Oceania Cruises is well-known for its culinary offerings aboard its fleet, but further enticing foodies to travel with the luxury cruise line are its exceptional cooking classes offered aboard its Riviera and Marina ships as well as full and half-day Culinary Discovery Tours led by its chefs on its entire fleet.

Chef Kathryn Kelly, Oceanias Director of Culinary Enrichment, designed each of the culinary discovery tours offered by the cruise line. Kelly, who has been with Oceania since 2010, has extensive culinary experience both as a gourmet chef and owner of a restaurant as well as a member of the faculty at the Culinary Institute of America (from which she is also a graduate). Culinary Discovery Tours are offered on Oceania ships with itineraries that stop in such ports as Venice, Monte Carlo, Portofino, Marseille, Oslo, Helsinki, Corfu, Catania, Casablanca, Barcelona, Argostoli, Rhodes, Tangiers, San Juan, and Tortola.

Chef Kathryn Kelly is the Director of Culinary Enrichment for Oceania Cruises.

The only hands-on cooking program offered by any cruise ship, Oceania offers several classes from which to choose on its Marina and Riviera ships. The number of classes that are offered is dependent on the length and itinerary of the cruise. Participants in one of the programs explore cuisines and ingredients and learn culinary techniques, which they can later use at home.

Passengers on Oceania Cruises Marina or Riviera can take a cooking class aboard the ship.

Each class begins with a cooking demonstration led by the Chef. Students are then assigned to a station where they prepare the same dishes and then dine on their creations that are paired with a glass of wine.

Chef Kathryn Kelly of Oceania Cruises teaches a cooking class on the Marina ship.

The Amore: Love of Lemons cooking class featured such recipes as a fennel salad with preserved lemons, lemon risotto, scaloppini al limone and lemon basil gelato with a drunken limoncello cake.

There are classes on several of the Marina and Riviera itineraries that feature Arabesque, Sicilian, Cuban cuisine, as well as a Fish Master Class, Paella Master Class and courses that focus on such foods as pasta, pizza, tapas, crepes and favorites from the Red Ginger restaurant menu.

Oceanias Director of Culinary Enrichment Kelly and Master Chef Karlis while teaching a cooking class.

Master Chef Karlis (left) and Chef Kathryn Kelly of Oceania Cruises lead a Culinary Discovery Tour at the Blue Harbor Tropical Arboretum in Roatan, Honduras.

Marina passengers visited the hydroponic farm at Blue Harbor Arboretum in Roatan Honduras.

Passengers on cruises that stop at Monte Carlo have the opportunity to sign up for a Discovery Tour that features a visit to the Nice market and lunch at the famous Chateau Eza with a menu developed by Chef Kelly (with each course explained by the chef including cooking techniques and ingredients used).

As the Culinary Discovery Tours and cooking classes are extremely popular, it is advisable to enroll in them well before boarding the ship. We discovered the programs are often sold out months in advance.

Also read: Oceania Cruises Marina Review: Luxury on the High Seas

Carrie Coolidge is Co-Editor of Pursuitist and is based in Manhattan. From 2009 to 2011, Carrie served as Co-Editor of Luxist, the luxury lifestyle website at AOL where she ran the Luxist Awards, a program that honored the very best in fine living. From 1996 to 2009, Carrie was a Staff Writer at Forbes magazine, where she was a member of the Billionaire's research team, in addition to covering real estate, personal finance and the insurance industry, among other areas. Carrie is also the author of six books, including "The Closet Entrepreneur". Follow her on Twitter: @carriecoolidge

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Oceania Cruises Culinary Programs for Foodies and Aspiring Chefs - Pursuitist