Travel Agent toured the opulent suites of the $450 million, 750-passenger Seven Seas Explorer earlier this month at PortMiami. Celebrating its first birthday of service, this Regent Seven Seas Cruises luxury ship is home porting in South Florida for Caribbean sailings through March.
Top digs? That's the 4,433-square-foot Regent Suite. Located at the ship’s bow on Deck 14, this two-bedroom, two-and-one-half bath suite offers far more space than the cruise industry’s other top suite offerings, which typically range anywhere from 700 square feet up to 2,300 square feet or so.
Putting things in perspective, this suite's interior space is more than 3,000 square feet. That's more interior space than the typical American single family home. Guests can spread out in comfort -- much as they'd do in a luxurious penthouse condominium.
Of course, this one-of-a-kind suite also has such creature comforts as an in-room spa retreat and forward-facing scenic views that rival those of the ship’s captain
Frank Del Rio, president and CEO, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), which is the parent company for Regent Seven Seas, Oceania Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line, put his touch on everything guests see throughout the ship and within this suite.
Designed for luxury clients who demand the very best, the Regent Suite is a secluded enclave in which guests are surrounded by handcrafted furnishings, marble and exotic woods.
Stepping Inside
The Regent Suite’s exterior entry is rich, dark and distinguished by a lovely marble floor. But the “wow” is provided by what's on either side of the entry door -- two original Picasso paintings. One is shown in the photo at right.
Stepping inside, guests will discover a rich ambience that continues with marble flooring and a floor-to-ceiling, decorative credenza that displays Murano glass original art pieces on open shelves.
We particularly loved one piece of glass that loosely resembled a large fish. This credenza separates the entry area from the main living spaces. To the left is the master bedroom complex with private bath; to the right is the living area and a second bedroom complex with private bath. Near the entry is a half bath as well.
During our brief suite tour, we couldn't adequately photograph the living room area (one small photo is at left) and custom Steinway Maroque piano designed by Dakota Jackson, as Jackson and several workers were meticulously poring over that piano doing routine maintenance to ensure it was in tip-top shape for guests.
Jackson was friendly and gracious, greeting Travel Agent and another media group, despite our interruption of his work.
Within the living room, guests can sink into a curved cream couch, blue and cream pillows, a comfortable blue chair and two back-less cushioned seats.
Directly opposite the seating area is an extensive media center, which completely spans one wall. It houses a large 4K ultra-high-definition TV, plus limited edition art books, artifacts and Murano glass bowls.
Nearby is an elongated black marble bar that's fully stocked, has a "golden" sink, and offers black-lacquered bar stools. Graced by a wall painting with colors that pop, the suite's dining room has comfortable chairs with seating for six.
Savoring the Views
Just beyond, though, is the suite’s prize spot – the glass-enclosed Vista Garden, a casual seating area where the top feature is "the view". Within this glass cocoon, guests can relax in comfort regardless of the weather outside.
This lovely space has a comfortable couch, two chairs and a small coffee table with the book of maps. It's also just one deck below the bridge and has a "console" that operationally shows exactly what the captain is seeing, but it’s just for fun; for obvious reasons, passengers can’t control the ship from their suite.
For fresh air, guests can head out doors on either side of the Vista Garden to the suite’s private outer deck, which flows around both the port and starboard sides of the ship. Guests can sink into lounge chairs, enjoy al fresco dining or just soak in an outdoor whirlpool.
Two Bedroom Enclaves
Both the large master bedroom and the bit smaller guest bedroom are inviting private enclaves, decorated with glass, polished metals, exotic woods and natural stone. Each has its own sitting area with a sofa and a large flat screen TV, as well as a walk-in closet, private bath and more. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer ocean views.
Distinguishing features? One certainly is the master bedroom’s $90,000, one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted Savoir (number 1) king-sized bed; it’s filled with horse hair. The linens too are exclusive – costing about $60,000.
Another is the master suite's Spa Retreat with a treatment area, full sauna, ceramic heated relaxation loungers and a multi-jet, walk-in shower with stone stool. Guests in this suite receive free spa treatments from Canyon Ranch SpaClub in the comfort of their own suite.
The master bathroom also has dual sinks, large mirrors and a big jetted interior bathtub. A door leads outside to the exterior whirlpool tub, which is sheltered by glass to protect guests from the elements.
Regent Suite Amenities
The Regent Suite goes for $5,500 minimum per person, double occupancy, per day. Not surprisingly, a slew of amenities come with this suite, including private butler service; free unlimited Wi-Fi on up to four logins on four devices per suite; free business class airfare; and a private car with driver in every port.
The full list of suite perks and other details are available at www.rssc.com.
To see where Seven Seas Explorer is headed for 2019-2020, check out this update on the line's plans. For agents wishing there was more than one of these luxurious suites to book, there soon will be with the launch of sister ship, Seven Seas Splendor, in 2020.
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