Last Updated on October 5, 2025
By combining a “Spotlight on Cuisine” theme with a fascinating itinerary from Amsterdam to Scotland and northern France, we enjoyed two of the attributes that make a Regent ultra-luxury cruise so satisfying.
Our ship was Regent’s newest, the 746-passenger Seven Seas Grandeur. After an easy boarding and a champagne welcome, we, like many guests, headed for the buffet restaurant on deck 11. Along the way, we admired the ship’s stunning public spaces, which includes 300,000 pounds of polished marble, 503 chandeliers, and a $6 million art collection. The latter includes three Picassos and a unique Fabergé egg.
A Surprisingly Elegant Cruise Buffet Restaurant
We found Le Veranda, the buffet restaurant, surprisingly elegant and not your ordinary cruise ship buffet setting. Every table features a white linen tablecloth, accompanied by high-end German-made Schonwald dinnerware and quality Sambonet silver plate flatware. And the food is certainly not ordinary, with choices of several hot dishes. They included a prime rib carving station, as well as freshly steamed vegetables and imaginative desserts. Guests are also offered a choice of complimentary wine, beer, or cocktails, as well as tasty non-alcoholic versions.
After lunch, we unpack, review the safety video, and admire our spacious 331-square-foot balcony suite. It features a king-size bed with luxurious, high-thread-count sheets, ideal lighting and power outlets, with plenty of storage space and a walk-in closet. The bathroom features both a tub and a separate shower, along with double sinks and ample space for all our toiletries. We’d rate it as the best cruise ship bathroom we’ve ever seen.
Dining In Compass Rose
Our first meal on the Regent Seven Seas Grandeur, the buffet, showcased the high level of service provided by some of the 548 well-trained staff members and the ship’s attention to detail.
We’re even more astonished, however, as we head for dinner in Compass Rose, the main dining room. With a simulated cascading waterfall at the entrance, the large, imaginative room resembles an enchanted forest. Its trees form a canopy with dazzling jewels on their trunks. It’s spectacular during the day, but we’re in awe as night approaches and the sides of the room turn into an optical illusion of infinity.
Compass Rose’s extensive menu is the most complete we’ve ever seen on a cruise ship. In addition to a wide choice of daily specials on the menu’s right side, its left has an “Always Available” list of more than a dozen favorites. It ranges from Black Angus Filet Mignon to whole Dover Sole, with many sauces and a variety of side dishes. While one guest tells us he orders Lobster Tail every evening for dinner, we find the Rossini-style tenderloin with seared foie gras the best piece of beef we’ve ever enjoyed on a cruise.
A Knowledgeable Instructor
To our disappointment, the well-promoted guest celebrity chef, Christopher Gross, a James Beard Award winner, does not appear until near the end of the cruise. It does, however, give us a chance to sample Regent Seven Seas Grandeur’s three specialty restaurants.
But first, we pass the ship’s extensive library and head to Deck 11 and its bright and well-equipped Culinary Arts Kitchen. There, we meet its cheerful and knowledgeable Chief Instructor, Chef John Stephano of Philadelphia. His extra-cost classes ($US89) for 18 students are held each day, twice on sea days.
“Because most of our guests are well travelled and sophisticated,” Chef Stephano tells us, “my classes try to teach something new – a deep dive into the area, into the region.” He also wants guests to understand the history of a cuisine. “If we can impart the richness and culture of the past, then guests have a better understanding of how the food affects their palate. Most people consume food. We want guests to taste it.”
Stephano had planned to take guests on a shopping and cooking expedition in Invergordon, Scotland, but the trip was cancelled when it was discovered that the preferred butcher shop was closed on Sundays.
Our Cruise Objective: Taste
Taste is our objective over the next few days as we try the three complimentary specialty restaurants aboard the Regent Seven Seas Grandeur.
Appropriately, the entrance to the Deck 5 Pacific Rim Asian restaurant has a full-size bronze Bonsai cherry tree with pink petals of Murano glass. There, we enjoy several imaginative items from an extensive menu, including Peking duck & watermelon salad, Canadian lobster tempura, pork and shrimp dim sum, and flavorful miso black cod. Our optional chopsticks are put to good use.
The other two specialty restaurants are close to each other on Deck 10. Typical of a good steakhouse, Prime 7 offers large portions of high-quality beef, pork, lamb, and veal in addition to surf & turf or a whole lobster. The restaurant Chartreuse evokes memories of a fine Parisian restaurant with appetizers of steak tartare and caviar, and terrine de foie gras au sauternes topped with three rings. Chef Gross later tells us this is his favorite dish on the cruise. Entrée choices include fillet of halibut and seared Barbary duck breast. The complimentary wine is mainly from France.
Cruise Destination Dishes
We arrange a tour of the sparkling, stainless-steel galley and meet Senior Executive Chef Dino Schwager. He tells us that “Destination Dishes” in Compass Rose are an essential part of this Spotlight cruise and try to reflect the region. Fish and Chips and Irish Stew are typical on separate evenings, but if the ship can get fresh fish, he prefers it over a frozen product. That explains how Mahi Mahi, picked up fresh en route, ended up on the menu as a “Destination Dish.”
On the second-to-last day of the cruise, the guest chef, Christopher Gross, owner/chef at Christopher’s in Phoenix, finally gets a chance to shine. On stage with overhead TV cameras focusing on the food, he carefully prepares a complex Parnassienne au Chocolate. A chocolate mousse tower, covered in a dark chocolate lattice, it becomes a popular dessert feature at Compass Rose in the evening. Chef Gross is entertaining and very skilled, but we, like many guests, were hoping he’d have even more culinary techniques and advice to share. On the other hand, he told us he wished the ship had kept him busier.
Grandeur’s Constellation Theatre
The cooking presentation is in the 750-seat Constellation Theatre, the main showplace on the Regent Seven Seas Grandeur. Taking up decks 4 and 5 at the front of the ship, the comfortable theatre also features lectures and other presentations during the day and entertainment each evening.
We’re very impressed by the seven-piece band that accompanies most acts. The main performances feature eight dancers and four singers, with complex shows presented on three separate nights.
We found the dancers to be great, while the singers were less so, although one solo act stood out. Nik Page, a veteran of London’s West End, has a range of four octaves and receives standing ovations for his energetic versions of hit songs from Les Misérables and Phantom of the Opera.
We’re sad whenever a cruise of this quality comes to an end. However, with the marvelous cuisine on Seven Seas Grandeur and the well-organized tours to Scottish castles, battlefields, archaeological sites, and distilleries, we gained a deeper understanding of the history and culture of this unique and rich area of our planet.
Our one regret? The chefs chose not to feature a Scottish culinary tradition we were keen to try – Haggis.
Leave a Reply