Four Seasons Yachts
By Anne Kalosh
As the most exclusive experience at sea — outside of owning your own super-yacht — Four Seasons Yachts will be so exclusive that bookings are by invitation only.
With very limited inventory — just 95 suites — and anticipated high demand for a vacation priced at a cool $2,500 to $3,500 per day, Four Seasons Yachts came up with a strategy similar to the Centurion Card from American Express, which is available by invitation only to select high-net-worth individuals.
“It’s a way to navigate the demand when you have an exclusive product with limited supply,” explained Larry Pimentel, CEO of Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings, owner/joint operator of Four Seasons Yachts.
Emails will be going out to people with a Four Seasons history, who’ll be invited to make a refundable $10,000 deposit for priority access to book a cruise. The deposit applies for up to 18 months.
Pimentel told me it’s not arrogance on Four Seasons’ part — just supply and demand, since research indicated the need to craft a model to manage demand for the first yacht.
Travelers wishing to book, or their travel advisors — “I strongly recommend our guests use a qualified travel advisor,” Pimentel said — will not be dialing in to a call center but instead will get the by-appointment service of a highly trained “personal yacht consultant.”
This is like a private asset manager at a bank, but a “private asset manager of experiences,” as Pimentel put it.
A model of the Four Seasons yacht with, from left, Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings’ Nadim Ashi, Philip Levine and Larry Pimentel. * Photo: Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings)
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Bookings Open in Early 2024
The by-invitation bookings will open in early 2024 when itineraries are detailed. The first year’s deployment will focus on the Caribbean and Mediterranean, with cruises averaging seven days and the opportunity to combine voyages up to 21 days without repeating ports.
Calls are planned at 137 destinations in 33 countries with a focus on yacht harbors. Some itineraries will revolve around events such as the Olympics, the Super Bowl or the Cannes Film Festival.
The Four Seasons yacht will sail Caribbean and Mediterranean during its first year. * Rendering: Four Seasons Yachts
The Spaciousness & the Suites of the Four Seasons Yachts
Just 190 travelers in a 34,000-gross-ton vessel means a space ratio that’s multiples larger than anything else in cruising.
The suites sound stunning. They’ll start at an average of 54 square meters/581 square feet of indoor/outdoor living space. Sixty percent of the accommodations will have at least 76 square meters/818 square feet of indoor/outdoor space.
Suites will have ceiling heights of more than 2.4 meters/7.9 feet, floor-to-ceiling windows and expansive terraces.
An extensive network of connecting suites enables adaptable, villa-like residences.
This Four Seasons suite really does look like a yacht. * Rendering: Four Seasons Yachts
The top-tier Funnel Suite sprawls across 898 square meters/9,662 square feet over four levels with 280-degree views and a vast terrace. It can be expanded vertically to a fifth level. Amenities include a private spa, wading pool, full kitchen and outdoor fireplace.
Pimentel described it in a word: palatial.
The Four Seasons yacht’s fabulous Funnel Suite rises over four decks and has a large terrace. * Rendering: Four Seasons Yachts
Transverse Marina & Canoe-Shaped Aft
The yacht will provide water toys and gear for snorkeling, wind surfing and sailing. A transverse marina that opens on port and starboard sides will have large platforms with tiered lounging decks on both sides.
Rentable custom-crafted sea limousines will be available for transfers and coastal grand touring, along with a pair of beach landers accessed from the marina.
The canoe-shaped aft deck — modeled after the classic yacht — will house a 20-meter/66-foot pool, one of the largest at sea. Unusually, it will be a salt-water pool.
It’s designed to be quickly emptied, the floor raised and converted into a multi-function area for performances, fashion shows and weddings, to name a few programming options. The hydraulic lift design was also inspired by Christina O.
The Four Seasons’ yacht with its distinctive canoe-shaped aft, modeled after Christina O, and large swimming pool. * Rendering * Four Seasons Yachts
Miami Inaugural of the Four Seasons Yachts
The first Four Seasons yacht is planned for delivery from Italy’s Fincantieri — which besides being the world’s leading cruise shipbuilder is also a super-yacht builder — in late November 2025 and will enter service in late 2025/early 2026.
Miami will be the venue for the yacht’s debut and naming festivities — fitting since the Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club in Miami Beach is the inspiration for the seagoing concept.
Didn’t Get an Invitation?
If all of this sounds tempting but you’re not a Four Seasons veteran who’ll be getting invited to make a priority booking, fear not.
Anyone may go to www.fourseasonsyachts.com and register for a wait-list.
The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
Should Four Seasons Yachts sound a bit rich for your tastes, but you’re still a demanding traveler looking for spaciousness, luxury and exquisite service, another choice is The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection.
After introducing its first yacht, the 298-passenger Evrima last year, the company is building two slightly larger vessels called Ilma and Luminara due in 2024 and 2025.
With capacity for 456 passengers each, they’re bigger than QuirkyCruise’s 300-passenger purview. But a few quick notes …
I recently attended Ilma’s float-out ceremony at Chantiers de l’Atlantique, the French shipyard in Saint-Nazaire which is a major force in cruise shipbuilding that’s also getting into super-yacht construction in a significant way.
(A float-out takes place after hull assembly is completed, when the dry dock where construction has taken place is flooded with water and the vessel floats for the first time. After this, the focus turns to interior outfitting.)
Fleet of Eight to 10 for Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
At Ilma’s float-out, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s Executive Chairman and CEO Jim Murren stunned me by revealing his company plans eight to 10 ships for multiple Marriott International brands. Murren expects these would be consistent with the size of Ilma and Luminara.
“We already have plans under way for ships four and five, to be built on a different platform, to be disclosed, and beyond that we’re looking into maybe getting into the expedition space and other yacht types, to get our fleet up to eight to 10 yachts within the next several years,” he said.
Ilma’s hull bathed in the light of the French tricolor before its float-out at Chantiers de l’Atlantique. * Photo Anne Kalosh
Yachts for Other Brands
Besides building for Ritz-Carlton, Chantiers de l’Atlantique is going to construct a pair of sail-equipped 120-passenger yachts for Orient Express and is in the running for Ponant’s pioneering, next-generation sail-equipped newbuild that’s being designed to produce zero CO2 equivalent emissions. It will carry approximately 200 passengers.
Yet another super-yacht is under construction for another hotel group, Aman Resorts.
It will have 50 sumptuous suites and is being built at T. Mariotti in Genoa, Italy, which has a legacy of luxury newbuilds including, most recently, Seabourn’s dedicated expedition ships, 2023’s Seabourn Pursuit and 2022’s Seabourn Venture.
So, plenty of choices are in store for well-heeled travelers seeking the most luxurious small-ship experiences.
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HEIDI SARNA
