In late 2022, we saw the launch of Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. While I’d say that this is Marriott or Ritz-Carlton’s entry into the cruising world, in reality this is just a licensing agreement. Nonetheless, this is a pretty special product. Not only can you earn and redeem Bonvoy points for Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection itineraries, but this actually seems to be a top notch product, competitive with the best cruise lines out there.

I haven’t taken a look at the cruise line since it launched, so in this post I wanted to take a closer look at Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, as I’m maybe considering booking one of these cruises.

What are Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection ships like?

So far, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has one ship, with two more expected in the coming years. Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s first ship is Evrima, and it’s 624 feet long, weighs 25,400 tons, and it has 149 suites that can accommodate 298 guests. This is in line with the size of the more boutique ships that you’ll find in the industry nowadays.

As of the summer of 2024, we’ll see the introduction of Ilma, which will be quite a bit larger. That ship will be 790 feet long, will weigh 46,750 tons, and will have 224 suites that can accommodate 448 guests.

So if you value a more intimate cruising experience, you’ll definitely want to select Evrima over Ilma, though everyone is looking for a different vibe.

Despite the smaller sizes of these ships, they still feature plenty of amenities. For example, in the case of Evrima:

• The ship has multiple dining outlets, including The Evrima Room (the main all-day dining restaurant), S.E.A. (the specialty restaurant at an extra charge), Talaat Nam (a Southeast Asian restaurant), The Pool House (a casual all-day dining restaurant), Mistral (a Mediterranean restaurant), and The Living Room (featuring drinks and snacks)
• The ship has a Ritz-Carlton Spa with five treatment rooms, a beauty lounge, a grooming salon for men, a sauna, a steam room, a relaxation area, and of course a 24/7 fitness center
• The ship has a variety of other amenities, ranging from a marina and marina terrace, to a pool with whirlpools, to a kids club, to a smoking lounge, to an observation lounge

What are suites like on Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection?

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection markets all of its accommodations as being suites, each with an ocean view and outdoor terrace.

Entry level accommodations are the Terrace Suites, which boast 300 square feet of interior space, and 54-81 square feet of exterior space. Meanwhile the top suite is the Owner’s Suite, and that offers 1,091 square feet of interior space, and 635 square feet of exterior space.

So while all accommodations are generously sized, arguably a 300 square foot room isn’t exactly huge.

Where do Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruises go?

As you’d expect for most luxury, non-explorer cruise lines, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection generally sails in the Caribbean in winter, and in Europe in the summer. Itineraries vary by the week, and you can find all the sailings here. Most journeys range in length from five to 11 nights.

How expensive are Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruises?

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s pricing varies considerably, depending on the type of journey you’re booking. Pricing is generally per person based on double occupancy. Note that if you’re traveling alone, you’ll have to pay 200% of the fare, meaning you’ll be paying double if traveling alone.

Just to give a general pricing range based on what’s currently for sale, one of the cheaper cruises is an 11-night transatlantic crossing that starts at $6,900 per person (~$630 per person per day), while one of the more expensive cruises is a peak summer seven-day Mediterranean cruise, which starts at $11,400 per person (~$1,630 per person per day).

What’s included with Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruises?

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruises are more or less all-inclusive. In addition to the accommodation, rates include dining and beverages (at restaurants and bars, and in your suite), gratuities, onboard entertainment, premium Wi-Fi, and marina-style platform access with non-motorized water sports.

What’s not included? Dining at the specialty restaurant (S.E.A.), spa treatments, select premium beverages, etc.

Does Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection participate in Marriott Bonvoy?

For those of us who are into miles & points, one of the cool things is that Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection participates in Marriott Bonvoy:

• You can earn 5x Bonvoy points per dollar spent on cruises, and earn elite nights for the number of nights of your cruise; the spending even counts toward Ambassador status
• You can redeem Bonvoy points, with 180,000 Bonvoy points saving you $1,000 on a journey
• You can take advantage of select elite benefits

How do you book Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruises?

You can book Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruises either directly through the cruise line, or through a travel advisor. If you want to book direct, you’ll have to do so by phone, by calling 833.999.7292.

However, you can also work with a travel advisor — you won’t pay anything extra, and they may even be able to add some extra perks. They can also add your Marriott Bonvoy number to the reservation, as those would be qualifying booking for those purposes.

How do Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and Four Seasons Yachts compare?

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection isn’t the only cruise line associated with a luxury hotel brand. Four Seasons Yachts is expected to launch by early 2026. How do the two cruise lines compare?

Well, there’s no doubt that Four Seasons Yachts is a step up over Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection in terms of luxury:

• Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s current ship is marginally smaller than the Four Seasons Yachts’ ship, but has 57% more rooms (149 keys vs. 95 keys)
• Four Seasons Yachts’ entry level suites are 58% larger than Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s suites (473 square feet vs. 300 square feet)

While Four Seasons Yachts offers a more intimate experience, it’s also priced significantly higher:

• Four Seasons Yachts cruises generally start at $3,000 per suite per night (that price is per suite, not per person)
• Four Seasons Yachts cruises aren’t all-inclusive; they include breakfast, non-alcoholic drinks, and light snacks, but don’t include lunch, dinner, or alcohol

So while Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is expensive to begin with, it’s significantly less expensive than Four Seasons Yachts.

Has anyone been on a Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruise?

Part of the reason that I’m writing about this now is that I’m seriously considering booking a Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruise, so I’ve been doing some digging myself.

For some background, as a kid I was kind of obsessed with cruises, but that the concept hasn’t had much appeal to me in the past 20 years. However, over the past couple of years I’ve been warming up to cruising once again, and it’s something I’d like to do again at some point, especially now that we have a kid, so cruising seems like an easy vacation.

We had actually booked a Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruise back when the concept was first announced, but due to delays, our sailing ended up getting canceled, and we couldn’t find a good itinerary on which to rebook.

Frankly I’d be curious to try both Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and then Four Seasons Yachts when it launches, to see how they compare. While this is only a licensing agreement, I still find this sort of hotel and cruise crossover to be interesting.

Here’s the thing, though — to me the greatest benefit of a cruise is being able to explore destinations you can’t easily explore by land, at least with good accommodation options. On the surface, I have little interest in taking a cruise where where you’re just visiting ports that you can easily travel to otherwise.

That’s also kind of my issue with some of these itineraries — the destinations are largely kind of bland, and places that are best seen by land. The cruise line that most intrigues me is PONANT — not only does PONANT have small ships, but so many of the voyages look awesome. PONANT has journeys to everywhere from Antarctica, to Greenland, to Iceland, to smaller Pacific Islands. That’s the kind of stuff I’d like to see if I’m going to take a cruise.

Still, I’m even coming around to the concept of a cruise to a place I might not otherwise consider to be that exciting. It just seems like a relaxing and enjoyable trip, and there’s something nice about being at sea. That’s why I’m also curious if any OMAAT readers have taken a Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruise, and if so, what was the experience like?

Bottom line

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is Marriott’s entry into the cruising world, at least through a licensing agreement. One ship has now been sailing for a bit over a year, while the next ship should start sailing in the coming months. This seems like an all-around very luxurious experience, and I’m definitely intrigued.

What do you make of Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection?