On April 1, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises' (RSSC) newest ship, Seven Seas
Voyager, made its debut after being christened on March 31. I sailed on the
new ship earlier in March on a five-night shakedown cruise in the western
Mediterranean. As the term shakedown implies, not everything was fully
operational, but all indications were that this ship will provide an
outstanding luxury cruise experience.
Seven Seas Voyager is approximately 46,000 tons and carries 700 guests,
giving it one of the industry's highest "space ratios," or amount of space
per passenger. This spaciousness is felt in all public areas, especially the
restaurants, showrooms/lounges and pool areas. Voyager is RSSC's second ship
with an all-suite/all-balcony design (Mariner is the other). These are the
only two ships in the cruise industry with this configuration.
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There are 12 categories of suites comprising essentially seven different
types. Five of the categories and about two-thirds of all the staterooms
are
Deluxe Suites; they're 356 sq. ft. (the inside space is 306 sq. ft.; the
balcony is 50). From there, accommodations go up in size to the Master
Suite, with 1,403 sq. ft. (1,216 inside and 187 outside). The Deluxe Suites
are about 18 percent bigger than those on Seven Seas Mariner; but
configurations have been changed.
All suites feature individual temperature control, European king-size beds
(which can be configured to twins), spacious walk-in closets, ample drawer
space, marble appointed bathrooms with tubs and separate showers (very
nice),
cotton bathrobes, hair dryers, color TV, refrigerators, easy-to-operate
personal safe, telephone with voice mail and other luxury appointments.
Toiletries are very nice and befitting the quality of the product. Butler
service is offered for guests in Penthouse Suites B and above.
Highlights
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The ship's inside public spaces, mostly located on decks four and five, have
a one-corridor design that will make for excellent traffic flow even when
the
ship is full. The Constellation Theater is very comfortable, with sofa and
individual chair seating. There are a couple of multi-purpose lounges with
live music before and after dinner (as well as a very nice observation
lounge
forward on Deck 11). The spa area is efficient but Spartan in d‚cor and
limited in size. The pool area on Deck 11 is well laid out and should
provide
ample space when the ship is in warm areas. On my cruise, it was a bit
chilly to indulge.
Dining
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There are four restaurants on Seven Seas Voyager. Compass Rose on Deck 4 is
the main restaurant; La Veranda, a daytime restaurant on Deck 11 for
breakfast and lunch buffets becomes a Mediterranean Bistro in the evening.
Both have completely open seating. Dinners here are excellent with lots of
choices. In Compass Rose, service is traditional. In La Verandah, all but
the main courses are served buffet style, but in a white tablecloth
atmosphere with elegant lighting, it really works very well.
In Latitudes and Signatures, the other two dinner restaurants, reservations
are required, and you should make them early in the cruise, as the rooms are
quite popular. Latitudes features different menus each night; with cuisine
that highlights different regions of the U.S. At Signatures, the famous
French Cordon Bleu School of cooking is featured; there is a wider range of
options, and it was an utterly fabulous dinner. The highlight had to be the
Tarte Tiede au Chocolat et aux Framboises. (In English, it's chocolate tart
with raspberries; either way, it was exceptional.) Wines are complimentary
with dinner and the selection is excellent. There is a very nice wine list,
but the basic wines are good enough that you might not need to indulge
further.
Entertainment
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RSSC has acknowledged that production shows have not been one of its
strengths. The company has set out to correct that with the productions
shows debuting on Voyager. There were two during this sailing (featuring
four primary singers plus a production cast of six). One was a
Broadway-style revue entitled "Lullaby of Broadway." It contained highlights
of shows from the 50s through today, with lots of numbers and costume
changes. But for me the real highlight was the very innovative (at least on
board a cruise ship) show entitled "On a Classical Note." As the title
suggests, the content, not very traditional, featured opera, classical music
and light opera. Here the four lead singers really had an opportunity to
show off their vocal talents, including a set where they staged three
different Gilbert and Sullivan operettas at once. Kudos to RSSC for taking
the risk that the audience will appreciate this decidedly upscale approach
to
entertainment (the third show will be a rock 'n roll revue).
Value
Luxury cruises are not going to be inexpensive. However, I don't think
there's ever been a better time to take a luxury cruise. Prices have
probably never been lower, as all cruise operators are facing crunches and
doing what they can to entice travelers to book. And RSSC has a great
all-inclusive program on Voyager that makes value and luxury work together.
Here's what's included with the cruise fare: all gratuities; complimentary
wine with dinner; all soft drinks, mineral waters, juices and hot beverages;
and initial in-suite bar set-up of premium liquor.
Itineraries
Seven Seas Voyager will spend the spring in the Mediterranean, the summer in
the Baltic. She'll be in the Med again in the fall before heading to the
U.S. for the winter (Caribbean, Panama Canal and then Mexico at the end of
the year). All of this of course is subject to change based on what happens
in the coming weeks and months.
Seven Seas Voyager is going to provide her guests a wonderful luxury cruise
experience with spacious comfortable surroundings in a variety of great
destinations.
