WASHINGTON — Chevy Chase-based Ritz-Carlton is pulling up anchor and heading to sea with a handful of ultra-luxury yachts.
The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection will set sail with the first of three ships in late 2019. Cruise destinations include the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America.
Ports of call will likely include Ritz-Carlton resorts, and, because of the smaller size of the vessels, they will call on locations typically not accessible to larger cruise ships.
“The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection will have a distinctive personality and the vessels are sure to be true stand outs in some of the most glamorous ports around the world,” said Herve Humler, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC.
“This unique combination of yachting and cruising will usher in a new way of luxury travel for guests seeking to discover the world in a relaxed, casually elegant and comfortable atmosphere with the highest level of personalized service.”
The luxury vessels will accommodate fewer than 300 passengers with 149 suites, each with a private balcony, and two duplex penthouse suites.
The ships that will be part of the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection are owned by Oaktree Capital Management, LP and maritime investors Douglas Prothero, Lars Clasen, Victor Cai and Erik Bredhe.
The Ritz-Carlton has a long-term management contract. The Ritz and its parent company Marriott International do not have a financial investment or ownership stake in the ships.
