The cruise industry was booming pre-COVID. Exciting new ships were debuting with headline grabbing features, pushing capacity in almost every segment of the industry, bringing guests to far-flung destinations that just a decade ago would have seemed like a dream.
That momentum was brought to a screeching halt by COVID-19. However, more than a year-and-a-half since the onset of the pandemic, luxury travelers are more than ready to start thinking about their next voyages on the high seas.
And while the luxury cruise space is perhaps more crowded than ever, with more offerings in more destinations across a wider variety of sized-ships than ever before, some names have always stood out from the crowd, including Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
In this issue, we take a look at the newest offering from Regent, the Regent Suite on its upcoming Seven Seas Grandeur, perhaps the most luxurious cruise suite ever on offer.
Seven Seas Grandeur will be Regent’s sixth ship when it joins the fleet the year after next. It follows Seven Seas Splendor and Seven Seas Explorer, ships that were considered to be some of the most luxurious cruise ships ever built.
While not a lot has yet to be revealed about Grandeur, Regent has showcased some details of the ship’s Regent Suite, an incredible $11,000 per night accommodation that again raises the cruise industry’s bar for what the definition of ultra-luxury truly is.
With a design from Miami-based Studio DADO, longtime Regent collaborators, there’s a lot expected from the suite. But Regent has always delivered.
The ship is more than a year away from its debut, but that won’t stop us from dreaming about it.
Big picture
The ship’s 4,443-sq-ft suite Regent Suite is the third across the cruise line’s fleet. Of the ship’s 15 suite categories, the Regent Suite is the highest.
It can host up to six guests with a master bedroom, two-and-a-half bathrooms with marble and stone details, a living room with personalized bar, a dining room, and a separate guest bedroom and private bathroom.
Paying that kind of fare for your cruise won’t just get you a spectacular suite, it will also get you some incredible amenities like first-class air, a dedicated personal butler, a personal car and butler at eery port, unlimited in-suite spa services, unlimited laundry and dry cleaning, a bed linen and pillow menu, a selection of suite fragrances, one in-suite caviar service, daily canapés, personalized stationery, shoe-shine service, and free WiFi.
Details
How does a suite get up to $11,000 per night? It starts with a different philosophy. The suite is built not just as a cruise ship cabin, but as a living piece of art, with each element contributing to the final masterpiece.
According to Studio DADO’s founding partner Yohandel Ruiz, the suite was designed to capture “the curiosity and discerning eye of an art collector.” The suite is a gallery in itself, with the furniture, finishes, and artwork on the walls all of the highest quality, including incredible Italian marble in the archway around the entry-door.
There’s also the amenities, which are unparalleled luxury cruise space. Regent has long been known to push the boundaries of just how much opulence and grandeur it could fit in a 750-guest ship. But the Regent Suite on Splendor pushes it to a new level.
Master bedroom and bathroom
The centerpiece of the suite’s master bedroom is a four-poster bed housing a Hästens Vividus mattress, generally known as the world’s most expensive bed that prices around $150,000 retail. On the walls, a custom-made eglomise art panel by Colorado’s Confluence Studios also makes the decor one-of-a-kind.
It’s not often that a suite’s bathroom is even more eye-grabbing than the other spaces, but the Regent Suite might be just that unique. The bathroom includes an in-suite spa experience even some of the world’s best wellness resorts can’t compete with.
The in-suite spa includes a treatment area and unlimited complimentary spa services, along with a sauna, steam room, and amenities including soaps and lotions from Bottega Veneta, Guerlain and L’Occitane, and more.
It also includes two heated loungers along with a spectacular “jewel-box” shower in its center and a jetted bathtub adjacent to the window walls that gives guests unparalleled ocean views.
In total, the bathroom includes nine different types of marble in the his and her vanity units, the bathtub, heated loungers, and walls and flooring.
Living space
In the living space, Regent has installed twin chaise lounges in an incredible glass-enclosed parlor that allows guests to enjoy cocktails and stare off into the sky and stars as the sun goes down. Elsewhere in that space, guests can warm up around a faux fireplace with bronze flames.
Perhaps most spectacular is the sea itself, which greets guests in the suites 1,227 square-foot wraparound veranda overlooking the bow of the ship. The veranda includes a private hot tub.
Dates
Bookings for the suite are already open. The ship is scheduled to welcome its first passengers during its debut season in November 2023.
