07 September 2022, 09:00
Saga Ocean Cruises lines up stellar 2022/2023 celebrity entertainment with Jools Holland, Alfie Boe, Phil Vickery and Kevin Woodford
Saga guests are in for an entertainment treat thanks to the celebrity line-up the cruise operator has confirmed for late 2022 and throughout 2023.
The famous composer, pianist, bandleader and broadcaster, Jools Holland, returns to the Saga stage on six cruises between February and September 2023. Guests will be wowed with performances in the 444-seater Playhouse Theatre of some of Jools’ popular sets including Barrel House, Take Me, Peace in the Valley and How sweet it is.
The cruises Jools and his band will perform on are:
- Colours of the Canaries departing February 2
- Arctic Norway and the Northern Lights departing February 18
- Venice and the Treasures of the Adriatic departing April 9
- Contrasts of Scandinavia departing May 21
- Islands of the Western Mediterranean departing August 20
- Ancient Cities of the Eastern Mediterranean departing September 4
And music fans can also now experience the incredible singing talents of Alfie Boe. As a young boy, Lancashire-born Alfie dreamed of a career as a singer and has since then conquered the world’s most prestigious opera stages, led the cast of Les Miserables for nearly a year, and stolen the show at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace. He has also sold-out three UK Tours (including the Royal Festival Hall and the Royal Albert Hall) and appeals to hundreds of thousands of fans, having achieved Platinum album sales in the UK, and four top ten album placings.
Alfie will perform on the Morocco and the Islands of the Atlantic cruise departing on November 15, 2022 on Spirit of Discovery.
And the chef, presenter and cookery book author, Phil Vickery, will be joining the Cape Verde and the Canaries cruise departing November 19, 2022 to deliver a live cooking demonstration and Q&A session to guests. Vickery is often best known as part of the This Morning family and is firmly regarded as one of Britain’s favourite chefs.
He began his career as a commis chef at The Burlington Hotel in Folkestone and worked his way up the kitchen ranks before becoming Head Chef at The Castle hotel in Taunton where he won a Michelin star, four Rosettes in the AA guide, the Good Food Guide’s Restaurant of the Year, The Times Restaurant of the Year, Egon Ronay’s Guide Dessert Chef of the Year and British Meat Chef of The Year.
His TV career came about after he was invited to fill in for Keith Floyd on the Breakfast Programme, and since then he has appeared on the BBC Holiday Programme, Ready Steady Cook, Proof Of The Pudding, his own series Phil Vickery’s Pudding Club and ITV’s Save Money: Good Diet and of course, This Morning. Phil has also written 19 cookery books and is the leading authority on gluten-free products and recipes.
Keeping with the cuisine theme, chef and presenter Kevin Woodford, will be performing a ‘Can’t Cook, Won’t Cook’ masterclass and ‘A Question of Food’ Q&A session with guests on the Flavours of the Western Mediterranean cruise departing on October 31, 2022.
Kevin originally trained in some of the world’s finest restaurants and worked as a lecturer in professional cookery. It was while working as head of one of the UK’s most prestigious colleges that he was ‘discovered’ by a producer at BBC Television. Since then he has presented shows including BBC Holiday, Ready Steady Cook, Can’t Cook, Won’t Cook and The Reluctant Cook. He was also the subject of BBC’s ‘This is your Life’ and winner of a National Television Award for Best Daytime Presenter.
Nigel Blanks, CEO of Saga Cruises, said: “We’re delighted to welcome back Jools Holland – he’s a huge favourite with our guests – as well as Alfie Boe, Phil Vickery and Kevin Woodford, who we know will be enormously popular.
“We also revamped our onboard shows in the theatre and Britannia Lounge earlier in the year, and our popular dance hosts have been reintroduced to accompany guests on the floor, so our entertainment really is something special.”
These celebrity shows are in addition to the full entertainment line-up already planned for each cruise.
There remains some limited availability on the cruises featuring the new celebs. Guests can book via saga.co.uk/cruise or by calling 0808 239 4923.
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For further press information, please contact sagatravel@headlandconsultancy.com.
