Sydney to Seattle via Fiji, Samoa and Hawaii: the South Pacific cruise that has food lovers very excited

I have a theory about the best kind of travel, and it is this: the destinations should be extraordinary, the ship should be comfortable, and the food should give you something to look forward to every single day. This cruise ticks all three boxes rather convincingly.

Holland America Line’s MS Noordam departs Sydney on March 28,  2027 on a 29-day trans-Pacific voyage that ends, improbably and wonderfully, in Seattle. In between, it calls at Brisbane, Noumea, the island of Lifou, three ports in Fiji, American Samoa, Honolulu, Kauai, Kona and – just to make the journey feel properly epic – crosses both the International Dateline and the Equator along the way.

This is not a cruise for people who want to rush. It is a cruise for people who understand that the best journeys take their time.

The destinations, for food lovers in particular

Noumea arrives on day six and it matters. New Caledonia sits in a curious and delicious space between French culinary tradition and Pacific ingredient lists, and the result is one of the more interesting food cultures in the South Pacific. Boulangeries, espresso, fresh seafood and the particular pleasure of a decent French cheese board in a tropical setting. Lifou, the smaller island that follows, is quieter and more pristine – the kind of place where the seafood comes straight from the water around you and the pace drops to something approaching perfect.

Fiji, which the itinerary covers across three ports – Lautoka, Suva and the relatively undiscovered Savusavu – offers something different again. The food here is warm, generous and built around kokoda, the Fijian ceviche of fresh fish cured in citrus and coconut cream that is among the most purely satisfying things you can eat anywhere in the Pacific. Suva’s municipal market is one of the great food markets of the region – chaotic, colourful and absolutely worth an early morning.

Pago Pago in American Samoa is one of those ports that stops people in their tracks. The harbour is spectacular and the local Samoan food culture – umu-cooked meats, fresh taro, coconut-based everything – is the kind of eating that reminds you why travel matters.

And then Hawaii. An overnight stay in Honolulu, followed by Kauai and Kona, which means the full sweep of the Hawaiian food story: the Japanese and Korean influences woven into the local cuisine, the plate lunch culture, the poke that has been copied everywhere and is still best here, and the extraordinary Kona coffee that makes everything taste better.

The ship

The Noordam is a well-regarded mid-size Holland America vessel that has built a strong reputation for food, which is not something you can say about every cruise line. A Culinary Council made up of five high-profile chefs, along with Holland America’s master chef Rudi Sodamin, contribute recipes featured most nights in the main dining rooms.

The Lido Market buffet gets it right where buffets so often go wrong – the food is fresh, packed with flavour and offers an extensive range at every meal, from made-to-order eggs and omelettes at breakfast to an ever-changing dinner selection. Holland America has also entered into an exclusive arrangement with the legendary Le Cirque restaurant, offering an evening at Le Cirque in the Pinnacle Grill – with Master Chef Rudi Sodamin working with Le Cirque’s executive chef to recreate the legendary eatery’s award-winning experience on board, including its famous crème brûlée.

For a more casual evening, Canaletto offers Italian specialty dining with house-made pastas and the kind of fresh warm ciabatta that makes you immediately want to stay longer than you planned.

Prices start from $4,789 per person twin share for an interior stateroom, rising to $7,889 for a verandah – which, on a trans-Pacific crossing with this much ocean to look at, strikes me as the obvious choice.

Twenty-nine days. Fourteen ports. One very well-fed crossing of the Pacific.

For full details and to book, visit travelat60.com