MIAMI, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Blending its award-winning culinary heritage with a series of new brand initiatives, Celebrity Cruises has entered a new three-year concession agreement with Apollo Ship Chandlers, replacing the former catering partnership arrangement.
Under the new agreement, Apollo will handle food and beverage purchasing, sourcing of crew, warehousing and logistics coordination for Celebrity. Most shipboard colleagues who were formerly Celebrity Catering Services Partnership employees are now employees of Celebrity Cruises.
"We are thrilled about this new relationship with our colleagues at Apollo, who, with Master Chef Michel Roux, have done an incredible job of placing Celebrity at the forefront of the culinary arena," said Celebrity's Senior Vice President of Fleet Operations, Dietmar Wertanzl. "Our new agreement will bring no major changes in terms of the guest experience; in fact, with the expertise and highly skilled personnel remaining, Celebrity will continue to provide an outstanding culinary product, with constant innovation and some new tastes of luxury."
Master Chef Michel Roux, culinary and wine consultant for Celebrity since its inception, will continue to design, evaluate and revise Celebrity's menus and wine lists fleetwide, oversee executive chef training and make periodic quality control inspections onboard Celebrity ships.
Celebrity's cuisine has received countless endorsements in its 12-year history. Most recently, Porthole Cruise Magazine's annual Readers' Choice Awards (December 2002) singled out Celebrity for offering the "Best Main Dining Room Cuisine," after ranking Millennium's intimate "Olympic" restaurant first among the top 10 "Most Scrumptious Restaurants at Sea" (August 2002).
The highest-rated premium cruise line in the industry, Celebrity Cruises' nine-ship fleet is the youngest of any major cruise line. Celebrity sails in Alaska, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii, the Panama Canal and South America. For more information, call your travel agent, dial 1-800-437-3111, or visit the Celebrity web site at www.celebrity.com
