Voice of Luxury: Four Seasons Yachts' Larry Pimentel
Q. You’ve worked for lots of luxury cruise lines, but you’ve said this one is in a niche of its own. Tell us why.
It starts with leadership. Four Seasons has been a leader in quality and guest experience, second to no one, so to bring the Four Seasons tree to the sea is a unique opportunity for guests to experience the world in unique ways.
This will be the first Four Seasons product that will be able to move to many countries, so while it has 124 properties, we’re going to add a lot of countries to this portfolio. I thought it was a big deal [launching Cunard’s] Queen Mary II, this is even bigger. I feel very fortunate to be working with people like [Four Seasons president Christian Clerc] and his colleagues.
Q. You’re working with Italian shipbuilders Fincantieri. Can you talk us through some of the things that sets Four Seasons Yachts apart?
We wanted to create something distinctly different and unique. Fincantieri looked at the design and they didn’t speak about how challenging it was, but said, ‘Let us study this and see if we can do it’. So we’ve achieved some things that have never been done at sea, such as a transverse [across the ship] marina, which means we have two marinas.
On one side you have this glorious marina for watersports and aqua equipment and on the opposite side, the magnificence of the tenders coming in and out, but not disrupting the guests. Also, that marina gate can open at night and be a restaurant for 24 people in a very exclusive setting.
Q. Accommodation on the ship will also offer ‘vertical connections’. Tell us more about that.
Connectivity is a major feature at Four Seasons; it’s sort of ‘as you wish’. And it’s not going to be anything other than that at sea. The ship has 95 ultra staterooms, but it’s a bit like an accordion; guests can open it up, so it can go down to 65 [staterooms], meaning that you can bring the multigenerational family or all your friends. One deck is an entire villa at sea. These are extraordinary things that will come with Four Seasons Yachts.
Q. Another key USP is that the yacht will have Four Seasons staff on it. Explain the importance of that.
It’s one of the biggest differentiators. At the [Monaco Yacht Show] you see some of the world’s most beautiful yachts, but they don’t have Four Seasons staff. They don’t have Four Seasons’ elegant standards. When you walk into these accommodations, it is going to look like the most refined Four Seasons hotel.
Q. The first ship is expected to launch in November 2025, with two vessels to follow. Will the ships all be the same?
The hull will be the same, but once you get a ship in service, you always refine things. I want to make another comment: yachts cruise, and this one will cruise, but it’s not a cruise line. The objective was to create a niche that would be distinctively different from anybody else. It’s more yacht than cruise because of the private space. When you look at the inside of the vessel, it’s going to feel residential. It’s not going to feel institutional.
Q. You mentioned the Fincantieri relationship will go on for 15 years. What’s next?
That’s for another press conference. But let me just say the world is three-quarters water and one vessel with 95 staterooms is going to fill – people better book it very early. [Two more ships] is still not a lot of inventory when you look at the world.
Q. You’re spending $4.2m on each stateroom. Can you give people an idea of what these sailings might cost?
I want to talk about price, because I’ve talked about this to [agent audiences] for many years. This is not about discounts. This is about what counts, and to people who are giving their precious time, this is priceless.
The price point will equal the quality and the style, not only from the design of the delivery and the costs, but the quality of the staff who’s delivering on unparalleled service. This is not about anything that’s average, by any far stretch of the imagination.
Q. Estimates suggest nine out of every 10 luxury cruises are bought through a travel advisor. How critical will travel agents be in selling this product?
The person who drives us is the buyer, they take the choice. We’re going to have travel agents who will certainly be a part of this. We’re going to have yacht brokers, because the vessel will be able to be chartered and that’s a special niche.
We’ve found in the analysis there are going to be family offices handling multigenerational families so there’s lots of different outputs here. This is [for] an extraordinary client, who has extraordinary people serve them, some of which are travel agents. But it’s not going to be the standard product that the industry is seeing.