I attended this year's Monaco Yacht Show, a glamorous event for yachting industry insiders and wealthy VIPs looking to buy or charter yachts.
The event took place from September 25 to September 28 in the tiny French Riviera city-state.
One evening, I got on board the largest vessel on display at the yacht show, a 365-foot superyacht called Tis.
Tis, which took about three years to construct, was built by German shipyard Lürssen and designed by Winch Design.
The yacht can sleep up to 18 guests and 38 crew.
Launched in 2019, the brand-new superyacht belongs to an unidentified Monaco resident.
During the press visit on board Tis, the yacht's designer, Andrew Winch, said the owner had the superyacht built to be a second home.
"His apartment [in Monaco] is very similar to this boat — but significantly smaller," Winch said.
The owner expects to live on the yacht for nine months of the year, according to Winch.
Dozens of journalists were invited on board Tis for a special evening press tour of the vessel.
We all had to take off our shoes before setting foot on the yacht's pristine teak deck.
I wasn't allowed to take my own photos on board Tis.
At one of the outside dining areas, delicate finger foods were set out on a long table decked out with white flowers, and servers wandered through the crowd serving Regi rosé Champagne while sultry lounge music played in the background.
There were shrimp on sticks, tiny brioche sandwiches of deviled eggs and tomato, and raw salmon and basil bites.
After an introductory speech by designer Andrew Winch, we broke up into small groups for guided tours of the vessel.
The main deck salon is full of classic Louis XIV to Louis XVIII style furniture.
In the formal entrance lobby is an elaborate marble staircase with 23.8 carat gold handrails that were inspired by Le Bristol hotel in Paris.
Italian Calacatta Vogli marble was used throughout the yacht.
The main deck's dining room can comfortably seat at least 16 people.
It can also convert into a board room, with hidden plug sockets in the table and a large painting that can disappear to reveal a television screen.
Just off the main deck is a formal office that can be opened up to create one large conference space.
The yacht has its own "beach club" area, described in press materials as "a transitional space between the exterior and interior."
The beach club décor is inspired by the Italian island of Capri. A side door leads out to a fold-out swimming platform.
On the bridge deck is a citrus-themed spa, which includes a relaxation room with carved stone lemon trees on the walls. There's also a Hammam, a hair salon, and a massage room.
On the owners deck, the main salon features a leather-embossed ceiling dome with a glass chandelier of hand-blown leaves of glass.
The owner's suite has a domed skylight and large wraparound windows.
A private balcony with built-in upholstered sofas offers 180-degree views over the bow of the yacht.
The bathroom is decked out in marble and includes a large soaking tub.
The owner's suite also comes with a private hair and beauty salon, massage room, and dressing rooms.
The eight lavish guest suites onboard each have a theme. One of the main deck guest suites was inspired by Claridge's, an iconic art deco luxury hotel in London.
Also on the main deck is a suite is an homage to Paris, with fleur-de-lis motifs and classic "Toile de Jouy" patterns throughout.
On the upper deck is another Paris-inspired room, this one a tea room dedicated to French luxury bakery Ladurée.
It's decorated in the traditional pastel greens, pinks, and purples of the iconic pâtisserie.
The yacht's tender garage can hold two 38-foot Wajer tenders and as well as two rescue tenders and various water toys.
Winch, the yacht's designer, stressed that Tis was designed to be understated and elegant.
"This is not a nouveau riche yacht," he said, adding that the 28 carat gold finishes are muted and antique-looking, "so don't consider this a bling yacht."
"Understated" is definitely not a word I'd use to describe Tis. I'm no expert — this is only the second yacht I have ever stepped foot on — but to me, it was wildly over-the-top, with its infinity pool, classic French décor, gold staircases, and formal dining rooms and salons.
But I couldn't agree more with his characterization of Tis as a "floating mansion."
"You can take this boat anywhere in the world as an explorer," Winch said. "She is a castle. She's a floating mansion for life."
The superyacht was unlike anything I've ever seen. While my very first yacht tour aboard a Champagne-colored, Bugatti-designed yacht took about 15 minutes, Tis was so massive that the tour took over an hour, and that was moving quickly without lingering in any rooms.
It can safely be assumed that the mysterious owner of Tis is a billionaire — or at least a multimillionaire.
People outside the yachting industry may not know just how much it costs to own a yacht. Buying one can easily set you back tens or hundreds of millions — and that's not including annual fuel costs, docking fees, maintenance, and crew salaries.
As Business Insider's Hillary Hoffower put it, owning a superyacht is "the absolute pinnacle of indulgence for the 1%."
We don't know exactly how much Tis, a brand-new massive superyacht, would sell for if it were on the market right now. But to put it in perspective, a five-year-old yacht that's 65 feet smaller than Tis is currently on the market for $200 million.
But what's a few hundred million when you're a billionaire living in Monaco?
