Ever since young aristocrats set off on the Grand Tour, culture and education have remained at the core of many a journey. In the 18th century, tourists were expected to polish their Latin and artistic skills, learn a new language and take in the great architecture, ruins and literature of continental Europe. You can still do this (except perhaps improve your Latin) on 21st-century cruise ships, though fortunately without risking 10-day English Channel crossings or being carried off to a harem by Barbary pirates.
The destinations may be similar to the Grand Tours of yesteryear – Rome, Florence, Venice, Athens – but the range and quality of offerings is constantly improving. Once you might have endured a squeaky-shoe shuffle around art museums with generalist guide. These days, you're more likely to be accompanied by an expert, and culture has expanded to include painting classes, exclusive concerts, and insights into music, fashion, Islamic architecture and the tribal dances of Papua New Guinea.
Over the last few years, luxe cruise lines have teamed with cultural bodies to add gravitas and cachet to their itineraries. Regent Seven Seas Cruises offers some 80 cruises this season in association with the Smithsonian Institution, America's largest museum and research complex. Guest lecturers include art historians, prominent authors and experts on music and diplomatic history. The program is interactive, with Q&A sessions, social occasions where passengers can meet experts, and escorted shore excursions.
"The partnership gives guests access to some of the most authoritative thought-leaders in the world, providing deeper insights into the history, art, culture and politics of our destinations," says Regent president Jason Montague.
Seabourn Cruise Line, meanwhile, has an arrangement with UNESCO offering guests special access to World Heritage sites and projects. Speakers with World Heritage knowledge are part of the Seabourn Conversations enrichment program. They might, for example, accompany guests around San Juan in Puerto Rico for an insight into its military fortifications and 500-year-old Spanish colonial city.
Cunard Cruise Line, too, has an "Insights" on-board enrichment program with speakers from a range of disciplines, such as art history, maritime history, art deco architecture, theatre and film. This season, transatlantic crossings on Queen Mary 2 have featured workshops from London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and adapted one-hour performances of great theatre works, while the Juilliard School Jazz Series treats passengers to the best in contemporary and classic jazz.
The perception among cruise critics is that it's easy to organise do-it-yourself visits to museums and cultural sites is also changing in today's increasingly crowded tourist environment. Cruise lines increasingly tempt travellers with fast-tracked visits into such places as the Vatican or Florence's Uffizi Gallery, where sightseers can sometimes queue for two hours.
Cruise lines also entice doubters with exclusive arrangements beyond the reach of individual travellers. With Regent, you can attend mass in the crypt of Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona, or take an after-hours visit of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel. Seabourn offers a torch-lit classical concert in the Greek ruins of Ephesus, in Turkey, or a champagne reception and music in the throne room of the Catherine Palace in St Petersburg.
Crystal Cruises offers limited-number "Boutique Adventures" such as painting lessons in Corfu, private evening recitals in Mdina cathedral in Malta, or curator-escorted visits to Hamburg's Kunsthalle art collection. Insider Access excursions with Azamara Club Cruises, meanwhile, include meeting with a silk artist in Dubrovnik and learning about daily life in a Greek monastery.
In another trend, some cruise ships are increasingly timing their arrival in certain ports to coincide with major festivals, which are often booked out (and more expensive, thanks to hiked hotel rates) for those trying to do it themselves. Among them, Azamara, Holland America Line and Silversea dock in Rio during its carnival. Silversea, Celebrity and Star Clippers overnight in Cannes for the film festival, and Princess and Ocean Cruises take in the Edinburgh Tattoo.
Many cruise lines time their arrival in Japan for the cherry-blossom season. Princess Cruises calls into Aomori for the spectacular Nebuta Festival, and also gives passengers the chance to participate in musical performances by local musicians.
Though the cultural focus of cruises remains strongest in the Mediterranean, Asian cruising is on the rise, and ocean-hugging Japanese cities in particular provide myriad cultural opportunities. APT has a new small-ship cruise in Japan next year that includes a tea ceremony and visits to traditional gardens.
Princess Cruises has a focus on World Heritage sites and cultural festivals, and offers interesting shore excursions such as a sumo experience in Hakodate, where passengers learn about sumo and attempt sumo moves with a sumo master.
"Australians are a key market for Princess' new cruises in Japan on Diamond Princess," says Stuart Allison, vice-president for Australia and New Zealand. "We find they're very interested in exploring a destination and understanding its culture, and they like our Japanese experience on the ship, too, with a Japanese bathhouse, sushi restaurant and local entertainment."
Such cruises take a broader view of culture, beyond the ancient ruins and artworks. Holland America's "On Location" program brings local entertainers, storytellers and artists on board, and passengers can learn French in Canada or how to play the didgeridoo in Australia. Lindblad Expeditions takes passengers to a flamenco performance in Seville, where they learn about flamenco's origins and its place in Spanish culture.
For fashion lovers, Crystal Cruises offers a new tour of the Salvatore Ferragamo and Gucci museums in Florence. Hapag-Lloyd has new fashion-themed cruises featuring workshops, shows and shore excursions. A series of on-board experts, starting with German designer Thomas Rath, accompanies these cruises.
Cultural tours can also occasionally be family friendly. Disney Cruise Line brings cultural history alive for younger children in an Alaskan mining camp with an entertaining puppet show that relates the history (and a few tall tales) of the gold-rush era. In Juneau, passengers can take a behind-the-scenes look at dog-mushing before preparing a dog team. And, in Norway, a visit to a Viking village allows guests to experience the traditions, food, handicrafts and games of the Viking era.
Cruise lines are taking an increasing interest in Papua New Guinea. In 2013, P&O Cruises' Pacific Dawn became the first big cruise ship to sail into PNG waters. "Papua New Guinea offers an authentic and colourful culture that passengers can really immerse themselves in," says Meg Hill, managing director of Cruise Express travel agency. "Cruise lines such as Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises now offer regular, round-trip itineraries to PNG."
Silversea, Lindblad Expeditions, North Star Cruises and Heritage Expeditions are among smaller cruise lines sailing there. While you might expect up-close cultural encounters from expedition cruises, P&O also gives travellers an opportunity to visit communities such as those in the Trobriand Islands. At Kiriwina and Kitava, P&O has no formal shore tour, but passengers can enjoy cultural experiences unique to the region, such as playing Trobriand cricket with the locals and taking traditional canoe rides.
Carnival Cruise Line's new shore excursions in Vanuatu have a similar focus. On a visit to Aneityum, locals welcome passengers inside their homes for an insight into village life, history and culture. Families might discuss arranged marriages, women's roles in the community and traditional plant medicines. Another excursion takes passengers to Ukava village, where they learn about basket-weaving, ancestral face painting and kava ceremonies.
Culture-dense ports on this itinerary cater to lovers of art, architecture and history and include St Petersburg's palaces and Fabergé Museum, a tour of Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum, an exploration of Antwerp's brewing culture, and a visit to Stonehenge and Salisbury cathedral in England. Among unusual shore excursions is a "Soviet Flashback" tour of Tallinn in Estonia, and a design workshop and tour in Helsinki's Design District.
HOW Stockholm to Southampton itineraries, phone 1300 306 872. See www.silversea.com
New in 2016, this small-ship cruise between Osaka and Manila (beginning with three on-shore days in Kyoto) takes travellers to ancient temples, Matsuyama Castle, a sake brewery and traditional gardens. Tailored "Freedom of Choice" tours include a traditional Japanese tea ceremony and calligraphy lesson and a visit to a geisha's home in Kyoto. The cruise also contrasts the cultures of the Philippines and Japanese-influenced Taiwan.
HOW Sailing the Japanese Isles itineraries, phone 1300 196 420. See www.aptouring.com.au
There's plenty of culture between Rome and Venice along the Amalfi Coast and shores of Montenegro and Croatia. Guests can explore the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, the Roman amphitheatre at Pula, the medieval old town of Kotor, and Rijeka's Roman, gothic and baroque architecture. The cruise features on-board lectures from film and art experts and runs classes in a variety of arts and digital media.
HOW Ionian Inspiration itineraries, phone 1800 251 174. See www.crystalcruises.com
This cruise is notable for its opportunities to interact with locals, from schoolchildren to canoe-paddling warriors. In Madang, passengers attend a festival showcasing the local customs, costume and dance of coastal, midland and highland communities in a traditional "sing-sing" that includes the Asoka mudmen from Goroka.
HOW Ultimate New Guinea Islands itineraries, phone 13 24 94. See www.pocruises.com.au
Barcelona delivers Gaudí architecture, a flamenco show and Picasso and Miró museums. In Valencia, passengers trace the influences of Greeks, Romans, Arabs and the Spanish on its architecture. An excursion to Saint Paul de Vence delves into why the French Riviera attracts movie stars and painters, and visits the Maeght Foundation for modern art. In Florence, a full-day tour visits the Accademia and Uffizi galleries.
HOW Barcelona to Rome (Civitavecchia) itineraries, phone 02 9265 7100. See www.rssc.com
