“Last Easter, I stood by my window sipping coffee, watching my kids laugh and run across the garden, their little hands clutching colourful baskets filled with eggs,” shares COLUMBIA signature’s Corporate Chef, Victor Mancilla Gonzallez. “It is our tradition—early morning egg hunts, chocolate treats, and the smell of fresh pastries drifting through the house.
“But that morning, something else caught my attention. Across the fence, in the garden next door, I saw my neighbour giggling as she hid plastic eggs in flowerpots and behind garden gnomes. What made me pause was not the act itself, but who she was doing it for. Her three sons—grown men over 24 years old—were eagerly walking around the garden like excited kids searching for eggs, teasing each other, and sharing a laughter so loud it echoed into our yard.
“I stood still. Why did they come home for this? What had their parents created that made them hold onto this tradition so tightly?
“And then it struck me: it wasn’t just about the eggs and the commitment to visit home for every celebration. It was about the feeling. The safe space. The unconditional love. The memories made year after year. The joy that made them never want to grow up.
“I realized that morning that Easter wasn’t just about coloured eggs or chocolate bunnies. It was about the connection we nurture through small moments. It was about building traditions that, no matter our age, bring us back home—not to a place, but to a feeling.”
But what does this have to do with cruise ships, you ask? Victor explains that while you think this story has nothing to do with ships, it has everything to do with cruise ship planning.”
There’s something about a cruise that lingers in your heart long after you’ve stepped back onto shore. The salty breeze, the gentle sway of the ship beneath your feet, the laughter, the music through the decks, and of course, the food. The coffee and fresh pastries on the balcony; the long, lingering dinners where every bite feels like a celebration; the midnight snacks and how every crew member remembers your name, and your favourite drink.
When the crew on board design Easter experiences—or any themed event, for that matter—they aren’t just organising buffets, decorations, or schedules, explains Victor, who adds, they are designing moments that guests want to relive.
“They are creating safe, joyful spaces that make adults feel like kids again. They are building traditions for families, couples, and solo travellers. Crafting emotional connections that stay long after the cruise ends.”
Victor explains that the most successful guest experiences are not the most expensive or extravagant—they are the ones that feel like home, that bring people closer, and that create moments they’ll want to return to, year after year.
So, as our cruise ships prepare for Easter celebrations on board, Victor explains that to create those long-lasting memories, they have to ask themselves three questions: What memories do we want our guests to take home? How do we help them feel joyfully childlike again? And what emotional detail will make this day unforgettable? Because in the end, it’s not just about the event; it’s about the emotion—the feeling that turns a cruise into a journey worth remembering.
“That is exactly what we do as chefs,” shares Victor. “We create the same symbolic celebration that my neighbour did with her grown-up kids in the garden, making them want to return home year after year.”
And just like he will cook up a storm of memories for the guests on board, he adds that he will also hide eggs in the garden for his kids again this Easter. “I’ll make sure they remember the laughter, the games, and the flavours of that day, because one day, they might travel back home—not just for the hunt—but for the love we buried under every petal in our spring garden.”