The Seven Seas Voyager entered service in 2003 as a close sister to the Seven Seas Mariner. Measuring 41,827 tons and taking up to 708 passengers, she offers all verandas, all suites and a choice of four restaurants. The public rooms are similar in their offerings and vary only slightly in configuration, but the baths are a considerable improvement in size and arrangement. Her most recent drydocking took place at the end of 2006. With a passenger-space ratio of 59, the Seven Seas Voyager qualifies among the most spacious cruise liners afloat. Her officers are European and the crew of 447 is primarily European and Filipino. In the luxury market place, Regent Seven Seas Cruises competes with the smaller ships of Seabourn Cruise Line and Silversea Cruises and the larger pair belonging to Crystal Cruises.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises now trades under Regent Hotels, a more upscale chain than Radisson Hotels, while all three entities are part of the Carlson Companies, a powerful Minneapolis-based hospitality, travel and marketing firm with annual sales (including franchises) of $26 billion. Radisson Seven Seas Cruises was formed by a merger between Diamond Cruise Line's Radisson Diamond and Seven Seas Cruises' Song of Flower. Both ships have now been sold. Regent also markets but does not own the Tahiti-based Paul Gauguin.
On average, 90% of Regent's passengers are English-speaking, and 15% to 20% are part of an incentive group, some representing whole ship charters. On the less frequently offered itineraries, many passengers are repeaters belonging to the Seven Seas Society. During the summer-long series of weekly Baltic cruises, boatloads of newcomers get their introduction to the Regent experience. For services rendered throughout the ship, all gratuities are included in the fares and nothing extra is expected.
Spring and summer cruises include the Mediterranean and the Baltic. Then the ship repositions to New England and Canada before heading south to Florida for the start of the around-the-world cruise. The ship uses the Panama Canal to access the West Coast then crosses the Pacific to New Zealand and Australia. After calls in China, Southeast Asia and India, the Voyager returns via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, completing the annual cycle. For those who do not wish to take organized bus tours, Regent Seven Seas Cruises has added a travel concierge to help passengers make individual shore plans, such as hiring a car and driver for a day. Some passengers join together with friends and exercise this option.
Given the high standard of accommodations, many passengers prefer a quiet cruise experience, often within their own suite or dining at a table for two. Others who seek company will find it at tea time, joining a table at a trivia quiz, showing up at a ping pong tournament, or asking the maitre d'hotel to be seated with other passengers in one of the restaurants. One afternoon tea location, billed as the quiet one, takes place in the Observation Lounge on Deck 11 while the grander tea affair accompanied by a pianist uses the cozy and slightly tiered Horizon Lounge aft on Deck 5. The room extends forward into a gallery lounge with sit-up bar, and dance hosts gather here before dinner to give the ladies a twirl. The handsome bi-level, blue-themed Constellation Theater draws a substantial after-dinner audience to hear vocalists accompanied by the ship's band, a featured pianist or the ship's own variety dance group performing music from Broadway. Local entertainment comes aboard in some ports.
The computer center is understandably very popular as the rates are amongst the lowest on the high seas when passengers purchase bulk time. Briefly, additional amenities are the Carita Spa with a full selection of treatments, beauty salon, gym, a moderate-size casino, Connoisseur Club for cigars and liqueurs, open-shelf library and lots of DVD selections, photography services, and a shopping gallery and boutique. Up on Deck 11, the roomy lido with its swimming pool and pair of hot tubs extends forward from the base of the funnel to the base of the ship's signal mast. One deck above, the mezzanine provides a walking and jogging track, a paddle-tennis court, shuffleboard and golf net.
For a ship of this size, the restaurant dining choices are generous. Compass Rose, an attractive main dining room, takes no reservations as there are places for nearly 600 at tables seating two to eight. Menus and complimentary white and red wines change daily, and the food and service are excellent. La Veranda, high up and aft on Deck 11, is split into two long parallel dining rooms separated by a central gallery with few tables far from a window view. Additional undercover outdoor seating provides high-up views over the wake. Menus at breakfast and dinner supplement the twin buffet stations. In the evening, half of La Veranda becomes a no-reservations Mediterranean bistro in an atmosphere of informality with the dress code always casual. Overall, the food can be a bit uneven, and the antipasto repetitious after a couple of meals. Latitudes, the intimate reservations-only Asian restaurant, provides a most happy occasion, best enjoyed once, as the sampling menu does not change. Signatures, the Cordon Bleu restaurant, with reservations required, provides a more sophisticated atmosphere where informal dress is expected (jacket for men) regardless of what the nightly dress code states. European stewards, some French and Belgian, are well trained to make suggestions and describe the menu preparation.
The 354 suites are all outside with balconies, and they have twin beds that convert to kings. Suites measure from 356 sq ft to 1,430 sq ft including balcony. Six suites are wheelchair-accessible. Master, Seven Seas, Grand, Voyager and Penthouse suites have butler service. All suites have private marble-lined baths with full-size tubs, separate stall showers, walk-in closets, separate (curtained off from bedroom) lounge sitting areas, 110/220-volt outlets, plasma TVs with 13 channels, DVD player, audiovisual cable for personal video cameras, safe, hair dryer and terry robes. The minibar is stocked with a setup of bottled water, beer and soft drinks, plus a choice of two bottles of liquor or four bottles of wine. In-suite dining is available 24 hours a day, and during meal hours, items can be ordered from the Compass Rose restaurant.
For a top-of-the line cruise, the Seven Seas Voyager offer many big-ship amenities while providing all-suite, all-balcony accommodations for every passenger and the choice of four restaurants plus in-suite dining.
