On Monday we were onboard the most luxurious cruise ship in the world (Regent’s Seven Seas Explorer).

After checking out of our hotel we went to the cruise terminal of Bilbao’s seaport, in Getxo, where the ship (which set sail for the first time in July 2016), with a crew of 542 and 750 passengers, was docked.

Jacques gave us a nice tour, and some very interesting trivia, so I had to find out more, and I did my research:

  • The cost of a single guest’s dining set ($1,500), which includes exclusively designed Versace dinnerware
  • The ship has 473 handmade chandeliers
  • The ship’s art collection is composed of 2500 artworks, including pieces by Chagall and Picasso
  • With 4262 square metres of marble, it could cover the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza five times over
  • All the staterooms have balconies, which are the biggest of any cruise ship, plus marble bathroom with double sinks, a bath and large shower
  • Of the 15 categories of all-balcony suites, 9 include butler service
  • Guests in the Regent, Master and Grand suites have exclusive access to a private dining room that’s hidden between the restaurants Prime 7 and Chartreuse
  • There’s a special self-service caviar station
  • At the entrance of the Asian-themed Pacific Rim restaurant there’s a bronze Tibetan prayer wheel - the single most expensive piece of art on the ship, so heavy the deck had to be reinforced with extra steel
  • It’s the first RSSC ship to offer Gourmet Explorer Tours, led by the ship’s Culinary Arts Kitchen chefs and combine visits to markets or local producers with lunch at Michelin-starred restaurants
  • The Culinary Arts Kitchen offers hands-on classes with a Chef
  • The two-bedroom, three-bathroom Regent Suite features two Picasso lithographs, a $250,000 Steinway piano, a $US150,000 bed ($US90,000 of that is the Savoir mattress), and a master bathroom bigger than some suites. Guests have a private car with a driver in every port and airfares are included in the fare.

Sumptuous, luxurious and opulent, indeed.