Speaking on Cruise Ships

Delighting Passengers with Exciting, Informative Destination & Cultural Presentations

StuartGustafson-professional-square-300dpiSpeaking on cruise ships is a tremendous boost. Of course, standing in front of an audience of paying guests (paying the cruise line, not the speaker) is exciting and each cruise has its own set of thrills. With my U.S. Registered Trademark America’s International Travel Expert®, I’ve been honored to speak on dozens of cruises traveling to six continents — overall I’ve been to 82 countries and over 215 different cruise ports.

“Your talk today was worth the price of the entire cruise.”
Margaret, passenger on a trans-Pacific cruise

  • Destination & Cultural Talks — From the Mediterranean, Baltic, and SE Asia regions, my Destination and Cultural presentations have focused on the arts, history, culture of the areas. While they’re not port-specific in nature, they are relevant to the areas where the cruise ships are going. For example, when the ship docks in Helsinki, my talk Finland, its Culture & its Music highlights the Sibelius Monument (with “music” from its pipes) and the organ at the Rock Church, among others, using videos that I’ve taken on my many visits to the area. Overall, I’ve visited 176 different cruise ports, so I have plenty of information to share with the guests.

    • View many of Stuart’s on-board presentations here!

  • Other Travel-Related Talks — There are times and places (such as a trans-Pacific crossing) where a destination-specific talk isn’t relevant. I have some travel-related talks that fit nicely into these situations, or when there is a weather-related change and we’re going to be “at sea” for the day instead of in port. Some examples of these talks are
    > The International Date Line — How Do We Really Lose a Day?
    > 7 Wonders of the World — Ancient and New
    > Countries and Their Names
    > World Money
    > Journaling Your Trip — or How to Remember THIS Cruise

  • Music of the Masters — This is a six-part series of presentations (I’m working on growing the series) on some of the best-known and most influential classical music composers (an overview plus Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, with more in the works). The presentations include some historical information (about 30% talking) plus lots of their music (70%). I also have other full-length video productions of each master that have been used as a warm-up to the presentation as guests are coming into the venue. These Music of the Masters talks are especially well-received when the guests are wanting additional culture as well as on European ocean and river cruises.

  • Port Lectures — I have delivered port-specific presentations on cruises where the independent travelers are seeking logistical information from sources that are not directly tied to the ship’s shore excursions. These presentations include information about the specific ports of call, where we’ll be, how to get around in the area, currency exchange opportunities, the best places for shopping, etc. I’ve given these talks primarily in SE Asia (from Singapore to Japan, and all countries in between), and the ship’s staff have said that these talks reduced the number of questions they typically received from guests by at least fifty percent. I encourage people to take notes or to take photos of the information on the slides to help them while they’re in port.

Interested or just curious? CLICK here to send an email to inquire about Stuart’s availability.

“Your presentations and information were exactly what I was hoping for, and what I know the guests want.”
Steve, Cruise Director for a major cruise line

Cruises I’ve Been on as a Speaker

NOTE: Click on cruise link to view some of the presentations available/given on that cruise
July 2012 – Scandinavia & Russia (round trip Amsterdam) – Celebrity Constellation (13 days)
September 2012 – Italy & Adriatic (Venice to Civitavecchia) – Celebrity Silhouette (13 days)
April 2013 – Northeast Asia (Hong Kong to Shanghai) – Celebrity Millennium (15 days)
July 2013 – Norwegian Fjords (round trip Harwich) – Celebrity Infinity (11 days)
August 2013 – British Isles (round trip Harwich) – Celebrity Infinity (12 days)
August 2013 – Scandinavia & Russia (Stockholm to Copenhagen) – Oceania Marina (11 days)
September 2013 – Scandinavia & Russia (Copenhagen to Stockholm) – Oceania Marina (11 days)
July 2014 – Great American Waterways (Warren, R.I. to Chicago) – Blount Grande Caribe (15 days)
September 2014 – Western Europe & Mediterranean Highlights (Amsterdam to Istanbul) – Celebrity Constellation (15 days)
December 2014 – Northern Asia Allure (Singapore to Hong Kong) – Celebrity Millennium (15 days)
July 2015 – World Cruise Segment (New York to Sydney) – Sea Princess (41 days)
September 2015 – Alaska to Japan (Seward, Alaska to Tokyo) – Silversea Silver Shadow (17 days)
November 2015 – Grand Asia (Tianjin, China to Singapore) – Sapphire Princess (18 days)
November 2015 – Vietnam, Thailand & Malaysia Grand Adventure (round trip Singapore) – Sapphire Princess (16 days)
September 2016 – Bering Sea & Japan (Vancouver to Tokyo Yokohama) – Celebrity Millennium (15 days)
February 2017 – Southeast Asia Immersion (Singapore to Hong Kong) – Celebrity Millennium (15 days)
March 2017 – China & South Korea (Hong Kong to Shanghai) – Celebrity Millennium (15 days)
March 2017 – China & South Korea (Shanghai to Hong Kong) – Celebrity Millennium (15 days)
April 2017 – China & Japan (Hong Kong to Tokyo Yokohama) – Celebrity Millennium (15 days)
June 2017 – Great Lakes Grand Discovery 1 (Toronto to Chicago) – M/V Victory I (10 days)
July 2017 – Great American Waterways (Warren, R.I. to Chicago) – Blount Grande Caribe (16 days)
July 2017 – Great American Waterways (Chicago to Warren, R.I.) – Blount Grande Caribe (16 days)
September 2017 – Bering Sea & Japan (Vancouver to Tokyo Yokohama) – Celebrity Millennium (16 days)
September 2017 – Japan Explorer (round trip Tokyo Yokohama) – Celebrity Millennium (11 days)
October 2017 – Japan, Korea, and China (Tokyo Yokohama to Shanghai) – Celebrity Millennium (12 days)
June 2018 – Great American Waterways (New York City to Chicago) – Blount Grande Caribe (16 days)
June 2018 – Great American Waterways (Chicago to New York City) – Blount Grande Caribe (16 days)
May 2019 – Viking Homelands (Bergen to Stockholm) – Viking Sea (15 days)
June 2019 – Viking Homelands (Stockholm to Bergen) – Viking Sea (15 days)
October 2022 – Ballad of the Aegean Sea (Trieste to Istanbul) – Regent Seven Seas Explorer (12 days)
October 2022 – Holy Land Passage (round trip Istanbul) – Regent Seven Seas Explorer (12 days)
June 2024 – Europe & Mediterranean (Venice to Istanbul) – Crystal Cruise Line Symphony (12 days)
* June 2025 – Europe & Mediterranean (Venice to Athens) – Crystal Cruise Line Symphony (9 days)
* July 2025 – Europe & Mediterranean (Athens to Thessaloniki) – Crystal Cruise Line Symphony (9 days)

“Thank you for telling the passengers what they usually come to ask me; you saved about half the number of people who normally come to my desk.”
Jennifer, Ship’s Concierge on a major cruise line

Where I’ve Cruised while Speaking

    ASIA

  • Brunei
  • China
  • Cyprus
  • Hong Kong
  • Israel
  • Japan
  • Malaysia
  • Russia (Kamchatka Peninsula)
  • Singapore
  • South Korea
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand
  • Turkey (yes, Izmir/Ephesus is in Asia, not Europe)
  • Vietnam

    EUROPE

  • Channel Islands (Guernsey)
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus — (technically, Asia, but the currency is the Euro)
  • Denmark
  • England
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Malta
  • Montenegro
  • Netherlands
  • Northern Ireland
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Russia (St. Petersburg)
  • Scotland
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Turkey

    NORTH AMERICA

  • Canada
  • USA

    PACIFIC

  • American Samoa
  • Australia
  • Easter Island
  • French Polynesia (Tahiti, Bora Bora)
  • New Zealand
  • Pitcairn Island

    SOUTH AMERICA

  • Chile/Easter Island
  • Colombia
  • Curacao
  • Peru

Send an email to inquire about Stuart’s availability, whether it’s at sea on a cruise ship or somewhere on dry land.

Just Cruising; Not Speaking

Not on as a speaker; I was just one of the many pampered guests.

February 1992 – Hawaiian Islands (round trip Honolulu) – American Hawaii Cruises (8 days)
August 2004 – Scandinavia & Russia (round trip Copenhagen) – Holland America Cruise Line (10 days)
December 2007 – Scenic New Zealand (round trip Sydney) – Sun Princess (13 days)
May 2011 – Alaskan Inside Passage (round trip Seattle) – Holland America Line (7 days)
November 2011 – Repositioning Cruise through the Suez Canal (Barcelona to Dubai) – Brilliance of the Seas (19 days)
September 2012 – Holy Lands (round trip Civitavecchia) – Celebrity Silhouette (13 days)
September 2014 – Panama Canal (San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale) – Island Princess (16 days)
April 2016 – Inaugural Fathom Travel cruise to Dominican Republic (round trip Miami) – P&O Adonia (7 days)
April 2019 – Châteaux, Rivers, and Wine (round trip Bordeaux) – Viking Forseti (8 days)
September 2019 – Columbia & Snake Rivers (Portland, OR to Clarkston, WA) – American Cruise Lines Queen of the West (7 days)
April 2022 – Allure of the Rivieras (Civitavecchia to Barcelona) – Oceania Nautica (10 days)
June 2022 – Caribbean: Harvest Caye, Roatan & Cozumel (round trip Miami) – NCL Breakaway (7 days)
July 2023 – Passage to Eastern Europe (Bucharest to Budapest) – Viking Ullur (10 days)
July 2023 – Melodies of the Danube (Budapest to Vilshofen) – AmaSonata (8 days)
October 2023 – Grand Africa Voyage (round trip Fort Lauderdale) – Holland America Zuiderdam (73 days)
* January 2025 – Coral Triangle, Volcanos, & Great Barrier Reef (round trip Singapore) – Holland America Noordam (28 days)
* February 2025 – Far East & The Philippines (Singapore to Yokohama) – Holland America Noordam (29 days)
* September 2025 – Tales of the South Pacific (round trip San Diego) – Holland America Zaandam (51 days)
* December 2025 – Imperial Cities and Yuletide Markets Cruise (round trip Budapest) – Riviera Cruise Line William Wordsworth (6 days)