The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Assortment’s Ilma Cruise Ship Overview

As a yachting journalist, I’ve been pretty skeptical concerning the new wave of cruise ships calling themselves “superyachts.” Primarily as a result of, in step with maritime laws, personal yachts can sleep simply 12 visitors.

Superyachts do not sometimes sleep 298 folks, as within the case of Evrima, the first within the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Assortment that launched in 2022. The second within the fleet, Ilma, which began crusing in summer time 2024, can accommodate much more: 448.

It took about 30 hours on Ilma — throughout a preview crusing from Barcelona to Monaco — for my cynicism to thaw. As my sister, who was touring with me, and I clinked collectively our flutes of Möet & Chandon Champagne, we took within the view of Saint-Tropez. Other than the barman, we had all the Marina Terrace on the aft (rear) of the third deck to ourselves.

Two shell doorways, one on both facet of the ship, fold out to create an intimate seating platform above the waterline. The portholes level down, so we may see straight into the water beneath us.

It was the primary time I’d seen such an overwater nook on a cruise ship, though it’s pretty frequent on personal yachts. It shortly grew to become my go-to spot. Each time I returned, I had all of it to myself.

The power to seek out your individual area, even on a busy crusing, is by design. Constructing on the success of Evrima, the place 50 % of the visitors are new to holidays on the water, Ritz-Carlton continues to court docket the non-cruise crowd with Ilma.

So you will not discover a single buffet or theater on board. However you will see that a lot of the fourth deck has been given over to the health, spa, and wellness area (which, after listening to visitor suggestions, has been made 4 instances larger than on Evrima and features a biking studio).

You’ll additionally discover a floating swim platform so expansive that it takes three hours to inflate. The deep-blue Mediterranean Sea was so deliciously contemporary in comparison with the temperature of the 2 onboard plunge swimming pools that I spent nearly a complete afternoon lounging on the AquaBanas, as this inflatable pool space connected to the strict of the boat, is known as.

The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Assortment CEO Jim Murren, who sailed with us, stated the AquaBanas price “not one million, however near it.”

“We’re breaking new floor right here,” Murren advised me over espresso one morning in The Residing Room, the social hub of the ship. “We need to proceed to emphasise the yachting expertise versus the cruise expertise. And, what our passengers proceed to inform us, is simply how essential this connection they should the ocean itself is.”

What number of cruise ships have a “seaside membership” (because the area is understood in yachting circles), an outside lounge on the stern of the vessel with stairs descending into the water?

“We interviewed 1000’s of individuals by way of what they might count on to see and expertise in the event that they had been to be on a yacht,” Murren continues. “Every choice, all the way down to the floral preparations, has been made with lots of analysis behind it.”

That explains the whole lot from the modern profile of the vessel to the wines, lots of them the identical names you’ll discover poured on a constitution yacht. It’s clear Murren and his colleagues have immersed themselves within the yachting world. There’s additionally little doubt that Ilma ticks lots of the containers that yachts do — even when I nonetheless can’t deliver myself to name it as such.

Right here’s my in-depth evaluation of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Assortment’s Ilma:

The Staterooms

Ilma has 9 classes of suites, every with a balcony. We stayed in a Grand Suite on the sixth deck, which has an prolonged terrace with loads of area for a pair of chairs and a pair of solar loungers. A rise in general suites from Evrima (224 versus 149) means Ritz-Carlton has been in a position to bump up the variety of Proprietor’s Suites on Ilma to eight. These top-tier choices have a Jacuzzi and out of doors bathe, in addition to prime forward- or aft-facing views.

I haven’t slept so properly — or in something so spacious — at sea. Sliding doorways shut off the bed room from the lounge with a separate lounge and eating space. The elegant, residential really feel is a Ritz-Carlton hallmark. Luxurious is within the particulars: Diptyque toiletries, Dyson Supersonic hair dryers, king-size Frette mattresses. Must you stand up through the evening, an automated highlight lights up underneath the bedside desk, smooth sufficient to not disturb your journey companion. I additionally counted a powerful 24 coat hangers every in our twin walk-in wardrobe areas: loads to hold our assortment of swishy attire for early night aperitifs at Mistral Bar on the highest deck.

Bars and Eating places

When Murren talks concerning the classes realized from Evrima, culinary experiences high the checklist. “With Ilma, we knew we needed to ship at an awfully excessive degree, however we additionally knew we wished new concepts and variety,” he stated.

The result’s 5 eating venues — and two celebrated cooks making their debut at sea. Michael Mina’s Seaside Home has a breezy indoor-outdoor setting and a broad Pan-Latin and Caribbean temporary, though, in actuality, Mina is free to “make his menu very versatile relying on the time of 12 months within the area the place Ilma occurs to be,” Murren stated.

Acclaimed chef Fabio Trabocchi’s elegant Italian dinner venue, Seta Su Ilma, is tucked away subsequent to the personal eating room. We ate our method by the intricate degustation menu in 4 hours — the chef’s signature lobster ravioli was amongst our favourite dishes. It’s the one restaurant with an additional cost ($350 together with wine pairing) and the crew recommends reserving as quickly as you board. My recommendation? Come hungry.

The miso-glazed black cod at Memori, the Asian-fusion venue with a buzzy downtown restaurant vibe, is one other stand-out, though it’s the best dish of all that left the most important impression on me: two gigantic grilled jumbo shrimps, seasoned with little greater than esplette pepper and served with aioli on the Mediterranean-inspired Mistral restaurant. Recent and juicy, the meal was the proper match to the blindingly blue Côte d’Azur skies.

The ship has seven bars, together with my favourite spot, Marina Terrace, and the pool bars of the Seaside Home and Mistral, the place the uniform is swimmers and naked toes. The spot for a nightcap is The Residing Room, which hosts a soft-rock cowl band every evening.

The place Ilma Sails

After its inaugural season within the Mediterranean, Ilma, in true superyacht vogue, is heading to the Caribbean for a winter program that toggles between longer inter-island itineraries and teaser-like three- and four-day return port sailings. Subsequent spring Ilma will return throughout the pond to the Med, earlier than straying removed from the crowds through the high-season months of July and August to cruise coolcation spots in Northern Europe and Scandinavia. There’s at the moment nothing past a crossing from Lisbon to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on sale for October 2025, though that crusing suggests the boat might be again within the Caribbean for winter 2025/26.

Shore Excursions

Shore tour choices for our two days in Saint-Tropez included strolling excursions, seafood tastings, and winery visits. All of them sounded very tempting, however the hands-on nature of a cooking class on the patisserie of acclaimed French chef Cyril Lignac gained out. From the port, it’s a brief drive to Lignac’s store in a sometimes Provençal stone home on the outskirts of city. Our small group of eight spent two hours piping meringues and choux pastry and taking part in with cream, salted caramel, and edible flowers for adornment. We left laden with tasty treats.

Getting on and off the boat, even at anchor, is blissfully stress-free. “I don’t really feel herded in any respect,” my sister stated to me as we took the tender again on board. The relaxed setup is designed so visitors retain their independence — all the best way all the way down to the timing of the final tender run at 1:30 a.m. within the morning throughout our in a single day in Saint-Tropez.

Facilities and Leisure

Ritz-Carlton is making a powerful case for spending as a lot time on board Ilma as doable. Why make a reservation at Membership 55 or one other of the jet-set seaside golf equipment alongside Saint-Tropez’s buttercream-sand seaside, Plage de Pampelonne, when there’s a DJ, plunge pool, solar loungers, and Whispering Angel rosé flowing underneath the afternoon solar on the Seaside Home?

Any trace of extra is balanced out by the wellness zones, all supersized from Evrima, together with the spa which has 11 therapy rooms (in comparison with Evrima’s 5). There’s no pickleball court docket, though the bow, with yards of attractive teak, is sufficiently big to suit two of them. As an alternative, it was the setting for an lively 9 a.m. whole physique exercise class with health guru Amanda Kloots, who was onboard particularly for our crusing.

The retail alley is small, however rigorously curated and contains just some luxurious names, together with a Bulgari boutique and classic purses from What Goes Round Comes Round. Maybe the one single merchandise onboard extra beneficial than the Bulgari jewels or the preloved luxurious Hermès Birkins on sale had been items from the 700-strong artwork assortment, such because the Picasso and Andy Warhol works hanging in The Residing Room or the David Hockney unique on the entrance to the spa.

Household-friendly Choices

Youngsters over six months are welcome on board (though for sailings longer than three days, the minimal age is one). I used to be pleasantly shocked to seek out child altering tables in a few of the public space loos. There aren’t any connecting suites on Ilma, however there are suite classes with a fold-out couch. I meet a trio of bubbly Ritz Youngsters crew able to entertain the handful of youngsters on our crusing with actions reminiscent of crafts and board video games in The Ritz Youngsters hub. The Ritz Youngsters space doubles as a gathering room and is smaller than the kids’s space on Evrima.

Accessibility

Facilities in Ilma’s 5 ADA compliant suites embody bigger doorways, an automated entrance door, a bathe seat, and seize bars in the bathroom and bathe areas. Tip: accessible suite 631 on deck six has the biggest terrace.