Sip, sip, hooray! Drink your way around the world on a cruise
Raise a glass to these tasty tipples from
around the globe
From South Africa’s sun-baked vineyards to Scotland’s wind-whipped distilleries, the world’s finest beverages come from all corners of the globe. And while you might find them behind your local bar or inside a well-stocked drinks cabinet, wouldn’t they taste better in the land where they’re made?
So whether you’re keen to test
a shot of spiced rum straight from a Caribbean plantation or a pint of
freshly barrelled Irish stout, these
cruise destinations get you up close and
personal with your favourite drinks.
SCOTTISH SCOTCH
There’s a certain decadence to sipping
a great single malt, so it’s no surprise
that luminaries such as Frank Sinatra
and Winston Churchill loved their
Scotch. But the opulent bars in which
these icons enjoyed their drams differ greatly from the stark beauty of where the stuff is actually made.
On Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ Scenic Scottish Isles in Five Nights cruise, Bolette weaves around a string of islands with a stop at the cinematic Isle of Skye. Be sure to head out past soaring mountains to the sea-sprayed Minginish Peninsula, where the Talisker distillery awaits. Take a tour to learn about the distilling process before finishing with three specially selected drams.
Get on board
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ Scenic
Scottish Isles in Five Nights cruise
aboard Bolette, return from Liverpool
via Isle of Harris and Isle of Skye,
departs on May 2, 2025, from £799.
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IRISH STOUT
Maybe it’s the unpredictable weather,
or the promise of great craic: either
way, pubs in Ireland are a cultural
focal point and the best place to sup a velvety smooth pint of stout.
On Six Star Cruises’ Ireland Intensive
Voyage you’ll have opportunities to
taste several types of stout around the Irish coast. Start in Dublin at the Guinness Storehouse; where the
experience finishes with a panoramic
view of the capital and a creamy
complimentary pint. As you sail on
round the coast, drop into Cobh and Galway’s welcoming pubs to try a Murphy’s, with its delightful light
toffee and rich coffee notes.
Get on board
Six Star Cruises’ 12-night Ireland
Intensive Voyage aboard Azamara
Onward, return from Dublin to
Oslo via Cobh, Galway and Belfast,
departs on July 1, 2024, from £1,477.
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GERMAN BEER
Know your dunkel from your Pilsner?
Germans take their beer seriously and
every region has a favourite style.
Emerald Cruises’ serpentine
Bucharest to Amsterdam cruise along
Europe’s grandest rivers lingers for a week in Germany to allow you time to
try the local bier. Stops in Nuremberg
and Bamberg are perfect for hitting a bierkeller and sampling the classic
citrus fruit notes of Bavarian weissbier
(wheat beer).
Towards the end of your
journey, a call in Cologne means tasting
a drop of Kölsch – a crisp and light beer
hugely important to the local identity.
Visit the Brauwelt Köln brewery for the
ultimate Kölsch experience.
Get on board
Emerald Cruises’ 22-night Bucharest
to Amsterdam – Discover the Rhine,
Main & Danube cruise aboard
Emerald Sky, via Belgrade, Budapest,
Vienna, Nuremberg and Cologne,
departs on June 23, 2025, from £6,243
including flights.
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PORTUGUESE PORT
Port isn’t just for Christmas. Get to know
the country’s most famous export and
you’ll discover that it’s a special drop
all year round – especially when paired
with rich cheese or chocolate.
Portugal’s sweeping Douro Valley is the home of port grapes, and Riviera Travel’s Highlights of the Douro Valley and Salamanca River Cruise passes tumbling vineyards as well as historic cities such as Salamanca and Lamego.
In Porto, the drink is so entwined with the city that they share a name, and no visit is complete without a trip to a traditional wine cave. Enjoy a memorable tour of Real Companhia Velha’s dimly lit cellars, finishing with a tasting of four premium vintages.
Get on board
Riviera Travel’s seven-night Highlights
of the Douro Valley & Salamanca river
cruise aboard Riviera Rose, return
from Porto via Regua, Salamanca,
Pinhao and Lamego, departs on
May 13, 2025, from £2,549 including
flights.
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AMERICAN BOURBON AND RYE
While modern US tastes run more to craft beer and Californian wine, it
was whiskey that won the West. The
heroes of the wild frontier fuelled their
adventures with bourbon and rye, and
you can’t visit the States without giving
these fiery favourites a shot.
In New Orleans, just moments from the French Quarter, Sazerac House is an ornate factory-cum-museum that tells the story of the Sazerac – arguably America’s most famous rye cocktail – with ample opportunities to taste it too.
Viking’s Mississippi River Odyssey cruise then meanders north up the mighty Mississippi to Memphis. Here, you won’t want to miss the Old Dominick distillery’s fine bourbons and rye whiskeys – if you can peel yourself away from the guitars wailing from Beale Street’s blues bars, that is.
Get on board
Viking’s 21-night Mississippi River
Odyssey cruise aboard Viking
Mississippi, from New Orleans to St Paul via Vicksburg, Memphis
and St Louis, departs on June 14, 2025, from £13,795 including flights.
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CARIBBEAN RUM
With dreamy sugar-white sands fringed
by coconut palm trees, the Caribbean’s
allure is as clear as its shimmering
crystalline shores. Languid afternoons and evenings are made even sweeter by savouring
a glass of local rum as the sun sinks
beneath the horizon.
P&O’s seven-night Caribbean cruise
stops off in Barbados, which is where
the spirit was invented. The island is still home to the world’s oldest
licensed rum distillery – Mount Gay,
which was founded in 1703.
Tours begin
in its garden, where you can learn how
the spirit is made using sugar cane
before being treated to a sample or
two. And if you get a taste for the stuff,
you’ll be glad to know that Arvia has its
own onboard gin and rum distillery.
Get on board
P&O Cruises’ seven-night Caribbean
Rum class aboard Arvia, from Antigua to
Barbados via Grenada and St Lucia,
departs on January 11, 2025, from
£1,839 including flights.
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SOUTH AFRICAN WINE
Global wine production stretches from the verdant vineyards of
Burgundy to South Australia’s rolling
hills. But magnificent scenery and a
Mediterranean climate make South
Africa a wine destination as seductive
as anywhere on Earth.
Bordered by no fewer than six
viticultural regions, Cape Town is
a glorious wine city, so make time to
explore its bars, tours and estates on
Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ 15-night
Celebration in South Africa cruise.
The De Grendel Wine Estate on the city’s outskirts is particularly alluring, so sip its signature sauvignon blanc from the expansive, glass-encased veranda while soaking up views of Table Mountain on the horizon.
Get on board
Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ 15-night
Celebration in South Africa cruise
aboard Seven Seas Splendor, return
from Cape Town via Port Elizabeth,
Durban and Mozambique, departs
on December 21, 2024, from £8,106
including flights.
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JAPANESE SAKE
It may come as little surprise that a country as unique as Japan is home
to an equally special drink. Made from
fermented rice cultivated in Hyogo
prefecture’s paddy fields, sake’s sweet
aroma pairs beautifully with everything
from sushi to Wagyu beef.
Royal Caribbean International’s
14-night Seattle to Tokyo cruise begins
with an epic journey across the Pacific,
after which Japan’s hazy shores will
finally appear. A cruise stop in Akita
city offers the perfect chance to
sample sublime sake from Takashimizu,
a historic brewery.
Celebrating its 80th birthday in 2024, Takashimizu
translates as ‘high spring water’ and its
sake is fresher than the snow on Mount
Fuji – so drop in for a few glasses before
continuing towards Yokohama. Kanpai!
Get on board
Royal Caribbean International’s
14-night Seattle to Tokyo cruise
aboard Quantum of the Seas,via Muroran, Hakodate, Akita,
Shimizu and Yokohama, departs
on September 30, 2024, from £695.
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