Chartering an Entire Cruise Ship Is Becoming the Ultimate Family Vacation
How much does it cost to charter the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s newly launched cruise liner, Ilma, for a week? “Plus or minus $5 million,” the company’s CEO Jim Murren tells Robb Report.
That might seem a lot to shell out for seven nights on the water, but consider this: The showcase superyacht that was on display at the previous Monaco Yacht Show, Lürssen’s newly delivered 400-foot Kismet, charters for $3 million a week. That’s before you’ve added fuel, provisioning, and the crew tip.
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Like most yachts on the charter market, Kismet can sleep just 12 guests. As for Ilma’s capacity? 448. Plus, you have the run of five restaurants, including one overseen by Michelin-starred chef Fabio Trabocchi, a spa, wellness and fitness space that takes up almost an entire deck, and an inflatable beach club set-up to rival any superyacht. “And our rate is all-inclusive,” Murren says.
There used to be a clear divide when it came to vacationing at sea: those who go on cruise ships and those who charter yachts. The line, however, is beginning to blur as people who vacation on yachts begin to view cruise liners through a charter lens.
The new wave of luxe, low-capacity ships, such as Ilma and its sister ship Evrima, fashioning themselves as “superyachts” to appeal to the non-cruise crowd is one driver. Another is the ability to host bigger groups than a yacht traditionally can, particularly with the current appetite for multigenerational travel.
Before Ilma had even set sail on its maiden voyage from Monaco to Rome in early September, it had two private charters booked for its first year in the water (as separate to the corporate or incentive-based bookings that comprise the majority of large vessel buyouts). The third ship in the collection, Luminara, won’t set sail until summer 2025, yet Murren’s team is already busy organizing a private charter on it in Thailand.
Murren says the typical private buyout client is someone who owns, or charters, yachts and is looking for a communal experience. “What they usually do is charter multiple yachts or charter a yacht for an extended period, and then cycle different people through on different days,” he explains. The advantage of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s “yachts,” Murren continues, is that hundreds o people can “enjoy life and celebrate together.”
“You can only do that on a yacht of this scale,” he says, adding that charter clients rarely bring more than 150 guests onboard. The charter occasions range from weddings to reunions to anniversaries. “One family sold a business and thought this was a great way to celebrate,” Murren says.
With its fleet of three tall ships whose sails are still set by hand, private charter is nothing new at Germany-based Sea Cloud Cruises. “Sea Cloud, our original vessel, was built by Marjorie Merriweather Post in the 1930s as her private yacht, so charter is in our DNA,” says Kevin Smith, vice president of sales.
With Sea Cloud’s capacity of 64 guests, private group buyouts represent an important part of the business; Smith estimates it accounts for up to 12 percent of all bookings—and that figure is growing. “Coming out of the pandemic, people have a new lease on life, and they’re willing to do things with the people they love on a different scale than before,” he explains.
While guests on standard sailings tend to be European, “charter buyouts, especially on the family side, are being driven by the North American market,” Smith continues. “What we are hearing from our travel advisor partners is that their clients are looking for three to four different vessels to sail together. Then they find out they can accommodate everybody and have this unique experience with a full buyout with Sea Cloud.”
While some charters are happy to mirror existing itineraries, everything is customizable, says Amy Conover, director of charter & incentive sales at Windstar Cruises, another cruise company reporting growth in group charter bookings. “We have the ability to be flexible and nimble with our charter clients, adding different ports and taking advantage of access to smaller and more off-the-beaten-path places,” Conover says.
At Seabourn, one of the early pioneers of yacht-like cruising, “the word “completely” is the easiest way to describe how customizable the experience is,” says Pierre Van Breda, director of charter, incentive, and group sales. Even if the request is for a 360-degree rotation in front of the Rock of Gibraltar at sunset, he adds.
What cruise ships aren’t flexible on, however, are dates and locations. While yacht charters can be booked last minute, many cruise companies already have their 2025/6 itineraries on sale to the general public. “The challenge lies in finding the right gap with the right itinerary,” says Gayle Patterson, director of yachting at Pelorus.
As well as accommodating large groups, Patterson sees the advantage of cruise ships as where they sail—“specifically, the destinations that the luxury yacht market can’t satisfy, such as Norway and Antarctica,” she says. The Ritz-Carlton’s Luminara, after an inaugural season in the Mediterranean, will be based in Asia-Pacific, and Patterson is particularly excited about the potential it offers her clients for cruising Japan, one of the luxury travel company’s key destinations.
Despite some companies adopting the “yacht” name for their vessels, renting a whole cruise ship is different than chartering a superyacht, both in the scale of the vessels and the onboard experiences. No matter how hard they try, these vessels can’t replicate the intimacy of a yacht.
But Patterson, who was on Ilma last year, thinks cruise lines like the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection are inching ever closer. “You’ve got the spa, the gym, the beach club, and the fine dining, as well as the high crew-to-guest ratio that you would expect on a yacht,” she explains. “There’s a definite crossover, and I’m sure we’ll see a crossover in some of the clients, too.”
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