FORGING
FULFILLMENT
Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak gets in the neighborhood of $50,000 for speaking engagements, according to one large speaker’s bureau. But next year, passengers on the Seabourn Ovation will get to see Wozniak as part of their overall cruise package at no additional cost.
In return for participating in a few onboard lectures, Wozniak will sail as a guest on the Ovation’s 14-day, year-end holiday cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong, with stops in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
It’s all part of the luxury line’s enrichment program, Seabourn Conversations, which is designed to bring aboard interesting people with experiences or expertise that passengers might want to learn about.
“It goes back to the idea that travel can change the world and the idea of travel with a purpose."
Learning isn’t part of the cliche version of what a cruise is about, and it isn’t on display much in the TV ads from the biggest lines. But it is a big part of the offering on smaller luxury ships and on lines such as Viking Ocean, which, through its sponsorship of shows such as PBS’s “Masterpiece,” sets expectations for what Viking founder Torstein Hagen calls “a thinking man’s cruise.”
Each year, hundreds of college professors, business visionaries, former astronauts, famous artists, film directors, musicians, diplomats, writers and explorers appear onboard at no extra charge to the guest.
In return, they must be smart and engaging in discussing their subjects with an audience of elite travelers, then make time later for passengers who want rub elbows with their favorite author, actor, political consultant, etc.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, left, and astronaut Scott Kelly, right, are among the Seabourn Conversations speakers the cruise line is featuring on December sailings.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, left, and astronaut Scott Kelly, right, are among the Seabourn Conversations speakers the cruise line is featuring on December sailings.
Race car driver Jackie Stewart, actor Alan Cumming, astronaut Scott Kelly, culinary guidebook founders Tim and Nina Zagat and Irish novelist Marian Keyes are some of the speakers that are scheduled to appear on ships next year.
Enrichment programs are expanding as the luxury and expedition sectors in particular get more and bigger ships. Lines say there’s more competition for speakers, and they’ve expanded their outreach beyond their traditional sources.
But the supply of speakers remains healthy, and the market still favors the cruise lines when it comes to picking talent.
For travel agents, some knowledge of a line’s enrichment program helps sell clients on the cost of an upper-end cruise. Lines say that a good speaker or guide can make the difference between a simple vacation and the experience of a lifetime.
“It goes back to the idea that travel can change the world and the idea of travel with a purpose,” said Eva Jenner, vice president of sales at Holland America Line. “The enrichment we provide on the ships really ties well into that.”
Here’s a look at enrichment programs in four segments of the industry, including contemporary, premium, luxury and expedition-style lines.
CONTEMPORARY
Enrichment is not a top activity on most contemporary cruises because they are geared to what Royal Caribbean International president Michael Bayley characterizes as “thrill and chill.” These cruises focus on fun and relaxation, often in the Caribbean, without saddling guests with a lot of need to think.
Very large ships and short itineraries don’t lend themselves to the intimate guest lecture format.
Nonetheless, because contemporary cruises are based on having something for everyone onboard, enrichment is on the menu for many big ships, although you might have to look harder to find it.
On Royal Caribbean, for example, you’ll find lectures covering topics such as destinations, arts and crafts, book authors and itinerary-specific games as well as caricaturists and motivational speakers.
“We do offer these — however, not on every ship,” said Royal spokeswoman Lyan Sierra-Caro. “It depends greatly on the itinerary, demographics and availability.”For example, Royal adds a ballroom dance instructor on its repositioning cruises as well as on its longer 12- and 14-day cruises.
“We also add, on all Alaska ships, a Royal Canadian Mountie,” Sierra-Caro said. The Mounties sail attired in their red dress uniforms.
Royal has plenty of guests who aren’t up to its more strenuous amenities, such as rock climbing or surfing, Sierra-Caro said. For them, Royal’s menu includes informational enrichment, such as workshops on interior design, astrology, genealogy and forensics; instruction in areas such as arts and crafts, watercolors, travel writing, journaling and electronic gadgetry; and lighter topics such as fashion, makeup artists to the stars or stories of famous people.
Other contemporary lines, including Carnival Cruise Line and MSC Cruises, also offer enrichment on some ships and itineraries. On Norwegian Cruise Line’s Hawaiian ship, for example, guests can learn to hula dance, paint watercolors or make fresh orchid leis.
PREMIUM
The premium segment of the industry is where enrichment starts to be strategic. The ships, while not as small as luxury vessels, have fewer people on them, and guests tend to be more sophisticated and older.
On three Celebrity Cruises ships, guests can learn to blow glass and make their own glass creations.
Princess Cruises, through its partnership with Discovery Communications, holds stargazing classes as well as a speaker’s series featuring naturalists talking about the landscape, wildlife and history of the regions guests visit.
Princess also has a regionally-geared speakers program that, for example, features Hollywood performers on its California-based sailings and experts on royalty on its European itineraries.
At Holland America Line (HAL), there is a two-pronged enrichment strategy. The first involves partnerships with key outside organizations that bring enriching activities aboard. HAL has a partnership with BBC Earth for nature films and musical scores, with “America’s Test Kitchen” for cooking classes, with Chateau St. Michelle for wine tastings and with Lincoln Center for classical music.
It has a long-running partnership with Microsoft to run Windows Digital Workshops, teaching computer and social media skills.
A newer arrangement is with O, the Oprah Magazine, which brings Oprah Winfrey’s well-known book discussion club, O’s Reading Room, aboard all HAL’s ships. The Winfrey program on many ships also includes meditation/yoga classes, fashion and beauty advice and talks on healthy eating habits.
The second leg of HAL’s enrichment strategy runs through Explorations Central (EXC), a consolidation of shore activities, destination information and cultural, historical and educational programs.
On the 1,258-passenger Maasdam, HAL offers EXC In-Depth Voyages, which include bringing aboard speakers in one of six focus areas: photography; nature and science; food, wine and spirits; history; arts and culture; and active exploration.
“It’s the perfect size to do those kind of programs,” Jenner said. “Because of the intimate size of the ship, the guests get to know the experts we have onboard very well. They see them all around, and they get to interact with them at any time during the cruise.”
The first EXC In-Depth voyage left Fort Lauderdale Sept. 10 on a 34-day cruise to Tahiti. Lecturers were onboard to speak about, among other topics, Easter Island, the seabirds of Polynesia, Tahitian dance and the impact of mosquitoes on disease in the Pacific islands.
Instead of “America’s Test Kitchen,” the In-Depth cruises bring local chefs, locally sourced ingredients and local culinary traditions aboard to supplement the standard HAL food offerings.
When lecturers come aboard, they stay in cabins in the passenger area that have been specially designated for entertainers, HAL spokesman Erik Elvejord said.
LUXURY
Luxury is the segment where enrichment thrives. Small ships, longer itineraries with sea days to fill and educated guests make an ideal mix in which speakers can draw crowds and also easily mingle with guests.
Many luxury lines go as far as to brand their enrichment programs. Seabourn has its Seabourn Conversations and Cunard Line has Cunard Insights.
At Oceania Cruises, manager of enrichment programs Pat Higgins said, guests today are looking beyond the surface to more serious topics.
“They don’t want the fluffy stuff anymore,” Higgins said. “Years ago, when a lot of people were going down to the Caribbean, they were interested in the rum factories. I think more and more people are aware of the history of the Caribbean and the effects of the slave trade, and yes, the rum, but [enrichment programs address:] why was that important?”
TED Talk screened on one of Viking Cruises’ ships. TED is one of the line’s cultural partners.
TED Talk screened on one of Viking Cruises’ ships. TED is one of the line’s cultural partners.
Higgins said a key for speakers at Oceania is tying the destinations on the itinerary into whatever is being talked about. Speakers have to be versed in the contemporary issues as well as the history of a destination.
“If we only have one cabin [allotted for speakers], that person has to be able to talk about the cultural history, the politics, the current events of the area in which the ships are sailing,” Higgins said.
It’s hard for lines to differentiate their enrichment programs, Higgins said, because all of them use some of the same speakers. An exception at Oceania is Verne Lundquist, the jovial CBS sports broadcaster, who has been on numerous cruises, including one that coincided with the Super Bowl.
“During the game, he will get in there and he will call the game. It’s just great,” Higgins said. “He loves to sail, and the people love him.”
Another hit for Oceania has been the Artist Loft, which on the Marina and the Riviera ships comes stocked with $30,000 worth of art equipment and supplies. A rotating artist-in-residence teaches classes on subjects like watercolors, collage and painting with acrylics.
“Even if you’ve never picked up a brush in your life, these artists are very good at teaching,” Higgins said. “I’ve picked them for their interaction with people.”
Although Higgins said she finds 90% of speakers herself, many lines use agencies to supply speakers. When she’s in a jam, Higgins said, she often turns to Fort Lauderdale-based Compass Speakers & Entertainment.
Andrew Poulton, director of onboard programs in the enrichment division at Compass, said his company is on the hunt for good, new speakers as the luxury segment orders more and larger tonnage.
“We’re always expanding our roster,” Poulton said. “We feel there is going to be a larger need for new speakers as all these new ships come out. We’re 20 years old now, so we’re very well poised to be part of that growth.”
One line that is growing head over heels in enrichment is Viking Ocean, which launched its first ship in 2014.
“Viking is all about the enrichment. On any given cruise, they’ll have four or five speakers onboard, which is amazing given the size of the ship. That’s obviously a huge area of growth, and we supply them with a good number of lecturers a year.”
“Viking is all about the enrichment,” Poulton said. “On any given cruise, they’ll have four or five speakers onboard, which is amazing given the size of the ship. That’s obviously a huge area of growth, and we supply them with a good number of lecturers a year.”
Richard Marnell, executive vice president of marketing at Viking, said 474 guest lecturers will speak on Viking ships this year, and next year, with the addition of its sixth vessel, the Viking Jupiter, the total will rise to 621.
Marnell said a key point in the development of enrichment for Viking Cruises came in 2017 when it created the position of resident historian on each ship.
“No other cruise line offers a historian program at this scale,” Marnell said.
A resident astronomer was added to Viking’s fifth ship, the Viking Orion, and one will also sail on the Jupiter.
Charles Doherty, Viking’s chief resident historian, gives a presentation.
Charles Doherty, Viking’s chief resident historian, gives a presentation.
Viking also has a stable of cultural partners such as the Los Angeles Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera and TED, the nonprofit behind TED Talks. Its most famous partner is the PBS series “Masterpiece,” producer of “Downton Abbey,” among other shows.
Viking speakers stay in passenger quarters, as they do at other luxury lines. At Oceania, speakers get airfare, transfers, a precruise hotel stay and other perks. If speakers come through an agency, however, [the speakers] usually pay a fee to the agency ranging from $50 to $100 a day.
Poulton said speakers are rigorously vetted and sometimes coached to be engaging.
“The last thing people want to do is get on a cruise ship and be lectured at by a college professor as if you’re in one of his classes,” Poulton said. “So for some of these guys, it’s a bit of a transition from being in a very academic environment to being in an environment where people are on vacation, but at the same time [the passengers] do want to learn.”
EXPEDITION
Cruising’s expedition niche values enrichment but handles it differently. Because its ships tend to be even smaller than luxury ships, and because they operate in nonstandard environments, expedition cruise lines bring enrichment in-house.
We’ll often have what might be viewed as an outside enrichment speaker, but rather than one, they’ll be part of a team of 15 people,” said Trey Byus, chief expedition officer at Lindblad Expeditions.
The team is multidisciplinary. They have to cover history, geology, wildlife and plants, for starters. They’re also expected to guide excursions, lead walks and handle and drive Zodiac skiffs, which sometimes requires U.S. Coast Guard licensing.
“So it’s just layer upon layer of complexity. You really can’t outsource that,” Byus said.
With tons of new competition in the expedition segment, Lindblad is reaching beyond its trusted network and stash of resumes to find the talent it needs.
Lindblad has built robust enrichment teams for its expedition cruises, including this underwater photographer/videographer.
Lindblad has built robust enrichment teams for its expedition cruises, including this underwater photographer/videographer.
“We largely staff our new ships through our network, but now we’re having to take that next step and put a little more effort into recruiting,” Byus said.
When it comes to onboard enrichment, photography is a big emphasis on expedition lines, none so more than Lindblad, which turns to its partnership with National Geographic for expertise.
Each ship has a Lindblad National Geographic certified photo instructor, and on many cruises, photographers who have actually published in the storied magazine are onboard to supplement the instructor.
“They come armed with just amazing stories about assignments they’ve been out on or research they’ve done in the area we’re traveling in,” Byus said.
Lindblad strives to make its enrichment offerings cohere into a program that is more than the sum of its parts, Byus said.
“If you come out of the other end of a voyage, you won’t have gotten just disconnected presentations,” he said. “They will thematically connect throughout the voyage.”
