Colonel Reid & port lectures

[LLD]

HAL mariners---some of you may know of Colonel Reid who did the port lectures on the Europe cruises. Does anybody know if he is still working on HAL? If so, which ship is he on?

 

If not, can any recent Europe cruisers tell me if HAL is still doing the prot lectures? Thanks!

[sail7seas]

Colonel Reid gave wonderful lectures. We have not seen him for a number of years but enjoyed his lectures very much on all our cruises in Europe. I haven't seen anyone mention him in a long time.

[RuthC]

I understand Col. Reid is no longer doing the lectures---this was from a collegue of his a few years ago.

The port lectures are far different from the enrichment lectures Col. Reid did. Both are still done. There were several series of enrichment lectures, on different topics and by different lecturers, on the recent Maasdam trans-Atlantic cruise. I found them excellent.

We also had port lectures. Remember, the enrichment lectures are typically found on longer cruises.

On shorter cruises, and especially in the Caribbean, the "port" lectures tend to be shopping referrals to stores that have paid a fee for the mention. In Europe they tend to be more along the lines of what to see if you have not signed up for a shore excursion. How to get around, paying for things---those sort of topics are covered. Some presenters are more knowledgeable than others.

[rkacruiser]

I recall Col. Reid saying that he was going to retire from the lecture circuit after the Volendam's 2002 Asia Pacific cruise.

 

Too bad, if he did, for us cruisers! His lectures were always interesting and informative. And, he was a nice person to know as well!

[LLD]

I was afraid he wasn't doing the cruises anymore and I am sad that my hunch was right. I did mean enrichment lectures instead of "port lectures". The enrichment lectures were all about the history and culture of the ports visited in Europe. Colonel Reid was a walking encyclopedia! He recited information without notes and was so enthusiastic and made the history and culture lessons fascinating. Hopefully on the next Europe cruise I do HAL will have the enrichment lectures but I am sure Colonel Reid will still stand out in my mind as being the best.

[ger_77]

In June/04 when we cruised the Mediterranean, we had Col. Ralf Vargas who gave two interesting "Flagship Forum Lectures" on the European Union. My DH is a history prof. and really enjoyed both sessions. They became very technical for me so when my eyes glazed over for the second time, I kind of drifted off and spent time in the casino. We both came out a little richer for the experience! :D

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[mare s.]

If you're asking about Col. James Reid, he was on our Celebrity Constellation cruise August 27 to Scandinavia and the Baltics.

[RuthC]

If you're asking about Col. James Reid, he was on our Celebrity Constellation cruise August 27 to Scandinavia and the Baltics.

Really? Another defector to Brand X.

They do keep taking some of HAL's best, don't they.

[mare s.]

Hi RuthC...it's been a while since I've read the HAL boards...just wanted to say how much I enjoy your posts (I've been catching up on your last Happy Wanderer) Yes, a lot of defection to X...you may have read that Perry Grant is on Constellation and we so enjoyed seeing him again (we saw him on our first HAL cruise on the Rotterdam) He has an excellent venue in Constellation's Michael's Club and still has his entourage.

[RuthC]

Hi RuthC...it's been a while since I've read the HAL boards...just wanted to say how much I enjoy your posts (I've been catching up on your last Happy Wanderer) Yes, a lot of defection to X...you may have read that Perry Grant is on Constellation and we so enjoyed seeing him again (we saw him on our first HAL cruise on the Rotterdam) He has an excellent venue in Constellation's Michael's Club and still has his entourage.

Hi, mare. Thank you for the complement.

Yes, I knew Perry was aboard. And I knew his groupies were heading out to join him this summer---some of them were with him for several weeks. Guess he's heading to the Summit later this year, or early next. Don't remember the date.

I'm glad you were able to enjoy his performance once again. Some of us have really missed him on those trans-Atlantics.