Princess V65 Review (2025 Edition) by Aquaholic

On Deck

This V65 is so new that the stickers were still being applied at the show. It has a sportscruiser profile without a flybridge, leaving the whole focus on pace and open-air living.

Aft, the bathing platform carries its own high-low controls. Just beside are switches for the passerelle, which deploys neatly from the step, and a hatch for the life raft, which slides out once you pop the retaining bar. The tender garage sits behind the transom, built to take a Williams 345 jet tender, though of course you’re trading that volume against space that might otherwise enlarge the crew cabin.  

The cockpit itself has Princess’s signature attention to detail. A folding table sits centre with grain-matched timber, and there’s a fully equipped wet bar with sink, grill, fridge, and storage. An electrically operated awning deploys out from the hardtop on carbon-fibre supports for shade when you need it, vanishing flush when you don’t.

Moving forward along the side decks, the bow turns into a second cockpit in its own right. Sunbeds and bench seating form a private social space, especially useful when you’re stern-to in port. A cool box is built into the centre, and hidden beneath the cushions is an escape hatch for the forward cabin. Pull the tab on the headlining and a ladder drops into place, giving a reassuring emergency route out of the boat. Up at the stem are the ground tackle arrangements: anchor winch, lockers for chain and warp.

One clever detail is the safety locker near the cockpit. Inside are the manual bilge pump handle, shut-offs for both engine and generator fuel lines, and a fire extinguisher pull cable that links to the engine bay. Automatic systems take care of most situations, but that manual override is a nice fallback.

And then there’s the roof - 9 sq/m of it, and 37% bigger than the previous V65. Slide it open and the whole saloon-cockpit blend feels almost like standing in an open boat. Slide it shut and you’ve got a climate-controlled glasshouse.  

On entering, the glass doors slide right across to one side and the aft window lifts up, so cockpit and saloon merge into a single level. On older V-class boats the galley used to sit down a step, but here it’s flush, all part of the same living area. It makes the whole thing feel bigger, and more joined up.

This boat is trimmed in matte walnut. A lot of owners now go for paler finishes, but walnut still feels classy. Galley spec is full-house: tall fridge-freezer, electric hob, sink, dishwasher, bin, all-electric of course. The joinery carries the same Princess hallmark, grain running continuously across doors and drawers.

Opposite sits the dining table, folding in the centre with space to add a couple of director’s chairs if needed. It turns the galley into a proper little kitchen-diner - very domestic in the best way, somewhere to gather while food’s on the go.

Step up a level and you’re in the main lounge. This is where the sliding roof really shows its worth. With nine square metres of it open overhead, the space feels almost like you’re outside. Furniture runs down one side, with a big rise-and-fall TV opposite. A bar unit is tucked in here as well, perfect for glasses and bottles, plus an ice maker and another fridge hidden neatly away.

The helm caps it all off. Glass windscreens now wrap across the bow, giving a wide, clean view out. The wheel is one of those self-centring types as in the rim turns, the hub doesn’t, and the whole dash curves around with navigation, radar, autopilot, bow thruster, engine controls, all within reach. There’s even a side door next to the helm, which makes a world of difference for ventilation and quick access to the decks.

Owner's Cabin

Head right aft and you arrive in the owner’s cabin and it’s a beauty. Full beam, low down in the boat, so you get that calm, tucked-in feeling. The first thing you notice is the sense of space. It’s wide, it’s long, and it’s been kept subtle - very Princess.

For storage, there are lockers where you’ve got hanging space, plus extra cupboards along the bulkhead. One of them hides a washer-dryer, exactly where you want it on a boat this size. If you prefer separate units, there’s space for that too, though most owners stick with a combo.

The bed itself sits centrally, with clean woodwork wrapping all around. That walnut really earns its keep down here as it's beautifully finished, grain running through like it’s been drawn in one stroke. 

The en-suite is as generous as you’d hope. A massive rainfall shower sits at the far end, proper stand-and-stretch room, not a squeeze-in cubicle. There’s counter space and mirrors where you need them, plus that quiet touch of class in the fittings. It feels more like a boutique hotel bathroom than a box on a boat.

Guest Cabins

Drop down into the lower lobby and it’s surprisingly open and bright as Princess has kept it nicely lit so you don’t feel buried below decks. Four cabins in total down here, which is what you’d expect on a boat of this size.

Up in the bow is the VIP guest cabin. It’s a lovely space, shaped by the hull so you get those long windows with opening sections, plenty of natural light. There’s a hanging locker to one side, drawers tucked under the bed, and more cabinets above. The woodwork is beautifully done, the grain running through cleanly, just as it does upstairs. AV kit is fitted, of course, and the en-suite here is dedicated to this cabin, complete with a big separate shower and Princess’s trademark sculpted sink. It feels properly private.

Move aft and you find cabins three and four, which share the day heads. That heads has its own shower, and a neat trick - there’s a door into cabin three, so at night it doubles as an en-suite. Cabin three itself is flexible: two singles that slide together at the press of a button to form a double.  

Opposite, cabin four is a bunk setup. But they are adult-sized, with a decent width and length, so perfectly usable for grown-ups. There’s hanging space here as well, and more storage dotted around.  

Crew Accommodation

Aft, behind the garage, is where the crew cabin is. Now, if you’re thinking permanent liveaboard crew, this isn’t the boat for it. What you’ve got here is an overflow cabin, somewhere that works for a delivery skipper, or similar.

Step down and there’s a single berth set along the side, finished to the same standard as the guest cabins - the woodwork, some drawers below, and a little hanging locker.  There’s also a compact wet room, with a head and a shower that pulls out from the tap. Perfectly usable for a night or two, though you wouldn’t want to pitch someone in here for a month.  

Of course, space here is always a compromise. From that bulkhead forward, you’ve got the tender garage, so the crew cabin makes do with what’s left. But that’s the trade: garage or more crew space, you can’t have both.

The engine room is a good one. Plenty of space, surprisingly so for a sportscruiser of this size. There’s just about full standing headroom, even if you’re over 6ft, which makes life a lot easier when you’re trying to get around in here.

The power comes from a pair of MAN V12s, 1,400 hp apiece. Big engines for a big sports boat. They’ll push this V65 to around 34-36 knots flat out with a fast cruise at about 26 knots. At that pace you’re looking at roughly 330 nautical miles of range. Drop back to displacement speeds and you’ll more or less triple that.

The MAN control boxes are here, the generator is tucked neatly alongside, and you can see the fire suppression system that links back to the manual pull handle in the deck locker. Fuel tanks run down the sides, air-conditioning units are mounted around the space, and there’s still room to move without having to squeeze sideways.

This is a $5,400,000 sportscruiser carrying a pair of MAN V12 1400s, so day-to-day ownership is on a different level from a smaller V-class. Fuel burn at planing speed is significant, as you’d expect, though the boat does give you options when the speed is more economical.  

Systems are comprehensive: full air-conditioning, generator, ice maker, washer-dryer, galley appliances, hydraulic bathing platform, the works. All of that means a constant draw on shore power or generator, and higher servicing costs over time. Routine upkeep for the MANs is also a serious line item, but that’s the reality of running a 65-foot sports yacht.

For rivals in this category there is Princess’s own S65 that offers the same hull but adds a small flybridge, which some owners prefer for the extra viewpoint. The Sunseeker Predator 65 is the natural competitor with similar performance/ethos, but with Sunseeker’s styling. The Fairline Phantom 65 gives you the alternative of a flybridge layout with Fairline’s take on the space planning. So it’s a lively part of the market, with each yard putting a slightly different spin on the 65-foot sportscruiser formula.

The V65 is Princess at its most sportscruiser-focused. No flybridge, just a sleek profile and the promise of mid-30-knot pace from its twin MAN V12s. Below, there are four practical cabins,, the finish is pure Princess, and the atmosphere is calm and relaxed. A boat that knows exactly what it is, and does it very well.