Imagine the challenge of ensuring that Seven Seas Explorer lives up to its trademark: The Most Luxurious Ship Ever Built.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises gave three teams of interior designers virtually unlimited budgets and encouraged them to think opulence in materials and fabrics in building the ship. They used enough marble to keep a quarry in Carrara, Italy busy for a year. The zillion decorative features include more than a hundred crystal chandeliers.
Spacious lounges and grand peacock walks to restaurants recall the elegance of liners in the grand days of first class ocean crossings. There are original artworks everywhere, including every suite. All this for a ship that carries just 750 guests, in an era when most new cruise ships are built to carry thousands.
Much of what’s been written about Seven Seas Explorer was in 2016, when it was brand new and its proud parents were pulling out all the stops to impress. It’s time to see if the ship still lives up its billing.
1) All that personal space
Accommodations on Explorer are all suites and they rank among the most spacious at sea. Our superior suite on deck seven for this Pacific cruise from Chile to Los Angeles is a Category F, far from the largest on the ship, and it still measures 460 square feet. That’s about twice the size of the average on other cruise ships and almost as large as some modern condo apartments. Our double-sized suite means the balcony is double-wide as well.
There’s a living area with a sofa, coffee table and credenza that can be separated with a curtain from the sleeping area. Elegant cornices and trim work set off the original oil paintings. A bed so comfy it’s got its own trademark name on all of Regent’s ships: Elite Slumber is framed by a wall upholstered in tufted leather.
The separate wood-panelled walk-in closet has so many drawers and shelves that you could settle on board for months at a time, as some guests do. The unprecedented luxury touches include fresh liner paper in the drawers.
On to the marble-lined bath room that features double sinks and not only a tub but also a glass enclosed shower with rain-forest shower head. It’s got a well thought-out array of drawers, shelves and spaces to stash anything you could possibly pack for personal care.
Things can get even more amazing in upper level suites that increase in size from 560 square foot penthouses, to grand suites at 1,500 square feet. The spectacular Regent Suite covers 4,443-square-feet and features a private in-suite spa with steam room and a custom mini-pool on a private balcony. There’s a bed in this home at sea called Savoir No. 1 that’s said to cost $150,000.
If you’d like to give that a test ride some day, the Regent Suite runs about $10,000 a night for a couple, with advance booking discounts–and it’s always booked far in advance.
2) An overwhelming abundance of service
Regent Seven Seas prides itself on having one of the most impressive staff to guest ratios at sea Luxury, of course, means pampering and Regent claims Explorer’s staff of 552 for 750 guests means an extraordinary level of attention to detail and the needs of guests. The crew try to get to know guests by name and be aware of their preferences at every turn.
It can be a bit daunting at first figuring out the cast of staff at your table in one of the restaurants. From the time a greeter escorts you to your table, there may be half a dozen other staff to offer menus, water, bread and the sommelier to proffer the day’s wine choices. Then comes the waiter to describe the day’s specials and take your order and the maitre d’ for the section to make sure everything is satisfactory.
3) Art that’s abstract but very real
Strolling around deck 5 you might imagine you’re in an art gallery. Frank Del Rio, president of Regent’s parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, has collected a remarkable art collection for these ships and on Explorer, big, thought provoking contemporary artworks are hung on every available surface of the walls, even in such unlikely places as the gangway security area and the library.
The collection includes prints by Picasso and Matisse around the Prime 7 restaurant and hundreds of original oils and acrylic and multi-media pieces. A favorite of mine is a portrait of the godmother of the Explorer, Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco, up to her neck in water with a jewelled tiara on her head.
The collection spills into the suites. In our suite, there are two large framed abstracts by Cuban artists. The corridors of the suite decks feature intriguing photography with a different theme on each deck, from fashion, to travel to luxury automobiles.
4) Luxury finishes that stay that way
The Explorer is immaculate in its housekeeping, and that’s saying a lot for a ship as complex as this. It comes from having teams devoted to maintaining every detail. It must be a major challenge keeping the hundreds of Czech and Danish crystal chandeliers and the hand-blown Murano glass in the ceilings of restaurants, lounges and hallways dust-free. The glass in the shapes of icicles and water drops is so seemingly delicate that one false move of the cleaning cloth could mean oh, oh. My, my.
The housekeeping teams include dedicated staff whose job it is to keep public areas in pristine shape, busily vacuuming carpets, dusting woodwork, polishing the brass and chrome and touching up paintwork every morning.
5) A Canyon Ranch Spa at Sea
America’s Canyon Ranch Spas have made a reputation as places where “seven days can change your life,” with treatments and wellness classes. The wellness and beauty treatments are all available on this ship for extra fees for those who are looking for a revolution. Those who are more interested in just keeping healthy and looking to chill out will be overjoyed with what’s available free in this two-level spa. Both the men’s and women’s spa zones include an ice room, a steam room with a choice of aromas, an infrared sauna and an “experience shower” with massage heads. There’s a signature infinity pool whose view is the wake trail of the ship retreating to the horizon.
Upstairs, the gym rooms offer panoramas of the sea from the stern as well. The two rooms of exercise equipment attract a steady stream of users, but there are always plenty of treadmills, bikes and elliptical and weight training machines to go around, all of them brand new state of the art TechnoGym equipment. I love the new cycles whose video displays let you imagine pedaling along coastal roads in California and treadmills that let you imagine being in a marathon across the Golden Gate.
6) It’s as all-inclusive as you’ll find anywhere
It’s perfectly possible to end up not getting a bill at the end of the voyage. All of Regent’s ships include complimentary shore excursions, and specialty restaurants, transfers and gratuities. Regent is also offering business class air on many intercontinental flights, and free economy domestic flights.
On this cruise in South America there was a selection of complimentary shore excursions in every port we visited. However, there are capacity limits to keep the groups small, so it’s important to lock-in your selections as soon as you book the cruise to avoid finding that your choice is no longer available. There are also selections of outstanding all-day premium tours at extra costs. These top-end tours cost less –around 100 to $150 additional — than they would cost on other luxury cruise lines. An example is a discovery journey in Peru to ancient sites and an incredible horse show that included a lavish gourmet lunch.
The complimentary drinks on board include even top-shelf liquor brands and French Champagne. Yes, there are splurge-worthy selections on a rare wine menu that include premier crus, ultra-premium champagnes and ultra-scarce vintages. For instance a 2012 vintage Chateau Margaux that could add four figures to your tab is among a vast selection on the connoisseur list if you really want to celebrate. But many top-ranked vintages are priced at around $60. I was so pleased with the complimentary selections from France, America and Chile available on this cruise that I wasn’t tempted to pay up for more.
Wi-Fi is also free everywhere on the ship. Surfing can get a little pokey in the afternoon when everyone is on line at the same time, but otherwise it’s adequately reliable even on the balconies and decks. The free internet doesn’t allow streaming of video, so you’d need to purchase a premium package if you want to see video clips and movies on your phone or laptop. An alternative for the Netflix-deprived is the free interactive television service in suites that includes new releases, including many of this year’s Oscar winners, as well as classics.
7) Next: Luxury Perfected
Seven Seas Explorer has become so popular it’s regularly booked solid. So Regent has decided to clone it and even try to improve on its luxury features. Seven Seas Splendor that’s coming in February, 2020, is being billed as Luxury Perfected. The décor is being tweaked with, for instance, lighter woods instead of the dark woods prominent on Explorer and new color schemes for fabrics. Of course there will also be a boatload of new artworks. But the luxurious detailing, maintenance and service remain core values.
I’m looking forward to experiencing how you can perfect luxury even more.
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