Luxury hotel brands say they're creating a whole new cruise category
DeeAna Archer, owner of Sugar Land, Texas-based Archer Luxury Travel, is pumped about sailing on the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection's first ship.
She booked the Owners Suite on the sleek, 298-passenger Evrima for a Bahamas cruise in February and can hardly wait to post photos on Facebook.
Those posts, she said, will undoubtedly lead to a spike in her luxury clients booking the hotel brand's cruise line. Her evidence? She booked two staterooms on the Evrima after only posting that she's sailing on it. And thus far, most of her clients who are booking these yacht experiences have never been on a cruise.
"They want a more personalized luxury experience, and currently the Ritz-Carlton yacht is providing that," Archer said, adding that those clients also want to experience cruising without "all the people."
The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, which just put its first ship into service Oct. 15 after nearly two years of delays, is one in a cadre of luxury hotel companies turning their attention to the sea.
Four Seasons became the latest, announcing late last month that it is launching a yacht line starting with a 190-passenger ship. Aman will also enter the cruise industry; it is building a 100-passenger yacht in a joint venture with Cruise Saudi called Project Sama. Both hotel brands plan to launch these ships in 2025.
