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Spanish born chef Jose Pizarro partners with P&O Cruises

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 08 May 2019 08 May 2019

José Pizarro, the Spanish-born, UK based chef is one of three new ‘local food heroes’ who are partnering with P&O Cruises to bring an authentic taste of the destinations visited by its newest ship Iona in 2020, the company said in a statement.

Iona’s maiden winter season will be spent in Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands, and guests will be able to enjoy the culinary creations of José. The chef is a master of tapas and dedicated to showcasing Spanish cuisine in his three prestigious London restaurants and will now do the same on Iona. Joséis designing a bespoke tapas menu for The Glass House, as well as signature Spanish dishes, such as paella in a new dining option- Taste 360.

To bring local flavours into Iona’s dining experiences whilst in the Norwegian Fjords, P&O Cruises has enlisted the help of celebrated Norwegian chef Kjartan Skjelde and photographer and home cook Marte Marie Forsberg. Kjartanhas created a six course Norwegian tasting menu for The Epicurean restaurant on Iona. Marte Marie is designing a bespoke range of local dishes which will appear in Taste 360. Guests dining in Iona’s main restaurants will be able to sample Norwegian flavours too, with special local dishes appearing across the menus.

P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said “One of the best ways to explore a destination is to try the native dishes that tell stories of the history, culture and lives of the locals. Our new local food heroes will be champions of fresh, seasonal ingredients and recipes that fly the flag for their homelands. We are privileged to have chefs of their calibre helping us to create authentic dining experiences that reflect the ports we are visiting during Iona's maiden year.”

José Pizarro is from Cáceres in Spain and has now lived in London for 20 years. He grew up on a farm and was inspired by the cooking he saw in his mother and grandmother’s kitchens. In his early career José worked in the Michelin-starred El Chapín de la Reina restaurant in Madrid, before being appointed head chef at award-winning El Mesón de Doña Filo. José then moved to London where he found work at the prestigious Eyre Brothers restaurant before co-founding the Brindisa restaurants.

MSC Cruises to fine tune specialty dining offering on some ships

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 08 May 2019 08 May 2019

MSC Cruises said it would make some changes to its specialty restaurant offering on some of its ships.

Its partnership with Michelin starred Spanish Chef Ramón Freixa, whose HOLA! Tapas Bar originally pioneered on MSC Bellissima, will be extended to two further ships in the fleet.

The speciality dining concept will be found on board MSC Meraviglia from May 2019, and MSC Grandiosa from November 2019. Further information on the concept can be found in the release below.

In addition the company will also be making some updates across the fleet, including the changing of Eately on MSC Divina and MSC Preziosa, and the Tex-mex on Fantasia to the super popular Butcher’s Cut restaurant. This change comes at an exciting time for UK guests as MSC Preziosa will be sailing from Southampton on several occasions throughout 2019.

Antonio Paradiso, MD MSC Cruises UK & Ireland said ‘Following feedback from our guests we are delighted to be adding a Butchers Cut to further enhance dining choices on MSC Preziosa. The restaurant concept has proved very popular with our British & Irish guests across the rest of our fleet therefore it is a perfect edition to MSC Preziosa which will be sailing from the Southampton this summer season’.

Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten takes delivery of Hanseatic Nature

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 07 May 2019 07 May 2019

Hanseatic Nature, the first of 230 passenger capacity expedition cruise ships Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten is building at the Vard shipyard in Norway, has entered service.

The ship’s construction, design and routes revolve around providing a true expedition experience and getting as close as possible to nature. It also offers the highest standards of comfort and service, Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten said in a statement.

The second ship of the class will be called Hanseatic Inspiration and it is due to enter service in October, while Hanseatic Spirit will follow in May 2021.

Meyer Werft and Royal Caribbean marks milestone for Odyssey of the Seas

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 04 May 2019 04 May 2019

Excitement was in the air at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, on May 3, as Royal Caribbean International marked an important milestone in the development of Odyssey of the Seas. Scheduled to be delivered in fall 2020, Odyssey received its first block as the keel was officially lowered and put into place.

The keel laying marks an important milestone in the development of Odyssey of the Seas, as it signifies the beginning of the ship’s physical construction. During the ceremony, a 79-ton block was lifted into the building dock with an 800-ton crane. Newly minted coins were placed under the keel, which then stays in place until the end of construction. Once the ship is nearing completion, the coins are retrieved and presented to the ship’s Captain and crew, to be placed on board the ship. According to maritime tradition, the coins are said to bring luck to the ship during its construction and then to its Captain and crew when she is at sea.

Odyssey of the Seas’ deployment and itineraries will be revealed later this year. Odyssey is a Quantum-class newbuild.

Carnival Sunrise enters service after $200 million transformation

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 30 April 2019 30 April 2019

Carnival Sunrise, which was built in 1999 as Carnival Triumph, has re-entered service after a $200 million transformation at the Navantia shipyards Cadiz in Spain, Carnival Corporation & plc said in a statement.

“Carnival Sunrise is kicking off an exciting inaugural season of four- to 14-day voyages that visit destinations in the Caribbean, Bermuda, Bahamas, the Panama Canal, New England and Canada with the first four cruises from Norfolk,” parent company of operator Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) said. The refit is part of a $2.0 billion investment programme of CCL to enhance its existing ships.

"The introduction of Carnival Sunrise brings an incredibly enhanced ship to our guests with all of the popular features from across our fleet," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "We couldn't be more proud to introduce Carnival Sunrise in Norfolk."

"To be the first port in the United States to welcome Carnival Sunrise makes this a very special event for Norfolk," said Stephen E. Kirkland, Nauticus executive director. "We're eager to roll out the red carpet for these guests, and for the staff and crew of this beautiful ship."