Rascal Voyages Bets on ‘Marine Safaris’ — and Freedom Over Formality

Skift Take Rascal thinks the next frontier is not more formality, but access to remote places, useful freedom, and crews trained to improvise. One of the best moments I had on a recent voyage through Indonesia involved giving up. I was out on one of the planned excursions, feeling under the weather, and said I wanted to return to the boat. Within five minutes, a tender boat arrived. There was no cajoling, no pressure to rally, and no sense that I was spoiling the fun. The schedule simply softly bent around my needs at the moment. That small release from obligation tells a larger story and gets at why Rascal Voyages is an interesting brand that sits in the most interesting pocket of elevated hospitality. The luxury industry is increasingly preoccupied with getting onto the water in bigger and more opulent vessels. Aman, Four Seasons, and Orient Express are placing big bets on this chessboard, transplanting the familiar codes of a high-end hotel onto a yacht. Rascal co-founder Steve Ebsworth is pursuing a different model. He calls it a “marine safari.” The