Cruising is the fastest growing sector of the travel industry, so perhaps it’s no wonder that some of the world’s most exclusive hotel groups are gunning for a piece of the action. For decades they have had to watch their high-net-worth clientele occasionally disappear over the horizon aboard five-star boutique ships.
But with big money behind them, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Orient Express and Aman are sailing fast into the ultra-luxury cruise market, launching a fleet of super-yachts laden with champers, caviar and the promise of adventures to some of the most remote regions of the world.
Until recently, luxury boutique cruise lines such as Crystal, Silversea, Seabourn, Ponant and Regent Seven Seas have had this lucrative market almost to themselves, with wealthy guests sailing in an all-inclusive cocoon of opulence, enjoying butler service, fine dining and private access excursions – all at about £500-£1,000 per person per night.
But the swanky hotel groups are already demanding far higher fares, with offerings such as sophisticated suites that echo their brands’ signature styling and invitation-only exclusive sailings.
Edwina Lonsdale, managing director of luxury cruise agency Mundy Cruising, says: ‘This will bring greater competition to attract high-spending customers and introduce a huge number of new guests into the market. But will the hotel super-yachts create the same ambience and club atmosphere?’
RITZ-CARLTON
Going out in style: Some of the world’s most exclusive hotel groups have been expanding into the ultra-luxury cruise market. Above is Evrima, Ritz-Carlton’s new yacht
Sleek 298-guest super-yacht Evrima launched last summer and will be joined by Ilma in July and Luminara in autumn 2025.
Five restaurants, a spa, two infinity pools, a water sports marina, personal concierge, impressive art on the walls and a shop selling Cartier watches and Hermes Birkin handbags all add to the exclusivity.
Suites are generously proportioned in sophisticated boutique hotel style.
Evrima welcomed its first guests last summer. Pictured, the bedroom inside the vessel’s ‘grand suite’
Although Evrima is all-inclusive, there is one restaurant where guests have to pay, splashing out more than £300pp at three-star Michelin chef Sven Elverfeld’s speciality restaurant, S.E.A.
So far, 75 per cent of Evrima’s passengers are Ritz-Carlton loyalty-card members and about half are new to cruising. The first guests – by invitation only and mainly in their early 50s (lowering the traditional cruise market’s average age of 57) – tended to use their loyalty points but earn some back, sailing to trendy ports including Mykonos, Saint-Tropez and St Barts.
As well as the convenience of booking pre- and post-cruise stays at Ritz-Carlton hotels, guests can also spend a shore day at the group’s beachside resorts when their super-yachts sail in to ports such as St Kitts in the Caribbean.
Book it: Eight-day round-trip from San Juan, Puerto Rico, departs March 16 with calls in the Caribbean including St Barts and Jost Van Dyke, from £5,660pp (ritzcarltonyachtcollection.com).
FOUR SEASONS
The first yacht by Four Seasons (pictured) will make its debut voyage in autumn 2025
To create Four Seasons’ first yacht, designers have been instructed to combine the style of elegant yacht Christina O – once owned by Jackie Kennedy’s second husband, the billionaire Greek ship owner Aristotle Onassis – with the technology of a James Bond movie.
The ship, which is still being built and is so far unnamed, will have 95 suites and 11 bars and restaurants, plus a full spa.
The four-level 9,601 sq ft Funnel Suite will even have a private spa and wading pool, plus a 280-degree panoramic view through the largest single pane of glass ever seen at sea.
Four Seasons’ new yacht will have 95 suites and 11 bars and restaurants, plus a full spa
The yacht will sail to a whopping 130 destinations across the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Announcing the 190-passenger vessel’s entry into the cruise market at the Monaco Yacht Show, Four Seasons offered invitation-only bookings with an £8,000pp deposit on sailings due to start in autumn 2025.
According to a Four Seasons spokesman, this sales model ‘is a way to navigate the demand when you have an exclusive product with limited supply’.
Book it: Register your interest on the Four Seasons website and expect fares to start at about £2,000-£2,750pp per night (fourseasonsyachts.com).
ACCOR
Above is the Orient Express Silenseas, a 722 ft vessel that’s inspired by the Golden Age of travel
Hospitality giant Accor has announced two super-yachts for its historic brand, Orient Express, which are due to debut in 2026 and 2027.
A spokesman – aggressively highlighting the competition for guests at this ultra-luxury level while proving that money is not an issue – claims that ‘the vessels will be more exclusive than Ritz-Carlton’s Evrima and command double the rates’.
The first, 722 ft Orient Express Silenseas, will be the largest sail-powered ship ever built, with three rigid sails and tilting masts, though it can use liquefied natural gas (LNG) when needed.
Architect Maxime d’Angeac’s interior decor will echo the Golden Age of travel – an era when princesses and film stars graced the French Riviera – and feature a private recording studio with sound engineer and two pools, including a lap pool.
Book it: Reservations will open later this year (accorhotels.com).
AMAN
Aman Resorts offers sailings on twin-masted yacht Amandira (pictured), where 14 crew take care of a maximum of ten guests
With some of the most exclusive hotels on the planet – mostly intimate retreats with fewer than 30 rooms – Aman Resorts already offers sailings on twin-masted yacht Amandira, where 14 crew take care of a maximum of ten guests.
And now Aman has entered a joint venture with Cruise Saudi, owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, to add a 600 ft motor yacht to its fleet in 2027.
This all-balcony, 47-suite vessel is yet to be named but will feature two helipads, a spa with Japanese garden and a marina platform for access to water sports.
Seven-day charters on Amandira cost from £88,000. The ship explores the islands of Indonesia’s Flores Sea, pictured right
Itineraries have not yet been released, although guests can expect sailings to locations away from crowds.
Amandira already explores the islands of Indonesia’s Flores Sea, including the Unesco-protected Komodo National Park, with a dive master leading expeditions to coral reefs around Raja Ampat, an archipelago comprising 1,500 small islands and crystal clear waters.
Book it: Seven-day charters on Amandira cost from £88,000, (aman.com) or register for the new yacht at aman.com/yachts.
