Exclusive: Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collections’ debut ship Evrima is christened

Evrima, the first of three new-builds for Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, was christened in Lisbon last weekend.

The 298-guest ship, currently on a transatlantic repositioning voyage to Barbados, was blessed in front of cruise line executives, investors, media, travel partners and guests, before the customary champagne bottle smash took place, initiated by the ships’ godchildren.

Named after the ancient Greek word for discovery, the highly anticipated ultra-luxury ship finally set sail on October 15 following a three-year delay and a number of postponed launch dates.

Speaking exclusively to Cruise Adviser, founder and CEO Douglas Prothero confirmed that nine out of 10 people booking were new to cruise.

“We don’t race from one port to another, we are replicating the yachting lifestyle,” he said. “Overnights are very important for us, as that’s when our guests really get to know a destination.”

During the ceremony, Prothero told guests that they were the only cruise line commissioning new ships during the Covid-19 pandemic, and that it had been “a challenging journey from start to finish”.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Group, which is owned by Marriott International, founded its cruise subsidiary in 2017 with the backing of Oaktree Capital Management.

“To start a cruise line you need an idea and a brand – we shared just two slides to tell the story,” said Prothero.

“We needed to find someone who understood the story and that understands marine operations. We found our way to Oaktree at the right time – the team have been incredible partners.”

Evrima will be followed by two slightly bigger new-builds, Ilma and Luminara, scheduled to debut in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

Read more: The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection completes sea trials