The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is launching a luxury cruising yacht line scheduled to hit the water in the fourth quarter of 2019, the company announced Thursday. Ritz-Carlton will enter a crowded field of luxury cruise lines. In doing so, it follows a path similar to Disney when it founded Disney Cruise Line in 1996.
Ritz-Carlton, part of Marriott International, is planning to build three 298-passenger yachts for its new Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, to be based in Coconut Grove. (Home ports for the ships have not yet been announced).
The Yacht Collection is a venture created by maritime experts Douglas Prothero, who was the CEO and founder of the Canadian Maritime Group, and Lars Clasen, former president of Aida Cruises. Each ship will feature 149 balcony suites and two duplex penthouse suites.
The yachts will feature a restaurant by Sven Elverfeld, the chef who presides over Ritz-Carlton’s three Michelin-starred restaurant, Aqua, in Wolfsburg, Germany. The ships will also have a Ritz-Carlton Spa, a panorama lounge and wine bar and on-board entertainment.
Off the ship, the new cruise line is working on creating curated tours in collaboration with local chefs, musicians and artists from the locations its ships visit. Itineraries will range from seven- to 10-days with seasonal stops in the Mediterranean, northern Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America.
The ships will also stop in locations not accessible to mass market cruise ships, such as Capri and Portofino in Italy and St. Barths in the Caribbean.
“The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection will have a distinctive personality and the vessels are sure to be true stand outs in some of the most glamorous ports around the world,” said Herve Humler, president and COO of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, in a statement.
The cruise line is targeting luxury travelers who are familiar with the Ritz-Carlton brand on land, as well as new cruisers and guests in the growing luxury and cruise markets in Asia.
From an industry perspective, though, this will be the first time guests can combine cruise and land vacations with a single operator, by booking pre- and post-hotel stays with Ritz-Carltons in port cities. And more than likely, Marriott Rewards will be a perk of sailing with the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection.
Douglas Prothero, managing director of the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, says that the pace of the itineraries is another differentiator: It’ll be slower, with less time at sea and more time to explore. “We’ll do four ports in seven days, not seven ports in seven days.” With each new destination, local chefs, artists, dignitaries, and guest lecturers will come aboard for a constantly rotating roster of talent and entertainment options.
Off-ship excursions will follow suit. Although the partnerships have yet to be cemented, onshore activities will likely be organized by the same high-end outfitters that luxury travelers would call to organize a land vacation. (Pricing will be announced at a later date; itineraries will be “targeted at the 1 percent of global travelers.”)
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