Four Seasons Yachts Cruise Review: Suites, Dining, Amenities, Service, And More

For the next portion of my Four Seasons Yacht via Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia adventure, Ford and I spent a week sailing with Four Seasons Yachts, which is the new Four Seasons cruise venture (as you may have guessed based on the name). This launched in early 2026, with just 95 suites.

Historically, I haven’t been much of a cruiser, but I’m intrigued by the direction the industry is headed. Earlier this year, I reviewed Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, and had a great experience, so I figured I also had to check out Four Seasons Yachts, even though it’s even more upmarket.

All-in-all, we had a great time cruising with Four Seasons Yachts. The ship is breathtakingly beautiful, and in terms of hard product, this is simply to a different level than other cruise lines, like Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. The suites will make you think you’re at a Four Seasons resort, and will make you forget you’re on a ship.

That being said, the soft product was a bit of a mixed bag. The staff were lovely and well intentioned, though it still felt like there were way more service issues than there should be at this price point. And I think that’s really what any issues come down to — when you’re priced at the very top end of the market, you expect (near) perfection, and it just felt like there were still kinks to work out.

All-in-all, I think this is a solid product for those who are fans of the Four Seasons brand, and who may not be big cruisers. However, if you’re a seasoned cruiser, you may be put off by the pricing model, given you have to pay for most meals and drinks.

Four Seasons Yachts itinerary, pricing, and how to book

Four Seasons Yachts charges per suite (rather than per person, based on double occupancy), and you’ll find that journeys typically cost anywhere from $2,000-5,000 per night for a base suite. This is obviously at the top end of the cruise market, and that’s also the entry level pricing — there are some insane suites onboard, which retail for six figures per week.

For what it’s worth, you’ll find rate parity regardless of which booking channel you reserve through. So your best bet is to book through a travel advisor affiliated with Four Seasons Preferred Partner, because they can add perks to your journey. The size of the credit depends on the accommodation type booked, plus the length of the journey. Ford and his team are happy to help with these requests, and can be reached at [email protected].

So, how did we book our journey? Well, we initially booked a Caribbean cruise for January 2026, shortly after Four Seasons Yachts was supposed to launch. That cost around $21,000 for the seven night journey (I know, that’s obviously a lot, but I was trying to review the experience early on). However, the ship’s debut ended up being delayed, so our journey was canceled.

As a result, Four Seasons offered to let us rebook on another journey with 30% off, plus an additional $2,000 onboard credit (beyond the $600 credit offered through Four Seasons Preferred Partner, for a total of $2,600 in onboard credits).

Based on our schedule at the time, we rebooked on an Adriatic cruise for late July. Obviously I typically try to avoid Europe in July, but purely in terms of our schedule, this was the itinerary that worked best, and my goal was to review the product ASAP.

That journey cost significantly more, given seasonality, and retailed for around $35,000, before the 30% discount and additional onboard credit. So in the end, we paid roughly the same amount for this cruise, even though the retail price was much higher.

Specifically, below is the Dalmatian Coast itinerary we booked, featuring Croatia and Montenegro.

Date	Port	Arrival	Departure
Sun, July 19	Fusina, Italy	–	5:00pm
Mon, July 20	Opatija, Croatia	8:00am	7:00pm
Tue, July 21	Dalmatian Coast	8:00am	5:00pm
Wed, July 22	Vodice, Croatia	7:00am	3:00pm
	Šibenik, Croatia	5:00pm	12:00am
Thu, July 23	Vis, Croatia	8:00am	6:00pm
Fri, July 24	Portonovi, Montenegro	8:00am	12:00am
Sat, July 25	Korčula, Croatia	8:00am	5:00pm
Sun, July 26	Dubrovnik, Croatia	Debark

For what it’s worth, we tendered at five of the stops, we docked at one of the stops, and the “Dalmatian Coast” day was one where we had a marina day, so guests couldn’t actually leave the ship.

Four Seasons Yachts inclusions

Four Seasons Yachts is really countering the industry trend when it comes to what’s included with journeys. In the ultra luxury cruise space, you’ll typically find that fares are all-inclusive, so that your journey includes all meals, drinks, etc. In the case of Four Seasons Yachts, it’s a bit different.

As mentioned above, pricing at Four Seasons Yachts is per suite, which counters the industry trend of charging per person. That’s not a big deal one way or another, but just a technicality (since per person pricing is often based on double occupancy). Beyond that:

• Four Seasons Yachts pricing includes your accommodation, breakfast, and non-alcoholic drinks and light snacks in the minibar
• Four Seasons Yachts charges extra for lunch, dinner, and beverages, aside from drinks at breakfast (or at the coffee shop in the morning) and drinks in the minibar; the exception is that children ages five and under receive complimentary dining throughout the ship, except through room service
• Four Seasons Yachts journeys include Starlink Wi-Fi and gratuity (though since you’re given a check at most meals, there’s still the option to leave an additional gratuity)
• Four Seasons Yachts journeys also don’t include spa treatments, shore excursions, transfers, etc.

As I’ll explain in more detail below, fortunately pricing for food & drinks isn’t actually that crazy, and a vast majority of our onboard spending was covered by the shipboard credits we had. Really my biggest beef with this system is that it just makes every interaction feel more transactional, since you always have to ask for a check, wait on the check, etc.

Four Seasons Yachts ship layout & basics

Four Seasons Yachts currently has a single ship, which is named Four Seasons I (okay, it’s not exactly the most creative name, but I guess there’s no mistaking what brand it belongs to!).

The ship entered service in 2026, it’s 679 feet (207 meters) long, 89 feet (27 meters) wide, and is 34,000 gross tons. With 95 accommodations and a maximum capacity of around 200 guests, the brand promotes a 1:1 staff to guest ratio.

It has to be acknowledged just how spacious this ship is, compared to the number of accommodations. As a point of comparison, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s smallest ship, Evrima, is 624 feet (190 meters) long, 78 feet (24 meters) wide, and is 25,400 gross tons. That ship has 149 accommodations, and can accommodate around 300 guests.

So that really puts into perspective the insane amount of space that each guest has on Four Seasons Yachts. When it comes to the ship’s design, as you can see, the exterior is mostly cream-colored. Personally I think the ship looks pretty cool and sleek from the front, while from the back it looks a bit more like a toy boat you’d have in your bathtub (based on how the back area of the boat is “open,” since it’s where the main pool is located).

For those curious, you can see the entire Four Seasons I deck plan here. There are nine floors accessible by guests, and that includes levels three through 11.

Decks seven through nine are exclusively dedicated to accommodations, while deck 11 has one of the lounges and a small pool, and decks six, five, and four, have most of the public areas, including the main pool, dining, spa, gym, kids club, theater, and more. Then deck three is where the tender lobby and marina are located.

I found it pretty easy to get around the ship. The two sets of elevators plus the main staircase were located toward the forward part of the ship, so were always pretty easy to find.

There was also a more “grand” staircase that just spanned three floors, covering levels four through six, where you’ll find most of the ship’s amenities.

Four Seasons Yachts check-in, boarding, and tendering

We spent the night before our cruise at Airelles Palladio Venice, as our journey was departing from Fusina (the cruise port of Venice). While the departure time was 5PM, boarding could take place between 2PM and 3:30PM, so that’s a pretty narrow window. Admittedly it’s a small ship, but as you’d expect, that also means it gets pretty busy during that period.

All things considered, the process was smooth. We arrived at the port by water taxi, and our bags were then taken, and we were escorted into the check-in area.

Once inside the check-in hall, we were offered welcome drinks, and then within about 15 minutes, we were all checked in, went through the security checks, and then boarded the ship. Each guest was escorted by one of the port employees, so it was pretty seamless.

At the entrance to the ship, each party was greeted by one of the senior officers, to be given a basic orientation of the ship, and to then eventually be handed off to the front office staff. In our case, we were welcomed by Mel, the ship’s general manager — she was incredibly professional, and had quite the hospitality resume, having spent much of her career at Mandarin Oriental, Atlantis The Royal Dubai, etc.

While waiting for our room to be ready, we were offered some complimentary drinks, including champagne.

There was even a caviar station, which guests could help themselves to.

The “generosity” (for a cruise that’s not all-inclusive) continued with the party the evening we began our sailing, as there was free flowing Dom Perignon. So while I’m not usually a fan of these “parties,” that’s something you definitely don’t want to miss out on.

Our departure experience in Dubrovnik was also seamless, and took all of a few minutes. That’s definitely a benefit of being on a smaller ship, like this.

When it comes to the various stops we made, most of them involved tendering. While that might not be so convenient on a big ship, it’s great on a small ship like this, since it means you have much better views while onboard, and getting to and from shore really isn’t complicated.

We’d always leave the ship via the tender marina on level three, which had plenty of seating, along with water, fruit, sunscreen, etc.

There were typically two tenders running continuously, so we never had to wait more than five or so minutes to catch a tender, which was great. A vast majority of the time, the tenders were also basically empty, so getting to and from shore was easy.

Four Seasons Yachts suite

Four Seasons Yachts markets itself as an all-suite product, and it does indeed have among the most spacious suites at sea. While we stayed in an entry level suite, some of the suite categories are absolutely insane, like the three bedroom Funnel Suite, located at the very top of the ship, as that’s nearly 10,000 square feet (over 920 square meters), including indoor and outdoor space.

Anyway, back to our (relatively) humble accommodations. 😉 We were staying in room 915, located on the ninth floor, and that was a Seaview Suite, as it was marketed. The hallways on Four Seasons Yachts are just gorgeous, and feel a lot more like hotel corridors than what you’d expect on a ship.

The standard suites are marketed as having 473 square feet (44 square meters) of interior space, with terraces spanning 64-140 square feet (6-13 square meters). Given that you’re on a cruise ship, this is massive for entry level accommodations.

Our suite featured a long entryway with the closet and bathroom to the right, and then the rest of the room straight ahead.

The main part of the room boasted a very comfortable signature Four Seasons bed, a sitting area with a small couch, and a TV. The design really feels more like what you’d expect at a Four Seasons resort, rather than on a ship, so they deserve very high marks for this.

I also loved the attention to detail with the design, including the glass display along one side of the room.

The cruise line seems pretty proud of how they have the world’s first transparent television at sea, a 55-inch LG T-OLED screen, which was engineered by Bang & Olufsen, exclusively for Four Seasons Yachts. I guess this cost tens of thousands of dollars — it certainly looks cool, though rather annoyingly, it doesn’t have stream casting capabilities, though they will bring a cord to your room, which enables that.

Waiting on the table was a welcome amenity, consisting of a chocolate replica of the Four Seasons Yachts ship (plus some soccer balls, since our departure coincided with the end of the World Cup). We were also offered a bottle of Bollinger champagne.

Back toward the entrance was the minibar area, with a Lavazza coffee machine, a kettle, and a variety of drinks and snacks.

All of the soft drinks and snacks were complimentary, while alcoholic drinks were available for sale.

You can find the minibar price list below.

Perhaps compared to your typical cruise ship, the single most impressive aspect of the room was the bathroom, which was absolutely gorgeous. It boasted double sinks, a large walk-in shower, and a toilet with a bidet function. There was no bathtub, but some larger suites do feature that.

There was also a good size closet space right by the entrance, which was (just barely) large enough to accommodate our luggage. There was also a laundry list in the closet, and while laundry isn’t complimentary, I did appreciate that the wash and fold service only cost $5 per pound, which is very reasonable if you have a bunch of underwear, socks, t-shirts, etc., to wash.

The last aspect of the room was the terrace space, which boasted a loveseat plus a chair.

All-in-all, I thought the suite was gorgeous, and can’t say enough good things about it. I should also mention that our room attendant, Andrea, was excellent. She did a thorough job cleaning our room and providing turndown service daily, and also timed it well based on our schedule.

She also checked on us constantly to see if we needed anything else. I had heard some complaints about housekeeping on Four Seasons Yachts, but we definitely didn’t experience that. I know on a lot of other ships, you have two attendants taking care of each room, but Andrea did a good job solo.

Four Seasons Yachts pool & deck space

For a ship of its size, Four Seasons Yachts has an utterly spectacular pool deck. At the back of deck five you’ll find the pool, which is 66 feet (20 meters) long and 20 feet (six meters) wide.

As you’d expect, there’s plenty of seating around the pool, with loungers, chairs with tables, daybeds, etc.

Perhaps my one complaint is that there’s no hot tub of any sort at the pool area, which seems like a missed opportunity.

Beyond the main pool, on level 11 there’s also a small plunge pool at the Horizon Lounge. It’s a lovely space, and I actually quite like the restaurant, but the pool as such is hard to get excited about. This area is adults-only, so I guess for some people that would be a selling point.

This area also looks out over the back of the ship, so there’s lots of nice seating here.

Four Seasons Yachts spa

The Four Seasons Yachts’ L’Oceana Spa is located on level four, and has to be one of the most impressive spa facilities at sea, for a ship of this size. The spa boasts locker rooms, five treatment rooms, a salon with nail and hair care, a huge sauna with ocean views, a hammam, an infrared chamber, a cryotherapy chamber, and more.

You can find the spa treatment list below. As you can see, treatments are pricey, but that’s pretty standard for cruise ships, given what a captive audience they have.

Ford and I had a couples massage, and the treatments were excellent. Here’s what really rubbed me the wrong way, though. Spa treatments have an 18% service charge, but that’s not disclosed anywhere. Not on the physical menu, not on the digital menu, not when you book, etc. And that’s not even a gratuity, as it doesn’t go directly to the therapist.

That’s false advertising, plain and simple. You can’t claim something costs one amount, and then charge another amount. What made it even worse, in my opinion, is that the invoice is presented in a way where you’re left to wonder why the price just jumps from $260 to $306.80. It doesn’t even disclose when you’re signing that there’s an 18% service charge.

I’ll talk more about service in a bit, but this was one small example of how I felt Four Seasons Yachts wasn’t ready for primetime. How is it that months into sailing, they hadn’t fixed this? I understand Four Seasons charges a lot for experiences, but at least be honest about how much things cost.

Four Seasons Yachts gym

Four Seasons Yachts has a gym on level four, right across from the spa. It’s accessible by guests 24/7, and when you consider this is a small ship, I’d say it’s a solid facility. Still, it got pretty busy in the mornings, but that’s not surprising, given that it’s when a lot of people want to work out.

The gym had a good selection of both cardio and weight equipment, including a huge range of free weights.

Four Seasons Yachts kids & teens club

The Four Seasons brand is known for being incredibly kids friendly, and Four Seasons Yachts is no exception. On level four, the ship has both a kids club and a teens club, and they’re nice spaces, with plenty of programming for young ones. This is a major advantage over Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, as the two bigger ships there don’t even have any sort of a kids club.

Four Seasons Yachts theater & entertainment

Four Seasons Yachts has a theater also located on level four, close to the kids club and teens club. It’s not a huge space, and frankly, it’s kind of an odd concept on a ship that’s this small.

Obviously on huge cruise ships, nightly shows are a big part of the experience. However, when you have fewer than 100 rooms and a different crowd (one that doesn’t usually cruise), the interest isn’t there in the same way.

So most nights they were just showing movies in here, though a couple of nights there was also a musical performance. I went one night, and most of the other people watching were from the ship’s music department, rather than guests.

When it comes to live entertainment, what I liked most was the live music in the ship’s main lounge. In particular, Francesca performed almost daily, and had such a beautiful voice and lovely vibe, so we made a point of seeing her every time she performed. A vast majority of the time, we were the only people there.

So the live music on the ship was generally great, and was one of the highlights for us. Admittedly not everyone else shared our excitement!

Four Seasons Yachts marina

One of the new trends we’re seeing with these smaller ultra-luxury ships is the concept of a “marina.” The idea is that on days where the ship is tendered and weather conditions permit, there’s a fun setup on the back of the ship.

For one, there’s a fully covered area, which opens up on both sides. When the marina is in use, there’s a bar setup here, so that you can order food and drinks.

That then leads to the inflatable marina area, which is super cool. The idea is that the water in the middle of the marina area acts as a “pool” of sorts, as it’s enclosed with a net, to minimize risk. You can’t actually jump off the marina and into the open sea, for example. This was a lovely setup, and we enjoyed our time here.

There were also some water sports, with everything from kayaks to eFoils, and more. The catch is that demand for these things is high, so I’d recommend coming early, because there’s potentially quite a wait.

Four Seasons Yachts restaurants & bars

Four Seasons Yachts markets that it has 11 distinct restaurant, bar, and lounge concepts. That’s perhaps a bit of a stretch, but to cover the basics of those options:

• Terrasse is the casual all-day dining restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Sedna is the fine dining restaurant, open for dinner
• Miuna is the omakase sushi counter, open for dinner
• Horizon Lounge is the top floor adults-only Moroccan-inspired lounge, serving drinks and light meals throughout the day
• Pistachio is the lobby cafe, offering coffee, pastries, sandwiches, and more
• Bar O is the 1960s inspired cocktail bar, open in the evenings
• Salon is the lobby lounge, serving drinks and light bites
• Bar Piscine is the poolside restaurant and bar, serving drinks and snacks throughout the day
• Champagne & Caviar is the adults-only terrace bar, serving (you guessed it) caviar, champagne, and other drinks and snacks
• Cigar Lounge is the onboard smoking lounge, serving spirits and more
• Marina Bar is the pop-up bar that’s open on marina days, or when there’s a party down there

Before I get into more detail, let me say that I found the food onboard to be a mixed bag. Among the four primary dining venues, I thought Sedna was great, Miuna and Horizon Lounge were good, and Terrasse was just okay (with some things being pretty good, and some things being pretty bad).

On the plus side, given that Four Seasons Yachts charges for food and drinks (aside from breakfast), I was at least pleased that prices weren’t crazy, especially since there are no additional taxes or service charges (though there is always a line to leave a tip).

I’ll cover what I’d consider to be the six core venues in more detail below, but first let me just briefly talk about five of the “easier” ones.

Salon is located on deck five and is sort of the heart of the ship, as it’s the lobby lounge. When you’re walking between the various parts of the ship, you’ll frequently pass through here, so it gets a lot of foot traffic. We enjoyed this primarily for the live music, which was excellent, so it was a great place to grab a pre-dinner drink.

Next, Bar Piscine is the pool bar on deck five, so it serves drinks and meals throughout the day. We never ate here, since Terrasse is located next door, and is a bit more full service.

Next, Champagne & Caviar is on deck six, and it’s located outside of Sedna, the fine dining restaurant. I found this setup to be sort of underwhelming. I thought this was a proper venue, while it’s really just what looks like some deck seating, and it doesn’t have any shade. You’d think they’d make the venue serving caviar a bit “fancier.” I didn’t ever see anyone actually enjoying this.

If you’re curious, below is part of the Champagne & Caviar menu.

Cigar Lounge is located on deck six, next to Bar O, and I wouldn’t really consider it to be a fully distinct venue. It’s really just a smoking lounge, and drinks are served from the adjacent Bar O. For smokers, it’s no doubt an elegant and appreciated space.

On marina days, there’s then Marina Bar on deck three, which is a convenient place to get a drink if enjoying those amenities. However, that’s typically just one day per voyage, so it’s hardly the most used space onboard.

With the above out of the way, let’s go over the details of the core venues, as I see it.

Four Seasons Yachts Terrasse Restaurant

Terrasse Restaurant is the primary all-day dining venue onboard, and it’s located on deck five, right by the pool. This serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating, and it only got anywhere close to busy over breakfast hours.

Breakfast was served every morning starting at 7AM, and consisted of a buffet, with the ability to also order items from a menu. As a reminder, breakfast is the only meal onboard that’s included for everyone.

Breakfast was fine, but honestly, I found it to be a little bit boring, and I wish there had been more variety over the course of seven days. A few days in we were just bored by what was on offer, because neither the buffet nor the a la carte selection was terribly inventive.

The buffet included cold cuts, cheese, fruit, yogurt, salads, pastries, croissants, etc. There was also a mimosa and bloody mary station.

You can find the Four Seasons Yachts breakfast menu and drink list below.

The drinks were reasonably good, though I typically stuck to French press coffee here, and then got my cappuccinos and lattes from Pistachio, the coffee shop, where they have barista coffee.

In terms of a la carte dishes, over the course of our voyage we ordered the avocado toast, smoked salmon, shakshuka, and lemon blueberry crepes.

For lunch and dinner, Terrasse is described as serving “coastal Mediterranean cuisine.” I’ve gotta say, I found the restaurant to be exceedingly mediocre, and I really think they need to work on this. It’s the main restaurant onboard where you can grab lunch, and you can find the lunch menu below.

One day we came here for lunch, and I ordered the pizza bufala. The crust was so hard that I couldn’t even cut into it with a knife. I am not at all a pizza snob (I even like frozen supermarket pizza!), and I couldn’t tell you the last time I sent a dish back anywhere, but I just couldn’t eat this. So they made the pizza again… and the crust was equally hard. Unbelievable.

Ford had the chicken and red rice bowl, which he also didn’t particularly enjoy, as he said the chicken was super chewy. Not great.

Another day we had the chirashi bowl, with tuna and salmon, and that was actually decent.

We also had dinner here one evening, and you can find the Terrasse Restaurant dinner menu below.

We had the hamachi crudo and beef carpaccio to start, and both had the grilled branzino as mains. The branzino was quite good, while the starters were just okay.

Terrasse was definitely my least favorite venue onboard, so I definitely wouldn’t seek this out.

Four Seasons Yachts Sedna Restaurant

In contrast to Terrasse, we both very much enjoyed Sedna, which is the fine dining restaurant on deck six, open nightly for dinner. It’s described as being “rooted in French techniques, presenting creative interpretations of the classics.” The restaurant is elegant, with both indoor and outdoor seating,

We had dinner here two evenings, and we enjoyed both meals immensely. This restaurant definitely has high prices, but then again, without taxes and high automatic gratuities, it takes the sting out of it a bit. You can find the Sedna dinner menu below below.

The meal started with an amuse bouche, and some sinfully delicious bread.

For starters, I had the aubergine, while Ford had the foie gras terrine.

Then for mains, I had the dover sole, while Ford had the Japanese beef fillet.

We also split the chocolate mille-feuille.

The entire meal was excellent, and honestly, it was the restaurant onboard that felt most like it was to the standards of what you’d expect on land, rather than on a ship.

Four Seasons Yachts Miuna Restaurant

Miuna is Four Seasons Yachts’ omakase restaurant, located on deck five, and it’s open for dinner, with two seatings. It has just 16 seats, with eight being at the counter, plus two tables that can each accommodate up to four people.

You can find the menu for our evening below — the cost was $175 per person.

You can find a selection of the dishes below.

I’d say the experience was pretty good, factoring in the obvious challenges (you’re on a ship, stuff isn’t being flown in daily, etc.).

I think this is probably one of those things that will divide the Four Seasons Yachts guest profile — some people are of course food snobs who have been to Japan a dozen times (and likely wouldn’t be delighted by this), while some other people we met onboard were shocked to hear that we’d eat raw fish, so this was way too adventurous for them.

Four Seasons Yachts Horizon Lounge

Horizon Lounge is located on deck 11, so it’s the highest level accessible by passengers. This adults-only venue serves light Levantine fare, as it’s described.

The space has high top seating, two tables (each with two chairs) in the shade, and then I guess you can also be served in the area intended more for lounging, down a set of stairs. I do think they could increase the seating capacity of this outlet.

Horizon Lounge is open in the afternoons and evenings, and has a small menu, which you can find below.

While the prices were reasonable, I found the portions to be kind of sad. For example, the trio mezze sampler was served in insanely tiny cups. I know it’s a “sampler,” but still, I think they should up the portions (and prices, if needed).

We did enjoy the crispy cabbage salad and crispy cauliflower, while the chicken souvlaki was decent as well.

Four Seasons Yachts Pistachio Cafe

Pistachio Cafe is located on deck five, and is the ship’s coffee shop. It typically opens at 6:30AM, 30 minutes before the breakfast restaurant, so it’s a great place to grab that first cup of coffee.

It has everything from barista coffee, to delicious pastries and croissants, to grab & go sandwiches and yogurt parfaits. It’s the only place on the ship you’ll get barista coffee, so if you’re like me and love good coffee, I’d recommend coming here for your caffeine fix.

The concept here is interesting — until 11AM, everything is complimentary, so you can enjoy as much coffee, sweet treats, or even grab & go items, as you’d like. Meanwhile starting at 11AM it turns into a paid venue, so everything has a cost.

I guess this fits into the concept of breakfast being included but nothing else, but I do find that to be a bit of an odd transition.

Four Seasons Yachts Bar O

Bar O is Four Seasons Yachts’ primary bar venue, and the concept is that it’s supposed to be an ode to the cocktail culture of the 1960s and 1970s. The bar is gorgeous, the service was friendly, and the drinks were excellent.

However, it sort of lacked a vibe, as there was almost never anyone actually in it. That’s one of the issues with smaller ships like this, when you have people spread out across so many venues.

Either way, we came here a couple of times, and enjoyed the drinks and service.

Four Seasons Yachts service

When it comes to the Four Seasons Yachts experience, here’s what disappointed me most. When I think of the Four Seasons brand, consistently excellent service is the first thing that comes to mind. Unfortunately that’s also what was most missing from this cruise. It’s the same feedback I had heard from so many others on our voyage, and also from others who had taken a Four Seasons cruise before.

Here’s the thing — the staff onboard are all truly lovely. Like, they’re all doing their best, they all couldn’t be nicer, and they’re all eager to please and take care of passengers. Special shoutout to Marco, who put a smile on just about everyone’s face with his great attitude.

The issue isn’t friendliness or work ethic. Instead, it seems like there are a lot of growing pains, which I guess isn’t too uncommon for an all-new concept.

I don’t want to beat a dead horse, since I talked about this when I shared my initial experience. The issues were all so minor individually, but just piled up. Someone else’s luggage in our room when we boarded. Them never getting my coffee order right in the cafe. Constant mistakes in the restaurant with bringing out the wrong dishes. Lack of attention to detail with cutlery. Undisclosed service charges. The list goes on and on. And it wasn’t just us — it was feedback echoed by a vast majority of people we spoke with.

I imagine over time these will be resolved, but given the price point, plus what Four Seasons is known for as a brand, this really shouldn’t happen. Here’s what I think is going on:

• Four Seasons Yachts was delayed with its launch, so I imagine they had limited time to focus on service training; obviously once you start cruising, it’s very hard to “catch up” and fix things, since you’re always just trying to get through each day
• While a 1:1 staff ratio sounds great, I think they need more restaurant staff, since that’s where basically all the issues were; I’m not sure if the ship just doesn’t have large crew quarters, or what’s going on
• Honestly, what surprised me most was the lack of basic quality control; I’m talking things like the spa menu not listing a service charge, the in-room tablet not actually working for room service orders, etc., as these are all things that should’ve been figured out before launch
• I think there’s also an issue with the consistency of processes; for example, some restaurant servers tried to memorize orders, some jotted them down on a notepad, and some used the tablet, and that had a big impact on how accurately things were served

I trust this will all be resolved over time, but it’s just disappointing that the brand couldn’t figure it out even months after launch, as we still sort of felt like guinea pigs in terms of service.

Four Seasons Yachts guest profile

I know people are often curious about the guest profile on these uber-luxury cruise lines, so I always do what I can to share my observations. I have to say, the crowd onboard was truly all over the place. There was everything from retired couples, to families with young kids.

I’d say a majority of the guests were Americans, but there were also plenty of other nationalities, ranging from Brits, to Italians, to Russians, to Singaporeans, and many more.

Perhaps the most consistent theme among guests is that almost everyone had never been on a cruise before. It’s funny how that goes. When you start talking to people on the ship, everyone almost immediately becomes defensive with the “we’re not usually cruisers” refrain, which I find to be a bit funny.

The motives people had for taking the cruise were also all over the place. Some people were extremely well traveled, and were just Four Seasons fans, and curious what the cruising concept was like. Others had never really visited Europe before, so this was their way of easing into that.

All-in-all, I found most people onboard to be super friendly and social, which seems to be a theme when cruising.

Bottom line

I’m happy I had the chance to take a Four Seasons cruise, with the new Four Seasons Yachts venture. I must say, the ship is absolutely stunning, and the amount of space allocated to each guest is pretty unparalleled. The suites were beautiful, the facilities were great, and the staff were really friendly.

However, as I see it, this product isn’t yet as perfect as it should be, given the price point, along with the lack of inclusions. The food was a mixed bag, and there were so many little service issues that just shouldn’t happen at this price point, especially when the brand is promoting “legendary service.”

What’s your take on the Four Seasons Yachts experience?