Bear Grylls to Headline Cunard’s 2023 Alaska Insights Program
by Dori Saltzman
Photo: Cunard
Outdoor adventure personality and TV host Bear Grylls will kick off Cunard’s Alaska Insights Program in 2023. Other participants will include Mensun Bound, Kenton Cool, and Felicity Aston.
Grylls will join Queen Elizabeth’s maiden 2023 Alaska voyage, roundtrip out of Vancouver on June 8, where he will share his experiences as one of the youngest climbers of Mount Everest, bestselling author and TV show host. This will be Gryll’s first appearance on a cruise ship and the first time he returns to Alaska since his visit there with President Barack Obama in 2015.
“I’ve been a fan of Bear Grylls since “Man vs Wild” and I’m thrilled that our guests will be able to see him live on Queen Elizabeth next year,” said Matt Gleaves, vice president of commercial for Cunard in North America and Australasia. “Alaska is all about exploration and our line-up of world-class pioneers will bring the adventure onboard.”
Cunard will offer six additional voyages in the region throughout the summer, each showcasing a different explorer as part of its Insights Program.
Cruisers will have the opportunity to hear from: marine archaeologist Mensun Bound (August 7), known for his recent discovery of Shackleton’s ship Endurance; British mountaineer Kenton Cool (June 20 and 30), who has summited Mount Everest 15 times; Ann Daniels (July 17), one of Britain’s leading Polar explorers and the first woman in history to ski to the North and South Pole as part of an all-women team; Felicity Aston MBE (July 27), polar scientists turned explorer who holds the world record for being the first woman to ski alone across the Antarctic; and Pen Hadow (July 7), the first and only person to go solo – without re-supply – from Canada to the North Pole.

