Overview Chefs Making Waves is a food festival on a chartered cruise: for November 2026 it booked five days out of Miami aboard Norwegian Joy, with Bobby Flay hosting for the first time and a crew of Food Network chefs cooking, demoing and eating alongside the guests. Meals across the ship are chef-curated, an unlimited open bar is included, and every guest gets a dinner at Table for Three. Food Network presents it; a21, which runs the South Beach and New York City wine and food festivals, produces it with the charter cruise company Sixthman and Entertainment Benefits Group. It has sailed out of Miami to Cozumel and out of Boston to Maine and New Brunswick, and a September 2027 Destination: Alaska sailing was on the calendar. On site Days run on a program: cooking and mixology demos, wine and spirits tastings, themed parties, wellness sessions and question-and-answer sessions with the chefs, plus shore excursions led by chefs in port. The biggest room is the Main Stage on the pool deck, where Flay does two demos, with guests split into two groups, hosts a panel with Brooke Williamson, Michael Voltaggio and Ayesha Nurdjaja, and throws a neon dance party with DJ Tokyo Rose. The November 2026 sailing called at Montego Bay and George Town, Grand Cayman, with a day at sea on either side; the rum tour at Appleton Estate was one of the featured excursions. Norwegian Joy carries 13 bars, 11 restaurants, two waterslides, go-karts, mini golf, a casino and a spa. Audience Guests book the whole voyage, so the same people are on board for five days, at the demos in the morning, at dinner with the chefs and on shore with them in port. The organizers describe them as affluent, with a slight female skew and a habit of high-end food events. Florida sends the most, then Texas, California, New York and Georgia. Talent and Influencers Flay's 2026 crew included Scott Conant, Antonia Lofaso, Marc Murphy, Leah Cohen, Shota Nakajima, Damaris Phillips, Rodney Scott, Jonathan Waxman, Claudette Zepeda and Zac Young, with Carson Kressley as host and the Beatlemaniacs on the entertainment bill. The May 2025 sailing to Cozumel carried Richard Blais, Maneet Chauhan, Tom Colicchio, Robert Irvine, Geoffrey Zakarian and Nyesha Arrington. Brand presence A presenting partner is sold per sailing, with title positioning above it. Below that sit naming rights to the culinary demo and entertainment stage, branded lounges and bar takeovers, product integration and sampling across the ship, and in-room and talent gifting. The ship is full of small brandable surfaces: key cards, lanyards, gift bags, waterproof pouches, hats, sunglasses, aprons and a photo booth. a21 builds activations with its own fabrication and marketing team.