In a brilliant opportunity to be hosted and entertained by Britain’s premier wine critic, Clarke will run workshops, lectures and lead wine tasting events for the duration of the cruise. Enthusiastic about the prospect of the wine cruise, Oz Clarke told the blogger Captain Greybeard: "I can't wait to take my passion for wine to the high seas. Not only am I looking forward to learning more about the impressive wine selections, bars and restaurants from Celebrity Cruises, I'm also keen to talk to fine food and wine fans, share my knowledge... whilst having a great time onboard the ship. The chance to sail between some of Europe's best known wine regions, relaxing with a glass in hand, is just too good to turn down."
Oz Clarke is a hero among wine professionals for his informative approach to wine tasting. He is famous for encouraging the popularity of New World wines in the '80s and '90s and was allegedly banned from the Champagne region for suggesting the regional bubbly was becoming more expensive and less good.
The wine cruise special is onboard the newly refurbished Celebrity Infinity. Departing from Harwich, the first night of the cruise sails to Le Havre, the access point for the wine regions of France. The options for excursions in Northern France include a cheese tasting expedition to Pays d’Auge in Normandy, the home of Camembert, a romantic interlude Paris or a daytrip to the rolling hills of Champagne. The next port of call is Bordeaux, perhaps the most famous wine city of them all, with a chance to tour the vineyards of South-West France. Next the Infinity heads to Bilbao on the Basque coast, home of the stunning Guggenheim museum, with excursions to the Rioja region, before continuing around the Iberian coast to Portugal.
The newly modernized Celebrity Infinity has benefitted from a $140 million invested in the vessel, which now boasts updated décor throughout the ship, new bars and restaurants and an expanded art collection. The ship’s Cellar Masters bar is the perfect place to try some of your favourite wines discovered in the vineyards.
We are offering an astonishing deal on the Oz Clarke wine cruise and the other Celebrity wine cruises, with inside cabins available from £799 pp. Valid only until the 28th of February, Iglu are offering a free upgrade to the All Inclusive package, worth £400. We are also paying half the gratuities if you pre-pay them at the time of booking.
Written by Bernard Goyder
© Iglucruise.
Previously the cruise line had kept to American standards onboard, maintaining a minimum drinking age of 21 — though there were some cases where adults over the age of 18 could purchase alcohol onboard with written parental consent and when sailing in locations where the minimum drinking age in port is 18.
This marks a modern approach from Celebrity Cruises and shows how important the European market is becoming to them, where the legal drinking age is much younger. As a 5* cruise line, their target market isn't revelling teenagers, so they are merely allowing people travelling with families to enjoy the fantastic wine selections, cocktails and lounge bars that Celebrity offer.
Here are the official ages to purchase alcohol onboard with Celebrity Cruises:
So, if you are a young adult who likes 5* luxury or regularly travel with your family, then this is great news for you. Enjoying cocktails on sea days, heading to the Michael's Club to sample their collection of craft beers, or enjoying a bottle of wine over dinner with the rest of the family, adults over 18 can now enjoy a Celebrity cruise in full.
Update (18/02/13): Royal Caribbean's popular 4* American cruising will no doubt also be a hit with families and young adults heading to the Med, as they will operate the same policy of allowing adults 18 years and older to purchase alcohol onboard as advised above.
Written by Charlie Hamilton-Beaufort
© Iglucruise
At $50 per person per day, the classic drinks package offers great value, but to get this included in your cruise fare is an absolute winner, turning your holiday into a pretty much an all inclusive cruise! The classic alcohol package includes soft drinks, speciality teas & coffees, non-premium bottled water and a selection of beers, spirits, cocktails and wines by the glass.
With great prices, this added value makes booking a Celebrity Cruises' January sale deal a no brainer, especially if 5* cruising from the UK is on your agenda. The only question is, where to cruise and which ship to choose?
Written by Charlie Hamilton-Beaufort
© Iglucruise
Celebrity Infinity has recently undergone a full make over bringing her in line with the newer Solstice class ships, or a Solticization in Celebrity's words. To celebrate the ship's new lease of life, Celebrity Cruises have decided to bring her to Europe for 2013, sailing from the UK. Following Celebrity Eclipse's success with her ex-UK sailings from Southampton, the cruise line has decided to base a second ship in the UK, with Celebrity Infinity set to sail from Harwich.
Celebrity Cruises President & CEO Dan Hanrahan said: "Like the reaction to every stunning Solstice Class ship, the response to Celebrity Eclipse from our guests and travel partners has been extremely rewarding, ever since it debuted in Southampton in 2010. Our decision to expand our European vacation options from the UK on our newly Solsticized Celebrity Infinity is in direct response to increased demand for more of the modern luxury holidays that only Celebrity can provide, as validated by the expanding host of honours our brand continues to receive."
Celebrity look to be embarking on their biggest European season yet, with Celebrity Constellation, Celebrity Equinox, Celebrity Silhouette and Celebrity Reflection — which debuts in October this year — also offering cruises throughout the region.
Celebrity Cruises are also looking to make inlands in Alaska, by locating their signature ship, Celebrity Solstice, in the region during summer 2013.
On the topic of Alaska Hanrahan went on to say: "Celebrity Solstice is the ideal platform for a genuine modern luxury vacation in the gorgeous state of Alaska. The ship’s shear beauty will perfectly complement the region’s incredible scenery. And with 85 percent veranda accommodations, our guests will have that many more opportunities to take in the endlessly appealing views, combined with our unparalleled onboard experience and service provided by the best group of hospitality professionals in the world."
Written by Stephen Adam
©Iglucruise
The Choice Air programme will offer a range of carriers and ticket types and will enable agents, such as Iglucruise, to add pre and post-cruise stays. The system has already been launched in the US, where Princess Cruises has launched a similar concept, Flight Select, in the last week.
Travel agents attending last week's naming ceremony onboard the Celebrity Silhouette heard how Choice Air would be a "strategic focus" for Celebrity Cruises parent company, Royal Caribbean, in US during 2012. It is thought that they will trial Choice Air in the UK in October, after the cruise line's UK office confirmed plans to offer the service to UK agents.
Source: Travel Weekly
Written by Charlie Hamilton-Beaufort
© Iglucruise
The stunning Solstice class ship will revamp her itineraries for summer 2012 and will visit fantastic new destinations such as Reykjavik in Iceland, Genoa in Italy and Ponta Delgada in the Azores.
"Celebrity Eclipse is the most popular ship in the Celebrity Cruises fleet for UK and Irish holidaymakers, and we’ve further enhanced itineraries and destinations to keep guests coming back" explains Dominic Paul, Vice President & Managing Director, UK & Ireland.
"Whilst we will continue to offer our hugely popular 14 night Mediterranean cruises we are also extending the reach of countries and cities that Celebrity Cruises offers. The beautiful Norwegian Fjords and Iceland cruises are new for 2012, and include ports of call such as the Faroe Islands. Plus, for the late summer itineraries, we’ve introduced the garden-like islands of the Azores which should be a great selling point for agents."
Some of the highlights from summer 2012 are:
These fantastic new cruises will go on sale on 10th May though pre-registration on these cruises is available with Iglucruise from today.
Written by Stephen Adam
© Iglucruise
Celebrity’s President & CEO Dan Hanrahan said: "Based on the phenomenal response we’ve had from guests who have sailed on the ‘Solsticized’ Celebrity Constellation, we’re eager to introduce the same new features – ranging from the ‘Cellarmasters’ wine bar to our signature ‘icy’ Martini Bar to our cool Café al Bacio and Gelateria – and even more on Celebrity Summit... We recognize that consumers’ vacation time is precious, which inspires us to do everything we can to make their vacation with Celebrity Cruises something that is truly different and better than anything they’ve experienced before."
One of Celebrity's most popular Solstice class signatures, the coveted AquaClass staterooms, will be among the new additons to the Celebrity Summit. The spa-inspired balcony cabins will again be paired with the exclusive Med-themed 'Blu' restaurant and are sure to be a hit. There are also plans to restyle the other staterooms onboard with new carpets, upholstery, bedding and flat-screen TVs, the public areas will also benefit from new carpeting and upholstery to give the ships the modern, classy, colour scheme and finish of the Solstice class ships.
New venues onboard will include the popular fusion cuisine found in 'Qsine', the ice-topped Martini Bar, the Bistro on 5 creperie and the inviting Café al Bacio and Gelateria. Cellermasters Wine Bar, with it's innovative enomatic wine serving system will allow guest or select wines by the glass at a touch of a button. The trendy Celebrity iLounge, which when debuted on the Celebrity Eclipse became the first Authorized Apple Resellers at sea, where guests can participate in Celebrity's iLearn enrichment series.
Celebrity Infinity will emerge from drydock in early December with Celebrity Summit following in January 2012. Both ships will enjoy these stunning upgrades and help keep Celebrity at the top of their game.
Written by Charlie Hamilton-Beaufort © Iglucruise
]]>To enter the competition all you need to do is book a Celebrity Cruises deal this month, and last week one of Iglu Cruise's customers won one of the remaining cabins. With only a week to go there are still two cabins left to be won, so if you are thinking of cruising with Celebrity Cruises now is the time to book.
If winning a free holiday is not enough to entice you there are also great deals including $250 per cabin of onboard spend, savings of up to £500 per cabin and even free upgrades to balcony cabins on some Solstice class ships and sailings.
Written by Troy McGuire
© Iglucruise
The new ships latest innovations include AquaClass suites (only on Celebrity Reflection), The Lawn Club Grill, The Porch and a new Michael's Club concept.
Dan Hanrahan, Celebrity Cruises President & CEO, said: "We recognize that consumers’ vacation time is precious, and that’s what drives us to continually create new and unique experiences that enhance their rare time away... The host of honours our Solstice Class and Millennium Class have won have been incredible validation of that commitment, and on Celebrity Silhouette and Celebrity Reflection, we’re capitalising on the opportunity to further elevate our onboard offerings, particularly in our Solstice Class’ iconic Lawn Club, and with our wildly popular AquaClass category of accommodations and its exclusive specialty restaurant, Blu. Initially, we planned to introduce these exciting new enhancements only on Celebrity Reflection, but to our delight, our outstanding partners at Meyer Werft were able to also deliver every new feature with the exception of AquaClass Suites on Celebrity Silhouette.”
Due to the popularity of the lines industry-first AquaClass, spa-inspired accommodation, Celebrity will be introducing the lines first AquaClass suites onboard the Celebrity Reflection. The new suites will offer 251 square feet of luxury along with a 57 square feet veranda and all the facilities AquaClass guests have become accustomed to.
“We gave a great deal of thought about how to ideally accommodate everything we’re adding,” said Hanrahan. “We’re widening the ship slightly, enabling us to introduce each of these exceptional new venues without compromising the Celebrity’s premium space ratio and lauded traffic flow.
The Lawn Club Grill is the industry's first outdoor, interactive grill venue. The Porch offers chic, Hamptons-style design and modern furniture and will serve fresh-baked pastries and breads. Both these venues will be set around The Lawn Club and take advantage of the lush lawn and stunning views.
Michael's Club, a Celebrity favourite, will be re-styled offering an elegant bar serving rare malts, whiskies and scotches along with a selection of 50 beers including the likes of Chimay Blue. The venue will feature live music and 46" TVs to show those all important sporting events.
There are plenty more additions to come with Celebrity showing they mean business with the new Solstice class ships.
Written by Troy McGuire
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