Tag Archives: luxury

Seven Seas Grandeur reveals first Fabergé egg at sea

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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. 

Costa Toscana to Host Fashion Show Before Inaugural Cruise

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Sustainable fashion producer Jessica Minh Anh is set to transform the new LNG-powered cruise ship, the Costa Toscana, into a sky-high ocean catwalk on Feb. 28, 2022.

According to a press release, the, J Spring Fashion Show 2022 will be held against the cinematic backdrop of the Italian Riviera to deliver a message of “sustainability and style.” The event will welcome some global media and famous people on board the Costa Toscana, before its inaugural cruise in Portofino, Italy.

Participating brands, which will be unveiled in mid-February 2022, will premiere a combination of haute couture and ready-to-wear collections from five continents. Minh Anh’s previous catwalks included Paul Costelloe, Montblanc, Yumi Katsura, Ziad Nakad, Shiatzy Chen, and Tony Ward.

The red-carpet experience will feature Italian art, architecture, culture, luxury and delicacies alongside the impressive catwalk.

“This particular moment in history provides an opportunity for a sustainable ‘restart’ of our society. The Costa Toscana aligns perfectly with my mission of highlighting sustainability in a visually attractive way. It runs on liquefied natural gas, one of the most advanced technologies to reduce emissions right now. It represents a breakthrough in the travel industry. I am honoured to celebrate the resurgence of business and style on such a unique ship,” Minh Anh said.

According to the press release, J Spring Fashion Show 2022 is Minh Anh’s “comeback catwalk” after the success of “Runway on the Runway” at JFK international airport held before the pandemic. The show will combine three of Minh Anh’s catwalk series, namely Fashion x Sustainability, Catwalk-On-Water, and Sky-High. Previous editions took place atop the Eiffel Tower, London’s Tower Bridge, Grand Canyon Skywalk, Hoover Dam, Gemasolar Power Plant, and cruise ships in Dubai, New York, Sydney, and Hong Kong.

“Jessica Minh Anh is a pioneer in marrying fashion with sustainability, just like Costa Cruises in offering the most advanced sustainable ships”, said Mario Zanetti, president of Costa Cruises. “Costa has been the first in the world to operate LNG-powered ships and focuses on value-driven, sustainable and inclusive tourism. As the travel industry is gradually recovering, it is very exciting for us to welcome Jessica on board, and have her launch such an important message in a creative way on our new flagship, the Costa Toscana. We are also proud that this collaboration will happen in Italy and specifically the Ligurian Riviera!”

A site visit took place last weekend on the Costa Toscana in Civitavecchia, where Minh Anh met with the president of Costa Cruises to discuss the floor plan, schedule, setup and treatments for the media and guests.

The official campaign video captured Minh Anh running atop the sky-high catwalk in a bright pink dress against the backdrop of the ship, deep blue sea and skyline.

MSC Group’s Explora Journeys Launches Online Travel Advisor Center

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Explora Journeys, the new luxury lifestyle cruise brand of the MSC Group, has launched its new online travel advisor centre in order to “further cement its links with the travel advisor community.”

“Our new Travel Advisor Centre is another important step forward in our vision and purpose, based on the extensive research we completed to create an ocean experience like no other,” said the cruise line’s Chief Executive Officer Michael Ungerer. “We have created what I believe is a seamless, best-in-class digital experience for travel advisors to underscore our mantra of just how easy it is to do business with Explora Journeys. Given our belief in this brand to create a new category in luxury, lifestyle travel, we will continue to invest in its expansion to create what we refer to as an `Ocean State of Mind` for all our guests.” 

According to a press release, the Explora Travel Advisor Centre is designed with extensive travel advisor input and includes:

  • Booking Suite – allows advisors to search and book journeys of their clients’ choice, select suites, access fares, generate options and quotations.
  • Knowledge Suite – intuitive access to a variety of chapters to equip travel advisors with the knowledge to tell the Explora Journeys’ story. Additionally, advisors can learn “valuable tips” and generate a “go-to-market action plan” with specific clients identified.
  • Marketing Suite – access to digital and print assets designed exclusively for travel advisors and their clients. Assets include digital banners, brand booklets, image library, brand logos, videos, recommended social media assets, email and print templates.
  • Performance Suite – reporting dashboard where advisors can track all their bookings, commissions paid via the industry’s first rolling commission payment program, meet the Explora Journeys team and contact details.
  • Headlines – news and updates from Explora Journeys including new journeys, travel advisor benefits and, from 2022, information about onboard and destination experiences.

“We are proud to announce this next step in the brand’s journey and this is another example of Explora Journeys putting the travel advisor community first. A year in the making, we are proud to launch our platform and we will continue to engage travel advisors for input as we add valuable resources to make doing business with Explora Journeys joyful,” the Chief Sales Officer for Explora Journeys, Chris Austin, said.

The Travel Advisor Centre follows Explora Journeys’ By Appointment service launched in September that allows travel advisors to set up an appointment with an Explora Journeys Ambassador to discuss and make a booking on one or more of the eight inaugural journeys during Explora I’s first year, including the vessel’s maiden journey in May 2023.