Diddy’s iPad Controlled Cruise: If Money’s No Object

Notoriously understated and unassuming music, fashion, alcohol and twitter mogul Diddy set out on a cruise with on/off girlfriend Kim Porter and their daughters. You’ll be shocked – shocked! – to learn that the vacation is uncharacteristically luxurious and goes over the top with the latest in tech toys. We’re guessing that Donald Trump’s hair is on the phone to reserve time on the yacht as we speak.

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While some sectors of the luxury industry are still debating the use of technology and trying to ignore it away, German luxury yacht company Lurssen has developed a custom app for the iPad that allows voyagers to control everything from the ship’s temperature, lights and sound system from the tablet, and quickly jump to the features most important to them from the start page. {BlackBook} The best feature though is on demand food and drinks, which we wouldn’t pay $850,000 for, but would love to see happen at a local level.

At $850,000 per week, the Solemates yacht has to do something to differentiate itself from other luxury yacht rentals and while we can poke fun at the extravagance, the iPad app actually seems like a good way to do that. Rather than competing on square footage or amenities alone, it’s nice to see a company using technology to create a true luxury experience  that goes beyond simply adding a gold and diamond covered case and calling it luxury innovation.

Beyond the cool iPad remotes, the yacht comes equipped with everything else you might expect of an $850,000 cruise; a crew of 15 including two chefs and a nurse, 6 cabins that accommodate up to 12 guests, a water trampoline, Waverunners, power surfboards and diving equipment.

The ship is booked for St. Barth’s and St. Maarten through the end of the month, but February 1st through 19th are still available. Good luck finding any last minute discounts on this ship though, we’re fairly certain there’s still no app for that.