On the first night of a two-day cruise on the Seven Seas Grandeur, I went to see if I could switch my pre-assigned dinner reservation on the second night to the Italian specialty restaurant, Sette Mari.
At first, no luck. The maitre d’ said it was fully booked. My wife and I didn’t push. But the maitre d’ seemed upset for having to turn us away. When we chanced by the restaurant later in the evening, she was talking to her manager, who told us to give her a call in the morning if we were still interested.
The next evening at 6:30 we were seated at Sette Mari, an intimate space carved out of the larger La Veranda restaurant for dinner-only service. And the maitre d’ continued to tell us how sorry she was that she couldn’t accommodate us right away.
I have to believe that it is such experiences that put the halo on luxury lines such as Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Beyond the gourmet dining, the deluxe materials, the just-so suites and the bespoke excursions, it is the service moments that put these lines a step above.
Once at the table, our waiter exhibited a winning style — a little banter mixed in with information and suggestions — that helped make our meal what we’d hoped for when we made the change in dinner plans.
As the third in a series of ships that started in 2016 with the Seven Seas Explorer, the Grandeur offers few surprises to experienced Regent guests. The layout is unchanged, the restaurants in their familiar places, the artwork still modern, the ship still crowned by an over-the-top 4,400-square-foot, $11,000-a-night Regent Suite.
The Seven Seas Grandeur is tasteful to a fault, perhaps a little lacking in excitement but undoubtedly refined. Its sophistication is epitomized by the centerpiece objet d’art, the pearl-encrusted Faberge egg “Journey in Jewels.”
Rotating in a plexiglass case opposite the guest services desk, this classic touch of Russian nobility is one of the few items in the 1,600-piece onboard art collection that is not contemporary. We wanted to learn more by following the digital art tour on the Regent mobile app, but the app, introduced with the Grandeur, still had a few bugs, and we were only able to view two of the 16 videos highlighting art pieces.
The videos we saw were short interviews with the artists behind the featured paintings or sculptures. The onboard collection includes three Picassos (on display in the Prime 7 steak restaurant), a 40-foot tall tapestry in the ship’s atrium and the Bonsai Cherry Tree, a custom-made, 7-foot-tall bronze tree with more than 2,000 glass cherry blossoms that adorns the entrance to the Pacific Rim restaurant.
One of the few changes noticeable on the Grandeur is the new design of the Compass Rose restaurant, inspired by an “enchanted forest” theme. The white, arching, treelike forms have been done elsewhere on cruise ships, but the room is well executed and the effect is refreshing.
A balcony made for room service
I rarely have room service on ships, but the balcony on our 332-square-foot Concierge Suite was so expansive I thought it would be a nice place for breakfast. The presentation of the food was handsome, and we had room to pull the chairs out of the morning sun, which made a big difference.
Another delight was the high quality of the evening production numbers in the two-story Constellation Theater. The first show, “Ignite the Night,” was choreographed by “Dancing With the Stars” dancer Britt Stewart and offered reinterpretations of ’70s and ’80s rock classics. The featured singers were terrific, the dancing exciting and the staging inspired.
A second show, “Icons,” included songs from the Pointer Sisters, Hall & Oates and Adele and was equally good. My wife wondered how the dancers could go through so many different pairs of shoes in one show. Two additional new shows have been developed for longer cruises.
A distinguishing feature of Regent’s Explorer-class ships is the 18-station Culinary Arts Kitchen, and the one on the Grandeur did not disappoint. Chef John Stephano guided us through recipes for pasta al limone and French crepes with a rapid-fire, friendly and energetic approach.
The recipes were simple enough, yet the results were elegant and satisfying. Stephano kept us entertained while educating us on a grab bag of chef’s tips and tricks that should have take-home appeal to ambitious amateur cooks.
