DESINTATION GPS
A Taste of Place
A Taste of Place
Oceania Cruises’ Culinary Discovery Tours™ serve up the world, one dish at a time.
For travelers who believe the best way to understand a destination is through its food, Oceania Cruises is revealing experiences that are far richer than an expected shore excursion. Culinary Discovery Tours are deep dives into culture, flavor, and the people who bring it all to life. Here, we dig into a few of our favorites.

MARSEILLE, FRANCE
Michelin Chef Reine Sammut & Aix Market
In the lavender-scented hills of Aix-en-Provence, a morning at the market becomes a sensory snapshot into Provençal life. Stalls teeming with locals brim with sun-warmed produce and aromatic herbs, as you and your chef instructor from The Culinary Center on board select ingredients for the day’s menu. Inside Auberge La Fenière—the restaurant of Reine Sammut, one of the few Michelin-starred female chefs in France—a refined demonstration captures the region’s rustic finesse. Rosé, crisp and unmistakably Provençal, awaits your return aboard the ship for a curated tasting.

CORK, IRELAND
Ballymaloe Cookery School
Tucked into the rolling emerald hills of County Cork, Ballymaloe Cookery School’s 100-acre organic farm stretches toward the sea, framed by wildflower meadows and stone walls weathered by salt and time. Guests explore the estate’s edible gardens, heritage orchards, and free-range flocks with a chef instructor from The Culinary Center. Inside the original farmhouse kitchen, Ireland’s culinary traditions focus on freshness and seasonality, featuring dishes like rich brown soda bread slathered with golden farmhouse butter, or a compote simmered with just-picked rhubarb from the garden.

CASTRIES, ST. LUCIA
Spices Cooking Studio
St. Lucia has a way of disarming you with its inexplicably warm and generous locals. That warmth takes shape in the kitchen of Spices Cooking Studio, perched above the coast. Local chefs guide you through the layers of green fig and salt fish salad, a national dish that tells its own story of Creole, French, and West Indian influence. The experience ends at the Castries Market, where vendors stack callaloo, cinnamon, and breadfruit in bundles of riotous color.

ROATÁN, HONDURAS
Honduran Farm & Ocean-To-Table Experience
At Blue Harbor Tropical Arboretum, indigenous gardens and hydroponic greenhouses stretch with cashew trees, cocoplum, and sour orange clinging to the island’s heat. With a chef instructor from The Culinary Center as your guide, local growers offer insight and ingredients that later shape your onboard cooking class. Back in The Culinary Center on board, a guest chef from Roatán leads you through dishes built around the island’s prized pink shrimp, pulled fresh from the Caribbean. A bright lunch follows, layered with lime and herbs, capped with a tropical dessert cocktail that tastes like a breeze through the mangroves.
Discover your next travel story with Oceania Cruises.
DESINTATION GPS
A Taste of Place
A Taste of Place
Oceania Cruises’ Culinary Discovery Tours™ serve up the world, one dish at a time.
For travelers who believe the best way to understand a destination is through its food, Oceania Cruises is revealing experiences that are far richer than an expected shore excursion. Culinary Discovery Tours are deep dives into culture, flavor, and the people who bring it all to life. Here, we dig into a few of our favorites.

MARSEILLE, FRANCE
Michelin Chef Reine Sammut & Aix Market
In the lavender-scented hills of Aix-en-Provence, a morning at the market becomes a sensory snapshot into Provençal life. Stalls teeming with locals brim with sun-warmed produce and aromatic herbs, as you and your chef instructor from The Culinary Center on board select ingredients for the day’s menu. Inside Auberge La Fenière—the restaurant of Reine Sammut, one of the few Michelin-starred female chefs in France—a refined demonstration captures the region’s rustic finesse. Rosé, crisp and unmistakably Provençal, awaits your return aboard the ship for a curated tasting.

CORK, IRELAND
Ballymaloe Cookery School
Tucked into the rolling emerald hills of County Cork, Ballymaloe Cookery School’s 100-acre organic farm stretches toward the sea, framed by wildflower meadows and stone walls weathered by salt and time. Guests explore the estate’s edible gardens, heritage orchards, and free-range flocks with a chef instructor from The Culinary Center. Inside the original farmhouse kitchen, Ireland’s culinary traditions focus on freshness and seasonality, featuring dishes like rich brown soda bread slathered with golden farmhouse butter, or a compote simmered with just-picked rhubarb from the garden.

CASTRIES, ST. LUCIA
Spices Cooking Studio
St. Lucia has a way of disarming you with its inexplicably warm and generous locals. That warmth takes shape in the kitchen of Spices Cooking Studio, perched above the coast. Local chefs guide you through the layers of green fig and salt fish salad, a national dish that tells its own story of Creole, French, and West Indian influence. The experience ends at the Castries Market, where vendors stack callaloo, cinnamon, and breadfruit in bundles of riotous color.

ROATÁN, HONDURAS
Honduran Farm & Ocean-To-Table Experience
At Blue Harbor Tropical Arboretum, indigenous gardens and hydroponic greenhouses stretch with cashew trees, cocoplum, and sour orange clinging to the island’s heat. With a chef instructor from The Culinary Center as your guide, local growers offer insight and ingredients that later shape your onboard cooking class. Back in The Culinary Center on board, a guest chef from Roatán leads you through dishes built around the island’s prized pink shrimp, pulled fresh from the Caribbean. A bright lunch follows, layered with lime and herbs, capped with a tropical dessert cocktail that tastes like a breeze through the mangroves.
Discover your next travel story with Oceania Cruises.
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After more than 25 years as a restaurant General Manager, I’ve taken my passion for five-star service and shifted it from the dining room to destinations around the world. I’ve spent the last four years planning seamless, stress-free vacations that are as unforgettable as the people taking them.
I bring the same dedication to detail, vendor management, and quick problem-solving that I used to deliver in the hospitality industry—now applied to curating flawless travel experiences. My clients are more than just customers—they’re VIPs, and I treat each trip as if I were planning it for myself.
As the owner of Vacation Planners of West St. Louis County, I’m proud to combine my personalized service with the tools, resources, and perks of a nationally recognized brand. Whether it’s a honeymoon, a family getaway, or the ultimate bucket-list adventure, I listen closely, plan meticulously, and make sure my clients return home already dreaming of their next journey.
When ...