Luxury hospitality’s take on the cruise industry is setting new standards: with high-end hotel brands launching ships of their own and new residential experiences blurring the lines between cruising and yachting, the idea of holidaying on the water – and doing so in serious style – isn’t going anywhere… and most notably perhaps, the future of luxury cruising is set to make a positive impact along the way.
Heading into 2025, all signs point to cruising as one of the most popular ways to travel. Cruise bookings are already on the rise, a trend likely to continue as travellers opt for “JOMO” (the “joy of missing out”), seeking slower, more restful experiences – partly, we think, a reaction to rampant overtourism in many of the world’s most popular on-land destinations.
Some of the luxury cruise ships launched in recent years are quite literally floating hotels, like the recently debuted Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection’s Ilma (the successor to the brand’s Evrima vessel), bringing the hospitality brand’s renowned level of service to some of the most popular ports around the world. There’s also a highly anticipated collaboration between COMO Hotels and Resorts and Natural World Safaris on the eight-suite M/S Polarfront: the ship is due to set sail for Norway’s Svalbard archipelago in 2025 and will offer the hotel brand’s signature COMO Cuisine and Shambhala wellness treatments onboard.
With elevated features like high-end spas, fine dining, luxury retail, Triton submersibles and spacious suites that include private decks with jacuzzis and the like, a new generation of ships combines elements of yachting (where equally impressive trends mirror the demands of an evermore discerning and well-heeled client base) and cruising to appeal to the top end of the travel market.
Magnificent as these vessels are, there’s still an elephant in the room: the cruise industry on the whole has a poor sustainability track record. In fact, a new generation of gas-guzzling behemoths known as mega cruise ships wreak havoc on the natural environment, polluting the air in port cities and dumping waste into waterways. With little government regulation, environmental responsibility is mostly left up to the cruise lines themselves – will they step up to make cruising more eco-conscious?
Fortunately, high-end cruising comes with its very own set of expectations on the side of travellers looking to make responsible choices and many players in the luxury cruise market tackle issues around sustainability with creative solutions. The residential superyacht NJORD, scheduled to be completed by 2026, is designed with both philanthropy and sustainability in mind. Not only is the ship equipped for scientific and oceanographic research to advance understanding of the natural world, but it will also rely on bio-methanol, a net-zero carbon output fuel source.
Similarly, the residential cruise ship Ulyssia (in the works for 2029) promises to allow guests to give back to local communities through cultural preservation and environmental conservation projects. Few details about these projects are available at this point, but the fact that Ulyssia is the result of a partnership with EYOS Expeditions bodes well if you ask us: EYOS was and continues to be a pioneer expedition yachting, and has incorporated sustainability and conservation into all its work, supporting scientific research and investing in carbon offsets.
To stay relevant to those of us seeking both responsible and experiential travel experiences, cruise lines should also rethink their approach to shore excursions. Rather than showing travellers a heavily curated view of the destinations they visit, cruises have an opportunity to encourage interaction with local communities beyond the touristy port areas, distributing economic and other benefits to regions from which they were traditionally withheld.
Overall, we’re encouraged by what is in store for the future of luxury cruising. There’s a sense that the demands of educated and well-meaning travellers are carried right through to how the industry updates its product. Catering to a higher-end market than ever before, cruising no longer sees itself as merely another way to travel, but arguably as an opportunity to add real value not only to guests but also to science and people in the destinations visited. Beyond the shiny veneer of their ships, the brands behind them seem to be steering towards a more responsible future.
www.ritzcarltonyachtcollection.com | www.comohotels.com | www.thefinestaddress.com | www.ulyssia.com | www.eyos-expeditions.com
Photography courtesy of Natural World Safaris and renderings courtesy of Ulyssia
