Some hotel openings make headlines. This one floats. The Atlantic, a 212-foot schooner with classic lines and a serious sailing pedigree, is embarking on a five-year voyage around the globe — and unlike most superyachts, it is inviting paying guests to join for legs of the journey rather than staying moored in a marina.
Robb Report's photo tour offers a rare look inside. The schooner is finished in the style you'd expect from a vessel of this era and calibre: richly wood-covered cabins rather than the plastic-and-chrome gloss of a modern motor yacht, a proper dining room, and a salon where guests can gather when they're not on deck. The images also show the working side of the ship — crew hauling lines, sails set, the deck itself as the real living space.
The concept is essentially an expedition by tall ship. Instead of committing to one fixed itinerary, guests can sign on for a passage or a shorter segment within the five-year circumnavigation, meaning the experience scales from a long weekend on the water to something closer to a proper ocean crossing. It's a format that has grown in appeal as travellers look for slow, destination-hopping trips where the getting-there is the point — waking up in a new port every few days rather than flying between them.
What makes the Atlantic interesting is the combination of scale and intimacy. At 212 feet, she's large enough for genuine onboard comfort — those cabins and that dining room are proper spaces, not afterthoughts — but small enough that you're not one of hundreds of passengers on a cruise ship. You'd be close to the sailing itself, watching the crew work and feeling the ship move under sail power, which is precisely what draws people to tall ships in the first place.
Who is this for? Not budget travellers — a berth on a private schooner of this size sits firmly in the luxury bracket, and anyone considering it should expect a price to match. But for travellers who have done the resort circuit and want a trip that unfolds slowly, with real seamanship and a constantly changing backdrop, a leg on a circumnavigating schooner is about as memorable as holidays get. Even if a booking isn't on the cards, the photo tour is worth a look: it's a glimpse of how the very top end of sailing travel is shifting from port-to-port charters toward multi-year, guest-inclusive expeditions.
Practical takeaway: because the ship is travelling rather than based anywhere, the entry point depends entirely on which leg of the route interests you — so the first question for anyone curious isn't price, but where in the world you'd want to board and when the schooner will be there. Full details on the itinerary and how to join are in the original write-up.
— Reported by Robb Report Travel
