I work on a cruise ship as a lecturer - AMA!

[cruiseshiplecturer]

Just that, if you've ever been on a cruise I'm one of the people who does your enrichment lectures/talks. Happy to answert any questions I can.

What’s your favourite port.
Do you have to deal with lots of creeps?

Do you get your own room?
What does your day look like?
How do you get a job like that?
Can I come ;)

Because I lecture on british/northern European topics I don't get to go far afield, or haven't had the opportunity yet. I love Belfast. People are really friendly, loads to see, 20 minutes on the shuttle bus into town.

No creeps - but lots of older people (usually men) who want to collar you and mansplain your speciailist subject to you. I have perfected my "smile and nod".

I was under the impression that it’s a cut price holiday rather an actual pay. So how many hours are you lecturing, and what’s your accommodation like?

Yes I get my own room/cabin in the guest areas. Usually one they struggle to sell to paying guests because it's a bit smaller, or has an obstructed view. I can bring a plus one with me.

I work on sea days when we are not in port, typically one lecture of 45 minutes eithjer morning or afternoon, then you are expected to be visible around the ship for passengers to chat rather than scurrying off and hiding in your cabin. Port days I sometimes have the option of going with a shore tour with passengers but don't have to if I don't want to.

Other times I can do what the passengers do, take part in the other activities around the ship, walk around the promenade deck, eat loads, drink cocktails, go to the evening shows...

Yes you don't get paid. Exact offer depends on the line. Most will pay your travel to departure port, then your on-board experience is free. If you take a guest, they have to cover theor own costs of travel. Some will give you a daily on board spend of around £25, and a discount on bar bills and things like free laundry if you need it. Accommodation is not the highest quality cabin but it's fine.

Time committment again varies, I recently did a 10 night trip and did 4 lectures of 45 minutes during that, plus a "meet and greet" lunch with the other lecturers. Next year on a different line it's a 12 night trip with 2 lectures. But you're told all that up front and can refuse or accept any particular trip.

Sounds great! I’ll stick it in my ‘things to investigate when I retire’ list!

How many times a year do you aim to go?

Do you work in between each cruise? If so what do you do and is it hard to get time off to go on these cruises?

This is very interesting. How did you get into it?

3-4 times a year maybe? There are some people who do a lot more. But my kids are still late teens / uni age, DH is still working and I have an elderly parent so don't want to be away more than 40 ish days a year. May increase when DH retires.

I'm self-employed so no issues! Sometimes means a little juggling, but you usually get 2-3 months notice at least so it's not a problem.

I have done a lot of on land speaking on my specialist topics to organisations like the WI or U3A and at one of those talks someone else was there who had previously spoken on ships and pointed me in the direction of the agency who placed him.

Why do you do it if you don’t get paid? Do you just really like going on cruises?

Free holiday. Good networking with other people in similar jobs. Meet lots of people who could potentially give me more work in the future. Good food!!

What is your specialism?

@cruiseshiplecturer does your DH ever come with you or do you holiday together separately to the cruises?

What do you lecture about on a cruise ship?

History. I know that's very broad, but it depends on the cruise what you end up talking about.

He does sometimes come with me, my kids have come too, trying to persuade my mother that she would enjoy it but she is not convinced. We also go on holiday separate to cruising, I'm not sure a cruise is a holiday I would pay for.

Do people dress more smartly for your lectures or just wear ordinary cruise clothes? (I assume there's no dress code, but am curious as to whether they do it by choice)

Ordinary clothes. No dress code, if we are doing a "meet the speakers" lunch then people will dress a bit more smartly. I don't have to wear a suit or anything, a dress, or trousers and a blouse is fine.

Do you Specialise on one country? Or is it all of Northern Europe? Have you ever been a guest speaker on a Midnight Sun cruise up to Norway and the arctic circle. I’d love to do this cruise and will as soon as Saga publish their 2027 itinerary.

Specialise in UK and Northern Europe but with enough notice I can put together talks on other subjects too. Sometimes they'll say "we really want a talk on British royalty" or "could you do a true crime talk" and with enough notice that's fine. On the last 10 day trip with 4 talks they were all quite different, they want a range of talks to interest the guests who can dip in and out, they don't want 4 on very similar things.

I have always been interested in this. If I had a “specialist subject” it would be Middle East politics. What cruise line would you recommend?

I can speak Arabic. Would this make me more employable?

which cruise lines would you recommend?

I am not able to do it for a few months so hopefully all this business with Iran and US might have died down.

Honestly, although your subject is fascinating, cruise lines tend to want to steer well away from anything which could be vaguely contentious. No religion. No politics. No very recent mass murders or true crime. You could definitely talk about the ancient world or Middle Eastern politics pre-WW2 but they may not want anything more recent than that, it's just too controversial. Also, they tend to want sessions related to where you are cruising, so Kings and Queens of Britain on a UK cruise, Greek food on a Mediterranean cruise. At present, cruise lines aren't going to the middle East. Arabic will not make you more employable as the major cruise lines want sessions in English.

Most cruise lines use an agency to book entertainment and speakers, RWS is one of the bigger ones, there are others. As for which cruise line it depends what you want - some of the smaller, upmarket ones like Silversea, Hurtigruten or Ponant are very fancy and recruit speakers but expect a lot from you in terms of visibility around the ship and interaction with guests. Other larger lines like Princess or P&O may require fewer sessions but want more general or entry level topics for their speakers.