Cunard to Feature High-Profile Speakers on Select 2013 Winter Voyages

Renowned for its award-winning Cunard Insights on board enrichment programme, Cunard Line has just announced a new roster of celebrated speakers to complement select 2013 winter voyages aboard its luxury fleet – flagship Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth.

Delving into a variety of compelling and relevant topics, Cunard Insights introduces guests to accomplished experts and visionaries who reflect the Line’s legacy of adventure and prestige while sailing a luxury cruise vacation. Fascinating speakers aboard Cunard’s fleet of Queens in the coming months will include the following:

15 December & 3 January – Celia Imrie. Described by The London Times as one of the most successful British actresses of recent decades, Olivier Award-winning Celia Imrie has appeared in many films, most recently “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” as well as “Hilary and Jackie,” “Nanny McPhee,” “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Highlander” and “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.” On TV, Imrie has been featured in British cult series from “Absolutely Fabulous” and “Stephen Fry’s Kingdom,” to “Return to Cranford.” On stage, she has enjoyed significant off-Broadway success with her one–woman show, “Unsuspecting Susan.” She also gave a searing performance as Vera in the TV production of Ruth Rendell’s “A Dark-Adapted Eye.”

Celia Imrie will sail on Queen Mary 2’s 15 December 2012 Westbound Transatlantic Crossing from Southampton to New York, and 3 January 2013 Eastbound Crossing from New York to Southampton. Fares start at $649 per person.

10 January 2013 – Martin Bell. Bell achieved fame as a BBC News Correspondent from 1962 to 1997, reporting from 100 countries and 18 war zones. He was also the Independent Member of Parliament for Tatton from 1997 to 2001, and is currently a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Bell will sail Queen Mary 2’s 18-day Southampton to Dubai World Voyage Segment departing 10 January 2013. Ports of call include Barcelona, Athens (Piraeus), transiting the Suez Canal, Sokhna (Egypt, for Cairo/Giza), and Safaga (Egypt, for Luxor/Karnak). Space for this segment is limited.

10 January 2013 – Jane Asher. A successful actress, author and businesswoman, Jane Asher has been working professionally in film, theatre and radio since age five, and has run her own London-based business, Jane Asher Party Cakes and Sugarcraft, since 1990, selling bespoke celebration cakes and sweets. She has also written more than a dozen books, including three best-selling novels. Jane recently finished a successful run of two plays at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, including playing Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde’s classic, “The Importance of Being Earnest.” In addition, she will be seen on TV next spring in a new drama by Stephen Poliakoff.

“Queen of Cakes” Jane Asher will sail the first leg of Queen Victoria’s 2013 World Voyage, a Transatlantic Crossing on 10 January from Southampton to New York. Fares start from $749 per person.

20 January – Sir Alan Collins. Sir Alan Collins is a diplomat who has held several Ambassador and High Commissioner appointments in the public service arena both in the U.K. and many other regions of the world. He now serves as a non-executive Director of Amlin plc, the largest of the Lloyds insurers, which is a U.K.-based specialist in international insurance and re-insurance with offices in Europe and Asia. He is also a member of the Risk and Solvency and Audit Committees of the Amlin plc Board. He was educated at Strand School and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Sir Collins will join Queen Elizabeth’s 14-day Atlantic & Caribbean Wonders voyage sailing 6 January 2013 from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale, with stops in Madeira, Antigua, Tortola, Half Moon Cay and Nassau. Fares start at $1,599 per person.

28 January 2013 – Sir Jackie Stewart, OBE. Sir Jackie Stewart’s enduring legacy stretches beyond his 27 Grand Prix wins in 99 races, three world championships and being one of the greatest motor-racing drivers ever to set foot in a Formula One car, to include his historic campaign that significantly changed auto racing safety standards across the industry. Upon retiring, this motor-racing legend embarked on a highly successful media and business career that continues today.

Sir Stewart will join Queen Mary 2 for her 20-day Dubai to Hong Kong World Voyage Segment departing 28 January 2013. En route the ship will visit Abu Dhabi, Cochin (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka, maiden call), Langkawi (Malaysia, maiden call), Kuala Lumpur (Port Kelang, Malaysia), Singapore, Ko Samui (Thailand, maiden call), Bangkok (Laem Chabang, Thailand), and Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My, Vietnam). This segment is now sold out.

9 February 2013 – General The Lord Dannatt, GCB CBE MC DL. Lord Richard Dannatt was a soldier for forty years in the British Army and retired in 2009 from the appointment of Chief of the General Staff. During his career, he served in Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus, Bosnia and Kosovo, and was in command of the Army during its most challenging years in Iraq and Afghanistan. In August 2009, General Dannatt was appointed by Her Majesty The Queen as Constable of The Tower of London; and in January 2011, he entered the House of Lords as an independent crossbench Peer.

General Dannatt will join Queen Mary 2‘s World Voyage on 9 February 2013, sailing from Singapore to Hong Kong via Ko Samui (Thailand), Bangkok (from Laem Chabang) and Ho Chi Minh City. This segment is now sold out.

These winter 2013 Cunard Insights speakers join Cunard’s legacy of welcoming world-famous guests and experts on board, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Buzz Aldrin, James Taylor, Jean Chatzky, Tina Brown, Baz Luhrmann, Bill Bryson, Rona Barrett and E.L. Doctorow.

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By Mike Faust