Best Cruiseline or Ship for Naturalist or other Lectures

[irvington]

I just got off one cruise to Alaska and want to plan another. One thing we really enjoyed on the Zuiderdam was Kelly the lecturer. She talked only 3 times as far as I could tell (and one additional time promoting tours): History of the Gold Rush, History of Alaskan Exploration, and Wildlife. Loved her lectures but wished there were more. (Also caught the Glacier Bay events which were great, and had wonderful guides on the science excursions.) Anyway, thoughts about the best way to catch even more of that kind of thing on a cruise ship, without going to a top-priced small ship?

 

Thanks for any thoughts.

[Budget Queen]

I'm not sure about this year, haven't used my sources who sailing, but the top naturalists in my opinion, is Michele with Carnival and Brent Nixon on Celebrity. Problem is, Celebrity moves him around, and Carnival is a lacking itinerary for me. :) I haven't heard of Barbara Benton still working? And Murray is part time with RCI/Celebrity. Dirk got fed up a few years ago and left after 17 years, was another of my favorites- I met him in Skagway and in Juneau since I usually didn't sail with him, and benefited greatly from his excellent information. :)

[vbmom87]

I'm not sure about this year, haven't used my sources who sailing, but the top naturalists in my opinion, is Michele with Carnival and Brent Nixon on Celebrity. Problem is, Celebrity moves him around, and Carnival is a lacking itinerary for me. :) I haven't heard of Barbara Benton still working? And Murray is part time with RCI/Celebrity. Dirk got fed up a few years ago and left after 17 years, was another of my favorites- I met him in Skagway and in Juneau since I usually didn't sail with him, and benefited greatly from his excellent information. :)

 

Is there a way to find out which naturalist will be on a particular cruise? If yes, far out would this information be available?

[journeyfan]

It would be difficult for me to believe that anyone could be better than Terry Breen who for years has provided the narration on all of the Regent Navigator Alaskan cruises. She also has a written a book on the subject ("Cruise Friendly Guide to Alaska's Inside Passage").

[pacificcoral]

Brent was on the Celebrity Infinity earlier this year. He is definitely great. Packed the theater for his shows. Entertaining and informative.

[missouri01]

Another vote for Brent! I understand he loves the Infinity for the Seattle port being close to his home. His high energy shows really got us excited to experience nature in Alaska during our first cruise. You can also purchase DVDs of his shows to get you in the cruise mood. :)

[AZ Deb]

And yet one more vote for Brent Nixon! Truly amazing presentations. We hope to book next summer for whatever ship he'll be on. For me, his presence will be a big deciding factor regarding which cruise to go on. You can periodically check the schedule on his website to see which ship he'll be on for 2013: http://naturetalksbybrentnixon.com/calendar.html

I believe he posted late last year that he'd be on Infinity for 2012.

[Northern Aurora]

Brent Nixon definitely has a great fan base. He was on the Infinity last summer and is again on the Infinity this summer. While I haven't checked his website I suspect he will announce his plans there.

[fleckle]

The best naturalists we have experienced on cruise ships are Milos Radakovich and Brent Nixon. They are both entertaining as well as informative and knowledgeable.

 

I don't know if Milos is still doing Alaska cruises as he did Panama Canal and South America also.

[Northern Aurora]

Milos Radakovich is probably the best we have ever experienced. We had him on a Panama Canal cruise in 2008, and then last November on a cruise from Honolulu to Sydney. Last November he was packing the theatre for his formal presentations, and then packing a smaller venue with his informal science cafes.

[Sea Hag]

Brent Nixon's great. Also, we saw Libby Riddles a couple of times on Princess. Don't know if she's still doing that or not, but her account of how she won the Ididarod is very good.

[lobbyshopper]

The whole family enjoyed his talks and we always learned something new.

[sherryf]

Brent Nixon's great. Also, we saw Libby Riddles a couple of times on Princess. Don't know if she's still doing that or not, but her account of how she won the Ididarod is very good.

 

I believe Libby Riddles visits every Princess ship while in Juneau. I've seen her speak twice. Took my 12 year old daughter to see her last year and she really enjoyed it.

[SusieO]

Terry Breen is excellent, but the prices Regent charges are just too high anymore (even though it's all inclusive) - just my opinion.

 

Princess has great naturalists, plus last year we went to listen to Libby Riddles talk and they also have a guy (forget his name) come on board I think in Skagway or Ketchikan that does a little show with songs about the area and life.

[Budget Queen]

If anyone truely wants the absolute naturalist experience, go with Lindblad. My friend has been working for them for about 15 years, and they still average 4-6 scholar experts per sailing. I'm still waiting to go on this line- but looking for Antarctica first. :)

[KAYEF]

Amazingly, as I re-think all of our cruises to Alaska, I believe the one offering the best "guides ~ experts" was the Alaska Marine System!

 

Never discount using this system...........it's hard to get your trip planned because of their staggared schedules, but it's a GREAT way to see the Alaska that borders the sea.:)

[vbmom87]

If anyone truely wants the absolute naturalist experience, go with Lindblad. My friend has been working for them for about 15 years, and they still average 4-6 scholar experts per sailing. I'm still waiting to go on this line- but looking for Antarctica first. :)

What cruiselines are you looking at for Antarctica?

[Budget Queen]

What cruiselines are you looking at for Antarctica?

 

Quark :)

[sammiedawg]

We've had Barbara Bennet twice, both times on the Coral P, last time was 2 years ago, she is the best. Libby Riddles is a great addition to Princess. The Glacier Bay park rangers come on board , choose something that includes Glacier Bay.

[capriccio]

We've had Barbara Bennet twice, both times on the Coral P, last time was 2 years ago, she is the best. Libby Riddles is a great addition to Princess. The Glacier Bay park rangers come on board , choose something that includes Glacier Bay.

 

 

Barbara was the naturalist on our 2007 cruise -- I'm hoping she'll be on this year's cruise in 2 weeks. Has anyone sailed the Coral Princess this year who can tell us who the naturalist is?

[aamechs2]

We were on the Diamond Princess (June 2 - 9) and the naturalist was horrible! I was so disappointed because we took this same boat 3 years ago and our naturalist made the cruise spectacular. The guy this time did nothing and said very little. No help at all whale watching. :(

[Chenega]

We were on the Diamond Princess (June 2 - 9) and the naturalist was horrible! I was so disappointed because we took this same boat 3 years ago and our naturalist made the cruise spectacular. The guy this time did nothing and said very little. No help at all whale watching. :(

 

One of the little secrets about naturalists is that some cruise lines obtain them through 3rd party companies that specialize in onboard activities like naturalists/destination lecturers, dance hosts, artists, speakers, etc. The companies often charge fees ranging from $50-100 per day for those who have applied to fill these positions. In exchange for the fees, you get a free trip in what is often the lowest rated cabin on the ship.

 

My wife and I once did naturalist work for two different cruise lines. The first was with a luxury company that really put an emphasis on offering passengers an opportunity to learn about Alaskan history, geography, and culture.

 

The second company primarily saw us as "filler" between bingo and special shopping lectures on the best jewelry stores in SE Alaska. We became disillusioned and quit doing it.

 

Naturalists vary significantly from company to company; in my opinion, Lindblad is tops in this area but you do pay for the experience. As previously stated, the Alaska Ferry system often has U.S. Forest Service naturalists on their routes that often do fantastic jobs.

[capriccio]

Barbara was the naturalist on our 2007 cruise -- I'm hoping she'll be on this year's cruise in 2 weeks. Has anyone sailed the Coral Princess this year who can tell us who the naturalist is?

 

 

Well Barbara Bennett wasn't on the Coral Princess this year. We had Kathy Slamp who was more of an historian than a naturalist. We really enjoyed her talks and vintage pictures (she moved to Alaska as a young girl in the '40s and her mother was an avid photographer) and learned more about the history of Alaska than we had on our first cruise. I feel that the best of both worlds would have been someone who combined the best attributes of both -- Barbara's enthusiasm and knowledge of nature and Kathy's enthusiasm and knowledge of Alaskan history. Folks meeting those qualifications are probably few and far between :).

 

I wish I could remember the name of the National Park Service ranger who did the Glacier Bay narrative -- she was wonderfully informative and had a fantastic speaking voice.

[ttnc4me]

We were on the Diamond Princess (June 2 - 9) and the naturalist was horrible! I was so disappointed because we took this same boat 3 years ago and our naturalist made the cruise spectacular. The guy this time did nothing and said very little. No help at all whale watching. :(

Princess must have agreed because he wasn't there a few weeks ago. It was Rachael. She was good with information & presentations, but wish she would have done more sightings announcements.

[PiperNY]

Brent Nixon is amazing! My entire family was captivated by his talks, even the ones who are not usually interested in nature talks. Plus he had a lot of unique facts and experiences to share about each of the animals he talked about.

 

If Celebrity did Glacier Bay, I wouldn't hesitate to sail with them again on any ship that Brent would be on.