Hotel chains are launching ultra-luxury cruise ships. Here's how the newest entrant plans to compete with Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton.
Brittany Chang
- Grupo Vidanta owns a collection of resorts, golf courses, and, soon, an ultra-luxury cruise line.
- VidantaWorld's adult-only Elegant would have 149 cabins, 13 restaurants and bars, and three pools.
Grupo Vidanta's 22 hotels are dotted across the beaches of Mexico, from Los Cabos to the Riviera Maya.
Its next resort might look a bit different — and float.
The hotel company plans to venture out to sea with its first luxury cruise ship, set to debut in early 2025.
Grupo Vidanta's new cruise arm, VidantaWorld, has some luxe promises for its first floating resort. The 500-foot-long vessel, called Elegant, would have amenities like three pools, 13 restaurants and bars, and an almost one-to-one crew-to-guest ratio.
Plus, like premium cruise line Virgin Voyages, Elegant would be kid-free.
Competition could soon be as striking as Elegant's amenities.
In the next few years, the ultra-luxury cruise industry could start looking as crowded as the pool deck of a sold-out Royal Caribbean voyage, partly driven by companies similar to Grupo Vidanta.
Large hospitality brands are increasingly hitting the high seas.
Companies like Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, and Aman have steadily sailed into the high-end cruise industry.
The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection launched its first vessel, Evrima, in 2022. It now operates two ships, with another scheduled to debut in 2025.
Four Seasons Yachts and Aman plan to launch their vessels in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
A suite on Four Seasons' seven-night cruise starts at $19,900 for a voyage from Oranjestad, Aruba, to Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, in early 2026.
Ritz-Carlton's cheapest weeklong cruise is relatively more affordable at $6,200 per person for a roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to the Bahamas in late 2025.
Aman has not released further details about its vessel or itineraries.
The cost of a VidantaWorld vacation falls between Four Seasons' and Ritz-Carlton's.
VidantaWorld said its first ship will begin sailing around the Caribbean and Europe in late February 2025.
Norma Suarez, the ship's director of operations, told BI that a seven-night voyage starts at $12,500 per person — about $1,785 per night and person.
This isn't Grupo Vidanta's first attempt at breaking into the vacation-at-sea industry.
Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons are building their ships from the ground up.
VidantaWorld instead opted to acquire and refurbish a 34-year-old ship in 2017. The vessel, then named Vidanta Elegant, was initially scheduled to debut in 2019.
However, Suarez told BI the launch was delayed when the company decided to strip the ship down to its "original structure" and rebuild it.
The refurbished ship now has larger common spaces and fewer cabins than its original iteration.
The new cruise line said its ship will have 149 cabins to accommodate up to 298 guests.
The smallest stateroom starts at 139 square feet. Only the suite-level cabins, which start at 265 square feet, would have a balcony.
It's a bold deviation from ultra-luxury competitors like the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, of which all of its cabins have a balcony.
Ritz-Carlton's cruise arm also has spaces like a cigar lounge and an on-board marina with access to the water.
These amenities are absent from VidantaWorld's upcoming ship.
Instead, its travelers would have typical cruise amenities, such as a spa, buffet, several pools, and on-board entertainment.
For days at sea, VidantaWorld's programming would include lectures and cooking classes.
If the cooking class wasn't satiating enough, visit one of the 13 food and beverage options, including Asian, Mexican, and Mediterranean restaurants.
Or, if you'd rather unwind with a drink, head to the three-floor Lobby Bar for Champagne or the Amura Lounge for libations with live entertainment.
Just be wary of upcharges. The cruise may start at $1,785 per night, but the buffet is the only complimentary venue.
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