MARALLURE Review: One of Our Favorite Sundecks in Croatia, on a 42m Motorsailer

The sundeck: why it is one of our favourites in Croatia

It is the size of it first. On most motorsailers the top deck is a strip between the masts with a few loungers. On MARALLURE it is a long, open, uncluttered deck with the jacuzzi set towards the aft end, loungers forward of it, a bar and a grill, and real shade over the seating. Twelve guests can be up here at once without anyone sitting on a step.

Then it is what the crew have done with it. In 2025 they added gym equipment up here, with a trainer available in the mornings if you want one, and a water slide off the side. In the evenings the crew run barbecue nights at the grill on this deck, and that has become the thing guests mention. The jacuzzi is the spot for the last hour of light, and the towels are laid out before you get there.

The addition that is harder to copy: since 2025 she has held a private berth at the Monaco Grand Prix, so a May charter can watch the race from this deck. That is a West Med week, not a Croatian one, and she only does the West Med in the shoulder months, so ask early if that is what you want.

The aft deck doubles as a cinema

The deck below is nearly as good. Dinner is at the long aft table under the overhang, and this year the crew had rigged a cinema screen on the mast above it, so the deck becomes the cinema once the plates are cleared. The canapés in my photos are from two different years and the same table; the standard did not move. The crew also film drone footage of the week and hand it to guests as a souvenir.

The service system: buzzers and smart watches

The detail that stood out to me this year is the way requests move around the boat. Every crew member wears a smart watch, and guests have buzzers. Press one on the sundeck and the right person gets it on their wrist, without anyone walking the length of a 42-metre boat to find out what you want. Over seven days it is the difference between service you notice and service you stop thinking about, which is the better kind.

Eight crew for twelve guests is a solid ratio for a motorsailer of this size. The captain, Antonio Pusic, holds a Yachtmaster Offshore 500 GT and has a decade on larger yachts. The chef, Josip Babic, is Croatian, and the chief stewardess, Marina Mihanovic, came out of fine-dining restaurants before she went to sea. Those are the three people who decide whether a week is good, and on this boat all three have been in place through my visits.

Inside MARALLURE: terrazzo, timber and a proper bar

Inside she is warm rather than white. The dining table has a black-and-white terrazzo top, the panelling is pale timber, and the main saloon bar has a fluted front and real stools, which matters on a boat where the crew run cocktail hour every evening. None of it feels like a showroom. It has been used for three seasons and it looks like it has been looked after, not replaced.

Two master cabins, and what the other four are like

She has two master cabins, one in the stern at 26 m² and one in the bow at 29 m², both full-beam with their own bathrooms. For two families or two couples sharing the bill that is the configuration you want, because nobody is in “the small cabin”. The other four are all doubles with 180 by 200 beds: two at 20 and 19 m², and two at 17 m² that convert to twins. Every cabin has a shower box and a home-style toilet, which guests who have been on older Croatian boats will appreciate. One honest note: the convertible cabins are the ones to give to the people who will spend the least time in them.

Where MARALLURE goes: the Adriatic, and now Naples and Amalfi

She is based in Split and works the Dalmatian islands in July and August. One of the captains we spoke to at the show had taken her north to Venice, which a motorsailer of this size can do in a ten-day charter with one or two longer legs. For 2027 the crew told us she will spend part of the season in Naples and on the Amalfi Coast, so if you have wanted her outside Croatia, that is the year.

Who MARALLURE is for, and who should not book her

She is for a group of up to twelve adults who want a motorsailer week with a motor-yacht level of service, who will live on that sundeck and use the toys. Two families of adults, three or four couples, or a company group with two principals in the two masters all fit her.

Four honest limits. First, children are not allowed aboard; if you are a family with under-18s, she is not the boat. Second, she cruises at 10 knots, so a week with her is about anchorages, not covering distance; if you want to see the whole coast in seven days, book a motor yacht. Third, no stabilisers: she is a steel motorsailer and steady at anchor, but a guest who suffers underway should know it. Fourth, her price: at 89,000 to 99,000 EUR plus VAT and APA she sits at the top of the Croatian motorsailer market. The ten rebookings say it is worth it, but a group chasing value will find larger motorsailers for less.

Booking MARALLURE: rate, VAT, base and what to ask

The published rate for 2027 is 89,000 EUR per week, 99,000 EUR in July and August, plus 13% Croatian VAT and a 40% APA for fuel, food, drink and port fees. She is based in Split; embarkation elsewhere on the Croatian coast is usually possible by arrangement. Ask for the Monaco Grand Prix berth if you want May in the West Med, for the Naples and Amalfi weeks in 2027, for which cabins will be set as twins, and for the drone footage. Book early: ten of her 2027 weeks are already held by returning guests.

We have booked her, we have walked her every year since she launched, and we know the crew. Ask us for her 2027 availability, read her page in our fleet at MARALLURE, or compare her against the rest of our top 10 Croatian motorsailers.

Klara Braga Jakobsen is a Yacht Reviewer at DMA Yachting. She walks and photographs the yachts at the Croatia Yacht Show every year, and has been aboard MARALLURE at every show since her launch.