Holland America Line is building on its popular collection of immersive culinary-themed FOOD & WINE® EXC Tours (shore excursions) with the addition of 20 new tours throughout Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Canada & New England.
Developed in partnership with FOOD & WINE magazine, Holland America debuted 23 excursions earlier this year on select cruises in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe that explore food, wine and culture in some of the world’s hottest gastronomic locales. During these exclusive tours, guests take hands-on cooking classes with top restaurant chefs, go on culinary walking tours, visit wineries, sample authentic street food, explore local hideaways and more.
New Tours in Asia, Australia and New Zealand
Guests on cruises in Asia, Australia and New Zealand can chose from 14 new FOOD & WINE EXC Tours throughout the region. The shore excursions are offered in Bangkok, Thailand; Shanghai, China; Singapore; Taipei, Taiwan; Yokohama, Japan; Hobart, Tasmania; Melbourne and Sydney, Australia; and Napier and Dunedin, New Zealand. Among the options include the opportunity to visit numerous markets in Asia, wineries in New Zealand and Tasmania, and “tough-to-get-a-table” restaurants in Australia.
Noteworthy FOOD & WINE EXC Tours include the Courageous Kitchen Cooking Class, an immersive culinary experience with heart. A portion of proceeds from the tour go toward helping to feed locals and train youth in need. The Bangkok tour starts with an in-depth exploration of a local market followed by a hands-on cooking class in home-style Thai cooking with Chef Dwight Turner, owner of Courageous Kitchen.
In Sydney, the Beautiful Bennelong & the Opera House tour combine two of the city’s culinary and cultural highlights in one night. Guests begin the tour exploring the Opera House and then step next door to dine at Bennelong, one of Sydney’s top restaurants that falls firmly into the “tough to get a table” category of top restaurants worldwide.
Canada & New England Tours Feature Local Favorites
Six new FOOD & WINE EXC Tours in Canada & New England highlight the area’s gastronomic favorites including lobster, poutine, clam chowder and maple-infused treats. The ports of Bar Harbor and Portland, Maine; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Boston, Massachusetts; and Québec City, Québec, all feature unique FOOD & WINE EXC Tours.
Wine enthusiasts will delight in the Bay of Fundy, Grand Pre & Winery tour in Halifax, where guests enjoy a scenic drive to the Bay of Fundy, known for some of the most extreme tides in the world, and visit the Grand National Historic Site, a 17th-century French settlement. Then it’s on to the Annapolis Valley, known as the “new Napa of the North,” for a wine tasting at the Lightfoot & Wolfville Vineyards.
Over the next year, Holland America will continue to expand its FOOD & WINE EXC Tours to an array of destinations, including Caribbean, Mexico, Panama Canal, South America, Hawaii, and more.
