PTV at Sea guest traveler Jacki Lyden

Acclaimed journalist, author and radio host, Jacki Lyden can currently be heard on the weekend broadcasts of National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. Formerly NPR’s London correspondent, Lyden has covered the Gulf War from Baghdad, Iraq and has reported from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Iran, and other countries. Her book, Daughter of the Queen of Sheba is out in eleven foreign editions and considered a memoir classic by The New York Times. Currently, Daughter which was adapted by the screenwriter Karen Croner, is being produced by Storefront Pictures/WindDancer Films. The director chosen for the project is Daniel Barnz (Beastly). She has shared in the NPR’s Peabody and duPont-Columbia University Awards and, in 2002, received the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio and Television for best foreign documentary, together with producer Davar Ardalan. A graduate of Valparaiso University and its Christ College scholars program and a Benton Fellow at the University of Chicago from 1991-92, Jacki has written for Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others. For yet more on Jacki or to link to her NPR stories, please go to www.JackiLyden.com.

Jacki's presentation topics for PTV at Sea are:

- Who Let the Kids Out? From Fifes & Drums to Blogs and Tweets in the Middle East

- Women in the Picture: Revolutionaries, Dreamers and Change-Agents in the Middle East

Do you have a question for Jacki?  Send it to us in the comment section below.  During the cruise we'll randomly select questions from our readers to be answered by Jacki during her post-presentation Q&A sessions.

PTV at Sea guest traveler Charlie Cook

Charlie Cook, one of Washington’s top political authorities, is the Publisher of The Cook Political Report and political analyst for the National Journal Group, where he writes weekly for National Journal and CongressDailyAM. He also writes a regular column for the Washington Quarterly, published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and is a political analyst for NBC News. The New York Times has labeled him "one of the best political handicappers in the nation” while The Wall Street Journal called Cook "the Picasso of election analysis."


Charlie's lecture topics on the PTV at Sea cruise are:
- Understanding 2010- What Voters Were Really Thinking
- 2012:  The Race for the White House


Do you have a question for Charlie?  Send it to us in the comment section below.  During the cruise we'll randomly select questions from our readers to be answered by Charlie during his post-presentation Q&A sessions.

PTV at Sea: Dubai to Rome

Next Wednesday, Regent’s Seven Seas Voyager sails from Dubai with PTV at Sea on board and our 20-day cruise to Rome via the Suez Canal begins.  Along the way we’ll visit ports some might say are “off the beaten path” on an exotic route in the Arabian, Red and Mediterranean Seas. Take a look at our itinerary:

Date      Day         Port      

May 04  Wed        Dubai, United Arab Emirates      

May 05  Thu          Muscat (Port Qaboos), Oman    

May 06  Fri           Cruise the Arabian Sea                 

May 07  Sat          Salalah, Oman  

May 08  Sun         Cruise the Gulf of Aden               

May 09  Mon        Cruise the Red Sea         

May 10  Tue         Cruise the Red Sea         

May 11  Wed       Cruise the Red Sea         

May 12  Thu         Petra (Aqaba), Jordan   

May 13  Fri           Petra (Aqaba), Jordan

May 14  Sat          Luxor (Safaga), Egypt    

May 15  Sun         Luxor (Safaga), Egypt

May 16  Mon        Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

May 17  Tue         Suez Canal Transit, Egypt

May 18  Wed       Tel Aviv (Ashdod), Israel                              

May 19  Thu         Tel Aviv (Ashdod), Israel              

May 20  Fri           Jerusalem (Haifa), Israel

May 21  Sat          Cruise the Mediterranean                          

May 22  Sun         Cruise the Messina Strait             

May 23  Mon        Sorrento/Capri, Italy

May 24  Tue         Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

Meet Regent's Seven Seas Voyager

Coined one of the top cruise ships in the world and refurbished in December 2008, Seven Seas Voyager is the world's second all-suite, all-balcony ship and the second to feature a restaurant operated by Le Cordon Bleu of Paris, following sister ship Seven Seas Mariner. There are four main dining venues, surprising for a ship her size. You will enjoy impeccable service thanks to some of the highest space and service ratios at sea. And her suites are the largest "lead-in" suites in the industry. Experience six-star cruising aboard Seven Seas Voyager.  She's the ship for PTV at Sea's voyage through the Middle East next week.


Seven Seas Voyager Statistics

Overall Length: 670 feet (204 meters)

Beam (width): 94.5 feet (28.80 meters)

Draft: 23 feet (7 meters)

Passengers: 700

Officers: European / International

Crew: 447, European / International

Passenger Decks: 9

Shipyard: T. Mariotti, Genoa, Italy

Gross Tonnage: 42,363

Cruising Speed: 20 knots

Ship's Registry: Bahamas

For deck plans and additional pictures, click here.

Welcome Aboard the Voyager!

Dear Friends of PTV at Sea-

Welcome aboard!  Today marks our blog "launch" as we prepare to depart Dubai next week aboard Regent's Seven Seas Voyager.   We're thrilled you're coming along with us.  You're joining more than 200 passengers sailing on this exotic 20-day itinerary making this the largest PTV at Sea cruise in our history.

Throughout the entire voyage we'll be blogging, FaceBooking and Tweeting highlights from our PTV at Sea shipboard programming featuring newsmakers from public broadcasting, political and foreign policy experts and legends from the world of entertainment. We hope to hear from you along the way, as well. Each of the PTV at Sea presentations' Q and A sessions will include questions submitted by friends following from home.  We'll be posting our lecture and discussion topics later this week with instructions for sending in your questions.

We hope you find this Middle East adventure exciting and our programming enriching and entertaining and we look forward to seeing you on a future PTV at Sea cruise.

All the best,

Kevin Corcoran

President

Artful Travelers

PTV at Sea Blog to Launch Monday, April 25

PTV at Sea will begin daily reporting at this site on Monday, April 25, in preparation for its sailing aboard the Regent Seven Seas Voyager on May 4, from Dubai.   Register now to receive the blog by email (see the lower right-hand corner of this screen) and you won't miss a minute of the adventure!

PTV at Sea to Blog, Tweet, and Facebook from Dubai to Rome

Follow PTV at Sea across the Middle East aboard Regent’s Seven Seas Voyager later this month as we blog, Tweet and Facebook our way through the cruise.  From Dubai to Rome - with visits to Oman, Jordan, Egypt, and Israel - we're covering a region where history is being made right now.  So, along with our travel tales, we'll be sharing insights from our panel of distinguished travelers including:

• Political analyst Charlie Cook
• NPR’s White House Correspondent Ari Shapiro
• All Things Considered guest host and contributor Jacki Lyden
• Foreign policy expert Dr. Michael Ledeen
• Washington Post photojournalist Bill O'Leary

And, for your entertainment, we'll also bring you a Hollywood tale or two from:

• Actor Michael York (Cabaret, Austin Powers)
• Accomplished photographer Pat York
• Famed celebrity lensman Michael Childers

Stay tuned to this site for the official launch date of the PTV at Sea blog scheduled for the week of April 25.   In the meantime, follow us on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

 We look forward to welcoming you aboard.