Accor Group’s Orient Express is due to launch the world’s largest sailing yacht in 2026 and has just revealed the design set to take the railway legend out onto “the world’s most beautiful seas, offering an unparalleled experience of travel and discovery,” according to brand CEO Sébastien Bazin.
“A contemporary vision” with heritage touches
Leaning into the Orient Express’s 140-year-long reputation for luxury voyages, the vast 220-metre yacht will accommodate just 54 suites, up to a spacious 230 square metres, each decked out in top quality materials such as wood, leather, and marble. Guests aboard the Corinthian will be treated to fine craftmanship on the interior, and at the exterior – not cities and fields rushing by, but ocean vistas through panoramic bay windows.
Preview images released by the Group, show warm, generous spaces, punctuated by geometric art deco features and streamline touches that nod to the brand’s heritage.
“All the suites and the entire design of the yacht have been conceived as unique spaces that break the boundaries of Orient Express’s classic decorative grammar while remaining true to its very particular codes,” says architect Maxime d’Angeac, the man behind what he calls “a contemporary vision of Orient Express, that of an era in which high quality is synonymous with excellence and calls for a real aesthetic revolution.”
From fine dining to a speakeasy and watersports
As well as the 54 suites over decks four, five and six, with a select few on top deck seven, the Corinthian will boast five restaurant options, from formal fine dining to more relaxed and intimate spaces. And among the yacht’s eight bars, guests will discover a 1930s-style speakeasy and a Parisian-style cabaret lounge.
The Corinthian’s maiden 2026 itineraries will focus on the Mediterranean, with port calls at Greek Islands and Italy’s stunning Amalfi Coast, so to make the most of the region’s sunshine and balmy evenings, guests may gravitate towards the yacht’s stern, where a water sports marina and pool await, alongside more al fresco dining.
Inspired by the golden age
Or if an “evening in” is more in order, a 115-seat cabaret and a cinema promise to keep guests entertained, while, for the creative types, the Corinthian even provides a recording studio. And after all that exertion, why not pamper yourself with a world-class spa and wellness treatment?
Hailing the Orient Express’s newest adventure, Bazin described the Corinthian as “a yacht inspired by the golden age of luxury cruising, reinventing movement and comfort on the water, and designed to meet the sustainable challenges of tomorrow. It’s a source of pride for us all.”
