The Grand Tour
Goes to Sea
As illustrious hoteliers set their sights beyond the shoreline, a fleet of high-design yachts is charting a new course for luxury hospitality. From Mediterranean coves to Indonesian atolls, these voyages offer a bygone-era glamour: barefoot aperitifs, golden-hour arrivals, and dives at dawn. Here, four iconic five-star names commanding the horizon.
THE RITZ-CARLTON
YACHT COLLECTION
With Evrima already sailing and Ilma now gliding into its first full season, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection entered 2025 with its third vessel, Luminara, on the horizon. Each superyacht reimagines in salted air the brand’s signature polish—plunge pools, private terraces, and a crew-to-suite ratio designed for discretion. Taking its name from the Maltese word for ‘water,’ Ilma steals the scene with its rooftop pool, teak-lined decks, and a shaded spa away from the sun’s glare. With voyages departing from Barcelona and Rome to San Juan and Fort Lauderdale, days are spent drifting from the Beach House’s Peruvian lunch to Mistral’s Mediterranean plates, into nights of sushi at Memorī and Italian tasting menus at Seta. It’s hotel luxury gone buoyant—and just as hard to leave.
FOUR SEASONS YACHTS
Launching in 2026, Four Seasons I will chart Grand Mediterranean courses through the waters of Croatia, Gibraltar, Montenegro, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the Greek Isles. With just 95 ocean-facing suites and a 1:1 crew-to-guest ratio, the 679-foot yacht brings the privacy of a Four Seasons residence to sea—complete with a 927m² funnel suite spanning four levels, its own splash pool, and wraparound views. Onboard, eleven bars and restaurants cover everything from caviar to comfort with terrace dining, in-suite service, and a spa built for total reset. Onshore itineraries are just as considered: rounds of golf at Saint-Tropez’s Gary Player-designed course, snorkeling from a private motorboat off Frenchman’s
AMANDIRA AND AMAN yachts
True to its name, Amandira—Aman’s handcrafted phinisi yacht—slips through the waters of Indonesia like a secret, offering just five cabins for ten guests. Built from local hardwoods and crewed by 14, including a dive master, private chefs and a massage therapist, Amandira drifts between Komodo and Raja Ampat with all the serene drama of a dream. Think sunrise yoga, reef dives, sashimi at dusk. In 2027, Aman will launch a 50-suite motor yacht complete with helipads, a beach club, and Japanese gardens, tailored to those who prefer their stillness with sea spray and spa rituals. Until then, Amandira is the purist’s passage: elemental, meditative, and made for deep water.