Wine and cruising sounds like the perfect combination if you ask me, and Celebrity Cruises have decided to combine the two, with a series of cruises from Southampton that takes in the famous wine producing regions of France, Spain and Portugal. All that's missing is some good cheese and a comfy chair...
...Fortunately a cruise that takes in the famous wine regions of Champagne, Bordeaux and La Mancha will be able to fill in that final criteria and more. I'm not 100% certain where the idea has come from, but this is a great concept and a well thought out — all the cruises depart during the harvest season.
So what are these cruises all about? Unfortunately they don't depart until September so I can't give you a personal review, but here's what I've pieced together from the lovely information packs Celebrity have sent over.
The Cruises
The cruise are all onboard the recently refurbished Celebrity Constellation, but we'll come to the ship later, and they capture the finest wine producing regions in Western Europe. Whether visiting the vineyards and regions close to the ports or taking the extensive shore excursions taking you into the heart of the regions, there will be something for everyone — there is even a three day land tour, form Paris to Bordeaux.
Each sailing offers at least three over night stays so you can visit the area in full and make the most of the local hospitality as well the local produce.
Le Harve
Le Havre is the cruising gateway to Paris and the Champagne region. Onboard these cruises Celebrity will be offering various excursions to Paris, from a simple bus tour to sightseeing trip with lunch at the Eiffel Tower, trips around Le Havre and even to abbey of Mont Saint Michel. But this isn't why you're taking this cruise. From Le Havre you can partake on one of the first two 'tasting' excursions. The first is a trip to Pay d'Auge, which takes you through the Normandy landscape, before arriving at a cheese factory, where cheese tasting will take place including the likes of Pont l'Evêque, Camembert and Livarot. Afterward you will drive to Le Breuil en Auge, to visit the home of Calvados, the regions famous Normandy Brandy.
The second tour is a mammoth three day, two night land tour form Le Harve passing by Paris, the Loire Valley, Cognac, then Bordeaux before re-joining the ship at Le Verdon. The trip involves city tours, a vine and wine museum, wine tasting, cognac tastings and more.
Le Verdon (Bordeaux)
Now this is where things start to excite me, with two days and one night in the port town of Le Verdon you can enjoy the delicacies and vine yards of Bordeaux, one of my favourite wine producing regions. Over the two days you can chose from a Saint Emillion wine tour, a Medoc wine tour, a Graves wine tour, a Margaux wine tour, a Saintes and Cognac tour, tasting and dinner at the Chateau Rousseau de Sipian and more — I think I'd need to do this cruise about three times just to get all this in!
Bordeaux, along with Champagne and Burgundy is among France's most famous and probably most revered wine regions, so to be able to visit the so many of my favourite wines would be heaven. St. Emillion is a given, but do you go for the Graves, Medoc or Cognac tour?
Bilbao
Arriving in Bilbao adds another new exciting dimension to the tour, as we move away from the renowned French cheeses, wines and brandys and onto Spain's wonderful Rioja, Tapas and the Guggenheim. Food, wine and culture, now that's easily two days worth of entertainment. There are tours of the city and the world famous museum, there is a Bilbao and Tapas tour (if you ask me, a must) and of course a visit to probably Spain's most famous wine region, Rioja.
Porto
Last, but by no means least on this short guide to what's on offer is Porto, famed for its port. Here you can tour the city and local attractions, enjoy a wine tasting at the Mateus Palace, enjoy the Douro Valley winery tour, or take in one of the Oporto tours and wine tastings. Well you can go to Porto and now enjoy a drop of port, that's like going to the Alps and not having a fondue!
The excursions are all being offered by Celebrity Cruises and £31.25, for a walking tour of Le Havre, to £125.50 for the St. Emillion tour, including a wine tasting session and lunch, all the way up to £692.50 for the three day wine tour from Paris to Bordeaux.
The Ship
The Celebrity Constellation will be your home on these wonder sailings, with the first sailing departing on 7th September 2012 and the final cruise of the season departing on 18th November 2012. As previously mentioned the Celebrity Constellation has undergone a huge refurbishment, as part of a project that has seen Celebrity Cruises spend $120 million Solitcizing their Millennium class ships.
Onboard the ship there will also be a variety or wine themed events, including some special events held at Cellar Masters, the ship's fantastic wine bar that boasts the high-tec Enomatic by-the-glass wine serving system — which keeps the wine in perfect condition from the first glass of the bottle, to the final drops.
If you find that you have taken to a new grape or vineyard while ashore, the ship will also be offering an expanded wine list selection from the ports of call. The wine tasting sessions start from as little £11, so you won't need to break the bank to carry on enjoying the regional specialties while sailing from one region to the next.