The arrival of Regent Seven Seas Cruises‘ freshly delivered ship, Seven Seas Splendor, ushers in a new level of luxury cruising, says the cruise line’s Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Steve Odell.
A sister-ship to Seven Seas Explorer which was delivered in 2016, Odell said he was thrilled with the finished product which RSSC accepted from shipbuilder Fincantieri last week.
Odell and Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ VP & General Manager for Australia and New Zealand, Lisa Pile, are onboard Seven Seas Splendor on the second of two Preview Cruises – a three day voyage from Rome to Barcelona – accompanied by 145 travel advisors and media from Asia Pacific to showcase the product.
Odell said that when Seven Seas Explorer debuted it raised the bar on luxury cruising. Now with the launch of Splendor that bar has been raised again.
“We’ve learnt from Explorer and made changes with the layout to create a better flow and used a different colour palate on Splendor. We’ve really honed in on what works best and the finished product is actually better than what I thought it would be,” Odell told LATTE while docked in Livorno, Italy yesterday.
“Seven Seas Splendor is raising the game in many ways. There are some absolute fundamentals of being a true luxury cruise operator, such as service delivery, making sure that people have a seamless experience – those things are a given. When you add on beautiful architecture as well, the 300 pieces of art that hang on the walls, the sculptures, the artefacts, you really feel as though you’re in a beautiful luxury hotel,” Odell explained.
He likened the cruise brand to that of Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, and in particular the opening last year of the ultra-luxury hotel company’s new Hong Kong address.
“It is a discrete form of luxury and its raised the bar in a city where you’ve got Peninsula, you’ve got Four Seasons, and there’s no lack of luxury properties.
“I think we’ve done the same in the cruise business. There isn’t a sea of sameness. We’ve created a very distinct product and a distinct environment.”
“This is a game-changer ship, like Explorer was, and you don’t find anything like this at sea – the beautiful surroundings, the restaurants. We are not understated about anything. This is a luxury, grand resort,” he concluded.
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