It’s a fascinating time for the luxury cruising industry, given how the space is evolving. In particular, it’s interesting to see luxury hotel groups get into cruising, even if it’s largely just a licensing deal.
In 2022, we saw the launch of Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. This year we’re also seeing the launch of Four Seasons Yachts and Orient Express Sailing Yachts, and next year we’ll see the launch of Aman at Sea.
With Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection being the established “hotel” player, it’s interesting to take an updated look at the company’s serious struggles with profitability, covered in a new Financial Times story (thanks to Stephen for flagging this).
The good news is that the company’s lenders have agreed to ease terms to keep the cruise line afloat, but the bad news is that it just really seems questionable when this endeavor will be profitable, especially with increased competition.
In this post:
Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection not meeting projections
Before we get into the details of Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s financials (or at least what’s known of them, given that the company isn’t publicly traded), let me provide a simple rundown of the problem.
Long story short, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is commanding average fares of somewhere around $1,900 per guest per day, which is of course excellent, in line with projections, and at the top end of the market. The major issue is occupancy. While we don’t have the full details of Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s occupancy levels, we know that in the first half of 2025, cruises were, on average, roughly half full.
The company is aiming for average occupancy levels of 85-90%, and the timeline with which that’s realistic keeps getting pushed back, with the goal now being for that to happen by 2029. This is also why Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has been spending a ton of money on marketing (more than $100 million in 2025 alone) — the company understandably doesn’t want to lower cruise fares, but instead, hopes to attract a larger potential customer base. So when you combine low occupancy with a lot of marketing spending, that’s a rough combination.
Now, to get into a bit more detail, 55% of the company is owned by private equity firm Oaktree, with Singaporean wealth fund GIC and Mohari Hospitality holding minority stakes. Let me emphasize that the connection to Ritz-Carlton is primarily just about marketing, as it’s not like Marriott owns the cruise line, or anything.
Since launch, the company has racked up losses of around $700 million, and of course it has a lot of debt, with Credit Agricole, the company’s largest creditor, having $918 million in outstanding debt. Much of that debt was coming due, which could’ve caused major issues for the cruise line, given the risk of a default.
However, the company’s largest creditor has agreed to defer repayments linked to the financing of the company’s two newest ships. Two loans have been extended from December 2025 to January 2028, and from December 2027 to January 2033.
In exchange, the company’s controlling shareholders have agreed to inject another $275 million in equity, meaning the total capital injected is now over $1 billion.
As a reminder, I recently sailed on Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s Evrima ship, and had a surprisingly (to me, as a non-cruiser) lovely time.
Are these growing pains, or is there a bigger problem?
Admittedly it can take any business time to ramp up operations and become profitable, especially with the pace at which Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is growing, going from one ship to three ships in just a couple of years.
However, it’s clear that the business isn’t performing to projections, and capacity in this segment is only going to increase more, as brands like Four Seasons, Orient Express, and Aman, also take to the seas, with competing products (and that says nothing of MSC’s Explora Journeys, which is a bit more affordable, but still going after a similar general segment).
It makes me wonder if there’s a bigger issue with the market they’re going after. Cruising is of course an incredibly popular way to vacation, and my general impression is that the typical guest profile fits into one of three primary categories:
- The more “mainstream” and upscale cruise lines offer relatively affordable and easy vacations, and I can completely see the appeal
- The ultra luxury cruise lines are largely targeted at an older crowd, who enjoy the cruising lifestyle, have the money to pay for it, and are incredibly brand loyal
- Then you have the whole world of expedition cruising, for places that can’t otherwise easily be explored by land, like Antarctica, which has wide appeal across demographics (though sometimes they’re not kid friendly)
I think the question is, how big is the market of people who are willing to pay top dollar for a luxury cruise, outside of those typical demographics? In the cases of these hotel-branded ventures, it seems like they’re almost positioning themselves as cruise lines for people who wouldn’t typically cruise.
Yes, I think a lot of people might give this a try once, but will they continue to vacation this way? As I see it, there are two major issues:
- I think these cruise lines are largely targeted at affluent families, and that’s a tricky demographic if you’re aiming for 85-90% occupancy, since most people aren’t going to take their kids out of school for a cruise
- Especially on the high end, travel is more about “scene” than ever before, and no matter how well a cruise line is branded, I don’t think many people are willing to replace their annual “see and be seen” pilgrimage to Saint-Tropez, Mykonos, Ibiza, etc., with a cruise
With the amount of capacity coming to market all at once, I think that presents a challenge and opportunity. It’s a challenge for the obvious reason that there’s a lot of competition for a fairly new market. At the same time, with several very well regarded and “cool” hotel groups getting into the industry at the same time, it lends the concept some legitimacy, and creates a lot of chatter.
Bottom line
Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection launched operations in 2022. Since launch, the company has struggled greatly with occupancy, given that the priority has been to maintain high fares. Since launch, the company has lost $700 million, and it seems to constantly be on the verge of defaulting on its debt.
The “hotel” cruising segment is still quite new, and with the amount of capacity being added, filling ships isn’t easy! On top of that, the market keeps getting more competitive, with Four Seasons, Orient Express, and Aman, all getting into the industry as well. That could be a challenge, but also could be an opportunity, in terms of this becoming a legitimate new sector of the cruising industry.
What do you make of this part of the cruising industry, and how do you think it will evolve?
People with money will go on established luxury cruises or have their own boat.
These are for wannabes who can say its RC branded, and clearly the market is not there
Honestly I don't really understand who wants this. When I just checked upcoming sailings, it seems like 2 people for 7 nights is approximately 20k Euros.
For that price, you can charter a decent crewed yacht. And if you want to go with friends, for around 25-30k, you can actually get really nice crewed yachts with 3-4 decently sized cabins.
While I have enjoyed taking some cruises, for me, it is because they...
Honestly I don't really understand who wants this. When I just checked upcoming sailings, it seems like 2 people for 7 nights is approximately 20k Euros.
For that price, you can charter a decent crewed yacht. And if you want to go with friends, for around 25-30k, you can actually get really nice crewed yachts with 3-4 decently sized cabins.
While I have enjoyed taking some cruises, for me, it is because they represent value for money. If I was planning on dropping 20k for a trip, it certainly wouldn't be a cruise that goes to Barcelona and Mallorca or Miami and Nassau. I wanted to I would much rather charter a yacht and just enjoy some quiet coves.
They could lease it out to MBS as a new prison!!!! Money problem solved!
To: All you goobers with too much money.
What: I will float you on a small raft on a small lake. I will give you beer and chicken. It will last 4 hours.
Price: Minimum 8 people at $999.00 each.
Problems: Raft will sink but I will rent 8 life jackets for $1000.00 each.
Guarantee: You will have wonderful story to tell grandkids.
Alternative: Pay $2,000 per day to eat a steak with others on fancy dancy boat as they complain about their hip replacement.
Luxury travel has, in large part, become private touring with your own driver and guide. Why would someone give that up to be on a ship full of other people, on their schedule, taking a pre-planned route? A ship full of people is still a ship partially full of assholes, no matter how much it costs.
A warning to the hotel and airline operators who claim they have clients with no price elasticity (cough, Ed Bastian, cough, 'ultra' luxury hotel chains).
There's always an alternative, especially when the client has money. When you're not delivering value for the price it catches up.
Why would you say they are not providing value for the price?
I looked at a one-week Mediterranean cruise for August and compared it against Silversea. In my case, Ritz-Carlton was roughly double the price, yet the suite was significantly smaller.
I understand the appeal of Ritz. The ships are smaller, more intimate, and have a boutique hotel atmosphere. But at some point the premium has to make sense.
For me, I couldn't justify paying 100% more for a smaller room when both cruises visited similar destinations...
I looked at a one-week Mediterranean cruise for August and compared it against Silversea. In my case, Ritz-Carlton was roughly double the price, yet the suite was significantly smaller.
I understand the appeal of Ritz. The ships are smaller, more intimate, and have a boutique hotel atmosphere. But at some point the premium has to make sense.
For me, I couldn't justify paying 100% more for a smaller room when both cruises visited similar destinations and offered luxury accommodations, high-end dining, included beverages, and excellent service.
If Ritz had been 15-25% more, I probably would have seriously considered it. At double the price? The value proposition disappeared.
The yacht concept is attractive. But when the fare is dramatically higher than the competition, many travelers will decide the extra exclusivity isn't worth the premium.
I think this model makes a lot of sense.
Howard marks can’t be happy - but I bet oak tree can find a way to make this work.
Even if they do end up getting liquidated - someone will buy the assets. Getting the pricing down to $1k per person per day makes this pretty compelling. You can’t reach that price point along with the quality of food and drinks in a charter at that price.
Will things improve ? No .
They need more interesting destinations that are not saturated.
Agree with @Kendall and others. For the price per day, why on earth do this versus chartering a catamaran with a captain for the week and actually having exclusivity and privacy.
Choppier sailing. Less amenities. Worse food. Worse rooms. Need more?
@Sel D
It's well within the price range for a crewed 50ft catamaran to also book a chef. You can also order your own groceries, so if the food quality is bad that's kinda on you.
Doesn’t FS have that concept where they’ll fly you on a chartered jet to various FS resorts on a set itinerary? How does the cost for that compare with a cruise on a per day level? I’d imagine that’s a more compelling type of trip than a cruise.
Yes, but the pricing is an entirely different demographic - $200k+ per person. https://onemileatatime.com/reviews/four-seasons-private-jet-airbus-a321lr/
I don't see how RC gets to the occupancy they need, and to me this is an even more pessimistic outlook for the FS, OE, and Aman yachts. Ritz is having issues filling boats at their price point, and then basically double it for Four Seasons.
Yes, there are certainly travelers who aren't into RC or who want something more luxurious that will do FS. But are there enough to drive high occupancy? It...
I don't see how RC gets to the occupancy they need, and to me this is an even more pessimistic outlook for the FS, OE, and Aman yachts. Ritz is having issues filling boats at their price point, and then basically double it for Four Seasons.
Yes, there are certainly travelers who aren't into RC or who want something more luxurious that will do FS. But are there enough to drive high occupancy? It seems like the math there is even more challenging in terms of the comparison between doing the cruise or a really luxurious hotel. Most luxury travelers would prefer the latter imo.
The only niche where we would consider doing RC or FS yachts is for an Alaska cruise or a similar hard to reach place with limited or no nice hotel accommodations. Cruises serve a clear purpose for those vacations. But for the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Pacific, etc? I'd rather just stay in luxury hotels.
I wouldn't be caught dead on a cruise. I can hop between locations on my own and have complete control of my own schedule.
im sorry but rich people don't like cruises. im going to just say it. if they have enough money, they're chartering their own boat. but also most staying at nice hotels along the coast.
Rich people like to cruise, but they're going on the already established players like Silversea, Seabourne, Regent Seven Seas, Crystal, Hapag-Lloyd, and Ponant. The market is already pretty well served by these lines and a few other smaller players. So lines likes Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, and Aman feel like they're fighting an uphill battle for relevance in an already pretty niche market segment of the bigger cruise industry.
Who is a typical RC customer? I get WA, I get FS, I get StRegis, I get MO. But RC? For hotels I get it, but not for cruises.
80-85% occupancy I cannot believe will manifest any time.
They aren’t targeting families as their cabins are only for 2 passengers unless you get a huge suite, so even the “typical” luxury hotel guest family would be priced out of these. I think MSC Explora is too tough of a competitor because the market for luxury cruising that isn’t the old school stuffy adult lines (with loyal customer bases) is pretty small and MSC has a major advantage with essentially unlimited funding and backend...
They aren’t targeting families as their cabins are only for 2 passengers unless you get a huge suite, so even the “typical” luxury hotel guest family would be priced out of these. I think MSC Explora is too tough of a competitor because the market for luxury cruising that isn’t the old school stuffy adult lines (with loyal customer bases) is pretty small and MSC has a major advantage with essentially unlimited funding and backend support from a massively successful shipping and cruising company whereas these hotel branded cruises are investor owned, stacked with debt, and all operated by third parties.
Will any executives at those three future entrants be bold enough to realise that the concept is flawed and cut their losses now?
I agree.
Decades ago I was given tickets to a boat show, and concluded that for a given amount of money one could buy a yacht with large ongoing expenses, or holiday house, larger and more comfortable, with lower ongoing expenses and more obvious resale potential.
Being at sea rather than on land is just inherently more complex logistically and so more expensive - for what?
The appeal of the yacht is...
I agree.
Decades ago I was given tickets to a boat show, and concluded that for a given amount of money one could buy a yacht with large ongoing expenses, or holiday house, larger and more comfortable, with lower ongoing expenses and more obvious resale potential.
Being at sea rather than on land is just inherently more complex logistically and so more expensive - for what?
The appeal of the yacht is presumably that one can be completely insulated from the rest of the world for a time, but as you say that doesn't apply for a cruise.
No, it won't survive. Nor will most, if not all, of the hotel branded cruise ships. The big cruise corporations have spent decades learning how to make a profit in a high risk, costly and low margin business. These hotel brand ships are little more than expanded charter operations without the resources to "weather stormy times." As others have pointed out, the cruising money is rapidly moving to expedition cruising, which appeals not only to...
No, it won't survive. Nor will most, if not all, of the hotel branded cruise ships. The big cruise corporations have spent decades learning how to make a profit in a high risk, costly and low margin business. These hotel brand ships are little more than expanded charter operations without the resources to "weather stormy times." As others have pointed out, the cruising money is rapidly moving to expedition cruising, which appeals not only to traditional cruisers but opens up a new, additional market of younger, adventure seeking travelers.
I read your review of the RC Yacht with tons of interest because this market totally perplexes me. Who wants to spend that amount of money to go on a CRUISE? I realize it's much nicer than a standard cruise, even an upscale brand, but it's still a cruise... Especially when you compare it to something like HX or other expedition companies where it's still pretty luxurious but you're getting an incredible experience in exotic...
I read your review of the RC Yacht with tons of interest because this market totally perplexes me. Who wants to spend that amount of money to go on a CRUISE? I realize it's much nicer than a standard cruise, even an upscale brand, but it's still a cruise... Especially when you compare it to something like HX or other expedition companies where it's still pretty luxurious but you're getting an incredible experience in exotic nature destinations. I really don't understand the demographic who is supposed to want to shell out the cash needed for a RC Yacht and also wants to take a cruise that isn't an expedition.
My aunt and uncle took a ritz Carlton cruise in Jan/feb from Singapore to Hong Kong. They said it was roughly half full. They enjoyed it and had a good time, but they were miffed that there was some influencer on the boat who was somehow given permission to occupy spaces for long periods of time during the day, restricting their and other guests' use of certain spaces so the influencer could get the perfect shot.
One strong segment of the luxury demographic are older people with time , money and the freedom to enjoy it. With heavy competition entering the market, filling those suites becomes more difficult. Quite a different animal than luxury hotels where guests have more control over their itinerary regarding length stay.
It's an interesting segment of the market but in addition to what others have said...there's a new paradigm shift and financial shift. Do enough of the right people have
1. The disposable cash to feel comfortable
2. The desire for this kind of vacation
The expedition market is probably where it's at. Billionaire are building their own expedition capable yachts.
I think to myself, right well I've got $10-15k for a...
It's an interesting segment of the market but in addition to what others have said...there's a new paradigm shift and financial shift. Do enough of the right people have
1. The disposable cash to feel comfortable
2. The desire for this kind of vacation
The expedition market is probably where it's at. Billionaire are building their own expedition capable yachts.
I think to myself, right well I've got $10-15k for a vacation. Why wouldn't I get to Antarctica versus a bigger room better drinks than a cruise for half that price I could take to Caribbean? There's a few islands these ships go to that the others don't but is it really worth 5k more to see bequia, st barts, barbuda? No, buy a plane ticket if you want to go so bad to those.
Btw I know im in wrong crowd but what is the obsession with the Tropex mykonos ibiza places in 2026? I remember ibiza from listening to techno in the 90s lmaol. I read that and I'm like.."is that still a thing? Ppl still go there?"
FYI Ben looks like Qantas is not showing as an Amex transfer partner at the moment. Not sure if glitch or another big transfer partner change from Amex
They need to charge more! /s
They have been giving free cruises to mid level gay influencers and it doesn’t seem to be turning into bookings. The cruises look empty. They are all over social media.
@Steve - there's the mistake as you clearly point out. They need the top tier gay influencers. Get the rich daddies onboard.
I’ve been on a few times and the product does not justify the price. What are they doing so much better than Crystal, Silversea, Regent etc to justify the price? Hard product is very nice, but service and food are on par with the others. No free shore excursions like Regent.
It’s a very nice experience but at the end of the day does not represent good value.
Fully agree. I’ve sailed on Silversea at a fraction of the daily cost Ritz Carlton is asking, and can’t imagine how RC could be that much better. On Silversea we had unlimited caviar, champagne, premium wines & liquors, a spacious suite with dressing room, separate tub & walk in shower, butler service, wide choice of restaurants, etc. etc. I have to believe the only people who would choose RC are those who don’t cruise much,...
Fully agree. I’ve sailed on Silversea at a fraction of the daily cost Ritz Carlton is asking, and can’t imagine how RC could be that much better. On Silversea we had unlimited caviar, champagne, premium wines & liquors, a spacious suite with dressing room, separate tub & walk in shower, butler service, wide choice of restaurants, etc. etc. I have to believe the only people who would choose RC are those who don’t cruise much, are impressed with the brand, and don’t shop around. And there can’t be many of them!
Interesting. Seems like they made the mistake of thinking that the higher hotel points-inflated prices RC charges would translate to cruises, when the majority of people know it's not worth it.
It’s interesting to me that they chose the Ritz-Carlton brand given how much it has been diluted in recent years. I haven’t seriously considered one of these cruises, but if I do in the future, I’d almost certainly go with Four Seasons Yachts or Aman at Sea over Ritz-Carlton, since I just associate those former brands with a higher level of quality and customer service.
It's very unclear to me who the market is for this product. The price point is so high that the cost to actually just charter a yacht (especially for a family or friend group) is pretty similar. And I have to assume most actually rich people would much prefer to charter a yacht. It certainly has more cachet than going on a cruise, which has much more down-market connotations. The "yacht" branding is obviously trying...
It's very unclear to me who the market is for this product. The price point is so high that the cost to actually just charter a yacht (especially for a family or friend group) is pretty similar. And I have to assume most actually rich people would much prefer to charter a yacht. It certainly has more cachet than going on a cruise, which has much more down-market connotations. The "yacht" branding is obviously trying to counteract this, even though at core it is in fact a cruise line, not a private yacht charter.
I agree.
Decades ago I was given tickets to a boat show, and concluded that for a given amount of money one could buy a yacht with large ongoing expenses, or holiday house, larger and more comfortable, with lower ongoing expenses and more obvious resale potential.
Being at sea rather than on land is just inherently more complex logistically and so more expensive - for what?
The appeal of the yacht is...
I agree.
Decades ago I was given tickets to a boat show, and concluded that for a given amount of money one could buy a yacht with large ongoing expenses, or holiday house, larger and more comfortable, with lower ongoing expenses and more obvious resale potential.
Being at sea rather than on land is just inherently more complex logistically and so more expensive - for what?
The appeal of the yacht is presumably that one can be completely insulated from the rest of the world for a time, but as you say that doesn't apply for a cruise.
Your review of RC Cruises was great, but one thing i'd ask, in a no-shade kind of way, is whether you feel you have a fair assessment of where it sits in the market having only done one cruise? In the same way that people who fly business class for the first time are impressed by often quite mediocre products ;-)
I'm in the same boat (done one cruise, enjoyed it, not rushing to book another), and am wondering the same thing!
Lucky said when writing his review that the Ritz-Carlton cruise he took was the first one he took in over 20 years and made it pretty clear that was the case
Am I surprised? No.. just like all those boutique airlines that tried.. there's just not sufficient market for these type of offerings, those that are able to afford this will already have their own luxurious yacht or friends/family with one, why would they want to be seen with the other 99% of wannabe's who can't afford the real deal yet tries?
Perhaps time to re-adjust pricing.
Targeting families cuts both ways. The likely demographic for a long cruise are older people (recently retired). Not sure they want to be cruising with a bunch of rugrats.