When the Regent Seven Seas Explorer is delivered in July 2016, one of the things that will make it different from the three other ships in Regent's fleet will be Deck 14.
Perched above the bridge, Deck 14 is reserved for the 3,875-square-foot Regent Suite, the exclamation point on a ship that aspires to set a new standard for luxury cruising.
Regent unveiled designs for the $5,000-a-night suite and other key spaces on the Explorer at a New York news conference. Company President Jason Montague said it will be "the most luxurious cruise ship ever built."
Contracted at $450 million, the Explorer is a 56,000-gross-ton ship designed to carry 750 passengers. It will have 53 Penthouse suites, 20 Seven Seas suites, four Explorer, Grand and Masters suites but only one Regent Suite.
The in-room spa retreat, which will include a steam room, sauna and treatment area.
"There is nothing like the Regent Suite in the cruise industry, and I believe it rivals anything on land, too," Montague said.
The two-bedroom suite comes with an in-room spa retreat, a first according to Regent. The spa includes a sauna, steam room, two ceramic heated relaxation loungers and treatment area.
An oversize hot tub adjacent to the spa retreat looks out over the ocean and is enclosed by glass, protecting guests from the outside elements while still providing an al fresco ambience.
The 3,875-foot suite's master bedroom, seen here in a rendering.
A separate distinctive element is the outdoor, glass-enclosed sitting area named the Vista Garden. It will be the centerpiece of a 270-degree wrap-around view over the bow of the ship.
The suite is finished with the requisite high-end materials, including exotic woods and natural stone. A black marble bar is surrounded by lacquered stools. Nearby will sit a Steinway Arabesque piano by furnishings designer Dakota Jackson.
A separate sitting area in the master bedroom features a sumptuous couch and large, ultrahigh-definition TV.
Guests booking the suite can get complimentary in-room spa treatments morning, noon and night. They are also entitled to a private car with driver and guide in every port, free unlimited laundry and pressing, business- and first-class air as well as limousine transfers to and from the airport.
The Regent Suite is the latest in a series of increasingly elaborate accommodations on ships. One problem for smaller luxury lines is finding space. Larger ships, such as Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2 or Royal Caribbean International's Oasis of the Seas, have room for duplex suites.
The Norwegian Pearl, for example, boasts a three-bedroom, 4,252-square-foot Garden Villa.
Regent found space for the suite by adding a new deck for it. The large suite helps to boost the ship's generous space ratio to 75 (tons per passenger). That compares to 74 for the Silversea Cruises ships Silver Shadow and Whisper and 70 for the three Seabourn ships.
The Seven Seas Explorer is the first new ship for Regent in over a decade, and helps it keep pace with competitors such as Seabourn, which is also taking delivery of a new ship in 2016.
The Seven Seas Explorer's lobby features twin etched-glass staircases and a cascading crystal chandelier.
Guests boarding the ship will step into a lobby with a circular inlaid marble floor, matched by twin etched-glass staircases and punctuated by a cascading crystal chandelier.
The Explorer also features a two-story, 675-seat Constellation Theater and a silver, gold, black and white Observation Lounge. Tables in front of the theater seats will each feature a hand-blown, Murano glass lamp.
The restaurant lineup will include a more contemporary Compass Rose main dining room with a large, cascading aqua-blue chandelier that suggests a grotto atmosphere, Regent said.
The Explorer's first cruise will leave July 20, 2016, from Monte Carlo on a 14-night sailing to Venice.
Arnie Weissmann contributed to this report.