Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection Cruises: Ships, Cost, Inclusions, How To Book

These are still cruise ship-sized vessels (it’s a bit of a stretch to call these “yachts”), though they’re on the more boutique size in terms of what you’ll find in the industry nowadays.

So if you value a more intimate cruising experience, you’ll definitely want to select Evrima over Ilma or Luminara, though everyone is looking for a different vibe, and the bigger ships have the benefit of larger pool spaces, and also some extra amenities.

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.

Looking at Evrima, 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, though there is some variety. Itineraries vary by the week, and you can find all the sailings here.

If you want to search by region, find Alaska voyages here, Asia voyages here, Caribbean voyages here, Mediterranean voyages here, Northern Europe and Baltic voyages here, South Pacific voyages here, and crossing voyages here. Most journeys range in length from five to 11 nights, though some are a bit shorter, and some are a bit longer.

In general, I am happy to see an increasing number of itineraries that don’t touch the Caribbean or Mediterranean.

As Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection grows, we are seeing some more interesting itineraries as well. For example, Luminara, the newest ship, is largely sailing in Alaska and Asia, which I think is pretty cool. Meanwhile Evrima has some cool itineraries involving Iceland, French Polynesia, Hawaii, and beyond. So while not to the level of what you’d expect from an expedition cruise line, I do find some routings to be particularly interesting.

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 a 15-night transpacific crossing that starts at $9,700 per person (~$647 per person per day), while one of the more expensive cruises is a peak summer five-day Iceland cruise, which starts at $9,800 per person (~$1,960 per person per day).

While you generally need to book these voyages with a human (either a company representative or travel advisor), you can get a sense of pricing online. Just select a journey, click “View Details,” and then select “Suites & Fares,” where you’ll see the cost for various suite categories, all per person, based on double occupancy. The taxes and fees beyond what’s listed should be minimal.

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, Starlink Wi-Fi, and marina-style platform access with non-motorized water sports.

What’s not included? Dining at the specialty restaurant, spa treatments, select premium beverages, excursions, 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

As far as elite perks go, you can find a chart with the benefits below. As you can see, the details of the perks are different than with hotel stays, and there’s also more differentiation between tiers.

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 can do so by phone, by calling 833.999.7292, or by submitting a request through Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s website.

However, you can also work with a travel advisor — they can add additional perks that you won’t get when booking direct. If you’d like to book through a travel advisor, Ford and his team are happy to help, and can be reached at [email protected].

If you book through an advisor affiliated with Marriott STARS, you can receive several additional perks, including:

• A $150 per person onboard credit per sailing
• A special welcome amenity
• A bridge tour, at the captain’s discretion

There’s no reason not to book this way, since there’s otherwise rate parity between booking channels, so you might as well get as much value as possible. 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 has just set sail, and within the next year, we’ll also see the launch of Aman and Orient Express cruising ventures. So, how does Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and Four Seasons Yachts 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 first 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’s right, pricing 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.

Are Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruises worth it?

For quite some time, I had posed the question of whether a Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruise is worth it. It had been so long since I had been on a cruise, so I figured it was time to look a bit more closely at this whole vacation genre.

For some background, as a kid I was kind of obsessed with cruises, but that the concept didn’t have much appeal to me for a couple of decades. However, in recent, I warmed up to the idea a bit more, and figured it’s worth at least giving this style of vacation a try, especially with the intrigue surrounding the hotel branding crossover.

We recently sailed on Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s Evrima, and I must say, we had a lovely time:

• In an era where so many hotels seem to nickel-and-dime to no end, I was delighted by all that was included, including high quality alcohol, delicious food, etc.; there’s something really enjoyable about not having to sign for everything
• Cruising is just a really relaxing and easy kind of vacation, and in particular, I could imagine this being an awesome experience for families
• As someone who has been more of a hotel guest for the past couple of decades, I was pleased that I felt like there wasn’t a huge learning curve to cruising, I didn’t feel like an outsider, etc.
• While we didn’t take a particularly interesting voyage, I absolutely love some of the voyages that Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has scheduled, like in Asia, the South Pacific, etc.

I have a trip on Four Seasons Yachts planned for this summer, so I look forwarding to seeing how the two compare. I suspect Four Seasons Yachts will be a step up, but it’s also significantly more expensive, and the extra charges for all kinds of things sort of take some of the joy out of cruising. Or at least that’s how I think I’m going to feel… we’ll see.

Bottom line

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection represents Marriott’s presence in the cruising world, at least through a licensing agreement. The company has grown at a fast pace, and now has three ships, which sail the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and beyond (with the “beyond” destinations being the most interesting, if you ask me).

I recently sailed with Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection for the first time, and had a great experience, and it’s a trip I’d absolutely consider repeating.

What do you make of Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection?