MY THOUGHTS ON The Ritz-Carlton Yacht
Paul and I just went on the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection through Europe over the past 9 days. We voyaged from Rome to Elba, Corsica, Livorno (Florence / Tuscany), Genoa (supposed to be Portofino but the weather had other plans for us), Cannes, and finally Monte Carlo.
We were invited by the Ritz, and this had been on our radar for a while, as it’s a luxury experience on the water in destinations we love in the Mediterranean. It was truly a no-brainer for us, especially since we love to take one vacation a year just the two of us.
The yacht is truly incredible – beautiful, clean, modern, and the rooms are comparable to some of the nicer hotel rooms I’ve stayed in. Our suite was a one-bedroom with 2 separate closets, a living room, dining room, full bathroom (with a full-size bathtub), water closet, entryway, and a large balcony with a lounge chair. I looked forward to spending time in our suite every night. For being a room on a yacht, it far surpassed my expectations.
The service is top-tier. To start, each room is assigned its own butler, and they are very eager to help in any way they can. The same goes for the staff at all the restaurants, bars, etc. Everyone was extremely kind, accommodating, and very hospitable. The yacht we were on is the Evrima, which has 150 rooms, making the voyage feel very intimate and exclusive. We rarely saw people roaming the halls, which made it feel like we had the whole place to ourselves.
Since this was a brand trip, there were others invited that we happened to know, which was nice to enjoy some friend time over the 9 days, but we all agreed that this voyage would be so much fun with a large group of friends, since you essentially feel like the yacht is just for you and whoever you’re with!
There are four restaurants on board, and here is my ranking. Mistral was our favorite; the most casual of the four with a Mediterranean menu. We loved eating outside and catching the sunset. Evrima Room is a bit more formal, but the menu was solid, with things like table-side mozzarella salads, freshly caught branzino, homemade pastas, etc. Paul loved the filet mignon. SEA is their fine-dining option, with a menu designed by a Michelin-starred chef from Germany. The meal and experience were amazing, but I didn’t need to do it more than once. Our least favorite was Talaat Nam, mostly because the menu was more limited.
The route we took was what they call The Mediterranean, and had the weather been ideal, each stop would have been 10/10. Unfortunately, we had bad weather that forced us to reroute one of the stops, but I used that as an opportunity to take advantage of the spa. On days that the yacht anchors in the ocean, you can either tender to land or lounge on one of the many decks aboard.
We stayed pretty busy, as the Ritz arranged some incredible excursions for us. Favorites include wine tasting and lunch at a castle with a Count who led us through the most spectacular tour, complete with many juicy stories and cigarettes. It was a day we will never forget. We also had an after-hours tour at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, which I personally loved. Getting to see some of the world’s most historic art with your own eyes is just special. Anyone aboard the yacht can have these outings arranged for them through the Ritz (I asked, since so many of you were curious).
I want to address something that I was a little confused about going into this – the attire. It says ‘resort’ during the day and ‘yacht elegant’ in the evening, but I assure you it’s much more approachable. As you probably saw on my Instagram, I was wearing full sequins & gowns, and it was very unnecessary. However, I did enjoy dressing up every night, and truly, anything goes. The photo opportunities are endless, so why not? I saw others also dressed up, but for the most part, I feel like people were more casual – like a nice dress with sandals for women, slacks & a button-up for men. You can find the links to all of my outfits here!
I also saw a bunch of questions about sea sickness, which was a fear of mine since I’m naturally a motion-sick person). Overall, I haven’t had any issues with this (in car, boat, etc) since finding Bonine. It’s much better than Dramamine, etc. IMO, so definitely pack that if you’re worried. You can find all my travel stuff here.
My honest feedback is this: It’s up to you to make this experience what you want it to be. The yacht, service, food, rooms, etc., are all amazing. But since the boat pretty much feels like your own, I think traveling with your whole family or friend group would add a level of fun that you otherwise won’t get. People mostly kept to themselves, so you had the space to do whatever you wanted. I kept thinking that my family would have the best time on the yacht since you are free to enjoy it however you please (& it’s all inclusive, so the drinks would be flowinggggg lol).
Speaking of that, I guess I should mention that it includes everything. It took us a moment to get used to it, but after meals, you don’t even have to sign anything. I asked how the staff is tipped, and they said the fee includes a gratuity that is distributed among the crew (we, of course, tipped our butler because that man earned it; he was so kind). The spa and excursions are additional, but well worth it.
Think I covered everything, but I’m happy to answer any questions you have. Just send me a DM on Instagram!