Guest Who?

To help you while away your sea days most cruise lines invite Guest Speakers, Destination & Port Lecturers and Experts of culture, military history, art history, psychology, Adventurers and sports offering a  wide range of ‘Enrichment’ to guests and even the odd Spaceman!

My very first cruise was QEII Transatlantic to New York, I remember the Guest Speaker on board was Terry Waite, he had just launched his Autobiography. It was an extremely engaging hour as he recalled how in his prison cell in Beirut where he spent 1,460 days in solitary confinement, Terry Waite wrote his autobiography in his head.

Cunard  Insights™ enrichment programme offers talks, seminars and discussions by well-known historians, explorers, top diplomats, politicians, scientists and other notable experts. We strive to “Engage, Enlighten and Entertain” throughout your voyage with appearances from esteemed luminaries.

I was speaking to a passenger recently who had also cruised to New York, he was amazed by how many passengers had booked the cruise especially for talks by the retired Astronaut on board!

Whilst some cruise lines like Cunard, Regent and Azamara go for the more ‘High Brow’ intellectual experts on board I think Princess have hit the nail on the head with more mainstream guests and household names that everyone knows and recognizes

This week Princess Cruises revealed 2018 ‘Encounters With Discovery’ guest speaker lineup, each speaker will give a free 45-minute talk, followed by a question-and-answer session. Passengers will also have opportunities to attend complimentary meet-and-greets, as well as book signings.

The line up is quite eclectic for cruises on selected Sapphire Princess 2018 cruises from Southampton

Those on the 2018 programme lineup are:

• Linda Gray (actress, Sue Ellen in Dallas and Mrs Robinson in The Graduate departing July 28 and a 7-night Norwegian Fjords cruise, departs August 11
• Pete Best (former Beatles drummer), 14-night Land of the Midnight Sun departs August 18
• Eddie ‘The Eagle Edwards (former British Olympic skier, 7-night Scandinavia cruise, departs September 1
• John Virgo (snooker commentator and former player),  14-night Baltic Heritage cruise, departs September 8
• Harry Redknapp (former football manager and footballer), 14-night Mediterranean Adventurer cruise, departs May 12
• Beverley Callard (actress, Liz McDonald in Coronation Street), 7-night Scandinavia cruise, departs May 26
• James Cosmo (actor, films include Braveheart and Trainspotting, TV includes Game of Thrones), on a 7-night Norwegian Fjords and Summer Solstice cruise, departs June 16
• Jimmy McKenna (actor, A Touch of Frost and Hollyoaks), on a 14-night Land of the Midnight Sun cruise, departs June 23
• Paul Burrell RVM (butler to Diana, Princess of Wales), on a 7-night Norwegian Fjords cruise, departs July 21
• Nick Pickard (actor, Hollyoaks), on a 14-night Mediterranean Adventurer cruise, departs July 28
• Ashley Taylor (actor and singer, Hollyoaks, Strictly Come Dancing), on a 7-night Spain & France cruise, departs May 5

I would certainly be front row for most of these Celebs but my favourite would be Michael Parkinson (not currently booked!!) – who would you book your cruise just to be in the presence of for an hour or 2?!