By Austin Gambino, Marketing Assistant, The Cruise Web, Inc.

When I was confirmed for the 2-Day Pre-Inaugural cruise onboard the Norwegian Breakaway, I knew that one of the nights (or at least part of the night) would be spent at the Teppanyaki Japanese Steakhouse, which is featured on a number of Norwegian Cruise Line’s ships.

If you are unfamiliar with the ‘Teppanyaki’ style of Japanese cuisine, let me verse you in some brief detail. The experience features an iron griddle, or plate, which is used to cook food directly in front of guests, and then serve immediately following the demonstration. The style is meant to be interactive, fun and exciting for guests, as chefs will slice, dice, juggle and create fun shapes on the griddle as well. [Read more →]

By The Cruise Web, Inc.

Holland America introduced a new vegetarian and vegan-friendly menu of 22-dishes including appetizers, salads, entrées and soups this month. The cruise line will also offer 30 new vegetarian options on their traditional menu. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Crystal Cruises.

Crystal Cruises has now officially begun its transition to including adult beverages into the price of its cruises. The effort launched on the Crystal Symphony’s Miami to Lisbon Trans-Atlantic cruise that embarked March 19. Crystal’s Serenity will follow suit with her spring Trans-Atlantic sailing on May 8.

This means that guests can now enjoy a generous and impressive selection of complimentary fine wines and premium spirits throughout the ship, as well as open bar service in all lounges, and pre-paid gratuities for all housekeeping, butler, bar and dining staff. The complimentary drinks on board now include Grey Goose Vodka, Hennessy Cognac and Jacquart Brut Mosaique Champagne among many more.

Dinner restaurants offer recommended pairings nightly, and sommeliers certified by the Court of Master Sommeliers remain on hand to assist with wine selections. There is no corkage fee on board if one wishes to enjoy wine purchased ashore. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Seabourn.

As the sun set over the waterfront of this Spanish Mediterranean city, Seabourn introduced the new 450-guest Seabourn Quest to the world on June 20th during a glittering naming ceremony presided over by Blythe Danner. The award-winning actress served as godmother to the new luxury vessel, Seabourn’s third new ship and the sixth to join its fleet, completing a three-year expansion for the line. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Holland America Line.

This summer, tantalizing new dishes from Holland America Line’s esteemed Culinary Council will begin to be featured on the main dining room menu of the line’s 15 ships. The six Culinary Council chefs are each providing recipes for signature dishes and desserts that showcase their expertise and specialties.

Culinary Council members include Council Chairman and Holland America Line Master Chef Rudi Sodamin, along with renowned international chefs Jonnie Boer, David Burke, Marcus Samuelsson, Jacques Torres and Charlie Trotter.

“Our Culinary Council is a ‘dream team’ of chefs from around the world, and the exceptional dishes they have shared are unique expressions of their cultural backgrounds, skills and passion for the culinary arts,” said Richard Meadows, CTC, executive vice president, marketing, sales and guests programs. “We continuously strive to provide our guests with exclusive experiences, and offering them the chance to enjoy the delights of these celebrated chefs during their cruise is an incredible opportunity.” [Read more →]

Courtesy of Silversea Cruises.

Ultra-luxury Silversea Cruises is pleased to announce that four additional voyages this year will feature the exclusive “Relais & Châteaux L’École des Chefs” interactive cooking school.

Rudi Scholdis, Silversea’s director of culinary development, said: “Our L’École des Chefs cooking school is proving extremely popular with guests and we’re pleased to roll it out to more voyages this year.”

The new L’École des Chefs voyages for 2011 are: [Read more →]

Courtesy of Crystal Cruises.

Ever the gourmand cruise line, this fall Crystal Cruises has cooked up more than 30 experiences throughout southern Europe that will give intimate and savory insights into the diversity of the area’s culinary cultures. New and favorite Crystal Adventure highlights include:

Cooking Lessons
Classes, with tasting and occasional market shopping, will cover:

• Spanish tapas (Barcelona)
• Romanian “sarmale cu mamaliguta” (Constanta)
• Cycladic island fare (Megalochori/Santorini)
• Turkish meze (Istanbul)
• Croatian honey-sautéed prawns and feta cheese-stuffed calamari (Cavtat/Dubrovnik)
• French flower-based dishes (Pont-du-Loup/Cannes)
• Aristocratic Italian taught by a Countess in stunning Tiepolo Palace (Venice) [Read more →]

Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises.

The rules say you shouldn’t play with your food. But it’s quite the contrary in “Qsine,” the novel restaurant introduced on Celebrity Cruises’ stylish Celebrity Eclipse last year. The award-winning venue – the first at sea to present its menu and wine list on an iPadTM – has met with such phenomenal response that Celebrity plans to add it to Celebrity Infinity during the ship’s revitalization, designed to complement the already award-winning Millennium Class ships’ style and design with some of the most popular venues on the line’s widely heralded Solstice Class ships. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Silversea Cruises.

Silversea Cruises, known for its exotic worldwide itineraries, luxurious all-suite accommodation, gracious service and sumptuous gourmet cuisine, has taken the wraps off a new collection of 10 Culinary Arts theme cruises to be offered this year — featuring some of the world’s most celebrated chefs and rising stars. [Read more →]

Courtesy of Holland America Line.

Holland America Line is adding another famous partnership to its innovative culinary program as it enters into an exclusive agreement with the illustrious Le Cirque restaurant to offer “An Evening at Le Cirque” in the Pinnacle Grill aboard its fleet of 15 ships.

Holland America Line’s Master Chef Rudi Sodamin is working with Le Cirque’s Executive Chef Craig Hopson to re-create the legendary eatery’s whimsical ambiance and award-winning dining experience on board — from serving the cuisine on fanciful orange Le Cirque china to featuring the restaurant’s famous crème brûlée. [Read more →]