A friendly competition is underway between some of the world’s most luxurious hospitality brands. The prize? Command of the high seas — or bragging rights, at least.
Following The Ritz-Carlton’s introduction of its yacht service in 2022, Four Seasons, Orient Express and Aman are all preparing to set sail with their own luxury fleets.
Four Seasons is due to launch the Four Seasons I next March, Orient Express’s first vessel, the Corinthian, next June, and Aman’s the Amangati in spring 2027. Four Seasons has two subsequent vessels in construction, the first of which is due in 2027, and Orient Express has its second vessel due the same year.
From the world’s largest sail-powered yacht with an on-board tailor to Michelin-starred chefs and supersized suites, there’s no shortage of luxe features. But the biggest draw for guests may be the logo emblazoned on the yacht. In short, companies are betting the power of their brand can tempt wealthy travelers to dip their toes into the uncharted waters of cruising.
As brands assemble crews and sommeliers scour their cellars for the perfect champagne to pair with a yacht’s hull, the prevailing question is why now?
Hoteliers have watched the rollout of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and taken note.
The Ritz-Carlton’s three vessels, Evrima, Ilma and Luminara launched in 2022, 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Tina Edmundson, president of luxury for Marriott International, the parent company of the The Ritz Carlton, described its offering as “in between luxury cruising and private yachting — that in-between space where our guest has the best of both.”
The Evrima has 149 suites, while the bigger, 242 meter (794 feet) long Ilma and Luminara have 224 and 226 suites. The latter two were designed in response to guest feedback (more swimming pools was one note, said Edmundson).
Since their launch, the Evrima and Ilma have mainly been circling the Mediterranean and Caribbean.
“We are introducing people to cruising that would never have considered it, because they have a perception of what it is, and it’s not what they want,” said Edmundson. “But they are wanting to do it (with us), because it’s The Ritz-Carlton.”
She added around half the company’s yacht guests are first-time cruisers, though a lot are repeat guests at The Ritz-Carlton hotels.
Other hoteliers are also looking to leverage guest loyalty. Ben Trodd, CEO of Four Seasons Yachts, says Four Seasons’ regulars “have a huge passion for the brand and really want to explore other opportunities.”
Trodd said Four Seasons wants its yachts to feel “like the finest boutique hotel,” comparable to its Hotel George V in Paris or The Surf Club in Miami. The 207 meter (679 foot) Four Seasons I will have 95 suites, he said, with almost 100 different configurations capable of creating suites up to nearly 10,000 square feet (nearly five times the size of the average US home).
With its second and third yachts Four Seasons may go for smaller vessels, Trodd noted, and the brand has no plans to rapidly expand its fleet from there.
“Scarcity is obviously very important when it comes to the true luxury space,” he said.
Aman’s Amagnati will be smaller at 183 meters (600 feet) long, boasting 47 suites and interior design inspired by a Japanese ryokan home. The Japanese touches extend into the onboard spa, featuring a Japanese garden.
Orient Express meanwhile is leaning into its roots with the Corinthian, a 722-foot (220 meter) Art Deco style yacht recalling the golden age of travel.
“What we wanted to do was to celebrate the time period (and) to make travel very glamorous,” said CEO Gilda Perez-Alvarado.
“By taking it back to the 1920s, we are also in the process of recovering, preserving and conserving the arts and crafts that were available of that time,” she added.
Aiding the process is the company’s in-house railway historian Arthur Mettetal, who has a doctorate in the history of the Orient Express.
“He’s extraordinary,” said Perez-Alvarado. “When we’re looking at something new, be it a yacht or a destination or something about our hotel, we review it with him.”
Despite the attention to period details, the yacht itself is no antique. The 54-suite vessel will be the world’s largest sailing yacht, claims Orient Express, with three tilting masts that will allow it to pass under bridges and enter key ports — for example, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which stands between the Atlantic Ocean and Manhattan in New York City.
Yachts are leaning into core brand identity.
The Ritz-Carlton crew follow the same “empowerment principal” they do on land, whereby staff can spend up to $2,000 to solve any guest issue, no managerial approval required.
Four Seasons will operate two purpose-built limo tenders — small luxury boats — to ferry guests to and from its yacht, replicating its guest limo service on land.
Orient Express’s Corinthian will feature a speakeasy bar and period themed black-tie dinners. And if guests forget their formal wear, no problem — the yacht has its own on-board tailor. “We can insert a lot of fantasy into (the experience),” said Perez-Alvarado.
Food at the Corinthian’s eight restaurants and bars is being curated by Chef Yannick Alléno, whose restaurant empire holds 17 Michelin stars. Not to be outdone, the Four Seasons I and The Ritz-Carlton fleet (on certain itineraries) will invite chefs from the brands’ Michelin-starred restaurants aboard to serve up their take on regional cuisine.
As is usual in ultra-luxury hospitality, companies speak to their guests well in advance of travel — up to two years for the Four Seasons, said Trodd — to tailor their experience aboard.
“We’re in the era of hyper-personalization,” said Perez-Alvarado. An initial conversation facilitates a “minimum level of service,” but one that “allows us to surprise and delight you, because now we know exactly in what mood or what persona or what alter ego you’re going to be.”
Upcoming itineraries for Four Seasons and Orient Express yachts will navigate the Mediterranean in summer, moving to the Caribbean in winter, following countless other cruise companies, including The Ritz-Carlton’s yachts. Though representatives stressed their vessels would target hidden gems and hard to reach ports, alongside perennial favorites.
Edmundson noted that with the addition of its third yacht, The Ritz-Carlton is programming more ambitious itineraries for winter 2025 and throughout 2026, including East and Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, Alaska and Scandinavia.
Aman, meanwhile, is focusing on private charters and events for the Amangati (an option The Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and Orient Express also offer).
Expanding the brand
Luxury brands are looking to exploit their networks to provide a seamless experience for guests — and keep guests within their service.
For example, Perez-Alvarado said an Orient Express guest next summer could spend a night in Venice at its hotel (the converted Palazzo Donà Giovannelli), then take its train La Dolce Vita Orient Express south to Rome, before boarding its yacht from the port of Civitavecchia to explore the Mediterranean.
The Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons can also bookend cruises with stays at their hotels. The ability to hop on and off yachts for stays at hotels ashore is “a bit trickier,” said Edmundson, but Ritz-Carlton’s upcoming itineraries in Asia could allow guests to do so in locations such as the Maldives.
Adding yachts to their portfolios was characterized by representatives as an obvious next step for the ultra-luxury brands. As Trodd noted, “Four Seasons has been operating in the private jet space for almost 10 years now. (Yachts) was a natural extension of that.”
The pipeline of yachts in construction in shipyards across Europe suggests brands are bullish about their chances of success.
“Other hotel brands (are) coming right after us, but it’s exciting for us to be the first,” said Edmundson of Ritz-Carlton.
“There’s a very good collegiality, and amazing competitiveness going on with each other,” said Perez-Alvarado. “Everybody’s been a good sport.”
“The potential is enormous,” she added. “(It’s) probably the best time to be in this industry right now … from a connections point of view, from a curiosity point of view, playfulness, this multimodal, omnichannel way of traveling.
“It’s a really fascinating time — and the net winner is the guest.”
