ARCELIA is proof that a well kept older yacht can still be one of the smartest ways to charter the Mediterranean. Built by Ferretti in 2002 and refitted in 2021, she is a 23.5 metre flybridge motor yacht that offers four cabins, eight berths and real pace at a price that undercuts almost anything of comparable size. For a group that cares more about time on the water than the model year on the transom, she is a genuinely sensible choice for the Greek islands and the eastern Mediterranean.
Her layout is built around the warm climate she cruises. The flybridge gives guests their main open air space, with seating and a table that catch the breeze above the main deck, while the aft cockpit sets up for shaded dining a step from the salon. Forward, the foredeck offers a quieter spot for anyone chasing the sun, and a swim platform at the stern opens onto the water with the tender and toys close at hand. With a cruising speed of twenty three knots and a top end near twenty eight, she covers the distance between islands quickly, leaving more of the day for the anchorage than the passage.
Inside, the main salon is finished in warm timber with pale upholstery and large windows along both sides, a single bright level that flows from a comfortable lounge to a formal dining area. The feel is classic and inviting rather than minimalist, the kind of interior that has been looked after and shows it, kept current by the 2021 refit. A galley supports the crew of four, arranged to serve both the salon and the cockpit without crossing guest space.
Accommodation is generous for her size, with four cabins sleeping up to eight guests. The master suite offers a full double bed and an ensuite, with good natural light and plenty of stowage, and a VIP cabin gives a second couple similar comfort. Two further cabins, including a twin, complete the layout, each with its own ensuite and finished in the same warm timber as the salon. It is a flexible arrangement that lets a broker place couples, children and friends sensibly, and one that suits a family as well as a group of friends.
Run by a crew of four, ARCELIA cruises the Greek islands and the wider eastern Mediterranean through the summer, where her speed and her sheltered anchorages make the most of a week aboard. She is not the newest yacht in the fleet, and she does not pretend to be. What she offers instead is honest space, real pace and careful upkeep at a price that keeps a quality charter within reach, and that is a combination worth taking seriously.
The early Ferretti flybridge yachts earned their reputation on exactly this balance. They plane readily, hold a comfortable cruise through a chop, and pack four proper cabins into a hull short enough to slip into small harbours. More than twenty years on, a well maintained example still does all of that, and the 2021 refit means the finish and the systems have kept pace with the mechanics. For a family or a group of friends weighing the cost of a week afloat against a hotel ashore, she makes the sea the easy answer, and that is the whole point of a charter like this.
