Oceania Cruises Offers Culinary Discovery Tours Aboard Marina

This winter, Oceania Cruises is expanding its Culinary Discovery Tours by bringing exclusive and popular enrichment experiences to the South Pacific on the award-winning Marina. Uniquely designed for each port, Culinary Discovery Tours provide guests with the opportunity to explore local food markets, vineyards and farms in small groups, side-by-side with an expert chef from the Bon Appétit Culinary Center. Participants then join the chef in the culinary center for a hands-on cooking lesson of the regional cuisine in one of 24 fully-equipped work stations.

The new South Pacific Culinary Discovery Tours are offered in the Bay of Islands and Tauranga, New Zealand on the 18-day South Pacific Paradise cruise. Departing Papeete, Tahiti on Feb. 7, 2013, the cruise calls on 11 ports throughout French Polynesia, Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia before arriving in New Zealand.

A Chef-Insider's Food & Wine Feast” Culinary Discovery Tour in the Bay of Islands visits Kerikeri, a horticultural center and home to Ake Ake winery for a tasting with the head vintner and a meal created from locally grown foods depending on what's fresh that day. The Culinary Discovery Tour in Tauranga, “Maori ‘Kai’ Cooking Demo and Kiwi Fruit,” explores a flourishing kiwi orchard followed by a trip to the lakes of Rotorua for a traditional Maori luncheon featuring native herbs and ingredients used by the indigenous people of New Zealand.  

Marina also sails three additional South Pacific voyages with highlights that include overnight calls on Easter Island and Bora Bora, cruising the Tuamotu Archipelago and crossing the international dateline. Additional sailings include:

·         Ancient Legends – 20-day holiday sailing between Valparaiso, Chile and Papeete, French Polynesia, visiting Robinson Crusoe Island, Hanga Roa, Chile, Adamstown, Pitcairn Islands, Fakarava, French Polynesia, Moorea, French Polynesia and Bora Bora. Departure: Dec. 27, 2012.

·         Tahitian Breeze – 11 day voyage roundtrip from Papeete, French Polynesia with visits to Bora Bora and ports in the Marquesas Islands. Departures: Jan. 16 and Jan. 27, 2013.

With free air, two-for-one fares and bonus savings of up to $4,000 per stateroom, bonus savings are offered on bookings made through Dec. 31, 2012.

For more information, visit www.OceaniaCruises.com.