Another luxury hotel company is getting close to bringing its branded experience to the seas. Executives at Orient Express on Friday laid the keel and placed coins on the brand's first yacht, the Orient Express Corinthian. The ceremonial display signals the start of production on the 54-suite ship, which is expected to begin sailing June 2026 in the Mediterranean, the Adriatic and the Caribbean.
It's taken the hotel-and-rail brand two years to get to this point, promising to build the largest sailing yacht in the world. The Corinthian will span 720 feet and carry towering sails that stretch 325 feet above sea level. The body of the ship will be almost 100 feet longer than the Wind Surf, Windstar Cruises' largest sailing vessel, with sails reaching twice as high.
The Corinthian is another vacation option for Orient Express fans, poised to keep them in its brand ecosystem -- and the growth of the cruise industry is proving that people are indeed interested in traveling on the seas.
Orient Express isn't the only company with an ecosystem mentality.
The Four Seasons Yacht Collection last month floated out the Four Seasons I at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, Italy, with plans to launch in January 2026. "As we continue our strategic growth, we are creating a luxury ecosystem where guests can stay, live and travel with a brand they know and trust," said Alejandro Reynal, president and CEO of Four Seasons.
It's not just hotel brands leaning into this ecosystem idea. Royal Caribbean Group's CEO Jason Liberty also used the term when the company introduced its newest venture, a Celebrity-branded river cruise line. About half of the company's guests have taken or want to take a river cruise, Liberty said, and this new product offers a way for them to do so while staying within the Royal Caribbean Group family.
"By leveraging our valuable loyalty programs across our three brands, we will deepen customer engagement and further our ability to keep guests within our ecosystem of vacation offerings," he said.
The luxury hotel companies expanding into the water business are wasting no time increasing their capacity to enlarge their options for brand-loyal guests. Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection plans to launch its third ship, the Luminara, in July, and the Four Seasons Yacht Collection's second ship is expected to be delivered next year. The Orient Express Corinthian also has a sister ship coming, although the date has not yet been announced.
By Andrea Zelinski
