A Tale of Two Ships

Think you know what cruising the Caribbean is like? Think again. Now, it’s possible to explore the region’s islands on smaller, intimate ships that nestle nimbly into bays and ports that big cruise ships can’t even touch. See what it’s like to cruise St. Lucia, Antigua, Martinique, and St. Kitts in high style on a luxury motor yacht, and then ride the trade winds with sails flying from Curaçao and Aruba to Cartagena and Panama’s San Blas Islands. It’s a whole new way to ahoy

- — Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon

Ilma, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection

It feels like a typical Sunday morning.

I roll over, stretch languorously, and open my eyes. Wrapping a robe around me, I pad over to the Nespresso machine, press the button, and summon a frothy lungo.

Motorized window blinds whir into action, revealing the vista beyond floor-to-ceiling glass doors. At home in my downtown Miami condo, I’d be waking to the sight of high-rise condos and the sound of honking horns. But “home” this morning is the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s Ilma. And when I step onto the balcony, I’m greeted by an undulating, seemingly endless swath of Caribbean that’s as blue as a Jolly Rancher, and breezes that carry a faint tang of sea salt. Yes, this feels like a typical Sunday morning—only better.

This feeling of being at home, the ease that comes from having everything you need, pervades my eight-day sailing on the 448-passenger motor yacht, which launched in 2024 as the hotel brand’s second vessel.

The sentiment is fostered by the comfort of my Grand Suite, which, at around 700 square feet, is only slightly smaller than my condo. It has two walk-in closets (which I somehow manage to fill, even though I’m sailing solo), Diptyque toiletries, and a bed dressed with sheets that feel even more blissfully crisp, cool, and smooth every time I slip between them.