Oceania Cruises rolls out new vegan menus

Luxury line Oceania Cruises has rolled out a new vegan menu which includes cold-pressed juices and vegan smoothies. Aside from the new juice bars which will be available aboard the Marina and Riviera, the vegan menus are available across the entire fleet. The vegan menus will be featured in the Grand Dining Room at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including a total of more than 250 dishes including appetisers, soups, salads, entrees, and desserts. Examples include Vegan Tortilla Española with potato, onions, and tofu; vanilla waffle with fresh berries; apricot and pistachio muffins; cream of wheat or oatmeal served with cinnamon powder, organic sugar and choice of nuts. Side dishes always available include: grilled tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, vegan link sausage and Lyonnaise potatoes.

At lunch, guests might indulge in a Tuscan-style bean soup with garlic croutons, a fantasia Italian salad with assorted greens, roasted bell peppers and toasted garlic bread followed by a succulent involtini stuffed with tofu, spinach, and capers served with pasta and olive tapenade sauce and topped off with a delicious Italian chocolate vegan-ricotta pie with vanilla and raspberry sauce.

At dinner, guests can savour a bevy of ever-changing five-course meals, including quinoa salad and vegetable tartare, creamy truffle flavoured parsnip soup with chopped tarragon, Thai red vegan curry with steamed jasmine rice and a decadent dessert of vegan strawberry sable, a shortbread with passion fruit cream and strawberries.
How does that sound?

Carnival hosts more comedy cruises

Carnival Cruise Line will be hosting a record 25,000 shows at its Punchliner Comedy Clubs featured across its 25-ship fleet and more than 1000 on sailings from Sydney on Carnival Legend and Carnival Spirit. Boasting more comedians and performances than any land-based comedy club, Carnival’s Punchliner Comedy Clubs feature a hilarious lineup of top-notch comedians who each perform 30-minute shows multiple times each voyage with at least two comedians performing each night. All shows are offered on a complimentary basis. Australian guests are treated to shows by well-known Australian comedians such as Simon Palomares, best known for his role as Ricky in the popular TV series Acropolis Now.

Thomas Keller’s The Grill to be added to Seabourn Odyssey

Seabourn has added The Grill by Thomas Keller on the newly refurbished Seabourn Odyssey. The venue will have chophouse classics as well as steakhouse favourites. As well as wines which Chef Keller picked out himself. The ship also had other physical upgrades like new mattresses in the suites, new furnishings in the top suites as well as an updated spa. In terms of activities, there will be a new Mindful Living Coach onboard. The yoga and meditation teacher will also hold mind-body seminars on Spontaneous Happiness & Spontaneous Healing. The wellness workshops will be rolled out fleetwide by the end of 2017.

Tauck’s popularity with Australians skyrocketing

Australia is the second biggest market for Tauck with passenger numbers up 45 per cent year-on-year, Steven Spivak, visiting vice president global sales said. This is the result of the company’s increased investment in travel agents. It has also strengthened its partnership with Tauck’s General Sales Agent (GSA) Travel The World to drive more customers to the agent.

“We have been growing the Tauck brand more aggressively in the last 24 months,” Mr Spivak said. “In Australia, we have grown exponentially because we have a great product.”

Tauck’s core demographic is aged between 55 and 75 years. “They do not want to sit on a tour bus anymore. They want more in-depth and immersive experiences.”

He said its baby boomers market now want better experiences on board including yoga and more healthy food options.The company has also appointed two tour directors for each itinerary and reduced the number of passengers on its land excursions.

Tauck is collaborating with the BBC to capture the authenticity of its cruises and land tours.