Cruise Holidays Irish Cruise Blog

Celebrity Cruises Secures Rights To Air Eagerly Anticipated Olympic Games Onboard, ‘LIVE’ From London 2012

   
It’s estimated that more than one-billion people will tune in for this year’s Olympic Games in the host city of London, and Celebrity Cruises has arranged the rare opportunity for guests sailing on its modern luxury fleet to be among them.

From the eagerly anticipated Opening Ceremony July 27th to the celebratory Closing Ceremony August 12th, Celebrity will broadcast ‘live’ via satellite the swimming, diving, gymnastics, rowing, cycling, athletics, and basketball events, in addition to airing daily compilations of highlights from all 26 sports featured in the Games of the XXX Olympiad. On Celebrity ships sailing in North America, the events initially airing live also will be re-broadcast during more convenient times of day forguests to enjoy.

Whether sailing on Celebrity Constellation in Scandinavia and Russia; in Iceland and the Fjords on Celebrity Eclipse; in the Eastern Mediterranean on Celebrity Equinox; in the Adriaticon Celebrity Silhouette; in the Mediterranean from Venice on Celebrity Solstice; in Bermuda on Celebrity Summit; or in Alaska on Celebrity Millennium, Celebrity Infinity and Celebrity Century, Celebrity’s guests can stay on top of the Games while vacationing.
       
Celebrity’s guests will be able to view the Olympic Games within the comfort of their stylish staterooms and suites, or in several hip bars and lounges on every Celebrity ship (with the exceptionof Celebrity Xpedition, which sails year-round in the Galapagos Islands). The specific locations and event times will be listed within each Celebrity ship’s daily newsletter.

 

 

Celebrity Cruise introduces supreme luxury suites

Celebrity Cruise Line's new suites are the largest ever created by the cruise holiday company - but are they about to set a new standard for luxury on board accommodation?

Set to feature on the new 3,052-passenger liner the Celebrity Reflection, the deluxe suites will be offered as part of Celebrity Cruise Line's elite Solstice Class Line – reserved for the most affluent of travellers.

Each suite is spread across a 1,636-square-foot of space and has been created as part of a $3.7 billion expansion of the Celebrity Cruise Line services that began in 2008, with the promise that a new ship would be launched every year.

They could be just the tickets to set the company apart from its competitors for pure luxury too with each one equating to more than half the size of the entire top deck of each liner.

Aside from the usual luxury features, the bathroom of the suite has to be seen to be believed with a view of the ocean that promises a better vantage point than even the one afforded to the captain himself.

These new suites signal a contrast to the cruise industry's previous focus on low cost deals, and could signal the start of further luxury offerings for cruise holiday enthusiasts.

What do you make of this giant suite?

Celebrity Cruises Embraces Healthy Eating

Celebrity Cruises has launched a new series of interactive activities themed around healthy eating choices, in collaboration with Rodale Inc. -"the world's leading authority on health and wellness"

The line says the new activities will draw on Rodale's expertise in health and wellness; the first of these activities are themed around Rodale's New York Times best-selling "Eat This, Not That!" series.

Celebrity's version of "Eat This, Not That!" is an interactive trivia game that challenges guests' knowledge of healthy eating and promotes ways to make smart, healthy choices when dining out.

"Cook This, Not That!" is a cooking demonstration that highlights ways to get the most flavor and nutrition for fewer calories when cooking at home.

"Drink This, Not That!" is a mixology demonstration that presents tips for serving up tasty, libations while avoiding unnecessary calories.

Celebrity and Prevention Magazine, one of Rodale's longest-running publications, are in the midst of developing additional wellness-focused activities, including enrichment talks led by a host of health and wellness experts from the title.

"Our guests have told us how fulfilling our wellness activities are, particularly in a world where schedules are hectic and vacation time is so precious," said Dominique Bonavita, Director, Product Development. "The collaboration with Rodale is a new evolution of programming that enriches our guests' lives long after their cruise, and we couldn't be more excited about all that we're offering and all that is yet to come."

David Marchi, Senior Vice President of Rodale Integrated Marketing, commented, "Partnering with Celebrity Cruises is a smart and entertaining way to extend Rodale's health and wellness mission-- now guests can enjoy our passion for wellness while relaxing and enjoying the best Celebrity Cruises has to offer."

New Celebrity European Food & Wines Cruises

Celebrity Cruises have just announced that they'll be operating a series of scrumptious food and wine-themed sailings from Southampton next year.

From September 7 to November 18, 2012, Celebrity Constellation will present an entirely new "Immersive Europe Wine Cruises" from Southampton.

Designed to offer guests rich experiences in the classic wine countries of France, Spain and Portugal, the new itineraries feature overnight stays in Le Havre (for Paris/Normandy) and Le Verdon (for Bordeaux), France, as well as Bilbao, Spain, allowing passengers ample time to sip Champagne in the "City of Light," taste robust Bordeaux in the land that bears its name, and relish fine Rioja wines.

Guests also will have the opportunity to enjoy tours and tastings at some of the region's most renowned wineries, grape harvesting experiences, and gain in-person insight into how Port wine is blended and aged in Porto, Portugal.

Celebrity's onboard experience will reflect the flair and flavour of the region, too, with activities developed in partnership with local wineries, including Rioja tastings, Champagne brunches, Bordeaux samplings featuring up to five wines from well-known Chateaus, Port and food pairing dinners and more, including special events in the ship's Cellar Masters bar, complete with its "Enomatic" by-the-glass wine serving system. A seasonal wine package featuring special selections from the region also will be added to Celebrity's already popular package offerings.

"This new series of modern luxury holidays represents a perfect blend of Celebrity's innovation and expertise in food and wine with the regions of Europe that have long been recognized for both," said Celebrity's President & CEO Dan Hanrahan.

"It's a truly one-of-a-kind vacation. No other cruise line offers such an enormous breadth and depth of experiences in this highly-rated region during harvest season, and no other line can deliver it like Celebrity can, with our exceptional wine programme, expertly trained sommeliers, Cellar Masters wine bars, and up to 500 selections of wine on every ship."

Celebrity Cruises to attract kids with Nerdel!

Celebrity Cruises is attempting to attract more families to its cruise holidays with the introduction of a new puppet show for children’s entertainment.

Nerdel is set to feature on Celebrity Cruises from October 15th, offering kids the chance to enjoy puppet shows and puppet making workshops.

The interactive programme has been created to get across a message about the importance of healthy eating to kids.

As Celebrity Cruises senior vice president of hotel operations Lisa Lutoff-Perlo explains, "Nerdel has been designed to instil wellness-focused values in children"

"We offer our adult guests a number of ways to include wellness in their vacation experience, and now we are looking to do the same for our younger guests," she said.

"Children will learn more about the importance of nutritional choice alongside physical fitness with classes including a healthy pizza-making session."

The World of Nerdel was created by a team of doctors, nutritionists and entertainers keen to provide parents with more value in onboard childrens entertainment.

Nerdel will make his Celebrity Cruise debut next Saturday performing for children aged three to eight.

Host a 'Celebrity' dinner party!

Are you looking for inspiration for your next dinner party? Then look no further, Celebrity Cruises have just launched a new book to inspire you.

Inside you'll find an abundance of recipes, beautiful photography and lots of insider tips for entertaining and hosting your own "Celebrity style" dinner party.

 

It's been put together by master chef Jacques Van Staden and features more than 250 recipes created by Van Staden and his team.

Tips and anecdotes from Celebrity’s culinary staff and profiles of vintners and other Celebrity dining partners are included.

Among the recipes are Murano’s ‘Wild Forest Mushroom Cappuccino,’ ‘Chocolate Tombstone’ from Qsine and ‘Lump Crab Martini’ from Blu.

Celebrity Silhouette Invites Guests to unwind in "The Alcoves"

 

Celebrity Cruise holiday guests can now rent a private cabana by the day, or even for the full voyage, on the luxurious Celebrity Silhouette cruise ship.

"The Alcoves" consist of eight chic, cabana-style settings comfortably accommodating two to four guests each. Within them, guests can enjoy stunning views of the lawn and sea; ambient mood lighting for cozy, romantic evenings; complimentary amenities including a fresh fruit plate, hand-held fans, chilled towels, four bottles of water, and all-day use of an iPad loaded with a variety of music, movies, games and magazines.

Additionally, fresh, themed picnic baskets with delectable selections from Celebrity's specialty restaurants, as well as a la carte beverages, are available for an additional charge, and just a phone call away, via Celebrity Silhouette's dedicated Alcove Attendant.

Wine and cheese evenings under the stars also can be arranged, along with special spa services, once onboard. Guests enjoying The Alcoves can even stay in touch with family and friends back home, if they choose, as the area is fully WIFI-equipped.

"This is yet another vivid illustration of our commitment to ensuring our guests can spend more time enjoying every moment of their vacation, versus planning what they'd like to do after they're onboard," said Celebrity's Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations Lisa Lutoff-Perlo.

The Alcoves can be booked online for full-day rentals, from 9 am to 9 pm, or even for the entire voyage. Rates are $99 per Alcove per day on days in port, and $149 per day on days at sea.

Adjacent to The Alcoves, guests will find eight inviting hammocks and two whimsical, oversized Adirondack chairs, each offering complimentary, additional opportunities to relax amidst the atmosphere of the lawn and sea.

Celebrity Silhouette enters service July 23, enhancing guests' precious vacation time with a host of industry-first venues and experiences within The Lawn Club. In addition to The Alcoves, those new experiences include the industry's first interactive, outdoor grill, "The Lawn Club Grill," where guests can select and grill their own meats side-by-side with Celebrity's expert chefs, or have them cooked to order; Celebrity's first Art Studio, with engaging courses led by professional artists; "The Porch," a breezy, casual dining spot offering sandwiches, coffees and captivating views of the sea and the lush lawn; and, at the center of the ship, with views of the sweeping, glass-encased Grand Foyer and its signature 'live' tree suspended within a commissioned work of contemporary art, yet another entirely new venue, "The Hideaway," an intimate, quiet space reminiscent of a childhood tree house.

Celebrity Cruises Dinner Packages

Celebrity Cruises has launched a new range of specialty dinner packages.

There are two types of packages available - one for food only and the others with wine.

Here are the options on Celebrity Eclipse to give you an idea.

Individual 3-dinner Package: $89pp. For this you get 1 meal at Tuscan Girlle, 1 meal at Qsine and 1 meal at Murano. This works out to about $30 per dinner. Without the package you’d pay at least $100.

The 5-dinner Package: $129pp For this you get 1 meal at Murano, 2 meals at Tuscan Grille, 2 meals at Qsine. Without the package deal you’d pay $165.

"Wine and Dine Packages": Designed for couples, broken down as follows.

Savor Package: Includes three dining reservations per couple and three bottles of wine.

The Gourmand Package: Includes five dining reservations per couple and three bottles of wine.

The Bacchus Package: offers five dining reservations per couple and five bottles of wine.

The couple’s wine-and-dine packages give you the best savings...
On Eclipse, 'Savor' is $279 per couple and 'Gourmand' is $349. However, it is 'Bacchus', that provides the biggest savings -- up to 26 percent or $144 per couple, according to Celebrity. The wine list includes more than 20 choices, with selections such as Chateau Grand Bireau's Cabernet Sauvignon, a Freemark Abbey Chardonnay and a Sancerre from Michel Redde. With Bacchus, each bottle of wine costs about $28, when compared to the individual food-only packages. Based on a quick scan of onshore wine prices, Celebrity's per-bottle price is slightly more than retail, although less than average ship pricing.

Celebrity say the new packages are a result of guest feedback...“Our guests tell us that packages offer not only convenience, but also added value,” said Scott Steenrod, Associate Vice President, Food and Beverage Operations. “We realise our guests’ vacation time is precious, and we want nothing more than to make it easy for them to enjoy their vacation. Our specialty dining packages are one more way that we make their planning effortless.”

 

Celebrity Cruises to offer first cruises in Asia

Posted by Susan O’Driscoll

Celebrity Cruises this week announced plans for its first season of voyages in Asia, to take place over the winter of 2012-13.

The 1,950-passenger Celebrity Millennium will sail a series of 14-night voyages between Singapore and Hong Kong that include stops in Bangkok, Thailand; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Halong Bay, Vietnam.

The season also will include two 14-night sailings roundtrip from Singapore with overnight stays in Bali, Indonesia.

In addition to the newly announced all-Asia sailings, Celebrity Millennium will sail two trans-Pacific voyages to and from the region.

The westbound trans-Pacific cruise, scheduled for November 2012, is being timed to coincide with a total solar eclipse that will be viewable from the ship as it sails between Fiji and New Zealand.

In April 2013, the Celebrity Millennium will reposition from Hong Kong to Shanghai on a cruise featuring overnight calls in Hong Kong and Beijing (Tianjin), China. The ship then will continue eastbound across the North Pacific to Alaska with stops in China, Japan, and Russia.

Celebrity also announced its first Asia cruisetours, which combines one of its new Asia cruises with a five-night pre- or post-cruise escorted land tour out of Hong Kong. The cruisetours will feature trips to Xian and Beijing to view the famed Terra Cotta Warriors and the Great Wall of China.

 

Celebrity Infinity features

Posted by Susan O’Driscoll

A new "Qsine" restaurant, whose modern cruise menus and wine lists are presented on iPads, is part of the just-completed rehab of Celebrity's 1950-passenger Infinity. The same restaurant was added to the 2034-passenger Constellation last year.

Additional new Infinity features: aqua-class accommodations in conjunction with spa programs, a Mediterranean-themed "Blu" restaurant, an iLounge and iLearn classes, additional cabins, an ice-topped martini bar, a creperie, new furnishings, new carpeting, flat-screen TV, and an expanded collection of original, contemporary art.

Celebrity is preparing for the rollout of its newest ship, the 2886-passenger Celebrity Silhouette. It takes to the waves in July from Hamburg, Germany, with a series of naming festivities. During the summer it will be based in Rome, conducting 12 and 13-night Holy Land cruises and in autumn it will move to New York.