Profile Leader - Inside Profile

LINE OF LUXURY

Leader Editor Gina McAdam went sailing the high seas. She reports on a celestial cruise.

Consider the figures. According to a survey by Cruise Market Watch, the worldwide cruise market is estimated to be worth almost $27 billion in 2010, an increase of 7.4% over 2009. Recession or no, more than 18 million people around the world are projected to take a cruise this year. No wonder the cruise industry is planning to launch a dozen new ships.

The Passenger Shipping Association, the trade body for the UK cruise and ferry industry, says that each year 1.5 million people in this country go on a cruise. The latest Cruise Census published by the European Cruise Association found that with the exception of Spain, more people in Europe took cruises in 2008 than 2007, with the UK showing an 11% increase.

Finally, in March 2010, Cruise Critic.co.uk trumpeted the findings of a new survey: Brits are willing to make financial sacrifices just to carry on cruising.

A new experience

I probably would be too, for eleven nights on the cutting edge Celebrity Solstice, the inaugural ship in Celebrity’s ultra-luxurious, amenity-filled Solstice class. Happily, I didn’t have to go that far.

My cruise along the Eastern Mediterranean, sailing on a brand new ocean liner to Santorini, Mykonos, Istanbul, Ephesus, Athens and Naples was a timely birthday present from an indulgent parent. The thought of finally seeing the ruins of Pompeii and the chance to experience one of the cruising world’s most revolutionary ships – it has a top-of-deck Lawn Club with real grass – was discombobulating. For months I’d been counting the days till we set sail.

To be fair, I did have a passing acquaintance with the world of cruising, compliments of the intensive, three-night Catering and Marketing Forums. Those were great times on remarkable first-class ships, but at the end of the day, you were there to work and network against the silent backdrop of St Peter Port. This was going to be totally different!

A massive undertaking

First, there was the ship’s size and scale: the Celebrity Solstice is 1033 feet long, which is a little more than a fifth of a mile, the rough equivalent of four north to south blocks in Manhattan or the length of the Eiffel Tower when turned on its side. In tonnage, imagine weight of almost 3,000 male African elephants. It can accommodate 2,850 people in 1,425 suites and staterooms, eight-five percent of which have verandas. At almost 1,200 square feet, the penthouse suite can rival some of the best luxury hotels. It has a baby grand too.

And that’s the point. Once you’ve had the chance to familiarise yourself with the location of Solstice’s ten restaurants, numerous clubs, lounges and bars (including a convivial Martini bar on Deck 4), the Aqua Spa, Fortunes Casino, shopping arcade, art gallery, theatres, library (including the open-air glass blowing station on Deck 15), and the aforementioned Lawn Club, you’ll know you’re going to be surrendering your body and soul to a five-star luxury resort on the seas.

And it’s green. The roof of the solarium, the indoor pool area, is actually made of solar panels. Blu,the exclusive dining room for AquaClass passengers, features the cruise industry’s first ‘green menu’.

Designs on you

The on-board amenities, activities and on-shore excursions of the Celebrity Solstice are all designed for the new generation of cruisers. In fact, one of the main targets of this ship is the affluent multi-generational or family of travellers, now just as important to the industry as honeymooners and third-agers. And it’s premium sailing – someone once told me that you can tell a lot about a cruise by what the passengers are reading. Let me tell you, there was no shortage of Economists and Tatlers on the sun beds.

Our deluxe ocean view room with a veranda was more than sufficient, and I personally appreciated the legacy of the so-called Celebrity ‘Leading Ladies’ – the all-female panel that helped to design the staterooms with the modern woman in mind. So there were contoured edges, brightly lit vanity mirrors, storage enough for several evening dresses and bulky (wooden!) evening bags, shelves for reading glasses and even a special rail in the shower for the comfort of shaving legs!

Our room attendant, Sanjay, was to my mind the soul of efficiency. Every evening at cocktail hour, ice buckets would be filled, wine glasses laid immaculately next to them. Our laundry arrived promptly when expected. Once, finding me confused and in circles in one of the endless corridors, he politely showed me the easiest way to navigate my way back to our stateroom. I might have been lost at sea otherwise!

Gourmet cruising

Having breakfast within sight of the minarets of the Blue Mosque or while passing the toe of Italy does wonders for the start of your day. On most mornings we opted for the buffet at the casual Oceanview Cafe, which served an appealing selection of Italian, Indian, French, American, British and Mexican staples, and came equipped with an ice cream station, creperie, and salad and sushi bars.

My dear aunt who instigated the cruise in the first place is a real foodie – quantity and quality – and so it was just as well that one of the greatest USPs of the Celebrity Solstice is its stunning cuisine, scattered over a range of dining rooms and restaurants.

For a small premium, we enjoyed an authentic Italian dinner at the Tuscan Grille, designed by the firm of Adam D. Tihany. Think Landmark Mandarin Oriental, One & Only Cape Town, Apsleys – A Heinz Beck Restaurant at The Lanesborough (Ed’s note – see His Own Man in this issue of Leader) and Le Cirque in New York. Tihany also envisioned the Grand Epernay, the ship’s glamorous main dining room with its floor to ceiling glass wine tower where, if we wanted to, we could indulge in a five-course fine dining menu every night. Fine food in fine surroundings, what more could a sailor want?

Back stage view

Determined to find out more, I invited the man behind it all on this particular cruise, the congenial Food and Beverage Manager Jose Duarte da Silva, for a drink at the clubby Michael’s Bar (only for him to turn the tables and make me his honoured guest!). Earlier, I’d had the chance to introduce myself to Hotel Director Damien O’Connor, who once trained with Anton Mossimann.

On this final evening of our cruise, Duarte da Silva took along Executive Chef Mickael Tocchetto and, knowing I was Editor of Leader, they good-naturedly shared with me a few well known as well as behind-the scene facts.

According to Duarte da Silva, the ship employs 170 chefs in the galley, and he looked after over 660 managers and staff from fifty different nationalities. South Africa-born chef Jacques Van Staden, Celebrity’s VP for Food & Beverage Operations, is the creative genius behind the line’s culinary programme, planning all their menus. He had Michel Roux’s big shoes to fill, but you get the feeling that things have turned out well.

‘Jacques is great, a leader mentor,’ said Tocchetto admiringly. As Executive Chef, Tocchetto executes the menus, and will have brought his own experience of the culinary arts to the Solstice. He cut his teeth at Michelin-starred Auberge aux 4 vents in Fribourg and the fashionable France-Soir in Melbourne. He’d also worked for Sodexho in Nigeria.

I enquire about the complex logistics of menu planning and supplies. ‘We have steady menus for our cruises, so we know what we’ll be preparing and serving each day. Our shore side culinary teams help to ensure that supplies are replenished and fresh, and that no matter what, we never run out of food’ said Duarte da Silva.

I point out that the ‘classic menu at the Grand Epernay is constant and unchanging. How do they know what dishes to feature? ‘The classic menu reflects what guests consistently request, such as escargot and even prawn cocktail,’ Duarte da Silva explained.

I also learn that the Celebrity Solstice (and all of the ships in Celebrity’s Solstice class) has the most extensive wine list on the high seas. No other line has close to 500 different labels, including the finest vintages, as well as its own sommeliers. In knew this to be a fact, as we’d spent many an evening admiring the expertise of our wine servers, who Duarte da Silva proudly informed me were all trained by a certified Cellar Master, no less.

In the line of luxury

Eleven nights flew by and I did get to roam the intact remains of Pompei. Since our cruise, the Celebrity Solstice has won the Conde Nast Traveller Reader’s Award for best mega-ship cruise liner. I’m not surprised.

A final note. Before our final disembarkation, it occurred to me that for a ship so huge and fully booked, no public space ever seemed full. I spent many an afternoon finalising Leader 4 in the library, emailing Mark Norris while listening to the notes of a string quartet. And while I am sure I was never alone, the atmosphere always seemed airy and light. It was an observation repeated by my travelling companions, who never failed to find seats in the theatre, casino or bar, or to find an available slot in the spa.

Perhaps that is the real definition of luxury – unlimited space, and all the time and means to enjoy it.

To find out more about Gina’s trip on the Celebrity Solstice, contact her at gina@stratemarco.com or visit www.celebritysolstice.com.