Windstar Cruises’ Jess Peterson Named to Cruise Industry’s ‘20 under 40’ List by Seatrade Cruise News
Seattle, WA, September 21, 2018 — A global search for cruising’s top “20 under 40” came to a conclusion earlier this week, as the winners of the Seatrade Cruise News competition were announced at Seatrade Cruise Med in Lisbon, including Windstar Cruises’ Director of Itinerary and Revenue Planning Jess Peterson.
Peterson joined the small ship cruise company less than two years ago. Since then, the 28-year-old Stanford grad has made big waves, including:
- Overseen the fleet’s expansion in Asia, Alaska, Europe and Canada/New England, including the addition of seven new European and four new Asian itineraries in 2019, a return to Alaska this past summer after a 20-plus year absence, and new itineraries from New York City to New England and Canada this fall
- Launched the Signature Expeditions program in Alaska that brings guests face-to-face with the regions awesome natural environment aboard Zodiacs and kayaks launched directly from the ship.
- Added more overnights and late-night port calls to Windstar itineraries (more than 45 percent of Windstar’s cruises offer a late night or overnight in port)
- Introduced Windstar’s new, epic 51-day Grand Mediterranean cruise in 2019, and 56-day Grand Caribbean cruise in 2020 aboard the MSY Wind Surf, the world’s largest sailing ship, among other new longer voyage products at Windstar.
“We are thrilled to have Jess honored by being named to this prestigious list and recognized amongst his impressive group of peers. The talent that Jess possess’ and work he produces for Windstar has allowed us to accomplish our goal of global deployment in a considerably short amount of time, while at the same time creating compelling and innovative itineraries that our guests are very excited about. Jess is an invaluable member of the Windstar family and we are proud to have him on our leadership team,” said Windstar President John Delaney.
According to an announcement from Seatrade, the winners were announced during a ceremony at Seatrade Cruise Med, and those attending the event received a trophy and an invitation to the stage for a short interview with two members of the judging panel, Mary Bond, managing director of publishing, Seatrade, and Craig Milan, VP itinerary planning and destination development, Virgin Voyages.
In its inaugural year, Seatrade Cruise News' '20 under 40' had global participation and attracted nearly 100 entries.
“Both the volume and standard of entries this competition received have been truly outstanding; which made selecting the Top 20 winners a difficult task,” Bond said. “Each individual who was nominated should be extremely proud of not just themselves but the future they are helping to ensure for cruising. It’s so encouraging to see so much young talent build, maintain and innovate this thriving and exciting industry.”
A complete list of this year’s winners can be found at http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/20-under-40-finalists-announced-by-seatrade-cruise-news-in-lisbon.html.
To learn more about authentic small ship cruising with Windstar, contact a travel professional or Windstar Cruises by phone at 877-958-7718, or visit www.windstarcruises.com.
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About Windstar Cruises
Windstar Cruises operates a six-ship fleet of small sailing and all-suite ships sailing throughout Europe, the Caribbean, Costa Rica and the Panama Canal, Asia, Alaska and British Columbia, Canada and New England, and cruising year-round in Tahiti. Windstar’s fleet is the market leader in small ship cruising with a total of 1,242 passenger berths calling on off-the-beaten-path and popular ports in nearly 80 countries. The boutique cruise line carries 148 to 310 passengers on six small ships and takes travelers on cruises that are 180 degrees from ordinary. Windstar is known for immersive experiences and destination authenticity, port-intensive itineraries, exceptional award-winning service, and an innovative culinary program with culinary-themed cruises as the Official Cruise Line of the James Beard Foundation. Windstar Cruises is a part of Xanterra Travel Collection, an award-winning, globally diversified travel company offering once in a lifetime experiences in some of the most beautiful and iconic places on earth.
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Contacts:
Mary Schimmelman, Director of Public Relations
Mary.Schimmelman@windstarcruises.com, 206-733-2970
Sally Spaulding, Percepture
sspaulding@percepture.com, 970-986-9063