Culinarry Classes

[pna]

Will be sailing on the Riviera in February.   Do the culinary classes fill up long before sailing or can you sign up after you are on board?

[Hawaiidan]

36 minutes ago, pna said:

Will be sailing on the Riviera in February.   Do the culinary classes fill up long before sailing or can you sign up after you are on board?

Yes they fill up VERY FAST.    On board it too late... except for a wait list which will be Loooong

[Flatbush Flyer]

36 minutes ago, pna said:

Will be sailing on the Riviera in February.   Do the culinary classes fill up long before sailing or can you sign up after you are on board?

With an occasional few exceptions, they book solid months in advance. Sometimes, a class or two may be added because of demand. First to go are "sea day" offerings.

[Clutj]

Echo the above.  I also highly recommend any on-shore excursions with the Culinary Class Chef.  Trips to farmers' markets were very cool, and great sessions with chefs onshore.

[LHT28]

Depending on the class  some are more popular than others

We have been lucky to get in after boarding   just sign up right away

Or if you know the class you want sign up before time  you can always cancel  48 hrs prior to the class

[Wishing on a star]

Can I assume that there are fees for these classes.  And we can sign up online.  

It seems that these are set in the sailing schedule far in advance.

 

ETA:  I have found something that shows $69.00 for these classes.

Even though I am the wanna-be foodie,  my husband is my sous chef sometimes! So that would be about $140.00 if I didn't do the class by myself.

 

I wonder if there will be a good offering of culinary classes on a short, port intensive, cruise.

I would have to see what might be available when at the two most minor ports.

Chef Pepin,

European/Mediterranean 

and Red Ginger would all be good!

 

Edited January 17, 2020 by Wishing on a star

[Mura]

There are fees.  You can sign up online.  Our last cruise was May 2018 and my recollection is that then the classes cost $79 -- I could be wrong because even though I booked well in advance, I had to cancel for various reasons.  So I can't attest to the value of the classes other than I can't recall ever seeing a post from someone who took the class that was unhappy! 

 

You won't become a top 10 chef with one of these classes but apparently you'll have a lot of fun and have some very good eats.  And someone else does the prep!  That counts for a lot in my book.

 

However, if you are interested in a class I agree that you should book asap, online.  Lyn has found availability on board but I don't think that is common!  It's more a matter of luck ... Someone like me who had paid and booked very early had to cancel at the last minute.

 

I also agree that classes offered on sea days are VERY POPULAR!

 

Mura

[KatieBelle]

1 hour ago, Wishing on a star said:

Can I assume that there are fees for these classes.  And we can sign up online.  

It seems that these are set in the sailing schedule far in advance.

 

ETA:  I have found something that shows $69.00 for these classes.

Even though I am the wanna-be foodie,  my husband is my sous chef sometimes! So that would be about $140.00 if I didn't do the class by myself.

 

I wonder if there will be a good offering of culinary classes on a short, port intensive, cruise.

I would have to see what might be available when at the two most minor ports.

Chef Pepin,

European/Mediterranean 

and Red Ginger would all be good!

 

The last time I took a class was 2018 and was $69 per person.  If you have any SBC, use it!  I also got lucky and booked on board.  There were 2 classes added after boarding on a 15 day sailing. The best part for me was the nice apron.  I wear it almost every week should I decide to cook at home.  😉

 

Katie

[Queen of DaNile]

Depends on the cruise. We did a TA on Marina that was not fully booked and there was still availability for several classes once on board. Booked one in advance and another one midway thru the cruise to use up some non refundable OBC. Neither class was full. 

[Petoonya]

56 minutes ago, Queen of DaNile said:

Depends on the cruise. We did a TA on Marina that was not fully booked and there was still availability for several classes once on board. Booked one in advance and another one midway thru the cruise to use up some non refundable OBC. Neither class was full. 

Also booked a couple classes onboard a moderately booked 18 day Tahiti-LA cruise with 8 sea days.

[Hoyaheel]

Just did 2 classes in December on Riviera. They were $69 each. They do NOT include the apron - it's $19 to purchase. You get handouts with the recipes you're using in the class, but they also sell a cookbook that has the recipes from most or all of the class recipes. [I was bummed the apron wasn't included - more than half my aprons at home are from HAL cooking classes husband and I did a decade ago ;-)]

 

I booked our classes online at least 2 months in advance. I didn't see any added on our cruise (14 day holiday/Caribbean) but I wasn't paying CLOSE attention (I did read the newsletter everyday, but perhaps they sent notices only to people who were on waitlists or such).

[clo]

1 hour ago, Hoyaheel said:

Just did 2 classes in December on Riviera.

Did you learn anything?

[Hoyaheel]

I do culinary classes because they're fun. I'm a pretty good cook. I learned some new recipes and we enjoyed ourselves. I used a different type of knife that I quite enjoyed and might buy for home. Our chef was a VERY good instructor - she's been teaching for years. Professional chefs are not always good instructors - very different skill sets.

[Hawaiidan]

17 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

Can I assume that there are fees for these classes.  And we can sign up online.  

It seems that these are set in the sailing schedule far in advance.

 

ETA:  I have found something that shows $69.00 for these classes.

Even though I am the wanna-be foodie,  my husband is my sous chef sometimes! So that would be about $140.00 if I didn't do the class by myself.

 

I wonder if there will be a good offering of culinary classes on a short, port intensive, cruise.

I would have to see what might be available when at the two most minor ports.

Chef Pepin,

European/Mediterranean 

and Red Ginger would all be good!

 

The classes are on Marina and Riviera only.....AND ON SEA DAYS   Port intensive   not to my knowledge.Other times in the theater, they might have a  cooking demo  but not a class where you participate in.

[jwindham]

Yes on the Mariana and Riviera only but they can be on port days. They are on our cruise this February. They are on ports taht are not staying late night but they are there. Julia

[Hoyaheel]

Our cruise was very port intensive and there were several cooking classes on port days. There was also one cooking demo in the theater; I did not attend. (ironically, I believe I was in a cooking class at the time)

Edited January 17, 2020 by Hoyaheel

[Hawaiidan]

2 hours ago, Hoyaheel said:

Our cruise was very port intensive and there were several cooking classes on port days. There was also one cooking demo in the theater; I did not attend. (ironically, I believe I was in a cooking class at the time)

The do not have  the facilities in the theater.....  CLass for everyone  on the ship???

[Silver Sweethearts]

1 hour ago, Hawaiidan said:

The do not have  the facilities in the theater.....  CLass for everyone  on the ship???

 

We believe the "cooking demo" mentioned was just that - a demonstration held in the theater where the chefs are on stage and interested passengers watch from the seats in the theater.  Nothing hands-on by the passengers in this case.

[Mura]

Absolutely!  It's very entertaining.  They do give out recipes for the demonstrated dishes.  The chefs involved have an "amusing shtick" which can pale after lots of viewings!  But it's interesting to see how they prepare the dishes.  Wine/champagne is always very present on stage.  If it sounds like I'm critical, I am a bit...but that doesn't stop me from going whenever one is offered!

 

Best views are up front ...  Especially if you are on an "R" ship.

 

Sometimes they have passed around small plates of what was cooked for the audience ... other times, not.

 

Mura

 

[Hawaiidan]

2 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

 

We believe the "cooking demo" mentioned was just that - a demonstration held in the theater where the chefs are on stage and interested passengers watch from the seats in the theater.  Nothing hands-on by the passengers in this case.

totaly agree...I was wondering?

[Hoyaheel]

It was listed as a demo in the theater.  I didn't attend to confirm but assume it was as I have seen on other ships/lines - chefs on stage at a table, probably with a portable induction burner, depending on the item to be prepared....

[ORV]

We recently went to one of these in the Lounge. 

[clo]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

We recently went to one of these in the Lounge. 

HE WAS THERE?!?!?!?! Wow!

[Flatbush Flyer]

[ORV]

35 minutes ago, clo said:

HE WAS THERE?!?!?!?! Wow!

The whole cruise. His entourage with the exception of him was at our Dom Perignon La Reserve dinner. Scuttlebutt had it that he was supposed to be there but had a cold. 

 

We ate dinner in Jacques one night when his whole group ate there. Talk about great service. The food wasn't bad either. I can't believe some jerk had the nerve to go over to his table while he was dining with his family and ask him to take a picture with him. He got up and had a picture taken with this guy and wife. Very gracious I would say, but I personally would never put anyone like that in that position. 

 

At book signings or Culinary Classes(which he didn't do on our cruise) is another thing altogether. That is the time for the photos with him.