Regent Seven Seas Splendor: the luxury ship that has it all

Polished wood, marble, elegant deck spaces, a raft of speciality restaurants that are included in the price – Seven Seas Splendor has supreme class without unseemly fuss. Nick Dalton sails from Southampton as her inaugural season gets underway.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises is known for all-inclusive joys on ships that have a discreet charm. Its newest vessel, Seven Seas Splendor is no different.

Carrying 750 guests in unhurried style there is nothing to think about other than enjoying yourself.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Once you’re onboard pretty much everything is included with only extras such as spa treatments, top-of-the-range wines and that occasional craving for caviar coming at a cost. 

That means all drinks and exceptional food, as well as things that generally push up the cost of a trip considerably, are part of the deal. Even shore excursions (as many as you want) and Wi-Fi. 

The design is a reassuring mix of traditional and modern, whether the gorgeous black and white photos of a bygone Europe that adorn corridor walls or the contemporary chandeliers, the rattan sun-loungers or dramatic theatre with illuminated Doric columns.

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What is there to do onboard?

Plenty – and definitely not the dodgems and glass-floored walkways of some cruise ships. 

This ship has the serenity of a classy hotel where on the uncrowded deck you can laze on a huge, circular bed before moving to the pool or the pair of sizeable, shaded hot tubs.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

What’s unusual these days is that spa entry is free – that means a gorgeous pine-panelled seaview sauna, steam room, cold room (with warmed seats) and open-air infinity pool seemingly tumbling over the rear of the ship. 

There’s a list of treatments as long as your outstretched arm – a 50-minute Deep Tissue Muscle Massage is $179 (about £130) although, while tips for the cruise as a whole are included in the price, 18% is added here, taking the price above £150.

Upstairs a huge glass-walled gym filled with sleek, black equipment extends the width of the ship, and there are regular fitness classes. 

On deck there’s a paddle-tennis court, golf net, 18-hole putting green, even croquet. For quieter times inside there’s a well-stocked library and card room.

The Culinary Arts Kitchen is impressive and no ordinary place for a whole programme of cookery lessons – but they do cost $89 (around £65). With an ocean view backdrop there are 18 cooking stations set in a whirl of stainless steel, curving around the teaching counter.

Engaging executive chef Kathryn Kelly showed us the trick to making really good scones and taught us a simple dinner party delicacy of salmon rillette. And even though creating a Pimm’s cocktail might have seemed overly simplistic it was a refreshing accompaniment to our creations.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

What are the staterooms like?

Well, there’s the biggest room afloat, the Regent Suite, at 4,443 square feet (412sqm) including its balcony. It curls around the front on the ship’s high point, deck 14, a panorama beating that of those steering the vessel four floors below. 

The swish living space (yes, that is a Picasso) is bigger than many homes, and then you find the two bedrooms, three walk-in closets and balcony hot tub.

But the real eye-opener is the private spa with sauna and steam room – vital as the suite comes with unlimited in-suite spa treatments.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

The built-in space-age coffee machine deserves a mention – select from a touch screen and your espresso squirts from a tap. And the £200,000 Swedish Hästens Vividus bed, reputedly the best thing you’ll ever sleep on. It all comes at a cost: £30,019 as against an entry-level £6,809 for one eight-night European cruise but you also get a private car and driver in every port.

If you can’t stretch to the higher price tag worry not, because everyone gets a suite and balcony. Even the entry-level Veranda Suite has a queen-sized bed and a separate area with sofa just inside the sliding glass doors to the outside seating.

In between are many choices (and all have free valet laundry service). My Penthouse Suite, relaxed in cream and blue, featured a living area from corridor to balcony with drinks bar, fridge and Illy pod coffeemaker.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

The wall housing the sizable TV was book-ended by sliding doors into the bedroom with another TV on the other side, facing the king-sized bed. Two sets of sliding ceiling-high glass doors opened out to the balcony that comfortably fitted a table, two rattan chairs and two sun loungers. A walk-in rain shower had side jets, I had two sets of smellies – (L’Occitane and Guerlain) while the walk-in closet outsized some French ski apartments I’ve seen.

Everyone gets their (free) mini-bar refreshed daily. I asked for a brandy and expected a miniature, so the litre of Rémy that arrived was certainly a surprise. Pre-dinner canapes were a daily treat too.

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What’s the nightlife like?

Engaging, fun, yet never over the top. The Splendor Lounge features a singer and pianist with lively reworkings of everything from the Everly Brothers to pop hits while the Meridian lounge has a band with more covers. The Observation Lounge is a place for a quieter drink, to the sounds of pop and rock hits from a solo pianist.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

The two-deck Constellation Theatre features pop/rock confections such as Diamond Run (‘a heart-pounding spy thriller with a soundtrack of Rhianna, Michael Bublé and more’) and Crossroads (a showdown between rock and country), neither letting the story interfere with the singing and dancing.

What’s to eat?

Pretty much whatever and whenever. Closest to a main dining room is Compass Rose, white-walled and grand, much smaller than a typical cruise offering. However, the menu is much bigger featuring an array of favourites (steaks, salmon, etc) in a fashion-your-own-meal way alongside daily chef’s creations, and Versace crockery. 

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Then it’s speciality time: Sette Mari is upmarket Italian (pasta as a middle course), Chartreuse with its black and white Parisian styling offers French haute cuisine, Pacific Rim tours Asia with the likes of Korean barbecue and tempura while Prime 7 is steakhouse supreme. No messing around here – I had the 18oz porterhouse (to have gone for the 32oz would have seemed greedy). Alternatives include whole grilled lobster, with surf and turf to pacify the indecisive. And there’s another Picasso on the wall here.

La Veranda, with outside seating at the ship’s rear, offers the full breakfast experience and a staff-served lunch ‘buffet’.

My casual lunch favourite, however, was the al fresco Pool Grill, serving fresh oysters, shrimp brochettes, burgers and pizza. 

Posh coffees, often a cruise add-on, are free in Coffee Connection.

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What’s the best bit?

The fact that everything’s there, a feeling of unobtrusive luxury without the worry that the bill is ticking up. Lazing on deck is a pleasure and there’s always a choice of places to go and eat – some are always open for breakfast and lunch while others rotate.

The rooms are some of the nicest on the ocean, while the included excursions mean you can happily explore each day. And the ship’s modest size means it can get into small, interesting harbours – on our brief sailing we docked in Falmouth, Cornwall, amid the yachts and next to the National Maritime Museum.

Who is Seven Seas Splendor for? 

It’s really for adults who enjoy the good life. This is a ship for those who have cruised before and want a step up in style – and a discovery for those who haven’t. 

How to book

Seven Seas Splendor spends a winter sailing from Miami (flights are included) with a return to Southampton in spring 2022.