First Look at Seven Seas Grandeur: Five Spots to Love!

To check out the newest ultra-luxury ship in the global cruise industry, The Meandering Traveler boarded Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ 746-guest Seven Seas Grandeur at PortMiami’s Terminal J on Sunday. We’re sailing on a quick preview sailing. But frankly, after just a day and a half aboard, we’d love to stow away!

To say that this ship is the lap of luxury is an understatement. We’ve discovered a floating, elegant enclave of  high-end design, fine art, sumptuous spaces and personalized service by 548 crew members. We love our spacious suite too.

Diving in, here’s our first look at several favorite spots around this 55,500-gross-ton vessel.

(Elegant French bistro dining awaits at Seven Seas Grandeur’s Chartreuse. Photo by Susan J. Young.)

1. Grand Atrium and Ship Art

As with sisters Seven Seas Explorer and Seven Seas Splendor, the new ship’s multilevel, open atrium is simply gorgeous. Tastefully designed with a light color palette and marble, it’s home to a dramatic two-deck open staircase. It’s the place to see and be seen.

Immediately after entering on Deck 5, the Reception area is off to the left. Shelby Steudle, president, Pavlus Travel, is also aboard this week, and she likes the feel of the relaxation/seating areas adjacent to that Reception area. That space is a bit more intimate than on many industry vessels, and provides a great place to sit, read or socialize. .

In addition, down one level on Deck 4, guests can find other seating areas. Elongated sofas and chairs are found on either side of the staircase.

Seven Seas Grandeur: Faberge Egg

Be sure to look for the Deck 5 atrium seating area’s glass case displaying the famous Faberge egg, “Journey in Jewels.” This seagoing egg was created specifically for the ship by Faberge.

If you’re looking for elevators, they’re immediately behind the staircase. When getting into two of those aft-facing elevators, guests can peer out via an expanse of curved elevator glass to see a lovely tapestry. This 40-foot, hand-woven piece of art flows down the opposite wall.

So, as the elevator moves between decks, one sees the full length of this art piece by world-renowned Brazilian artist Walter Goldfarb.

Did you know that Regent Seven Seas Cruises has introduced its first art app ever for this new ship? Yes, that showcases the top spots around the ship. In total, Seven Seas Grandeur offers 1,600 pieces of art including several Picasso original paintings and more.

2. Seven Seas Grandeur: Compass Rose

In our opinion, Compass Rose, the main dining room on Seven Seas Grandeur, is one of the most gorgeous, elegant restaurants at sea. It’s been redesigned for this ship, as have specialty restaurants Prime 7 and Chartreuse, and La Veranda, the buffet restaurant.

One new feature? Healthy dishes including plant-based cuisine are offered in this and other dining venues around the ship.

On our first evening aboard, we dined at Compass Rose. We started off by ordering a tasty appetizer of “Maine Lobster” with pickled watermelon, citrus, gin and sweet Chioggia Beet.

For our entree, we chose the “Miso Black Garlic Chilean Sea Bass,” with sansho pepper, butternut squash, and XO sauce. A table mate ordered the “Wagyu – X Beef Tenderloin” with Bordelaise sauce, heirloom carrots and chanterelles (see photo above).

As for dessert, that was “Journey in Chocolate,” a Callebaut chocolate mousse, Macalian cremeux and cherry griottines. FYI, this dish was an egg-shaped dessert in honor of the ship’s bejeweled Faberge egg mentioned earlier.

3. Pacific Rim and its Cherry Blossom Tree 

We sauntered over to Pacific Rim, a specialty Pan-Asian restaurant, for our second night’s dining. It’s located on Deck 4.

While a humongous dragon statue greets guests outside this eatery on sister Seven Seas Splendor, in contrast, Seven Seas Grandeur has something quite different. A lovely, large “cherry blossom tree” art piece is comprised of pink blossoms of glass. We had to lightly touch these to assure ourselves that this tree wasn’t real. 

Specialty dining at Pacific Rim is complimentary. Inside the restaurant, guests will find a superb menu of Asian specialties. We ordered “Crispy Soft Shell Crab Tempura” with kizami wasabi mayo, and the “Tom Kha Gai,” a Thai chicken coconut soup with lemongrass truffle, porcini mushrooms, and foie gras. Both were very tasty.

Pan-Asian Delights

We like our Asian food spicy, and for our entree, we chose the “Thai Red Chicken Curry.” It was concocted with coconut, eggplant, straw mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, lime leaves and Thai Basel. We asked for it to be spiced eight out of 10, as we like our “heat” in Asian food. But guests can order it however they like.

Arriving at our table, it was spiced to perfection. In addition, the chicken pieces in this dish were tender and juicy.

One side dish we ordered was the “Regent Fried Rice” with aromatic duck, vegetables, eggs and superior soy. We’d describe it as an above-average-in-flavor fried rice dish. Everyone “wolfed” it down” quickly. Also tasty was another side order, “Stir-Fried Asian Greens.”

What else might you order if you dine here? Other popular entree options include the “Miso Black Cod” with hoba leaf, pickled daikon, and spicy den miso and the “Canadian Lobster Tempura” with orange soy, ponzu sauce and spicy mayo. Of course, you’ll also find the popular “Pad Thai.”

4. Seven Seas Grandeur: Sumptuous Suites

Whether travelers stay in a 307-square-foot, entry-level suite or the most magnificent, 4,443-square-foot Regent Suite, they’ll find comfort, style and plenty of luxury amenities. Also, all 15 accommodation categories offer guests a furnished private balcony.

This week we’re staying in Suite #861, a 332-square-foot Concierge Suite, a Category E accommodation. It offers an 83-square-foot private balcony, nicely furnished with two ample chairs with cushions and a small table.

Entering this suite, guests will find a spacious sitting room, which is separated by a pull-curtain from the bedroom. In the photo below, you can see the calming color palette. Atop the table is a white orchid plant and a bottle of welcome Champagne.

Suite Slumber Bed

We slept well on Regent Seven Seas’ luxurious queen-size Suite Slumber bed. It was graced with four robust, large pillows. We asked the suite steward for a smaller pillow too, and the request was fulfilled with a smile.

Suite #861 also has a marble-and-stone-detailed bathroom, plus a walk-in closet with personal safe. Nice suite touches include a self-serve illy coffeemaker with pods, a water bottle refilled daily by the suite attendants, two aluminum personal water bottles for guest use on the ship and ashore, and a bowl of fresh fruit.

This suite also has a large, wall-mounted HDTV, which nicely pivots to face the bed if the guest so desires. Cold drinks are found in the mini-fridge, and an ice bucket is refilled as needed by the suite attendants.

Most appreciated? We love the significant amount of storage space in this suite. We had tons of drawers in two areas, plus additional drawers and hanging space within the walk-in closet.

5. Specialty Venues: Prime 7 and Chartreuse

Pavlus’ Steudle dined at Prime 7, the ship’s steakhouse, and enjoyed both the cuisine and service. But she also liked the concept of having a small bar with stools and a comfortable seating area “just inside” the restaurant’s entrance. That’s before one enters the dining area tself.

So, guests don’t have to find a lounge for pre-dinner cocktails elsewhere. If you have a 7 p.m. dinner, you can arrive at 6:30 p.m. for cocktails (see above for the photo of the entrance seating area, and below for the bar).

Similarly there’s the same concept at the lovely, elegant Chartreuse too. Guests can come to this bar a little before their dining reservation to enjoy a cocktail at the bar or sit on limited seating.

Inside the restaurant, you’ll find an elegant, intimate dining area with sea views. We loved Chartreuse’s charger plates (see photo below) — extremely elegant.

Seven Seas Grandeur: Parting Thoughts

We’ve been aboard Seven Seas Grandeur for just two nights and have attended many travel industry business meetings/events. So, we simply haven’t seen or experienced all the public spaces on this new ship as yet.

Pavlus’ Steudle liked The Library as a cozy, intimate spot for nestling down with a good book. While we haven’t been there, we navigated up to the pool (shown above) for a few minutes earlier today to take a quick look. 

So, we hope you’ve enjoyed this short firsthand preview look. To learn more about the ship’s itineraries, accommodations, and all the Regent Seven Seas Cruises sailing options, use the contact information below. Soon, you too can be heading out on a “ship of dreams.”

Important Notes from Pavlus Travel