Experiences with the Chef’s Market Discovery excursions

[msmusic]

I’m considering one of these excursions in Cadiz, Spain. According to the description, it seems like you visit a market and learn a bit about the food, go to a local restaurant for some samples and then in the evening, have a special dinner on board. 
 

If you have done one of these excursions with Celebrity, could you please provide more details, especially about the dinner on board. Did you like the excursion?  It’s expensive, did you think it was a good value?

 

Any experiences would be appreciated. 
 

Thank you. 

[miched]

I did not think it was a good value. 
 

We did it in St Lucia.   A lot depends on your table mates and the person hosting it.   We had a terrible host.  I think it was his first time doing it and was more of a tour for him than for us.  The driver took us to a market.  The host took us inside and walked us thru the area and said here is the market.   This is where they sell vegetables.   He took us to a vendor that told us about what they were selling.   We walked to another part where they sold fish,  they did the same. We then walked to an area that sold merchandise and said shop around and meet back at the bus in 20 minutes.   We then were driven to a plantation where we had a little tour  were served a lunch.  Nothing special.    We then went back to the ship.   We met later in the evening for the dinner.   Again nothing I would have chosen on a menu.   Our table mates weren’t the friendliest.  I think it was 2  separate groups of  friends.  We were the outsiders.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited September 7, 2023 by miched

[whatnot26]

I did this excursion in Mallorca on the Edge last month and it was one of my favorites of the trip.  It's definitely expensive, but I thought it was worth it.

 

For the day trip, we took a bus into the city with our local guide and two chefs from the ship.  The guide took us to a local indoor market (mercat de l'Olivar) and we saw the various types of food and other products on offer.  Our guide would stop at different stalls to talk about local food culture, and one of the chefs (who was from Chile but had studied in Spain) also talked about his experiences.  We did not really have time to poke around the market and sample/buy things, expect while the guide was talking, although that is a common issue with these group tours in my experience.  The chefs did buy some spices at one of the shops, which gave us some time to browse.

 

We then walked to a tapas restaurant and had a nice lunch (sandwiches, different types of croquettes and a dessert).  Soda, juice, water and coffee was included, and I think beer as well (others at my table asked for it and I didn't notice them paying for it separately).  We then walked through the city for another hour or so, ending at the major cathedral there.  We had time to take pictures outside before getting on the bus back to the ship.  That was the main negative from my prospective - we still had a couple hours before all aboard, so would have been nice to have some free time in the city (in hindsight, I could have broken off from the group at this point and gone back on my own).

 

We were told to meet at Cafe al Bacio at 6pm for dinner.  The chefs who had been on the city tour with us gave us a tour of the kitchens for the main dining rooms, and then we were seated at two large tables in one of the main dining rooms that had been kind of cordoned off.

 

The dinner was as good as any of the speciality restaurants I've been to (but more expensive), but it's a set menu based on the local cuisine so you'll either like it or you won't (they did ask for allergy info ahead of time).  For our dinner, it started with charcuterie boards that includes local ham and cheeses, then gazpacho, seafood paella, an amazing steak, and flan for dessert.  There were enough people on the tour for two tables of 8-9, and my table was all very friendly - a mix of couples and solo travelers (like myself).  It was a ton of food, and we ended up finishing around 9pm.  (I remember because it was the last full day of the trip, so a lot of us needed to hurry back to our rooms to get our bags packed!)

[msmusic]

Thank you both for telling me about your experiences. I will be traveling solo so the group is a bit of a concern but I will be in that situation the whole trip. I’m sure the host chef makes a big difference.  Whatnot, thank you for the details and pictures. I was hoping the dinner would be like a specialty restaurant - maybe it’s easier to do with Spanish cuisine.

 

Since I purchased the excursion during a flash sale, I can justify the expense a lot more. I think I will keep it for now, I still have time to change my mind. 

 

I hope to hear more experiences. Thanks again. 

[Tudy]

We did it in August on the Beyond from Naples.

 

It was not worth the money in my opinion.

 

The group size was about 18 people. First we got on a bus and went to Sorrento. In addition to the guide, a chef from the ship was with us and took us to the market where we had some lovely samples from several different shops.  Then the  chef left us and went back to the ship. Next we were taken to a store for a brief lecture on how inland wooden tables were made. The store had clean bathrooms, but not enough of them and the lines for the ladies' room was very long. We left Sorrento and went up the mountain to a farm and had a tour and a lovely lunch.

 

From there the tour went downhill. We were taken to Positano over very windy narrow roads and dropped off in the very crowded tourist area for shopping. Then back again over the same very windy narrow roads to the ship.

 

The evening meal was. . .well, I would have been embarrassed to serve it if I had cooked it. We met in one of the main dining rooms and had a tour of the kitchen. Then we were seated, not in a special room, but at regular tables in the dining room. The service was "relaxed." The food was uninspired and the fish was all overcooked and definitely "fishy."

 

Very disappointing. I think it is a great concept and was excited about the opportunity. However, our particular event was poorly executed.

Edited September 7, 2023 by Tudy
clarification

[JDPCruisers]

14 hours ago, miched said:

I did not think it was a good value. 
 

We did it in St Lucia.   A lot depends on your table mates and the person hosting it.   We had a terrible host.  I think it was his first time doing it and was more of a tour for him than for us.  The driver took us to a market.  The host took us inside and walked us thru the area and said here is the market.   This is where they sell vegetables.   He took us to a vendor that told us about what they were selling.   We walked to another part where they sold fish,  they did the same. We then walked to an area that sold merchandise and said shop around and meet back at the bus in 20 minutes.   We then were driven to a plantation where we had a little tour  were served a lunch.  Nothing special.    We then went back to the ship.   We met later in the evening for the dinner.   Again nothing I would have chosen on a menu.   Our table mates weren’t the friendliest.  I think it was 2  separate groups of  friends.  We were the outsiders.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

We did this and thought the same, other than having a great chef from the ship with us who explained a lot of what was for sale that was local, and he was a nice guy. Did the plantation, nothing special and not what many people would think of as a grand plantation. Would not to this one again, now had a different experience in Malaga Spain. 

[JDPCruisers]

11 hours ago, whatnot26 said:

I did this excursion in Mallorca on the Edge last month and it was one of my favorites of the trip.  It's definitely expensive, but I thought it was worth it.

 

For the day trip, we took a bus into the city with our local guide and two chefs from the ship.  The guide took us to a local indoor market (mercat de l'Olivar) and we saw the various types of food and other products on offer.  Our guide would stop at different stalls to talk about local food culture, and one of the chefs (who was from Chile but had studied in Spain) also talked about his experiences.  We did not really have time to poke around the market and sample/buy things, expect while the guide was talking, although that is a common issue with these group tours in my experience.  The chefs did buy some spices at one of the shops, which gave us some time to browse.

 

We then walked to a tapas restaurant and had a nice lunch (sandwiches, different types of croquettes and a dessert).  Soda, juice, water and coffee was included, and I think beer as well (others at my table asked for it and I didn't notice them paying for it separately).  We then walked through the city for another hour or so, ending at the major cathedral there.  We had time to take pictures outside before getting on the bus back to the ship.  That was the main negative from my prospective - we still had a couple hours before all aboard, so would have been nice to have some free time in the city (in hindsight, I could have broken off from the group at this point and gone back on my own).

 

We were told to meet at Cafe al Bacio at 6pm for dinner.  The chefs who had been on the city tour with us gave us a tour of the kitchens for the main dining rooms, and then we were seated at two large tables in one of the main dining rooms that had been kind of cordoned off.

 

The dinner was as good as any of the speciality restaurants I've been to (but more expensive), but it's a set menu based on the local cuisine so you'll either like it or you won't (they did ask for allergy info ahead of time).  For our dinner, it started with charcuterie boards that includes local ham and cheeses, then gazpacho, seafood paella, an amazing steak, and flan for dessert.  There were enough people on the tour for two tables of 8-9, and my table was all very friendly - a mix of couples and solo travelers (like myself).  It was a ton of food, and we ended up finishing around 9pm.  (I remember because it was the last full day of the trip, so a lot of us needed to hurry back to our rooms to get our bags packed!)

We did the same and, besides our guide which we didn't care for as he talked over the chef (Eric), same one we had in St. Lucia, when he was trying to describe the different foods. We had good samples of Jamon Iberico ham and the chef bought quite a few items for our dinner later. Other than the no so good tour guide, this one we would recommend as the market was very good, tapas restaurant included plenty of wine and food was good, and chef Eric was great with not only the market, the kitchen tour, and with the dinner! Would do again. 

[msmusic]

Thank you for the responses - quite varied experiences.

 

For Cadiz, I think we will be walking to the market, as the ship docks near the town so hopefully, that will eliminate frustrating travel. They also mention a specific restaurant we will go to, and it has great reviews so I think I will do it.  I will still have time to wander the town on my own afterwards.  I wouldn’t have considered it at full price but with Flash Sale pricing, it’s more reasonable. 
 

Thanks again for sharing your experiences. 

[GottaKnowWhen]

We did this in Ste. Marteen a few years ago. First stop was a wine and cheese shop, discussion of new vs older vs well aged Gouda, taste testing including wine pairings. (9:30am!) Then to a market, some discussion of how to select among local produce. Then to a restaurant where our chef and local guy discussed/demonstrated making ceviche. More tasting with wine pairings. On to a French restaurant for a nice lunch. Then back to the ship (we opted to get dropped off in town.) That evening we had a galley tour, then a nice multi course dinner in a corner of Tucson restaurant with presentation/discussion by the head chef. The meal was supposedly built around items purchased that day in that market we visited, but I am not convinced. All in all, quite nice! We were outliers, the other 12-14 participants seemed to be two groups of friends, and it would have been a bit more pleasant if we had our own grouping. 
Stan

[zitsky]

Those of you with groups?  Was the food served family style and did the groups grab the food for themselves?  Or did they serve everyone?

[GottaKnowWhen]

1 minute ago, zitsky said:

Those of you with groups?  Was the food served family style and did the groups grab the food for themselves?  Or did they serve everyone?

Ours was individual servings. And 1-2 servers hovering nearby throughout.

[xamsx]

We did one in Majorca last October when we were on the TA Connie. It was the worse cruise tour we ever took.

 

Never heard a peep out of the chef that accompanied us, the tour guide kept going on and on about the “very important “ statue, road, and buildings. We only had 20 minutes in the market! 

 

The food at lunch was indescribable - no really, the tour guide never bothered to describe what was placed in front of us.

 

The only good thing the tour guide did was give people the opportunity to bail after lunch by calling the tour bus. And bail we did.

 

Later, when at the pool bar, someone on our tour approached us to commiserate on how awful that tour was. She told us she stayed, and by the end when they hit a church, there was only six people in the group left!
 

We were in a poor mood over this and didn’t want to inflict our bad attitude on anyone else, so we did not attend dinner.

 

We did try and complain about the tour so they could address this with whoever had the cruise contract. Unfortunately, no one cared to call us back, and the front desk told us to review on the app. Uh huh.

 

 

[miched]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

Those of you with groups?  Was the food served family style and did the groups grab the food for themselves?  Or did they serve everyone?

Ours was family style.  The problem I have with that is taking too much or not enough.  Family style to me is an awkward situation because of the utensils being used if you go for 2 nds because of what is left and you didn’t take enough or really liked it and also not being a hog.    
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[chemmo]

On 9/8/2023 at 12:43 PM, msmusic said:

Thank you for the responses - quite varied experiences.

 

For Cadiz, I think we will be walking to the market, as the ship docks near the town so hopefully, that will eliminate frustrating travel. They also mention a specific restaurant we will go to, and it has great reviews so I think I will do it.  I will still have time to wander the town on my own afterwards.  I wouldn’t have considered it at full price but with Flash Sale pricing, it’s more reasonable. 
 

Thanks again for sharing your experiences. 

Please do a review after you return. I am dithering with booking this tour if available next year. A bit put off by several of the reviews. I will also be doing it solo if I do it so interested in that aspect too.

[hcat]

if the Excursion manager receives several strong but polite complaints just after the tour,  there's a fair chance there would be a credit issued.

 

OP says he has a good price and the restaurant for lunch had good review.  So why not try it?

[msmusic]

Thank you for the responses. 
 

4 hours ago, chemmo said:

Please do a review after you return. I am dithering with booking this tour if available next year. A bit put off by several of the reviews. I will also be doing it solo if I do it so interested in that aspect too.

I will do a review when I get back.  

 

This will be quite different trip for me, going solo and trying to have an interesting experience while being very aware of the costs. My husband has several trips planned for the fall for football and golf. Since I don’t do those things, I decided to plan a solo trip with the unofficial challenge of spending about what he spends 🙂.

 

Like so many tours, a lot depends on the guide. If the experience is very disappointing (not just for me), I will talk to someone and recommend the others on the tour do the same. However, I’m pretty easy to please. 

 

Within the details portion of the excursion shown below, it is mentioned that the meal is “inspired” by the area, I certainly understand the possible restrictions of fresh food purchases. 
 

• Per United States Public Health (USPH) and Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) regulations, the Celebrity Cruises chef may not purchase and bring on board any ingredients from markets in the destination. 
• The private dinner is prepared with local products purchased by approved vendors, reminiscent of the region's cuisine and inspired by the fresh market ingredients from the day.

[maren91]

Did this trip in Sorrento off Celebrity Beyond and it was hands down top five excursions I've taken in 20 years of cruising. The chef was so excited to show us the markets and the food was so fresh!. We got a tour of the kitchen before dinner which was so neat! Loved everyone on the tour, such a fabulous day! I've already booked this tour for August 2024, countdown has begun. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[maren91]

14 hours ago, msmusic said:

Thank you for the responses. 
 

I will do a review when I get back.  

 

This will be quite different trip for me, going solo and trying to have an interesting experience while being very aware of the costs. My husband has several trips planned for the fall for football and golf. Since I don’t do those things, I decided to plan a solo trip with the unofficial challenge of spending about what he spends 🙂.

 

Like so many tours, a lot depends on the guide. If the experience is very disappointing (not just for me), I will talk to someone and recommend the others on the tour do the same. However, I’m pretty easy to please. 

 

Within the details portion of the excursion shown below, it is mentioned that the meal is “inspired” by the area, I certainly understand the possible restrictions of fresh food purchases. 
 

• Per United States Public Health (USPH) and Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) regulations, the Celebrity Cruises chef may not purchase and bring on board any ingredients from markets in the destination. 
• The private dinner is prepared with local products purchased by approved vendors, reminiscent of the region's cuisine and inspired by the fresh market ingredients from the day.

 

While I'm not doubting these regulations, I watched the Chef pay for ingredients in the markets we stopped at in Italy and we had those ingredients at dinner. 

[dcbiker97]

On 9/9/2023 at 9:39 PM, GottaKnowWhen said:

We did this in Ste. Marteen a few years ago. First stop was a wine and cheese shop, discussion of new vs older vs well aged Gouda, taste testing including wine pairings. (9:30am!) Then to a market, some discussion of how to select among local produce. Then to a restaurant where our chef and local guy discussed/demonstrated making ceviche. More tasting with wine pairings. On to a French restaurant for a nice lunch. Then back to the ship (we opted to get dropped off in town.) That evening we had a galley tour, then a nice multi course dinner in a corner of Tucson restaurant with presentation/discussion by the head chef. The meal was supposedly built around items purchased that day in that market we visited, but I am not convinced. All in all, quite nice! We were outliers, the other 12-14 participants seemed to be two groups of friends, and it would have been a bit more pleasant if we had our own grouping. 
Stan

I came here to post my experience from St Maarten from several years ago.  My experience mirrors yours exactly.  I never did see the chef buy anything other than a spice packet so I kept wondering  all throughout dinner just how much was actually local. But it was a nice day going to various places on the island. 

Edited September 11, 2023 by dcbiker97