Lectures & Talks

I’ve got plenty of stories to share.

One of the greatest thrills of my career is presenting maritime lectures and talks in front of an audience. A lot of work goes into them; from researching the topics to putting slides together, but it’s worth every second for the chance to share the ocean liner story.  

One of the trickiest parts is working out what stories in the long and illustrious history of the ocean liner to include. Sometimes serious culling is required to achieve the end result of a fast paced, informative and engaging talk.

My lectures generally run for about 45 minutes and cover a range of topics spanning from the 1830s to today. I’m always happy to chat after the lecture so if you’re attending one of my talks come and say hi and share your story. 

What do I talk about?

It’s probably no surprise that my maritime lecture topics cover ocean liners and cruise ships past and present.

However, what’s really interesting about this subject is how ocean liners have been involved in almost every world event. As such, the talks offer glimpses into Victorian life, the evolution of technologies such as steam engines, electric lighting and turbines, as well as the militarisation of ships during both World Wars. 

Some of my topics include: 

  • The evolution of passenger ship design,
  • The changing use of passenger ships, from mail services, immigration, tourism and modern cruising,
  • How the ocean liner evolved into the cruise ship in the jet age,
  • Ocean Liners during World War I and World War II,
  • Disasters such as Titanic and Lusitania, and the lessons learnt from these tragedies, 
  • Cunard Line, White Star Line and P&O History, as well as talks that cover many other shipping lines such as Collins Line, Inman Line, Orient Line, Norddeutscher Lloyd, Hamburg-Amerika, CGT French Line, Italia Line, United States Lines… to name a few! 

Where do I talk?

My first ever maritime lecture was in August 2008 aboard the QE2 during a Mediterranean cruise that was part of her farewell season. Speaking aboard QE2 had been a long-term goal of mine so I jumped at the opportunity and haven’t looked back.

Since then I’ve spoken at venues all over the world including many engagements on various cruise ships. Some highlights include engagements aboard Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria for Cunard, P&O’s Aurora and P&O Australia’s Pacific Eden. 

I regularly speak at maritime museums, with recent engagements at the Australian National Maritime Museum, New Zealand Maritime Museum and Sea City Museum in Southampton England. 

I have also been a keynote speaker at conferences and events including two engagements at the Cancer Council’s annual fundraising luncheon at the Hilton Hotel. 

What others say.

“It is always a joy to have Chris with us with his seemingly-limitless knowledge and expertise on all things ocean liner, which he carries with humour, warmth and authority. Chris is able to explore the incredible stories of the great liners in a down-to-earth and clear way that relates to those with considerable existing maritime knowledge and none at all. The only downside for us in Southampton is that he lives 9,000 miles away.”

Andy Skinner | SeaCity Museum |  Southampton City Council.

“Chris Frame has visited the Rotary Club on several occasions to share his knowledge of travel by ship. Club members have enjoyed his presentations, as particularly witnessed by his return visits. Chris knows his subjects well and illustrates his talks with visuals to hold the listener’s interest.”

Dawn Palm | President.

“Joondalup Libraries recently hosted Chris Frame for a presentation on The QE2 50th Anniversary and as a result I would highly recommend Chris as a very knowledgeable and engaging speaker. The audience thoroughly enjoyed Chris’ talk and gave some very positive feedback; “Great presentation - fantastic knowledge & fluent speaker”, “Absolutely fabulous!” and “Very interesting - excellent presentation”, to name a few.”

Margaret Brooker | City of Joondalup Library.

Get in touch

If you’re hosting an event and are interested in one of my maritime history of cruising lectures, click here to get in touch.