Accor Announces 2026 Launch of The World’s Largest Luxury Sailing Ship

The world’s largest sailing ship is coming soon to an ocean near you.

The 720-foot Orient Express Silenseas—unveiled today by French hospitality giant Accor, the storied brand’s parent company—will take to the high seas in the spring of 2026, offering an arguably unprecedented luxury travel experience.

Inspired by the Golden Age of the French Riviera—when writers, artists, princesses, and movie stars flocked to the rarefied enclaves of Monte Carlo, Saint-Tropez, Cap d’Antibes, and Cannes—the megayacht will feature 54 suites (including a colossal 15,230-square-foot Presidential Suite with a 5,700-square-foot terrace), a swimming pool and lap pool, two restaurants, and a speakeasy bar. A floating homage to artists and culture, Orient Express Silenseas will host top-notch shows in its amphitheatre-cabaret, and will even have a private recording studio aboard for fledgling crooners.

“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,” said Sébastien Bazin, Accor chairman and CEO, in a press release. “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. It is a boat designed to make dreams a reality, a showcase for the best of French savoir-faire.”

The megayacht’s sleek, singular design—a collaboration between renowned shipbuilding titan Chantiers de l’Atlantique (which is also building superyachts for Ritz-Carlton) and the Nantes-based naval design agency, Stirling Design International—will feature a hull inspired by the Streamline movement and the most iconic cruise ships of the 1930s. The interior design by Maxime d’Angeac—who also created the decor for the future Orient Express train, debuting in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris—references the French Riviera’s elegant and refined joie de vivre.

The showstopping ship’s sailings will include spa treatments, meditation sessions, and stopovers to explore cultural treasures along the way. Orient Express Silenseas will offer itineraries in the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Aegean Seas in the summer and in the Caribbean Sea in the winter, punctuated by exclusive experiences to discover exceptional sites dedicated to art, culture, and nature. Future passengers will be able to book in 2024.

A true sailing yacht of the future, Orient Express Silenseas will be powered by a revolutionary technology called “SolidSail”: three rigid sails with a surface area of more than 16,000 square feet each and hoisted on a balestron rig, with three tilting masts reaching nearly 330 feet high, will ensure up to 100% of propulsion in suitable weather conditions. This hybrid propulsion formula will combine wind power with a state-of-the-art engine fueled by liquefied natural gas, with plans to use green hydrogen once the technology is approved for ocean passenger ships—launching a groundbreaking, more environmentally friendly vision of sea travel.

Orient Express’ dazzling new maritime turn is rooted in its history. In 1867, founder Georges Nagelmackers, a Belgian civil engineer, boarded a transatlantic ship connecting Europe to America and set off on a journey of discovery to the U.S. Fascinated by its grandeur, he explored the travelers’ suites and reveled in the festive din of the restaurants and the unique ambiance of the lounges and libraries—an indelible experience that later informed the 1883 launch of his legendary Orient Express train.