Seven Seas Grandeur reveals first Fabergé egg at sea

Regent Seven Seas Cruises hosted a gala celebration in Miami, Florida on 10 December 2023, to welcome its newest ship Seven Seas Grandeur 

As part of the celebrations, Regent unveiled Journey in Jewels, the first Fabergé egg to permanently reside at sea. The pièce de résistance of a 1,600-piece art collection, the custom-designed masterpiece will now be on display in Seven Seas Grandeur’s atrium.

“Seven Seas Grandeur is the most anticipated new luxury ship to set sail this year, an achievement made possible through the combined craftmanship and exquisite eye for design excellence by Studio DADO and Fincantieri, who together with our team at Regent, have delivered a truly remarkable work of art,” said Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings president and chief executive Harry Sommer.

“Each feature of this ship is more jaw-dropping than the last, from the world-class collection of art and tantalising epicurean experiences, to the lavishly designed suites, restaurants, bars and lounges. Seven Seas Grandeur sets a new standard for service and comfort in the travel industry, and we are delighted to present this incredible new ship to discerning travellers as they explore the world with Regent.”

Designed by the award-winning Studio DADO, there are reimagined designs for signature restaurants such as Compass Rose, Chartreuse and Prime 7 among the dining choices. Seven Seas Grandeur features 15 accommodation categories including the palatial, US$11,000-a-night Regent Suite, Distinctive Suites and Spacious Suites.

During the ceremony, guests were treated to a reveal of the exclusive objet d’art known as the Fabergé x Regent Journey in Jewels Egg Objet, which is the first Fabergé egg to permanently reside at sea. 

Crafted in England from 18k white gold, the outer shell of the egg has been enamelled in an ombre of blues, representative of the colours of the sea. This shell consists of seven intricate blades, a number carefully chosen to celebrate the seven seas that Regent’s ships traverse. Just like a wave, each blade breaks into a sea foam of pearls and white diamonds at the tips in a truly extraordinary aesthetic feat.

The egg sits upon a plinth adorned with emeralds, tsavorites, blue sapphires and white diamonds, set in Fabergé’s Emotion style, with colourful gems specially chosen to evoke the colours of the ocean. This gem-set plinth is anchored to a stand which reflects layers of waves accented with pearls and diamonds at the edges; more geometric and symmetrical in a nod to the helm of Seven Seas Grandeur.

By rotating the pearl helm anti-clockwise, the seven blades delicately open in unison, to reveal a surprise hidden within – another hand painted egg, which is cradled by a wave and delicately rotates, revealing the changing gradient of colours of the sunrises and sunsets at sea, and seasonal elements you can witness aboard Seven Seas Grandeur. This egg has also been decorated with gemstones, including a diamond-set frost pattern which wraps around the egg surprise, inspired by the Fabergé Winter Egg of 1913. Hand-carved mother-of-pearl clouds, alongside white opals set in 18k yellow gold, are also featured – the warmth of the yellow gold evokes the sunshine, and the opals represent the rainbows which emerge through the clash of weather.

In two firsts, Fabergé has applied the complex technique of ombre lacquering to Journey in Jewels and has developed a bespoke mechanism which powers the rotation of the egg surprise. 

MHA Symposium at Sea Starts from New Norwegian Viva

The Marine Hotel Association’s (MHA) 2023 Symposium at Sea has kicked off from the just-christened Norwegian Viva, which sailed from Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pearl of Miami terminal on Saturday, Dec. 2 on a four-day Bahamas cruise.

Sailing from PortMiami’s Terminal B, MHA members were quick to move from curb to ship, with a priority access security line and dedicated check in area. The four-day cruise features one day at sea and port calls in Nassau and Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island, Great Stirrup Cay.

The 3,215-guest ship will serve as the host of the MHA’s event, which features sessions with cruise line decision-makers in the hotel operations, food and beverage and supply chain arena from a variety of big-ship, luxury, expedition and niche lines, plus vessel management companies.

In addition to the panel sessions, the ship is offering MHA members a look behind-the-scenes at the operation for over 3,000 guests and 1,000 crew members.

MHA attendees can also look forward to a full schedule of speed networking with cruise lines in attendance, with key personnel on hand from all four major cruise corporations: Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and MSC.

There are more companies too, including but not limited to adventure brands such as Lindblad Expeditions and vessel management company Anglo-Eastern Leisure Management, which is overseeing multiple vessels in the polar market.

Having entered service this summer after delivery from Fincantieri, the Viva is a sister to the Norwegian Prima. Four more similar but upsized Prima ships are set to follow, with the Norwegian Aqua poised to start service in 2025.

Sailing from Miami, the Viva will reposition in December to San Juan, where she will sail week-long Eastern Caribbean itineraries through March. An April trans-Atlantic crossing positions the ship in the Mediterranean for summer 2024.

New Mein Schiff Relax Launched at Fincantieri

The launch of Mein Schiff Relax, the first of two InTUItion class new concept cruise ships that are dual-fuel powered (LNG and MGO) that Fincantieri is building for TUI Cruises, a joint venture between TUI AG and Royal Caribbean Cruises, took place at the Monfalcone shipyard.

The godmother of the ship was Elena Sperti, an employee of the shipyard.

At 160,000 tons the ship is a new prototype for the TUI fleet developed by Fincantieri and due to enter service in early 2025.

The vessels will be future-proof thanks to their ability to also burn low-emission fuels such as bio- or e-LNG: an important step towards climate-neutral cruising.