Four Seasons officially entered the yachting sector today with the launch of Four Seasons 1, its first residential yacht, which left Malaga, Spain for its inaugural trip into the Med. The 679-foot vessel has actually been under way for more than a week from its launch from the Fincantieri shipyard in Viareggio, Italy, where it was built, as engineers ran the final tests before the first paying guests boarded in Spain.

Four Seasons 1 officially joins the small but growing world of residential yachts that include the three Ritz-Carlton vessels—Evrima, Ilma, and Luminara—that have been under way for at least a year, and the field will soon include offerings from Aman and Orient Express. Each vessel adopts a different approach to their loose definitions of “yachting,” with Four Seasons 1 limiting its cabins to 95 suites, for a total of 200 passengers, and a guest-to-staff ratio of 1:1. (That’s a far different operating philosophy from the Ritz-Carlton’s Luminara, for example, designed to accommodate 452 guests, or Orient Express’s 722-foot Corinthian, the world’s largest sailing vessel.)

Four Seasons 1’s design is dominated by dramatic features like the four-story Funnel Suite, articulating marina and a 66-foot-long swimming pool that looks more at home in one of its resorts than on a boat. Tillberg Design of Sweden oversaw the total design package, partnering with Martin Brudnizki Design Studio for the common areas, while Prosper Assouline provided guidance for the interior design of the suites and residences. It is meant to combine a somewhat nautical look with a contemporary residential feel.

“We modeled this on the way we operate our small hotels,” Ben Trodd, CEO, Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings Ltd., the joint owner/operator of Four Seasons Yachts, tells Robb Report. “Very few of our guests identify themselves as cruise ship guests, so they are expecting a personalized experience that’s closer to a yacht.” That positioning underpins much of the vessel’s design and operational thinking, from its flexible accommodations to the onboard programming.

This design-forward approach, says Trodd, is aimed at travelers who value space, privacy, and flexibility. The boat’s most obvious feature is the Funnel Suite, a four-story, three-bedroom residence positioned high on the yacht within the structure that houses “the funnel”—a glass-front structure inspired by the mast of an ocean liner. Totaling 9,500 square feet, it is the largest accommodation onboard, with multiple indoor and outdoor living areas. A private plunge pool sits on an upper terrace, while floor-to-ceiling glazing wraps the main living spaces. “We were obsessive with the glass,” notes Trodd. “It’s an 180-degree section without a single bit of distortion, either by color or angle. Quite a few iterations came before the final version, but it’s absolutely perfect.” The glass is even more remarkable given that it’s on a vessel that needs to withstand sometimes-pounding ocean waves.

The funnel suite and complementary Loft Suite, a nearly 8,000-square-foot duplex on decks 9 and 10, reflect a broader emphasis on flexible, residential-style layouts. “What can make me feel like I’m on my own private yacht with 12 friends?” Trodd adds. “Being able to connect entire floors with [opening walls of] suites, including the outside decks and balconies.” This ability to jigsaw different-sized accommodations, along with features like a large swimming pool more common on a land-based resort than boat, speaks to the company’s effort to replicate the spatial qualities of its hotels at sea. “We always said we were going to be like a Four Seasons resort, which has a low intensity of space use and the ability to make private spaces,” he says.

The designers built multiple eating venues across the vessel from its showpiece restaurant Sedna, to the informal Bar O with just eight seats. Sedna’s “Chef-in-Residence” program will include a rotating list of culinary stars at different Four Seasons Michelin-starred restaurants: Christian Le Squer of Le Cinq at Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris; Luca Piscazzi of Pelagos in Athens; Guillaume Galliot of Caprice in Hong Kong; and Paolo Lavezzini of Il Palagio in Florence. These chefs contribute to menus or leading specific culinary programs during specific sailings, creating variation between voyages.

Another feature that creates the yachting effect is the transverse marina. When opened, it creates a platform on both sides of the vessel, allowing direct access to the water from multiple points. This configuration supports swimming and launching small craft to staging watersports equipment. It also reduces the physical and visual separation between guests and the sea, particularly when the yacht is at anchor. Inside the vessel, the L’Oceana Spa offers a range of treatments and health experiences.

Instead of a cruise ship’s standardized big-group excursions, Four Seasons 1 offers smaller-scale, pre-arranged activities that can be adapted to guest preferences. These include guided cultural visits, access to sites outside typical tourist routes, active options such as diving or hiking, or reservations at the best restaurants in ports of call. “Our job is to make sure we can make those reservations for guests, but also put a little twist on it by perhaps having them driven there in a beautiful vintage car,” says Trodd.

The Mediterranean itineraries include popular enclaves such as Saint-Tropez, but also will journey to lesser-known stops in Greece, Croatia, Turkey, before journeying to the Bahamas and Caribbean for the winter. All in all, 130 destinations in more than 30 countries and territories.

Despite bestowing themselves with the yachting label, this new breed of residential vessels offers a hybrid experience rather than a superyacht charter, which typically accommodates 12 guests. But the new category is growing. Four Seasons 2 is now being built, with a launch date in 2027. The Orient Express Corinthian should appear in early summer, Aman’s Amangati is expecting its first voyage about a year from now. There’s also scuttlebutt about premier design and fashion houses launching their own themed yachts. This hybrid category seems here to stay. For Trodd, and his competitors, yachting seems to be fluid, more intertwined with their brand’s philosophy than the details of being on a superyacht. “We’re not dealing with enormous numbers of people here,” he says. “So I know that we can deliver on the quality promise.”