DB9 Review: The Lamborghini of the Sea Does Saint-Tropez to Capri in a Week

Saint-Tropez to Capri in a week: what 24 knots does to an itinerary

Most 50-metre yachts cruise at 12 or 13 knots, and on that speed the Riviera and the Amalfi Coast are two separate holidays. DB9 cruises at 24 and runs at 30 overnight, so her captain plans the two as one: Saint-Tropez, then Portofino, then Naples, Capri and Amalfi, in a single week. Marc Leuzinger said it on our video and he has been a charter captain since 1996, so take it as a plan, not a boast. The price is fuel. At 24 knots she burns about 800 litres an hour, double a standard boat of her size, and at 32 it is 1,500. A fast week shows in the APA, and the captain is honest that this is why people charter her.

One huge top deck: a 9-metre pool, two jacuzzis and a cinema

Instead of spreading her outdoor space over three decks, DB9 has an aft deck and then one enormous top deck, which is rare on a yacht of her length. Forward on it is the pool, 9 metres by 3, a real swimming pool, not a plunge tub. It is emptied for a passage and fills again in twenty minutes, with fresh water at the dock and sea water at anchor. Aft of the pool is one of her two jacuzzis, then loungers under oversized parasols, a bar, and at night a screen for the open-air cinema. The second jacuzzi is on the aft deck, an infinity tub over the stern. The day on her runs between those three without anyone going down a staircase.

The saloon: a grand hall, and a bar like a hotel lobby

The main saloon is the first thing that hits you inside. It is the size of a hotel lobby, with ceilings higher than a 52-metre usually allows, glass down both sides, and a bar with white stools at the forward end that gives the room an arrival. A crystal chandelier over the bar, cream velvet sofas, a round glass dining table laid for eight. She is glossy and glamorous rather than cosy, and she is not pretending otherwise.

The trick is where the master went. On most yachts this size the owner’s cabin takes the forward main deck. On DB9 the master is aft on the lower deck, and that is what frees the whole main deck for the saloon.

The cabins: a full-beam master below, two queens and two twins

The master runs the full beam aft on the lower deck, with its own entrance off the saloon stairs, a king bed under a backlit ceiling, a sofa, a desk with a jewellery drawer, and a bathroom with a large tub, twin basins and a separate shower. Two queen VIPs sit aft of the saloon stairs and two twins forward, each with a pullman berth, each with its own bathroom. That is twelve on paper. In practice she is a yacht for eight or ten, with the twins for children or the last couple to book.

Who she is for

• A group who wants the Riviera, Sardinia and Amalfi in one week, with the overnight legs done while they sleep.
• Friends who want a statement yacht and a party deck.
• Eight to ten guests in comfort, twelve with the twins.
• Families with children: the pool, the jellyfish pool and the toy list.

What she is for, and what she is not

Covering distance first, then the water and the toys, then hosting on that top deck, then the statement she makes at the dock. She is not a quiet week at anchor; she is a sport yacht, and she sounds and moves like one. She is a 2010 hull, refitted inside and out between 2024 and 2026, not a new build. Twelve adults means two couples in twins. And her master is below, not on the main deck; a client who wants a main-deck owner’s suite should look elsewhere.

Booking DB9 for the South of France: rate, VAT, base and what to ask

The published rate is 265,000 EUR per week, 290,000 EUR in July and August, plus expenses: APA for fuel, food, drink and port fees, and VAT at the rate of the country you cruise in. She prefers five days or more. For the money you get 52 metres, eleven crew, a 2026 refit and a speed no displacement yacht at this rate can match; what you pay for on top is the fuel, so tell the captain early how far you want to go. She is based in San Remo, an hour from Monaco and Nice, and holds a Spanish and Balearic licence. Ask for the pool to be filled on the first afternoon, the cinema night, and the captain’s one-week route from Saint-Tropez to Capri.

We have walked her and we put her sixth on our Top 10 superyachts in the South of France and on our list of charter yachts with a pool.

DB9 and three more yachts in her class

DB9 and three other yachts in her class on the Riviera I would look at next if her dates are gone.

Klara Braga Jakobsen is Yacht Reviewer at DMA Yachting. She walks the charter fleet at the Mediterranean and Caribbean shows every year and photographs every yacht she reviews.