Art of Entertaining Series questions

[kennancat]

DH and I are thinking about doing a 7-day in September or October. We thought the Art of Entertaining Series looked really interesting, but I haven't been able to find much information about them online, so I was hoping someone could help me with the following questions:

1. Do you need to make reservations?
2. Is there any cost?
3. How crowded are the sessions?
4. Are they only offered on the sea days?
5. How long do they last?

Thank you!

 

[curlyq]

I hope I can answer some of your questions. You do not need reservations for the Art of Entertaining series. It would help to be there on the early side to make sure you get good seats, but there were empty tables in the back if you weren't early. There is no cost and you get to sample the foods they are cooking along with a nice glass of wine. The series was alot of fun and usually runs about an hour for each session, and as my memory recalls, yes they did only run the sessions on sea days. Have fun!

 

[jrabbit]

Most of the sessions take place in Studio Sea. Most of them are on sea days. I really enjoyed the cooking sessions. The chief's personality and the host of the session will make a difference in how much "fun" it is. The not to be missed event is the ice sculpting that is done up on deck nine (goofy pool stage). Be there early. Stake you space and try to not let everyone crowd you to the back where you can't see. It's amazing how they are able to saw the block of ice into a beautiful sculpture in 15-20 minutes.

 

[kennancat]

Thanks so much for the answers so far. Of course, I forgot to ask the most important question - did you enjoy them? The information on program length is very helpful since we'll also want to do the champagne brunch at Palo's, and I want to make sure that I pick a Palo time where we're not having to rush through one to get to the other.

 

[mmouse37]

Yes, I have always enjoyed the Art of Entertainment series onboard. They are usually held at 10:15 am in Studio Sea with an afternoon session at about 1:00 or 1:30. The morning sessions are where they have food demos and the afternoon classes are usually napkin/towel folding, plate decorating, Mixology, etc. The ice carving is really neat to see. The best place for a photo op is from Deck 10 looking down to the Goofy Pool Stage on Deck 9.

As another poster mentioned...the chef doing the demo does make a big difference. We once had Corey from Australia who had the whole room laughing from start to finish, and this time we had Panda from India who was good, but a very serious, quiet personality. A member of the Cruise Staff always hosts these events and are there to answer questions as well. They provide copies of the recipe for you to take home. Studio Sea has monitors overhead, so if you cannot be right up front, select a seat where you can see the monitor and you will be able to see exactly how the dish is prepared.

One great advantage of attending the series in Studio Sea, especially on the last sea day is that they hand out Galley (kitchen) tour tickets right there to the guests at the Series. Otherwise you must wait on a line to pick up tickets for the galley tour and sometimes they run out.

MJ

 

[wendym]

I remember Corey - he was wonderful! What was his catchphrase again? Something like Kitchen Aid the very best - but then I am not paying. Probably got that totally wrong but remember I was in stitches.
Wendy