With the ever-growing number of boutique hotels, remote retreats and wacky Airbnbs satisfying every hospitality itch known to landlubbers (travel-ending pandemics notwithstanding), it was only a matter of time before luxury hoteliers turned their attentions to the seas.
One of the forerunners in the nascent niche is Ritz-Carlton, which announced their intentions to usher in a new seaborne era of hospitality back in 2017.
Their plans, deferred due to a combination of shipyard delays and the pandemic, came to fruition recently when the first of its three custom-built yachts left port. The 190m vessel dubbed Evrima — a Greek word meaning ‘discovery’ — is suitably sized to house almost 300 passengers within 149 spacious suites, yet compact enough to access yacht-style destinations that full-size cruise liners can only dream of.
Think intimate ports of call like Greek island paradise Mykonos and Saint-Tropez along the French Riviera, sprinkled between familiar locales like Costa Rica, the coast of Aruba and the Balearic Islands in Spain.
These voyages will last an average of seven to 10 nights, rotating through the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Central America and South America — depending on season — to allow guests to merge itineraries without visiting the same port twice.
Related: Four Seasons Hotels gets sailing in the luxury superyacht game
