These days, one of the most ostentatious recreational vessels in the world, the Al Lusail, owned by Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, is docked at Port Tarraco. Its value? Nothing less than 500 million dollars.
Built by Lürssen Yachts in Bremen (Germany), it consists of 18 suites with a capacity for 36 people and 28 cabins for 56 crew members, with a length of 123 meters, one less than the Ketara, owned by the Emir's father, valued at 400 million dollars, which has also docked in Tarragona on occasion. To entertain guests, it features several pools, a helipad, a cinema, an impressive barbecue area, and an elegant beach club with a swimming platform.
Last spring, Steven Spielberg's Seven Seas (79) docked at the Moll de Costa in the port of Tarragona. Valued at just over 250 million dollars, an amount that the director of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones sagas can afford with a fortune according to Forbes of 7.1 billion dollars, the vessel has a length of 109 meters and a beam of 16 meters.
The crew consists of 35 professionals who cater to up to 14 guests on each trip, accommodated in seven luxury suites. Among the amenities on the yacht are a choice of private cinema, two pools (one of them aft), jacuzzi, sauna, or a helipad. To date, there has been no sign of the director and producer, dubbed the Hollywood Midas, who has been enjoying his new toy since 2023.
Considered one of the most expensive islands in the Mediterranean, the waters of Ibiza attract the world's greatest fortunes. Recently, the Mayan Queen IV, owned by the Baillères, the third great fortune of Mexico, docked.
Valued at 170 million dollars, it was built by the German shipyard Blohm & Voss in 2008, has a length of 93 meters, and three years ago made headlines for participating in the rescue of 106 survivors of a shipwreck in the Ionian Sea.
Also sailing in the waters of Ibiza and Formentera is the Regina d'Italia, the yacht of designer Stefano Gabbana with a length of 65 meters. Its interior epitomizes excellence with abundant Brazilian marble, aged teak floors, the gym also includes modular connections on walls and ceilings to accommodate various equipment and routines, and the six cabins with a capacity for 11 guests are designed to the finest detail.
Another yacht that has sailed in the waters of Ibiza is the Seven. Although not ostentatious, its owners are two of the most photographed celebrities in the world. We are talking about the Beckham couple, who were in June with their children - except Brooklyn, with whom they remain estranged - aboard their private boat.
With a length of 28 meters and a beam of 65 meters, it has four en-suite cabins with a capacity for eight people and a crew of four. Among the intimate friends who have already enjoyed beautiful journeys is Elton John. It is rented for 80,000 euros per week.
In Malaga, there are also engineering marvels like the Moonrise, owned by the co-founder of WhatsAppJan Koum, who has it for sale for around 370 million dollars. With a length of 100 meters and a beam of 15.5 meters, it can accommodate 16 guests in eight cabins and 32 crew members.
In Barcelona, Marina Port Vell and OneOcean Club are the two areas where the most dazzling yachts of tech millionaires, aristocrats, Russian magnates, and other celebrities are found.
If not on a cruise, the Baroness Thyssen's Mata Mua is usually docked for several months for maintenance. Launched in 1991 at the shipyards of the Catalan city, it has a length of 38.5 meters, a beam of eight meters, and until last year, it was rented for 8,000 euros per day.
The sailboat has four suites with a capacity for eight people attended by a team of six or seven professionals.
This summer, the arrival of the Rising Sun is expected once again, a behemoth of 138 meters in length with 30 individual cabins and eight doubles for guests, and with 45 crew members. Valued at 400 million dollars, its owner is the billionaire David Geffen (83) - founder of Asylum Records and co-founder of Dreamworks - who recently went through a bitter divorce with his spouse five decades younger.
Within its 8,000 square meters, guests can also enjoy a basketball court convertible into a helipad, a large private cinema, and a beach area that has been enjoyed by his most important friends like Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, or Barack Obama.