SPICE OF LIFE II is a 20 metre Princess from 2009, refreshed in a 2019 refit, a quick and sociable flybridge motor yacht that brings the British yard’s blend of pace and comfort to the clear water of Croatia and the Adriatic. She looks after six guests across three cabins with a crew of two, and her appeal is immediate: a planted, capable hull built for island hopping, sun soaked decks for long days in the open air and a bright, open interior that keeps a small party close and comfortable. For a family or a group of friends who want a stylish, properly run yacht with genuine turn of speed and an easy pace, she reads as sporty, relaxed and genuinely good value through a long week aboard.
Her point of difference is the Princess character and the performance that comes with it. The yard built its name on well finished flybridge yachts that ride cleanly and live larger than their length, and SPICE OF LIFE II still shows that character, holding a confident cruise and a top end near thirty four knots from her twin MTU engines. That turn of speed shortens the run between the Dalmatian islands to a lively dash and opens up the quiet bays beyond, while the 2019 refit kept her finishes and systems current, so a charter aboard her feels fresh and well tended from the first day aboard.
Life in the open air spreads across her decks. The flybridge is the natural gathering point, a run of soft seating and a sunpad open to the sky with a shaded corner for a long lunch, the sociable heart of the yacht for drinks as the light drops over the bay. A deck below, the foredeck opens into a sunpad for lying out over the water away from the party, the aft deck sets out a shaded table for dining a few paces from the sea, and a swim platform at the stern keeps the tender and the water toys close at hand for a day of swimming and exploring the coast.
Inside, the main deck is bright and welcoming, one open saloon finished in warm timber that keeps the space light. The saloon gathers around a soft sofa with the sea drawn in through large windows and a television for quiet evenings, while a second seating and dining zone a few steps forward carries the social life through the open room, a calmer corner with its own soft chairs and a table. Forward, the lower helm sits open to the saloon with its own dinette, part of the flow of the deck rather than shut away. The finish is light and easy throughout, warm joinery against soft neutral upholstery, a settled look that feels bright by day and warm after dark.
Accommodation is arranged over three cabins for six guests. The master cabin takes a private, well lit full beam position with a wide bed, hull windows that draw the sea close, good storage and its own marble bathroom, while further guest cabins, each quiet and comfortable, look after the rest of the party below. One cabin is set with single beds ready for children or younger guests sharing, and every room is lined in the same warm timber as the main deck and finished to the same comfortable standard, a flexible plan that suits a family or a small group of friends.
Under way she is in her element, a quick, assured planing yacht that holds a fast, dry cruise and feels planted even when pressing on toward her top end. Her natural ground is Croatia and the Adriatic, the harbours and clear water of the Dalmatian coast, the islands off Split and Trogir and the bays of Montenegro all within an easy run of one another, exactly the kind of island hopping a yacht with her turn of speed was made for. Fast, bright and sensibly crewed, SPICE OF LIFE II is a lively and family friendly way to charter the Adriatic with the whole party kept close.
