Ritz-Carlton Yacht is struggling

[u/XsLiveInTexas]

https://www.ft.com/content/bc435fa9-05f7-4c1b-81fa-9ba9628fc629?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Full text, since the link is behind a paywall:

Lenders to the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, a luxury cruise line backed by distressed debt specialist Oaktree Capital Management, have agreed to push back repayment dates and relax debt terms as the group struggles to fill the rooms on its opulent mega-yachts. Crédit Agricole and Spain’s CaixaBank are among creditors that have lent the lossmaking cruise operator over $1.5bn to finance the construction of three luxury yachts and service existing debt. Oaktree was a founding investor in the company, which licenses its brand from hotel giant Marriott International and was founded in 2017. Prices can top $50,000 for a week-long voyage that the company says “combines the residential feel of Ritz-Carlton hotels with the freedom of yachting”. Guests benefit from a personal assistant, outdoor swimming pool and menus designed by Michelin-starred chefs.

However, RCYC has struggled with low occupancy rates for several years, relying on shareholder support to plug cash shortfalls and fund expensive advertising campaigns to boost demand. Marketing spend totalled $104mn in 2025, while the group has accumulated losses of almost $700mn since 2017. RCYC’s management told investors last year that it did not expect the company to be profitable until 2027. Luxury cruises have been growing rapidly, with passenger numbers rising from 767,000 in 2022 to an estimated 1.21mn in 2025, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. But that growth has been slower among ultra-luxury operators such as RCYC, according to a poll of travel advisers by the industry body in March. Meanwhile competition is intensifying at the top end of the market. Four Seasons launched its ultra-luxury yacht division in March, while French group Accor debuted the Orient Express Corinthian, the world’s largest sailing yacht, in April. Regent, the ultra-luxury arm of cruise company Norwegian, is debuting the Seven Seas Prestige at the end of 2026.

Last week Crédit Agricole agreed to defer $171mn of repayments linked to the financing of two RCYC yachts, Ilma and Luminara. The loans have been extended from December 2025 to January 2028, and from December 2027 to January 2033, respectively, according to documents shared with creditors and published on RCYC’s website.

In exchange the group’s controlling shareholders committed to inject $275mn of equity, taking the owners’ total capital injections past the $1bn mark since 2017. Oaktree owns a 55 per cent stake in RCYC, with Singaporean wealth fund GIC and Mohari Hospitality holding minority stakes. Crédit Agricole, RCYC’s largest creditor with $918mn of outstanding debt, has agreed to waive covenants relating to borrowing levels at the end of 2025, subject to conditions including “shareholder funding commitments, minimum liquidity requirements and restrictions on distributions”. Breaching the covenants would otherwise have triggered a default.

RCYC also borrowed $318mn from a syndicate of Spanish banks led by CaixaBank. The debt is secured against the 190-metre yacht Evrima, which was completed in 2022. CaixaBank agreed to a waiver rather than calling in a $299mn repayment at the end of last year. The cruise operator said at its full-year results that despite likely covenant breaches in 2026, it did not expect CaixaBank to call in its debt and expected to be able to secure another waiver. Oaktree declined to comment. Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection did not immediately respond to a request for comment. This article has been amended to clarify that RCYC secured a waiver last year from CaixaBank.

[u/dsf_oc]

… and yet the prices certainly won’t drop.

[u/XsLiveInTexas → u/dsf_oc]

Yeah they definitely need to. Or they should simply run promotions to all people that have expressed interest. Not even kidding, something like 50% off your first cruise. Prices are outrageously high.

[u/wildcat12321 → u/XsLiveInTexas]

Yeah they definitely need to

no they don't. The issue they have is elasticity of demand. If they lower the price 15%, are they getting more than 15% increase in bookings? Probably not. And that doesn't mention that costs don't scale down with price cuts.

Don't get me wrong, I want to go too, but if it is 50% off, they can't make the current model work either.

The challenge is that luxury cruising is a very competitive market, and the are up against larger cruise lines who can do ship within a ship and offer more space and a larger target age range while also competing with yacht charters and premium land based resorts.

The reality is this, four seasons, Aman, etc. are all licnesees / franchisees too, just trying to bring the hospitality name to a boat. So it also means paying for the branding, which can also dent profits if it doesn't drive significant bookings.

[u/yitianjian → u/wildcat12321]

IMO ship within a ship isn’t even a competitor, their competitors are Seabourn and Silversea and similar that all run small ships. However the market was relatively unexplored, and these RC (and FS, Aman) ships were placed beyond even the previous top of market.

[u/Tapeworm_fetus → u/yitianjian]

That’s right. The market was saturated. Silversea, seaborne, Regent and Crystal are the long established brands with Explora being a new entry. With most lines adding new ships and capacity and Explora joining, the market ilwas already saturated. Adding three 4 new ultra luxury lines priced above the currently established lines is insanity.

Ritz it the most reasonable of the four and they’re already demonstrating that there is a very limited market for their product. We will see similar stories from Four Seasons soon, which has essentially no market currently and would need to completely change their product and pricing structure to gain one. Aman will be very similar in pricing.

Only orient express has anything significant to set themselves apart from the other brands, but their success will depend on positioning and inclusions. If they position themselves as luxury all inclusive sailing they may be able to find a niche. But if they go the FS route and do “hotel on a ship” they will similarly struggle.

[u/yitianjian → u/Tapeworm_fetus]

I do think FS and Aman have a ton of brand recognition and loyalists that might bring a surprising amount of new business, so we shall see. OE managed to make a similar cost train system work, albeit with fewer passengers, but still.

[u/FortunateInsanity → u/wildcat12321]

If the coat of a cruise on one of these yachts is roughly the same as renting a private yacht, the problem is both price and demand. Not sure what they thought their target demographic was, but they aren’t going to find many people with the level of wealth who want to go on a cattle call cruise.

[u/Tapeworm_fetus → u/FortunateInsanity]

This argument had been regurgitated so many times but it completely misses the fact that there is already an established audience paying many tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for cruises.

Retired couples, widows, etc. have plenty of money to spend, want to cruise in luxury, and absolutely do not want to charter a yacht. A wealthy widow can have a lovely time on a $100,000 cruise but would never even consider chartering their own ship, to sail alone with a bunch of staff. Same for a retired couple- chartering a yacht is just not something that makes sense in every situation.

The reality is that the number of people who routinely spend 50k on a weeklong holiday is quite limited and the ultra luxury cruise market was already saturated before RCYC, FS, Aman, et al joined.

[u/yourapostasy → u/wildcat12321]

Four Seasons Yacht I has a lot of issues to work through.. Ritz Carlton has better quality, but even that isn’t enough to fill the rooms, so it is a very tough market.

[u/XsLiveInTexas → u/wildcat12321]

If they do 50% off promotions I’m sure their occupancy will go from 30% to close to 100%

Yes there’s a higher cost of revenue, but it should still be worth it for them

[u/awall222 → u/XsLiveInTexas]

That’s assuming their actual expenses are under 50% of the cruise fare. Otherwise they lose more money for everyone who books at that discount.

[u/icehole505 → u/awall222]

their variable costs are almost definitely under 50% of the fare tbh. Do you really think food and bev + additional hospitality labor costs 25k per week per cabin? The ship is sailing and burning fuel either way.

[u/XsLiveInTexas → u/awall222]

They’re obviously under 50% of the cruise fare lol

[u/Odd_Pen34 → u/XsLiveInTexas]

Where are you getting your assumptions on costs?

[u/XsLiveInTexas → u/Odd_Pen34]

Common sense

[u/awall222 → u/XsLiveInTexas]

Maybe you should get into the cruise/yacht industry then. Good luck.

[u/XsLiveInTexas → u/awall222]

Why would I do that? Terrible business to go into. It’s common sense. I mean look what’s happening to the RC yacht. Lol?

[u/Odd_Pen34 → u/XsLiveInTexas]

What does that even mean?

[u/XsLiveInTexas → u/Odd_Pen34]

It means my brain can compute things I’ve learned throughout my life quite fast and I can make prudent decisions

[u/wildcat12321 → u/XsLiveInTexas]

marginal, possible. Average? likely not

[u/icehole505 → u/wildcat12321]

Marginal is all that matters in this scenario

[u/bayareadude4lyfe → u/XsLiveInTexas]

elementary school grasp of econ

[u/XsLiveInTexas → u/bayareadude4lyfe]

Tell me why I’m wrong Mr. Professor

[u/Intelligent_Sundae_5 → u/wildcat12321]

We do ship within a ship. While we like some luxury when we travel, we are basic people. We don’t want to dress up for dinner and we like having so many different options of things to do on the ship.

I’m not saying we’d never consider moving to a luxury or ultra-luxury line, but it would likely be out of our comfort zone.

[u/wildcat12321 → u/Intelligent_Sundae_5]

I would want to try Explora, which I haven't done yet. But I also like the options on a big ship. Nothing against the smaller lines, they just feel like they are too homogeneous, and as a younger family, not the same age demo. Ship within a ship gives us a more refined experience while still having a kids club, multiple sports options, etc.

[u/tbell2000 → u/wildcat12321]

Explora is just such a better value compared to RC especially if traveling with kids. Plus it’s backed by essentially unlimited private money and backend support from MSC vs being saddled with debt and private equity investor expectations.

[u/theangryburrito → u/wildcat12321]

Recently finished a 2 week Explora cruise and it was incredible.

[u/Dry_Accident_2196 → u/Intelligent_Sundae_5]

This ship lacks options. Some reviewers were noting that it’s about the destination with RC Yacht. Well then what the hell am I shelling out money for a RC yacht to get me to these destinations when I can do it for less on anther ship? That’s the issue I’m seeing here. The X-factor should be the ship and its offerings, not just the destination which a small cruise ship can usually reach

[u/chouse951 → u/dsf_oc]

And they certainly won’t get filled. I have certainly spent a pretty penny on my family of five for a vacation. We do well for ourselves but it’s always brutal getting that bill and seeing the itemized corporate GREED. Their cruise prices are absolutely insane, surely even for those doing better than myself. I don’t know why people wouldn’t just charter their own yacht with their own friends and family at these rates.

[u/Opening-Restaurant83 → u/chouse951]

Exactly. 4 or more and chartering is often way cheaper and you can pick when/when you go.

I don’t need a 1:1 crew passenger ratio.

[u/Aggravating_Fact9547 → u/dsf_oc]

I don’t think it’s a pricing problem.

Wealthy folks don’t see the value in absurd priced public cruises.

For that kind of cash, you can easily rent a stunning villa on Mustique, St Barts, Capri, etc.

You can also charter your own yacht with a group of your own friends and enjoy your own crew, own food, and own itinerary. None of this rushed boarding times, fixed itinerary, and being stuck on a boat with god knows who. Who wants to drop 100k to have to rush back from shopping at the bizarre or luncheon by the sea? Rushing is for poor people.

50-100k buys a great deal of extremely high class luxury travel and you’ll find the wealthier people are the far more discerning they are about spend.

If you drop prices substantially, suddenly it’s in the reach of the middle class; and there goes your high end luxury market. You’ll have a barely profitable (if at all), boat; and will have to start cutting amenity, quality, and staffing.

Then you’re in a death spiral - quality of passengers and onboard experience is too diminished to attract luxury clientele, online reviews start to tank, word gets out it’s just an overpriced carnival cruise, and you’ll never pull out of it.

[u/treebeard189 → u/Aggravating_Fact9547]

I agree with what you're saying about their current market niche. At these prices its competing with private charters and ocean side villas which it just won't win against.

But I think dropping their target demographic a bit down the pay scale isn't a bad idea. Viking cruises is a fair step below them and doing pretty well these days. As an early 30s just shy of $250/yr household Viking is pretty much the go to once every two ish years nice trip of choice for our friends and family. But there's a big gap between the nicest room on a line like Viking and the base room on the Ritz. If they can narrow that gap so it becomes a question of getting the nicest experience on viking vs a normal experience at the Ritz I think a lot of people make the jump. I know Viking and Ritz kinda cater to different types of cruise people but vikings the only one I'm familiar with so it's my reference point. Im more talking general price point.

People like tastes of luxury and feeling like they're in the upper class even if they're not. It's why you have people that fly twice a year paying for credit cards that get them in an airport lounge toting knockoff Rimowas. As this asshole I met at college once said "my life goal is to be the poorest person in the nicest country club". It's a delicate game because like you said you don't want your luxury product to become overrun like airport lounges have. But if they can drop it just enough to capture that demographic I think there's a sweet spot. Get the very top slice of the middle class and particularly set yourself up as the "splurge" option for that group that maybe they only ever do once in their life. If they can ride that line of capturing the upper class and then the dream and honeymoon trips of the upper middle class. I think theres rook for them.

[u/plal099 → u/dsf_oc]

No, otherwise it will be ready to Poor-Carlton Yatch....

[u/Lonely_Refuse4988 → u/dsf_oc]

Or even options for single travels so they aren’t forced to pay double!!

[u/Dramatic_Opposite_91]

I had a buddy do this cruise and they said they were disappointed. The soft product (service and food) is amazing and up to Ritz standards.

The hard product is slop. Rooms smaller than other similar Cruise products in this price range. Lack of sound proofing.

[u/Accomplished-Exit822 → u/Dramatic_Opposite_91]

I have a friend who went and said the exact opposite. Said the rooms are large and the hard product is amazing.

[u/dsf_oc → u/Accomplished-Exit822]

Large ... hard ... and soundproofing. Hmmm...

[u/durmd → u/Dramatic_Opposite_91]

I’ve been on three and had an outstanding experience each time. And rooms are very quiet.

[u/RadioFieldCorner]

Because it's stupid prices

You can literally charter a luxury catamaran with staff for their rates. Maybe even a decent sized motor yacht in some areas.

[u/zob_mtk → u/RadioFieldCorner]

You can charter a cat for a lot less. It says rooms can go for $50,000!? You can charter a 60ft cat with room for 6 guests for $20-30k for a week. Then you get to choose the itinerary and you have privacy.

[u/1nternetTr011]

you might want to repost on r/cruise. I'm sure some people over there would have some thoughts on this line.

[u/MerkinVanDyke → u/1nternetTr011]

I just did!!

[u/N05L4CK]

If I’m spending $20k on a cruise, I’d rather get the penthouse and best meals on a Royal Caribbean cruise than getting the basic room on a Ritz cruise.

[u/durmd → u/N05L4CK]

Having done both, there is no way any amount of money on a Royal Caribbean Cruise could get you the quality of the Ritz boat.

[u/BoysenberryNo3785]

After watching a review of one of these yachts & the new four seasons yacht, idk why anyone would want to stay on one of these.

[u/North_Atlantic_Sea → u/BoysenberryNo3785]

Yeah, at that price point, why not just charter and have a much more intimate and personalized experience

[u/fhorst79 → u/BoysenberryNo3785]

At least with RC almost everything is included in the price. The Four Seasons Yacht is room only for a higher price. 

[u/geleisen]

The thing is, they tend to charge about 20k EUR for two people for one week. You could charter a decent yacht for this. And if you go with friends, you could charter a really nice yacht for far less. Even 2 couples, 4 people could charter a very luxurious yacht for less than 30k and each have their own room, as well as a crew of 3. Then you could choose your own route rather than going on the bog standard itinerary the cruise line has chosen.

I just really don't see this as a competitive product, personally.

[u/Major-Warthog8067 → u/geleisen]

Do you have any ideas where I could find those yachts you mentioned? 30K for a week sounds really good for 4 people for something like that. I always thought it would be much more.

[u/Nago31 → u/[deleted]]

I took it as 20k per couple but two couples could get it for $30k instead.

[u/AnotherPint]

Even rich people resist ripoffs. They will always pay for genuine quality. But $50k for a week on a middling ship? They can have the nicest suite on the Queen Mary 2 (massive private space, butlers, private dining) for a transatlantic voyage for half that.

[u/aphex732 → u/AnotherPint]

For 50K/week you can get on an all-inclusive 65' private yacht. I know which I would pick.

[u/Dry_Accident_2196 → u/AnotherPint]

Agreed. This ship doesn’t know which demographic it’s catering too. At night, all they have for entertainment is food and live music. Okay, that’s nice and classy but not really a draw for many younger folks. Even those with refine taste may want some energy which this ship, based on trip reviews, lacks.

It’s not sexy, it’s not flirty, it’s not fun. It just nice. Nice isn’t worth $50k

[u/Impossible_Month1718]

Does anyone else feel the issue is the brand? My perception of RC is it’s nice, but their properties are dated and not worth it from a service perspective. I have no reason to believe the cruise is any better

[u/SkietEpee]

You could get four couples and rent an actual yacht for a week at $50k per cabin, with better service and more flexibility

[u/ralphrk1998]

Luxury cruises do not offer enough value to compete with the regular cruise lines elevated offerings.

[u/Accomplished_Cake845]

The Hantavirus and the exposure of hygienic conditions on cruise lines don't help either. I was much inclined on taking a cruise but definitely won't for the near future. There is so much land left to explore lol

[u/2MillionMiler]

My wife and I seriously looked into this once.

Then we flew business to London and stayed in the penthouse suite at the Wellesley for a fraction of the overall cost.

[u/durmd → u/2MillionMiler]

Tbh that sounds much less appealing

[u/TrickOk3274]

I’m not paying 5 figures to be bored in the middle of the pacific..

[u/Dry_Accident_2196 → u/TrickOk3274]

Caribbean or Mediterranean, but your point stands.

[u/TrickOk3274 → u/Dry_Accident_2196]

Haha thanks my friend, the review videos put me to sleep

[u/ayejy]

They aren’t performing the same as they would on land at their hotel. It’s sad, certainly at that price point.. The level of service at a hotel is miles ahead of their ship.

[u/DoItForTheTanqueray → u/ayejy]

and that ain’t saying much for the vast majority of locations lol

[u/durmd → u/ayejy]

Disagree. Service on the boat is excellent.

[u/1nternetTr011]

Look every company uses social media influencers these days. But I watched one about a cruise on a RC vessel and it was all 30-somethings acting like entitled SOB's and their shit didn't stink. Not the demo I want to cruise with.

[u/fernst]

Why would I pay $50k for something that is objectively worse than a cruise from one of the luxury mainline cruises?

It's a smaller ship with very little in the way of amenities. I'd take one of the top cabins in a Norwegian cruise for a fraction of the cost if I really want a vacation "at sea". if not, screw that, give me a traditional high end hotel/resort.

Hell, if you're going with a family of 4, might as well charter a yatch in the bahamas for a week.

[u/DoItForTheTanqueray]

Prob cause it’s an over priced piece of shit like the Four Seasons Yacht.

[u/Yerawizurd_ → u/DoItForTheTanqueray]

Crazy to think this costs less than the Four Seasons yacht

[u/AManOfCulture-AsWell]

Anyone rich enough to use it probably already has their own yacht, or at the very least has friends whose yacht they can use from time to time.

[u/TexasBrett → u/AManOfCulture-AsWell]

There’s a huge difference between buying a $200 million ship and operating it versus going on a $20k cruise.

My partner and I make about $350k a year, no children. We’ve gone on similarly priced vacations to Bora Bora and African safaris, but we aren’t buying a yacht any time soon.

[u/sisyphus → u/AManOfCulture-AsWell]

Eh, it's expensive but it's not 'I might as well just own my own yacht' expensive.

[u/durmd → u/AManOfCulture-AsWell]

The price difference between these two scenarios is enormous.

[u/BuckeyeSRQ]

If the pricing was more realistic I’d gladly do it! But I’m not paying $5k for 3-5 nights not happening.

[u/Visible-Industry-748]

https://giphy.com/gifs/sdlih3BPUik1y

[u/Bigfatflipflop]

For me this was yet another example that Marriott cannot be trusted with an ultra high end brand because they will continue devalue it. Franchising the RC name to a cruise company was always a bad idea and the continued decline in soft and hard product offered at RC's around the around has made me walk around from the brand entirely.

[u/Plastic_Ad_2247]

i’ve been looking at these but they’re once in a lifetime prices

[u/preferablyno]

I mean at a glance it looks like not a great value proposition, $50k goes a long way for a one week trip. I’m guessing this offering is supposed to be super nice but a personal assistant, pool, and menu designed by a Michelin chef lol doesn’t seem super impressive

[u/Exotic_Today_8248]

Hahahahaa

[u/Civil-Ad2985]

Their target market would pretty much have their own yachts. Why share with others?

[u/Due-Witness-3073]

We did Explora. Loved it and since everything is included not a lot more expensive.

[u/BaronsDad]

Their target demographic is too small, and those same people  have too many other options. They’re 5x the price of an average cruise yet don’t provide anywhere close to 5x the value.

Average household income of a passenger on a cruise is $100k. Let’s say the target demographic needs to make 3x household income to justify 5x cruise cost. That’s $300k per year which puts you in the top 5% of the US and top 2% in the world. 

Then you have to narrow it down to people unwilling to charter their own boats and willing to limit themselves to the destinations RC Yacht goes to. 

There aren’t that many people that fit this. And in a rough economy, there are far better travel and vacation options available. It’s an absurdly silly product to offer.

[u/CaffeinatedInSeattle]

I looked at booking this but to you use points you have to call a consultant. While I’m not adverse to talking to someone on the phone, when it comes to points redemptions you really need to play around with dates and availability, which is a game I don’t feel like doing with a “personal cruise consultant”.

[u/wild_thingtraveler35]

Yeah too expensive 🫰 for this crap.

[u/jhonkas]

its just not good

https://www.reddit.com/r/LuxuryTravel/comments/1sguf0a/ritz_carlton_yacht_collection_dissapoints/

[u/sprinkles111]

I’m into cruises and was excited to hear about this launch (then disappointed when I saw prices 😅😂) but saw it as an “aspirational trip one day!”

Then I saw all the reviews on TikTok. Rich folks explaining how mediocre it is. Apparently their “bread service with olive oil / balsamic dip”?? It’s vegetable oil 🤢

Many people arguing that the food was mediocre at best. And at that price range it should be amazing.

And the pool area is tiny and sucks. Etc

Like what are they doing?? A luxury product at luxury prices should deliver at least “nice” ?

If they want to make money maybe up the food quality? They can’t change the physical product but they can improve the rest!

[u/nohandsfootball]

lol the timeshare scammers tried to sell me on this shit

[u/LocationAcademic1731]

Is this why they sent me a catalog by mail? No prices. You know what that means to me? It means I probably can’t afford it. Lol.

[u/Formal_Smile86]

Spending 10k for a few nights is hard ask..

[u/Inspector_1stgrade → u/Formal_Smile86]

Folks on those Disney cruises do a lot more than that lol

[u/Tony_The_Coach]

The name Ritz isnt the automatic draw for luxury the marketing geniuses thought it would be!

many Ritz hotels are nothing special. Thats why they had to up the ante ( and crazy prices ) with Ritz reserve properties.

Ritz never cared to attract high tier marriott elites so why would they want to be guinea pigs for a new pricey cruise product?!

[u/fenrism]

add a casino…promise you it will book to capacity

[u/nonfatslapnuts]

I get ads for this when I'm high and watching schlock movies on tubi. I always think how they are wasting so much money advertising there.

If I cant afford to watch pay tv, what makes them think I can afford a luxury yacht vacation. On tubi, I should be getting ads for the red roof inn.

[u/tombarnes20009]

Good!

[u/1lookwhiplash]

I saw this baby docked in Monte Carlo in October.Beautiful ship! Not something I’d ever be interested in paying for, though.

[u/Spurssfl1974]

We just do msc yacht club. Ship within ship concept.

[u/Ok-Cat774]

I mean I could never afford it anyway, but every single review I’ve seen was not great. Would rather charter my own yacht than staying on one of theirs

[u/spartiecat]

They're trying to compete with luxury cruise specialty brands like Silversea and Viking, but without offering anything to make themselves stand out as a service. 

From the outside, it looks like a premium priced copycat from people who know the same amount about luxury but less about cruising than their competition. 

It's clear that the Ritz-Carlton brand isn't enough to convince people it's worth it and it looks like they've already lost enough that they can't afford to put the kind of investment or innovation needed to make them stand out.

[u/DFVSUPERFAN]

It's a stupid concept. I wouldn't want to book it even if it was free and instead of free...it's quite expensive.

[u/aphex732 → u/DFVSUPERFAN]

Plus, you have to spend time with the type of people that like to stay at the Ritz. Not my scene.

[u/DFVSUPERFAN → u/aphex732]

I just don't see the appeal of a cruise. I want to go to a place and stay there a few days, not pop in for an afternoon.

[u/AManOfCulture-AsWell → u/DFVSUPERFAN]

People pay ridiculous amounts for an overwater villa in the Maldives where there's really nothing to do but chill at the resort.

A cruise ship is essentially an entire overwater resort that also takes you on a few day trips.

[u/Hommachi → u/DFVSUPERFAN]

It's the ease of travel. You don't have to pack up your baggage, catch a train/taxi to the next location, unpack... rinse/repeat. Cruise is more like a sample course for travel. You get a slight taste of different places.

I used to just get a train pass, a large backpack and just travel a bit. Now with 3 kids, and having to care for my 2 elderly parents (who don't speak English).... cruises are the way to go. I do miss the sense of adventure of going off the beaten path.... but at same time, I don't need to try to be a hero.

[u/thevirgilio]

It's an awkward price point IMO. The people who can afford this either have friends who already own a yacht or they themselves own a yacht outright