By
Rebecca Gibson |
British politicians, broadcasters, actors, journalists, motoring legends and a former South African president will all take part in Cunard Line’s onboard speaker programme in 2014-2015.
The guests will sail onboard Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria, continuing the line’s 40-year tradition of inviting high-calibre speakers to participate in the Cunard Insights speaker programme.
“We are very excited to host such leading lights in their respective fields on our ships,” said David Dingle, CEO of Cunard. “Our innovative Insights speaker programme, now in its 40th year, continues to go from strength to strength.”
In November 2014, British motoring legend Murray Walker will join guests onboard Queen Victoria’s 14-day ‘Canary Islands Explorer’ roundtrip from Southampton, which calls at Lisbon in Portugal and the Spanish ports of Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma and La Coruna.
Meanwhile, November will also see Ann Widdecombe DSG, a former British Conservative Party politician and novelist, join guests on Queen Victoria’s 14-day ‘Canary Islands Explorer’ roundtrip from Southampton. The ship will visit Lisbon, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma and La Coruna.
Joining guests on Queen Victoria’s 13-day westbound transatlantic crossing from Southampton to the US port of Fort Lauderdale in January 2015, is Falklands veteran Simon Weston OBE. A former Welsh Guardsman, Weston travelled to the Falklands on Queen Elizabeth 2 after the Cunard flagship was requisitioned by the government in 1982 and will speak about how he overcame his injuries and triumphed over adversity. The ship will call at Ponta Delgada in the Azores in Portugal; Antigua, Trinidad and Tobago; Tortola, British Virgin islands; and Nassau, Bahamas.
Broadcaster and Royal expert Caroline Aston will join guests from 10-17 January on Queen Mary 2’s ‘World Cruise’ from Southampton to Civitavecchia in Rome, Italy. Taking over from Aston on 17 January, British actor Robert Powell will embark on Queen Mary 2 in Civitavecchia and sail to Dubai, calling at the Suez Canal and staying overnight at the Egyptian ports of Sokhna and Safaga. Passengers are able to sail fro the full 20 days from Southampton to Dubai.
Also in January, British journalist Kate Adie OBE DL, will sail on Queen Elizabeth’s eight-day Transatlantic crossing from Southampton, UK, to New York, US.
Meanwhile, from 15-17 April, former South Africa president Frederik Willem de Klerk will sail on Queen Mary 2’s ‘World Voyage’ from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town. De Klerk served as South Africa’s State President from September 1989 to May 1994, brokering the end of apartheid and introducing a multi-racial democracy. The president, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, will present ‘Walking with Nelson Mandela on the Long Road to a New South Africa’ and participate in a Q&A session.
Guests can enjoy a full 24-day cruise from 25 March to 18 April 2015. The itinerary also includes the Australian ports of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, Mauritius and Durban.
Former British politician Lord Michael Howard, who led the Conservative Party between 2003 and 2005 and was appointed a Life Peer in June 2010, will take over from De Klerk onboard Queen Mary 2’s ‘World Cruise’ between 18 April to 3 May. Sailing from Cape Town to Southampton, Howard will be joined by his wife Sandra Howard (nee Paul), who was a fashion model in the 1960s and is now a successful novelist.
In August, business guru and Life Peer Lord Digby Jones will join Queen Elizabeth’s 16-day roundtrip from Southampton, which calls at Monte Carlo; Vigo, Barcelona, Cartagena and Gibraltar in Spain; Lisbon; and Livorno and Civitavecchia in Italy.