Strong demand for 'most luxurious cruise ship ever'

Looks like there's heavy demand for what's being billed as the 'most luxurious cruise ship ever."

Luxury line Regent Seven Seas on Monday reported both single-day and first week record bookings for its new flagship, the 750-passenger Seven Seas Explorer. Scheduled to debut in July 2016, the vessel went on sale exclusively to members of Regent's loyalty program on Jan. 19, and reservations made that day surpassed the line's previous single-day revenue record by nearly three times.

The line says the maiden voyage of ship already is nearly sold out.

"We are thrilled by the overwhelmingly positive response," Regent president and COO Jason Montague says in a statement accompanying the announcement. "Demand for the inaugural season is extremely strong."

As previously announced, the 56,000-ton Explorer will have the highest ratio of space to passengers in the history of cruising and feature some of the most opulent suites at sea. At $450 million, it'll be the most expensive luxury ship ever.

The Explorer will be Regent's first new ship since the debut of the line's 700-passenger Seven Seas Voyager and Seven Seas Mariner more than a decade ago. Like those vessels, the Explorer will be an all-suite ship. Only a handful of luxury lines, including Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and Silversea Cruises, offer all-suite ships.

Reservations for the Explorer's maiden voyage and inaugural season will be exclusively available to members of Regent's Seven Seas Society through Feb. 4 before going on sale to the general public.

For a sneak peek at Regent's plans for the vessel, click through the carousel at the top of this story.

By Gene Sloan, USA Today

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