150+ New Cultural Excursions by Holland America Line

Holland America Line has launched more than 150 new shore excursions designed to deepen cultural engagement and connect travelers with local communities around the world.

What’s new: Meet the Maker and Community Connections

The new excursions are grouped into two curated collections: Meet the Maker, which focuses on artisan, culinary, and agricultural experiences; and Community Connections, which facilitates interaction with local residents and supports small businesses and cultural stewards. These tours are available across a range of Holland America Line itineraries and have been added to the line’s shore excursion portfolio to provide more authentic, place-based experiences.

Signature examples

• Tassie Tasting Trail — Burnie, Tasmania: visits to House of Anvers, 41° South, Ashgrove Cheese Factory, and Spreyton Cider Company.
• Magna Grecia Farm Visit — Katákolon, Greece: a fourth‑generation family estate tour with olive grove and vineyard visits plus a Syrtaki dance demonstration.
• At Home With the O'Hanlon Family — Cobh (Cork), Ireland: a home cooking session preparing traditional Irish dishes.
• Maori Waka (Canoe) Experience — Waitangi (Bay of Islands), New Zealand: a traditional welcome, canoe journey on the Waitangi River, and a visit to an ancestral site.

Available itineraries

Design and purpose of the new programs

Both collections were developed to move beyond sightseeing toward immersive, participatory experiences. Meet the Maker connects passengers with local producers — chefs, winemakers, cheesemakers, distillers, and craftspeople — enabling small-group tastings, demonstrations, and behind-the-scenes access. Community Connections emphasizes social exchange, allowing guests to meet residents in homes, community centers, and ancestral sites while directing economic benefit to local entrepreneurs and cultural custodians.

Partnerships and continuity

These excursions expand upon Holland America Line’s established shore excursion program, which has previously included collaborations with The HISTORY Channel and National Geographic. The new offerings complement those themed experiences with additional grassroots, community-led options.

A brief history of cultural shore excursions in cruising

Shore excursions evolved from simple port transfers and guided city tours into specialized, theme-driven experiences over the past three decades. Early cruise itineraries offered standard coach tours and museum visits; by the 2000s, demand shifted toward culinary, active, and bespoke cultural experiences. Lines like Holland America Line were among the first to integrate curated educational partnerships and destination-focused programming, reflecting a broader industry move toward experiential travel.

As cruise lines expanded global reach, shore programming diversified to accommodate slower, more meaningful encounters with destinations — from farm-to-table food trails to indigenous cultural performances. The rise of responsible tourism and traveler interest in authenticity has driven cruise operators to collaborate with local stakeholders, often creating economic opportunities for small producers and cultural groups.

Why it matters for tourism

These excursions reinforce a trend in international tourism toward authenticity and local impact. They encourage longer-term engagement with port communities, diversify earnings for local economies, and can improve destination stewardship by channeling visitor spending to community initiatives rather than just large vendors.

Implications for yachting, boating and charter markets

Although designed for cruise passengers, these community-focused excursions also have clear implications for the broader marine leisure sector — including yacht charters, small-boat rentals, and marina-based operators. Coastal and island destinations that offer rich cultural experiences become more attractive to sailors, private yacht guests, and day‑boat renters looking for shore-based activities to complement time on the water.

Opportunities for boat rental and charter businesses

• Create shore-experience packages that pair boat time with visits to local farms, wineries, and artisan workshops.
• Offer guided fishing and foraging trips that conclude with a chef-led cookery session onshore or onboard.
• Partner with local cultural groups for private performances or guided visits to ancestral sites accessible by tender.
• Develop themed charters (culinary, craft, conservation) that mirror the “Meet the Maker” concept.
• Coordinate with marinas to promote community businesses and arrange transport for small groups to inland locations.

Booking and availability

Holland America Line has made the new excursions bookable through its usual sales channels. While specific rollout timelines for all ports were not detailed in the announcement, selected itineraries for 2026 already list the new tours as options during booking. Travelers and charter operators who monitor cruise itineraries can use these offerings as a benchmark for creating similar land-sea experiences for private guests.

In summary, Holland America Line’s addition of more than 150 cultural shore excursions under the Meet the Maker and Community Connections banners deepens the cruise line’s commitment to immersive travel and community support, showcasing examples from Tasmania to Greece and New Zealand to Ireland. The move reflects a wider industry shift toward experiential and responsible tourism and presents opportunities for yacht and boat charter operators, marinas, and local service providers to develop complementary offerings that combine time on the water with meaningful shore activities. For travelers seeking a combined sea and shore adventure — whether a day charter, a sailing yacht cruise, or a superyacht experience with a local captain — these excursions underline the growing value of cultural discovery in maritime destinations. For more on how these trends translate into yacht charter options, boat rental choices, and marinas offering curated shore activities, explore GetBoat.com, an international marketplace for renting sailing boats and yachts, likely the best service to find a boat to rent for every taste and budget — from fishing day trips to multi-day yachting charters, superyacht experiences, and small-boat rentals that land at beaches, clearwater coves, and community piers.