• 4 min de lectura
• 4 min de lectura
The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, which entered service in 2020, promising to reinvent ultra-luxury travel, has reportedly had to work with its lenders in a complicated refinancing package as it continues to build the new segment of the cruise industry. The Financial Times reports the company has secured agreements avoiding debt calls and covenant breaches, but at a cost of increased capital participation from the founding group.
Started by an investment group with Oaktree Capital owning 55 percent and minority investments from two Singapore-based wealth funds, the group promotes that it is merging the experiences of yachting with the luxury of the Ritz-Carlton brand. The company was announced in 2018 with a licensing agreement with Marriott to use the storied Ritz-Carlton brand and marks for its ships.
While the hotel companies had briefly flirted with the cruise industry in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the extension of the brands to sea remained only a concept, with The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection highlighting that it would be the first extension of a luxury brand into ultra-luxury cruising in the form of yachts. The company started operations in 2020, and competition is emerging as Four Seasons and now Accor Group's Orient Express have placed their first yacht cruise ships in service, while Aman launches in 2027, as well as a luxury Japanese yacht cruise ship.
According to the report by The Financial Times, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has sailed at times with low occupancy rates as it worked to attract the brand's loyal clientele to become first-time cruisers. The newspaper reports that the company has invested more than $100 million in what it calls "expensive advertising campaigns to boost demand." It reports the company has accumulated nearly $700 million in losses since its inception in 2017 and is now targeting profitability in 2027.
The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection had a rocky start, having selected Spain's Hijos de J. Barreras shipyard to build its first yacht, with options for two more ships. The yard had never built cruise ships and was experiencing financial troubles that ultimately saw its financial collapse and a financial rescue in part organized by the cruise ship investors' group. The first ship, which was originally named Azora, was launched in 2018 but ultimately was delayed multiple times. Both Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and Havila, which was building its ships at the same yard, were ultimately forced to tow incomplete hulls to other yards.
Named Evrima(25,400 gross tons), the first Ritz-Carlton yacht entered service in October 2022, more than three and a half years behind schedule. Plans for sisterships were abandoned, and the concept reworked, ordering two larger (46,750 gross ton) cruise ships from Chantiers de l'Atlantique, delivered as Ilma and Luminara in 2024 and 2025.
Company filings, the Financial Times reports, revealed The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection had to seek delays in its repayment schedule to lenders and waivers of covenants at the end of 2025, which limited its borrowing levels. The group reportedly has loans of over $1.5 billion from creditors, including Crédit Agricole and Spain's CaixaBank, used to finance the construction of the three ships and operations.
As part of the refinancing, the Financial Times reports the controlling shareholders had to commit to an additional $275 million of new equity investments, bringing the group's total to over $1 billion invested. Crédit Agricole, which is reported to have more than $900 million of the debt, agreed to defer $171 million of repayments on the loans that financed the construction of the two French cruise ships. One loan was extended from December 2025 to January 2028, and the other from December 2027 to January 2033. Spain's CaixaBank led a syndicate that had provided $318 million, secured by the cruise ship Evrima. It could have called in $299 million at the end of last year but instead agreed to a waiver.
The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection warns it is likely to have covenant breaches again in 2026. The Financial Times reports the company does not expect the bank to call in its debt, but the company will need to secure an additional waiver.
Expectations remain high for the entry of the luxury brands into the upper end of the cruise industry. They are establishing new pricing levels that the existing ultra-luxury cruise lines aspire to, and the belief is that with deep brand loyalty, the companies will attract a new segment to cruising.
Fuente: Maritime Executive
