Essential Mega Yacht Information for New Yachting Fans

It’s an amazing feeling when you develop a passion for everything ‘mega yacht’, but like all enthusiasts, it has to start somewhere.

For many people, it may start with a rare opportunity to be a guest aboard a luxury yacht for a wedding or a holiday, but for others, it could start with their very first real-life glance at an amazing super-yacht moored in a marina or anchored off the coast of a rich holiday resort.

But for most the lines can be blurred between knowing what exactly the difference is between a superyacht, megayacht and a Giga yacht. With new yacht owners constantly striving for bigger and better, you can be forgiven for being confused.

In fact, the ‘superyacht’ name tag is a relatively modern term, being in use since the early 20^th century. Despite there being many seafaring nations cruising the seas for hundreds of years, not one of them referred to their vessels as ‘superyachts’.

So what exactly is a Superyacht anyway?

While there is no accepted standard industry-wide rule that classifies a luxury yacht as a ‘superyacht’, The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) has stated that a “UK pleasure vessel” must be less than 24m load line length or 80GT, else you need to fill it with a full, competent crew.

So you could say that a superyacht is a vessel that at least has its own 7m swimming pool and is large enough to need a crew. As a rule of thumb, a mega-yacht should have enough accommodation to be able to carry at least 16 guests, and a giga-yacht is so large that it will need to have a helicopter pad to ferry its guests aboard.

But in reality, the lines between the upper-end superyachts can be a bit fuzzy because the owners can decide exactly how many guest cabins they want aboard, and how much of the onboard space is taken up with luxury amenities, such as pools, spas, bars and entertainment areas.

Does the price make a difference?

According to Forbes, the price of an average superyacht (measuring more than 100m) starts at around $275 (£207) million. So you could be led by price when trying to define a superyacht, but in most cases, a bonafide superyacht will almost always need an experienced captain to sail it for you.

So a fine example of a superyacht would be recent Boat International prize winner Lady S, which happens to be the only luxury yacht with a two-deck Dolby 3D IMAX cinema onboard.

Lady S is a  93m / 305’1 motor yacht built in 2019 by the iconic Dutch custom yacht builders,  Feadship, with exterior design by Michael Leach and interiors by Reymond Langton Design. She is one of the largest yachts ever built by Feadship.

Capable of carrying up to 33 crew members plus up to 12 guests, the superyacht is the epitome of luxury living with her timeless styling, sumptuous furnishings and elegant feature throughout.

But what makes a Giga yacht?

Size is often the key factor for classifying a Giga yacht separately from a mega-yacht. For example, there is a new concept design that is expected to deliver the world’s largest Giga yacht, will be longer than two football fields, have its own full-sized casino and come in at around $775m to build.

The 750-foot concept, titled Project Valkyrie, is being sponsored by U.S.-based superyacht builder Palmer Johnson, and will have luxury accommodation for 52 guests and 92 crew and will have room for theatres, restaurants and art galleries.

The current leader for the title of world’s largest private yacht is the 590-ft. Azzam, but the new Giga yacht will eclipse her to take the crown.

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