With pomp and plenty of elegant adjectives, the 750-passenger luxury cruise ship, Seven Seas Explorer, officially joined the Regent fleet this week in an impressive and regal naming ceremony in posh Monaco. The ship’s maiden voyage is July 20 from Monte Carlo.
No one could have asked for a better evening to focus on a stunning new ship.
Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco attended, and the Princess, who is godmother of the ship, cut a red velvet ribbon that sent a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne smashing against the ship’s hull. Monaco’s orchestra played. The famed opera singer Andrea Bocelli sang for about 40 minutes during the kind of performance that would have been a costly ticket, had tickets been available, which they were not. The invitation-only crowd numbered about 700.
The naming affair was held dockside in as formal a setting as a marina would allow. The backdrop of famous Monte Carlo certainly helped. The cruise crowd and invited guests were decked out in black tie and ball gowns.
All of which seemed fitting for the Explorer, which is billed by Regent as the most luxurious cruise ship in the world, and it may be.
