A unique “by invitation only” approach will characterise the inaugural year of Four Seasons Yachts. To learn more about this exciting new era of yachting, Monaco Life caught up with CEO and veteran travel expert Larry Pimentel.
The Four Seasons Yachts concept was launched last year in Monaco to plenty of hype, so it’s not surprising that the project returned to the Monaco Yacht Show again this year for a progress report.
By the time it’s ready for its 2025/26 inaugural season, the new Four Seasons Yacht will be unlike anything ever seen on the water. It’s being created by luxury yachting company Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings, founded by entrepreneurs and bold visionaries Nadim Ashi and Philip Levine, and crafted by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, an enterprise renowned for building and delivering some of the most impressive superyachts and luxury ships in the world.
“When we launched Four Seasons Yachts in Monaco this time last year, we were humbled by the tremendous response and excitement about the offering, which sparked unprecedented interest in this stunning project,” Larry Pimentel, President and CEO of Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings Ltd., and Joint Owner and Operator of Four Seasons Yachts, tells Monaco Life.
An opulent yacht that creates its own category
Four Seasons Yachts is a key part of Four Seasons’ future growth and strategic vision, as the company looks to capitalise on new opportunities and satisfy the market’s insatiable appetite for luxurious experiences.
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Four Seasons will manage the entire guest experience, from the front of house to food and beverage, delivering the world-class amenities and service that the company is famous for.
“It’s very different in the sense that we are creating a category of one, because it’s not a cruise ship, it’s not a yacht, it’s something in between,” says Thatcher Brown, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Joint Operations at Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings and Owner and Joint Operator of Four Seasons Yachts.
Meanwhile, a Four Seasons team will manage customised shoreside experiences and overland programs.
After the 2025/26 Caribbean season, the Four Seasons Yacht will be a noticeable addition to the Italian and French Riviera coastlines in the summer of 2026 as it cruises iconic yachting locales in the Mediterranean before making its way to the Adriatic Sea and the Greek Isles.
The first year’s schedule takes in 33 countries and 137 unique destinations, with an average guest journey of seven nights.
The unparalleled Funnel Suite and guest-centric layout
A defining feature of the Four Seasons Yacht will be a stunning wraparound glass window covering four levels of the elite Funnel Suite. It alone is costing $4.5 million. It will be the largest continuous piece of glass at sea and will offer incredible 280-degree panoramic views. The Funnel Suite itself will cover a total 900 square metres of combined indoor and outdoor living space, an immense floorplan that can be further expanded with vertical and horizontal connectivity, allowing guests to have one of the largest continuously connected living spaces at sea.
This ability to retract discreet soundproof walls extends throughout the entire vessel, allowing for multi-suite connectivity for extended families; 95 suites onboard can be re-configured into 65 suites with larger accommodation possibilities.
Pushing the boundaries of creativity and craftsmanship
Another design-first is the yacht’s cutting-edge transverse marina, which features expansive openings across the vessel from port to starboard, offering large platforms and tiered lounging decks on both sides to maximise light and sea views. It allows guests easy access to a world of water sports adventure filled with state-of-the-art water toys in ports that are traditionally exclusive to privately-owned yachts.
Poolside
The centre of the yacht will be a bustling gathering place for guests thanks to a giant 20-metre saltwater pool; one of the largest at sea. The pool is designed so that it can be quickly emptied, the floor raised and converted into a multi-function area for performances, fashion shows and the like. The hydraulic lift design borrows inspiration from the classic Christina O yacht, which also had many famous-first features.
Amenities include no less than 11 onboard restaurants and bars, a full-service spa and a salon.
Who are Four Seasons Yachts clients?
The concept is being marketed to guests who frequent Four Seasons resorts and hotels, are lovers of the sea, and who are accustomed to luxury, privacy and a sense of community.
“When you see these yachts in the playgrounds of the Mediterranean, what you see are individual, beautiful yachts all coming together, socialising when they want to and then retreating to their own privacy and space when they want to,” says Thatcher Brown. “So, we took that as an analogy for designing this yacht. With the expansive indoor-outdoor al fresco terrace-deck space, you can comfortably commune with your friends. Signature suites are very residential in feel, allowing for private entertaining. Alternatively, guests can retreat to their own exclusive, expansive accommodations.”
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With only 95 suites onboard, Four Seasons Yachts has made the decision to provide initial booking access to inaugural voyages by invitation-only, beginning with loyal Four Seasons guests. A waitlist is currently available for everyone else online at www.fourseasonsyachts.com.
Playing ahead of the game
“It’s not about meeting regulation, it’s about doing the right thing,” Larry Pimentel, a veteran travel expert, tells Monaco Life. “The concept is a commitment to the world’s waterways and to the environment as a whole. They are a gift, so if you’re given a gift, you should have the intelligence to take care of it.”
State-of-the-art technologies are being integrated throughout the design of both the yacht itself and the guest experience. They include the use of green energy fuels, zero emission energy sources when possible, such as solar and shoreside electrical power, water and waste management, and air emissions “far better than international requirements”. There’s also HVAC air treatment and purification, extensive waste recycling, and much more. Sustainable materials are used throughout construction and design, with local sourcing a priority.
The Four Seasons Yacht will also have one of the world’s first variable engines, “a bit like a hybrid car”, explains Larry, “so when it’s at anchor it can work off the battery and not the engine, preventing an enormous amount of emissions.”
The team is working on technology that the world is simply not ready for just yet.
“We have 27 items that we focused on so, in totality when the ship comes out, it will be one of the most technologically, environmentally advanced ships,” says Larry. “Five years after that, it won’t be because the technology is coming very quick. So, what we’re trying to do is play ahead of the game.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the figures to build this 207-metre Four Seasons Yacht are staggering: over $4.3 million per stateroom, for an eventual overall cost of $450 million.
“We’ve tried to create one of the world’s most interesting hybrids,” concludes Larry. “We took the best of what passenger shipping has, particularly in propulsion and construction, and took the best of the yachting finishes, and merged them together to create a product for which there isn’t an equal. We are a hybrid product and that hybrid product is a Four Seasons Yacht in a category of one.”
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Main image source: Four Seasons Yachts