Which ships have naturalists?

[christianmom5]

Our family is planning our first Alaskan cruise this summer. :D I am wondering which cruiselines and/or ships offer Naturalists. Is that the right word? Someone to give you more information about nature and the history of what you will be seeing. We are leaning toward HAL or Norwegian, primarily because they sail roundtrip out of Seattle and visit Sawyer Glacier or Hubbard Glacier, which, from reading here, seem to be preferred over Tracy Arm. So, does anyone know if those cruiselines have anyone on board to offer more education about Alaska? We are specifically thinking of NCL Pearl, NCL Star, or HAL Noordam. Thanks for your help!

[Toyz711]

if you search it out on these boards, i think you will find that glacier bay is the one that most say is best for 1st timers. we did the NCL star last year, loved the ship. but the route that includes glacier bay will be done by the pearl this year. NCL does not have a naturalists onboard. glacier bay is a whole area of smaller, but beautiful glaciers..several hours of scenic cruising. the pearl will do glacier bay.

while they don't have a naturalist they do have the freestyle dining..a big plus to me and my family on our cruise. meals when we wanted them, dresses as we wanted (DH doesn't own a suit and i don't own a dress).

with the times of port, it was nice to not worry about missing your dining times.

[agabbymama]

HAL has a naturalist onboard or at least they did in '99 when we did the Inside Passage cruise. And they still have traditional dining and a teak wood promenade deck that goes completely around the ship. I don't care for the anytime dining, so HAL was my choice.:p

[NancyIL]

The Sawyer glaciers are what you eventually see if you aren't iced out of Tracy Arm! Princess, HAL, and Carnival have naturalists. I've heard rumors that Celebrity does too - or did. RCI hires guest lecturers - and Yukon, Chenega, and Howard (from Hoonah) - all who post here - have done that for RCI.

[Yukon]

RCI hires guest lecturers - and Yukon, Chenega, and Howard (from Hoonah) - all who post here - have done that for RCI.

 

I just got a notice this morning that, while the Vision of the Seas and the Radiance still hire what is called "Destination Lecturers", the Serenade of the Seas contract specifically calls for a "Destination Naturalist".

 

Murray

[NancyIL]

I just got a notice this morning that, while the Vision of the Seas and the Radiance still hire what is called "Destination Lecturers", the Serenade of the Seas contract specifically calls for a "Destination Naturalist".

 

Murray

 

Did they offer that job to you, Murray? :)

 

Correction - now that I think of it, Howard was the naturalist (I think) for some of the Celebrity Summit cruises last summer - and not RCI.

[Yukon]

Did they offer that job to you, Murray?

 

It's an open call to all of us who work the Alaska cruises for this agent. Other projects mean that I'll only be doing one cruise on the Amsterdam this summer, unfortunately.

 

Murray

[LEtue]

This sounds like good news for those of us sailing on the Serenade this year :D

 

Thanks for the post!

[Budget Queen]

Celebrity also can have ship naturalists. I would think the above listed guest lectures would be spectacular, but I have sailed with some pretty poor ones too on NCL and RCL. Were too general in their presentations and not specific to Alaska most of the time.

[Coral]

Celebrity, Princess, and Holland all have Naturalists. I believe Carnival does also.

 

On my RCCL cruise - we did not have a naturalist or a guest lecturer on the ship. I spoke to some friends who did RCCL last year and they did not have anyone on their cruise either.

[kingsgirl]

woo hoo! Glad to hear there is someone on our cruising too!

[Yukon]

On my RCCL cruise - we did not have a naturalist or a guest lecturer on the ship. I spoke to some friends who did RCCL last year and they did not have anyone on their cruise either.

 

There is a LOT going on onboard, and many people just miss the announcements. I've spoken to people on the ships I've worked on, who said there was no lecturer :( . All Radiance sailings have had lecturers in 2005 and 2006, and all Vision sailings in 2006.

 

Murray

[LEtue]

I was disappointed in the naturalist on board the Island Princess last year. The TV broadcasts while in Glacier Bay were so full of static that you couldn't hear much. We were in a mini suite and decided to go back to the cabin and warm up a bit. Even utilizing the TV closest to the balcony - the audio was impossible to understand while standing outside. Also, every time the naturalist stopped talking the TV blasted the normal airing. I was really expecting a dedicated channel and that would have been much better.

 

Hopefully narrations on the the Serenade will be better..... :)

[sea_u_onboard]

Carnival has one the entire cruise.

[Casey12]

Yukon----- have a friend who worked on RCCL last summer. She indicated that many sailings did not have lecturers and several of the lecturers had not ever been to Alaska before that summer. They had many complaints about the lecturers onboard due to their lack of Alaskan knowledge.

[Budget Queen]

There is a LOT going on onboard, and many people just miss the announcements. I've spoken to people on the ships I've worked on, who said there was no lecturer :( . All Radiance sailings have had lecturers in 2005 and 2006, and all Vision sailings in 2006.

 

Murray

 

 

Sorry- Murray, I was referring to a Vision lecturer- who was very poor, definately in the "didn't know Alaska catagory".

[Budget Queen]

Carnival has one the entire cruise.

 

 

If Michelle, is still working for Carnival, she is a WINNER and long time Alaska expert. I first sailed with her in 1999. :)