Six-star luxury cruise ship visits the Port of Tyne

Regent Seven Seas cruise ship Seven Seas Explorer’ is spending Monday visiting the Port of Tyne.

Launched in 2016, the six-star cruise ship is said to be one of the most luxurious ever built, adorned with huge amounts of Italian marble and stone.

Quantities of gold leaf add to the opulence, along with glass chandeliers made from Czech crystal.

The 224 metre-long ship will reside at Northumbrian Quay, in North Shields, the Port of Tyne’s purpose built cruise berth, while its 750 passengers, mainly American, spend the day

exploring the region’s iconic attractions including Alnwick Castle and Durham Cathedral.

The ship boasts facilities that include a jogging track, golf putting greens, shuffleboard deck and a culinary school as well as a collection of high-end shopping boutiques.

The main dining room is lit by a £155,000 chandelier of hand-blown glass, its walls are decked with £6 million in art while the entire front of Deck 14 is taken up by an £8,000-a-night suite

with its own spa, a £200,000 custom Steinway piano, two Picasso lithographs and a bed reputed to have cost £150,000.

The opulent interior continues throughout the ship with a £400,000, three-ton Tibetan-style prayer wheel at the entrance to the Pacific Rim restaurant.

It is so heavy that the deck had to be reinforced with extra steel.

Alasdair Kerr, Port of Tyne's commercial director, port services, said: “The Port of Tyne is set to welcome over 50 cruise calls this year, catering for all sections of the cruise market

which is growing in popularity each year.

“It is great to welcome Regent Seven Seas back with Seven Seas Explorer and fantastic to welcome guests during their time in the North East.”

The ship is visiting the Port of Tyne as part of an 11-night British Isles cruise and will depart the Tyne for Edinburgh at 6pm on Monday.

For anyone who misses the boat this time around, Seven Seas Explorer will be returning to the Port of Tyne for a second visit in September.