New Regent Seven Seas Cruise Ship Puts Focus on Food

(2:25 p.m. EDT) -- Food will get the star treatment on Regent's new Seven Seas Splendor when it launches next February.

The luxury cruise ship will offer cooking classes in a dedicated teaching kitchen, serve dishes crafted from locally acquired ingredients and offer food-focused shore excursions, Regent Seven Seas Cruises announced today.

"Seven Seas Splendor will enhance and perfect new dishes, restaurant designs, culinary arts classes and Gourmet Explorer Tours," said Jason Montague, president and chief executive officer of Regent Seven Seas Cruises in a statement.

The 750-passenger vessel will include seven different dining venues, including Compass Rose, the main sit-down restaurant, which the line describes as an elegant dining area with chandeliers and Versace dinnerware. Its global-influenced dishes will range from chateaubriand to Malaysian-style braised beef short rib.

Other dining options, carried over from sister ship Seven Seas Explorer, include the Pan-Asian Pacific Rim (with a large art installation of a dragon), modern French Chartreuse and Prime 7 steakhouse. La Veranda, which is a casual buffet by day and Italian specialty restaurant at night, will feature new over-water alcove seating with ocean views and a Destination Corner serving the local dishes of the cruise destination. The Coffee Connection also gets an expansion and an alfresco seating area on Splendor.

The ship's Culinary Arts Kitchen will include 18 cook stations and offer nearly two dozen new classes teaching professional techniques and recipes by master chef instructors.

The food focus continues on shore with new excursions added to the line's roster of Gourmet Explorer Tours. They'll offer a chance to visit local markets, taste wines at estates and eat meals prepared by locally renowned chefs.

The ship, which will feature the largest suite on any luxury cruise ship, debuts in February 2020. In its inaugural year, it will offer a transatlantic cruise between New York and Barcelona; tours of the Greek and British Isles; and trips around the Italian boot and the Iberian peninsula. One itinerary includes a stop in Cannes for the Film Festival and another will be in Monte Carlo for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises' fares cover flights, standard shore excursions, alcoholic beverages, gratuities and unlimited Wi-Fi, among other inclusions; passengers have the option to pay up for premium tours.