Food and Wine Cruises

"Food and Wine Cruises" are themed cruise deals well appreciated and looked for mainly in Europe (including on riverboats and hotel barges) and Australia. This is not because of the general "eat and drink" vacation experience. "Food and Wine" themed voyages provide enhanced "gourmet dining" experience for connoisseurs and lovers of expensively special (limited edition) premium wines and exquisite cuisine prepared to perfection by celebrity chefs.

If you are inspired by culinary stars, there are big chances to find a hobbyist voyage just for you. Due to the increasing number of top-luxury cruise ships (many newbuilds), there is also a rise in food-themed cruises. Before you book, research the type of theme that would suit you- cruise ship operators have options for everyone.

For your convenience, the following links jump down directly to CruiseMapper's food-themed cruises schedule (listing companies, ships, departure dates, homeports) and shortbreak NYC cruises.

"Food and Wine" Cruise

Food and wine cruise deals are aimed at the diversity and variety of signature dishes and deluxe wines. They enable travelers to discover a different cultural and social aspects of ports of call. Everything that includes local food traditions, wine appreciation, and dining etiquette is included in the gastronomic adventure.

The experience features local dining etiquette, wine appreciation and food traditions on gastronomic adventures. Cookery courses, tasting sessions, tips and recipes for creating authentic flavors allow travelers to experience different cultures. Le Cordon Bleu Chefs are always on hand on food-themed cruises to offer instructions and help uncover inner cooks.

Wine is the ideal accompaniment to any cuisine. Wine pairings became a culture of their own. Sommelier recommendations provide passengers with the needed knowledge to pair the perfect meal with the perfect wine. Wine is always an excellent topic, whether discussing a particular variety's notes or identifying the wine which is ideal to pair a specific dish. Expert tasters are also on board to guide "gourmet travelers" through grape varieties, discuss and teach the wine tasting art. Fine dining or feasts, these types of cruises will reawaken your exquisite tastes.

Drinking age limits on cruise ships

All major companies define whether you are allowed to drink on ship cruises, or not allowed to have alcohol due to your age. Each of them sets own drinking limits.

• Drinking alcohol on board is permitted if you are 18 years or older on Carnival, Holland America, Oceania, P&O, Fred Olsen, Regent Seven Seas, Star Clippers, Uniworld, Viking, GAP Adventures.
• Minimum age 21 years is required for onboard alcohol consumption on Carnival, Costa, Cunard, Crystal, Disney, Holland America, Azamara, Hurtigruten, MSC, NCL-Norwegian, Princess, Seabourn, SeaDream, Silversea, Star Clippers, Uniworld, Viking, Windstar.
• On "Food and Wine Cruises" departing from South American and European ports, parents traveling with children between 18-20 years old must sign a waiver which allows them to consume alcohol. The drinking rule is implemented in the areas where the legal drinking age is under 21 years.

Food and Wine Cruises 2024-2025 schedule

The following table shows wine-themed cruises in the regions of Alaska, Australia, Europe (Mediterranean and river cruise deals), Caribbean. The list of most popular wine-themed activities includes pairings with dinners on the ship, as well as land tour based tastings. Traditionally, all themed voyages are hosted by special guests from this business, like winery owners, premium winemakers, wine judges, etc.

Note: In the following table, all links are CruiseMapper (internal). They lead to the ship's cruise itinerary schedule where you can compare all dates and prices per person).

AmaWaterways hired popular wine hosts (wine experts, certified sommeliers, vineyard owners) for 60+ "Celebration of Wine River Cruises" (food and wine-themed voyages) in Europe. The shipboard program included daily scheduled lectures and tasting events complementing the company's included in the fares tours and excursions ashore. With the program were introduced two new itineraries in France's Normandy and Burgundy regions.

Each "Celebration of Wine River Cruise" is hosted by a qualified wine expert bringing on the riverboat hand-selected wines for tastings, seminars and special meals. The two new cruisetour itineraries were "The Essence of Burgundy and Provence" (Chalon-sur-Saone via Tournus to Lyon) and "Impressions of the Seine and Paris" (from Le Havre to Paris City or reverse). The Seine cruisetour offered an optional 4-night fully-escorted land package in Brittany for visiting Saint-Malo and Mont Saint Michel.

Swan Hellenic announced its 2025 culinary cruise program in July 2024, featuring a series of Maris voyages with acclaimed chefs from the JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs. These exclusive cruises aboard the SH Diana and SH Vega explore destinations across the Arctic, Europe, and the Mediterranean. Each night, the onboard chef presents a signature dish, culminating in a gala dinner showcasing their culinary expertise. In addition to creating these dishes, the chefs host cooking demonstrations, lead shore excursions, and engage with guests throughout the voyage.

The participating chefs and their respective itineraries include:

• Heribert Dietrich (Switzerland): 9-night on SH Diana, Lisbon (Portugal) to Portsmouth UK, May 12, 2025.
• Kevin Lejeune (Belgium): 11-night on SH Diana, Portsmouth UK to Dublin (Ireland), May 21, 2025.
• Philippe Deslarzes (Switzerland): 8-night Iceland circumnavigation on SH Diana, departing Reykjavik, June 2, 2025.
• Herman Cooijmans (Netherlands): 10-night on SH Diana, Tromso to Amsterdam (Netherlands) via the fjords, July 21, 2025.
• Franco Korperich (Switzerland): 8-night Iceland circumnavigation on SH Vega, departing Reykjavik, July 31, 2025.
• David Goerne (France): 11-night on SH Diana, Amsterdam to Lisbon, July 31, 2025.
• Federico Pettenuzzo (Italy): 11-night on SH Diana, Lisbon to Palermo (Italy), August 22, 2025.
• Alberto Basso (Italy): 10-night on SH Diana, Palermo to Venice (Italy), August 22, 2025.
• Lukas Nagl (Austria): 8-night on SH Diana, Venice to Piraeus (Greece), September 1, 2025.
• Steffen Disch (Germany): 9-night on SH Diana, Istanbul (Turkey) to Limassol (Cyprus), September 17, 2025.

Best cruise lines for "Food and Wine" themed voyages

In 2017, there were 100+ different wine-themed voyages with planned activities on 20+ ships. The best among the "wine cruise lines" are Oceania, Cunard, Silversea, SeaDream and the river cruise companies Uniworld, AMA, Avalon, and Viking.

NCL Norwegian Cruise Line

Introduced in 2017, "Meet The Winemaker Cruises" are a new selection of wine-themed NCL cruises on the ships Norwegian Dawn and Norwegian Escape.

• Passengers can wine and dine with top experts of winemaking. The Winemaker Dinner series is hosted at "The Cellars" - onboard Wine Bar via a partnership with Michael Mondavi Family and other beverage partners (including Moet Hennessy).
• In 2015, Michael Mondavi Family partnered with NCL to introduce the company's first at-sea branded wine bar on Norwegian Escape. The serves feature curated wine list and service by certified sommeliers. The wine bar allows passengers to participate in various interactive and educational wine-themed activities, such as seminars, wine and food pairings, workshops, wine tastings.
• The partnership was expanded in 2016 when "The Cellars" opened on Norwegian Dawn.

Norwegian Cruise Line's Meet The Winemaker cruises feature opportunities to interact with popular names in vino business. Special events take place throughout the trips. Not only guests have the chance to meet the wine experts through Q&A sessions and seminars, but they can take the experience to the next level in a number of ways, including wine-paired dinners and guided wine-tastings by the special guest winemakers. The wine tastings run US$19.95 per person (plus gratuity and tax), while the dinners are US$60 per person (plus gratuity and tax). Both are to be held in the NCL wine bar The Cellars.

Holland America Line

In September 2018, Holland America Line (HAL) added 20 new culinary-themed tours (to a total of 43) as excursion options on itineraries in Asia, Australia New Zealand, Canada New England. HAL's food cruise program is via a partnership with "FOOD and WINE Magazine", and also includes select voyages in Europe (Mediterranean and Baltic).

On these food-themed land tours, cruise passengers participate in cooking classes (led by top chefs), culinary-themed walking city tours, authentic street food sampling, visit wineries for wine tasting, explore local restaurants.

• On Asian-Australian cruises are offered 14 food-themed tours in Bangkok, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Yokohama, Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney, Napier, Dunedin.
• Canada New England tour experiences include gourmet dishes like poutine, clam chowder, lobster, maple-infused treats. These are offered in ports Bar Harbor, Portland, Halifax, Boston, Quebec City.
• HAL planned to expand its culinary tour program in 2019 by adding port destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico, South America, Hawaii, Panama Canal.

Cunard Line

Since January 2017, Cunard Line (a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation) offers shipboard wine education courses via a partnership with the world's largest provider of wine and spirits qualifications WSET ("Wine and Spirit Education Trust").

• WSET courses were initially available only on QM2's westbound Transatlantic crossings and world cruises, but were later offered fleetwide and on all voyages.
• The 5-day course gives WSET Level 1 in Wines and covers the basics (wine types, styles, sight, smell, taste, storing, serving, food pairing).
• The 12-day course gives WSET Level 2 in wines and spirits and explores grape varieties, styles of wines, produce, wine regions, classifications, labeling terminology, categories of spirits and liqueurs.
• Classes are led by professional sommeliers and educators from Cunard Wine Academy. Each course finishes with an exam. In addition to the globally recognized WSET qualification certificates, passengers also receive lapel pins.
• The first wine cruise was the crossing Southampton-NYC (December 15, 2016). The first world cruise with WSET courses was on QM2 (January 10, 2017).
• WSET's qualification program is offered to enthusiasts and wine professionals. It ranges from Level 1 Award (Wines, Spirits, and Sake) to Level 4 Diploma (Wines and Spirits).

Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises' "Wine Country Coastal" voyages (along the US west coast) provide passengers with the opportunity to taste and pair wines and also to participate in wine-themed onboard activities. Maitre D's are available to explain more and help with vintages and wine-food pairings. Among the destination ports in the region are:

• From Santa Barbara CA are offered wine tasting tours in Santa Ynez Valley.
• From San Francisco can be visited 2 -renowned wine regions - Napa and Sonoma.
• From Astoria (Oregon) are offered tours to Willamette Valley (pinot noir wines) and The Cellar on 10th wine shop (Pacific Northwest wines).
• From Seattle WA are offered tours to Woodinville (over 117 wine tasting rooms and wineries.
• From Victoria, BC (Canada) is operated the Butchart Gardens tour for wine pairings (with tapas and hand-made chocolates) at Blue Poppy Restaurant.
• From Vancouver BC (Canada) can be visited Fraser Valley - home to around 30 vineyards and 15 wineries.

In 2019, Princess Cruises introduced fleetwide a new wine menu with a total of 142 wines selected via partnership with Doug Frost. He is one of only four men in the world to hold both titles "Master of Wine" (UK-issued) and "Master Sommelier" (wine and food pairing qualification).

The new wine menu is available in ship's Main Dining Room and offered at a 30% discount on the list price (wines priced USD 39 or less) and at 66% discount (wines priced USD 49 or less). The new wine list is also offered at Lido Deck, The Sanctuary, Explorer's Lounge, Wheelhouse Bar, Crooners Bar. The company's new beverage menu also features new, itinerary-based premium spirits, craft beers, and wines by the glass.

Silversea

The 2019 wine program of Silversea was selected by the company’s expert Wine Ambassador, Lawrence dAlmeida. Nearly 160 different wines populate line’s wine selection, which is praised by wine experts for including one of the biggest choices of complimentary wines onboard any cruise ship, with about 70 different labels.

World's major wine regions are represented in Silversea's complimentary range, along with major wine grapes, yet Italian wines are well-represented as a homage to the heritage of the line. When relevant to the visited destination, local wines are added to the wine selection, enabling passengers to sail deeper via sampling fine wines from around the world.

An additional 19 varieties of the best wines in America are available, due to Silversea’s partnership with American Fine Wine Competition. Journalists, wine magazine publishers, co-founders of American Fine Wine Competition (AFWC), Vintners, Monty and Sara Preiser of Napa and Florida join the cruise as instructors and hosts. The Preisers are expected to present AFWC’s Double Gold Medal-winning wines and bottles from the ‘Winery of the Year’ to passengers of the trip.

Illustrious members of ASPI sommelier association, Gennaro Buono and Giuseppe Vaccarini, a former best sommelier in Italy and best sommelier in the world respectively, each join a segment of the transatlantic cruise. Vaccarini is expected to accompany guests on wine-related shore trips, while Buono is to host an accredited propaedeutic sommelier course.

SeaDream Yachts

• SeaDream Yacht Club offers opportunities for cruisers to visit over 20 wineries at boutique ports of call along the Mediterranean coast. SeaDream's Wine Voyages offer complimentary tastings of exceptional wines and visits to renowned vineyards. Among them are Bartulovic and Korta Katarina wineries, Allegrini Wines, Benanti Winery, Cantine Lunae, Cava Recaredo, Bodegas Rey Fernando de Castilla, Chateau de Cremat, Chateau Gassier Wines, Fattoria dei Barbi, Clos Canarelli, Finca Valpiedra Wines. Also featured are Louis Jadot Wines, Mazzei Wines, Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio, Niepoort Wines, Sorrentino Winery, Panizzi Winery, Taittinger Champagne, Weingut Groebe Wines, Weingut Wittmann Wines, Tenuta San Guido Wines, and local wines of Cartagena, Domaine Souviou and Le Castellet Village.
• Examples of Wine Voyages include a 9-day Lisbon to Barcelona sailing, that visits Gibraltar, Portimao, Puerto Banus, Cartagena, Ibiza, Malaga, Menorca, and Palma de Mallorca. A week-long round-trip from Rome, June 10, visits Bonifacio (Corsica) overnight, Positano, Amalfi, Sorrento, Capri.
• Another week-long Rome round-trip visits Portovenere, Portoferraio, Marina di Carrara, Portofino, Saint Florent, Porto Vecchio.
• Further Wine-themed cruises offer destinations like Dalmatian Coast (Adriatic Sea), Greek Isles, Italian Riviera, French Riviera. Fares start at USD 4,199 per person, double occupancy, including ocean-view accommodations, gratuities, gourmet meals, wine with lunch and dinner.

Tea-themed voyages

In 2018, the luxury Asian company Dream Cruises/GHK started on MS World Dream world's first Matcha-themed voyages. Matcha is a finely ground powder of specialty tea leaves.

• In the period April 29 through June 14 (2018), passengers booked on 2- and 5-night itineraries enjoyed authentic Japanese culture experience. The tea-themed voyages were via the partnership with Nakamura Tokichi Honten - one of Japan's finest tea houses.
• The scheduled unique onboard events included Kimono masterclass, tea expert-led workshops, Japanese tea tasting lessons, Tea Kabuki (traditional quiz game), meet-and-greets with Okinawan celebrity illustrator, Awamori (alcoholic beverage) tasting, limited-edition Matcha delicacies (cream roll, cream puff, cheesecake) traditionally served with steeped Matcha tea latte.
• Shipboard dining included Okinawan food and drinks, such as Wagyu beef, Agu pork, seasonal vegetables, and fruits.

June through November 2018, MS World Dream offered "Taste the Dream" – Wine and Dine at Sea". The event featured a collaboration between 6 Asian celebrity chefs (Michelin-starred) and the company's culinary team.

• Passengers booked in "The Palace Suites" had the chance to enjoy limited-edition food and wine pairing menus ("4-hand" / created by 2 chefs). Note: "The Palace" is a ship-within-ship concept (exclusive complex) consisting of 154 premium suites with exclusive dining and lounge areas, butler service, perks.
• The limited tasting menus were included in the complimentary dining options for "The Palace Suite" passengers on World Dream. The program also included interactive cooking workshops (led by the chefs) and exclusive "Chef's Table" throughout the voyages.
• The 6 celebrity chefs were Alvin Leung, Chan Kwok Keung, Christian Yang, Martin Yan, Vicky Cheng, Wan Tat Kong.

Vegan cruises

Cruise itinerary October 20-29, 2018 (9-day "South Pacific Islands" roundtrip from Sydney NSW) became Australia's first-ever vegan-themed voyage. It was available for booking on Celebrity Cruises ship Solstice and featured a special vegan dining menu.

• The voyage was organized by Paige Renshaw and as onboard pre-scheduled events featured daily food demonstrations, workshops, and professional presentations, as well as meditation classes, yoga and pilates, various group activities, and documentary movie nights.
• The itinerary's call ports were in New Caledonia and Vanuatu (Noumea, Mystery Island, Isle of Pines, Lifou Island).

In 2018, the luxury cruise line Oceania expanded its vegan offerings onboard all 6 of its ships, making the company one of the most vegan-friendly on the high seas. The new breakfast menu includes vegan tortilla Espanola with tofu, potato, and onions, along with vegan link sausages, pistachio muffins, and vanilla waffles. For lunch, passengers can opt for Tuscan-style bean soup, for dinner - vegetable tartare, parsnip soup and quinoa salad are all available, followed by the dessert - shortbread with passionfruit cream.

Further, on a couple of Oceania’s cruise ships, Marina and Riviera, raw-fruit juices and vegan smoothies are available from the specialty bars situated on the Pool Deck. Guests can opt for a cold brew latte or sweet green juice, as well as chia cashew yogurt bowl or acai berry.

Vegan cruises are currently becoming more popular with vacationers. Both Toronto and Australia launched their first-ever vegan voyages in 2018, bound for the Toronto Islands and the Pacific Islands. A cruise to benefit Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary with Carnival departed for the Caribbean last February, with a special vegan “Esther-approved” menu served onboard.

In early June, it was announced that the largest group travel company in the world, Intrepid Travel, had launched 3 new vegan food tours in Italy, India, and Thailand.

Dinner Cruise NYC Harbour

"Dinner Cruise" is an affordable short-break deal and a unique experience in New York City. If you add the nightlife and romance, the NYC skyline at night, and party-loving friends - it becomes a must for bot citizens and guests of the metropolis. Locals often book harbour cruises in NYC to celebrate birthday parties, anniversaries, family events, business dinners, classy dates.

Before 2017, from NYC were also offered Cruises to Nowhere. Dinner cruises generally last 3-4 hours and no cabin booking is required. The experience features fine food and theme music. NYC dinner cruise deals require advance reservations (minimum of 72 hours pre-booking).

• Prices on "Brunch Cruise" on a luxury yacht (duration 2 hours) start from $80.
• PP prices on luxury yacht dinner cruise are as follow - Friday and Saturday ($120), Sunday through Thursday ($105), Holiday sailings - Mothers Day, Valentines Day and Thanksgiving ($120), 4th of July and New Years Eve ($350), and Weekends (January through March) $105.
• "Spirit of New York" prices for NYC Harbor cruises are Friday ($120), Saturday ($125), Sunday through Thursday ($105), Easter ($85).
• "Spirit of New Jersey" prices - the ship is in Newark NJ, departing year-round from Lincoln Harbor, Weehawken NJ) - Friday ($120), Saturday ($125), Sunday through Thursday ($105).

NYC dinner and harbour cruises are operated April through December. The next table shows themed harbour shortbreaks as duration, package inclusions, and prices per person.