Have you ever been on a "theme" cruise? Whether the theme is food and wine, rock and roll or even the Civil War, theme cruises seem to be more popular than ever. We caught up with Dominique Bonavita, the Director, Product Development, at Celebrity Cruises, to find out more.
Question: Theme cruises seem to be gaining in popularity. True? Why do you think that's the case?
Answer: Theme cruises have been around for a very long time and have always been popular with experienced cruisers. I think it is the recent modern make-over and diversity of themes that may be driving more interest and awareness.
Q: How many theme cruises does Celebrity hold in an 'average' year?
A: This year we will host a total of 25 theme cruises beginning with our Celebrity Life Plus eastbound transatlantic sailings, and later in the fall an additional five Celebrity Life Plus westbound transatlantic sailings. Celebrity Life Plus builds upon our robust enrichment program Celebrity Life and will provide guests the opportunity to immerse themselves in various interest tracks while enjoying special lectures, appearances, and classes from Smithsonian Journey's destination speakers, sports personalities, Zumba instructors, and artists from ArtCenter/South Florida. Also in our theme cruise line-up are our seven Wine Cruises on Celebrity Constellation featuring special on-board programming and enriching cultural and wine education shore excursions while visiting popular wine regions throughout France and Spain. And inspired by the pages of our lifestyle book published last year, Excite the Senses, our own James Beard-featured culinary team and special wine and spirit educators will host eight "Excite the Senses" culinary theme cruises.
Q: How are themes chosen? What are the key factors that go into that decision?
A: Having a good understanding of what our guests' interests are, paired with our culinary and enrichment expertise, shape what we offer. Building on our expertise and delivering on our guests' interests ensures we provide them with an enriching and memorable theme cruise vacation experience.
Q: What about the logistics and planning? It seems there must be a lot that goes into making all the arrangements. Is there a specific team of people who do that?
A: Theme cruises require an incredible amount of logistics and planning, which must be done well in advance, so we can promote and sell the sailings. We have to be very forward thinking about the experience we're developing. There's no single, dedicated team. While we in Product Development coordinate a lot of the efforts, it's often many operational teams working toward a common goal to develop each theme and ensure proper planning and execution on board. We actually approach most of our on-board programming development that way and it works well for us.
Q: Upcoming themes: Any plans to do something outside of food and wine?
A: Yes, we're always planning, but there's nothing in the pipeline that we can share at this time, Stay tuned!
--Gerry, for Cruising Squared
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