Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' ostentatious wedding to Lauren Sanchez in Venice prompted global backlash due to the excess on display and the environmental impact of dozens of private jets — and that was before several guests set off on an extravagant superyacht cruise.
Bezos is a prominent owner in the world of superyachts, which are controversial for several reasons. Oxfam, a charity focused on reducing wealth inequality and eliminating poverty, examined emissions attributed to private jets and superyachts and their contribution to rising temperatures worldwide.
The organization estimated each superyacht's average annual emissions at a staggering 5,672 tons — adding that it "would take the average person 860 years" to generate an equivalent level of pollution.
According to a 2024 analysis by Friends of the Earth, cruise passengers emit eight times more carbon than "land vacationers" on average. While that's orders of magnitude less severe than superyachts in the aggregate, cruises still take a heavy toll on land and sea alike.
The three-day bacchanalia in Italy drew to a close on June 28, after which a significant portion of the guest list set off on the brand-new luxury superyacht's maiden voyage.
Harper's Bazaar reported that on June 29, Kylie Jenner, Tom Brady, and Orlando Bloom were among the wedding guests embarking on the cruise. Instagram was awash in photographs shared by the star-studded ship manifest, all tacitly promoting the new Ritz-Carlton Luminara.
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Elle Decor published a first look at the newly launched Luminara cruise ship — a vessel that seems to embody the characteristic overconsumption of superyachts at scale while simultaneously glamorizing cruises.
"It's the fantasy of sailing the seas aboard your billionaire friend's private boat," author Ingrid Abramovitch observed, adding that the brand appeared to leverage superyacht envy to build a new base of cruise customers.
As for the Luminara, Ritz-Carlton has repeatedly emphasized the vessel's supposed sustainability features — but in suspiciously vague terms.
The company claims the vessel's fuel systems "significantly [reduce] emissions as compared to traditional practices," boasting other features designed with a "goal of minimizing environmental impact." Notably, those claims were not quantified in numbers or percentages.
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Luxury travel business mogul Mark Scheinberg (@mark.limited) is associated with Ritz-Carlton's yacht business, and he shared party photos with celebrities via Instagram. Most comments were laudatory, but one person expressed concern for the environment.
"This isn't luxury babe … this is self indulgent behavior that literally destroys humanity and the planet. Wake up and know real luxury before it's too late," the commenter chided.
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