JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 180-passenger luxury event yacht is now permanently docked in downtown Jacksonville.
Lezlee and Capt. Rob Bellanich are the owners of the yacht, Royal Princess. Their company, Jax Yacht Charter, is now offering public and private charters aboard the vessel.
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Royal Princess is docked at 1501 Riverplace Boulevard, Unit Dock on the Southbank in front of Chart House.
The owners formerly operated the yacht in New York. They temporarily moved with their two children, River and Skye, to Florida during COVID after suffering from an autoimmune disease leading to liver failure.
Sept. 10 is the fifth year of Bellanich’s liver transplant at Mayo Clinic from an anonymous donor; now the couple said it wants to breathe new life into downtown Jacksonville.
“You can’t have an active waterfront without an active waterway,” Lezlee Bellanich said. “What does New York, Chicago, Newport, Rhode Island, Miami have in common? They all have active waterways so we may be the first, but we’re not the last. I welcome more yachts here. I want to see a riviera in downtown Jacksonville.”
She also talked about the natural beauty of the river.
“Well, there’s dolphins right off right there every day,” Bellanich said. “There’s manatees that come in here, it’s beautiful at night and you wouldn’t know that unless you’re in the middle of the St. Johns River, lights of the buildings, the bridges, just the beauty and the weather is wonderful most of the year.”
The Royal Princess’s first maiden voyage will be Sept. 14.
She said they’re going to release public cruise dates for October soon.
Click here for more information about the Royal Princess and event booking.