Guest Lectures - Canal Narrator

We are currently booked to do a full transit of the canal on the NCL Jewel early next year. We have been searching for information relative to which cruise lines offer guest lecturers and/or the canal narration experience as the ship transits the canal. At one point, from a few years back, we read a statement that NCL has done away with the guest lecture experience. Is that still the case?

Wondering if recent canal cruisers will let us know their experience with guest lectures? Which lines still offer the lecturers? Are they really a positive addition to the overall experience? Even if there may be no guest lecturers on some lines, do most cruise lines still offer a canal narrator on the day of the transit? If NCL does not provide a series of lecturers, are we really missing an important element of the cruise transit experience?

We are so looking forward to the experience and curious to understand what NCL offers for our bucket-list cruise. Should we consider a change in our reservation to a different line for the full experience?

Thanks in advance for any responses, input or assistance.

Happy cruising everyone!

The only information I have in regards to NCL is what I was told by a destination lecturer a few years ago... which was the same as you heard. I have no idea if it was meant destination lecturers in specific areas or in general were being eliminated. Many times I have been on cruises (not NCL) in the Caribbean or even a trans Atlantic where a guest lecturer while speak on a variety of subjects and not necessarily about the destination. NCL could do away with lecturers of that nature and still have a destination lecturer for places like the Canal or Alaska. I have not heard anything more about it since then. Also, while NCL may not have destination lecturers, they could still engage the Canal for one of their narrators just for the transit even though they are not cheap! (over $400!!)

What I would suggest, NCL has had some partial transits this season as well as some full transits... go over to NCLs Roll Calls and look for recent Roll Calls for Canal transits. Check the Roll Calls for the Pearl and possibly the Jewel for the last year. Pose your question in the Roll Calls for some of the past Canal transits, that should provide you with the most accurate info.

Most cruise lines still offer these lecturers on their Canal cruises. Princess and Celebrity are two examples I can give you... I have an old school chum (not that old really;)) who gave lectures on both cruise lines this past season and he worked steady from November through this past April. You can enjoy a Canal cruise without a lecturer, but a good one will truly enhance your Canal experience... even an average lecturer would be an asset. On the other hand I have sat through a few presentations on the Canal and walked away with the feeling that was 45 minutes of my life I won't get back!

No specific guest lecturer topics other than the canal on NCL. We just returned in March from the transit and had a daytime lecturer during the transit...he was excellent. In addition to his narration during the day he had a one-hour overview in the theater. Can't tell you whether or not you should change cruise lines but the jewel was a great adventure for us. It was our third consecutive Panama Canal Transit with previous transits on the Sta. Same lecturer on all three cruises. You won't be disappointed.

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OP: you should also ask your question about NCL on the NCL board. We are on a full transit aboard the NCL Jewel next January; it will be our first transit, and from what I've read, NCL has a "narrator" on the day of the transit.

When are you sailing/have you joined your Roll Call?

Thank you for the quick responses BillB48, WeBeCruisers? and Turtles06. We appreciate your advice, input and suggestions.

It sounds like if we stick with NCL, the lectures are not available, but we will still get the narrator as we transit the canal. I suppose that the narrator experience is the most important and that the lecturers are just an added benefit if we select one of the different lines that still offer the lectures.

We are not ready to "just ship" at this point, as we really like sailing with NCL... just a little disappointed that we might not be getting the full experience. We'll do a bit more research and evaluation and try to come to a firm conclusion before too long.

Thanks for inviting us to search and/or join a roll call. We plan to do so once we have determined which cruise line we decide will be the best match for our interests. Thanks again!

We did a full transit on the Jewel in February. The lecturer got on before dawn and spoke almost all day long taking a break as we traveled across the lake. He was very good. Also, starting a couple days before we arrived they started playing a movie about the canal.

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We did a full transit on the Jewel in February. The lecturer got on before dawn and spoke almost all day long taking a break as we traveled across the lake. He was very good. Also, starting a couple days before we arrived they started playing a movie about the canal.

 

 

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Thank you Wavesprite... good to hear! We will probably stick with NCL, as we have generally always had great experiences with them.

We still have a bit of time before we need to decide for certain.

Thanks again!

Happy cruising...

We are booked on the NCL Feb.19 2017 PC cruise going from east to west because we are doing a RC 6 night on the Freedom right before the PC cruise.

The Canal provides a narrator. Many cruise lines take advantage of this. NCL doesn't have a corner on this market.