Regent Seven Seas Cruises has unveiled an immersive culinary programme on its newest ship, Seven Seas Prestige. The line’s Culinary Arts Kitchen brings hands-on cooking classes to sea, pairing practical skills with destination storytelling.
The programme — designed by Kathryn Kelly, Regent’s executive chef and director of culinary enrichment — offers 64 on‑board classes and 25 shore-based Epicurean Explorer Tours across sailings through March 2029.
Classes and tours are deliberately small and intimate, limited to 18 guests or fewer, so participants receive focused, professional instruction. The ship’s Culinary Arts Kitchen is a professional-grade teaching facility with 18 fully equipped stations and floor‑to‑ceiling windows that look out to the open sea.
Chef‑instructors, hand‑selected by Kelly, lead sessions ranging from knife skills to complete regional menus in a setting modelled on top cooking schools.
Sessions run for about two hours and start from US$129 per guest. The curriculum spans global cuisines: guests can learn Argentine grill techniques and South American pairings, explore the healthful traditions of the Mediterranean, or follow specialist classes such as Cocina Latina, Australia Through the Ages, and a broad Mediterranean tour that highlights dishes and drinks from France, Italy, Spain, Greece and beyond.
The Epicurean Explorer Tours extend the culinary learning ashore. Small, chef‑led groups visit local markets, sample street food, dine at notable restaurants and return to the ship for follow‑up tastings or demonstrations.
Each shore excursion links the ingredients and techniques discovered on land with practical sessions back in the Culinary Arts Kitchen, creating a seamless shore‑to‑ship experience. Highlights include a Chef‑Led Market Tour and pinxtos tasting in Bilbao, paired with regional txakoli and a shipboard Basque tasting after the market visit (US$159).
In Barcelona, a guided tour of La Boqueria and Santa Caterina markets culminates in a tapas lunch and an on‑board cava tasting (US$159). Another option in Palma de Mallorca combines a market walk with an olive‑farm visit, a grove tour and an on‑board tutorial on storing and using olive oil (US$209).
Kathryn Kelly, a Culinary Institute of America graduate who spent decades exploring global food cultures, designed the curriculum to suit a wide range of abilities.“Our goal is to allow guests to explore cuisines, ingredients and culinary traditions inspired by the destinations we visit,” she says, adding that classes are suitable for enthusiastic beginners as well as experienced home cooks.
Culinary Arts Kitchen classes and Epicurean Explorer Tours are available to reserve before sailing via guests’ online accounts and are priced separately from cruise fares.
