For six months Orient Express Corinthian has been the most talked-about new ship in luxury travel: a 220-metre hull carrying just 110 guests, three rigid sails on masts more than 100 metres tall, and interiors by Orient Express artistic director Maxime d’Angeac. Now she is leaving Europe for the first time. Her first transatlantic crossing left Lisbon on 12 October, calls at Ponta Delgada in the Azores and arrives in Bridgetown, Barbados, on 26 October to open her first Caribbean season.
The crossing doubles as a 14-night wellness retreat with Guerlain, called Ocean Rebirth. The Caribbean season that follows is built around short hops — two to nine nights — to Saint-Barth, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, the Grenadines and Les Saintes, through to March 2027.
Orient Express Corinthian: Key Facts
- Named and handed over: 29 April 2026, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Saint-Nazaire
- First Atlantic crossing: 12–26 October 2026, Lisbon to Bridgetown via Ponta Delgada, as the Guerlain “Ocean Rebirth” retreat
- Caribbean season: October 2026 to March 2027; return crossing Bridgetown to Lisbon, 13–27 March 2027
- Size: 220 metres (720 ft), 26,200 gross tons
- Guests and crew: 110 guests, 170 crew, a butler for every suite
- Suites: 54, from 45 to 230 sqm, each with a 3.6-metre panoramic window
- Sails: three SolidSail rigs of 1,500 sqm each; hybrid LNG engines
- Dining: five restaurants and private dining rooms under Yannick Alléno, eight bars including an Art Deco speakeasy
- Onboard: Guerlain spa, a 16.5-metre swimming lane, a pool, a marina, a 115-seat cabaret and a recording studio
- Fares: fully inclusive, quoted per suite
A Sailing Ship, or a Cruise Ship With Sails?
Orient Express markets Corinthian as a sailing yacht, and the sails are real: three rigid SolidSail rigs of 1,500 square metres each, which in February’s sea trials pushed her to 12 knots on wind alone in 20 knots of breeze. Accor says she can run on 100 percent wind power in favourable conditions, with hybrid LNG engines for everything else, and dynamic positioning instead of anchoring. But at 26,200 gross tons she is a cruise ship by any measure. The honest description is a cruise ship that can sail, which is still a first.
What Is on Board
The interiors are the work of Maxime d’Angeac and nearly 2,000 French craftsmen and ateliers. Yannick Alléno oversees five restaurants and private dining rooms. There are eight bars, including an Art Deco speakeasy, a 115-seat cabaret and a recording studio. The Guerlain spa runs the Ocean Rebirth programme on the crossing. A marina at water level gives access to the sea, and the Caribbean itineraries talk of drifting above coral gardens, though Orient Express does not list a scuba programme.
Why It Matters
The Caribbean already has small luxury ships. What it has not had is the Orient Express Corinthian formula: a 110-guest ship with suites of up to 230 square metres doing three-night hops between Saint-Barth and the BVI. That format suits travellers who would otherwise charter a private yacht for a long weekend, and it puts Orient Express in the same market as the yacht brands I have covered here, from Four Seasons’ second yacht to Aman’s first ship. The sails also matter for a different reason: if SolidSail performs in the trade winds, it becomes the reference point every other luxury line will be asked about.
The Lens I’m Reading This Through
The closest thing I have sailed is a week through the Greek islands on Le Ponant, Ponant’s three-masted sailing yacht with 1,212 square metres of sail and just 32 guests. I rated it 4/5: a beautiful, intimate sailing experience with a value caveat. Corinthian carries more than three times as many guests under nearly four times the sail area, and charges far more. The question I would bring on board is the same one I asked on Le Ponant: does the sailing change the trip enough to justify the price?
Prices and How to Book
Orient Express quotes fares per suite, not per person, with taxes included. When I checked Orient Express’s sailings pages on 19 October 2026, a three-night British Virgin Islands and Saint-Barth voyage on 28 November 2026 was listed from €15,900 per suite. Other three-night Saint-Barth voyages were €16,500, four-night voyages €21,200, the six-night voyage of 4–10 November €31,200 and seven-night voyages €36,400. The March 2027 return crossing to Lisbon was €60,200 per suite. Everything on board is included. The Caribbean season is bookable through Orient Express and luxury travel specialists.
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This preview is based on official announcements — I haven’t sailed aboard Orient Express Corinthian yet. Read more about how I review or visit my Work With Me page.
