'Top Chef at Sea' Heats Up as Celebrity Cruises and Bravo Media Extend Partnership Through 2016

Special November 2015 Caribbean sailing to feature six popular cheftestants and new chef-hosted destination experiences

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Mar 26, 2015, 11:21 ET

MIAMI and NEW YORK, March 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrity Cruises and Bravo Media have extended the popular "Top Chef at Sea" program through 2016, and will offer "Top Chef" fans and food lovers the opportunity to vacation with a new lineup of cheftestants on the exclusive "Top Chef Signature Sailing" in 2015. Setting sail November 14 onboard Celebrity Reflection, the one-of-a-kind Eastern Caribbean cruise vacation will give guests an up-close-and-personal culinary experience with six former "Top Chef" competitors, including:

Nina Compton: Top Chef New Orleans runner-up
Tiffany Derry: Top Chef D.C. and Top Chef All-Stars contestant; Owner of TD Concepts, Inc.
Ash Fulk: Top Chef Las Vegas contestant; Culinary Director at Hill Country Hospitality in NYC
Gregory Gourdet: Top Chef Boston runner-up; Executive Chef at Departure Restaurant + Lounge in Portland, Oregon
Doug Adams: Top Chef Boston finalist; Chef de Cuisine of Imperial and Portland Penny Diner
Chris Crary: Top Chef Texas contestant; Executive Chef of Hyde Sunset Kitchen + Cocktails in Los Angeles

New during this year's Top Chef Signature Sailing, vacationers can choose from an array of local destination experiences hosted by a featured cheftestant, making these excursions a unique way to explore the Caribbean. The exclusive chef-hosted shore excursions will be available for purchase soon.

The signature sailing also will feature new duel-style cooking demonstrations onboard where cheftestants will battle each other while answering fans' questions, with the winning dish chosen by the audience. Also onboard and back by popular demand, passionate foodies can enjoy exclusive and intimate experiences with the chefs by booking private cooking classes and private dinners to hone their skills and get advice on preparing sumptuous dishes at home.

In addition to the Top Chef Signature Sailing with alums, Celebrity will continue to offer interactive Quickfire Challenges and "Top Chef"-inspired menu evenings on its modern luxury vacations onboard nine ships, for all sailings departing through June 2016. Quickfire Challenges will put guests in the spotlight to get a taste of the pressure the cheftestants experience on the show. Plus, guests can indulge in a selection of the dishes the judges raved about on the series at "Top Chef Night" in the main restaurant.

Celebrity has paved the way for the cruise industry on land and at sea, being the first-ever cruise line to present dinner at the prestigious James Beard House and create land-based pop-up restaurants in San Francisco and New York. Celebrity originally partnered with "Top Chef" in November 2014 to launch the exclusive Top Chef at Sea experience. The extension of Top Chef at Sea allows for guests to continually sail with Celebrity on a modern luxury vacation with endless culinary possibilities. For more details about Top Chef at Sea, visit celebritycruises.com/topchef.

Bravo's Emmy® and James Beard Award-winning "Top Chef" will return for season 13 this fall. "Top Chef" is produced by Magical Elves with Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz serving as executive producers.

About Celebrity Cruises:

Celebrity Cruises' iconic "X" is the mark of modern luxury, with its cool, contemporary design and warm spaces; dining experiences where the design of the venues is as important as the cuisine; and the amazing service that only Celebrity can provide, all created to provide an unmatchable experience for vacationers' precious time. Celebrity Cruises' 10 ships offer modern luxury vacations visiting all seven continents. Celebrity also presents immersive cruise tour experiences in Alaska and Canada. Celebrity is one of six cruise brands operated by global cruise vacation company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE, OSE: RCL). For more information, dial 1-800-437-3111, visit www.celebritycruises.com, or call your travel agent.

About Bravo Media

Bravo Media is the premiere lifestyle and entertainment brand that drives the cultural conversation around its high-quality, interactive original content that focuses on the network's passion points of food, fashion, beauty, design, digital and pop culture. The network's diversified slate includes Bravo's first scripted series "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce," upcoming comedy "Odd Mom Out," and unscripted favorites such as Emmy award-winning "Top Chef," "Vanderpump Rules," "Below Deck," "Thicker Than Water" and the popular "Million Dollar Listing" and "The Real Housewives" franchises as well as the only live late-night talk show, "Watch What Happens Live." Available in 92 million homes, Bravo is a program service of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Bravo has been an NBCUniversal cable network since December 2002 and first launched in December 1980.

SOURCE Celebrity Cruises