Catching Up with Orient Express Sailing Yachts’ Vianney Vautier

Forget about a floating hotel. In its marketing, Orient Express Sailing Yachts describes its first vessel, Corinthian, as a “floating palace.”

And while the yacht might be smaller than what one imagines a palace to be, the soon-to-be world’s largest sailing yacht has a lot of the features you would expect a palace to have:

• All-suite accommodations ranging in size from 484 square feet to 2,475 square feet
• Five restaurants concepted by a 17-time Michelin starred chef
• A wine menu curated by one of the world’s most highly-rated sommelier’s
• A 54-foot-long swimming pool.

The list could go on and on – a 1,500-book library, a 24-seat movie theater, a 115-seat cabaret theater…

But here’s a nugget Vianney Vautier, COO of Orient Express Sailing Yachts, shared with TMR at last month’s Seatrade Global Cruise conference that says everything you need to know about the “the level of refinement” guests will find onboard – For an upcharge, tea drinkers will be able to choose a blend steeped in leaves harvested from one of only seven trees in the world (of their kind) older than 1,000 years.

In other words, Orient Express Sailing Yachts isn’t remotely for everyone.

The “right” clients, Vautier explained, are on their way to ticking off – or has already ticked off – “every singular experience that is once in a lifetime,” he said.

They may have crossed the Sahara. They may be the couple that jets to Paris for Fashion Week.

As Vautier said to us, the Orient Express Sailing Yachts clients are “the people that are where everybody wants to be…”

Sales Off to a Strong Start

Bookings for Corinthian opened in April and are off to a good start. In fact, the very first booking was for the yacht’s top suite, the Agatha Christie, a two-bedroom suite with its own fitness room and massive terrace with jacuzzi.

“It’s a very nice sign,” he said. “We have a very high conversion rate from people that are calling to discover the product, and they realize it’s even better than what they saw.”

While early bookings are looking good, with the top end suites the first to go on most voyages, Vautier emphasized that the brand’s marketing ramp up is happening consecutively with the start of sales.

“We are starting the booking at the same time we’re starting to talk about us… we will build at the same time the communication and the sales,” he said.

Because the company was waiting for bookings to be open before powering up its marketing efforts, a good percentage of the business has been direct, from previous Accor guests. (Accor is the parent company of Orient Express.)

For travel trade business, Vautier said, the brand is currently relying on Accor to do the heavy lifting with via its existing travel agency partnerships.

“We are relying quite a lot on the global sales group; they are working directly with the travel agents,” he said.

Currently, the brand is seeing an even split between direct and trade bookings, as well as large demand for private charters.

Targeting Non-Cruisers

A significant portion of travelers who have booked so far are not previous cruisers.

“We are targeting a market, which is not the cruising industry,” he said.

Instead, the brand is targeting “the traveler and the historian, the people that see the epic-ness of the Orient Express… with its background with Agatha Christie, with the books and world from high luxury hospitality, which was developed by Accor, which is the French luxury.”

Two other groups that Orient Express Sailing Yachts is targeting are people who want to explore the world of luxury yachting and those who are pursuing their bucket lists.

“That’s the one-of-a-kind experience that being on the largest sailboat in the world has… combined with the history of the Orient Express.”

Short Sailings Pair Well with Trains, Hotels

With so much on offer onboard Corinthian (and that’s not including a full lineup of included shore excursions), TMR asked Vautier why the itineraries are short (all itineraries are two to eight nights, though they can be combined for longer sailings).

“Looking to the market analysis that we made, we see there are many people that can afford the product, but cannot afford the time,” he said. “By offering that range… we an offer a wider variety of cruising destinations and still deliver the experience of the Orient Express.”

Additionally, he said, they believe there will be a lot of cross-selling between Orient Express’ hotels, trains, and the yacht.

As he said, “The people that can be where everybody wants to be, they want to be on the Orient Express.”

Eventually, Orient Express will offer bundled packages putting those three products together. That’s not yet available, but a team of concierges can work with advisors and clients to create bespoke packages.

High Touch, Highly Customized

“Bespoke is a key word,” Vautier told TMR. “You need to be versatile. You need to adapt to the need of that clientele, which can be very picky.”

To help with customization, which he expects Orient Express Sailing Yachts clients will require, the brand developed an in-house team of 19 concierges (most will be land-based), to service the 110 guests that will be onboard. The concierges, he added, can work directly with the clients or with the travel advisor, depending on the client’s wishes.

“From the beginning of the guest journey to the end delivery of the product, there is a strong commitment to deliver on very specific needs.”

That start to end finish is something Vautier said is particularly important to Orient Express Sailing Yachts.

It’s not just the yacht that the brand is selling; it’s a retreat.

“It’s an entire experience and it goes from embarking that vessel to we take care of everything from the time you will spend on board and the time you will spend ashore.”

The time spent ashore will be as curated as the menus and activities offered onboard the yacht.

“We do organize experiences for guests that only Orient Express can. We open doors that are closed to everybody else.”

For example, when in Naples, guests will be able to enjoy a special dinner at Pompei in rooms that are normally closed to the public.

A Note on Sustainability

When it debuts in May 2026, Orient Express Corinthian will be one of the most sustainable vessels at sea. With over 48,000 square feet of solid sails, the yacht will be the largest floating object that is moved by the wind. (Each sail is about 98 feet longer than the Statue of Liberty.)

“The only thing bigger is an iceberg,” Vautier, a naval architect by trade originally, explained.

And while you can clearly see the sails, what people can’t see is everything that’s below the surface – just like an iceberg, he said.

“We have 6,000 sensors onboard just to monitor each energy source that we have. Using AI, we can fine tune the vessel for speed, air temperature, sun exposure. We can analyze all that and then set the engine to minimize the fuel consumption.”

Other sustainability-focused measures include special filters for microplastic, detectors to help the yacht avoid hitting marine wildlife, dynamic positioning, and more.