Regent Seven Seas Cruises (RSSC) marks 25 years in the high-end cruise industry this year. To celebrate the occasion, President & CEO Jason Montague hosted an exclusive dinner for agents last Thursday at Sydney’s Bistro Guillaume, with a media lunch taking place at Cafe Sydney on Friday 30 June.
With 1.28 million Australians cruising in 2016, Australia was pinpointed as a market of strong potential by Montague. Australian luxury cruisers book early, spend high and go for a long time.
I am truly looking forward to the next 25 years and Australia is going to be a very big part of that. Jason Montague, President & CEO, RSSC
The occasion also marked a year of Seven Seas Explorer, christened as “the most luxurious ship ever built” in Monaco by HSH Princess Charlene last July. RSSC has also invested heavily in its existing fleet, injecting US$125 million to refurbish Explorer’s three sister ships, Seven Seas Voyager and Seven Seas Navigator (already completed), with Seven Seas Mariner set to be complete by March/April 2018.
As Montague points out, guests would hardly be able to tell they’re on board a ship built in 1999, 2001 and 2003 respectively, such is the level of investment.
He explains that “luxury is all about delivering an experience for the individual guest and how they want to experience the world”, using RSSC cuisine as a prime example. With dining at all specialty restaurants included, guests are able to customise their meals, selecting ingredients, how they’re cooked and what they’re served with. This has always been part of the RSSC experience, as has customisable free shore excursions throughout the voyage.
What really makes Regent different is the staff on board, and the all-inclusive nature of our product. The staff brings it to life – that’s not just the staff we have on board the ships, it’s the staff we have in our offices. The luxury experience actually starts with the very first phone call, in dealing and making sure they’re preparing that holiday exactly how guests want to experience the world. That’s where our team comes in, and that’s where we are investing so much in the Australian market with our infrastructure.
Jason Montague
RSSC ships will spend 60 days in Australia in 2017, up from two in 2016 and set to expand to 89 in 2018. Navigator will visit in 2018 as part of her world cruise, as well as Voyager and Mariner on regional voyages.
Montague also announced the arrival of a sister ship for Explorer in 2020, which will build on and develop the luxurious innovations she brought to the industry. The fifth ship will also bring new opportunities for deployment; after all, RSSC numbers in Australia doubled in one year.