Blogger Ben from One Mile at a Time has kicked off a new trip report series, and the star of the show is Orient Express Sailing Yachts — the famous hospitality brand's fresh entry into luxury cruising. The trip itself was a four-night sailing from Marseille, France, to Malaga, Spain, but the flights to and from it are almost as entertaining as the cruise.
The cruise is the point. Luxury cruising is having a moment, with hotel brands launching their own ships: Ben previously tried the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection (surprisingly lovely) and Four Seasons Yachts (upmarket but with growing pains). Orient Express, he says, simply nailed it — arguably taking this niche of small, design-led ships to a new level. The writer travelled as a guest of the brand alongside travel agent Ford, but reports the experience matched glowing client feedback regardless. Full reviews are coming in the series.
Getting there was a saga. Rather than flying a mainstream carrier, Ben stitched together a four-segment outbound on three separate tickets, routing through North Africa. From Miami he reached Montreal in Air Canada Rouge economy for 11,500 avianca Lifemiles plus $54 in taxes, then flew Air Algerie's A330-900neo business class across the Atlantic to Algiers, continuing to Tunis on a wet-leased Avion Express A320neo — all for $1,171. The verdict? Air Algerie was "downright terrible." A $270 Tunisair A320 business ticket to Marseille then fell apart when an aircraft swap to a Fly2Sky plane with no business cabin triggered a downgrade — refund still pending at time of writing.
The return was more sensible: Malaga to Casablanca to Miami on Royal Air Maroc, in 737-800 then 787-8 business class, timed to land home the same day the cruise ended. One seat cost 57,500 American AAdvantage miles plus $85.72; the other, bought in cash, was $1,620 — still cheaper than an award ticket through London once British Airways' surcharges were factored in. Royal Air Maroc, he notes, was "unnecessarily bad" too.
Before boarding, the travellers spent one night at the InterContinental Marseille Hôtel Dieu, booked with an IHG free night award (a 60,000-point redemption). No full review materialised — jetlag, a cold and family drama got in the way — but the quick take: great central location and charming exterior, generic and mismatched interior.
Who should care? Two kinds of travellers: anyone eyeing the new wave of hotel-branded luxury yachts, where Orient Express now looks like a serious contender, and miles-and-points enthusiasts who enjoy creative (occasionally painful) routings. The practical lesson from the flight side is clear — exotic routings through Algiers and Tunis can be cheap, but reliability and service are a gamble, and aircraft swaps can quietly erase your business class seat. Watch for the full Orient Express Sailing Yachts review in the series.
