Palermo, Italy

Wednesday 3/11/09
Greetings from Palermo, Italy. We’ve had a beautiful, sunny day visiting colorful little fishing villages, a breath-taking 600-year old cathedral, and gorgeous scenery. If you like travel, you will love this type of cruising. We will stop at seven different ports – tomorrow we are at sea, Thurs. is Athens, Greece.
I figured out how to send my communications to you, but I might not be able to send these the same day I write them, because the ship is having great difficulty getting air waves or whatever that mysterious thing is that sends out emails.
As you may remember, I’m a low tech woman in a high tech world, so I’m just stumbling & bumbling through this process of sending blogs. Sometimes Daniel will be discussing computer stuff with me and he’ll say, "Oh that program is super simple to work. Anyone can do it – even you." I can never tell if that’s an insult or a compliment:)
So now I’ll catch you up on working on the Brilliance of the Sea. I think every ship is different. Here instead of working with the Cruise Director, I work with the Cruise Program Administrator. There are 3 other enrichment speakers on this cruise and she hasn’t met in person with any of us. Instead she communicates via voice mail and notes left on our door.
On this cruise, I will present 5 programs:
Secrets to Blast Away Procrastination
Clutter Clutter Everywhere
Is Trying to be Perfect making you & Everyone you know crazy?
Want to get rid of paper Clutter Fast?
Do You Have a Book in Your Heart That You Want to Write?

Hmmmmm, guess what I forgot to do? I never did introduce myself, did I?

Hi There,
My name is Rita Emmett and my husband Bruce & I live in Des Plaines, IL.
I’m a Recovering Procrastinator, a professional speaker and author of several best-selling books:
The Procrastinator’s Handbook
The Procrastinating Child: A Handbook for Adults to Help Children Stop Putting Things Off
The Clutter-Busting Hand book
and my latest book was published and released to book stores just last month:
Manage You Time to Reduce Your Stress: A Handbook for the Overworked, Overscheduled and Overwhelmed
(Do you think anyone will relate to that last title??)

So when I talk on cruise ships I speak about my books. Daniel knows that a lot of you have a book in your heart that you want to write, and don’t know how to get started. I told him that was a huge problem for me at the beginning also – how the heck to get started and how the heck do you write a book and how the heck do you get it published.
After a lot of time, study, learning and expense, I completed my first book and it sold 100,000 copies in the first 14 months, landed me an interview with Katie Couric and is now published in 32 countries.

So Daniel and I put together an easy inexpensive program called The Procrastinator’s Guide to Authorship (www.helpwritingbook.com) to help with all those questions. If you want to write a book, this will help you side-step having to take a ton of expensive, time-consuming classes and seminars to figure it all out.
As you can imagine, when you pitch ideas to a cruise line AND send them a copy of your book, it gets their attention.

The reason I gave you all those details is because usually you suggest only 3 topics for a cruise. But because I’m a professional speaker and have these programs (with Power Point and hand outs) already put together, and since I love doing this, I gave them suggestions for 5 topics and they want all five. They are happy and I’m happy.

Tuesday was the "Blast Away Procrastination" program, and we had great fun. One of the people attending said "Good title. This class is a blast." Tomorrow I’ll present "Clutter, Clutter Everywhere".
And now I’m off to see if the ship is capturing that mysterious stuff that sends off emails so I can send this to you.
Cruising along,
Rita Emmett

First Day on The Brilliance of the Seas

Tuesday 3-10-09
Dear Blog readers,

We are cruising the high seas
.
Barcelona was magnificent – beyond my wildest dreams. Food, people, scenery, cathedrals, architecture, sitting at sidewalk cafes watching the world go by – all so wonderful.
Now we are on the Brilliance of the Seas heading for Palermo, Italy. In between stopping at ports, we will have 4 and a half days at sea, and I will be giving 5 presentations.
I’m not going in to great detail today because after I type this, I have to figure out how to send it and that might take the whole cruise. I practiced doing it from my home, but this is trickier.

Once I figure this out, I will tell you more about speaking on this cruise ship.

One thing before I forget. My previous cruises were all on Celebrity and they sent us detailed info on what to do once we get on board. Royal Caribbean (and many other cruise lines) send only a contract with no other instructions.

Luckily, we knew to go to the restaurant and ask for a table assignment. (Speakers usually don’t get a table assigned ahead of time.) So we are at a lovely table with other English speaking passengers.

However, one of the other enrichment speakers didn’t know about this so he was one of the last ones to get a table. He and his wife ended up all alone at a table for two. His wife is extremely cranky about this. She says "This man is a speaker but he never talks to me at dinner. So now I’m stuck with him not talking to me for the whole cruise." She offered to switch places with me. I graciously declined.

Too bad they don’t have a Daniel Hall. We are all so lucky to have him take us by the hand and lead us step by step through this whole list of things-to-do at the beginning of a cruise.
By the way, Daniel, your tip about going to the Pier Coordinator worked perfectly. We just breezed past all the people in line and zipped right on board.

I’m off to the computer room to figure out how to send this. Hopefully you will receive it before Christmas.

Cruising along,
Rita Emmett
Author of the Procrastinator's Guide to Authorship
http://www.helpwritingbook.com/

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Dear Blog Readers,
Daniel’s advice really, really works.

Tomorrow my husband Bruce and I will fly to Barcelona. We will tour on Sunday and Monday morning, then at noon we will board Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Sea where I’ll give talks about my books. We are so excited.

Here’s how we got here. As Daniel says, these cruise people are very kind and generous. They don’t tell us when and where we HAVE to speak. Instead, they ask us for our "Wish List". (When is the last time someone asked you for your Wish List?)

So we sent Royal Caribbean a list of about 18 choices. They wrote back "I’m so sorry, but we cannot accommodate any of your requests. However, we can offer you these two cruises."
They gave us the name of the ships and dates of departure, but nothing else.

When Bruce looked it up, he called out, "Rita, come here. I think there’s been a BIG mistake." We both were astonished looking at the itinerary --Spain, Italy, Greece, Malta and Egypt. I immediately called Royal Caribbean and asked if that cruise was a mistake. She said "no".

"How could you possibly apologize for offering such a dream-come-true trip?"I asked.
She said, "Well, it isn’t what you asked for."

I burst our laughing. "I didn’t ask for it because I didn’t have the audacity to ask for such a FABULOUS trip."

And that’s how it came to be that we are leaving for this incredible cruise through the Mediterranean, to give talks about my books.

I am thrilled at where the books I’ve authored have taken us. Writing that first one wasn’t easy. I didn’t know anyone who is published, didn’t know if I should self publish or not, didn’t know how to find an agent or publisher. And after taking tons of classes and spending many bucks, I finally wrote The Procrastinator’s Handbook, and it sold 100,000 the first year.

Daniel & I were talking about this one day, and together we decided to develop a program to help people who want to write a book but don’t know how to get started, "The Procrastinator’s Guide to Authorship" has all the info I wished I had when I first started writing. If you want help to get going writing a book that’s in your heart, go to www.helpwritingbook.com You will love it and will feel sensational once you’ve become an author. And now --- we’re off.
Addios
Rita Emmett

A Gift - Capturing & Using Images On Your Computer Screen

I really appreciate you being on my list, being in my Club and/or reading this blog.

From the bottom of my heart...

Thank You!

As a way to express my thanks I wanted to give you this gift. It is a video and tool you can use to capture images (any images) on your computer screen. My idea for you is it will make it easier to capture images for use with your onboard PowerPoint programs.

Go watch the short video here. Once you watch the video go here http://www.nicekit.com/ and download Snapashot.

And if you're not already approved to cruise free, why not?

I've provided all the tools you need here ==> http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/cruise-free.html

Why should you do it now?

Because tomorrow I'm doing a special training on getting approved with Cunard Lines in the UK.

Don't miss this training if you want to cruise Europe this year or next.

God bless and happy cruising.

RCCL Panama Cruise

Hello Everyone,

It is Day 3 of our cruise.
We’re just passed Cuba and heading for Aruba.

The check-in process went smooth. On the first night I received a call from the Activities Manager and we met to discuss my lectures and what assistance I would need from them.
At that time they inform you of when and where you will be speaking.

I had a little curve ball thrown my way when they advised me that I would be presenting on a port day. On this particular cruise we have a total of 5 sea days which usually means that is how many presentations I would be required to do. As another first on this cruise there are actually 3 other Enrichment Lecturers.

Tomorrow we arrive in Aruba around 6:15am and Dabney and I planned on going on a Catamaran Sailboat tour which is 5 hours long. We leave Aruba at 2:30 and I have to present at 3:30pm. I have a presentation called Karaoke Confidence which usually draws a big crowd and is usually my first presentation. On all of the cruises I have been on so far Karaoke is huge and takes place almost every night. I was surprised to see that on this particular cruise there are only 4 nights out of 11 scheduled to have Karaoke. So to kick off the first night they wanted me to do my lecture as we leave Aruba.

I guess I better re-think the day of partying on the Catamaran? Nah, who am I kidding!
I can do this particular lecture with my eyes closed which is a good lesson here.
Since I have started Cruising for FREE which this is my 4th Cruise this is the first time I’ve been asked to speak on a port day.

My lesson here is like the Boy-Scout motto, “Always be Prepared”.
I am always am prepared to do more than what is originally scheduled and I always let the Cruise line know that I am willing to step in anytime they need me.

I had my first of 6 lectures yesterday which was “How to overcome any fear of phobia in 8 minutes or less. (No matter how long you’ve had it)

This lecture always brings a crowd. I’ve seen helped fellow cruisers overcome everything from a fear of snakes to germs. I had about 17 people attend and received rave reviews from all that attended. How do I know that? I always (with the Cruise lines permission) get written or video testimonials from the attendees. I do this by offering them a free gift. Sometimes it may be a copy of the PowerPoint presentation or a free download but I always make sure I get testimonials. I carry a small scanner so that I can get a copy for myself and then I give all of them along with a Thank You card to the Activities Manager / Cruise director before I leave the ship. This is a good way to assure that they know their passengers enjoyed your presentations while cruising.

Well that’s enough for now. The Men’s Sexy Legs contest is getting ready to start and I have another presentation today at 3pm.

Thanks for reading and I’ll update everyone again in a few days.

Peace & Power,

Vic Maranto
ThePersonalDevelopmentNetwork.com

Low tech woman in a high tech world.

Dear Daniel,
I'm getting ready for my Mediterranean cruise, and I'll be blogging here, so I'll probably have to practice all week till I get it right.
Am I sending this post where I'm supposed to be sending it??
Warmly in cold Chicago,
Rita

Telling the Future...

As a child I was always intrigued by the idea of telling the future.

As a teenager discovering Science Fiction, books about time travel and the time travel paradox (which supposes a person travels to a time before she was born and breaks a causal chain that led to the traveler's birth) were fascinating to me and I read all I could where time travel was the central theme. Any Dr. Who or Robert Heinlein fans out there?

In any event, as I became an adult and interested in marketing, I recognized that it would be tremendously helpful to me to know which products would sell and which wouldn't BEFORE I created them and/or promoted them.

Can you imagine? Like really telling the future...

It took some time and study, experience and a bit of luck,
but I slowly learned that at least when it came to product
sales you COULD tell what was likely to sell.

But there was a specific system to accomplishing this.

No, the system I eventually developed was not 100%
accurate... but it was pretty dog-gone good. Much better
than playing on hunches and totally ruling over simply
guessing.

I began to teach the system to my coaching clients one-on-
one. And They started to see the same success I saw using
the system.

That's when it finally dawned on me, "Hey, this system would
make another great product."

But here's the key...

I didn't just decide to create the product on hunch.

Before I invested time, energy and money into
developing the product I wanted to "know" it would sell.

Well..boda-bing... I used my system and determined that it
would sell -- BIG TIME!

So I pulled the trigger...

I created a way that you too can tell the future. You too
can know if something will sell before you create it or
promote it.

It is an online video dashboard that I call "Knowing It Will
Sell: Creating In Demand Books and Other Info Products"

You can check it out right here -->

http://www.knowingitwillsell.com/

And what can I say?

Don't even think about creating information products like
books, ebooks, membership sites, online videos, CD's, DVD's
or mp3's... until you FIRST determine that they will sell.

Can you imagine the time and hassles you'll save?

This system is easy and doable using free resources... plus
I lay it all out for you step-by-step.

http://www.knowingitwillsell.com/

No more guessing.

No more uncertainty.

As you will soon discover, the world becomes a much rosier
and brighter place when you "know" with a high probability,
if not certainty, that an information product or book will
sell.

So my question for you is: armed with this knowledge what's
in your future?

I look forward to helping you "Tell Your Future",

I have made "Knowing It Will Sell" drop-dead easy.
It's in a video dashboard where you just follow the buttons,
watch the videos and plug in your product ideas into the
free resources I reveal and - presto - out comes the answer.

Is your product a dud or a stud?

Find out --> http://www.knowingitwillsell.com/

This also works for any products you wish to sell as
an affiliate. Yaa-Hoo!

Savvy Cruise Speaker Tips From Lady Carolyn

Here's some great cruise speaker tips from Lady Carolyn who does living history aboard in full period dress. I've embedded one of her great videos below....

Here's her tips:

General tips

1. if like me you can't sleep unless you know what time it is, throw in a small alarm clock, if you like to roll over and see the time, make sure it's electric

2. take a small power strip or 3 way plug. There is usually only one plug for 110 and one for European, this means you have these things fighting for two sockets

• laptop charged
• two camera batteries - yours and your traveling partner
• blow dryer
• curling iron
• two way radios - we use these to keep up with one another on board ship and on shore

3. little calculator- all it needs to do is divide - figure out currency

4. gift to cruise director on board - give the day before the cruise ends, the last day they may be so busy you don't see them

5. MEDICAL INSURANCE - please make sure you are covered


Speakers Tips



1. near the end of the cruise-- your last two talks ask guest to fill out a survey Give a little give, candy, calendar (what I gave, little Victorian one, and it is January beginning of year, this will not work for later as the year may be partly gone. My cruise director wanted to look them over also. Use the feedback, even the ones that are neutral or comments to improve your talks.



2. maybe check out where your ship has been for the last several years, and rearrange your topics accordingly, visit with activities director (you covered this on dashboard, but critical)



3. if an excursion you go on had some problems or it was fantastic, give the feedback to the cruise lines, BUT not as a complaint from you. DO it as a reporter. "Just though thought you might want to know that guests on this excursion were saying or were treated........."



4. Hand out the reminder cards, its helps people get to know you. see my attached example

RCCL - Contract Information

After a few discussions, and a few speaker free cruises we now understand exactly what information the RCCL enrichment coordinator needs for each cruise to satisfy her and enable her to produce the contract for each cruise in a standard format.

To make things easier for the RCCL enrichment coordinator and to speed through the contract process we now give her our information in the following format. If only one of you is speaking she still needs the full name of your companion. Names should be provided exactly as they appear in your passports.


Andrew Donald Johnson and Katharine Johnson

Ship Rhapsody

Date January 13th - 14 Night Australia And New Zealand

Destination Andrew Johnson
Jan 15 - The Cities of New Zealand and Maori Art – The modern urban landscape of New Zealand alongside the culture of the native New Zealanders, illustrated by 100 stunning photos.
Jan 16 - Scenery to Savor – The amazing scenery and the charming people that make up the culture of this outstanding destination
Jan 21 - Wild about New Zealand – A study of the natural beauty and some of the wildlife of this amazing country
Jan 25 - Travel Times – The changing face of travel; from the grand tour of the 19th century to luxury cruising Royal Caribbean style
Jan 26 - New South Wales beyond Sydney and a guide through the use of language and the cultural pitfalls to be avoided when travelling!
Equipment needs - PowerPoint projection facilities (Andrew Johnson brings his own laptop). Projection connection, lectern (or music stand) and roving microphone are required. Andrew Johnson will bring a supply of his book “Under Latin Skies” for sale on board.
E-mail address - Andrew.Johnson (at ) TheStrategicOption.Com

Arts & Crafts Kathy Johnson
Jan 15 - “ Maori Art” Book Mark Souvenir
Jan 16 - Souvenir Picture Frame
Jan 21 - Create your own Maori Art
Jan 25 - Souvenir using Aboriginal fabric
Jan 26 - “ Aussie” Fridge Magnet
Equipment needs – tables and chairs in a room with seating for up to 40 participants
E-mail address - kathy (at ) johnsonsuk.com

Does Your Office Look Like This?

As we watch yet another snowstorm hit Ontario tonight, we drift back to our "office" at sea. Sometimes you will speak in a conference room but sometimes in a beautiful lounge surronded by windows looking out over the sea. Can you imagine speaking in this lounge with fun people in the middle of a green blue sea with temperatures that are actually warm? You can, by following Daniel's advice. We did and now enjoy all of this because of him. Go ahead be sure to sign up for Daniels terrific coach prograam, it is filled with priceless knowledge. Happy Cruising.

Antigua

One of our favourite ports beautiful and colourful Antigua. In the past 18th months 4 visits thanks to your system Daniel!

On Board Photos

Hi Daniel, Here is a tip for all the members of the club. When you are onboard you will have an opportunity to have many pictures taken by professional photographers. These are free sittings! We choose to participate in every opportunity for a professional shot. The really great ones are the casual photos like the one we have here.

This one photo cost us peanuts compared to going for a sitting here not to mention the time out of our busy day.

We highly recommend you take advantage of this terrific tool for your business.

Free Copy - How To Pick A Shopping Cart That Makes You Money

Can the shopping cart you use actually make you money?

You bet!

As many of you know I do a lot of my business online. Having a powerful and reliable shopping cart is absolutely critical to success. That's why I have put out a new Amazon book with my friend Tom Antion entitled "How To Pick A Shopping Cart That Make You Money" and you have two options to get the book.

Either you can order it from Amazon below:



Or you can get a free digital version of it as my special gift to you at this link.

How To Pick a Shopping Cart That Makes You Money

Really. Get this book it will open your eyes and put more money in your pocket if you're selling online.

Report from "The Bridge"

We are just home in Spain from a month "Down Under", where we completed back to back cruises around Australia & New Zealand on board Rhapsody of the Seas. Thank you Daniel!!

I was the "Destination" speaker and Kathy ran the craft classes. We both played to capacity crowds - over 40 in every craft class and full theatres for my talks. The link (http://www.craftycruising.com/) shows you some of Kathy's participants at her classes. She had great Aboriginal and Maori themed asctivities as well as the usual bon voyage and cruising items. The feedback was mind blowing - great, positive and unanimous critique.

My talks were based around my standard cultural observation material enhanced with some talks specific to the cruise - Wild about New Zealand, the Lands of Captain James Cook etc. But these are all helping me to develop some new themes around explorers and the silk road for future cruises.

We had wonderful itineraries, great travelling companions and superb support from the staff and officers.

But the highlight was an invitation from the Captain, who we've met on several RCCL cruises before, to give commentaries from the bridge over the PA as we sailed through the fjords of the southern sounds, and a few days later for the evening cruise around volcanic White Island.

After a little rapid research I had some excellent material for these talks. After the first day up there the captain thanked me publicly over the PA fsystem or my "well informed talks" which "made the day for everyone". And on the final night as he gave his farewell to each sitting at dinner in the main restaurant he commended the crew and thanked me once again - saying "I personally very much enjoyed the excellent commentaries of Mr Andrew Johnson as we sailed through the Southern Sounds and around White Island".

Our contact on board and the cruise director were both superb. They both kept in contact with us throughout and reacted positively to every request or suggestion. My talks were broadcast on the stateroom TVs - I was on two channels at once for a few days! And the technical team gave me a DVD copy to bring with me.

So now we are preparing for our next - a Transatlantic on board Navigator of the Seas in April.

As Daniel knows we were sceptical about his promise at first. But a year on let me tell you it works for us!! He and his service have exceeded the promises. Long may you continue my friend.

[Videocast] Want 1,000 paying members? Watch it happen...

Completely Free Videocast Exclusively For You No One Else
Has Access This Thursday (Tomorrow) Night!

What would it mean to your business if you had 1,000
customers sending you MONTHLY payments for your own
membership site?

When I hear those kinds of numbers being thrown around on
salesletters, I'm always skeptical. I can't help it, it just sounds
"too good to be true".

Well, someone has made a believer out of me. He's not only
broken the 1,000 paying member barrier once ... but he's
done it TWICE!

And, get this: both times it took less than two weeks
without any "product launch" or "guru partners" lined up to
pull this off.

What's more, he's prepared a videocast that teaches exactly
how he did it ... and I've got you a FREE pass to watch it
with absolutely no strings attached.

** Don't have a membership site? Don't worry! He's also
gonna show you how to have your own original
membership site up and running within 48 hours! (I
used this same technique to launch a very successful
site.)

Block off some time for tomorrow *Thursday* night (January
29th @ 8PM CST, 9PM EST, 7PM MST, 6PM PST),to join me and
Jimmy D. Brown for an "exclusive" presentation.

No one else is allowed in except for MY VIP subscribers and
customers ... it's our night to get special treatment! :-)

It's completely free and you can view it all online with
no telephone calls or charges of any kind.

Get all the details at http://www.RapidFireResidual.com/dh/

During this breakthrough event you'll discover...

-- How to get 1,000 cash-in-hand, paying subscribers for
your membership site even if you don't have "guru"
friends to help you with a "product launch".

-- How to setup your own membership site in just 2 days if
you don't already have one of your own. (His wife, who
has absolutely ZERO experience setup one by following
this simple plan ... he'll show you how.)

Again, you can grab all of the details and register for this
event at http://www.RapidFireResidual.com/dh/

We're excited about you joining us as Jimmy shares some
meaty information with you on Thursday night.

Once you register he has a specially prepared PDF
for you to download for your videocast "curriculum". It's a
fill-in-the-blanks guide to help you make the most of the
videocast.

Barb & Bill are Approved To Cruise Free On Yet Another World-Class Cruise Line: Princess

When your hot your hot... and Bill and Barb Johnson are smokin' just got this email from them. Keep in mind they are already approved on Royal Caribbean.


Hi – hope it is warm & sunny there – a little frigid here in Canada today – which is why we are excited to let you know that we just booked on Princess Cruise Lines for a cruise for New England/Canada (which we specifically asked for). Again Daniel – all thanks to you. We followed up with your contact at Princess (what a great guy!) from that email you sent to him about us months ago and we were approved yesterday for a 7-day cruise in September.

Just wanted to let you know – good luck with your “Celebrity” meeting – hope it goes well

Live Life Dynamically!

Barb

Barb Johnston

The Centre For Applied Human Dynamics

www.dynamics4u.com

If you're interested in Bill and Barb's background check out their site at http://www.dynamics4u.com/

Great job you two!

I'm Ready For The Celebrity Cruise Line Visit

For those of you who read this blog but are not members of the Speakers Cruise Free Coaching Club let me briefly tell you what's going on.

I recently made contact with the new enrichment coordinator for Celebrity Cruise Lines. We set up a conference and ended up communicating at length about how we may be able to help each other. That conference call went great! As a consequence of that call the Celebrity enrichment coordinator and I decided it would be very productive for us to meet to further and more fully develop the terms of our working relationship. Thus, the Celebrity enrichment coordinator is flying out to Corpus Christi tomorrow to further our discussions. Of course, it is my belief that because of the high caliber of speaker the Club attracts that we will be placing many speakers within the Celebrity enrichment program in the months and years to come.

This business of placing speakers in cruise enrichment programs like all business is based on the foundation of a mutually beneficial relationships. I have spent years cultivating and nurturing my relationship with the cruise lines on the behalf of members in the Club. This current opportunity with Celebrity is no different.

Some of you may recall last March when I hosted a cocktail party for enrichment coordinators at the Miami SeaTrade Convention. During that party which turned out to be a raging success I gave away gift baskets filled with books, CD's, DVD's and art produced my Club members. See this post. The gift giving worked as all but two people who contributed to that gift bag got approved to cruise free.

Hence, when I received confirmation that the Celebrity coordinator was flying out for a dinner meeting I instantly got an email out to Club members advising them that I was putting together another gift bag for this meeting. Hint: This is one of the many reasons why you may want to become a Club member because I'm always striving to make these opportunities available for Club members.

In any event, I sent word out to my Club members to send their books and other information products for inclusion in the gift bag. The materials have come pouring in over the last several days and the bag became a new Kenneth Cole overnight bag. See pictures.

Want to be on the inside of opportunities as they present themselves?

Get in the Club!

Your Cruise Speaker Contact in Roatan, Honduras

I received this email from Roatan radio station owner and talk show host Bruce Starr. Word to the wise if you are cruising into Roatan...

Hi Daniel,

I am very impressed by your blog. What a great idea. I hope to be able to take advantage of it soon.


I say soon because I am the first and only English speaking (non-religious) talk radio show host in the Western Caribbean. My station The Wave 101.1 FM is also the first of its kind in the region.


I have been on the air since 2003 and for an outsider (someone born in NY), I could be considered an expert on Roatan and The Bay Islands, one of the hottest tourist destinations in the Caribbean.


My talk show is heard daily from 9 am to 1 pm. At 11 am, I usually do interviews when I have guests available.


I would love to connect with speakers when they come down here to be on the show. I am located only 15 minutes from the dock. I could arrange taxi service for them to come to the station and even show them around when they are here.


I was a member of the National Speakers Association for many years back in the 90's. My subject was relationships, romantic, spiritual, business or just how to get along with anyone. I spoke around North America. I enjoyed it.


Please let me know if you could set me up on your blog to let speakers know I am here. many speakers may even remember me. Please visit my website...roatanbruce.com to learn more about me or just e-mail me at roatanbruce@yahoo.com.


Looking forward to hearing from you.
Bruce

Cruise Speakers Video Postcards

A Cruise Speaker Post Script

A cruise post script from Club member and Australian bestselling author Liliane Grace:

I first heard about Daniel's 'Speakers Cruise Free' opportunity when he was interviewed by Carolyn McCormack in about April 2008, and I was instantly intrigued and keen. I had long wanted to cruise, so this was a telecall that I really paid attention to. I signed up, read the ebook, and started listening to his telecalls. Eventually I had my one-on-one coaching session with Daniel and I found him to be very helpful.

Some months later when the opportunity arose to participate in the Speakers Directory, I sent my first draft material through and then called Daniel to check on some point or other. Imagine my delight when he said, "You've got good timing. I need someone who can depart Sydney - can you?" Being Melbourne-based, Sydney is only one hour away by plane, and I instantly said yes. The opportunity was only about 6 weeks hence so it was all systems go with making my sample video and checking out the cruise itineraries etc. And all of this was happening during the most intense time in my working life than ever.

Before I knew it I was booked as a Guest Lecturer on Rhapsody of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship heading to New Caledonia and Vanuatu for 10 nights. I don't think I quite believed it until my contract arrived by email - or maybe until I was heading to Sydney with my guest (my sister, Yvette), and cases brimming with summer clothes and books and support material for my presentations...

And then it was just a series of "WOWs!" for 10 days. WOW! at the sight of the ship when we arrived at the dock (running late after a series of mishaps, only to find that the ship had had their own system breakdown and they were backlogged with guests, so it turned out okay that we were late). WOW! as we donned our life jackets for the routine evacuation drill and packed together with all guests on the promenade deck under the life boats. WOW! as we explored the ship that evening. (I'm a dancer, and discovering four dance floors and live bands and then realising that we would be able to attend live Las Vegas quality shows each night was awesome!) WOW! as we enjoyed our first meal onboard - absolutely delicious, and so much of it! and all free!!!! WOW! as we fell asleep that first night in our tiny inside cabin in pitch blackness, being gently rocked by the seas... Then WOW! as I took an early morning walk surrounded by blue skies and endless seas, and literally felt tears of gratitude in my eyes. When my sister joined me she was almost having to pinch herself to make sure this wasn't all a dream.

More WOWS! The endless buffet breakfast, the pool and jogging track on Deck 9... Heading to Conference Room #4 to run my first session (Beginner French) at 10 am. So many people turned up that we had to call for more chairs, and this became a pattern for each of my sessions. In fact, by the final session on Day 10, we had people sitting on the floor, standing at the back, and literally unable to get into the room! It was an absolute blast! I felt very special as guests stopped me throughout the cruise to thank me for my various classes, and I was delighted that I was able to sell all the books I had taken on board (being a self-published author).

The cruise staff were all wonderful and helpful (especially the Store Manager, when I first submitted prices for my books in Aussie Dollars, forgetting that they should be in US$). My books were displayed on the store counter just as Daniel had promised. I was rapt - even though it was the liquor counter and I was wondering how many people would look for kids' books there... (But they all sold!)

I was amazed by how many seasoned cruisers there were - people who have cruised five or ten - as many as 99 times! Here's to that. My first cruise was a wonderful adventure and I am looking forward to doing it again many times, and to bringing my children and husband. (In fact, when my daughters were watching a movie a few nights ago that was set on a ship, I found myself feeling homesick for life on board ship...) So THANK YOU, DANIEL! for providing a bridge into this tremendous new world.

Speakers Cruise Free - Doc Brown Signing Off - Home Sweet Home.jpg

Final Entry: What a mind blower folks! That was the trip of my life. My first cruise ever in my life ends up being FREE for 16 days of bliss.

All thanks to Daniel Hall and Speakers Cruise Free!

I was aboard Royal Caribbean International's Splendour of the Seas on a Brazilian coast cruise for 16 days now signing off blog on Day 16+1 of my 16 day cruise!

-Doc Brown

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Cruise Speaker Update From The Southern Seas

This update comes from Andrew & Kathy Johnson who are currently cruising the Southern Seas around Australia and New Zealand.

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Kathy & I are just on the final day of our back to back itinerary around Australia and New Zealand. I talk “destinations” and Kathy is running really exciting locally pertinent craft classes. Today every attendee left with an original canvas Aboriginal style acrylic – that they had painted.



There were some outstanding – and very accurate pieces. The programme manager on board was most impressed by the excitement that Kathy shares with her classes, and by the originality and relevance of the materials she uses and the end result.



I have had great audiences for my “Lands of Captain James Cook” and “So Just Who Did Discover Australia” talks. The questions have been great and the word has spread. The back to back passengers have asked me what topics I’ll cover on the next (14 night) cruise. I have 5 more planned – each one supported by up to 100 fantastic images, supplied, together with descriptive text, by the tourist offices – what a great resource.



Sales of my book are running well. We’re getting the hang of it. A few complimentary copies to the store manager, entertainments manager, program manager – and of course the captain – guarantee plenty of great plugs. And of course signing after every craft class and talk catches a few more. You can buy your copy on Amazon.Com or at www.figleaf.org It’s a great, gentle read.



And while we are away we are building our new websites – www.cruiseimprove.com and www.craftycruising.com. We are now on a roll. 5 cruises over the first 12 months, in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Transatlantic. As Daniel knows I was openly sceptical of his offering originally. Now, like most of you, Kathy & I are active advocates. What a wonderful way to see the world, in luxury, and for just our air fare.

Cruise Speaker Dashboard

It's finally here! The Cruise Speaker Dashboard!

As many of you know my son Jamey and I did a 12-day Med cruise with two side trips to Paris and Amsterdam this past summer.

While there I shot tons of video describing EXACTLY what to do once you're approved as a cruise speaker. I then took the best of that video and organized it into this first ever Cruise Speaker Dashboard (see picture insert).

I mean everything you need to succeed once you've been approved is described in the Dashboard. From traveling so you arrive rested, to signing onto the ship and setting up your presentations; from ingratiating yourself with the cruise director's staff to making sure you get great evaluations from your audience. The entire ACTUAL cruise speaker experience is described and outlined so you, the new cruise speaker, can maximize the opportunity.

In fact, Jamey(my camera man) and I shot these videos on location in Houston, Barcelona, Florence, Rome, Venice, Dubrovnik, Croatia, Monaco, Paris and Amsterdam. It was an absolute BLAST! And we captured some great video tips that will help you succeed once you're approved.

The Dashboard is only available to members of the Speakers Cruise Free Coaching Club. So if you're a member you've got to go check it out ESPECIALLY if you have a cruise scheduled soon.

And if you haven't yet been approved to cruise free as an enrichment speaker then you need my Speak on Cruise Ships program.

Effectively, the Speak on Cruise Ships program shows people how to get approved in the first instance and now the Cruise Speaker Dashboard lays out how to capitalize on the opportunity so the speaker gets invited back.... again and again and again.

If you're already in the Club log-in to the Club site and access the Dashboard under the "Resources" tab. If, however, you're not yet a member I suggest you get in now .

Speakers Cruise Free - Red Alert - Splendour of the Seas

Speaking Tip: in yesteryears the scourge of the seas was pirates. Today its the Norway Virus.

Think of it as Montezuma's Revenge on the high seas.

Last week a competitor, and inferior, line to Royal Caribbean here in Brazil had an outbreak making 200+ passengers violently ill on MSC cruises. That initiated a yellow alert on Splendour, the highest rated line in South America, in part BECAUSE they are so careful about the Norway virus.

Royal had a family with similar symptoms returning from shore in Buenos Aires. It's almost certainly from a bad restaurant but the crew acted immediately moving to red alert and placing the family in quarantine.

This photo is of the hand sanitation station all over the ship they require EVERYONE to use!

These kinds of first world quality and sanitation standard have made Royal Caribbean the most popular cruise among Brazilians.

I'm aboard Royal Caribbean International's Splendour of the Seas on the southern Brazilian coast on Day 16 of my 16 day cruise!

-Doc Brown

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Speakers Cruise Free - Ilhabela - Splendour of the Seas in Clouds

Speakers Tip: In the last few days of an 8 day or longer cruise you can spend more time one-on-one with guests who want to learn more by offering to create a club around your topic. For instance I have been able to help more English speakers have more fun by creating an English speaking club. You do this by talking it over with your cruise director.

I'm aboard Royal Caribbean International's Splendour of the Seas on the southern Brazilian coast on Day 15 of my 16 day cruise!

-Doc Brown

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Speakers Cruise Free - The New Village People - Splendour of the Seas

Speakers Tip: Respect the Cruise Director! A cruise director works 6 months straight with no days off coordinating up to 300 events onboard daily. The position requires such dedication that directors frequently forego family events such as weddings, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Baptisms because of the honor of becoming a cruise director.

That's Leo Papa in the sailor uniform at 1 AM. He's the Cruise Director of the Splendour of the Seas. Considering the fact that I met with him at 9:30 AM, you do the math on his work load, stamina, and dedication. That's why I call Leonardo Papa the Cruise Director Extraordinaire!!!

I'm aboard Royal Caribbean International's Splendour of the Seas on the southern Brazilian coast on Day 14 of my 16 day cruise!

-Doc Brown

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Cruise Speaker Medical Insurance

Lady Carolyn Loftis is a cruise speaker who sent in the following tip from a cruise she is speaking on now...

Make sure you have good medical coverage before you go. How to invoice your insurance company or the travel insurance you may have bought.. The ship will NOT bill any insurance company so make sure you have a large enough credit card to cover the expenses when you leave the ship.A sample bill --- 3.5 hours in sick bay IV fluids, IV antibiotic, pain medicine, medication to take after leaving sick bay (antibiotic and Ibuprofen) $1,233.00

Having a great time traveling to and through Panama
Carolyn
www.ladycarolyn.com


Thanks for the tip Lady Carolyn. I have listed one travel insurance company link below.

Speakers Cruise Free - Punta del Este - Splendour Of The Seas

SPEAKING TIP: Group and layer your on-board presentations. My presentations are in two groups:

1. Language
2. Foreign Culture

Cruise Director Leo Papa has requested language classes. This has given me the opportunity to layer within that group.

Initially I had:

-Portuguese for Americans
-Spanish for Americans
-English for Brazilians

Now I have layered in two new language courses. Both involve more complicated grammatical treatment:

-Portuguese for Hispanics
-Spanish for Brazilians

This gives me a stronger enrichment offering in the future.

I'm aboard Royal Caribbean International's Splendour of the Seas on the northern Brazilian coast on Day 13 of my 16 day cruise!

-Doc Brown

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Speakers Cruise Free - Buenos Aires Cityscape - Slendour of the Seas

SPEAKING TIP: Use the time on your first voyage wisely. There are a number of onboard lectures that are best developed overseas. Books on a foriegn country and language materials are much more accessible when ashore in the target country of your talk(s).

Also you have direct contact with the cruise director as a guest speaker. This gives you the rare opportunity to listen intently to additional lectures he or she would like to have in the future.

For instance I am developing a new talk entitled Portuguese for Spanish Speakers "Portugues Para Epanolhablantes" as per the desire of Splendour of the Seas Cruise Director extraordinaire Leo Papa!

I'm aboard Royal Caribbean International's Splendour of the Seas on the northern Brazilian coast on Day 12 of my 16 day cruise!

-Doc Brown

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Pizza & Beer in Buenos Aires

SPEAKING TIP: Guest speaking and alcohol. Always remember that you are a respected expert when aboard. If you are in formal dining and everyone at the table is having a glass of beer and wine by all means feel free to do so as well...but only one.

DO NOT meet at or hang around the bar. You are expected to behave in a manner expected of an intellectual, of which, drunken debauchery is not included. If getting drunk on-board cruise ships is your game, guest speaking is not for you!

Also...

The pizza ROCKS in Buenos Aires!

I'm aboard Royal Caribbean International's Splendour of the Seas on the northern Brazilian coast on Day 11 of my 16 day cruise!

-Doc Brown

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Cruise Speakers With Their Families: Roatan, Cozumel, Costa Maya

First, a big thank you to Doc Brown for his roving reports on his first 14-day Brazilian cruise as cruise ship speaker. Excellent tips.

In coming months you'll be seeing reports from other SCF speakers as they cruise the world in luxury - free - just for using their mouths and sharing their hobbies, passions and interests as enrichment speakers. (If you haven't yet signed up for my Speak on Cruise Ships program you can do that here).

Now on to today's post...

I have not written a bunch on the subject of cruise speakers bringing their family with them. Usually, I speak about how cruise speakers get to bring one traveling companion with them who also cruises for free. But if you wish for more than one other person to cruise with you, you'll probably have to buy another cabin.

If this is the case, my advice is to:

1. Ask your cruise line contact whether the cruise line has any in-house travel agencies who can usually get you the best deal.

2. If the particular cruise line you're working with doesn't have an inhouse agency then it is best to find a cabin with a cruise consolidator who buys blocks of cabins at a large discount and then resells them at cut rates.

You might try CruiseDirect -CruiseDirect.com Home Page" src="http://www.tqlkg.com/image-2046851-9938947" width=100 border=0> or even Luxury Cruising at Travelocity.com


Either way you'll spend MUCH less on your cruise even if you have to buy another cabin. At least the cost of two passengers will be covered by your enrichment activities.


This last Sunday I returned home from a cruise with my wife Lanette and two sons Jeremy (Jem) and Jamey. I have uploaded a bunch of those pictures for you below. We cruised out of Galveston for Roatan, Honduras, Cozumel, Mexico and Costa Maya, Mexico. It was wonderful and we had blast both on and off the ship. Check it out...




We cruised on Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas. When it was launched back in 1999 it was the largest cruise ship in the world. As such it has tons of extra features that most of the smaller vessels do not, ice skating for example. Here Jem gets ready to strut his stuff on the onboard rink. Yes, it is real ice.

And if ice skating isn't your thing you can try your hand at inline skating on the Voyager's outdoor track. Here Jamey (the consummate family athlete) does his thing. Oh, and you don't have to worry about bringing skates with you. The Voyager has a full stock of both ice and inline skates available for your use.

Here Jamey scales the rock climbing wall. Most of RCL's ships have this feature and it sure is nice to have activities like this when you have your children along.

Another unique onboard activity is a production ice show. One of the cool benefits of cruise speaking is all the little perks you get. For example, I got 4 VIP tickets to the ice show. (Start getting your perks.)


The show was fabulous, too. Most of the performers are from Russia. We were talking to a few of them and they told us that they had to practice months before actually arriving onboard on a tiny rink (the size they had on the ship). Once they perfected their performance on a much smaller than regulation rink they applied to skate for RCL.







Along with the extra activities like ice and inline skating and rock climbing RCL also offers more traditional activities like ice carving demonstrations. Here Jem poses with a swan ice sculpture that was created from a huge block of ice in 6 minutes!



Most of the master ice carvers come from the Philippines. The art is past down from generation to generation and it takes 8 years of apprenticeship to become a master carver. Hmm... master carver or law school? Its about the same time commitment after High School.








The ice carver also does all the other food carvings onboard. I thought that this was particularly adorable rabbit carver from a water melon.

Of course, almost all cruise ships have swimming pools. But comparatively few have...

...onboard water slides. Yes, that's me with arms flaying as I slip slide away.

Of course, fine dining is big part of your onboard experience. Here the family and I pose for a photo on the first of three formal nights.

Jem and I in the dining room. I believe this is on New Year's eve. Our waiters were great. Every night they had a glass of chocolate milk on the table for my Jem before we arrived. Jem was only allowed to drink it after finishing his vegetables (our rule, not the waiters).

Lanette and I under a moonlit sky. Jamey took this picture while we're out on deck playing a game of shuffle board. That's the other thing about cruise speaking because you essentially only work one hour on each sea day you have tons of extra time to bond with family.

Jamey and I goofing on one another.

Jamey has quite the photographic eye. On my cruises I take lots of promotional shots for future products and services. I thought I'd share this goofy shot taken on the helipad at the bow of the ship. Maybe I'll use it for a product called "Cruise Crazy". What do you think?

Of course, while the onboard activities are wonderful I love to cruise because I love to visit new places. Here Lanette and I take time out for a Cerveza Fria as I enjoy a fine Honduran cigar. On Roatan (an island 31 miles off the coast of Honduras) the family and I snorkeled a ship wreck. It was tons of fun...

Roatan has an interesting history. It was once a part of British Honduras (now Belize) but became a part of Honduras when Belize became independent. Subsequently, most everyone on the island is bilingual English/Spanish and most all the signs are in English.

We also made a stop in Costa Maya where we spent the day on the beach. Toward the end of the day showers broke out and a double rainbow broke out over our ship. Can you see them?

Apropos for my profession in cruise speaker education don't you think?

Oh yeah, and every night your state room attendant will leave little critters like this bat for you.












I'd really like to help you with becoming approved as an enrichment speaker. The first step is getting my Speak on Cruise Ships program and becoming a member of the Speakers Cruise Free Coaching Club.

Also, if you are already a member I want to remind you about the special training we have coming up on January 28 on becoming an enrichment speaker with the specialty line Cruise West. Watch your email for another reminder.

Sea Day Enroute To Buenos Aires on Splendour of the Seas

SPEAKING TIP: Be a connector. Some people want to cruise quietly to themselves but many eagerly want social interaction. As a guest speaker you are in the unique position of knowing many people because of your presentations.

Always remember that it is your duty to help the cruise director enhance the experience of paying guests. A simple way is to go to seated dining after requesting to be seated with people your talks cater to.

In my case I would normally sit with a table of Brazilians to chat about life in Portuguese. Of course, that would not help the Americans on board learn about and embrace Brazilian culture - the friendliest and most hospitable in the world.

As such, I requested a table of Americans. They ask me many questions about Brazil and we have integrated the conversation with a Brazilian accountant from Salvador who also wants to learn more English.

The short and sweet of it is that you should wake up every thinking of ways to help the cruise director without getting in his or her way. Stay out of the crew's way but help wherever possible inter connecting the passengers you connect with!

I'm aboard Royal Caribbean International's Splendour of the Seas on the northern Brazilian coast on Day 10 of my 16 day cruise!

-Doc Brown

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Speakers Cruise Free - Portobelo, Brazil

Speakers Tip: America used to be the strongest middle class economy. International services were geared to attract and retain American demand.

This meant that foreigners had to adapt to American culture...a concept we readily and arrogantly accepted. Today Brazil has a wealthy middle class with more discretionary income than the US middle class.

Because of this, South American routes are 90% foreign tourists - in the case of the cruise I am speaking on...Brazilians.

This creates a problem for American cruise lines that are now forced to cater to Brazilians to attract and retain their vacation spending power. Americans are angered when they find themselves in the awkward position of adapting to an alien society on vacation...ironically something they thought nothing of forcing expatriates and foreign tourists to do over prior decades.

This creates an opportunity for language and foreign culture speakers as the cruise lines seek low cost ways to integrate the now minority participation aboard cruise ships into all the fun given in a non-English language. Word of warning though. This is the big boys sand box where you have to be tight on your language and culture game or you won't be invited back.

-------

The photo is from my BALCONY! I was upgraded last night by surprise to a Junior Suite moving from the 3rd to the 8th floor! I'm aboard Royal Caribbean International's Splendour of the Seas on the northern Brazilian coast on Day 9 of my 16 day cruise!

-Doc Brown

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Speakers Cruise Free - Santos.jpg

Speaker's tip: Santos is the port that serves Sao Paulo and is where cruises in Brazil begin. If you are doing a back-to-back you will be staying aboard.

I don't recommend you leave ship on the transition day from one week to the next. If you do you will have to wait in the very large line to get back on.

I'm aboard Royal Caribbean International's Splendour of the Seas on the northern Brazilian coast on Day 9 of my 16 day cruise!

-Doc Brown

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Day 8 - Ilhabela

Speaker Tip - Sometimes the ship has to anchor and ferry people back and forth from shore. If there are a lot of people going ashore the line to the lower really backs up. Ship policy in these situations is that the employees have to wait. As a guest lecturer you SHOULD wait too...no biggee...just go to the pool or have a cup of tea or coffee in the buffet watching the incredible view until the lines die down!

I'm aboard Royal Caribbean International's Splendour of the Seas on the northern Brazilian coast on Day 7 of my 14 day cruise!

-Doc Brown

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IMG00352-20090101-2223.jpg

Guest Speaking Tip: If you are on a country immersion experience where all programming is in a foreign language and culture... with a predominance of foreign nationals (in this case Brazilian Portuguese)... make sure you get the cruise schedule in all available languages. If you speak the foreign language you will probably get the foreign schedule which may not list your talk. So get all schedules in all languages at the pursers desk to confirm your talk!

It ABBA night in the lizard lounge rocking away aboard Royal Caribbean International's Splendour of the Seas on the northern Brazilian coast on Day 7 of my 14 day cruise!

-Doc Brown

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The Streets of Copacabana

Speaker Tip: If you are a language based speaker pay attention to American families who want to self explore port towns. Offer to go with them to keep them from getting ripped off, mugged, or otherwise harmed as easy targets for ne'er do wells.

Aboard Royal Caribbean International's Splendour of the Seas on the northern Brazilian coast in Rio de Janeiro on Day 6.

-Doc Brown

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Speakers Cruise Free - Doc Brown at the table with Captain Tommy Nyseter

All Points Bulletin: Gringo Spotted at Captain's Table!

Cruising FREE aboard Royal Caribbean International's Splendour of the Seas on the northern Brazilian coast in Salvador de Baia on Day 5 of my 14 day FREE cruise!

-Doc Brown

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