More than 140 years after the original Orient Express luxury train first took to the rails, Europe’s largest hospitality group will debut the Orient Express Silenseas. Accor has just announced the launch of a new Orient Express cruise liner in spring 2026. Silenseas, a lavish 722-foot sailing boat, will be launched as the world’s largest sailing yacht. She can carry up to 120 guests on voyages around the Mediterranean and Caribbean.
It will be around 220 meters long and designed by architect Maxime d’Angeac, who was also behind Accor’s current revamp of its legendary train. The design, which employs French workmanship, is intended to conjure recollections of the magical cruising era.
Naturally, you can expect the same high-end amenities that appear in Accor’s Orient Express hotels. The ship will have 54 suites, each measuring 70 square meters, with the crowning treasure being a 1,415-square-meter presidential suite with unrestricted ocean views. Passengers would have access to two swimming pools, a speakeasy bar, and two premium eateries.
Orient Express Silenceas will also include a cultural, music, and art program. Special concerts will take place in an amphitheater cabaret, and there is also a private recording studio on board. Spa treatments and meditation sessions provide opportunities to relax and disengage from the outside world while surrounded by the ocean. Stopover investigations at ports allow passengers to alight and discover cultural riches.
“With Orient Express Silenceas, 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, Chairman, and CEO of Accor.
The ship will use hybrid propulsion technology, which combines wind power and a liquefied natural gas engine. There are also plans to replace this with green hydrogen as soon as the technology for ocean passenger ships is allowed, to usher in a new era of sustainable sailing.
