PHOTO: Celebrating the start of construction of a new ship in a shower of confetti are, from left, Michela Cimatoribus, master sommelier from Maison Krug Italy; Gabriele Cocco, senior executive vice president of merchant ships for Fincantieri; Kunal S. Kamlani, president of Regent Seven Seas Cruises; and Raffaele Davassi, senior vice president of the Sestri Ponente Shipyard. (Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas Cruises)

Regent Seven Seas Cruises has officially started construction of its long-awaited fourth ship, the 750-passenger Seven Seas Explorer, which is scheduled for delivery in June 2016.

“It will be the most luxurious ship ever built,” boasted Kunal S. Kamlani, president of Regent Seven Seas.

With the pop of the cork on a magnum of Krug Grande Cuvée champagne, lasers at the Fincantieri shipyard in Genoa, Italy, began cutting the steel for the highly anticipated ship as confetti cascaded down.

The 54,000-ton vessel will increase the line’s capacity by 40 percent. It will be larger than the 700-passenger Seven Seas Voyager and Seven Seas Mariner and the 490-guest Seven Seas Navigator.

Currently, the line’s youngest ship is the Seven Seas Voyager, which was built in 2003.

Kamlani said one of the highlights of the new ship will be an opulent owner’s suite. “This is no ordinary piece of steel,” he said at the ceremony. “This piece of steel will be used as the foundation for an opulent and luxurious owner’s suite that will not only rival but surmount anything like it in the marketplace today.”

Regent Seven Seas said the $450 million Explorer will have just about the highest space ratio at sea. A measurement roughly calculating the amount of space per passenger, the Explorer’s at this time comes out to 72, which could just edge the space ratio of Seabourn’s three Odyssey-class vessels.

Sales for the new ship’s maiden voyage and inaugural season are expected to open in early 2015.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises promotes itself as “the world’s most inclusive luxury cruise line” since fares include round-trip air, wines and spirits, sightseeing excursions in every port, all gratuities, a pre-cruise luxury hotel package and complimentary Wi-Fi for guests staying in concierge and higher suites.

The ship’s accommodations will range from 300 to 1,500 square feet in size. Other features include six open-seating restaurants, a nine-deck atrium, a two-story theater, three boutiques and an expansive Canyon Ranch SpaClub.