Bianca

Fitting twelve guests into a 33-metre yacht always involves trade-offs, and Bianca makes smart ones. Built by Fipa Italiana Yachts in 2010 as part of its Maiora 105 series, and known as Marnaya before her current name, she gives the owner's cabin and a VIP the full width of the lower deck, adds two twins that each have a Pullman berth, and keeps a fifth double up on the main deck. When the group is smaller, that last cabin becomes a games room.

In 2023 she was repainted outside and re-dressed inside with new fabrics and decoration, and her agent says the yard work carries on into 2026. The style inside is traditional rather than minimalist: wood panelling, pale fabrics, two large sofas in the saloon and a dining table where all twelve can sit together, something many yachts of her length cannot offer.

Two MTU engines of about 2,000 hp each give her a 23-knot cruise and 28 knots at full power. On a Greek or Turkish itinerary, where islands sit far apart, that speed changes the week: lunch in one bay, a swim on the way, dinner on a different island. Her papers let her work in Greece without restrictions. Hydraulic steps on the side make it simple to climb into the tender, the sun deck is shaded by a bimini, and there is an extra sunbathing area aft on the main deck.

She is not for travellers who expect a hot tub on deck, which is not among her features, or for anyone who wants the quiet roll of a slow displacement hull: at speed she is lively, and fuel is paid on top of the charter fee. For a group of friends who want to move every day and do not mind sharing a twin cabin, she makes twelve people fit comfortably without the cost of a much larger yacht.