Regent Seven Seas Cruises opened the year with a new brand identity, part of a strategy as the company grows with two new ships and a focus on attracting generation X travelers, said Steve Odell, senior vice president and chief sales officer.
Odell called the new ships, coming in 2026 and 2029, part of a multi-billion dollar investment. That includes the return of former Regent CEO Jason Montague as chief luxury officer, overseeing the newbuilds for Regent and sister brand Oceania Cruises.
“The baby boomers are a significant portion of the business but the gen X’ers are coming,” he said. “The new branding has a more modern feel and look, and we spent a lot of time on the value proposition, looking at the positioning of all inclusive.”
Last summer the brand adjusted its pricing model to present two prices to guests: one being the all-inclusive cruise fare, and one including the all-inclusive cruise, plus air.
“We had included business class air in the fares, and if you go back to pre-Covid, it was a logical thing to do and manage. It was stable. Since then, things are more erratic in the air industry and it was becoming more challenging to continue with that pricing strategy,” Odell said.
“The feedback we got from the trade is that it puts us on more level footing with our peer group,” he continued.
Odell said the company’s deployment, which stretches into 2027, is based on enhancing its established and successful program.
“One of the big things is putting our Seven Seas Splendor on a world cruise. That is the first time we are deploying an Explorer-class ship on a world cruise, raising the game. That is one of the newest ships in our fleet and it means we have more high-end inventory to sell.”
In addition, after a trial with a handful of new immersive itineraries, that program grows to 15 cruises in the future, featuring fewer ports but more overnights.
“Instead of a 10-night cruise going to eight ports, it’s a 10-night cruise going to four ports but in each port you may stay a few days,” Odell said. More immersive itineraries are expected in the future.
In addition are more seven-day cruises, which are targeted to first-time Regent clients.
The Regent Seven Seas Prestige will debut into revenue service in late 2025, with cruises expected to be on sale this May.
The ship will be bigger than previous Regent newbuilds, at 850 guests and 77,000 tons, but the space-to-guest ratio will grow exponentially.
“It’s going to be 40 percent larger with only 13 percent more guests,” Odell said. “This is a tenant of our strategy as we have seen there is a demand for more space and that becomes a big item for luxury travelers.”
“We have to feed the top of the funnel with new customers,” Odell continued. “That is the key strategy. We have to make sure we are innovative, including our itineraries, and are constantly innovating We are confident in the growth coming in the market and are able to easily meet that demand.”
Excerpt from the Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine Spring 2025
