(Bloomberg) -- When Four Seasons Yachts debuts its first 95-suite vessel in January 2026, it may well become the most expensive way to cruise. Seven nights in the Caribbean will cost no less than $20,000 per suite, with up to $330,000 for the nearly 10,000-square-foot, glass-enclosed suite that fronts the ship’s towering funnel.

What you’ll get for your money is space. At 34,000 gross tons and 679 feet, the €400 million ($434 million) Four Seasons 1 is the same size as some cruise ships that carry 700 passengers, though it only carries 222 at maximum across its 14 decks. Even the generously proportioned Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection vessel Ilma, which will debut in August, pales in comparison, at 46,750 gross tons for 456 guests.

What you won’t get for that $47,000-per-night price tag (or with any suite on the yacht) is free-flowing Champagne—or even lunch and dinner—which may shock frequent cruisers. That’s just the point: Four Seasons Yachts is not targeting cruisers but guests of its sibling entity Four Seasons Hotels Ltd. and its brand loyalists, who are accustomed to paying à la carte.

“What we are creating is not a cruise ship, and it’s not a yacht,” says Thatcher Brown, chief commercial officer of Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings Ltd., which jointly owns and operates Four Seasons Yachts. “It’s a unique hybrid that will be unlike anything out there in the market.”

Subtle styling, unprecedented pricing

When it was conceptualizing its first ship design, Four Seasons Yachts took inspiration from one of the world’s most famous and glamorous vessels: the 325-foot Christina O, once owned by Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis and now available for private charter via several luxury yacht brokers. The most noticeable feature lifted from Christina O is the pool, which, at 66 feet on Four Seasons 1, is one of the largest at sea. On both vessels, the design is set on a canoe-shaped aft deck, with a bottom that can be raised up to floor-level in order to create a big dance surface.

The interiors are by ship designer Tillburg of Sweden, with creative input from luxury lifestyle brand Prosper Assouline. They combine Four Seasons’ warm, simple and elegant hotel sensibility with expansive ocean views.

All suites will have floor-to-ceiling windows and outdoor terraces, with the smallest bigger than 530 square feet. Top suites are villa-sized, with outdoor splash pools.

Spanning four levels, the three-bedroom, top-of-the-line Funnel Suite sleeps up to six—if you count a child on a rollaway bed. It boasts 280-degree panoramic views from towering wraparound windows made of the largest contiguous piece of glass at sea. (Yes, people measure such superlatives.) There’s also a spa and gym.

That particular suite can even be expanded: Three adjoining suites can form a fifth level or serve as space for an entourage and security detail. While the concept of putting the largest suite in the funnel is somewhat novel, Disney Cruise Lines Inc. has a nearly 2,000-square-foot, Moana-themed suite in the funnel of its 4,000-passenger Disney Wish.

Among the alternative suites, the two-bedroom Loft Suite (from $189,300 for seven nights) has nearly 8,000 square feet and can be combined with adjacent rooms to sleep up to 20 for a total price exceeding $300,000. An innovative system of modular walls allows Four Seasons Cruise to devise some 100 different suite combinations.

The yacht’s pricing is in line with top suites at luxury hotels around the world, notes Rob Clabbers, president of Q Cruise + Travel in Chicago. His guests are used to paying $40,000 a night for a presidential suite on visiting major cities around the world. But such pricing is unprecedented for cruising, a sector beloved for affordability.

Even the extravagant 4,440-square-foot Regent Suite, aboard the 750-passenger Seven Seas Splendor by Regent Seven Seas Cruises Inc.—considered one of the most luxurious ships currently at sea—brings better value. While it costs $1.7 million for two people, that’s for a 140-night, round-the-world itinerary. Broken down to a per-night cost, it’s about $6,000 per person per night, including food, alcohol, first-class airfare and shore excursions; Four Seasons’ Funnel Suite costs $8,000 per person per night, assuming a full contingent of six guests.

No free lunch

Four Seasons 1 may carry just 95 suites, but it will offer 11 dining and lounge venues, with details still being decided. Only breakfast is included in  room rates. All other meals and any alcohol will come à la carte, although children 12 and under will dine free. The only inclusions apart from breakfast will be gratuities, coffee and soda.

Further programs on the ship are expected to mimic the Four Seasons hotel experience. This includes a Kids for All Seasons program, which transfers the brand’s kids clubs to sea, and privately guided shore excursions. Guests will be encouraged to linger before and after a cruise by spending a few nights at a Four Seasons hotels in Athens or Istanbul, for instance.

The vessel will have as many crew members as guests, a ratio that’s not so unusual at luxury hotels but is distinguished in cruising. You won’t call your personal attendants “butlers.” Here, they’ll carry the more corporate title of “guest ambassadors.”

Setting sail

On the 10 released itineraries—winter in the Caribbean, followed by spring and summer in the Mediterranean—Four Seasons appears to be following the private yacht crowd to small ports and marquee destinations such as St. Barts, the Greek Isles and St.-Tropez. In 2026, Four Seasons 1 is scheduled to visit some 130 ports in 30 countries. Construction of a second ship is also expected to wrap in 2026. 

While Brown says sales “have been encouraging” so far, the process of booking a cabin is opaque. The reservation process was launched by invitation only, with frequent Four Seasons guests and preferred travel agents given early access.

Interested parties were asked to put down $10,000 per suite to join a waitlist. Bookings have since become available to the general public but require private conversations with a travel agent or “personal yacht consultant” that can be initiated online.

Clabbers, whose agency is part of the luxury-focused Virtuoso network, says that several of his customers jumped at invitation-only, early-booking opportunities and he’s assisting additional travelers who are considering such cruises. He predicts that the first suites to sell out will be those that invite swagger, with price no object.

“This is something for people who want exclusivity and like the Four Seasons style and the hotel feel of it,” Clabbers says. “It won’t be for everyone.”

(Adds details about plans for Four Seasons’ second ship. A previous update corrected Brown’s title in fourth graf.)

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