Cultural Holidays

Celestyal Cultural Cruises

On Celestyal Cruises, plenty of energy goes into the places it visits, offering top-notch excursions and spending longer in most ports. Their cruises allow you to totally immerse yourself in the local culture, and their itineraries are mainly short and port-intensive, so they spend less focus on offering onboard activities. Their cruises attract a wide, multilingual spectrum of passengers to Greek and other itineraries.

Celestyal Cruises is currently expanding its offerings as it turns its focus on year-round departures. The once seasonal, all-inclusive operator will see its two ships sailing for a longer season on its Greek Islands itineraries plus regional Eastern Mediterranean offerings and Adriatic voyages.

Their cruises are perfect for discovering Greece, the Med or the Adriatic, one destination at a time. Whether you’re looking to relax on picturesque islands with unspoiled sandy beaches or stimulate your senses in places that have marked ancient history, they can help you experience it all.

Oceania Cultural Cruises

Oceania is a smaller-ship cruise line for adults, with their main focus being on cultural destination-intensive itineraries. A focus on culinary exploration translates into multiple onboard dining venues with no surcharges, wine-pairing dinners, and a series of unique foodie tours in port.

Each of their voyages is an invitation to discover your next travel story and reignite your passions. Experience faraway places that you have always dreamed of. Encountering new ways of looking at the world and traveling to the far corners of the globe. They allow you to savour your experience with imaginative insider tours that immerse you in the heart of the destination’s culinary and cultural traditions.

Oceania managed to have created really intimate and luxurious ships, which makes you instantly feel at home.  From the moment you step onboard, you'll feel well looked after because of Oceania's dedication to service comes from the heart. But most of all, the intimately sized ships allow you to feel at home and not get lost in crowds when you are looking for the best restaurant or show. There is no long line to wait in line for anything and no need to rush in case venues are over full. Spa treatments are readily available, and you’ll always find an available sun lounger at the pool.  Sounds like pure bliss.

Silversea Cultural Cruises

Silversea's itineraries are award-winning and some of the best in the world. Their fleet of ten ships sail not only to distinctive destinations such as London’s iconic Tower Bridge, the incredible Northwest and Northeast Passages and the far-flung Solomon Islands but from pole to pole they get you there in superlative luxury. With over 900 destinations, whether it is iconic cultural cities or remote shores, wherever you want to go, you can get there with Silversea.

Their Explorer Lounge is the space is where guests can meet for briefings with their Expedition Team during the day, while by night, the space doubles as a relaxing lounge bar at the heart of the ship with a pianist playing for your listening pleasure. 

When participating in an organised shore excursion or bespoke tailor-made tour, Silversea's experienced Shore Concierge team is happy to assist, ensuring your shore- side experience is nothing less than a memory that lasts forever. Their knowledge and understanding of ports will truly add to your enjoyment and experience. Detailing history, local flavour, culture, regional customs, shopping tips and much more.

Silverseas' Mid-Cruise Land Adventures allows you to take full advantage of your time with them, without missing a single thing! Offering an array of adventures, these short escapades break up your sea days and allow for deeper exploration beyond the coast.

The Silverseas Basecamp is the perfect meeting point for Zodiac excursions, as it’s been specially designed to offer guests a chance to prepare for their next exploration adventure. Featuring an interactive wall, the Basecamp doubles as an information HQ where guests access information on the fascinating flora and fauna of the local region.

Azamara Cultural Cruises

Azamara Club Cruises invites you to step ashore as an insider and explore further, discovering the culture within the world, while you also discover more about yourself. What they do differently is to offer overnight stays in smaller and less-travelled ports. If you want your cruise to be a memorable one that you will remember for the rest of your life, Azamara offers unparalleled itineraries that allow you to immerse yourself into local cultures. 

They also offer the next level of immersive experimental travel with their Destination Immersion Experiences. This includes a collection of activities and excursions all booked through local independent tour operators. Instead of going on a huge cruise ship and only scratching the surface of your destination, their outings will take you deeper into the heart of local life with exclusive activities and events. These activities are all focused on immersing yourself in the local history, culture, art and natural beauty of your destinations.

Some examples of unique outings you can enjoy on your cultural cruise include learning how to make mozzarella by hand at the home of an Italian family. Or savour a feast of senses at exotic markets while being accompanied but an experienced and knowledgeable Azamara chef. Other options include playing golf at some of the best courses in the world or embarking on an overnight desert adventure. And this is only looking at a few as there are so many more authentic land programs to let you explore, play, live and dine like a local while celebrating your love.

Holland America Cultural Cruises

Holland America has been introducing cruisers to new places and cultures for nearly 150 years. They believe in the transformative power of travel and how it can open minds and cultivate an appreciation of the shared humanity that unites us all over the globe. They currently offer more than five hundred itineraries, stopping in a hundred countries all over the world. They also have new partnerships with BBC Earth Experiences; O, The Oprah Magazine; Microsoft Studio; and live entertainment, so you can continue exploring onboard.

Holland America is a superb choice for foodies because of the quality of its restaurants and chefs. You can learn how to hone your culinary skills and learn how to create showstopping dishes by attending the foodie workshops and the Port-to-Table shows. Or simply sit back and enjoy some of the best food available on the high seas at their world-class restaurants which are all under the guidance of their Culinary Council of chefs.

One of the most exciting new cultural additions is their Explorations Central program, which transforms their ship’s Crows’ Nest into an educational shipboard centre, which adds meaning and context, making your journey an even better experience. Explorations Central is Holland America’s exclusive destination program, that will help you deepen your understanding of the places you visit. This indispensable travel resource allows you to get to talk to experts and insiders, making every port of call even more meaningful and vivid.

Cunard – Cultural Cruises in Ultimate Luxury

Cunard cruise line is for cruisers that are prepared to save up to experience how the other half lives, especially those with old money. Imagine having indulgent champagne toasts in their famous salons, waltzing the night away with your new spouse in Cunard’s grand ballrooms or savouring grand feasts of the finest flavours in her dining rooms, and whiled away hours immersed in fascinating conversation on decks.

Cunard's most famous ship was Queen Elizabeth two but her successor the Queen Mary two is even more impressive. During her maiden voyage in 2004, she was the largest, longest, highest and most expensive ship ever built and was even christened by Queen Elizabeth II herself.  This maiden voyage was attended by all the who's who of the media industry and was said to be an incredible journey. We can't think of a better ship to enjoy the cruise of a lifetime.