Cruise Log 2005-2016
The first cruise I ever did as a guest speaker was for the National Trust for Scotland in 2005. Since then, I have done well over 100 engagements as speaker. Below are the first 50 that I completed. The pace has picked up considerably since I officially 'retired' in 2015. These days I mainly have the privilege of working with Viking Ocean Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
An early visit to Isfjorden in Svalbard in 2011. Go here to see all my cruise engagements since October 2016, or go here to see my up-to-date list of future bookings.
JULY 2005: Iceland and Greenland (lecturing for National Trust for Scotland)
JUNE 2006: Iceland and Greenland (for Connoisseur Travel)
JANUARY 2007: The Caribbean and Amazon on Black Prince (Fred Olsen Cruise Line)
JUNE 2007: Norway and Iceland on Discovery (Voyages of Discovery)
JULY 2007: Iceland on Saga Ruby (Saga Cruises)
AUGUST 2007: Norway on Saga Rose (Saga Cruises)
JUNE 2008: North Cape, Norway on Discovery (Voyages of Discovery)
JULY 2008: Norway and Svalbard on Boudicca (Fred Olsen Cruise Line)
JANUARY 2009: Chilean Fjords and Antarctica, as passengers on Discovery (Voyages of Discovery)
APRIL 2009: The Mediterranean on Oceana (P&O)*
MAY 2009: The Mediterranean and Aegean on Black Prince (Fred Olsen Cruise Lines)
JUNE 2009: North Cape of Norway on Black Prince (Fred Olsen Cruise Lines)
JULY 2009: Norwegian Fjords on Spirit of Adventure (Saga Cruises)*
JANUARY 2010: The Caribbean, Costa Rica and Peru on Saga Ruby (Saga Cruises)*
MARCH 2010: Madeira and the Canaries on Boudicca (Fred Olsen Cruise Lines)*
JUNE 2010: Madeira and the Canaries on Boudicca (Fred Olsen Cruise Lines)
AUGUST 2010: Iceland and Greenland on Discovery (Voyages of Discovery)
JANUARY 2011: South America: Barbados to Buenos Aires, including the Amazon, on Discovery (Voyages of Discovery)
FEBRUARY 2011: The Amazon on Braemar (Fred Olsen Cruise Lines)*
JUNE 2011: Norwegian Fjords on Ocean Countess (Cruise & Maritime Voyages)*
JULY 2011: Norway and Svalbard on Marco Polo (Cruise & Maritime Voyages)*
SEPTEMBER 2011: The Black Sea and E Mediterranean on Spirit of Adventure (Saga Cruises)*
DECEMBER 2011: Ascension, St Helena, Tristan da Cunha and the Falklands on Island Sky (Noble Caledonia)
APRIL 2012: The Cape Verde Islands and Senegal on Boudicca (Fred Olsen Cruise Lines)
JUNE 2012: Norway and Svalbard on Discovery (Voyages of Discovery)
AUGUST 2012: The Faroes and Iceland on Quest for Adventure (Saga Cruises)*
NOVEMBER 2012: The Caribbean on Boudicca (Fred Olsen Cruise Lines)*
JANUARY 2013: The Amazon on Quest for Adventure (Saga Cruises)
FEBRUARY 2013: South America: Chile, the Falkland Islands and Argentina on Voyager (Voyages of Discovery)
MARCH 2013: "Grand Voyage (Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town leg)", including Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Puerto Madryn, the Falkland islands and a stop off Tristan da Cunha on Saga Ruby (Saga Cruises) *
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013: "Grand Voyage Across the Erythraean Sea" on board Voyager (Voyages of Discovery), sailing from Sharm El Sheik, Egypt to Colombo, Sri Lanka, via Safaga (Egypt), Djibouti, Salalah and Muscat (Oman), Fujairah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi (UEA), Khasab (Oman), Porbandar, Mumbai, Marmagao, Cochin and Tuticorin (India) *.
MAY 2014: "Coastal Explorer" - a 6-day, non-stop, round Britain cruise on Saga Sapphire with a strong emphasis on cetaceans and other wildlife *.
JULY 2014: "Iceland and the Northern Isles" for Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) on board Discovery, with ports including Eskifjordur, Akureyri, Isafjordur and Reykjavik in Iceland.*
AUGUST 2014: "North Cape and Land of the Midnight Sun" also for CMV on Discovery, including visits to Geiranger, Hammerfest, Honningsvåg, Tromsø and a deck commentary on a sail by the Svartisen Glacier. Followed by another short cruise on Discovery to the 'Majestic Fjordland' of Åndalsnes, Olden, Flåm and Eidfjord in Norway.*
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014: "Voyage to Australia" for Cruise & Maritime Voyages on board Astor - a truly remarkable voyage departing from Tilbury on the Thames and ending in Freemantle, Australia, via Le Havre, Lisbon, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Mindelo in the Cape Verde Islands, Ascension, St Helena, Cape Town, Durban, Reunion Island and Mauritius - a total journey of 12,336 nautical miles. *
APRIL 2015: Michael joined the maiden voyage of Viking Star at the launch also of a brand new cruise company, Viking Ocean cruises, sailing from Istanbul, via Kusadasi in Turkey, Piraeus and Santorini in Greece, Kotor in Montenegro, Dubrovnik and Pula in Croatia to Venice.*
MAY 2015: "Oslo and the Timeless Fjords" on board Voyager for Voyages of Discovery.
JUNE 2015: "Iceland and the Northern Isles" for Cruise & Maritime Voyages on board Azores, the oldest ocean-going passenger ship still in service and a delight to sail on - an excellent cruise in benign weather including five ports around Iceland and a circumnavigation of Surtsey.
JULY 2015: "Viking Odyssey" was Michael's first trip for Regent Seven Seas Cruises on the luxurious ship Seven Seas Voyager. As well as Honningsvag in northern Norway and Longyearbyen, the trip took Michael north of 80°N for the first time and first visits to Murmansk in arctic Russia and the Solovestsky Islands in the White Sea. *
AUGUST 2015: "Voyage to the Arctic" on board Fred Olsen's Boudicca, took us to the North Cape of Norway and on to Svalbard, then westwards, cruising past Jan Mayen Island, to Iceland and some magnificent whalewatching in Akureyri.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015, Michael spent seven weeks on Seven Seas Mariner around the coast of Africa, including first visits to Ghana, Togo, Benin, Sao Tome island and Walvis Bay in Namibia. Other stops included Cape Town, Maputo in Mozambique, Durban and East London in South Africa, and Luderitz in Namibia, as well as return visits to Madeira, three of the Canary Islands, Sao Vicente in the Cape Verde islands and Dakar in Senegal, and the trip ended in Rio de Janeiro. *
FEBRUARY 2016: Madagascar, Zanzibar and the Seychelles on a leg from Mauritius to Salalah in Oman of the Boudicca cruise round Africa for Fred Olsen Cruises Ltd.
MARCH 2016: From Cartagena in Columbia, via the San Blas Islands, the Panama Canal, Panama City (Flamenco Island). Manta in Ecuador, Callao in Peru (with an overland excursion to Machu Picchu) to Guayaquil in Ecuador on Voyager for Voyages of Discovery. *
MAY/JUNE 2016: Horta and Ponta Delgada in the Azores, plus Madeira and a first visit to Porto Santo, along with Guernsey, A Coruna, Lisbon, Jersey and Honfleur in France onboard Voyager for Voyages of Discovery.
JUNE/JULY 2016: A first booking on Swan Hellenic's Minerva from Kirkenes in Norway to Arkhangelsk, the Solovestsky Islands and Murmansk in Russia, back to Portsmouth via the Lofoten Islands and various ports in Norway including Florø and Haugesund.
JULY 2016: A first trip to Alaska and a first booking for Oceania Cruises on Regatta, sailing from Seattle via Ketchikan, Wrangell, Juneau, the Hubbard Glacier, Haines and Sitka in Alaska and Victoria in Canada.
AUGUST 2016: Bergen to Piraeus (for Athens) on Viking Sea, via Lisbon, Cadiz, Malaga and Valletta in Malta * (cruise 50)
SEPTEMBER 2016: 'Rugged and Rural Canada' on Boudicca for Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, including St John's in Newfoundland, St-Pierre, Sydney on Cape Breton Island and Red Bay in Labrador.
OCTOBER 2016: Akureyri and Reykjavik in Iceland on Marco Polo in search of the Northern Lights for Cruise & Maritime Voyages. (CRUISE 50)