Curating different experiences for guests

With a draft of just 19m, the Four Seasons Explorer can access locations that larger ships are unable to, like caves and narrow channels.

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Guests on board the Four Seasons Explorer in Palau can enjoy up to three dives a day, with equipment rental included in the nightly rate.

(PHOTO: FOUR SEASONS EXPLORER, PALAU)

The draft of a vessel is the vertical distance from the waterline to the lowest point of its rudder, indicating how deep it sits in the water.

“We needed to provide flexibility and experiences for guests from all over the world with different interests. So, we set it up in a way where guests can do what they want at a moment’s notice — like go diving or snorkelling or to a local island for a bike ride or to visit a museum,” says Mr Armando Kraenzlin, regional vice-president and general manager of the Four Seasons Explorer, Palau.

“People don’t want to be part of a group. They want to be treated as individuals and this (way of travel) is a solution for those who want to craft their own stories.”

The team estimates that Gen Z (aged 14 to 29) and millennial travellers (aged 30 to 45) accounted for more than half of Four Seasons Explorer's guests in 2024 and 2025. Some of its key markets include the United States, Britain, China, Australia, Japan and Singapore.

WORTH THE SPLURGE?

Pragmatic luxury consumers often associate big-ticket travel spending with occasions like honeymoons, milestone birthdays, multi-generational trips or once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

The question, then, is not whether these — super-yacht voyages are affordable in an absolute sense, but whether they can be perceived as a justifiable splurge for the average traveller.

On paper, the numbers are exorbitant, but Mr Fara suggests that the headline figure masks a more nuanced value proposition.