Elite Traveler Winter 2024/25

Clockwise from this image Beach House dining room; living room and Memori lounge; the two pools

team can set up fully private custom excursions, if you like — there’s even the option to stay overnight and rejoin the ship at the next port of call. However, I would recommend as many nights on board as possible, as one area where Ritz-Carlton has really leaned in to the cruising experience is in its food and drink program. There are fi ve restaurants — including lavish multicourse fi ne dining at Seta su Ilma by chef Fabio Trabocchi (of Washington, DC’s Michelin-starred Fiola), light bites poolside at The Beach House by Michael Mina, and sharing-style Pan-Asian dishes at Memor ī — and no less than seven bars, as well as 24-hour in-suite dining. You’d be hard-pressed to enjoy such an embarrassment of riches on even the biggest of private yachts. For our fi nal night on board, Ritz-Carlton surely paido ff the weather gods — a gorgeous sunset gracefully waved us away from the swanky shores of St Tropez. After a night of sailing, Ilma ’s fi rst journey came to an end in Monaco; I opened my curtains to a view of the sun casting a pink glow over Monte Carlo’s gleaming Port Hercules harbor. After dropping us o ff in the billionaire’s playground, the ship snaked her way down to Rome for her fi rst proper outing (read: not fi lled with notebook wielding journalists). From there, she’s o ff around the Mediterranean — Santorini, Valletta and Taomorina beckon — before she heads over the Atlantic to prove to the Carribbean that not all cruises are

created equal. By Kim Ayling

Owners Suite from $36,400 per night. Contact +1 833 999 7292, ritzcarltonyachtcollection.com