Holland America Expands Food & Wine Program

PRESS RELEASE_​Seattle, Wash., Feb. 14, 2018 — The long-time partnership between Holland America Line and FOOD & WINE has delivered immersive culinary experiences for more than a dozen years. The collaboration is expanding with a collection of exciting culinary-themed EXC Tours (shore excursions), that explore food, wine and culture in some of the world's hottest gastronomic locales.
 
 “Holland America Line continues to develop deeply immersive experiences in the ports we visit, and through our partnership with FOOD & WINE we’ve been able to craft exceptional new excursions that show the culinary side of these destinations in some very special ways,” said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. “We want to do more than simply take our guests to a local restaurant. We want them to cook with the restaurant chefs, visit hidden hotspots only the locals know about, and combine food and culture with fun and unique experiences.”
 
Twenty-three new shore excursions are now available for booking on select 2018 cruises to the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. FOOD & WINE EXC Tours on Mediterranean cruises are offered in Dubrovnik, Croatia; Kerkira, Nisos Kerkira (Corfu), and Thira (Santorini), Greece; Livorno (Florence), Naples and Venice, Italy; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Kotor, Montenegro; and Cádiz (Seville), Barcelona and Málaga (Granada), Spain.
 
Guests on Northern Europe cruises will find FOOD & WINE EXC Tours in Copenhagen, Denmark; Tallinn, Estonia; Helsinki, Finland; Kiel (Hamburg), Germany; Reykjavik, Iceland; Bergen, Norway; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Stockholm, Sweden.
 
Guests have the opportunity to take hands-on cooking classes, go on culinary walking tours, visit wineries, sample street food, explore local hideaways and more. Noteworthy FOOD & WINE EXC Tours include “La Boqueria Market Cooking Experience” in Barcelona that includes a hands-on culinary workshop led by chef Txema Aroca; “Ino & the Uffizi Gallery” in Livorno, combining the finest art with the best local street food; Copenhagen’s “Smorrebrod: The Art of Sandwich Making,” where participants learn everything including how to bake bread and create authentic toppings; “Nordic Food Walk” in Stockholm that is a delicious gastronomic journey through the old Haymarket — now the Hötorgshallen Food Market; and a hands-on cooking class in the kitchen of the renowned Selene restaurant in Santorini.
 
Over the next year, FOOD & WINE EXC Tours will be available in an expanding array of destinations, including additional European ports, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Canada/New England, Caribbean, Mexico, South America and more.

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