Guest speakers/enrichment on Oceania

We must choose between two ships with good port-intensive itineraries; one is Oceania Nautica & the other is Azamara Journey. We have not sailed either line before.

Our general priority for at-sea days and other free time is learning about the culture and history of the areas we are visiting, rather than casino, spa-pampering, etc. While we research and study ahead, there are always new insights or facts with good speakers!

But in checking the website for Oceania, I saw only vague allusions to enrichment but could not find details on guest lecturers for our sailings, as with Cunard. If the evening talks about the next day's port stop will simply be the ship staff subtly pushing unsold excursions, we'll be mightily annoyed.

What's been your experience with Ocenia (or also Azamara, tho FYI, I am posting the same query on that board)?

Just got off Regatta this am. Terrific enrichment.............history, culture, highlights.

Don’t cruise Oceania for enrichment. Of our many cruises with them only once did we have a wonderful speaker, Terry Breen.

We also always do our homework about ports and the areas we are cruising. Our experience on O has been similar to reading Wicipedia.:eek:

Do not know about Azamara but if you want a good amount of very excellent enrichment try Crystal. The certainty have won us over.

We must choose between two ships with good port-intensive itineraries; one is Oceania Nautica & the other is Azamara Journey. We have not sailed either line before.

Our general priority for at-sea days and other free time is learning about the culture and history of the areas we are visiting, rather than casino, spa-pampering, etc. While we research and study ahead, there are always new insights or facts with good speakers!

 

But in checking the website for Oceania, I saw only vague allusions to enrichment but could not find details on guest lecturers for our sailings, as with Cunard. If the evening talks about the next day's port stop will simply be the ship staff subtly pushing unsold excursions, we'll be mightily annoyed.

 

What's been your experience with Ocenia (or also Azamara, tho FYI, I am posting the same query on that board)?

We did the Riviera in Jan along the western Caribbean. The guest speaker talked about the Mayan/Aztec civilizations. Learned more from her than any history book or TV special on the subject. That being said Azamara is noted for out of the way destinations. I would expect they would have knowledgeable speakers as a result.

The Baltic cruises are port intensive so with 1 sea day you may just want to rest

I would not choose a cruise for the lecturers.. with Oceania you never know who you will have not sure if Azamara lists theirs or not

I would consider which cruise line goes to the ports you want & how much time they spend in the port

With Oceania you also have to factor in what size ship you would prefer 1250 pax or 684 pax (same as Azamara)

what is included in the fare & if that is important to you or not

I see Azamara have 2 cruises in Aug but Oceania have a lot more dates to choose from

JMO

It depends on what you consider a good lecture. Most of these seem to be canned lectures, given by people with no real academic credentials but who are chosen because they are good at public speaking and at entertaining a disparate group of people. I have found them to be more like travelogues or port talks than in depth discussions of the history, art, culture or whatever of a given area. Sometimes the talks have nothing to do with the area being visited. Many start with "When my spouse and I visited this area on a cruise last year . . . ." This is because speakers are generally paid with free cruises.

That said, I usually go to the first presentation and then decide whether it is worth my time. Presentations are also available on the TV in your cabin live and at other times of the day.

Mary

Hi LHT, we found two sailings departing on the same date (the earliest we could go), the same size ship, and very similar itineraries except that one is a couple of days longer than the other. Both have fair prices for food and facilities exceeding our needs. So now we are trying to look at the cultural/enrichment side of things..... somehow!

Hi LHT, we found two sailings departing on the same date (the earliest we could go), the same size ship, and very similar itineraries except that one is a couple of days longer than the other. Both have fair prices for food and facilities exceeding our needs. So now we are trying to look at the cultural/enrichment side of things..... somehow!

I think you will just have to go with the itinerary you like best

no one really knows what the lecturers will be like

the ports are long days you may just want to have dinner & hit the comfy beds on O to get ready for the next days tours

JMO

Luckily, there are exceptions to the generalizations previously posted about lecturers. Dr. Don Klein (http://drdonklein.com/lectures/lecture-info/) was a wonderful resource on our recent Amazon cruise on Sirena. His in-depth lectures covered the entire history of the Amazon as well as the individual histories of each port we visited, from San Diego to Rio. He also provided running commentary from the bridge at various times, such as when we went through the Panama Canal. Of course, since he had visited all of the ports many times previously, he could give us highlights on what to see, local customs and other useful information. Our cruise was tremendously enhanced through Don's presentations.

I agree some of the lecturers are good but you never know what ones will be on your sailing ;)

We had David McCullough for our Panama canal cruises

"Path Between the Seas" author

some other lecturers leave a lot to be desired

Given that this could be such a good selling point, why wouldn't Oceania ensure that they have consistently good lecturers?

I can't answer that but I CAN say that on our first O cruise, we did the Panama Canal and had a wonderful lecturer who talked a lot about the Spanish influence in Latin America. All of the lecturers (not many but several) were excellent.

We had dinner one night with the first lecturer I mentioned and he said how Oceania was changing it's "pay schedule" and so he probably wouldn't be doing more O cruises. I've had the feeling that policies change every now and then.

On our first Marina cruise (Oct '11) I had met one of the lecturers prior to the cruise, and he was excellent as well. As to their getting free cruises, that's true ... but his wife told me they'd wanted to upgrade their cabin (they intended to pay for the privilege) but were told it wasn't possible. I don't think that cruise was full so the odds are that was policy.

On a TA several years ago we had a "volunteer" lecturer. He'd arrived with lots of movie clips and the like and ended up doing quite a few lectures. They were very entertaining -- not at all intellectual! But he covered everything from movies of the '50s and '60s (and etc.) to Broadway and Hollywood musicals. He even did at least one lecture on opera, and that's a subject where I am quite knowledgeable. So was he! He was one of the best lecturers we've ever encountered at sea. It's possible when his lectures became so popular that they paid him something, but maybe not.

I've seen some complaints about Verne Lundquist -- mainly because some passengers had encountered him on too many cruises! But we've only been on one with him and even though we aren't particular sports fans, we enjoyed his talks a lot.

Mary's suggestion to check them out at least once is very well taken! On our last cruise we had a lecturer who was extremely knowledgeable -- but her delivery left a lot to be desired.

Mura

Given that this could be such a good selling point, why wouldn't Oceania ensure that they have consistently good lecturers?

money

On sea days, I always try to make the lectures. I’ve encountered very good lecturers and horrible ones. One never knows!

Our last one was was medical doctor that was horrible! He looked into his computer and read the entire presentation. He had problems remembering to advance the visual to keep up with his presentation. He’d take no questions, and basically walk away when his speech was over. He’d spend more time talking about pictures with he and his wife Goldie in than the actual pictures of the local. Meanwhile, we’ve had wonderful other speakers on cruises!

money

aah. ;)

aah. ;)

Do you want lobsters or lectures - the choice is yours :D

On our recent Crystal cruise the enrichment program was great (on sea days) but only 2 lobster meals offered on a 21 day cruise.

Oceania has lobsters every day and in all specialties - you can OD on lobsters :D.

This is just an example of what different cruise lines emphasize and prioritize in their budgets.

It is possible to have both - great enrichment and great food, but at what price?

Do you want lobsters or lectures - the choice is yours :D

On our recent Crystal cruise the enrichment program was great (on sea days) but only 2 lobster meals offered on a 21 day cruise.

Oceania has lobsters every day and in all specialties - you can OD on lobsters :D.

This is just an example of what different cruise lines emphasize and prioritize in their budgets.

It is possible to have both - great enrichment and great food, but at what price?

I'd rather have both, of course. But if I must choose I would choose lectures. One reason why I cruise with Voyages to Antiquity. The food is good enough but the lecturers and itineraries are great. :cool:

I'd rather have both, of course. But if I must choose I would choose lectures. One reason why I cruise with Voyages to Antiquity. The food is good enough but the lecturers and itineraries are great. :cool:

It’s nice to have choices - isn’t it?

They help to keep everyone happy (most of the time :))

We’ve had excellent enrichment on Oceania, especially on exotics or off the beaten path. On longer cruises two or three lecturers have been on board.

Port intensive trips in Europe do not have enough downtime to really diversify the lectures. But the USC professor Kathleen is excellent, “Fight On” is always on her power point.

I totally agree Don Klein is the best, he presented fifteen lectures on Brazil and the Amazon. It was like auditing a college course. Same thing with Roger Cartwright, the military historian. And he is the sweetest man. We are on Marina now and his first lecture is this afternoon.

We like is a Brit named Mitch Simmons who sometimes tandems with Roger. Mitch loves American pop culture, current events, always entertaining.

The physician married to Goldie has some fascinating programs. His talk on lobotomies was compelling, weaving in the stories of Eva Peron and Rosemary Kennedy.

I don’t remember her name but we’ve heard a brilliant expert on Pacific cultures, FP, Easter Island, etc. Her lectures on Pitcairn are mind blowing.

Luckily, there are exceptions to the generalizations previously posted about lecturers. Dr. Don Klein (http://drdonklein.com/lectures/lecture-info/) was a wonderful resource on our recent Amazon cruise on Sirena. His in-depth lectures covered the entire history of the Amazon as well as the individual histories of each port we visited, from San Diego to Rio. He also provided running commentary from the bridge at various times, such as when we went through the Panama Canal. Of course, since he had visited all of the ports many times previously, he could give us highlights on what to see, local customs and other useful information. Our cruise was tremendously enhanced through Don's presentations.

Totally agree. Dr. Klein was excellent. We had the pleasure to hear him in march of last year (buenos aires to lima).

I agree some of the lecturers are good but you never know what ones will be on your sailing ;)

We had David McCullough for our Panama canal cruises

"Path Between the Seas" author

some other lecturers leave a lot to be desired

Wow! You hit the jackpot with that one!!

I totally agree that it's a crap shoot. I prefer to read up on the destinations I most care about before and during the cruise.

I'd rather have both, of course. But if I must choose I would choose lectures. One reason why I cruise with Voyages to Antiquity. The food is good enough but the lecturers and itineraries are great. :cool:

They probably can afford to pay their lecturers more since they only have 1 ship

Wow! You hit the jackpot with that one!!

I totally agree that it's a crap shoot. I prefer to read up on the destinations I most care about before and during the cruise.

I research destinations very intensively -- doesn't mean that I'm not interested in hearing what others (for some of whom it is their life's work) know, or in the opportunity to ask questions....

They probably can afford to pay their lecturers more since they only have 1 ship

Different business model, I think. I'm not sure they pay much, but of course there's some cost. VTA tends to book recently retired professors who probably also enjoy the opportunity to travel. They are generally of the type and calibre that you might find as commentators on History Channel documentaries. Most are not household names (although we've had John Julius Norwich onboard), but in general they are very, very good.

Swan Hellenic Minerva used to have a similar program, as does Cunard -- maybe it's seen as more of a priority with British audiences....?

At any rate, I would love to find another cruise line to "diversify" my cruises. As mentioned, VTA only has one ship and I only like smaller ships (so Cunard is not a favorite of mine). I like the idea of Oceania but still have a few misgivings. They also don't seem particularly solo-friendly.

I research destinations very intensively -- doesn't mean that I'm not interested in hearing what others (for some of whom it is their life's work) know, or in the opportunity to ask questions....

I don't disagree. I love a good lecture on an interesting topic.

It's just been my experience that the more broad-based an audience is, the less "academic" the lecture tends to be.

I research destinations very intensively -- doesn't mean that I'm not interested in hearing what others (for some of whom it is their life's work) know, or in the opportunity to ask questions....

 

 

 

Different business model, I think. I'm not sure they pay much, but of course there's some cost. VTA tends to book recently retired professors who probably also enjoy the opportunity to travel. They are generally of the type and calibre that you might find as commentators on History Channel documentaries. Most are not household names (although we've had John Julius Norwich onboard), but in general they are very, very good.

 

Swan Hellenic Minerva used to have a similar program, as does Cunard -- maybe it's seen as more of a priority with British audiences....?

 

At any rate, I would love to find another cruise line to "diversify" my cruises. As mentioned, VTA only has one ship and I only like smaller ships (so Cunard is not a favorite of mine). I like the idea of Oceania but still have a few misgivings. They also don't seem particularly solo-friendly.

It sounds like you might enjoy Crystal. Their enrichment programs are excellent.

Have you tried them?