Local Connections

Local Connections

Meaningful, authentic, personal and exclusive experiences crafted and hosted by local experts

Best Shore
Excursions
Cruise Critic

Local experts take you on a journey only they can lead, infused by insights you won’t find anywhere else. Choose excursions that fit your interests, from foodie-friendly to art-centric, and connect with the people who share your passions and call these unique destinations home.

Food: Get a taste of local life

Group of people sitting around a table clinking wine glasses.

Few things better define a destination than its cuisine. These excursions take you on culinary adventures that showcase what makes each locale special. Try indigenous foods prepared by a celebrity chef in Darwin. Sample local honey, cheese and more with the owner of a countryside retreat in Auckland. Cook authentic Norman cuisine with a chef in her home outside Paris. Come away with a new understanding and a pleased palate.

Beverage: Drink in the sights

Three people holding beer steins

Sip your way to a greater appreciation of the places you go. Take in the local craft beer scene in Tallinn with a master brewer. Embark on a connoisseur's tour and tasting with an award-winning wine writer at a legendary winery in Bordeaux. Discover the legend behind the liquor at a family-run distillery in Reykjavik.

Culture, History & Nature: Uncover wonder

Two men, nose to nose, one with his face painted with a tribal design

Explore local identity with excursions into an area’s heritage, whether cultural, historic or natural, led by expert guides. Embark on an exclusive eco-tour to a native kauri forest in the Bay of Islands with a local who shares Maori legends. Learn bagpipe playing, and celebrate the namesake of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Edinburgh. Puzzle the logistics behind the d’Arenberg Cube in Adelaide, and witness animals returning to the wild at a refuge in Limón. Find the beauty in our ties to the past and Mother Nature.

The Arts: Create a new perspective

An open notebook with painting of the scenery in the background

See each destination through the eye of an artist. Visit the Archeological Museum, and lunch with a modern sculpture artist in Naples. Let a local graffiti artist in Melbourne expand your view of what art can be with a tour of urban art. Meet a potter who continues his family’s unique artistic tradition in Ishigaki, and discover the art of sword-making in Sakaiminato. Gain a greater understanding of the way art illuminates life.