New ship offers luxury suite

January 18, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

NEW YORK

A new luxury cruise ship debuting in 2016 will have one of the largest and most expensive suites ever offered at sea.

Regent Seven Seas will charge $5,000 a night, per person, for a luxury suite the size of a house — with 3,875 square feet of space — onboard its new Regent Seven Seas Explorer ship.

The Regent Suite will include a grand piano, two bedrooms, views from three sides of the ship, and a personal spa retreat with a private sauna, steam room and treatment area.

It’s designed for a minimum of two people, maximum four.

The Explorer is expected to launch in July 2016. The ship will spend its first season in Europe, and the first of its 11 sailings will be from Monte Carlo to Venice.

The ship will carry 750 guests. It’s Regent’s first new ship since 2003, though the cruise line has just completed a $150 million refurbishment of its other three vessels.

Crowded flights

WASHINGTON

Forget about an empty middle seat on your next flight.

The government says the average passenger load on flights by U.S. airlines rose to 83.4 percent in October, up from 83.3 percent the previous two months. The figures are seasonally adjusted.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics said last week that October was the ninth-highest monthly rate, one point below the record set in January and February 2014.

Five of the top 10 all-time months for airliner loads were in 2014.

Passenger volume

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Nashville International Airport had more than 11 million passengers in 2014, a record in the facility’s 77-year history.

The year’s passenger volume marked a nearly 7 percent increase from 2013 for the airport served by 10 carriers.

The airport in 2014 celebrated new nonstop service to the San Francisco area on Southwest Airlines and added service to vacation spots in Jamaica, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Geography quiz

Q. Which city is farther west, Salt Lake City or Yellowknife, Northwest Territories?

A. Yellowknife. The capital of the Northwest Territories sits at about 114 degrees west longitude, while Utah’s capital is at almost 112 degrees.

Combined dispatches