Miami hosts party of the year for Seven Seas Grandeur christening
NewsRegent Seven Seas rarely does things by halves – it boasts, after all, the world’s most luxurious fleet.
So not content with bursting a bottle of bubbles against the bow of the Seven Seas Grandeur to christen the latest addition to its six-strong fleet, the ultra-luxury line held a concert starring author, actress, and Tony and Emmy award winner Kristin Chenoweth.
Among a star-studded audience were singer Shania Twain, and actors from TV and Hollywood.
Centre stage at the Florida christening was a Faberge egg – the first from this historic gems house to take up residence at sea, and called A Journey in Jewels.
The famed historic objet d’art was specially commissioned to be the star of Grandeur’s multi-million dollar art collection, and Sarah Faberge, great-granddaughter of the founder, took the role of the ship’s godmother.
She wore bespoke earrings and a ring designed especially for the Christening event. These exquisite pieces, made of 18k white gold and featuring blue guilloché enamel, white diamonds and pearls, will also be auctioned to raise money for charity.
During an at times moving ceremony, Regent Seven Seas President Andrea DeMarco told the audience she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and had made the journey to the event to use it to warn women to make sure they are screened for the disease.
The line’s first female president in over 50 years said she had a good prognosis because of screening, and she urged women to ensure they tested too.
But the real star was the ship itself.
Grandeur’s tagline is “A heritage of Perfection” and she follows the Regent Seven Seas tradition of attention to detail, design, and jaw-dropping luxury.
On board, it’s not hard to see how the line won three Readers’ Choice Awards this year for luxury, service, and wellness.
With 746 guests served by 548 crew in 373 huge suites, Seven Seas Grandeur will provide among the highest space and staff-to-guest ratios in the industry.
Designed by the award-winning Studio DADO, she was built using 140 tonnes of marble, 503 chandeliers, and a 1600-piece US$6 million art collection, including several Picassos, she is a floating mansion and art gallery combined.
The Compass Rose restaurant, a sea of jewels which look like a fairy-tale forest of trees, is simply stunning.
A 40-foot tall hand-woven tapestry has been hung the atrium to give those in the lifts a very special view of traditional craftsmanship, and an art app takes guests through a collection of paintings and sculptures.
A custom-made bronze and hand-cast glass Bonsai Cherry Tree Sculpture by Savoy Studios is at the front of Pacific Rim, the ship’s pan-Asian specialty restaurant.
For accommodation, there is everything from the rock-star US$11,000 a night Regent Suite at the top of this 10-storey vessel – a whopping 1354 sq metres (4443 sq feet) which includes a US$200,000 Hastens Vividus bed – to 14 other styles of accommodation, almost all with verandas.
Guests certainly won’t be going hungry. More than 130 new dishes are on menus in the ship’s seven unrivalled dining venues to continue the line’s Epicurean Perfection branding, including:
- Thirteen new dishes to be served at dinner in Compass Rose, the ship’s signature restaurant where food is served on Versace plates.
- A new lunch menu at Prime 7, the ship’s elegant steakhouse.
- Three of the seven new dishes on French restaurant Chartreuse’s menu have been inspired by the 3-Michelin Star L’Auberge du Vieux Puits following a culinary tour of Narbonne, France.
- Pacific Rim will offer two new entrees and four new desserts.
- And new plant-based dishes are being served, including an Impossible Salisbury Steak with truffle butter and Pacific Rim poke salad.
For those that love food by numbers, here’s what’s platted up on a seven-day cruise:
● 544kg of lobster
● 453kg of filet mignon
● 226kg of smoked salmon
● 226kg of chocolate
● 9kg of caviar
● 1500 bottles of champagne
● 5000 bottles of wine
● 65 white varieties of wine, 130 red, five rose, six desserts, and 18 varieties of champagne and sparkling wine. The most expensive is a $2500 Promontory Napa Valley wine.
There is also a lineup of new entertainment. Four new productions celebrate Broadway and its influence on entertainment at sea.
Seven Seas Cruises President Andrea DeMarco came on stage to officiate, despite giving guests the news that she was courageously battling breast cancer.
“Seven Seas Grandeur has been inspired by the past and stunningly reimagined for the future, exemplifying our heritage of perfection with unrivaled space, unparalleled service, epicurean perfection, and transformative experiences that begin the moment guests step aboard,” she told guests at the exclusive christening.
Following the gala event, guests took off on a three-night Caribbean sailing.
Seven Seas Grandeur will sail from Florida until April, when she goes to Europe. Later this month, sister ship Seven Seas Explorer will be in Sydney.
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