Carnival Corporation on Thursday announced it sold its Windstar Cruises brand to Ambassadors International, a Seattle-based travel company that serves as home to the Majestic America Line. Windstar Cruises, which operates three sailing vessels as a subsidiary of Holland America Line, a unit of Carnival, was sold to Ambassadors for $100 million. Carnival says it sold Windstar so that it could focus on expanding its core growth brands and open new markets. Ambassadors President David Giersdorf said Windstar and its three vessels–the 312-passenger Wind Surf and the 148-passenger Wind Star and Wind Spirit–would retain the Windstar brand. Giersdorf says the transition from Holland America to Ambassador would be seamless for travel agents. "As far as agents are concerned, nothing changes, the company will operate as it has," he said.
