As one of the UK’s foremost speaker agencies we are in the unique and privileged position of recruiting and appointing speakers and enrichment specialists to some of the biggest and best cruise companies in the UK, including Marella, Saga, Fred Olsen and Viking. Even better, we are delighted to announce that all of them have been honoured in the recent 2019 Editors’ Pick Awards from the largest online cruise resource, Cruise Critic.

Viking, to whom we supply some of the industry’s top speakers won five awards in total, including Best Enrichment in the Luxury Ocean category and Best Itineraries in the River category.

Designed for the ‘discerning traveller’ and dubbed “the thinking person’s cruise”, Viking cruise ships uniquely recruit both resident historians and in the case of its Orion and Jupiter ships, resident astronomers – who conduct lectures from the on-board planetariums – both of which are supplied by our 900 strong agency of enrichment experts.

Mo Holland, our port and destination consultant said: “Viking’s cruises are specifically designed for people with a strong interest in art, history, culture, music and cuisine. To that end we endeavour to supply its ships with some of the very best speakers on our books. A recent appointment included the BBC’s former Head of Religious Broadcasting, Ernie Rea who was awarded the Gold Medal of the International Council of Christians and Jews for his outstanding contribution to Inter- Faith Understanding.”

Mo also added: “Viking’s programme is superbly structured to enhance each ship’s itinerary, with a clear emphasis on enrichment and onshore experiences. We always put forward the highest calibre candidates for the position of resident historian, as it is a role which carries the wider brief of delivering a full programme of cultural and geographical lectures to compliment and underpin the travel itinerary.”

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, winner of Cruise Critic 2019 Editors’ Pick Awards for Best Itinerary are also supported by our speakers and workshop tutors.

Of Fred Olsen Mo said: “The Port and destination speakers we appoint for Fred Olsen are recruited for their extensive local knowledge of the ports the cruise is scheduled to visit. Daniel Thebault, one of our best port lecturers, is currently working on-board Fred Olsen’s Boudicca Grand Voyage and is superb at providing key information to enable passengers to get the most out of their time ashore.

“There has been a marked change across the industry in recent years which means it is now more vital than ever that the speaker and enrichment programmes absolutely tie in and enhance the itinerary and onshore experiences, and it is fantastic that Cruise Critic is recognising this with its coveted awards.”

Cruise Critic boasts the world’s largest online cruise community, with more than 650,000 cruise reviews, covering approximately 700 cruise ships and nearly 500 worldwide ports. The Editors’ Picks Awards brings together Cruise Critic editors’ impartial cruise expertise based on their first-hand experiences and industry knowledge to highlight the best cruises from a large number of cruise options.

For further information about Peel Talent and its range of cruise enrichment services contact: Sara.Andrew@peeltalent.com