Luxury specialist Regent Seven Seas Cruises has just announced that construction has begun on its newest vessel – Seven Seas Explorer.

When you’re the line behind ‘The Most Luxurious Ship Ever Built’ (Regent have trademarked the slogan) you’ve every right to be excited and indeed Regent Seven Seas Cruises were keen to share the news of the first piece of steel being cut for the Seven Seas Explorer. Appropriately, the line popped the cork on a bottle of what many regard to be the world’s finest champagne – Krug Grande Cuvee – to mark the occasion.

Regent Seven Seas Explorer is set to take to the ocean waves in the summer of 2016 and will cater to just 750 guests – making any voyage which takes place on her an exclusive experience. She is set to offer the highest staff-to-guest ratio of any cruise ship as well as the highest space ratio, ensuring guests the ultimate in luxury cruising experiences.

But exactly where, you may ask, will the historic piece of steel be situated on the 54,000 gross-registered tons ship? Well, especially fitting considering the Seven Seas Explorer’s ultra-luxury profile, it will act as the foundations for the ship’s Owner’s Suite, which is set to be as lavish as you would image and more so, featuring among other things stonework décor – surely an industry first?

Of course, the opulence won’t be restricted to this owner’s suite. Regent Seven Seas Explorer will feature a range of elegant designer suites and indeed ‘designer’ is a theme that will extend to the public areas including the line’s signature nine-deck atrium, six gourmet restaurants and two-story Explorer Theatre. Pampering fans will be pleased to know that another of the line’s luxurious hallmarks – the Canyon Ranch SpaClub – will also be a fixture on-board.