The Seven Seas Grandeur, A Destination In Itself

My husband and I were thrilled to be on one of the inaugural winter sailings of the Grandeur, Regent Seven Seas’ new cruise ship. With its elegant public spaces, wonderful restaurants and all balcony suites, the luxury ship is a destination in itself.

Today some of the new mega-ships are as big as small cities but the newly built Seven Seas Grandeur, with a capacity of just 746 passengers and a crew of 548, is a much smaller luxury ship. While there are no waterparks, go-karts or rock climbing walls, it does have many of the same amenities of a larger ship but in a much smaller setting. Best of all, there are no crowds or long lines, making it perfect for a relaxing cruise.

Recently, we were able to get reservations on an almost sold out 7 night cruise on the new Grandeur sailing to the Western Caribbean. Included in the fare was a 1 night pre cruise stay at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables With the cruise beginning and ending in Miami, only a three hour drive from our home, we didn’t even have the hassle of flying.

As we stepped aboard the beautiful new ship, we were greeted by a member of the crew with a glass of Champagne. The Seven Seas Grandeur, is a sister ship to Seven Seas Splendor and Seven Seas Explorer, both of which we have previously sailed on. Standing in the atrium, we noticed that while similarly built, the Grandeur is more modern and very impressive with beautiful chandeliers, inlaid marble, designer furnishings and original art work. The centerpiece of the ship’s atrium is an exquisite newly created Fabergé Egg that is enameled in shades of blue and adorned with diamonds, opals, and pearls. This gorgeous work of art will be on permanent display on the Grandeur.

Click on any phot to enlarge and see a slideshow.

The Grandeur has 373 suites and for this cruise we had a 448 sq. ft. Penthouse Suite. We were pleasantly surprised that it was much larger than it appears in photos. Adding to its size, there was a nice 194 sq. ft balcony with 2 loungers and a dining table and 2 chairs.

At the front of the living area there is a small dining table, a well stocked bar, mini fridge and coffeemaker . To the rear there is a nice sitting area with a sofa, chair, coffee table and large TV entertainment wall with sliding doors that separates the living room and bedroom.

The bedroom has a king bed with a night stand on one side and a make-up area with a chair on the other and a large TV.

The marble bathroom has a double vanity, walk-in rain shower and toilet. The large walk through closet has lots of hanging space, drawers and cubbies.

An added treat is that a penthouse suite comes with butler service. Vishnu, our butler, greeted us shortly after we arrived on board and explained how everything in the suite worked. He offered to take care of any clothing that needed to be pressed or cleaned and to make addition dinner reservations for us. Each evening at 5, he delivered canapés before we went off to dinner. Frances, our friendly suite attendant, was also wonderful. She cleaned the suite twice daily and made sure everything was always immaculate. Needless to say, the wonderful staff know how to spoil their guests.

I should call our latest sailing “a cruise to nowhere” as we remained on board at each port of call and just enjoyed the views from the amazing new ship.

Every moment you are on board the Grandeur, the crew has something on offer to keep you entertained. To name a few, there was a wine tasting luncheon, trivia, pickle ball, mini golf, games with passengers against the officers, and I even tried my hand at needlepoint. If you were hungry after lunch, there was a lovely 4 o’clock afternoon tea.

We would start each day at La Veranda. The restaurant serves a very nice breakfast, including Champagne and caviar on Sundays and also a lunch buffet. In the evening it transitions to Sette Mari serving Italian favorites. The restaurant has a large outside dining area to enjoy in nice weather.

The pool deck, one deck above our suite, was the hub of activity during the day. There’s the pool and two whirlpools for relaxing along with soft cushioned loungers both in the sun and the shade.

When you are hungry, there is the open air Pool Grill that has fresh salads, hand made pizzas and grilled to order burgers and hot dogs. Victor, one of the crew members, learned that my husband liked New York hotdogs and I liked extra crispy fries and stopped by each afternoon to see if he could get them for us. In addition, there is an ever changing hot and cold buffet. Some of the best dishes I ate on the ship were specialties from the various chefs’ own countries that were served at the grill’s lunch buffet.

During the day we relaxed by the pool, enjoyed the perfect weather and read books from the ship’s well stocked library.

We started each evening with canapés in our suite, ate dinner at a different restaurant each evening. had after dinner cocktails in one of lounges then attended a nightly musical performance in the theater.

During the cruise we ate at the three specialty restaurants, each with their own special decor. One thing that will certainly catch your eye is the beautiful Versace and Bernardaud dinnerware. We thought the food was delicious in every restaurant and the service was always excellent.

Prime 7 is inspired by classic New York steakhouses.

Pacific Rim, with its bronze and pink glass Bonsai Cherry Tree sculpture, is Asian-fusion.

The Chartreuse, with a design inspired from 1925 Paris and the Art Deco movement is a French Bistro. The Chartreuse has been our particular favorite on all three ships and a table for two by the window is especially romantic.

There is no other word to describe the largest restaurant, Compass Rose, than stunning. At the entrance, there is a large metal and crystal art piece that resembles a waterfall. The main dining room itself has crystal covered white branching pillars that cross the ceiling forming a glowing canopy that makes you feel like you are in an enchanted forest. The restaurant’s menu has daily specials on one side and create your own favorites on the other. When to comes to all the restaurants on board, it is the favorite of many passengers.

The ship has several cocktail lounges with live entertainment throughout the ship. Just beyond Compass Rose, the Grandeur Lounge & Bar is on one side and the casino on the other. The Observation Lounge at the front of the ship with its floor to ceiling wrap around windows is popular at sunset. Our favorite however was the Meridian Lounge. Paul, the bartender and Jorge our waiter made sure we never had to wait for one of their unique specialty cocktails.

Each night, we enjoyed a different high energy musical revue in the Constellation Theater. The large room has cabaret style seating with small tables that are perfect for holding your after dinner cocktail while watching the show. 

After 7 nights at sea, it was time to say “goodbye” to all the wonderful crew that we came to know. Every member of the crew always had a smile and couldn’t do enough for you. The ship was a wonderful destination itself and we didn’t miss going ashore at any of the ports.

The next morning we docked at the Port of Miami and Captain Luciano Montesanto wished everyone safe travels home. Our disembarkation was handled perfectly. We loved the new and pristine Grandeur, it felt serene and sophisticated without any stuffiness.  We had delicious food and service by the entire crew was excellent. Our only problem, which we created ourselves, was that we come home a couple of pounds heavier from all the good food.

****

I hope one day you get to splurge and enjoy the wonderful experience on the Seven Seas Grandeur. Regent will spoil you with their lovely balconied suites, the friendly crew who can’t do enough for you and delicious food served throughout the ship.  We like their all-inclusive fares, which include airfare, airport and ship transfers, shore excursions, open bars and lounges, gratuities, W-Fi, free laundry and more.