Chris Prelog recalls Windstar’s exclusive evening at Ephesus with vivid imagery. “Arriving after hours, with no tourists,” says the Windstar president, “we were left to explore the ancient Marble Road. Soon a beautiful voice echoed from the amphitheater — a fellow passenger testing the amazing acoustics. It was the perfect prelude to a fabulous dinner and concert in front of the Celsus Library, a setting which cannot be duplicated.”

The complimentary Destination Discovery Event is just one of the magical moments you’ll experience on what Chris calls “the quintessential Windstar cruise,” a mix of bucket-list destinations and charming little villages where only a ship the size of Wind Star can navigate. The romantic walled town of Monemvasia is one of Chris’s all-time favorites, as is bougainvillea-lined Nafplio. Visits to pastel-colored Ermoupoli and Agios Nikolaos, home to the Palace of Knossos with its fabled labyrinth, are rounded out with perennial favorites Santorini, Mykonos, Patmos, and Rhodes — each offering access to UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Add a few days before or after in Athens and this itinerary, as Chris says, “has every element of a select sailing, and one that I could repeat over and over again.”