Four Seasons Yachts Just Announced

Four Seasons Yachts

By Anne Kalosh

Four Seasons is the latest luxury hotel group to venture into cruising with the launch of Four Seasons Yachts.

They’ll be fabulously spacious, with just 95 suites in a 207-meter/679 foot, 33,000-gross-ton vessel. The first of three planned is scheduled to arrive in November 2025.

It will sail in the world’s top yachting theaters, the Mediterranean and Caribbean.

Four Seasons Yacht will cruise the Med & Caribbean

The Four Seasons Yacht will sail in the classic yachting destinations, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. * Rendering: Four Seasons Yachts

Inspired by the Christina O

The Four Seasons Yacht has a distinctive profile, inspired by Aristotle Onassis’s iconic Christina O, the world’s most famous yacht in its day.

In the early 1950s the Greek shipping magnate Onassis acquired a former Canadian frigate and poured $4 million into it, a fortune at the time. Christina O, named after his daughter, hosted the wedding receptions for Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier, and Onassis and Jackie Kennedy, and carried personalities like Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and John F Kennedy.

The famed Christina O. * Image: https://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter-yacht-23156/christina-o.htm

While the Four Seasons Yacht will rise 14 decks, much taller than Christina O, a key similarity is the canoe-shaped aft with an expansive pool deck where — as on Christina O — the push of a button can raise the bottom of the pool to create a dance platform, outdoor movie theater or space for a wedding or other private event.

The Four Seasons Yacht profile is inspired by the famous Onassis yacht Christina O, down to its canoe-shaped aft with an expansive pool deck * Rendering: Four Seasons Yacht

The Team

To create Four Seasons Yachts, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts partnered with Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings, whose principals are Nadim Ashi and Philip Levine.

Ashi is the visionary responsible for the Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, Surfside, Florida and multiple other properties, including the future Four Seasons hotel in Rome.

Levine is a former two-term Miami Beach mayor and a cruise industry entrepreneur who founded Onboard Media, which he sold to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and Royal Media Partners, provider of port shopping services to Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises.

Four Seasons Yachts was unveiled during the Monaco Yacht Show in the magnificent Prince Albert Room of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. From left, Nadim Ashi, Philip Levine and Larry Pimentel. * Photo: Courtesy Philip Levine

To get insight into Four Seasons’ concept, I spoke at length with Levine and luxury cruise veteran Larry Pimentel, CEO of Four Seasons Yachts, the past president and CEO of Azamara, SeaDream Yacht Club, which he co-founded, Cunard and Seabourn, and a board member of Virtuoso Travel, the luxury travel consortium.

A Little Dolce Vita

They told me the Four Seasons Yacht experience will be much more like a private yacht than a passenger ship.

“It will have a beautiful, old-world charm with modern technology and a little Dolce Vita,” Levine said.

“Now, more than ever, small is the new big,” Levine added. “People desire exclusivity, privacy and space — that’s what we’re delivering.”

Pimentel asserted: “This is a legend at inception.”

And, for fans of Four Seasons, one of the world’s top luxury addresses, the experience is built on founder Isadore Sharp’s guest-centric approach and reputation for unmatched service and quality.

“While we cruise, we are not a cruise line,” said Pimentel, who considers this a “new, exclusive niche” that has “the best of everything standard shipping has plus attributes of the finest yachts in the world.”

Four Seasons Yachts' CEO is Larry Pimentel

This is a legend at inception, said luxury cruise veteran Larry Pimentel, CEO of Four Seasons Yachts. * Photo: Four Seasons Yachts

Spaciousness of the Four Seasons Yachts

To calculate just how spacious the Four Seasons Yacht will be, 33,000 gross tons divided by 190 — assuming double occupancy in 95 suites, though it’s likely many of those will have room for more than two people — makes a jaw-dropping nearly 174 space ratio.

For comparison, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s debut yacht Evrima measures 24,000 gross tons and carries 298 passengers, while Ilma, coming in 2024 and Luminara, in 2025, measure 46,750 gross tons with capacity for 456 passengers each. So that’s 80.5 space ratio for Evrima and 102.5 for the other vessels.

Those are extremely spacious but “Our vessel has 50% more space per passenger,” Pimentel said.

The Suites of the Four Seasons Yachts

Each yacht will cost more than $400 million to build, which works out to $4.2 million per suite, leading Four Seasons to boast “no expense” is being spared in terms of the remarkable custom design.

The vessel’s 95 accommodations will feature an extensive network of joining suite combinations creating adaptable, villa-like residences with ceiling heights of more than 2.4 meters/7.9 feet. Each suite will have floor-to-ceiling windows and expansive terrace decks.

The Four Seasons Yacht holds just 95 suites in a 33,000-gross-ton vessel, making for incredible spaciousness. * Rendering: Four Seasons Yachts

Thanks to both vertical and horizontal connectivity, groups of four or five suites can be connected, Pimentel said — not by doors but entire walls that open — to make one unit. It’s even possible to transform an entire deck into a private villa.

Suites will start at an average of 54 square meters/581 square feet of indoor/outdoor living space. Sixty percent of the vessel’s inventory is in excess of 76 square meters/818 square feet of indoor/outdoor space.

Eleven suites have dedicated rooms for staff such as security, an administrative assistant or caregiver.

Four-Story Funnel Suite

The most expansive residence, the Funnel Suite, will rise an astonishing four levels, offering more than 892 square meters/9,601 square feet of combined indoor/outdoor living space, including a private wading pool and dedicated private spa area.

The Funnel Suite can even be enlarged by vertically connecting with units below.

“It will be the most stunning space on any ship, anywhere, full stop,” Pimentel said. “It’s our Eiffel Tower, our Taj Mahal.”

The four-story Funnel Suite on new Four Seasons Yacht

The four-story Funnel Suite will be our Eiffel Tower, Larry Pimentel said. * Rendering: Four Seasons Yachts

Transverse Marina

Instead of the standard aft marina, the Four Seasons Yacht will have a midship marina that spans from port to starboard — effectively two marinas.

One side could be used for aquatic activities while tenders launch from the other side. At night the marina platforms will transform into dining areas for 24 guests.

Furthermore, Pimentel said special “Yacht Moments” will be revealed at another time.

Imagine the transverse marina at midship, with a platform on each side for aquatic activities that convert into dining platforms at night. * Rendering: Four Seasons Yachts

Four Seasons Yachts’ Onboard Lifestyle

The only other features disclosed so far are that the yacht will have a full-service spa, salon and wellness programming.

However, Levine, who’s an avid, longtime Four Seasons fan and a dad, expects to emulate the Four Seasons resorts in having a “remarkable” children’s club.

“Lots of affluent travelers bring their kids, little kids,” he said.

But don’t expect a cruise director and the usual shipboard activities and entertainment.

“We don’t tell you what to do. We want to know what you want to do,” Levine said. “It’s very unprogrammed.”

The Design Brief for the Four Seasons Yachts

To design the Four Seasons Yacht, the creatives were told the vessel “can’t look like a cruise ship and can’t look like contemporary yachts.”

Prosper Assouline, the publisher who “revolutionized the coffee table book” and a luxury lifestyle guru, is the lead designer. London-based Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, the brainchild behind world-famous hotels, restaurants and private clubs, is responsible for many of the guest areas. This is the first seagoing project for both.

Contributing the maritime expertise, Tillberg Design of Sweden as lead architect is responsible for designing the exterior and the suites.

Also bringing their vision are Levine, who had the eye for Christina O, and his partner, friend and neighbor Nadim Ashi, who Pimentel called “one of the most successful Four Seasons owners.” Ashi speaks of sophisticated design, understated elegance and impeccable, unparalleled service.

The Four Seasons Yacht will be built by Fincantieri at its Trieste yard. Fincantieri is the world’s leading cruise shipbuilder, but it’s also produced some of the world’s top super-yachts.

Four Seasons Yachts Sustainability Features

“Our guests will be conscientious travelers,” Pimentel said, and Four Seasons is committed to operating in a way that it will be welcomed by destinations and communities. So sustainability and environmental responsibility priorities.

The Four Seasons Yacht will have a bevy of environmental features, to be disclosed. Among them are enormous battery packs and shore power capability. A methanol study is under way to consider a methanol conversion for the diesel engines.

Rates & Key Markets

How much will it cost to cruise on the Four Seasons Yacht? I’m reminded of a quote attributed to J.P. Morgan: “If you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it.”

Not to be flippant. I’d guess Four Seasons’ resorts’ rates will be a rough guide, however the yachts — like cruises — will certainly include more features, such as dining, so take that into consideration.

For the most discerning, well-heeled travelers and those who love Four Seasons’ service and style, the main consideration may be value, not price.

Itineraries and fares haven’t been announced yet, and it could be a while before specifics are out. Reservations aren’t expected to open until third quarter 2023.

Four Seasons will be targeting three types of customers.

First, and naturally: Four Seasons devotees.

Second: People who own or charter yachts. While that might seem counterintuitive, Levine explained even the biggest yachts typically have just six or eight bedrooms at most, and more space may be needed for special celebrations like a 50th birthday bash or a special anniversary.

Third: A “very small sliver of the cruise industry that wants to go higher.”

Four Seasons follows Ritz-Carlton into the cruise space. Aman Resorts has also announced a yacht in partnership with Cruise Saudi.