This article is part of Traveller’s Holiday Guide to ocean cruising. See all stories . As we sit down in the restaurant, our waiter asks an unusual question: “Would you prefer a black napkin?” He’s noticed that my partner is wearing a black dress.
Hence his question as to whether we’d prefer a napkin that matches, lest any white lint come off. The ship’s pool deck. We’re OK with white, but his question is indicative of the attention to detail on board Regent Seven Seas Explorer, part of a cruise line that bills its ships as the world’s most luxurious.
After a week on board, it’s hard to argue with the claim. Rather than flying home from Bali on a bogan-filled budget flight, we’re taking an extravagant and leisurely route back to Australia, stopping off at several Indonesian islands on the way. The full-length cruise will travel all the way to Sydney, making multiple stops along Australia’s northeast coast, though we’ll only be going as far as Darwin before flying home to Melbourne.
Seven Seas Explorer is a mid-sized ship, with a maximum capacity of 746 guests. For those guests, there is a whopping 548 crew, ensuring your every whim is catered to and help is never far away. Seven Seas Explorer is a mid-size ship with 548 crew for the 746 passengers.
At the time of its launch in 2015, Regent labelled Seven Seas Explorer as the most luxurious ship ever built. That might conjure images of gauche, over-the-top extravagance but, for the most part, the design.