Sip, sip, hooray! Drink your way around the world on a cruise

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.