, Delaney forged brand partnerships like that with UNESCO to help protect World Heritage Sites. He has ideas for potential partnerships involving destinations, food and other areas that fit with the Windstar style. And he wants to offer more authentic cultural elements, something the Windstar team had begun but he'd like to take much further. It's possible to do a lot in that regard with small vessels.

Xanterra are 'not just owners, they're stewards' for putting $40m into the six ships. With Star Pride having emerged in June with an additional $4.5m in improvements there wasn't time to carry out in spring 2014 when the ship first transferred from Seabourn, 'The ships are gorgeous,' Delaney said. He cited thoughtful changes under Xanterra such as the creation of the top deck Yacht Club that added a coffee bar to the observation lounge, making an appealing inside gathering place.

'Xanterra are very, very committed owners,' he added. Delaney values having a larger entity to tap into for legal resources, IT and other needs. Currently Windstar is leveraging some marketing programs with its parent company.

Being part of a larger entity compares to Delaney's experience at Seabourn as part of Carnival Corp. He reports to Andrew Todd, president and ceo, Xanterra Parks & Resorts. Speaking at Cruise360 in Vancouver recently, Todd said Xanterra intends to grow Windstar.

'First we need to get it on more solid footing,' Delaney said. 'This is a misunderstood brand by many people in the market. Many don't know how special it is.'