Vacation.com Expands Culinary Cruises

foodVacation.com reports its 2014 Culinary Collection includes 45 food and wine-themed cruises embarking from ports of call from around the world. Many of Vacation.com’s luxury and premium cruise line partners are included in the 2014 culinary-themed collection: Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Holland America Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Silversea Cruises

Vacation.com said member clients booking a Culinary Collection cruise can receive exclusive added amenities at no additional cost. The amenities may include the services of a concierge host, an exclusive shore event, a private cocktail reception, shipboard credit, bottles of wine, free specialty restaurant meals, exclusive chef demonstrations and/or prepaid gratuities.

“The Vacation.com Culinary Collection program is highly regarded by both clients and our members because it provides one-of-a-kind experiences to celebrate acclaimed wines and regional food traditions aboard exquisite luxury cruise ships,” said Vacation.com president John Lovell. “Not only are clients able to partake in a sensory journey of food and wine pairings while traveling to breathtakingly beautiful destinations, the cruises in our collection provide an educational experience by offering unique enrichment programs.”
 

The 2014 Culinary Collection features demonstrations from world-renowned chefs, cooking classes onboard and on shore, as well as wine and spirit tastings, and meals focused on regional cuisines. 

A sampling of some of this year’s offerings cited by Vacation.com include:

  • Celebrity Cruises’ Culinary Collection sailings provide clients with a bottle of wine, specialty dining for two and the services of a concierge host, an exclusive shore event and a private cocktail reception on each of the three culinary themed sailings. The 11-night Eastern Mediterranean Culinary Collection cruise aboard the Celebrity Reflection provides guests with an exclusive shore event, The Essence of Ancient Athens.
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  • Crystal Cruises has four new food and wine-themed cruises for 2014 that include world-renowned chefs and wine experts who share their talents at lectures, special meals and tastings onboard and ashore. Vacation.com clients will enjoy $250 Shore Excursion Credit per person on each of these culinary themed sailings.
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  • Throughout any of the 12 Culinary Collection departures Holland America Line offers, guests will not only enjoy delicious and innovative menus across a broad range of dining venues, Vacation.com guests will also enjoy exclusive chef demonstrations in addition to ship board credit or the benefits of a concierge host, private cocktail reception and an exclusive shore event. The 113-Day Grand World Voyage features the amenities of a concierge host, private cocktail reception, exclusive shore event, plus an exclusive chef demo with George Geary.
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  • The 14-Day European Mosaic tour aboard the Riviera will travel from Barcelona to Istanbul and is just one of 10 Culinary Collection sailings Oceania Cruises offers. Featured on all 10 sailings, guests can book a class at the Bon Appétit Culinary Center to learn and prepare (with their own hands) a variety of exquisite dishes at their own fully-equipped workstation in a state-of-the-art teaching kitchen. Lavish complimentary amenities abound, and value packages ensure that sipping a glass of wine or enjoying a shore excursion is both convenient and affordable. Vacation.com clients will have the luxury of prepaid gratuities on these select sailings.
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  • On all eight Regent Seven Seas Cruises Culinary Collection sailings, guests will enjoy the services of a concierge host, an exclusive shore event and a private cocktail reception on select voyages. Clients may also dine in elegant surroundings including the iconic Prime 7, the premier steakhouse at sea, and delight in mouthwatering entrées paired with distinctive complimentary wines and spirits.
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  • Silversea’s food and wine cruises include an exclusive array of epicurean delights. Onboard all eight Culinary Collection sailings, there are multiple intimate dining venues that serve superb cuisine with a sophisticated level of attentive service and an ever-changing ocean view. In each guests’ suite, there’s even an educational video program prepared by Silversea’s celebrated wine consultant, Lyn Farmer, that describes the wine regions guests will visit on their voyage. Vacation.com clients will receive up to $250 per person in shipboard credit on these select culinary themed voyages.

The new collection comes shortly after the announcement of Vacation.com's new brand and positioning. The fresh positioning also includes a revamped member recruitment website, joinvacation.com, and new brand logos specifically designed for members and supplier partners to identify themselves as Vacation.com in their marketing materials. 

RELATED: Vacation.com Unveils New Brand and Positioning

Vacation.com has also been investing in upgraded technology solutions for its members. The recent technology improvements cited by Vacation.com include the development of a consumer booking engine for CruisePRO, better automation to the back-end applications for Cruise Space, configurable permissions for Agent Universe users, and a single sign-on application for Stream. 

RELATED: Vacation.com Invests in Member-Facing Technology

Vacation.com said it is providing its members with marketing support in selling these cruises through free customizable, full-color print brochures or e-brochures. Vacation.com members can learn more about the 2014 Culinary Collection, view all sailing dates and access marketing materials at www.agentuniverse.com