Oceania previews Regatta upgrade

**Ally** · 03-12-2007, 05:27 AM

Oceania Cruises’ Regatta is scheduled to enter drydock in Marseille April 5-16 for a $6m upgrade. The work will include a complete overhaul of the Owner’s and Vista Suites and the Toscana specialty restaurant, plus the addition of new soft goods and carpeting throughout the ship.

The changes will be similar to earlier upgrades completed on Insignia and Nautica. Architects Yran & Storbraaten were involved in the redesigns of the suites and other key areas.

Regatta’s six Owner’s Suites and four Vista Suites will be stripped to the steel and rebuilt, said Oceania’s Robin Lindsay, svp vessel operations. They will gain a new red and gold color scheme, high-end furniture, Bose sound systems, flat-screen televisions and fresh artwork.

The Toscana restaurant will also be refurnished and go from a taupe color scheme to rich Tuscan earth tones. The Grand Bar will be redecorated in bolder colors, and the Polo Grill will add high-backed leather chairs.

Other projects include refurbishing the spa and redesigning the Horizons Bar to open the space and give a more contemporary look. The original padded leather bar itself will get a new look with a back-lit, crushed-glass façade.

Lindsay and other top Oceania executives including chairman and ceo Frank Del Rio and president Bob Binder hosted 300 travel agents, their prospective clients and international media at a ship visit and luncheon today in Miami.