Inside an $11,000-Per-Night Cruise Ship Suite
Photo: PETE BARRETT
In 2023, 31.5 million vacationers boarded massive cruise ships teeming with all-you-can-drink piña coladas (if you got the beverage package) and all-you-can-eat shrimp cocktails. The industry is growing steadily, with the Cruise Lines International Association predicting that 35.7 million passengers will board a cruise ship in 2024, and Forbes reporting that the industry brought in $13.6 billion in revenue last year.
If you’ve been on a cruise, you know that cruise culture very much exists. By word of mouth and online (such as in Facebook groups where travelers mix and mingle with the people who will be aboard their next jaunt), cruisers love to compare notes on different ships and share tips and tricks for life aboard. Many of these revolve around saving space in small cabins—the most widely discussed being the over-the-door shoe rack hack.
To a non-cruiser, the idea that you need space-saving hacks to travel comfortably at sea could be off-putting, but not all cruise lines and cabins are created equal. Aboard ships from Regent, Oceania, and other high-end lines, the focus is less on waterslides and roller coasters (yes, three Carnival ships feature one on board) and more on comfort. On the newest ship from Regent Seven Seas, the Grandeur, which embarked upon its maiden voyage in late 2023, even the most basic suite features a private balcony, queen-size bed, and sitting area, but for passengers with even deeper pockets looking for the utmost luxury, behold the Regent Suite.
Located on the top deck away from all other berths, the 4,443 square foot suite holds two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, and opens out onto a 1,227 square-foot veranda with a private hot tub. Designed by Miami-based Studio DADO, the suite is swathed in so much Italian marble—nine types in the primary bathroom alone—that one wonders how the ship stays afloat. (Don’t worry, trust modern engineering! The vessel was built in Italy by Fincantieri.)
Along with Regent art director Sarah Hall Smith, Studio DADO aimed to “create a suite that really puts art at the forefront,” said founding partner Yohandel Ruiz while speaking to a group of journalists aboard in December. “It is like a suite for an art connoisseur somewhere in New York or London.” The drawing hanging on the living room wall—Les Ménines et la Vie by Pablo Picasso—helps achieve this, as do other contemporary pieces by artists like Ricardo Mazal, Leigh Wells, Jane Puylagarde, Bastian Woud, and more.
“Every piece in that suite, from the lighting to the shower experience to the dining experience, everything was elevated to an art form,” said Ruiz. This is especially true of the bed in the main bedroom: In between its four posters lies a Hästens Vividus mattress, which is handmade using horsehair and retails for $315,990. (Drake sleeps on a similar model.)
Of all the accoutrements, however, the best part of staying in an elite suite such as this just might be the perks, which include free air fair, a pre-cruise hotel package, in-suite spa services, and private elevator access to a hidden 12-person dining room located inside Prime 7, the onboard steakhouse (where you’ll find three more Picassos). Guests shelling out for this suite will have little use for hacks.
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
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