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Regent’s Aston Martin partnership will ‘showcase luxury cruising to the world’

Regent Seven Seas Aston Martin

Travel agents will benefit from increased awareness of luxury holidays at sea thanks to Regent Seven Seas’ partnership with Aston Martin, according to the cruise operator

The ultra-luxury cruise line recently unveiled its first specially themed Formula 1 Spotlight Voyage cruise in 2025 on Seven Seas Splendor to mark its sponsorship of the Aramco Aston Martin team.

Travel agents will be offered F1 incentives to promote Regent, following two partners in the line’s Facebook group who won a VIP pit lane experience at the upcoming British Grand Prix, the line’s richest ever giveaway for agents.

Speaking to Cruise Trade News at the legendary British car maker’s Silverstone Formula 1 HQ, Regent managing director international, Caroline Smith, said the tie-up will broaden cruising’s appeal to an affluent market.

“Regent is passionate about delivering unrivalled experiences. We are all about ultra-personalised service and we have seen that today with the precision engineering at Aston Martin.

“At Regent we believe in the power of partnerships and we are thrilled with this partnership with Aston Martin. The Spotlight Voyage we have announced today offers something a bit more exciting for our guests and trade partners.”

Partnership to appeal to younger travel audience

The Spotlight sailing will see former driver Pedro de la Rosa join Splendour in his hometown of Barcelona. On board he will host talk about his time as an F1 driver while representatives from Aston Martin will hold workshops on innovation and design.

The ship will have a replica F1 car onboard as well as a simulator and themed shore excursions and pre- and post-cruise adds-ons in Barcelona, Monaco, Bologna and Budapest will offer an immersive F1 experience.

We are showcasing ultra-luxury cruising to a new global audience on a massive scale and this will benefit cruise across the industry

Smith said: “The real benefit of this partnership with Aston Martin is we are building awareness with new audiences for the long-term future of the Regent brand, filling up that marketing funnel.

“There are so many benefits from brand association; we saw that with the Faberge association and Seven Seas Grandeur.

“This Aston Martin partnership will appeal to a slightly younger audience, probably new to cruise, that enjoys the finer things in life. And it will raise awareness of an ultra-luxury holiday which they may not otherwise have considered.

“They will discover there is a cruise holiday for them and it will help to overcome some of the misconceptions. We are showcasing ultra-luxury cruising to a new global audience on a massive scale and this will benefit cruise across the industry.”

“This is a real attention grabber”

Regent believes the Aston Martin partnership will have particular appeal for British customers due to the legendary car brands association with the country and to the 007 James Bond movie franchise.

Smith said Regent is looking to capitalise on strong growth in cruise, with trade body CLIA saying the sector has grown 17.5 per cent between 2019 and 2023, as well as growing resilience in the luxury holiday market.

Luxury cruising is in increased demand, people are travelling longer and travelling for special occasions. There’s definitely a desire and strong demand for luxury travel at the moment

“This is a real attention grabber,” Smith added. “The relationship with Aston Martin is really important. We have to have the right fit and shared goals and we’ve had that from day one with the Aston Martin team.

“That’s why we have come up with this amazing product. They have really delivered on that. Luxury cruising is in increased demand, people are travelling longer and travelling for special occasions. There’s definitely a desire and strong demand for luxury travel at the moment.”

Regent recently put its 140-day 2027 world cruise on Seven Seas Splendor on sale and the ship’s top suite was in high demand, selling for £1.3 million to two passengers from Europe.

The operator urged travel agents to join its travel trade Facebook group to be eligible for future F1 incentives and said despite tight availability it will be looking to organise fam trips for agent partners.

A round UK cruise by Regent Seven Seas Splendor this summer will be used as an opportunity to get agents onboard in ports including Southampton, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Belfast and Holyhead.

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