Seven Seas Explorer, touted as “the world’s most luxurious cruise ship ever built,” arrived in Fremantle’s inner harbour this morning pretty much as the ship’s bells rang 6 am, bringing an extra touch of opulence and adventure to our port city. Here’s our Shipping & Sailing Correspondent Jean Hudson’s report.
UPDATE AND CORRECTION: Story updated to correct error. Seven Seas Explorer departed Fremantle at 5 pm last evening, Friday. Our error was due to relying on an incorrect advice from City of Fremantle as to her departure day and time.
Welcome to Freo, Seven Seas Explorer!
Operated by Regent Seven Seas Cruises and launched in 2016, the luxury cruise ship has an overall length of 224 metres. So she’s of a certain size!
Seven Seas Explorer’s current voyage is a 61-day, one-way cruise from Auckland to Tokyo. She departed Auckland on 12 January 2026, and has visited New Zealand and Tasmanian ports, Sydney, Melbourne, Kangaroo Island, Portland, Esperance, Albany and Busselton before arriving here on Day 25 of the cruise.
Before she arrived in Freo this morning, the Port was quite empty, both looking back into the inner harbour and out to the North and South Mole, red and green heads, as this gallery of shot shows. A lone seagull kept an eye on proceedings. Then the Seven Seas Explorer appeared. As she crept quietly towards port another bird guided her in. The sun shone beautifully over Fremantle, but only one early riser was to be seen on deck getting an early glimpse of Freo. Probably a designated guests sleep-in morning before a busy day out and about and around Freo.
There are 592 guests on board, and nearly as many crew – 564. Amazing ratio! Nearly 1:1. Of the 592 guests, 5 are disembarking in Freo and 9 are joining the cruise.
Around 400 guests are on pre-booked tours, leaving some 192 folk to explore Freo and discover its historic West End.
Seven Seas Explorer is famous for her exceptionally large suites with private balconies, many featuring walk-in robes, marble bathrooms, and spacious living areas. The Penthouse Suite is one of the most expensive at sea and will set you back about $11,000 per night – well it does have Cashmere blankets and a personal butler. This gallery of pics sourced from the cruise line’s webpage, give you an idea of it all.
The ten-deck ship is renowned for its lavish décor, boasting hundreds of crystal chandeliers, Italian marble, and works of fine art throughout its public spaces and suites. Guests can enjoy a selection of gourmet restaurants, including French cuisine at Chartreuse, Asian fare at Pacific Rim, and classic steakhouse dishes at Prime 7.
The Explorer also features a state-of-the-art spa, infinity pool, culinary classes, and Broadway-style entertainment, ensuring there’s always something to do onboard.
Seven Seas is a great name that makes me think of past explorers and sailors who crossed the world’s oceans. Famous ones include Marco Polo, who journeyed through Asia – as I reported in my article on Korcula, Croatia – the birthplace of Marco Polo; Christopher Columbus, who crossed the Atlantic; Ferdinand Magellan, who first circumnavigated the globe; and Zheng He, a Chinese admiral who commanded expeditions through the Indian Ocean.
Seven Seas has referred to different bodies of water throughout history, depending on the cultural and historical context. You could say that the modern Seven Seas include the Arctic, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian and Southern Oceans.
After two busy days in Fremantle, the ship departs Freo at 5 pm tomorrow for Bali, and then on across more of the Seven Seas to Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Korea, and arriving in Tokyo, on 14 March.
We are also pleased to report the ship is equipped with advanced technology to reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency. We must say she hardly made a murmur as she eased into Port this morning!
I am sure you will recall the fab Annie Lennox singing about the seven seas in her cool 80s hit: ‘Sweet Dreams are made of This.’ Here’s the first verse, it gets a bit dark after that:
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody’s looking for something…
As I say, Seven Seas Explorer departs Saturday evening at 5pm. If you are a cruise enthusiast and dreaming of a future voyage, or just a simple ship spotter – why don’t you head on down to Victoria Quay or the recently reopened South Mole to wave her off!
UPDATE AND CORRECTION: Story updated to correct error. Seven Seas Explorer departed Fremantle at 5 pm last evening, Friday. Our error was due to relying on an incorrect advice from City of Fremantle as to her departure day and time.
As of just before 10.30 am Saturday 7 February, Seven Seas Explorer is off the WA coast approaching Shark Bay on her way to Bali. Here’s her current position courtesy of Marine Traffic ship tracker.
By Jean Hudson @jeansodyssey, photographs by Fremantle Shipping News staff photographer
Jean Hudson is our Shipping and Sailing Correspondent and also a regular feature writer, reviewer and photographer here on the Shipping News. You may also like to follow up her informative Places I Love stories, as well as other feature stories and Freo Today photographs, right here.
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