Former UN organisation official, former French Appeals Court sworn translator.

Born in 1950, Francis Huriet was a precocious cruise passenger as he embarked for his first transatlantic crossing at the age of four, on his way to Japan !

Son of a French diplomat and novel writer, Francis lived in several countries as a child and teenager: Portugal, England, Japan (3 stays) and Italy. This was a good opportunity to learn foreign languages and he speaks Japanese and Italian as well as English and French (mother-tongue). Later in his professional life, he also studied Spanish.

His father's functions led the whole family to host famous visitors in their home such as Paul-Emile Victor (pole explorer), the Paris Opera Ballet, French Olympic teams or J. Y Cousteau. This contributed to widen Francis' culture.

Francis was part of the early users of personal computers, first in a change management and architecture company, then in the International Labour Office in Geneva. This United Nations organisation is devoted to promoting social justice and human and labour rights, considering that social justice is essential to universal and lasting peace.

As a project leader, he also participated in the preparation and running of ministerial level conferences in Geneva HQ and abroad (Peru, Mauritius, Thailand, Korea, Ivory Coast).

After retirement and twenty years as a voluntary fireman he has been a Court Interpreter in three languages for ten years. During his free time, he dived into history, specially to understand Europe's changes in the 19th century.

Francis had travelled all Europe with his four children in his camper: he began cruising again with definite preference for transatlantic crossings Now counting 50+ cruises, eager to share his passion of travel and his knowledge with culture-hungry people, he started on-board presentations and destination lectures.

All presentations
- are 100% pictures and short embedded videos
- provide geographical and historical background of the country and/or port to explain the current situation
- show monuments and landscapes that guests will find at destination.
- provide information about local food and drinks as well as shopping possibilities
- are meant to be informative as well as entertaining

I am able to present them in English, French, Italian and Spanish.

Current available presentations are:

Ajaccio

Alesund

Aqaba, gateway to the desert
- focus on the main attractions, Petra and Wadi Rum.
- history: Jordan, Lawrence of Arabia

Athens, love at first sight
Immerse yourself seamlessly in the history of western civilisation by filling your eyes with splendid sceneries
- focus on the Acropolis area, Plaka, Monastiraki, the stadium, the Parliament
- history: Athens creation

Barbados, land of the flying fish

Barcelona, turbulent city with a thousand assets

Bilbao, the new hub for art and architecture
- focus on the Guggenheim museum and the other modern art aspects of the city
- history: Guernica and Picasso
- region: the Basque region

Bordeaux, more than just wine
- focus on the various beautiful monuments the city has to offer
- region: gastronomy and wine

Busan, Miami of the Far East
- focus on the extraordinary evolution of the country from the 50s
- history: strong links with the Japanese and Chinese neighbours

Cadiz, launchpad for gallions

Canary islands, 100% life
- focus on the diversity of landscapes and climate
- history: importance for the trade with Americas
- specific detailed presentations for Gran Canaria, La Palma, Lanzarote, La Gomera
Cartagena (Spain)

Corfou, the green jewel
- focus: city fortresses, parks, Achilleion palace and Sissi
- history: strategic position, Venetian, English, French domination

Doha, exuberant city with unlimited resources
- focus on the Corniche and its iconic monuments
- history: rapid development, strong links with UK

Dominica, the 365 rivers island

Dubai, extravagant daughter of the desert
- focus on the extraordinary towers and hotels
- history: pearl fishing, creation of UAE, oil and gas

Dubrovnik, the reborn Croatian pearl
- focus on the walled city and it's monuments
- history: Venetian, Ottoman and Napoleonic rules

Durban, a taste of Curry in SA

Egypt, a quick historical overview

Genoa, birthplace of Columbus

Gran Canaria, beaches mountains and culture

Grenada, the spice island

Guadeloupe, archipelago of colours

Hamburg, sailors city for centuries
- focus on the richness of the area thanks to maritime trade
- history: immigration to USA

Heraklion, Zeus cradle
- focus on the old town and Knossos
- history: Greek legends, Venitian influence

Honfleur, Impressionists preferred port
- focus on the Vieux Bassin, the church and various buildings around
- history: Impressionists, musicians, explorers
- region: Deauville, WWII landing beaches, Le Havre

Horta, the yachting capital of Azores
- focus on the description of the Azores, the yachting port, the volcanoes
- history: the arrival of transatlantic cable, the first seaplanes

Jeddah, access port to a tourist opening country

Keelung-Taipei, Taiwan's rainy port
- focus on the modernity of the capital and it's port
- history: China and Japan, two essential influences

Khasab and the primitive Musandam Peninsula
- focus on the local "fjords" and the Ormuz strait
- history: Portuguese occupation

La Coruna, the crystal city
- focus on the galerias, the small but rich old quarter, the Hercules tower
- history: the local Joan of Arc, Picasso
- region: St James and the pilgrimage

Le Havre, Paris and Normandy within reach
- focus on the many Normandy touristic sites and Paris
- history: liners, WWII

Lisbon, Europe's most colourful city
- focus on Lisbon monuments
- history: the Portuguese discoverers, the "big earthquake"

Maceio, lagoon and beaches
- focus on the wonderful beaches and lagoons
- history: Cabral among the first explorers, Brazil wood, sugar cane, gold rush

Madeira the floating garden
- focus on the city and the flora of the island
- history: Christopher Columbus, empress Sissi

Malaga, "Dolce vita" and wonders
- focus on the great monuments among which the Alcazaba and the castle without forgetting the 16 beaches
- region: pueblos blancos, Granada, Marbella

Malta, the honey island
- focus on the cathedral, the downtown small streets, the various forts and the old capital city
- history: the Sovereign Order of Malta, WWII in Malta

Martinique, the flower island

Mauritius, Paradise Island

Muscat and the oriental charm
- focus on the city, the great mosque, the theater
- history: pearls, oil and gas

Messina, the city which always recovers
- focus on the cathedral and it's bell tower
- history: Greek, Roman and Norman domination
- region: Aeolian islands, volcanoes

Mykonos, sea, wind and parties
- focus on the lesser known parts of Chora and the numerous beaches
- region: the islands of Delos and Rhenia, rich in history

Oslo, young and vibrant nordic capital
- focus on the "green" city skyline and monuments
- history: vikings, Alfred Nobel

Ponta Delgada, Europe's westernmost capital

Praia da Vitoria, the noble and sumptuous city

Réunion, the intense Island

Rhodes, the island of knights

Rome, 7 hills and 100 wonders

Saint Kitts and Nevis, the sugar islands

Saint Malo, walled city and adventures at sea

Saint Martin, 2 countries, 37 beaches

Salvador de Bahia, the black Rome

Santorini, the precious gem of the Aegean

Seychelles, Garden of Eden

Southampton, druids, cute cottages and royal palaces
- focus on all the regional touristic possibilities including London
- history: Mayflower, transatlantic liners

Split, Mediterranean flower

Suez canal a dream come true
- history, from the Pharaos projects to the actual construction of the Canal in the XIXth century

Suez canal: transiting
- focus on the recent improvements to the Canal and the various landmarks passengers will see

Venice, proud daughter of the sea

Vigo at the heart of Galicia
- focus on the Galicia region and the neighbouring towns
- history: the buried treasure, Fidel Castro's family house

Zeebruge, entry point to welcoming Belgium
- focus on the cities of Bruges, Ghent and Brussels

Birth of the maritime container
- this presentation is not destination-specific. It describes the evolution of multimodal transport from the 18th century to the current shipping container industry. It also explains how the container is identified, loaded and unloaded.

Six successful experiences and one cancelled for Covid reasons:
- April 2019 transatlantic, 10 destination lectures in 3 languages (EN, FR, IT). Audience stable or growing throughout the cruise in all languages.
- November 2019 transatlantic, 9 destination lectures in 2 languages (FR, IT). Many passengers of both language groups stopped me on board or ashore to express their satisfaction. Audience stable or growing throughout the cruise in both languages.
- March 2020 scheduled transatlantic, 12 lectures in 3 languages (FR, ES, IT).Cancelled day before departure due to the pandemic.
- October 2021, European Atlantic coast, Azores and Canary islands, 15 lectures in English. Limited number of passengers as cruises just restarting. Several compliments for "very interesting" and "better than usual destination lectures"
- November 2022 transatlantic crossing, Marseille / Martinique. 9 lectures in 3 languages (EN, IT, FR). Up to 300 guests and many compliments specially from passengers who had attended my lectures in 2019.
- March 2023 transatlantic crossing Cape Town / Venice, 30 days, 15 lectures in 3 languages (EN ,IT ,FR). Up to 500 guests in EN, constant attendance in all languages, very good feedback.
- August 2023 cruise to Iceland and Greenland from Germany, 20 days, 11 lectures in 3 languages (FR, ES, IT). Constant attendance throughout the cruise. Some guests also migrated to my lectures instead of following the EN or German ones. Very good feedback.
- October 2023 Europe to UAE cruise, 22 days, 12 lectures in 3 languages (EN , FR , IT). Constant attendance and very good feedback in all 3 languages. I now have passengers who followed my lectures on one or several previous cruises.

Mother tongue: French

Full medical insurance valid in all countries.

Fully vaccinated against Covid19 since April 2021. Booster shot in November 2021.

Domicile in France, ready for back-to-back cruises. Last minute assignment not excluded.

I have been one or several times to all of the destinations listed in my presentations list.

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