Magnificent, majestic, royal, breathtaking, and graceful are the words that describe the real meaning of luxury yachts. For the superyacht owners, the world is one big playground and they have the playthings to prove it. Full article

It’s destined to be the world’s largest cruise ship – when launched next year, Royal Caribbean’s US$1.24 billion Project Genesis will be 1,180 feet long, and carry 5400 passengers (6,400 at a pinch).

It’s the most expensive ship in history, and it’s longer, wider and taller than the largest ocean liner ever built, (Cunard’s QM II), 43 per cent larger in size than the world’s largest cruise ship, (Freedom of the Seas) and remarkably, bigger than any military ship ever built, aircraft carriers included.

In a world where choice of amenities count, Project Genesis has yet another trump card – in the the center of the ship is a lush, tropical park which opens to the sky.

With its intention of taking the best of the land to sea the aptly-named “Central Park” spans the length of a football field. The aim is to make the park a public gathering place like a town’s central park, with pathways, seasonal flower gardens and a canopy of trees.

Aiming to give the ship a number of distinct districts, the Central park neighborhood is one of seven neighborhoods to be unveiled on Project Genesis. Each neighborhood will provide vacationers with the opportunity to seek out relevant experiences based on their personal style, preference or mood.  Full article

The Frank Mulder Gigayacht is claimed by many to be the most expensive item ever sold on eBay for an eye-popping, purchase price of $168,000,000.

The Gigayacht was designed by Naval architect Frank Mulder of Mulder Design.

Now, a Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich owns this beauty. The ultra-luxury yacht boasts of luxurious master suite on deck that features luxury office area, salon, cinema room, fitness room, two person cabin for children, body guards.

The stunning yacht also features helicopter garage in the bow with retractable elevator, two fabulous multi-level VIP Suites with panoramic windows, sixteen luxurious oversized guest cabins.

After the Zeydon Z60 yacht, we’ve never discussed another luxury yacht. Although this time it’s a bit smaller than the previous 230 foot megayacht, we need to understand that great things do come in smaller packages as well.

This time the Sabdes 50m Superyacht will catch people’s eyes. It’s a conceptual super yacht. Sabdes is not just a luxury icon of a yacht, but it’s also focusing to be an environmentally friendly yacht. This will help contribute to a “greener” earth.

To produce yachts that stand out from the crowd requires an intuitive knowledge of design and styling crossing many industrial disciplines.

Designer, Scott Blee, was truly thinking ahead for future system upgrades as technologies advance. In turn these changes will eliminate major redesign and structural changes.

Each yacht’s systems are carefully considered in the early stages of design in order to minimize power consumption and emissions. Hull designs are optimized for minimal surface and hull wake, reducing their impact on sensitive marine life, and shoreline erosion.

Aside from this yacht eco-sensitive slant, Sabdes yachts are ultimately designed to be stylish.

The yacht’s total power consumption will be kept to a minimum. Careful consideration was given to every technical element throughout the yacht. For example, it will have LED lighting, more reliance on natural cooling to support the A/C system, plus insulation and window materials were carefully selected.

Craig Loomes is making a point. Three points to be exact. In his latest Buck-the-Trend, D A M N the Torpedoes hull design, he’s combined one part superyacht, one part submarine and one part angry hornet trumped-up on amphetamines into a stabilized monohull with wreckless disregard for waves. And just who is this Loomatic? Craig Loomes is yacht designer from down under whose motto appears to be the first rule in Italian driving… “remove the rearview mirror, because what’s behind you doesn’t matter any more.”

The 146-meter Trimaran concept is the warp-forward offspring to the “Earthrace Wavepiercer Trimaran”, a globetrotting, purpose-built boat targeting the world circumnavigation record by favoring consistency over speed. This futuristic, 24-meter wave slayer is producing better than anticipated efficiency while taming decelerations induced by wave impact. The result is a much smoother, albeit wildly wetter ride.

In just a few short years, Loomes has gained worldwide recognition for hulls designed to silhouette waves and they have certainly pierced the press, claiming such accolades as the International Superyacht Society award for “Best Power 32m to 43m” in 2004 for his 33 meter Wavepiercer.

While the design doesn’t offer the usual exterior walkways, it offers something very different… observation lounges contained within the highest point of the arches for a birds-eye view of the main hull submerging itself with frequency. The exaggerated arches serve another purpose, to place the air intake for the engines at the highest point possible on the vessel.

The yacht concept also benefits from the submariner approach, with consistent transatlantic speeds estimated at 40 knots, moving it into a realm few others can venture. Projected power plants are four MTU V-20 8000 diesels, pumping out 8,200 hp each, which is expected to produce a sprint speed of 50 knots!

Because the hull form is narrow, accommodations have been split into multi-level staterooms for up to 28 guests. The master, seen here, is a tri-level suite. Other facilities include a helicopter pad on the aft deck and quite possibly… a cave, because if Batman had a boat, Loomes designed it.

Preliminary specifications:LOA: 148 meters
Beam: No slip wide enough
Draft: 3.6 meters
Weight: 3000 tons
Power: 4 x MTU V-20 8000′s
Range: 3000 miles at 40 knots
Cruise speed (estimated): 40 knots
Top Speed (estimated): 50 knotsFor more information, contact:Craig Loomes Design Group
P.O. Box 147-027
Ponsonby, Auckland
New Zealand
+64 9360 9799

Story by: Carl Camper – Yachtforums.com

The cruise line industry keeps rolling out mega luxury ships to meet the ever demanding tastes of high end travelers. More choices in food, activities, itineraries and luxury are some of the trends shaping the cruise industry for 2008. But the biggest unknown is what will happen with cruise prices.

The Cruise Lines International Association estimates that 12.6 million people cruised in 2007, a 4.6 percent increase over 2006. CLIA believes demand will hold, with a projected 12.8 million passengers for 2008 despite the weakening economy. A recent CLIA survey of 500 travel agents found 90 percent expect 2008 cruise sales to be as good or better than 2007.

But consumers with flexible vacation plans may be in for some deals. “The more uncertainty there is in the marketplace, the more deals there will be later in the year,” said Heidi Allison Shane, spokeswoman for CruiseCompete.com. “When the cruise lines go out with high prices and they don’t sell out, the bigger the discounts later on.” The softest markets, she predicted, will be in mega-ships sailing to the Caribbean and Bermuda.

Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of CruiseCritic.com, also expects “more competitive prices for sure, because the economy is shaky, but where you’ll find the real deals are on the older ships in cruise line fleets, not the newer and bigger models. Per diems on vessels like Cunard’s Queen Victoria, Holland America’s Eurodam and Celebrity’s Solstice will be pricey and demand is strong because all three are new designs.”

LUXURY: More cruise lines are offering larger and more luxurious accommodations with private elevators, private courtyards and suites located near spas. Spa suite guests typically get priority or upgraded access to spa services.

Even the mass-market cruise line Carnival is getting into the luxury act with Carnival Splendor, launching later this year with 68 spa suites that feature access by private elevator to a 21,000-square-foot spa. Another new ship, MSC Cruises’ MSC Fantasia, will also feature 68 suites accessed by private elevators.

Norwegian Gem, which launched in 2007, not only has one of the most decorative exteriors of any ship at sea – a colorful jewel design on a white background – but it has large one- and two-bedroom suites in its Courtyard Villa. The shared private courtyard has a private lap pool, hot tub, steam rooms and fitness area.

In May, Celebrity Cruises launched a new luxury line, Azamara, with two midsize ships – Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest. Both ships carry 694 guests and offer Sky Suites with in-suite spa services. Most itineraries are 12-18 nights with less well-known ports of call like Cartagena, Colombia, and Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. In the summer, both ships go to Europe. Azamara Quest will later sail in Asia.

Article written by Beth J. Harpaz  – AP Travel Editor

Luxury yachts have always been gleaming white and mainly bear the same, elegant design features. Wally has re-written the rules altogether.

The Monaco-based boat maker’s yachts, power yachts and smaller boats all carry design characteristics utterly undreamt of until they came about. Their dark, mysterious looks are undoubtedly head-turning, their power frightening. The minimalist lines don’t give anything away; indeed they hide the yacht’s interior which, in the larger variants such as the outrageous Wallypower 118, is simply spine-tingling. It is instantly evident that design plays the lead role in these beauties. After all, any power yacht which can house a space that changes from dining room to small conference area must be special.

Wally’s boats are nothing short of prodigious. To find out just how and why these seemingly fictitious concepts of arresting design exist, I chatted with Luca Bassani, Wally’s founder, president and mastermind. Incredibly, Mr Bassani not only takes charge of the whole business, but is the brains behind every single piece of marine art that comes out of Wally’s headquarters in Monaco.

“What inspires you to come up with such striking yachts?”
“The functionality and the need to find simple solutions, lighter and more neat.”

“What inspires Wally’s designers to come up with such striking yachts?
“The functionality and the need to find simple solutions, lighter and more neat.”

“Do you feel that your unusual designs detriment your sales, or enhance them?”
“We think that, as with any smart innovation, it will enhance our sales in the long term.”

“You are a much fresher, less well-established company than the likes of Sunseeker and Princess. Do you think boats like yours are a shape of things to come for all boat companies, or will your style remain unique?”
“On the sail yachts, we have already carved the whole market and everybody is copying our solutions and our style. It will also happen in the power boat sector and, in fact, it is already starting to happen.”

“You are based in Monaco, a place I love as well. Do you feel that basing Wally there is good for the company’s image?”
“We think that Monaco is, along with Palma, the capital of the Mediterranean yachting industry.”

“Where do your buyers mainly come from? I haven’t seen many in Monaco’s port.”
“Forty percent of our clients come from Germany, thirty percent from Italy and the rest from all over the world.”

“Has the recent film exposure of your boats been helpful to interest and sales?”
“For the moment, a lot of interest has been generated, which translates into an increase of the brand awareness and value- not the sales yet.”

“Which model sells best?”
“In terms of number of orders, the WallyTender. In terms of turnover, the biggest sail yachts generate most.”

“Realistically, do you think future interest will be based more around the smaller boats or larger yachts?”
“As we are perceived as a luxury brand, we believe we are going to experience the higher interest in the larger yachts market.”

“What do you think hold more importance; the interior of a yacht or its exterior design?”
“I personally think that it’s the exterior, though the market shows that the clients give more emphasis to the exteriors.”

“You provide a charter service for your yachts. Does this service lure many people into finally buying a Wally?”
“It has happened already, and it will always happen, as a small percentage of the charterers.”

“Finally, what does the future hold? Are there any big plans or new designs?”
“A lot of news and innovations in the power boat market, and also in the mega sail yachts.”

A true innovator of the yacht industry, Mr Bassani is tight-lipped about what hasn’t yet left Wally’s design room. I don’t think I could blame him; having revolutionised the face of yacht design forever, who knows what’s next from Wally?

Cunard Line, the Luxury cruise provider, is set to launch the ship “Queen Victoria” in December. They’ve also recently announced plans to build a new ship named “Queen Elizabeth”.

The “Queen Victoria” is scheduled to launch on December 10 in Southampton, England, for its maiden voyage around northern Europe. Full article

If you think you can’t experience true luxury on a mass market cruise-ship, well think again.  Cruise lines are scrambling by catering to the wealthy like never before, with extravagant offerings such as beach cabanas and private island parties. Full article

The ship has completed a $19 million renovation. The new staterooms have plasma TVs and plush European bedding. Most have verandas, and all enjoy butler service with fresh-cut flowers, daily fruit basket and other amenities. Full article

There’s exists a traditional insult for yacht racers, who’d rather win by arguing the rules than by sailing fast: “Seagoing lawyer.”

Oracle Chief Larry Ellison is listing heavily in that direction, as he pushes a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court. Full article