The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has opened reservations for its Summer 2028 European season, releasing 52 voyages aboard Evrima and Ilma that run from late April through October 2028. The program sweeps across the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, ranging from four- to nine-night itineraries with roundtrip departures from Rome, Monte Carlo, Athens, Venice, and Reykjavík.
New Ports, Expanded Routes
Two ports make their debut in the collection's European lineup: Gijón on Spain's Asturian coast and Portovenere on the Italian Riviera. Ilma — the world's first Forbes Five-Star Cruise Ship since its September 2024 debut — takes on expanded Greek Isles and Adriatic coverage, while Evrima concentrates on Norway's UNESCO-listed fjords, the medieval capitals of the Baltics, and Iceland's volcanic landscapes. The season's geographic split gives travel advisors and luxury hospitality planners two distinct product offerings under one brand umbrella.
Culinary & Experiential Programming
For hospitality operators watching how ultra-luxury brands deepen food-and-beverage programming, the collection's shore excursion menu is instructive. Guests can harvest oysters at a family-owned farm in Croatia's Mali Ston Bay, attend a private French caviar tasting paired with Champagne at an eco-friendly Bordeaux estate, or join a guided winery visit in Mallorca following a helicopter overflight. These curated, produce- and producer-focused experiences reflect a broader shift in luxury travel toward immersive culinary hospitality that rivals what high-end land-based resorts offer.
"The destinations our guests remember most are often the ones where they form the strongest connections — with the places they visit, the people they meet, and the moments they experience along the way," said Ernesto Fara, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. He framed the 2028 season as an effort to give guests itineraries that encourage deeper, more personal engagement with each port.
What This Means for Hospitality
The scale of the 2028 program — 52 voyages across two vessels — signals sustained demand for ultra-luxury experiential travel nearly two years out, a useful data point for luxury hospitality market analysis. The collection now operates three yachts: Evrima (298 guests), Ilma (448 guests), and Luminara, which launched in July 2025 at 452 guests. Each maintains some of the highest employee-to-guest and space-to-guest ratios in the cruise category, a staffing model that land-based luxury hoteliers increasingly benchmark against as they compete for the same high-net-worth traveler.
For foodservice and beverage suppliers, the fleet's expansion also represents a growing procurement footprint. World-class dining is a stated pillar across all three yachts, and the emphasis on regionally sourced, experience-led F&B programming — from Aegean seafood to Scandinavian coastal cuisine — points to ongoing sourcing relationships with European producers and artisan suppliers.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
