Seven Seas Explorer was in Sydney last week as she commenced day one of her 54-night Grand Asia Voyage from Sydney to Tokyo. Karryon Luxury stepped aboard for a tour led by Lisa Pile, Vice President Sales and General Manager, Asia Pacific, Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
Following on from trade and partner events in Melbourne which included sessions at the Australian Open, Regent hosted a small group of media and subscribers of its partner The Australian Ballet onboard Seven Seas Explorer during her time in port in Sydney.
Led by Lisa Pile and joined by Scott Graham, Business Development Manager NSW, ACT and WA; and Jodie Hart, PR & Partnerships Manager, Asia Pacific, our group braved an unusually very windy and wet Sydney summer day to step aboard the 373-suite luxury ship.

Gathered in one of the ship’s five bars and lounges, Lisa Pile outlined more details about Regent and where the brand sits under parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, and the plan for the day.
“This particular ship came to us in April 2016. She was a game changer when she arrived in market – no one had ever seen anything like her. It was actually the media who dubbed her ‘the most luxurious cruise ship ever built’ and we jumped on that and we taglined it,” said Pile.


“Her godmother is Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco and this ship was christened in Monte Carlo with Andrea Bocelli singing – it was absolutely remarkable,” said Pile.
Earlier that morning, Lisa Pile had conducted a live cross with Nine’s breakfast TV program, The Today Show.
“We spoke to Karl and Sarah from The Today Show this morning and they wanted to know how many bottles of champagne are drunk. Well, I can tell you now, in a 20-night sailing it’s about 3,000 bottles of champagne and about 1000kg of lobster,” said Pile.


It was a ship tour with pace as we made a beeline to view the suites before Regent’s new guests checked in later in the day.
We viewed the 412 square-metre Regent Suite on deck 14 (the top suite category); the two bedroom, two bathroom Master Suite on deck nine; the 180 square-metre one-bedroom Grand Suite on deck 12; the Penthouse suites on deck 12; and Concierge suites on deck 10.


As well as viewing the suite categories, we toured some of the eight dining venues, the five bars and lounges, two pools, the Serene Spa, and Constellation Theatre – taking in some of the 2,000 pieces of art onboard valued at more than AUD$9 million and including works by Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall.


During a three-course lunch at Chartreuse, Pile explained that Regent is seeing a growing interest and demand for combination cruising including train travel, triple sailings, and a growth in younger travels as the world sees a generational transfer of wealth.


“A lot of our travel advisors are telling us their clients are interested in FOSH: ‘fly out, sail home’ bookings,” said Pile.
Regent is poised for the arrival of its Prestige Class of ships with bookings opening later in 2025. The luxury cruise operator recently unveiled its new brand positioning in December 2024.