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, according to maritime rules, personal yachts can sleep simply 12 friends.

Superyachts do not usually 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. Aside from the barman, we had the complete 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 under 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 rapidly turned my go-to spot. Each time I returned, I had all of it to myself.

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

So you will not discover a single buffet or theater on board. However you can see that many of the fourth deck has been given over to the health, spa, and wellness house (which, after listening to visitor suggestions, has been made 4 occasions greater 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 whole afternoon lounging on the AquaBanas, as this inflatable pool space hooked up to the strict of the boat, is known as.

The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Assortment CEO Jim Murren, who sailed with us, mentioned the AquaBanas value “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 necessary this connection they should the ocean itself is.”

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

“We interviewed hundreds of individuals when it comes to what they’d anticipate to see and expertise in the event that they had been to be on a yacht,” Murren continues. “Every resolution, all the way down to the floral preparations, has been made with numerous analysis behind it.”

That explains all the things from the smooth 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 numerous the containers that yachts do — even when I nonetheless can’t convey myself to name it as such.

Right here’s my in-depth evaluate 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 house for a pair of chairs and a pair of solar loungers. A rise in total 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 outside 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 night time, an automated highlight lights up beneath the bedside desk, comfortable sufficient to not disturb your journey companion. I additionally counted a powerful 24 coat hangers every in our twin walk-in wardrobe areas: lots 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 listing. “With Ilma, we knew we needed to ship at a very excessive degree, however we additionally knew we needed new concepts and variety,” he mentioned.

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 transient, though, in actuality, Mina is free to “make his menu very versatile relying on the time of yr within the area the place Ilma occurs to be,” Murren mentioned.

Acclaimed chef Fabio Trabocchi’s elegant Italian dinner venue, Seta Su Ilma, is tucked away subsequent to the personal eating room. We ate our manner by means of 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 only 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 right 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 night time.

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 received out. From the port, it’s a brief drive to Lignac’s store in a usually Provençal stone home on the outskirts of city. Our small group of eight spent two hours piping meringues and choux pastry and enjoying 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 mentioned to me as we took the tender again on board. The relaxed setup is designed so friends retain their independence — all the way in which 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 robust 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 seashore golf equipment alongside Saint-Tropez’s buttercream-sand seashore, Plage de Pampelonne, when there’s a DJ, plunge pool, solar loungers, and Whispering Angel rosé flowing beneath 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 courtroom, though the bow, with yards of attractive teak, is large enough to suit two of them. As an alternative, it was the setting for an lively 9 a.m. complete 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 only a few luxurious names, together with a Bulgari boutique and classic purses from What Goes Round Comes Round. Maybe the one single merchandise onboard extra precious 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

Kids 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 Children crew able to entertain the handful of kids on our crusing with actions equivalent to crafts and board video games in The Ritz Children hub. The Ritz Children 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 most important terrace.