In 1988 following the first of two nine-month periods living and traveling ‘Downunder,’ the direction of Beth Foggin’s life journey was significantly altered. Through subsequent pursuits, she has returned to the South Pacific over forty times even while enlarging her horizons to include yet other destinations.

‘Tourism’ was even part of the multi-disciplinary PhD in Applied Social Sciences from the Université de Montréal. Beth’s research led to co-authoring with two Australian colleagues a report commissioned by the United Nations’ ESCAP office concerning “Barrier Free Tourism in the Asia Pacific Region.” A regional course she developed on The Pacific offered at U. de M. proved popular as have talks in university extension programmes and local history clubs on yet other destinations.

The first cruise-ship assignment in February 2005 was for an Australia segment of a World Voyage. Since then, lectures on numerous other world-wide destinations have been added to her repertoire.

In her presentations, Beth enthusiastically faces the challenge said to be of an historian - ‘to bring the dead to life’ – as she explores with her audience various aspects of the socio-cultural history of a region, a city, a cultural group or of a specific individual. Every presentation is adapted to each specific itinerary. Some have been offered in French when Beth is a tour leader with private groups of French-speaking guests.

With her passion for life-long learning, even the extensive preparation is a pleasure. Beth firmly believes that travel can be an enriching experience at any life-stage as one learns about and from other people and places, thereby exploring and expanding one’s literal and metaphorical horizons! Many guests have said that her obvious enjoyment for what she does helps her to successfully meet that challenge of “bringing the dead to life.”

At the end of a recent cruise, the activity manager wrote : "Thank you again for all your hard work on this cruise! The guests absolutely loved you and your presentations!"

Beth FOGGIN Topics /Descriptions of ‘Destination-related’ PPT presentations

The following is a selection of ‘Destination-related’ lecture topics / descriptions already given by Beth FOGGIN from February 2005 to July 2019. A few are ‘work- in-progress’ for future cruises. More topics are available upon request.


1) Explorers, Circumnavigators and other Unique Lives - Biographic sketches of well-known historical figures or less-known yet extra-‘ordinary’ people usually relate to more than one destination – but are adapted as needed to place more emphasis on destinations featured on a specific itinerary.

A few examples .below with more available on request :

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875). An avid traveler in his imagination as well as in reality, who believed that ”to travel is to live...” or (Denmark, Continental Europe)

Willem Barents (1550-1597 and Henry Hudson (1570-1611). Two men in quest of an Arctic passage to the East.
(England, Netherlands, Russia, Norway, Arctic)

Frances Barkley (1769-1845). The amazing voyage of a teenage bride, the first known English woman to circumnavigate the globe. (England, Belgium, India, Hawaii, North America/West Coast, Round The World )

Vitus Bering, (1681-1741). The Danish explorer who helped Russia stake claims in Russia Alaska.
(Baltic, Russia, Alaska)

Norman Bethune (1890-1939). The Canadian surgeon who aided the Republican cause in the Spanish Civil War later became an honored hero in China as well. (Canada, Spain, China)

Sir Peter Blake (1948 – 2001). The legendary Kiwi yachtsman had a passion for the future of our world.
(New Zealand, Amazon, England, Antarctic, RTW)

Cabot, Cartier and Champlain. Canada’s Triple Cs. Early Europeans who came looking for a passage to the Orient. (England, France, Canada)

James Cook (1728- 1779). When Captain Cook came calling. A significant player in the history of Canada as well as in the South Pacific (Eastern and Western Canada, South and North Pacific, RTW, Tahiti, Hawaii)

Thomas Cook (1808-1892). A young teetotaler Baptist minister who helped launch the modern tourism industry.
(UK, Europe, Egypt/Suez, ‘Lands of the Bible’, RTW)

Father Damien (1840-1889) Politics and Public Health in Hawaii. The story of Molokai and the ‘leper priest.’
(Belgium, Hawaii, USA)

Simon Fraser (1776-1862) and Alexander Mackenzie (1764-1820) Great Scots! Two explorers and the mighty Canadian rivers named for them. (Canada, Scotland, fur trade)

Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Seeking peace, perspective and prosperity in a Polynesian Paradise
(French Polynesia, France, Peru)

Gudrid (980 - ?) The intrepid Norse woman explorer known as the ‘far-traveller’.
(Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, Viking Era)

Henry Hudson (1570-1611). The man, his mission and the indelible imprint he left behind in North America
(UK, Netherlands, NY, Hudson Bay, Russia/North East Passage)

Washington Irving (1783-1859). An American writer who became a Spanish icon. (Spain, NY)

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903). From the Caribbean to France, he helped father a cultural, artistic revolution.
(Caribbean, France)

Knud Rasmussen (1879-1933). Danish Greenlander. Arctic Explorer. Ethnographer. Raconteur. A life well-lived.
(Denmark, Greenland, Arctic coast of NA)

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894). From Scotland to his Treasured Islands of the South Pacific
(Scotland, South Pacific, Hawaii, California)

George Vancouver (1757-1798) A veteran of Cpt Cook’s last two voyages, he returned to the North Pacific on a 4-yr diplomatic and exploratory mission.

2) ‘Portraits from (various destinations/regions of the world)’ These presentations discuss the history, culture or environment of a region, country or city but may also ‘paint a picture’ of a specific event, person or theme associated with the particular geographical area on the itinerary. More available upon request

Portraits from the Iberian Peninsula/Mediterranean/ Atlantic Islands.
1. Macaronesia. The ‘Blessed Islands’ include the Azores, Madeira, Canary & Cape Verde Islands
2. Portugal : A short history of a small country that became a global force in the 1500s.
3. Looking at the history of Spain through different lenses and sites – World Heritage sites

Portraits from Scandinavia / Baltic / Northern Europe
1.The pirate raids of 1627 – An Icelandic story of survival despite seemingly insurmountable odds.
2. A Dutch Treat. Enjoying some of the bounty of the Golden Age of the Dutch
3. Abel Tasman, Henry Hudson and William Adams helped establish Dutch connections around the world
4. A Revolutionary era that left lasting Impressions in the world of art. Monet , Pissarro, Gauguin, Renoir, Degas, and others were there.

Portraits from United Kingdom and Ireland
1. Southampton : A pivotal port through the ages. A ‘Gateway to the World’
2 Grace O’Malley, a legendary Irish ‘Pirate Queen’
3. The Lighthouse Stevensons and Robert Louis as well

Portraits from North America
1. Anne of Green Gables - a Canadian icon based in PEI.
2. Betwixt and between. The tragedy and the triumph of Acadians caught between imperial powers
3. When the Russians moved not North but East – to Alaska
4. Champlain. Visionary Father of New France

Portraits from Caribbean / Bermuda /Mexico /Central America/ South America
1. The Great Game. How the West (the West Indies) was Won – or Lost, depending on one’s perspective.
2. New Spain - Roots and Routes Spreading to South, Central and North America and all the way westward to Asia!
3. Argentina. A little history of the country that gave birth to some internationally known icons and inventions
4. Stories from the Amazonian rainforest.

Portraits from Asia, India, SE Asia, China, Japan
1.. Britannia’s attempts to rule not only the waves but global trade as well. The East India Company was there!
2. A Scottish Samurai made his home in Japan.
3. The stories of two young shipwrecked Japanese sailors and the American Commodore who forced open the doors of Japan

Portraits from Australia NZ, Hawaii, So Pacific islands
1. The Spanish, Dutch and early English players make their moves in The Great Game in the Pacific.
2. A most unwelcome arrival to Australian shores in 1840 by Canadian and American political prisoners
3. Taste Sensations Downunder – an historic and socio-cultural exploration of the culinary experience
4. Hawaii’s Politics and Public Health. The story of Molokai, past and present

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.