There's dinner and a show, and then there's Celebrity Cruises.
The line is raising the bar with partnerships with the American Ballet Theatre and Michelin-starred Chef Daniel Boulud.
The ballet company was founded in 1939 in New York, and now performs around the world. The cruise line partnership is a first for the cultural icon, and will bring guest performances on board select ships.
"American Ballet Theatre's mission is to bring the best of ballet to the widest possible audience," said company Executive Director Kara Medoff Barnett. "We are thrilled to redefine 'widest' to now include audiences at sea."
In addition to performances, passengers will have the opportunity to participate with the dancers in small seminars, take ballet classes, including children's ballet, and also travel to destinations where the ballet company will be performing on land.
"American Ballet Theatre holds a very similar set of values as does Celebrity in that it is wanting to provide an experience that will live in your memory as a special moment in your life," Barnett said.
On the culinary front, the partnership with Chef Boulud brings another Michelin star into the cruise line's mix joining Michelin-starred Chef and Associate Vice President of Food and Beverage Operations Cornelius Gallagher. Chef Boulud will act as the line's Global Culinary Brand Ambassador. He's known for his New York restaurants DANIEL and Cafe Boulud. A version of Cafe Boulud at the Brazilian Court Hotel & Beach Club in Palm Beach is consistently one of Florida's most honored restaurants.
Boulud will bring his skills to create dishes for Luminae, the suite-class restaurant on board Celebrity's ships.
Also on board will be Chef's Table by Boulud that will feature a private galley tour and five-course dinner featuring guest chef appearances.
Boulud will also work with the best of Celebrity's chefs for a mentoring program.
"I think the excitement is to be able to bring my knowledge, bring the diversity of the cuisine I have with my restaurants," Boulud said.
The partnerships will roll out to the fleet in 2019 starting with Celebrity Summit, Equinox and Millennium.
Celebrity Equinox has sailings out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., while Celebrity Summit will sail from New York and San Juan, Puerto Rico and Celebrity Millennium is based in Asia.
