City & Shore Magazine |

A postcard from ‘Grandeur,’ Regent Seven Seas’ newest cruise ship

Why we wish you were here

Because Grandeur’s about as close as you’re going to feel you’ve boarded a private yacht on a commercial cruise ship.

Not that boarding here is particularly stressful, but there are chilled flutes of Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top Brut waiting at the end of the gangway from everything you left behind at PortMiami. There’s another bottle of Monopole in an ice bucket in your suite, too, in the unlikely event you feel any stress getting there.

The 332-square-foot Concierge Suite feels spacious, with a walk-in closet and good separation between the cabin door and the living areas. A valet brings the luggage and sets it on a welcome blanket across the king-sized bed. The 83-square-foot balcony is bigger than some cabins – possibly homes –  I’ve personally occupied, and comes with a pair of 8.5 x 21 Pentax Papillo II binoculars, because you’re going to see some things from up here.

There’s a shower and tub in the marbled bathroom. Lavender bubble bath and jasmine shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and body milk, all by L’Occitane. There’s a phone in there, too, in case you think of anything you may require from the steward. (He was out in the hall memorizing guest names the last time I saw him. He remembered mine. Even pronounced it correctly). Details you’d expect on a private yacht.

Everywhere throughout this 14-deck, 735-foot ship, there are such small, elegant touches that say big things. The tables spread with white linens in the stylish Compass Rose dining room on Deck 4 are set with Rosenthal Versace china designed exclusively for Regent Seven Seas Cruises. The cozy loungers and Jacuzzis off the Serene Spa & Wellness Center on Deck 5 overlook the ship’s wake and, shhhhhh, hardly anyone knows about them.

Then there’s the haute cuisine and the name-dropping Louis VIII, Opus One, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellar labels around the ship. And the feeling you’ve checked into a boutique hotel at sea. Or a private yacht. One where the Caribbean or the Mediterranean or the Gulf of St. Lawrence comes to you.

 

What they’re drinking

Strawberry Sparkler

Ingredients

5 ozs. High-quality prosecco

¾ oz. Fragoli, a wild strawberry liqueur

1 Tbsp. Fresh strawberries, puréed

Sliced fresh strawberries (for garnish)

Sliced fresh lemon (for garnish)

An homage to Grandeur’s Italian shipyard roots, this simple cocktail is pretty and refreshing. Purée the fresh strawberries, strain the fiber from the liquid; add strawberry liquids and chilled prosecco in a champagne glass. Serve with a slice or two of strawberry and lemon.

Overheard

“Do I want a big pop or small pop? [Crowd, answering, timidly: “uh, small pop?”] Small pop, right! Why do I want a small pop? [Crowd shifts silently, not sure.] Because chefs are cheap! We like to save money. So what we love to do is save as much champagne or prosecco as possible.”

– Culinary Arts Kitchen Cooking Class Chef John Stephano, showing his 18 students how to open a bottle of bubbly without losing a drop.

What’s cooking

There are four specialty restaurants aboard Grandeur, and one cooking class that can teach you how to make your own memorable meal.

“What do you never want to do on vacation?” Chef John Stephano teases the 18 guests before his hour-long Culinary Arts Cooking Class. “The last thing you ever want to do is the dishes. Anybody who really struggles in their culinary skills today we’ll be sending down to the galleys to help us out.”

Nervous laughs around the cooking stations in the Culinary Arts Kitchen on Deck 11.

“No, not at all!” he says, laughing, before showing his class how to make Pasta al Limone and classic French crêpes with allspice berry ice cream.

Stephano comes from a big Irish-Italian family in Philadelphia, where there was always something cooking on the stove, he says. Since no open-flame gas burners are allowed on the ship, he’s had to adapt some of his grandmother’s recipes to the induction cooktops each member of his class gets to work with.

“You can’t use regular pots and pans on these stoves – they have to be magnetic,’’ he says. “I always hear from someone who likes cooking with induction so much here they want to get it at home, then find out they have to change all of their cooking utensils.”

For the pasta dish, students learn what mise en place means (literally, everything in place), whether to add the oil to the water or the pan, how to use a zester for the lemon, whether to rip or cut the basil and how to serve pasta (in a warm bowl warmed with the pasta water.) After about 20 minutes of the chef’s steady guidance, everyone’s pasta al limone looks ready for the cover of a food magazine.

“Who wants a picture with their pasta!?” Everyone does.

The crêpe instruction follows, including a two-handed, chef-secret dump and roll maneuver to get the batter to spread evenly on the pan.

“I want you to ease in, like you’re driving a race car,’’ he says, demonstrating. “No flipping crêpes here – try that at home if you like.”

Twenty minutes later, the crêpes also all look magazine-cover ready. (It may help that Strawberry Sparkler cocktails were served before class began).

“Nice job,’’ Stephano says, reviewing mine.

“Thanks, chef!” I say, not exactly ready to join the cast of The Bear but ridiculously impressed with myself.

Don’t miss, part I

Impossible to miss, really, because Grandeur’s Fabergé egg is among the first things you see (after the welcome champagne) when you board on Deck 5. Sarah Fabergé, great-grand daughter of Peter Fabergé, was aboard for the christening of the ship and unveiling of the 180 mm, diamond, pearl and emerald egg last December in Miami. If you must ask, “I can’t disclose the value – other than it was created especially for Regent,’’ a spokesperson says. “I will say it’s in the multi millions.” And worth even more to lend the impression you’ve stepped onto someone’s private yacht. Someone with deep pockets – and considerable taste in art.

Don’t miss part II

While some cruise lines are downsizing – even replacing ship libraries with crêpe stations (ca alors!) – Grandeur’s library is lovingly, borderline reverently, tended. If libraries are making a last stand, this one’s an oceangoing Alamo – with eclectic out-of-nowhere titles ranging from “L’Âpre et splendide Espagne” by Camille Mauclair to “The Bazaars of Istanbul” by Isabel Bocking. Biography, history, fiction, large print, nautical transport, practical advice, reference, science & natural history, sports & leisure, travel & travel writing, visual arts and children’s books – all within easy-to-grab and sprawl on a nearby comfy couch or chair.

Could miss

Not that there’s anything wrong with the live shows in the two-level Constellation Theater, featuring a demographically hep mix of hits from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s performed by an earnest troupe of singers and dancers. They’re fine after-dinner diversions. But “Key Largo” is playing on a loop on the big-screen TV in the cabin. And if you haven’t seen it, it’s one of Bogie and Bacall’s best. Just saying.

IF YOU GO

Regent Seven Seas Grandeur

Accommodating 744 guests, with 372 suites and 532 crew. Four specialty restaurants, including Compass Rose; Pacific Rim, an Asian-Fusion restaurant; Chartreuse, a French restaurant; Prime 7, a steakhouse. Casual eateries include Sette Mari, at the back of La Veranda dining area on Deck 11, which does breakfast and lunch in the morning/afternoon and Italian food at night; pool-grille cafe/buffet and Coffee Connection. Fitness center and spa with a sauna. Jogging track, putting green, bocce court, pickleball court. Boutique, casino, business center, among other amenities. The Grandeur is sailing the Mediterranean now through August. It returns to PortMiami (from New  York) on Nov. 7, where it will resume various itineraries through March 2025 before returning to Europe.

Information, RSSC.com, 844-873-2381.