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Captain Melani
Will Lead Seven Seas SplendorTM When Ship Launches in February 2020
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Regent Seven Seas
Cruises®, the leading
luxury ocean cruise line, announced on International Women’s Day that Captain
Serena Melani will helm the cruise line’s newest ship, Seven Seas SplendorTM, making her the first woman
in cruise industry history to captain a new cruise ship at launch.
Captain
Melani, 45, has progressed quickly in her nearly 30-year career to roles of cruise
ship leadership. She began her nautical career at age 16 as a cadet while
attending school working on cargo ships in her hometown of Livorno, Italy,
along the Tirrenian Sea in the Tuscany region. After graduating from Nautical
College in 1993, she was one of only a few females to hold roles of increasing
responsibilities on oil tankers, cargo and container vessels. Captain Melani
joined Regent in 2010 as a Bridge Officer, then served as Navigation Officer,
Safety Officer and Staff Captain on Seven Seas Voyager. She
became the company’s first female Master Captain in 2016 and has led Seven
Seas Explorer, Seven Seas Mariner and Seven
Seas Navigator during her tenure.
“Captain
Melani has distinguished herself as a trailblazer in the maritime and cruise industries,”
said Jason Montague, president and chief executive officer of Regent Seven Seas
Cruises. “She is an international role model and admired by our guests and
crew. We are proud to appoint Captain Melani as the industry’s first female
captain to deliver a new cruise ship and look forward to her many future
successes leading Seven Seas Splendor in the years ahead.”
“There
is a growing number of very talented female captains emerging in our industry,
and we’re proud to be pioneers for those women who aspire to lead the Bridge,”
Captain Melani said. “Exploring the world and leading ship teams has been a
love of mine and I enjoy sharing this passion with everyone who sails with us.
I’ve always believed in the motto that the cure for everything resides in salt
water -- sweat, tears and the sea.”
Captain
Melani, who lives with her husband on the quaint Croatian island of Korcula
when not sailing the world, will spend much of this year in the Ancona, Italy
shipyard where Seven Seas Splendor is being built, collaborating
with engineers and designers to ensure the ship’s form and function is perfect
from a captain’s perspective. In this capacity she will have an influential
role in the ship that perfects luxury, even before she sets sail.
At
approximately 55,000 gross-registered tons and carrying only 750 guests, Seven
Seas Splendor will boast one of the highest space ratios and
staff-to-guest ratios in the cruise industry. She features the Regent Suite,
which will be the largest suite constructed on a luxury cruise ship with more
than 3,000 square-feet of interior accommodations and a 1,300 square-foot
wraparound veranda, complete with an in-suite spa retreat showcasing a personal
sauna, steam room and treatment area with unlimited spa treatments,
unobstructed 270-degree views over the ship’s bow and a glass-enclosed solarium
sitting area on top of the bridge for a Captain’s view. Regent Suite guests
enjoy a dedicated personal butler to manage all the details of the guests’
experience, a personal car with driver and guide in every port, and the
exquisite comfort of a custom, hand-crafted $200,000 Vividus bed from the
renowned Hästens brand.
The comfort and style found in the Regent Suite sets the tone for all suite
categories on board, where guests will enjoy the most indulging accommodations
and the largest balconies in the cruise industry. The 14 other suite categories
range from 300 square-feet to 2,100 square-feet – all elegant, plush and
stunning. Throughout the ship, abundant crystal chandeliers, vibrant paintings
and sculptures, imported Italian marble and custom-designed, hand-crafted
furnishings will create captivating surroundings for guests.
A
limited number of suites are available for sailings during Seven
Seas Splendor’s inaugural season. To learn more, please visit www.RSSC.com,
call Singapore 800-616-7097 / India 0008-0004-01055 / Hong Kong and Rest of
Asia +852 2165 6020, or contact a professional travel advisor.
ABOUT NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE
As the innovator in global cruise travel, Norwegian Cruise Line has been breaking
the boundaries of traditional cruising for over 52 years.
Most notably, the cruise line revolutionized the industry
by offering guests the freedom and flexibility to design their ideal vacation
on their preferred schedule with no assigned dining and entertainment times and
no formal dress codes. Today, its fleet of 16 contemporary ships sail to nearly
300 of some of the world’s most desirable destinations, including Great Stirrup
Cay, the company’s private island in the Bahamas and its resort destination
Harvest Caye in Belize. Norwegian Cruise
Line not only provides superior guest service from land to sea, but also offers
a wide variety of award-winning entertainment and dining options as well as a
range of accommodations across the fleet, including solo-traveler staterooms,
mini-suites, spa-suites and The Haven by Norwegian®, the
company’s ship-within-a-ship concept. For more information or to book a cruise, please call +852 2165 6000 (English, Cantonese and
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