Cunard Names Speakers for "Insights" Enrichment Program

**Ally** · 08-30-2007, 05:45 AM

When you're out at sea for five days straight, with no land in sight, you really have to offer your passengers more than karaoke and team trivia games. Thus the "Insights" enrichment program from Cunard (tel. 800/7-CUNARD; www.cunard.com), which brings aboard experts in such fields as history, world affairs, science, politics, arts, and literature for onboard lectures, Q&A's, debates, social gatherings, and workshops. Personages signed for upcoming 2007 voyages aboard Queen Mary 2 include:

* Victoria Tennant: British actress, sailing on the August 9 westbound transatlantic crossing.

* David Hempleman-Adams: Polar explorer, mountaineer, and author, sailing on the August 23 and September 4 transatlantic crossings.

* John Cleese : Award-winning British actor/comedian/writer, sailing on the September 4 eastbound transatlantic crossing.

* Dr. Eric Paul Roorda: Director of the Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime Studies at Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea, in Mystic, Connecticut; a professor of history and political science at Bellarmine University, where he has taught since 1996. Sailing on the August 31 four-day Getaway voyage from New York to Halifax.

* Jeffrey Hoffman: Former NASA astronaut and current co-director of the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium at MIT's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, sailing on the September 22 westbound transatlantic crossing.

* Dr. Jean-Pierre Isbouts: Professor of culture and media studies at Fielding Graduate University; also an award-winning filmmaker and the author of numerous publications on the art, architecture, and music of the Near East, the Renaissance, and the 19th century era. Sailing on the September 22 westbound transatlantic crossing.

* Frank DeFord : Emmy Award winning sports commentator, sailing on the October 7 eastbound transatlantic crossing.

* Dr Susan Humphris: Senior scientist and chair in the geology and geophysics department at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where she studies the nature and distribution of sea-floor hot springs. Dr. Humphris has authored or co-authored more than 60 scientific papers and is also the co-creator of the Dive and Discover website, which brings oceanographic expeditions in near real-time to students and the general public. Sailing on the October 25 westbound transatlantic crossing.

* Dr Bradley James Rowe: A PhD in applied eco-psychology and integrated ecology, Dr. Rowe lectures on a wide variety of subjects ranging from coral reef ecology and scuba diving theory to human physiology; the history of Costa Rica, Panama, and the Panama Canal; Caribbean cultural history; Central American history; the national psyche of Latin American countries; ocean rescue; river guide training; swift water rescue; wilderness first-responder training; and other subjects. Sailing on the October 25 westbound transatlantic crossing.

* Lynn Truss: Bestselling author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves, sailing on the October 25 westbound transatlantic crossing.

* Dr. Jerry Labriola: Dr. Labriola practiced medicine for 35 years and was an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut Medical School, a state senator, and the author of seven mystery novels. With renowned forensic scientist Dr Henry Lee, he also coauthored Famous Crimes Revisited, Dr Henry Lee's Forensic Files, and The Budapest Connection. Sailing on the October 31 Connoisseur's Caribbean voyage.

* Professor Anthony Grayling: Prof. Grayling is a fellow of the World Economic Forum, a teacher at Birkbeck College, University of London, the author of many books on philosophy, a frequent broadcaster on the BBC, and a columnist for the Guardian newspaper and The Times, and has appeared often in the review and editorial pages of the Independent, the Observer, the New Statesman, the Financial Times, and the Literary Review. Voyage date to be confirmed.

To check speakers on specific sailings, check the Cunard website (www.cunard.com).