DREAMSCAPES TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE is published by Globelite Travel Marketing Inc.
Visit dreamscapesmagazine.com to view this issue of our magazine in its entirety and to link easily to editorials, advertisers, contest information, as well as previous issues
Lisa Turner | 941-400-7419 lisaturner@lmtmedia.com
DS
VOLUME 30 // ISSUE NO. 4
18 SPECIAL FEATURE REPORT
Regent Seven Seas Grandeur: Where art meets ocean. By Jessica Huras
21 GREAT ESCAPES
Where to go set-jetting in 2026. By Karen Burshtein
22 SPECIAL FEATURE REPORT
An out-of-this-world VIP experience in Egypt. By Robin Esrock
24 ECHOES OF ETERNITY
From mosaics to megaliths in Türkiye. By Cynthia David
27 PASSION PURSUITS
How a unique homestay program in Japan breathes new life into aging communities. By Pamela Roth
28 NASSAU & PARADISE ISLAND
Go beyond the beach in Nassau & Paradise Island. By Lisa Kadane
30 FLORIDA
A Gilded Age masterpiece. By DreamScapes Staff
32 PANAMA CITY BEACH
Find your winter white in Panama City Beach. By Susan B. Barnes
34 DAYTONA BEACH
Fun starts in Daytona Beach. By Stephanie Gray
36 VISIT CENTRAL FLORIDA
Come on out to Central Florida.
The weather’s fine. By Susan B. Barnes
TRAVEL SLEUTH
The journal comeback. By Sylvia Dekker
42 A SNOW-LOVER’S SMORGASBORD
A five-day visit reveals that the ThompsonOkanagan is all about defying expectations. By Adam Bisby
46 LOOKING UP IN PRAGUE
Ornate rooftops, stirring murals, iconic libraries and contemporary galleries reveal a city where history and creativity collide. By Laura Byrne Paquet
48 CANVAS BY THE SEA
In Laguna Beach, galleries spill into boardwalks, whale tails breach like brushstrokes, and dinner becomes theatre in this SOCAL artist colony. By Ilona Kauremszky
52 ARIZONA’S CAPITAL OF DESERT DESIGN
Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy is inextricably linked to Scottsdale and its remarkable wealth of Art Deco, mi-mo and organic architecture. By Adam Bisby
54 CANCUN’S COOLEST ECO ESCAPE
At AVA Resort Cancun, green living gets the five-star treatment. By Bruce W. Bishop
57 SPECIAL FEATURE REPORT
Travel smart and stay healthy. Take these steps for a safe holiday. By Mark Stachiew
60 TRAVEL GALLERY
Travel news you can use. By Cynthia David
COVER:
A couple enjoys the winter scenery from the Sun Peaks Grand Spa Pools. PHOTO: Zuzy Rocka/Sun Peaks Resort
WHERE ART MEETS OCEAN
From Picassos at dinner to the first Fabergé egg at sea, Regent Seven Seas redefines what it means to sail in style
BY JESSICA HURAS
FROM THE PIER, SEVEN SEAS GRANDEUR COULD pass for any elegant liner: sleek white hull, broad decks for lounging and long rows of private balconies. But step aboard and the impression shifts.
A Picasso hangs casually above a dining table. A 12metre tapestry spirals through the atrium. A Fabergé egg gleams under soft light. This isn’t a cruise with art for decoration. It’s a gallery at sea.
Art Everywhere You Turn
With space for only 744 guests, Seven Seas Grandeur, the newest vaunted Explorer Class vessel from the often touted “The World’s Most Luxurious Fleet” is far more intimate than your average cruise ship. Miami’s design
firm Studio DADO shaped every corner with light, texture and flow in mind. It’s a luxurious cruise ship designed to feel collected and personal, like a private yacht of someone with very good taste and an enviable art advisor.
At the heart of this luxe vessel is a soaring atrium anchored by Brazilian artist Walter Goldfarb’s Enchanted Tree, a towering tapestry of organic beauty visible from the glass lifts. Branches seem to climb deck by deck. Curved staircases reveal new perspectives as you move through the space. Lounges open to the sea through glass walls, and the restaurants stay deliberately understated so the art does the talking. Each space offers a fresh visual surprise, from a striking sculpture to a perfectly framed ocean view.
Suites start at 28.5 square metres and stretch up to the palatial 472.7-square-metre Regent Suite, complete with a wraparound veranda, glassenclosed parlour, private hot tub and its own in-suite spa with a private sauna and steam room. Even entry-level staterooms have balconies, L’Occitane bath products and a refined look that’s more chic pied-à-terre than hotel room.
The ship’s public space design is deliberate. Find tucked-away reading corners that give way to buzzy bars and performance spaces. Each transition feels architectural, as if you’re exploring a purpose-built cultural space rather than a luxury cruise ship.
Inside the Curated Art Program
Regent Seven Seas spent nearly two years sourcing and commissioning more than 1,600 works, assembling a collection many museums would envy. Art director Sarah Hall Smith sourced pieces from artists worldwide, evolving the curatorial approach she’d shaped for earlier Regent ships.
Anchoring it all is Journey in Jewels, a one-of-akind Fabergé egg created exclusively for Seven Seas Grandeur and the first Fabergé egg ever to live permanently at sea. Its seven sculpted blue blades unfurl like waves, a subtle homage to the ocean below.
Unexpected pieces surface everywhere. You might pause at Joan Miró’s The Bullfighter Move mounted near Eduardo Arranz-Bravo’s Bull in one of its exclusive restaurants. Or perhaps feel Zen-like at Zheng Lu’s reflective Water in Dripping – Waterfall shimmering by the spa. Outside the pan-Asian Pacific Rim, a luminous bronze cherry blossom tree by Savoy Studios signals dinner is as much about art as it is about food.
Nothing here is tucked away in a gallery. Art lives in stairwells, corridors and restaurants, so the entire Seven Seas Grandeur feels like a floating gallery at sea.
A Self-Guided Gallery, Right in Your Pocket
Unlike a static museum, the ship’s collection unfolds interactively. The Regent mobile app turns your phone into a pocket docent. Point it at an art piece and short films explain the artist’s vision and process. Suddenly, that polished steel sculpture by the spa makes sense and the playful lines in a Picasso take on new meaning.
It’s an easy, low-pressure way to engage. You can dip in for a two-minute backstory or let the app lead you on a deeper dive if you’re feeling curious. The app also folds in menus, daily schedules and shore excursions, so art browsing becomes part of a relaxed day rather than a formal tour.
Where the Artwork Shares the Table
Meals come with a side of art. At Prime 7, the ship’s classic steakhouse, an original Picasso hangs among dark wood panelling and leather banquettes—an unexpected backdrop to a dry-aged ribeye.
In Compass Rose, the cruise line’s largest specialty restaurant at sea, thousands of individually placed
DID YOU KNOW?
The Regent Suite’s bed is a custom $200,000 Hästens Vividus, handmade in Sweden by four master craftsmen. It’s filled with horsetail hair, cushioning flax, slow-growing pine, superior wool and long-fibre cotton. And yes, you can actually sleep on this work of art during your cruise.
