Paris-based hotel conglomerate Accor plans to launch a superyacht division of the Orient Express brand in spring 2026 with the 722-foot Orient Express Silenseas. While the Orient Express brand is often associated with ultra-luxurious mystery thanks to Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express,” its grip on luxury travel beyond the rails is on the rise.
Accor is already at work on Orient Express hotels in Rome and Venice and rolling out a train offering (not to be confused with Belmond’s existing Venice Simplon-Orient Express) in 2024. Both Orient Express hotels are also slated to open in Italy next year.
"With Orient Express Silenseas, we are beginning a new chapter in our history, taking the experience and excellence of luxury travel and transposing it onto the world’s most beautiful seas," Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin said in a statement. "This exceptional sailing yacht, with roots in Orient Express’ history, will offer unparalleled service and refined design spaces, reminiscent of the golden age of mythical cruises."
Expanding the brand into cruises would put Accor head to head with Marriott’s Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, which finally set sail in October after years of delays.
Bloomberg first reported Accor’s plan to launch an Orient Express superyacht division.
The three-masted Orient Express Silenseas would be the world’s largest sailing superyacht, Accor claims, and is expected to launch with routes traversing the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Reservations are expected to go live next year.
It's not entirely out of left field for Orient Express to get into the business of cruises. After all, Georges Nagelmackers, the founder of the company behind the original Orient Express train, was inspired by luxurious ocean liners in the 1800s to create an ultra-luxurious train experience with the 1883 launch of the Orient Express rail service.
With 54 suites able to accommodate a total of 120 passengers, the Silenseas superyacht would be a more intimate vessel than Ritz-Carlton’s 298-passenger Evrima superyacht. Because of the smaller passenger count, expect rates to be more expensive on Silenseas, Bazin told Bloomberg.
Rates on Evrima during its first season average between $700 to $900 per person per night on Caribbean sailings and start at $1,100 per person per night in the Mediterranean, TPG reported back in October.
Suites aboard the Silenseas will average 750 square feet, and six suites on the top deck can combine to form a 15,230-square-foot presidential suite with a private terrace.
Public areas will feature two swimming pools, two restaurants, a recording studio, an oyster bar and speakeasy, a cabaret and a spa. Given its namesake brand, the Silenseas is expected to feature extremely detailed buildouts and service. French architect Maxime d’Angeac, who already works on Accor’s upcoming Orient Express train and Orient Express hotel in Rome, is also overseeing the interior design of the superyacht.
Accor promises to make the Orient Express superyacht a more sustainable option. The Silenseas will not use diesel fuel, but instead rely on a hybrid propulsion system primarily utilizing wind energy. An engine will also run on liquefied natural gas.
"Innovation is at the heart of this ultra-modern ship that will revolutionize the maritime world with new technology to meet today’s sustainability challenges," Bazin added in a release Wednesday. "It is a boat designed to make dreams a reality, a showcase for the best of French savoir-faire."
Already, Accor has plans for a second superyacht to debut sometime in 2027.
