The sighting of ultra luxury yacht Evrima on the horizon off Grand Cayman Thursday morning sparked the curiosity of many, but also offered a glimpse into what might be an emerging opportunity for the islands.
That’s the view of Marc Langevin, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, who welcomed the passage of the mega yacht, which is part of the newly launched Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection.
“What we are hearing in Cayman very clearly… people want to go more for quality versus quantity. I think that is the direction for our future. We have the opportunity with The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection to start to move toward and shift to a different business model, and I think that people should be very excited,” he said.
Evrima, the first of three custom-built ships for The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, began its inaugural voyage on 15 Oct. 2022, from Barcelona to Nice.
It made a brief stop off the coast of Grand Cayman last week on its way from Panama to Fort Lauderdale.
The specially designed yacht measures 190 metres and can accommodate up to 298 passengers, a media release on its launch stated.
Ultra luxury cruise a way forward?
The ultra luxury yacht industry is growing, and already the Four Seasons hotel chain has launched a branded yacht cruise line.
The MSC Group also launched its own ultra luxury yachts through its new brand, Explora Journeys.
With yachts like Evrima coming online, Langevin said it sets up a new avenue to take Cayman into the luxury cruise industry and provides an opportunity to showcase the islands as a destination.
“They’re not going to be staying in our hotel. It is not the business model they have… I have rooms, they have rooms… so it’s not that,” he said.
Langevin said this is the way forward for Cayman.
“It’s really the solution for what we are seeing. There is going to be potentially a void or a gap if some of the cruise ships are not coming any longer because it’s not convenient for them. With what I’m suggesting, there is potentially a new solution coming on the market,” said Langevin, who is past president of the Cayman Islands Tourism Association.
Potential to tell the Cayman story
The yacht will return in December when it officially calls on Cayman as part of a new experience package being developed by the Ritz group.
Langevin said it is a timely arrival as the Ministry of Tourism and those in the cruise industry have indicated there will be a reduction over time of larger cruise ships coming to Grand Cayman because the island has decided not to develop docking facilities for mega ships.
Langevin said he has been discussing this with ministry officials with a view to building on the experiences that can be offered to visitors using the luxury yachts.
He said, at the moment, The Ritz-Carlton is working on building packages for the yacht collection that will give visitors who stay over on the vessel a chance to enjoy what the islands have to offer.
His vision is not only for Grand Cayman but, with the flexibility of the vessel, experiences on the Sister Islands can also be built into packages that passengers can sign up for.
“The interesting part of the yacht collection is that they’re not tied to any specific ports because their size allows them to be anywhere,” he said.
Additionally, he said Cayman could partner with hotels to create a combination of stayover plus cruise.
“So that means that you can stay two days or three days on land, experience Cayman and then, as a port of call, you go on the yacht, do your journey four or five days at sea, and then come back to Cayman. So again, much more involvement in our destination, in our product,” he said.
He said the packages for the yacht collection are still under development, so it’s unknown how many nights passengers would be staying.
Langevin pointed out these yachts do not have the offerings of a typical cruise ship, like multiple restaurants, pools or casinos.
This is where the destination can sell itself, he said, by offering Cayman-specific experiences and potentially becoming a port of call.
“It will not be mass tourism. It will be more customised experiences for different centres of interests,” he said.
He said this gives Cayman a chance to shine.
“So it’s not about just about being on another beach. It’s about really experiencing what that destination is so excellent at,” he said.
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So selfish. This ‘upscale’ concept will surely not support the local shops in Georgetown – focus is all on elite! So sad that Langevin & Dart are dictating the future of Cayman. Please stop this nonsense now!!!
This is a new tourism product enhancement to be assessed and possibly pursued as a public-private partnership. It would be great to have a proper Yacht Marina Pier, but where on Grand Cayman would that be feasible? Maybe if environmentally and socio-economically feasible, that would be a means of diversifying the economy in Cayman Brac. In the Brac It could also possibly be the “home” of a fleet of luxury fast ferries, that would transport the owners and guests between the Brac and Grand Cayman. Just a thought.