14-Day ~ China, Korea, Japan Knitting Cruise (Mar 2018)

14-Day Asia Knitting Cruise

Join Gwen Bortner and other traveling knitters onboard Holland America Line's beautiful ms Volendam for 14 days of being pampered in style while visiting some of the best ports along the way. Have fun taking classes while the ship is at sea and seeing the top sights in every port. This cruise has a nice balance between time in port and days at sea ensuring you return from your holiday well-rested yet enlightened from the wonderful places visited on this cruise of a lifetime.

Cruise from Shanghai, China to Yokohama, Japan and explore some of the most fascinating and ancient civilizations in the world with rich textile and knitting cultures all their own. On this cruise you will enjoy learning more about cultures quite different than our own, shopping for yarn and making new friends. The ms Volendam is one of Holland America Line's smaller ships and is a favorite among repeat passengers. Visit such interesting places as Shanghai, Qingdoa, Beijing, Seoul, Jeju, Osaka, Shimizu and Yokohama (Tokyo) on this cruise itinerary. For those who really want the very best of Asia, experience extensions will be offered in China visiting Xian to see the Terra Cotta Warriors and in Tokyo to visit the Nihon Vogue knitting school and a Tokyo yarn crawl.

Since charts are critical in Japanese knitting and Japanese design is geared toward schematics and fit, your onboard knitting expert, Gwen Bortner, will offer classes focusing on knitting techniques for charting, knitting both forward and backward, Mobius, measurements and more. Gwen is even offering an introduction to Japanese Kumihimo braiding and is really looking forward to sharing her abundant knowledge of knitting as well as the experience of this cruise with other knitters.

2018 Asia Knitting Cruise Highlights

• Take an optional trip to Xian before boarding your cruise to see the ancient 2,000 year old life-sized Terra Cotta Warriors


• Explore Shanghai including yarn shopping, the Shanghai Museum and a visit to the beautiful Yuyuan Chinese Gardens


• In Qingdao, China's famous beer capital, visit the Tsingtao Brewery and Deng Zhou Road or "beer street"


• Spend two full days in Beijing on an optional overnight private Craft Cruise tour maximizing your time in this city with so much to see


• Walk on the Great Wall, ponder what life was like living in the Forbidden City, and visit Tiananmen Square


• Feast your senses on the spectacular sights of an acrobatic show and the tantalizing taste of Peking duck


• See the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and enjoy a Peking Duck dinner in Beijing


• Shop at the largest wholesale yarn market in Korea, Dongdaemun Market, where visitors are overwhelmed by the huge selection and low prices


• Explore Korea's largest volcanic island, Jeju, home to the largest lava tubes in the world


• In Osaka, tour the 16th-century shogunate Osaka Castle surrounded by a moat and park with plum, peach and cherry trees


• Learn all about silk at the Yokohama Silk Museum


• Shop for popular Japanese yarn at Japan's largest hand craft store, Yuzawaya