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In recent years, the land-based loyalty world has expanded into the maritime space. We've seen partnerships between loyalty brands and cruise lines to broaden reach and reward members.
But the most prominent example is the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection — a fleet of three ultra-luxury ships that aims to deliver the level of service the Ritz-Carlton brand is famous for worldwide.
As a lifetime Marriott Platinum member and a full-time cruise ship reviewer on YouTube, I was incredibly curious about the experience on board. The only problem? The cost. With rates starting at $1,200 per person, per night, this experience is priced at a premium. So, is it worth it? Here's my review of the Ritz-Carlton Evrima.
Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection Review
The Ritz-Carlton Evrima sails worldwide year-round, and I found an itinerary that fit my schedule before she set sail for the European summer season across the Atlantic. Departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, we'd visit two islands: the jet-setting destination of St. Barths and the laid-back Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands.
Booking and pre-cruise planning
I was fortunate to receive a travel advisor rate at a steep discount, which let me experience the brand for my clients. Rates for my sailing started at $1,200 per person, double occupancy, for a base-level Terrace Suite. I stayed one level above that, in a Signature Suite.
One benefit for
While not the 0.93¢ cents per point that AwardWallet users redeem Bonvoy points at on average, it is nice to have a different redemption option available for those with hefty balances.
Members will also receive 5 Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar spent on the cruise fare, as well as any pre-cruise hotel packages booked through the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. They'll also receive 1 elite night for every night spent on board, which can help them earn Marriott Bonvoy elite status.
Marriott Bonvoy elite perks
Be sure to include your Marriott Bonvoy number at booking, because there are a few (limited) benefits for your loyalty.
All Marriott Bonvoy elites (Silver and above) receive an invitation to an onboard reception. For my sailing, this was a sunset reception on the Marina Terrace, with caviar-topped appetizers circling between the crowd. While not necessarily a cost savings for guests, as nearly all food and beverages are included on Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection voyages, it was a nice venue to enjoy the end of the day.
Bonvoy Gold elites and above receive an in-suite welcome gift. On my sailing, I received a nifty Ritz-Carlton Evrima ballcap. Marriott Platinum elites and above receive one free pressing on embarkation day, which my room attendant handled promptly upon my arrival.
Remember that you can get Marriott Bonvoy® Platinum Elite Status as a perk of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant®
- Earn 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points plus a $250 statement credit after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 09/30/2026.
- Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy.
- Earn 3X points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines.
- Earn 2X points on all other eligible purchases.
- Earn up to 21X Marriott Bonvoy® points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. Earn 6X points with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card. Earn up to 10X points from Marriott Bonvoy for being a Marriott Bonvoy member. Earn up to 5X points from Marriott Bonvoy with the 50% Bonus Points on Stays, a benefit available with your complimentary Platinum Elite status.
- $300 Brilliant Dining Credit: With the $300 Brilliant Dining Credit, you can get up to $25 per month each calendar year in statement credits for eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide when you pay with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.
- With complimentary Marriott Bonvoy® Platinum Elite status, earn up to 5X points from Marriott Bonvoy® on eligible hotel purchases with the 50% Bonus Points on stays benefit.
- Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®, such as Le Metropolitan, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel in Paris. Certain hotels have resort fees.
- Each calendar year after spending $60,000 on eligible purchases on your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, you will be eligible to select a Brilliant Earned Choice Award benefit. You can only earn one Brilliant Earned Choice Award per calendar year. See https://www.choice-benefit.marriott.com/brilliant for Award options.
- $100 Marriott Bonvoy® Property Credit: Enjoy your stay. Receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at The Ritz-Carlton® or St. Regis® when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card.
- Receive either a $120 statement credit for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee every 4 years, when charged to your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
- Each calendar year, receive 25 Elite Night Credits towards the next level of Marriott Bonvoy® Elite status. Limitations apply per Marriott Bonvoy member account. Benefit is not exclusive to Cards offered by American Express.
- With your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, you can enroll in Priority Pass™, with an unlimited number of visits to over 1,300 airport lounges in over 130 countries, regardless of which carrier or class you are flying. This allows you to relax before or in-between flights. You can enjoy snacks, drinks and internet access in a comfortable location.
- Trip Cancelled or Interrupted? If you purchase a round-trip entirely with your Eligible Card and a covered reason cancels or interrupts your trip, we may be able to help. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Coverage is provided by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on international purchases.
- $650 Annual Fee.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- 6X points on purchases at Marriott Properties
- 3X points at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery
- 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines
- 2X points on all other eligible purchases
Marriott Titanium elites and above receive priority boarding and departure. Given how small the yachts are at the Ritz-Carlton, this is not much of a benefit. Finally, Ambassadors receive early access to specialty dining and complimentary laundry throughout the cruise. This can be a great perk for longer sailings.
Related: Marriott Elite Status Made Easy: Earn up to a 40 Elite Night Credits Boost With
Reviewing the Evrima
My cruise on the Ritz-Carlton Evrima was my 42nd cruise, but my first on an ultra-luxury yacht. With a total capacity of 298 travelers, I knew it would be an intimate experience compared to larger ships like Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas, which can hold 7,960 guests!
I'll break down each aspect of the experience of sailing on Evrima. As you'll see, not all is perfect on board.
Pre-booking
I booked my sailing about a month out from embarkation. After booking with most cruise ships, you're then able to make specialty dining reservations, shore excursion bookings, and more. On Ritz-Carlton Yachts, there is only one paid dining experience that you can book beforehand: S.E.A. Otherwise, you're only able to book reservations for the other restaurants once on board. I'd like to see the Ritz-Carlton allow pre-booking for all restaurants before the cruise, as they do sell out once on board.
Excursions were also on sale, but were absolutely extraordinarily priced. Ritz clearly focuses on private, bespoke experiences, as there weren't more than two or three shared tour options in each port. Those that were available were over $300 per person for simple city and food tours. I opted to pre-book the reasonably priced excursion to the Baths for $40 per person.
The ships do have an app that becomes useful once on board. Before your voyage, it's useless. Overall, the technological experience was lacking for such a new cruise line.
Embarkation
After arriving in San Juan via JetBlue, I stayed in Old San Juan at Marriott's Hotel Rumbao, which was a lovely stay. At no point during my pre-booking experience did the Ritz-Carlton offer a pre-cruise hotel stay. With several great Marriott properties in the area, I was surprised, to say the least.
I embarked from San Juan, Puerto Rico's Old San Juan pier, just a short walk from my hotel. I arrived about 1.5 hours before their suggested arrival time of 12:30 p.m. to see what the terminal experience was like. After dropping my bag off with the porters, I was made to wait outside the air-conditioned terminal under their shade structure for about five minutes. The wait wasn't very long, and it didn't bother me much, but others boarding with me seemed slightly annoyed.
Once the terminal doors opened, things ran smoothly. We were welcomed with some flavored waters and local snacks, and asked to wait until check-in and boarding began. At 12:30, boarding formalities began, and I was escorted on board the Evrima.
On board, I was welcomed with a choice of beverages and met by a crew member to escort me to my muster station and my suite. The process was quick, and soon I could explore my Signature Suite.
At no point, from the moment I entered the terminal until I entered my suite, was I not escorted by a member of the Ritz-Carlton team. That was a nice touch, and a very premium-feeling experience compared to my normal cruising!
Cabin
I was booked into one of Evrima's Signature Suites for this voyage, as I was sailing on a travel advisor rate. So, I was, of course, thrilled with the upgrade, but I understand that every room on board is considered a suite. The Signature Suite is similar to a one-bedroom suite on land. The main bedroom has four walls that completely separate it from the living area. The cabin's one bathroom is intuitively designed, with a door accessible from the main entrance leading to the toilet, serving as a sort of guest bathroom.
And yes, the Ritz-Carlton Evrima's beds are as comfortable as the Ritz-Carlton beds on land.
The living area is large (for a ship), with seating for four and a pull-out couch that fits four guests. The balcony is oversized but with only one sun lounger, which might annoy guests.
Overall, I had little to complain about with what is unequivocally the best cabin I've had on a voyage.
Ship
The ship itself has an ultra-luxury design. I loved the dark colors, as they made me feel like I was truly on a billionaire's yacht for a few nights. The Living Room is the main social gathering spot for guests, with a coffee bar, evening entertainment, and the ship's only shop. What you won't find here, though, is a casino, which fellow guests felt was missing.
Five other restaurants are on board, taking up most of the indoor public spaces. On the top deck, the Observation Lounge is a quiet place to read a book during the daytime, but in the evenings turns into the ship's nightclub. Nearby, the ship's Humidor is the only place that allows smoking on board.
There's also a sprawling spa and fitness center, and surprisingly, a small kids club for the little ones. Besides that, though, there's not much planned on board in terms of activities. This was a big miss, in my opinion, as I wished there were more opportunities to socialize that didn't center around eating and drinking.
One area worth mentioning is the ship's pools. Unfortunately, this is a major downside to the Evrima, as her pools are just not big enough for a vessel of this caliber. It felt like those using the pool were constantly being watched, as both main pool areas were located near, or even inside, dining areas. For the most privacy, the ship's spa has an oversized hot tub, but that's more for lounging.
Fortunately, Evrima’s larger sister ships, Ilma and Luminara, have proper sundecks around their pools.
The other miss for my voyage was the Marina. A unique feature of smaller ships, it allows passengers to enjoy water toys and swimming right off the ship while anchored. Unfortunately, due to port regulations, our marina stayed stowed away for our voyage.
Food, beverage, and service
Food and beverage is where the Ritz-Carlton Evrima truly shined. I dined at most of its restaurants on my three-night sailing, skipping the extra-charge S.E.A. ($249). Venues include:
- Mistral, a Mediterranean poolside lounge that serves lunch and dinner
- Talaat Naam, the ship's sushi and Asian restaurant, is quite popular. It also features “The Bar,” the best cocktail bar on board.
- The Evrima Room is the most traditional dining room, with steaks, seafood, and a menu that changes every three days.
- The Pool House is the most casual restaurant, with both indoor and outdoor dining. Their chicken sandwich is one of the best I've ever had, period.
- S.E.A. is a multi-course, fine-dining restaurant that runs $249 per person.
There's free-flowing Moët & Chandon champagne at every bar on board, and most liquors and wines are included. Only top-shelf and premium vintages are excluded.
I was very impressed with the service on board. There was rarely a moment where a crew member made me wait for anything, and there were many opportunities to chat with officers at the many sunset parties the yacht planned on our behalf. It seemed that cabins were serviced every time we left them, a truly wow moment for me. Overall, I can't say enough great things about the service from the staff on board.
Final Thoughts
Overall, my time on board the Ritz-Carlton Evrima was a dream. I believe it is a premium-priced experience, but it's approachable, especially for those with a large Marriott Bonvoy points balance. I'd aim to book an exciting itinerary that only the small ships can accomplish. I wouldn't worry too much about using your Marriott status for better onboard benefits unless you're close to Ambassador status, since unlimited laundry can be a real savings. I hope to check out the other ships in the fleet on a longer sailing in the future!
