Cruises aren’t just famous for the slides, swimming pools, and places they visit but also the amazing food trip you’ll be able to experience when riding one. Check out these 5 Cruise Ships that have 5-Star Dining on board!
Old-school cruise cuisine has been thrown overboard! Top Lines are working with famous cooks, popular culinary outlets, and respected cooking schools.
Shipboard chefs are particular about the ingredients, the sense of place, and the new trends. Today, many at-sea restaurants are as state-of-the-art and quality-driven as the crème de la crème on terra firma.
Also, shore excursions ignited gastronomic passion — think of dining with the countess in the Venetian palace. So next time you're considering a nice vacation, don’t skip these cruises. You're not going to want to hop off-board.
Crystal Serenity
Crystal Cruises became the first cruise line to merge celebrity chefs and restaurateurs, offering top-notch cuisine from stern to bow. Crystal Dining Room, the main restaurant, nails intricately prepared meals every night while seldom repeating menus.
Prego houses Valentino Los Angeles and Vegas' venerable Italian restaurants by Piero Selvaggio, and the finest Caesar salad at sea. Nobu-ites flock to Silk Road and Sushi Bar, where Nobu-trained chefs make tuna tataki and miso black cod as flawless as Nobu's restaurants from Los Angeles to London.
During the Wine & Food Festival cruises, Alan Wong (his Honolulu Alan Wong restaurant is President Obama's favorite) is one of the star acts. Shore trips, including classes with the Italian countess and exploring the great vineyards of Europe, stand out from the pack. Crystal Cruises is all-inclusive, meaning fine wines and drinks, and both meals and free dishes are included.
Silversea Silver Spirit
Silversea Cruises, an all-suite line with all-inclusive fares, mounted the Silver Spirit Luxury Ship Ant in 2009. The 540-passenger vessel boasts six fine dining venues, the industry's first. Seishin, a teeny Zen sanctuary of polished marble and rich wood, presents a gorgeous Asian fare. Its nine-course tasting menu, with Petrossian caviar sorbet, tempura oysters, and Teppan-grilled Wagyu beef, is a boat-rock.
Stars is a bustling Deco-inspired dining club where guests party over quirky little plates and play with table condiments including Himalayan rock salt. While in the open-air grill, passengers can see Berkshire pork chops and Colorado's prime rib eye above the red-hot lava rocks.
Le Champagne is a Brazilian octagon-shaped cherrywood knockout. The place, menu, and wine list were planned with the renowned culinary collaborator of Silversea Cruises, Relais & Châteaux. Guests enjoy six-course menus with exquisite wine pairings; Culinary Arts Voyages features Michelin-starred chefs at this exclusive hotel and restaurant association.
Seabourn Odyssey
The cruise ship buffet restaurant, called The Colonnade, looks like a smart Miami dining room with stunning views of the ocean. Don't think the 450-passenger, all-suite, all-inclusive Odyssey rests on his movie-star looks alone. Chef Charlie Palmer, who runs both Manhattan's Aureole and Charlie Palmer's steakhouse chain, is Seabourn's culinary consultant.
Menus on board follow Palmer's American style of cooking, packed with French techniques. USDA prime beef, Valrhona chocolate, and luxury American-farmed caviar are commonly used. And every meal exudes imagination.
Passengers linger over foamy cappuccino and golden brioche at the barista-manned Coffee Bar in the morning, then enjoy the afternoon on the deck with free caviar and then Champagne. Evening indulgences include, yes, you know, more caviar and champagne, in lounges, on guest verandas, and back on deck.
Oceania Cruises Marina
The recently launched Marina is not a luxurious ship (it's rated "upper premium"), but the 1,250-passenger ship rocks food to fashion. The Bon Appétit Culinary Center (affiliated with Epicurious's sister magazine) offers hands-on instruction with 24 well-equipped cooking stations.
Long counters allow passengers to tackle anything from fresh fettuccine to chocolate-hazelnut ganache tart in one or more sessions. But delicious rewards can be made without handing an apron to any of Oceania's restaurants. The cream-and-gold-hued grand dining room offers both classic continental cuisine and dishes from the Canyon Ranch spa company.
La Reserve by Wine Spectator, another partnership magazine, offers wine tastings and seven-course wine pairing dinners. Jacques, named after Jacques Pépin, is a charmer; this bistro plays French songs and displays art from the master chef's collection.
Seven Seas Mariner
The world's first all-suite, all-balcony ship affiliated with the legend, Le Cordon Bleu of Paris. This culinary academy prepares signature restaurant chefs on this 700-passenger all-inclusive Regent cruise, and consults on the menus for all the restaurants: Signatures look posh and Parisian, with elegantly upholstered chairs and long tapered candles.
Its classic fare, such as Camembert, celery, and walnut quiche, and lamb rack with morels, is superb. And on select sailing, the chefs teach hands-on classes at Le Cordon Bleu Workshops.
Aren’t cruise ships just the most innovative when it comes to attractions? They certainly showed us that anything that can be done on land can also be done at sea. And what better way to enjoy a Five-Star meal than on a cruise, with the fantastic view of the ocean.
You too can work at sea and travel the world! Do you want to know more about taking your career abroad or on a cruise ship? Send us an email to info@placement-int.com. Stay hospitalian!
