Cruise lines are enlisting expert guides to delve deep into history

Scholarly experts are enriching cruise experiences and helping passengers forge deeper connections with destinations.

We’re not content to simply tick off sites on a holiday. 

Forget the pit-stop photo opportunities, we want experiential travel – that is, to forge a deeper connection with a destination. A growing number of well-curated tours are delivering these immersive experiences.

You can really tell when there’s a passionate expert as your tour guide as opposed to someone who just reels off the highlights as though reading from a brochure. A trend in the cruise world is for cruise lines to team up with scholarly experts and leaders on the ground to deliver the sort of detailed cultural experiences their passengers desire.

AmaWaterways recently joined forces with Smithsonian Journeys to offer co-branded European river cruises with exclusive Smithsonian-crafted experiences, drawing on the American institution’s 175-year history as the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. From April 2026, there will be exclusive excursions and opportunities for guests to engage with a variety of experts, ranging from art historians and archaeologists to scientists and anthropologists.

“Our goal is to go beyond simply seeing destinations; we want our guests to connect with the places we visit,” says AmaWaterways’ Rudi Schreiner.

AmaWaterways recently joined forces with Smithsonian Journeys to offer co-branded European river cruises with exclusive Smithsonian-crafted experiences. Picture: Supplied.

Examples of sailings include the eight-day Along the Seine: A River Cruise from Paris to Normandy that includes exploring historic sites from Rouen to Omaha Beach as well as the chance to trace the footsteps of great artists such as Impressionist painter Claude Monet and singer-actor Josephine Baker. Another is the eight-day Cruising Portugal’s Enticing Douro River Valley where cruisers can take a deep dive into historic wine estates.

On the ocean, luxury French line Ponant has been partnering with Smithsonian Journeys since 2022 and offers such enticing immersive itineraries as the eight-day Cruising the Mediterranean: Sicily, Sardinia, and Mallorca. On this voyage aboard L’Austral, cruisers can delve into the legacies of the ancient Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans on expert-led visits to temples, Norman cathedrals and Bronze Age settlements. The ancient world is also a focus of an eight-day Cruising the Aegean: Turkey and the Greek Isles itinerary, which takes in the ruins of Mycenae, the wonders of Ephesus and offers the choice of a visit to ancient Troy or the battlefields of Gallipoli.

Meanwhile, Holland America Line has just joined forces with the History Channel to offer historically focused itineraries and immersive shore excursions across their 11 vessels.

Holland America Line’s first batch of shore excursions created in partnership with the History Channel will explore such sites as Egypt’s Giza Pyramids.

“With us, history isn’t just told, it’s experienced,” said Holland America Line’s Alex Pikardt. “(It) allows us to deliver to our guests experiences that are too good to hurry through.”

Upcoming themed itineraries in collaboration with the History Channel include the seven-day Mediterranean Marvels of Pompeii itinerary as well as a seven-day Norwegian Fjords with Hardangerfjord sailing.

Holland America Line’s first batch of shore excursions created in partnership with the History Channel will explore such sites as Egypt’s Giza Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Pyramid of Sakkara in depth. Additional itineraries and shore excursions will continue to be released.

Originally published as Cruise lines are enlisting expert guides to delve deep into history