You must be born a sovereign to be a princess, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to feel like royalty—and stepping aboard a Princess S65 will certainly take you there. The life of royals is one of luxury, and on this yacht, you’ll be kicking back in massive bow loungers, lying down on an epic cockpit sunpad, and sitting on satin-finish Rovere oak furniture. You’ll be ensconced in elegance and surrounded by sleek.
Okay, we’ll admit that we might sound a little over the top making such imperial assertions. But in this case, we’re not too worried about coming off as jaded, because the S65 itself offers all the evidence you need to prove the point. At the moment words and pictures may be the best we can do, but when you see this yacht up close and in person, it’ll take zero minutes and zero seconds to figure out that it’s something special. Something majestic.
A benefit of the royal lifestyle is the ability to play however you want, and the cockpit is a great example of how Princess lives up to the ideal. Forward of that huge sunpad we mentioned earlier, there’s a U-shaped settee with dinette for enjoying meals al fresco. And aft of it, twin transom gates lead to an electro-hydraulic teak swim platform when you’re ready for a dip. As you climb back aboard, you can rinse off with a hot/cold transom shower. And if you feel like zipping into town to see the sights, just press a button and the transom garage (sized for a Williams SportJet 345 tender) swings open.
For many mariners the best way to play aboard the S65, however, will simply be running it. This is a sport yacht in every sense of the name, packing twin MAN V-12s that keep a grand total of 2800 iron horses in the stables. Lean on the throttles and this 82,100-pound beauty becomes an utter beast, hitting a top-end right around the 40-mph mark. You can enjoy the wind in your hair from atop the flybridge or sit in full protection at the lower helm while still being bathed by natural sunlight via the panoramic tinted windows and overhead sunroof.
Wait a sec—we moved on from that flybridge just a little too quickly. For many this spot will be a favorite, and there’s a lot more to be found up here than merely an upper helm station. Despite being shifted aft to allow for the sunroof over the lower helm, it’s surprisingly expansive (Princess calls it a Sport Bridge), with U-shaped seating forward and aft plus a folding teak dinette table, a wet bar, and an electric grill. And while some manufacturers outfit the upper station with rather minimal accessories, up here you’ll discover niceties like a full electronics suite including 15.6-inch and nine-inch MFDs, a Fusion SRX-400 stereo system, and convenient USB ports.
When you cruise to a distant port for extended stays aboard, you’ll find that you can sleep like (surprise) a king or queen, as will your family and guests. There are four private staterooms and three heads (excluding the crew’s cabin with head, if you opt for it); the master, VIP, and starboard guest cabins have en suite heads with separate stall showers, and the port guest stateroom accesses the starboard’s head via the passageway. All of the staterooms can enjoy a fresh sea breeze thanks to opening ports, a feature rarely seen on the smaller staterooms in yachts of this size, and all have their own dedicated hanging lockers, 220/240 outlets, and USB charging ports.
Of course, you can’t live like royalty if you don’t have other people doing your bidding. Princess comes through in this regard, too, though it uses tech rather than toadies. The S65 is wired with Princess Connect, a telematic system that integrates your yacht with the IoT. Pull up the app and at any time you can check on location; engine, electrical, or tankage data; security and bilge alarms; and more. You’ll have the option for adding up to 50 wireless sensors, onboard security cameras, and even remote controls for systems like lighting and HVAC.
Is the Princess S65 the ideal yacht for you and your lifestyle? That we can’t say. But one thing is for sure: in this case those throttles serve as scepters, and your hull is indeed your castle.
By Lenny Rudow
Princess S65 Specifications:
LOA: 67’7”
Beam: 16’9”
Draft: 5’5”
Displacement (approx.): 82,100 lbs.
Fuel Capacity: 902 gal.
Water Capacity: 176 gal.
Max HP: 2800
Local Dealer: Chesapeake Yacht Center in Baltimore, MD; Ocean City, MD; Hampton, VA; and Woodbridge, VA. (410) 823-2628 or chesapeakeyachtcenter.com