Sixteen hundred artworks, three Picassos and a Faberge egg
That is what sets this ship apart from her two sisters, and it is not a
marketing line. The Seven Seas Grandeur carries some sixteen hundred works of
art, including three Picasso canvases from the early nineteen-sixties, a
purpose-made Faberge egg, a twelve-metre tapestry in the atrium and a bronze and
glass bonsai cherry tree at the entrance to one of the restaurants. A cruise
ship is not a museum, but this one comes closer than most.
Delivered by Fincantieri at Ancona on 13 November 2023, she is two hundred
and twenty-three metres and fifty-five thousand two hundred and fifty-four gross
tons. Three hundred and seventy-five suites all with balconies, seven hundred
and fifty-four guests, five hundred and forty-two crew, thirteen decks. She is
the third and last hull of her class, after the
Explorer and the
Splendor.
What we cannot establish
As on the other six ships in the fleet, the number of wheelchair-accessible
suites is published nowhere. We ask for it at booking.
What is included, and the misunderstanding about flights
Start with what almost everyone thinks they know. This line built its
reputation on included flights. They are no longer included by
default. Since 1 July 2024 two fare structures exist side by side: the
standard fare covers the cruise only and leaves the guest to arrange flights,
while the higher fare includes round-trip air with a choice of class,
transfers and a chauffeur credit. Check which one is on your booking, because
the gap is considerable from Montreal.
The rest is generous and consistent from one text to another. Shore
excursions are included, with no cap on how many, which is rare. Gratuities are
prepaid. Drinks are included, wines and cocktails among them. Every speciality
restaurant is included, with no cover charge. Wi-Fi is included. So is valet
laundry.
Two qualifications worth knowing. The pre-cruise hotel night exists only from
Concierge suites upward, and the butler only from Penthouse suites upward. They
are not universal inclusions, whatever the brochure sometimes suggests.
Elsewhere in the fleet
The Seven Seas Prestige will be larger
still, but she only enters service in December 2026. The fleet
numbers seven ships with us.
Booking from Quebec
The contract is with Seven Seas Cruises S. de R.L., headquartered in Miami,
and is governed by the general maritime law of the United States. A claim for
personal injury, illness or death goes to the United States District Court for
the Southern District of Florida in Miami, or to a Miami-Dade County court.
Every other claim goes to binding arbitration in that same
county, and the contract imposes a class-action waiver.
The deadlines differ by claim type, and the second one surprises people. Six
months' written notice and one year to sue, for personal injury. But
thirty days' notice after the cruise ends for any other claim,
and six months to act. Damaged luggage, a service not delivered, a cancelled
call: thirty days from disembarkation. Baggage liability is also capped, unless
value is declared and a fee paid.
The carrier reserves the right to cancel the cruise, change its date, its
port of embarkation or its destination, shorten it or substitute the ship, at
any time and without notice. Nothing establishes a Quebec licence for it. Your
protection comes from here: Voyages AquaTerra holds a licence from the Office
de la protection du consommateur, your payments pass through a trust account,
and your departure is covered by the compensation fund for travel agency
customers.
