I Never Thought I Was a Cruiser. Luxury Yachts Changed My Mind.
Cadence CEO Wendy Burk explains how a new generation of luxury yachts changed her mind about cruising—and why they may do the same for travelers who have long dismissed the category.
Photo: Courtesy of Four Seasons Yachts
I have a confession to make: I’ve never truly loved the idea of cruising.
Up until very recently, I could only imagine it as being stuck at sea with thousands of my not-so-favorite friends—and all the usual tropes: the buffets; the crazy, crowded pool; the enormity of the ships; and the lack of any kind of privacy. It all felt like exactly the opposite of what a vacation is meant to be. And if you’ve done that kind of cruise or had that kind of experience even once, then you understand; it’s not the Four Seasons. That was certainly my take until, suddenly, it was the Four Seasons.
This spring, I found myself aboard the new Four Seasons I, rethinking (and relearning) everything I thought I knew about cruising. Marking 65 years since the founding of Four Seasons, the launch of its first yacht was an extraordinary milestone for the company and for me.
A gem among many highlights was meeting the ship’s captain, Kate McCue, and hearing her speak so passionately about her journey and vision. Believe it or not, it was that moment that began the critical turning point for my long-overdue reframe on what cruising could be.
It was precisely the kind of meaningful experience that we, as travel advisors, work so hard to curate for our luxury-seeking travelers, and, historically, what traditional cruising has left us wanting. Until then, it just never seemed possible to get an intimate, personalized experience in just that way.
Expanding What “Cruising” Can Mean
Without question, traditional cruising is an amazing way to travel. Among the many benefits, travelers can check in once while moving through a variety of destinations within the comfort of the ship’s curated environment. And historically, river cruising has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be an incredibly immersive and very often high-end experience for discerning travelers. But that feeling was generally missing from the broader cruise category and the most frequented itineraries and ports of call.
As impressive as they are, at the scale in which they operate, a traditional cruise ship can never do what a high-end resort can do. This is why traditional cruising never quite matched up to the experiential expectations of most luxury leisure travelers. That is exactly why the emergence of these new high-end “hotel-ships” represents such a meaningful development in the category. In fact, I’d argue they aren’t in the same category at all. What ships like Four Seasons I and II, along with competitors from Ritz-Carlton, Orient Express, Aman, and Ponant, are offering is quite different and distinct. Ultimately, it’s the intimacy of experience, much like a five-star hotel delivers on that expectation.
A Hotel at Sea
The most critical reframe for the reluctant cruiser is that these are not ships at all; they’re floating luxury hotels and resorts. And like a great hotel, every design detail is considered.
Each ship I had the opportunity to experience captured a sense of place unique to it, and the size of these ships is part of what makes that possible, allowing access to ports that larger ships simply cannot, and time enough to actually be immersed rather than pass through. Think Zodiac rides to private, secluded beaches, or ports of call where you’re dropped straight into the culture rather than herded through it. River cruising has offered a version of this appeal for some time, direct access into cities and towns with little fanfare. But yachting takes it further still, into destinations even the largest and most established ships have never been able to reach.
On Ponant, it started the moment I stepped aboard. The captain greeted us personally, by name, and it seemed to me that the crew already knew me and my preferences well enough that I never had to ask for anything twice. The service is both invisible and seamless, the kind that sounds simple to describe but is nearly impossible to deliver at scale.
On the Orient Express Corinthian, I felt truly immersed in a kind of reimagined 1930s glamour. The wood-paneled rooms were so beautiful I didn’t want to leave. I kept looking around for Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren. It’s sophisticated, sexy, and classic, with elegance just beyond.
Aboard Four Seasons I, the overall intimacy of this 50-suite yacht was nothing short of breathtaking, reframing the old luxury of yesteryear and making it elegantly modern. Even the hallways are incredible, richly appointed with crown molding that feels more residential than nautical.
And Ritz-Carlton, six years and three ships into this model and in many ways a pioneer, has found the perfect balance between cozy and complete: small enough to feel intimate, yet large enough to offer everything a guest might want. Mix in the service that makes them legendary, and it’s a recipe for pure surprise and delight.
The throughline connecting this new class of cruising is the emotionally resonant elements of true and quiet luxury: privacy, personalization, consideration, creativity, and curation.
What This Means for Advisors and Their Clients
My reframe is a lesson for luxury travel advisors and their high-net-worth clientele. It’s likely that those who’ve never considered a cruise were a lot like me. We dismissed the allure of cruising based on a limited view of, or a specific experience on, one of the traditional options.
But here is the point I want to emphasize most: My recent experiences aboard these luxury yachts—and what I expect from newcomers like Aman—weren’t simply better versions of the same thing. They were something different altogether. Not an experience based on variety and volume, but one built around privacy and the kind of VIP service usually reserved for the world’s finest hotels and resorts. That’s the DNA of these ships.
And that’s where the true opportunity lies for advisors and travelers alike: the excitement of a new resort is palpable, but it can’t quite match the excitement of a brand-new category altogether. If there’s one thing that will be endlessly appealing to travelers who have pretty much seen and done it all, it’s something entirely different and never before experienced.
Even after all these years, I’ve learned that I can still fall in love with travel in new and exciting ways. I can also be wrong in the best ways. In this business, it’s pure magic that we get to do what we love, and the beauty of travel is that there’s a seemingly endless world of experiences ready to change your mind if you’re open to it.
As it turns out, I didn’t hate cruising at all. I just didn’t quite understand what I was missing until I had the opportunity to see and feel it. After all, it’s not every day that you can set sail on a brand-new way to see the world.
Wendy Burk is the founder and CEO of Cadence.
