Tours And Travel – Beachchannel.net

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From weekend workshops to full-service culinary academies, men and women are drawn to cooking lessons. Now you can incorporate your love for cooking with your dreams of high seas adventure because more and more cruise ships are offering cooking-related events onboard.

Originally attributed to small cruise ships that needed an incentive to gain bookings, cooking cruises have grown over the years and are now found aboard large vessels. One of the most recent announcements is from Holland America. Working in conjunction with Food & Wine magazine, Holland America’s Culinary Arts Center will offer demonstrations and seminars from world-renowned chefs, wine experts, cookbook authors and more.

A fleet-wide enhancement, the Culinary Arts Center will be retrofit onto all 13 existing ships and will also be incorporated into the upcoming 14th ship due to launch in summer 2008. Each Culinary Arts Center will include theater-style seating, state-of-the-art show kitchen, plasma screens that allow every participant to see, a display counter for easy viewing and space for guests to participate in preparing some of the dishes. Upgrades to all Holland America’s ships will be complete by summer 2006 allowing each ship to include Culinary Arts Center activities during each cruise.
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From a shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, the Crown Princess has been taking shape over the last year. Though you would never know it from seeing construction photos, this massive body of steel beams will soon be sculpted into a luxury vessel boasting a list of firsts including innovative features, fresh amenities and new ports of call that will sail you off into the sunset of your choosing.

Several distinctive differences are noted about Crown Princess. Upon her maiden voyage in June 2006, she will be the first in the Princess Cruise fleet to sail roundtrip Caribbean itineraries from New York (Red Hook, which is located in Brookland). Unique destinations await passengers including the Eastern Caribbean port of Bermuda. Equally fascinating are the added ports of Grand Turk and the Turks and Caicos Islands which have been virtually undiscovered until now.

Along with the Grand Turks port comes 20 new shore excursions. As innovative as the port itself, adventures of all activity levels will be available to passengers from exhilarating Harley rides to relaxing super-sized pools.
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On May 30, 2006, Celebrity Century emerged from a five-week dry dock in which she underwent an aggressive restoration. Sailing since 1995, the goal of the revamp was to bring Century up to date and make her more luxurious than ever. Many favorites that are currently found on newer Celebrity ships were added to Century’s deck plan, and some additional surprises were also incorporated.

New Dining Options

Most notably, a new dining option was added to Century: Murano. Adorned with sparkling chandeliers handcrafted from Murano glass in jewel-toned colors, Murano bears a theme exploration of the New World.

Michel Roux is the culinary mastermind behind Murano and its first-at-sea tableside cooking, carving and flambé. The entire setting will be one that sets passengers’ senses on edge as they see, smell and taste the experience.

Grand Restaurant has received a thorough refurbishment and recaptured an essence of grandeur, glamour and sophistication. A favorite of most diners who sailed onboard Century prior to her makeover, Grand Restaurant has retained her dedication to impeccable service and truly world-class menus.
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