Some naming ceremonies feel ceremonial, this one feels purposeful. Celebrity Cruises has invited Brazil’s Janaína Torres, World’s 50 Best’s 2024 Best Female Chef, to become Godmother of its next Edge-Series evolution, and the choice says everything about where the brand is headed.
In maritime tradition, a godmother is more than a figurehead, she is a guardian spirit who symbolically protects the ship, its crew and its guests. Appointing a chef known for celebrating culture and community signals that this vessel will treat dining as storytelling, not just service. It sets a tone of care, hospitality and curiosity for Celebrity Cruises before the first lines are cast off, a reminder that excellence on board begins with the people who shape the experience.
Janaína Torres blends heritage cooking with a no-waste mindset, which is an unusually practical fit for a modern cruise ship where thoughtful sourcing really matters. Her leadership at A Casa do Porco and her broader À Brasileira cultural project show how food can carry identity without becoming fussy. That approach travels well, because it turns a menu into a bridge, connecting guests to the places they are visiting through techniques, ingredients and stories.
Celebrity chose a partner who aligns with its core promises, authentic recipes, local and sustainable produce, and welcoming service. That alignment should be felt on board in dozens of small ways, from how tomatoes are chosen in port to how servers describe a dish at your table. Values become tangible when they reach your plate, and this godmother appointment is a public commitment to that standard.
The line has long invested in accessible fine dining, and here the culinary lens gets pointed squarely at the destinations you will visit. Expect a programme that is more conversation than performance, and more local market than generic trend.
A new signature venue, The Bazaar, is designed to erase the line between ship and shore. Think marketplace energy with room for cooking demonstrations, tastings, and entertainment that riffs on the region you are sailing through. The goal is to extend your time in port, not by adding hours, but by carrying the place itself back on board through food, sound and story.
Torres’ mantra is simple, fine dining should be welcoming. On board that translates into menus that read clearly, flavour combinations that make immediate sense, and service that encourages questions. It is a hospitality posture that lowers the threshold for discovery, which is precisely what most travellers want when they step outside their comfort zone.
Celebrity’s culinary teams already shop markets around the world, and this partnership reinforces that daily ritual. The promise is not only freshness, it is relevance, dishes that taste like where you are. When a plate arrives with herbs you saw in a morning market or cheese your host mentioned during a shore tour, the experience coheres, ship and shore speaking the same language.
From November, the ship will alternate seven-night Caribbean loops from Fort Lauderdale, then shift to Europe for summer 2026. The culinary concept is engineered to flex with the geography so your palate keeps up with the ports.
Sailing to The Bahamas, Mexico, Cayman Islands, and a trio of Eastern Caribbean favourites means a week of sunshine paired with bright, coastal flavours. Expect menus that lean into citrus, spice and island produce, with a thoughtful nod to local street food traditions alongside the classic steak or seafood dishes you know and love. Families and friend groups can eat broadly together, since the design here prefers choice without confusion.
When Celebrity Xcel relocates to the Mediterranean for seven to eleven nights out of Barcelona and Athens, the kitchen gets a new pantry, olive oils that taste of place, stone fruit, briny cheeses, and local seafood that changes port to port. All-new overnight stays in Madeira invite late-evening dining rhythms, the kind of unhurried meals that make Europe in summer feel like it should. Your nightly table can become a travelogue, each course another postcard.
If you enjoy discovery but dislike pretense, you are the audience. Couples who plan their days around a market visit, families with teens who will try anything once, and multigenerational groups who want relaxed variety at dinner will thrive here. The ship’s culinary story is designed to be inclusive, curious and fun, so everyone at the table can find a favourite and still share bites across plates.
Culinary-led voyages reward a touch of planning. A few early choices on cabins, dining times and shore experiences give you the freedom to stay spontaneous when a local tip comes your way.
If you expect leisurely breakfasts and sunset tastings on your own balcony, a stateroom with outdoor space is a gift, especially on itineraries with scenic sail-ins. Travelling with friends or family, connecting balcony cabins provide two showers and more storage, which makes pre-dinner hours calmer. If you will spend most evenings in venues like The Bazaar, an oceanview can keep the budget tight without losing daylight.
Book specialty venues you truly care about on the busiest nights, then leave one or two dinners open for serendipity. On port-intensive weeks, aim for an earlier seating so you can linger at a late show or enjoy a second stroll on deck. Remember, the best culinary memory might be a simple lunch recommended by your guide that you only find because your schedule had room to breathe.
The on-board team will often cook with what is available locally, so pair your shore plans with that rhythm. Visiting a market in the morning, then heading to The Bazaar for a regional tasting in the afternoon, turns a single port call into a joined-up culinary day. The more your choices echo the place, the richer the week becomes.
If you are the planner in your group, start by matching dates and regions to the way you like to eat. Open our Cruise Finder to browse sailings, filter by homeport and duration, then save a shortlist you can quickly share with your travelling companions.
Before you lock anything in, look at how the menu and the ports speak to one another on your preferred week. The right itinerary lets Celebrity Xcel do what it was built to do, turn meals into memories while you explore.
When you are ready to align dates, flights and the right cabin mix, contact our team and we will prepare a clear shortlist that suits your pace and palate. We will help you sequence specialty dining with port days, suggest smart stateroom locations for food lovers, and hold the best options while your travel party makes the final call. With the table set and the route chosen, all that remains is to taste your way through the week.