Naturalist??

[runner5]

What exactly is a naturalist and is there one on every cruise? Should I look for one on my cruise?

[Budget Queen]

They are experts on trends of wildlife, and descriptive of sailing areas. They will have scheduled programs during the week that can be very informative. Some will make themselves available on deck and to passengers.

 

Years ago, I had some fantastic naturalist encounters, of which gave me some of the knowledge I pass along today.

 

Not all cruiselines have naturalists- RCI and NCL didn't in the past. Princess and HAL, usually have them on board- however there was NOT one on my recent HAL sailing (which was disappointing). Celebrity usually has a naturalist.

 

IF you haven't been to Alaska before, and have a priority for wildlife and scenic sailing information- then you probably will have an enhanced trip with a naturalist.

[allentownahoy]

We did not have one on HAL last year either. Very disappointing. Last year we were told they changed the policy from naturalist to Native American. You may get one who is a naturalist. On our ship she was a basket weaver. I will not sail to Alaska on HAL anymore. A naturalist adds so much to the experience.

[runner5]

Thanks, I call Royal Caribbean and they don't have one :(

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I have read two reviews of the Carnival Spirit this season that have mentioned a Naturalist. I am looking forward to this part of the cruise, so I hope they will still have that feature when we sail in a couple of weeks.

[cw2go]

Brent Nixon with Celebrity Infinity this year is AWESOME!!! I have become his number 1 fan :p

[Yukon]

Thanks, I call Royal Caribbean and they don't have one :(

 

Some RCI Alaska sailings do - some, in fact have both a Naturalist and a Destination Speaker (2 positions that somewhat overlap). I saw a position on the Coral Princess early this saeson that's new to me - "Bridge Lecturer" (a Naturalist was on board as well). All very confusing, even for those of us who do the jobs.

[runner5]

Thanks Murray! How do I find them on the ship?

[fleckle]

Another excellent naturalist is Milos Radakovich. The naturalists give presentations about the history of the areas you will be visiting and the features to be seen there. Some of their programs are about glaciers or volcanoes or whales, bears, otters, eagles, and other wildlife. or additional relevant topics such as what to look for in the night sky.

 

Their presentations are typically listed in the ship's schedule of daily activities.

 

On sea days they would set up a spotting scope and hang out on deck with us, answering our questions and pointing out wildlife that we might have missed otherwise.

 

Know that when a naturalist is the destination speaker, you get a totally different experience from ships where a shopping guide is called a "destination speaker" but whose emphasis is primarily merely trying to steer you to visit certain stores at the various ports of call.

[DD]

I expected to really be impressed with the one we recently had on Princess, but to be honest, I found him a bit monotonous. There were times where we found ourselves wishing for silence to enjoy the serenity rather than hearing more stories. To me, it seemed that he also spent a lot of time talking about things he had seen on previous cruises over the years.

[sherryf]

DD - What ship and what was the name of the naturalist?

 

We were on the Star Princess last summer and my husband did not like the naturalist we had... a woman... Kathy something.. I'd have to look it up. She was nice and knowledgeable enough, but he found her voice to be grating and couldn't sit and listen to her for long. I found her mildly annoying too, but was willing to tolerate it more than he was.

[Yukon]

Know that when a naturalist is the destination speaker, you get a totally different experience from ships where a shopping guide is called a "destination speaker" but whose emphasis is primarily merely trying to steer you to visit certain stores at the various ports of call.

 

The shopping guide isn't a Destination Speaker - they're called various other names, usually Port something. A Destination Speaker's focus isn't specifically natural history, but when Brent Nixon and I worked on the Infinity at the same time (he as Naturalist, me as Destination Speaker), there was a lot of overlap in our subjects.

[Coral]

DD - What ship and what was the name of the naturalist?

 

We were on the Star Princess last summer and my husband did not like the naturalist we had... a woman... Kathy something.. I'd have to look it up. She was nice and knowledgeable enough, but he found her voice to be grating and couldn't sit and listen to her for long. I found her mildly annoying too, but was willing to tolerate it more than he was.

 

Kathy was on my sailing also last year. She was my least favorite. I agree, she was nice but her talks were more about growing up there as opposed to wildlife, glaciers, etc...

[DD]

I purposely didn't post a name, as I don't wish to hurt anyone's feelings. It's not necessary. My point is that I thought the naturalist would be a huge plus; instead, we didn't feel that he added much to the voyage for us personally. YMMV

[Coral]

I purposely didn't post a name, as I don't wish to hurt anyone's feelings. It's not necessary. My point is that I thought the naturalist would be a huge plus; instead, we didn't feel that he added much to the voyage for us personally. YMMV

 

When they are good - it is a huge plus. When they are not, it is indeed a disappointment.

[Tobintemp]

DD - What ship and what was the name of the naturalist?

 

We were on the Star Princess last summer and my husband did not like the naturalist we had... a woman... Kathy something.. I'd have to look it up. She was nice and knowledgeable enough, but he found her voice to be grating and couldn't sit and listen to her for long. I found her mildly annoying too, but was willing to tolerate it more than he was.

 

Kathy was on the Coral the last week in May and we found the same thing. She seemed more interested in selling her book or video or whatever it was. At Hubbard Glacier we just wished sfor a bit of quiet so we could listen to the glaciers calving.

[sherryf]

I purposely didn't post a name, as I don't wish to hurt anyone's feelings. It's not necessary. My point is that I thought the naturalist would be a huge plus; instead, we didn't feel that he added much to the voyage for us personally. YMMV

 

That's okay, I didn't really need a name, just wanted to know if we would have the same guy. I saw in another post that you were on a different ship than we will be on, so unless they guy changes ships mid-season, we won't have him.

 

I do wonder if anyone can tell me about the naturalist on the Golden Princess, especially if he is GOOD! My husband is a real "nature" kind of guy, and was disappointed that our previous naturalist wasn't so much "nature". I'm hoping, for his sake, that we get someone better this time.

[Tobintemp]

I do wonder if anyone can tell me about the naturalist on the Golden Princess, especially if he is GOOD! My husband is a real "nature" kind of guy, and was disappointed that our previous naturalist wasn't so much "nature". I'm hoping, for his sake, that we get someone better this time.

 

On the pre cruise email Princess send out two weeks before sailing it should say who the naturalist is going to be.

 

We recently did a back to back and it was a different person each week so they do seem to rotate them around.

[fleckle]

The shopping guide isn't a Destination Speaker - they're called various other names, usually Port something. ..

Yes, we have noticed that they are called by various names on different cruise lines, but the descriptions of their talks say that they will be presenting information about the destinations to be visited. Sometimes the cruise directors even hype their talks, telling us to be sure not to miss them.

 

Passengers attend the presentations expecting to find out what to see and do there, and perhaps learn a little about the history of the area, only to end up finding ourselves subjected to a sales pitch promoting certain stores. It is done under the pretext of looking out for your best interests by warning you that there are vendors at that destination who will try to rip you off. To prevent this from happening, make sure you only patronize these wonderful, legitimate approved stores that we have conveniently listed for you on our handout.

The presentation typically will include some sad anecdote about a passenger who did not follow their advice, shopped elsewhere and regretted it afterward.

 

There is a huge difference between such presentations and the presentations of true destination speakers or naturalists, but it is not always easy to tell which is which from the description.

[LRene]

The thing I missed the most on our HAL ship this year was a naturalist. Well, they had one but he never made ANY announcements!! None...nada. He had a couple of seminars and was incorrect in a lot of his info that he gave out. :rolleyes:

 

Carnival has Michelle - who is wonderful and has done it for 12 years. I never realized how much I would miss her but I won't do Alaska again without a naturalist who actually makes announcements!!

[Chenega]

Several years ago I was working as a naturalist on a Royal Caribbean ship from Vancouver to Seward. I was informed that I could no longer do bridge announcements due to security concerns. At Hubbard Glacier, I was not allowed to offer narration even though it was something I had taught at the college level in Alaska for many years. It seems Royal Caribbean had a contract/agreement with a family in Yakutat that provided the narration instead.

 

My introduction to Alaska presentation was cancelled since the cruise director thought the title and subject interferred with his own presentation which basically focused on available excursions and shopping.

 

In a week long trip, I ended up offering two 40 minute presentations but always had to clear out of the room quickly when bingo was scheduled right after me.

 

To say the least, I was disillusioned at the line's committment to teaching passengers something about Alaska. There's a golden opportunity up here since there's so much to see and experience but many lines don't give it a priority.

[sherryf]

On the pre cruise email Princess send out two weeks before sailing it should say who the naturalist is going to be.

 

2 weeks before sailing... which would be 5 weeks from now... so long to wait! ;)

[Yukon]

... I won't do Alaska again without a naturalist who actually makes announcements!!

 

Unfortunately there's no way to know what's going to happen unless you go with a naturalist you know, and even that can change if the captain's ideas change.

[Coral]

Last year we were supposed to go to Tracy Arm and instead ended up in Endicott Arm.

 

We were told that someone in Alaska (not sure which authority) has asked that announcements not be made outside while sailing through Tracy Arm/Endicott arm.

 

So people slept in, went outside and thought we were at Tracy Arm instead of Endiocott Arm due to no outside announcements. This was disappointing IMO.

[Yukon]

We were told that someone in Alaska (not sure which authority) has asked that announcements not be made outside while sailing through Tracy Arm/Endicott arm.

 

I doubt that any department has that authority. The only restrictions I've seen are in the cities of Juneau and Ketchikan - we can't talk until clear of the main housing areas. College Fjord would be a good comparison to Tracy Arm and Endicott, and there are no restrictions there.