Celebrity Cruises With Oz Clarke

This October, gastronomes and wine enthusiasts can delve into Europe’s rich wine heritage with renowned expert Oz Clarke and Celebrity Cruises. Oz will lead a host of wine travel experiences, taking in renowned vineyards throughout France, Spain and Portugal during the spectacular annual grape harvest and provide guests the opportunity to enjoy gastronomic experiences and improve knowledge of wine through engaging and entertaining masterclasses.

The 12-night immersive holiday – designed to impress the palates of food and wine fans with some expert advice on hand – will allow guests to take advantage of the first-class restaurants and wine programmes onboard the recently refurbished Celebrity Infinity whilst travelling between Europe’s top wine producing regions.

Guests can customise their holiday with a series of package options to choose from, including:

• An intimate speciality dinner hosted by Oz, matching his personal wine recommendations to each part of a six-course Five Senses menu hosted in the speciality restaurant SS United States. Designed to stimulate all senses, this exclusive dinner costs just £69 per person.
• A series of five events hosted by Oz and Tom Forrest, a fellow wine expert. Tantalise the taste buds with a wine and cheese pairing; immerse yourself in the old world wines of France with an introduction to French wine; and brush up on your wine knowledge with masterclasses in Bordeaux wines, Spanish wine and Sherry; and a French wine masterclass. To experience all five events costs just £89 per person.

The European Immersive Wine Cruise departs during the wine harvest season from Harwich on October 12 and will call at Paris (port of Le Havre), Bordeaux (port of Le Verdon), La Rochelle, Bilbao, Vigo and Porto before returning to Harwich. It costs from just £699 per person (based on two adults sharing an inside stateroom).

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line, the UK's cruise-agent specialists.

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Celebrity's Wine-Tasting Tour With Oz Clarke

Wine drinkers can enjoy testing and honing their taste buds this harvest season with one of the UK’s most seasoned palates as Oz Clarke leads a holiday to his favourite vineyards, chateaux and wine producing regions in the company of Celebrity Cruises.

Join Oz (above), and his friend and partner in wine tasting Tom Forrest - resident wine expert from Vinopolis, London’s premium taste destination – on a 12-night European wine immersion cruise that takes in renowned wine landscapes of France, Portugal and Spain. Guests can enjoy a full programme of on board activities and expert-led sessions - such as “Introduction to French wine,” “Cheese and wine pairing,” meet and greet sessions and wine master classes from the key regions visited, including a “Bordeaux masterclass” – all included in the price. All bespoke sessions are hosted by either Oz, Tom or both, and are informal, fun introductions to the world of wine.

Plus, guests on the cruise also have the chance to join the duo on an exclusive, specially created shore excursion in Bordeaux visiting a number of chateaux to sample some of the most delicate wines of the region, accompanied by the president of the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux.

Wines on offer include some of the first ever tasted by Oz and, as well as inspiring his passion for the subject, are also personal favourites of both the experts. The excursion also includes lunch, with the menu and wines chosen by Oz and Tom to complement the overall experience. The personalised chateaux experience is exclusive to the sailing and available at an additional cost once guests have booked their holiday.

The exclusive Vinopolis immersive wine cruise is part of a series of European wine immersion cruises during the 2012 grape harvest offered for the first time by Celebrity on board Celebrity Constellation on October 13.

Cruises depart from Southampton throughout autumn 2012 and other sailings are available on 7 and 19 September; 1 and 25 October; and 6 and 18 November. In 2013, Celebrity  will offer a similar season of wine-themed cruises departing from Harwich on the newly refurbished Celebrity Infinity.   

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's luxury cruise experts.

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the World of Cruising magazine today.

Celebrity's Exclusive Bordeaux Excursion With Oz Clarke

This autumn, guests on Celebrity Cruises’ new wine harvest holiday will have the chance to join famed wine connoisseur Oz Clarke and Vinopolis’ wine expert Tom Forrest on an exclusive, specially created shore excursion in Bordeaux. This bespoke chateaux experience will take guests on a tour of the experts’ favourite wines in the region that first inspired Clarke’s passion for wine. 

One-off vineyard wine tasting tour with Oz Clarke 

Port: Bordeaux; Duration: 9 hours; Price: £149 per adult: Guests can join celebrity wine buff Clarke and Forrest on a one-off excursion, visiting two chateaux to sample some of the most delicate wines of the region, accompanied by the president of the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux. Wines on offer during this excursion include some of the first ever tasted by Oz and, as well as inspiring his passion for the subject, are also personal favourites of both experts. The excursion also includes lunch, with the menu and wines specially chosen by the duo to complement the overall experience.

Sailing: Visit some of Europe’s top wine-producing regions in France, Spain and Portugal this harvest season on Celebrity's Celebrity Constellation on a 12-night immersive wine cruise from £849 per person (based on two people sharing a balcony stateroom).

The 12-night cruise departs from Southampton on October 13 and calls at Le Havre (for Paris), Le Verdon (for Bordeaux), Bilbao, Vigo and Porto before returning to Southampton. The price includes all meals and entertainment onboard and all relevant cruise taxes/fees.

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's luxury cruise experts.

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the World of Cruising magazine today.