FEATURED CRUISE

2019 Hawaii & Tahiti Knitting Cruise

28-Day Hawaii and Tahiti Knitting Cruise
w/ Sally Melville (March 9-April 6, 2019)

The South Pacific conjures up visions of azure seas, white sand beaches and swaying palm trees. In a word, most call this, paradise. For 28 sun-filled days, enjoy the voyage of a lifetime with Craft Cruises and renowned knitwear designer Sally Melville aboard the stunning ms Eurodam. Set sail from San Diego, stop in two ports of call in Hawaii and then it is on to Kiribati, then to the four islands of Bora Bora, Raiatea, Moorea and Papeete in the Society Islands, Fakarava atoll in the Tuamotu Islands, and Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas, before returning to San Diego.

Heed the call of writers and artists who have come before you to the islands in search of beauty and peace. Learn about the history and culture of the different islands, as well as the tropical flora and fauna. Whether snorkeling, paddle boarding, strolling along the beach, or hiking up stunning green hills, the South Pacific entreats you to come and experience the islands. With plenty of sea days, sink deep into relaxation-body and soul-as well as enjoy the chance to learn or enhance your knitting skills in the company of like-minded travelers.

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Before the Cruise

San Diego

San Diego provides a perfect cruising gateway. Come a few days beforehand and explore Old San Diego, with its Colonial Spanish-style architecture and great Mexican and Baja food. Enjoy Balboa Park, home to the famed San Diego Zoo as well as some 16 unique gardens, including the Japanese Friendship Garden and the Botanical Building, which houses more than 2,000 plants including ferns, orchids, and palms-some of them a taste of what you'll see in the South Pacific.

For those with a deeper interest in botany, visit the San Diego Botanic Garden. Tour Cabrillo National Monument, commemorating the landing of Juan Cabrillo at San Diego Bay in 1542, the first European to visit what is now the US west coast. Visit the beaches or hike in Torrey Pines State Park.

While in San Diego, enjoy a Craft Cruises-organized trip to seaside Needlecraft Cottage and meet the creator of Baah! Hand Painted Yarn, dyed in Southern California. Pick up those last-minute skeins and notions for your knitting adventure.

INSTRUCTOR

Sally Melville

Sally Melville is one of the most sought-after knitting professionals. For more than 30 years, she's been an avid teacher, designer, and writer. Her classes regularly receive high praise for her ability to teach a range of students and convey helpful tips and suggestions. She also inspires knitters and non-knitters alike with her talks on the importance of why we work with our hands. Sally Melville is the author of the gold standards The Knit Stitch and The Purl Stitch, from XRX Books, as well as Color, Styles, Mother/Daughter Knits, and, most recently, Knitting Pattern Essentials.

Sally Melville will offer the following classes onboard: Why We Do What We Do: The Importance of Working with Our Hands; Knit to Flatter and Fit; Measure It, Draft it, Knit it; Essential Skills; Two Colors, Two Hands, about stranded knitting; Seaming; Borders and Buttonholes; and, Emergency Measures, for when something goes wrong.

More Info - Sally Melville

HIGHLIGHT

Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu on Oahu is for many their first glimpse of the Hawaiian Islands. From the moment you step off the ship, the fresh breezes, the scent of plumeria, and the deep greens of the mountains and blues of the ocean all mesmerize you-even though you're in a city. Honolulu offers the best of metropolitan Hawaii, from historical and cultural sites to places of natural beauty. Visit Pearl Harbor/World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, or visit Iolani Palace, the home of the Hawaiian royal family, whose last monarch was Queen Lili'uokalani. Snorkel in Hanauma Bay State Park, take a walk along Waikiki Beach, or hike up Diamond Head for panoramic views of the coast. For nature lovers, Foster Botanical Garden in downtown Honolulu contains orchids and other tropical plants, including some trees planted in the 1850s.

A little further afield, Lyon Arboretum in the Manoa valley has more than 5,000 tropical plans, including a Hawaiian Ethnobotanical Garden where the visitor can learn more about plants that were key to Polynesian culture, such as kalo (taro). The Bishop Museum and Polynesian Cultural Center offer insights into the rich Polynesian culture. The Honolulu Museum of Art has displays of Hawaiian art, Japanese woodblock prints, and 17th and 18th century European paintings, among other exhibits. Honolulu has great restaurants, too, and remember to save room for "shave ice."

Hilo, Hawaii

Hilo, the largest city on the Big Island of Hawaii, provides a range of activities for tourists. It serves as a base to visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, featuring Kilauea, an active volcano. Being on the windward side of the island means that Hilo is lush with tropical vegetation. Hibiscus and ginger plants thrive. Time permitting, visit the Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Garden, a "garden in a valley on the ocean," 40 acres of more than 2,000 species of plants. See Akaka and other waterfalls plummet from hillsides.

Craft Cruises will offer the chance to shop for locally grown yarn, as well as to meet angora rabbits from Hula Bunny yarns. Learn about vanilla production from island orchids on a visit to the Hawaiian Vanilla Company where everyone will enjoy a delicious vanilla-infused lunch.

Tabuaeran (Fanning Island), Kiribati

Kiribati (pronounced kiri-bas) is an independent republic within the Commonwealth of Nations and one of the remotest islands on earth. Geographically part of Polynesia and administratively and culturally part of Micronesia, it is the only island visited on this cruise that is on the other side of the international date line. Tabuarean (or Tahanea), which means "heavenly footprint," also known as Fanning Atoll, is one of the Line Islands of Kiribati.

First spotted by European Edmund Fanning in 1798, Kiribati was then uninhabited. It was annexed by Great Britain in 1888 and became a cable relay station. It gained independence in 1979. Now a "humanitarian stop" by Holland America on the way to French Polynesia, the island offers a soft-sand swimming beach. The island also is famous for reportedly appearing in the closing shots of the television series Gilligan's Island. Souvenirs can be purchased from locals, but there is not much infrastructure on the atoll to support tourism. What it offers, however, is excellent snorkeling, swimming, and fishing.

Bora Bora, Society Islands, French Polynesia

Bora Bora was proclaimed "the most beautiful island in the world" by author James Michener, and he based his fictional Bali-ha'i from his Tales of the South Pacific on the island. In fact, Bora Bora is what most people probably envision when they think South Pacific islands. The "pearl of the Pacific" or "queen of the Pacific" is only twenty miles around and is ringed by coral reefs, with beautiful vistas in all directions. English explorer James Cook visited Bora Bora in 1769 on his first voyage to Polynesia.

During World War II, the island was used by the United States as a supply base, and the US built the first airstrip in French Polynesia. Shop for black pearls, snorkel in turquoise lagoons, take an excursion to encounter sting rays, or hike Mount Otemanu, a dormant volcano that rises above the shore. Taste grilled fish or the poisson cru (raw fish in lime juice and coconut milk). Because the ship overnights in Bora Bora, you have the opportunity to stay, at additional cost, at one of the overwater bungalows that dot the lagoons.

Raiatea, Society Islands, French Polynesia

French Polynesia's second largest island remains lesser known and thus quieter than its sister island of Bora Bora. Raiatea ("faraway heaven" or "sky with soft light") is considered a sacred island by the Polynesians, and visitors may see marae, open-aired temples that are sacred gathering places in Polynesian culture. Raiatea is home to a flower unique to the island called Tiare Apetahi, a white five-petaled flower known for its lovely scent. Legend tells that the flower came to be from the deaths of separated lovers. It grows only on the slopes of the extinct volcano Mount Temehani. Visit a vanilla plantation or pearl farm. Paddle an outrigger canoe on the only navigable river in the Society Islands, the Faaroa River. Other activities include swimming, diving, and horseback riding.

Moorea, French Polynesia

Within sight of Tahiti Island, Moorea is surrounded by a stunning blue lagoon.

The clear and calm waters make for excellent snorkeling, swimming, diving, or enjoying a glass-bottom boat tour. But everything's all right, too, by just sitting on the beach soaking up the beauty. For a quiet getaway, nothing is better than Moorea.

Papeete, Tahiti, Society Islands, French Polynesia

Papeete is the capital city of French Polynesia on the island of Tahiti. In 1769 Captain James Cook sailed to Polynesia for the first time on the H.M.S. Endeavor; during a three-month stay, Cook documented information about the islands, including their customs and religion. He also mapped the islands, which he named the Society Islands. He observed the Transit of Venus on 3 June 1769, which helped expand astronomical knowledge. He would later make additional voyages to the islands between 1773 and 1777.

Reefs ring the island, enclosing water in blues that defy description. Enjoy seafood. Visit the home of James Norman Hall, American poet and writer. Shop for black pearls. An overnight stay by the ship permits those who would like to indulge in staying at an overwater bungalow, at an additional cost, to do so. Discover waterfalls, visit Vaipahi Gardens, or simply relax on the beach.

Fakarava, Tuamotu Islands, French Polynesia

Fakarava is one of the largest atolls in French Polynesia's Tuamoto Archipelago and has been designated by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve. Known for its white and pink sand beaches, it is also considered one of the best diving destinations in the world. On the south side, Tumakohua Pass contains a narrow underwater valley called Shark's Hole, a popular diving site.

Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia

Nuku Hiva, also called the "mystical island," is the largest of the Marquesas Islands, from where Hawaiians emigrated circa 800 A.D. In the 1800s, the island was a stopover for whaling ships. Today, Taiohae is the main town and administrative center and capital of the Marquesas, which vary dramatically in scenery from the Society Islands. The Marquesas are known for their stark cliffs and rough seas, unringed by protective coral reefs.

Rugged peaks are said to have inspired Herman Melville's first novel Typee, and the island retains its rustic nature. The sharp beauty also drew artist Paul Gauguin, who spent his last years on the island, and Thor Heyerdahl, author of Kon Tiki. Stroll Hooumi black sand beach. See Vaipo Waterfall in the Hakaui valley, one of the tallest waterfalls in the South Pacific. Shop for handcrafted wood and bone carvings.

HOLLAND AMERICA LINE

ms Eurodam

First of the Signature class ships, launched in 2008 and updated in 2015, the ms Eurodam, sister ship to the ms Nieuw Amsterdam, is regularly praised for its high level of service. The ship offers several music venues, including the B.B. King's Blues Club and Lincoln Center Stage, and nine dining options, including the Pinnacle Grill, the pan-Asian Tamarind, and the casual burger and hot dog Dive In.

Enjoy activities from cooking classes to yoga, or relax in the Greenhouse Spa and Salon. Sip an espresso in the Explorations Café with the latest daily Sudoku in hand, or join in pub trivia and meet new friends. With a myriad of activities on board, there's something for everyone to enjoy.

2019 Anniversary Reunion Cruise

7-Night Eastern Caribbean

Craft Cruises is celebrating a big milestone and we're inviting you to join us on our 20th Anniversary Reunion Cruise! Set sail from Ft. Lauderdale on this 7-night Eastern Caribbean adventure from January 13-20, 2019 visiting the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Holland America's private island, Half Moon Cay.

Why are we calling it an anniversary reunion cruise? Not only is Craft Cruises celebrating 20 years of organizing enriching cruise vacations but we are inviting all of the Craft Cruisers who have participated over the years to join in the fun.

We invite you to come join us onboard Holland America Line's brand new ship, the ms Nieuw Statendam sailing the Eastern Caribbean at the best possible time, when the weather is sunny, the crowds are minimal and it's winter at home.