Pinecrest Travel, Celebrity Cruises, and The Deering Estate Foundation, present the Deering Experience Cruise from Barcelona to Istanbul from Sept. 4 through Sept. 19.
This specially curated travel package will include a four-day visit to Barcelona and the extended area of Catalonia before embarking on a 12-night Classic Mediterranean Cruise aboard the Solstice Class Celebrity Equinox ship.
Visitors will enjoy world-class accommodations during a three-night stay at the five-star El Palace Grand Luxury Hotel in Barcelona, behind-the-scenes curatorial tours, and private on board programs highlighting the art and history that motivated Charles Deering’s tours in Europe.
The Deering Experience Cruise Itinerary; Sept. 4 — Celebrate your arrival in Barcelona with a Bienvenidos Cocktail Reception;
Sept. 5 — Explore Palau Maricel and Castillo de Tamarit with behind-the-scenes tour and rooftop lunch;
Sept. 6 — Enjoy Barcelona on your own;
Sept. 7-19 — 12-Night Classic Mediterranean Cruise: Barcelona, Spain; Provence (Marseilles), France; Nice (Villefranche), France; Florence (Livorno), Italy; Rome (Citavecchia), Italy; Valletta, Malta; Mykonos, Greece; Athens (Piraeus), Greece; Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey, and Istanbul, Turkey (overnight).
The Deering Experience Cruise is an excellent opportunity to retrace industrialist Charles Deering’s travels and arts patronage throughout the Mediterranean in the early 1900s. Deering, a notable preservationist and collector, sustained lifelong interest in Catalonia’s growing arts community.
Between 1910 and 1916, Charles Deering, artist Ramon Casas i Carbó, and engineer Miquel Utrillo arranged the purchase and restoration of the former Hospital San Juan Bautista in the town of Sitges, along with several adjacent houses and the town hall square, in order to develop a vibrant art center called Maricel (“Sea and Sky”). Today, this structure is a museum housing distinguished works by El Greco, Ramon Casas i Carbó, and Francisco Goya, among others. To lauch the historic theme of the Deering Experience Cruise, guests will delight in a private tour of this site followed by a gourmet rooftop lunch.
Another key visit will take guests through the Castillo de Tamarit just outside Tarragona. Deering purchased and began restoring this 12th Century structure in 1917 with the assistance, once again, of Utrillo and Casas i Carbó. Set on a spectacular promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, with both residential and defensive elements including watchtowers and a Romanesque church, it is considered to be one of the earliest, purest examples of Romanesque architecture in the area of Tarragona.
Once on board the Solstice Class Celebrity Equinox, exclusive Deering Experience activities include a “Welcome Aboard” Cocktail Reception, a white-glove private viewing of Charles Deering’s rare and prized historic book collection, and a preview of a new exhibit of decorative influences featuring photography from the Maricel archives. Self-guided tour recommendations for select ports of call will be provided by Deering Estate curatorial staff for visitors’ convenience.
Celebrity Cruises will make available a staff person for nearly every two guests and sommeliers for special insight on new and emerging wines. Exceptional dining will be offered by a James Beard-nominated chef in charge of a new menu every evening. Suite rooms include plush down comforters and linens, embroidered robes, lemongrass scented bath products, and Samsung flat screen TVs.
Prices start from $3,935 per person. Travel packages and promotional deals are offered exclusively through travel sponsor Pinecrest Travel (305-273-4441), Neil Goldberg, at Neil@kendallgrandtravel.com.
Alternate excursions that benefit the Deering Estate at Cutler’s Cultural Arts Programs can be booked through Pinecrest Travel this season.
