Coasters at the World Class Bar show some of the drinks available and the recipes. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst
MIAMI — Celebrity Cruises debuted a new bar concept called
World Class Bar at a lunch aboard the Celebrity Eclipse here on Tuesday.
The bar is a partnership with beverage distributor Diageo
and will showcase its liquor brands, such as Johnny Walker
scotch, Zacapa rum and Ketel One vodka.
World Class is a Diageo program for bartender training and
promotion that also has a responsible drinking message. It has trained over
150,000 bartenders in six years, said Doug Bagley, managing director of global
travel for Diageo. The bar on the Eclipse will include signature glassware, gold
drink stirrers and bartenders in black ties.
The World Class Bar replaces the Molecular Bar, which
debuted on Solstice-class ships. Celebrity President Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said
there was nothing wrong with Molecular Bar, but that it was time for a change.
The new bar will be on all five Solstice-class ships (Solstice, Equinox,
Eclipse, Silhouette and Reflection) by the end of the summer, she said.
World Class Bar was installed during an eight-day drydock
at the Grand Bahamas shipyard. The ship also got a new bar on the pool deck
called Slush Bar and the Passport Bar was recast around a craft beer theme.
The Eclipse also became the last of Celebrity’s ships to open
Luminae, a restaurant exclusively for suite guests. The restaurant seats 90,
but diners will rotate through the evening, with a new batch of diners arriving
about every 20 minutes.
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Correction: The World Class Bar made its debut on the Celebrity Eclipse, not the Infinity.