We, Doug Prothero, C.E.O. and founder of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection explain that one of the best things about yachting is that you always have complete control, whether or at anchor. 
The yachting lifestyle is one where we may "create stuff up as we go along."

On the third deck of the brand-new Evrima, we enjoy iced tea at the Marina, an indoor-outdoor establishment perched 10 feet over the lake. 
The boat is docked in Alcudia Bay, off the northeastern coast of Mallorca, Spain, and is given its name from the Greek word for "discovery." 
Prothero refers to the area, dotted with sun loungers, as "the beach," There are stairs leading to a platform from which visitors can jump right into the water. Ere the first passengers on board the first ship in The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection when it set sail.

He is describing the itineraries on Evrima by The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, a new joint venture run by Marriott International, the owner of Ritz-Carlton, and Prothero's marine investment firm, The Yacht Portfolio. 

The previous evening, on October 14, we departed from Barcelona Cruise Port for Evrima's eagerly anticipated maiden voyage. 
With 220 guests, a small group of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection corporate staff, 245 Ritz-Carlton ladies and gentlemen (as the brand refers to those working on board), 1,800 bottles of Moet & Chandon, and one Travel + Leisure editor, we set sail from Barcelona (me). 
Some visitors had reserved the initial inaugural voyage, scheduled for February 5, 2020, and had been anticipating this day for three years. 
Due to a shipyard bankruptcy, a pandemic, and other supply chain delays, it had to be delayed eight times. 
Yes, I did see passengers who had repeatedly changed their travel plans; one of them showed me eight confirmation emails as we sipped martinis in the Observation Lounge on deck 10.

Everyone stopped worrying about the ups and downs leading up to our voyage once the ship departed Barcelona. 
We concentrated on our destination. 
On Evrima, it was Saturday night.

I chose the charred octopus, heirloom tomato risotto, and a lemon tart adorned with little meringues and sugar-spun decorations. All the fish and seafood served on board are procured locally from ports every three days. 
On the 623-foot-long Evrima, there are five additional eating options in addition to 24-hour in-room dining: 
Sven Elverfeld Afloat, often known as S.E.A., is a restaurant on deck six after the chef's Michelin-starred restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, Wolfsburg, Germany. Talaat Nam is an indoor-outdoor southeast Asian restaurant around S.E.A.and open-air Mediterranean restaurant Mistral on deck eight. I polled about 20 ladies and gentlemen on their favorite restaurant, and Mistral was the overwhelming favorite. The focal point of Mistral is the pool in the middle of the venue — one of six pools on board ("plus the sea," Prothero quips, "that's the biggest pool"). All food and drink in the sail price, save the curated 120-bottle reserve wine list, a collection of high-end spirits, and the seven-course tasting menu at S.E.A., which starts at $285 with wine pairings.

By 10:30 p.m., we left the Evrima Room to find out where people were hanging out. We started by going to the fourth-deck Living Room, where a jazz trio was warming up. 
Local artists will often swap in, and six musicians, plus a D.J., are on board. 
They perform in various settings, such as a jazz trio and a pop group. 
According to guitarist Craig Stuart, most of them had never met in Santander, Spain, where the ship was, in July to rehearse for a month.

There are six restaurants and six bars on board, so almost every area seems bustling without being overcrowded. 
We moved from the Living Room to deck 10, where the snug Humidor, a 404-square-foot space furnished with a The Macallan cart, Davidoff cigars, and a variety of reserve-list whiskies, was, I'm sorry, poppin' off.

People gathered around as the bartender, OJ, who developed a devoted following during our time on Evrima, strained my Negroni into a coupe, covered it with glass, and pumped in smoke, purely for the spectacle — and to add a smoky je ne sais quoi to my nightcap. The Observation Lounge had a similar energy. 
Even the Spa Terrace on the ninth deck, one of Prothero's favorite areas because "you can see the front of the ship when we're moving, so the vista is great," had a sparse population in the whirlpool. 
The following morning, I returned for a deep-tissue massage in one of the five treatment rooms and a luxurious siesta in the indoor-outdoor relaxation area. I didn't spend much time on the Spa Terrace, but I did return.

I spent the night on my private balcony, covered in a Frette robe and mesmerized by the rhythmic foaming and curling of the waves of the Balearic Sea against the ship. My 429-square-foot Signature Suite had plenty of room to spread out, including a sitting area, a dining table, a king-size bed, a full tub, and a double vanity in the bathroom. Various room options are available, from the entry-level Terrace Suites to the 1,000-square-foot Owner's Suite with a private whirlpool. The 149 guest rooms all have balconies. The Owner's and View Suites, which make up six rooms, are still being finished, so for the time being, the two-story Lofts, with 81-square-foot terraces, are the best accommodations available on board.

Each suite has a personal concierge, but I rarely used mine because I had daily schedules made (and placed on The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection app) that included things to do on the boat, such as sunset stretching and meditation on deck nine. 
Despite this, their remarkable knowledge impressed me when I met concierges, cooks, the two-person wine crew (pro tip: always befriend them, and experts in shore excursions. 
Theo Lakkas, a food-and-beverage manager who opened Budapest's Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection, and I discussed the industry of luxury hotels. 
From Stephen Starr's team, executive chef John Suley entered the discourse and skillfully inserted a line from "The Wolf of Wall Street." 
I learned about Sebastian Pacheco, chief sommelier, and his plans for the reserve wine list.

Rafaella Vitale, a London-based art advisor with Sotheby's training, gushed over the private excursions with guests and the mini-auctions she'll organize for each voyage. 
I sipped Ruinart sparkling rosé from the bottle the three of us were sharing while I watched Pacheco and Vitale bounce ideas off each other for art-and-wine events they could put on during a forthcoming transatlantic journey. 
After Evrima's christening on November 5, the transatlantic cruise will depart from Lisbon, travel to Tenerife, Spain, spend seven days at sea, and then arrive in Bridgetown, Barbados. 
For the transatlantic and Caribbean voyages, Vitale will have Lynn Perotti, the Bahamian artist behind the ship's forthcoming rotating art show, on board.

He informed me that they looked through 41,000 applications before bringing on board the 245 women and men (doing the math, we get that 0.59% of those applicants currently work for Evrima). 
About half of those 245 are from the world of high-end cruising, while the other half are from the field of luxury hotels. 
That is how a hotel concept to the sea.

Prothero emphasizes that the hotel industry is significantly dissimilar from the cruise industry. 
"We had better spending.

Anthony Capuano, C.E.O..O. of Marriott, who zoomed in for the event, said that the ship hosted the "first-ever Marriott Bonvoy member celebration at sea." 
Like it would on land, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection participates in the Bonvoy program. 
With some restrictions (an initial redemption of 180,000 points), guests can earn five points for every dollar spent on their cruise fee.
 After the transatlantic journey, Evrima will spend five months in the Caribbean, stopping in picturesque ports in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Barbados, and other islands. The yacht will then make its way back across the Atlantic to the Med in mid-April. 
The majority of 2022 trips have already been, and at the time of publication, 2023 excursions are around 60% booked. 
High demand is not a concern, though, since The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is building two additional ships, Ilma and Luminara, each with a 456-passenger capacity, which will debut in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

While Ritz-Carlton is now the first upscale hotel chain to operate a ship of this size, Four Seasons and Aman are building ships of comparable sizes. The Swedish firm that developed Evrima, Tillberg, announced that a 679-foot, the 95-cabin yacht will arrive in 2025. It will experience Mediterranean summers and Caribbean winters, similar to Evrim. Aman and Cruise Saudi will work together to construct a 50-suite yacht that will tour the Middle East in 2025.

Halfway through the seven-night first voyage, which ended on October 22 in Nice, France, I disembarked in Mallorca. 
The Marina, which is only accessible when the ship is at anchor and loaded with floating platforms and a variety of water toys like paddleboards, sailboats, kayaks, and snorkeling equipment, opened up when Evrima anchored off the coast of St. Tropez. 
It's called yacht FOMO, OK? So, during my layover in London, I texted Barney to ask for images of the Evrima anchored off St. Tropez. 

I would travel slowly throughout the afternoon, go ashore whenever I chose, and possibly make things up as I went.