Ian MacLachlan was born a Montrealer but completed his doctorate in human geography in Canada’s rival metropolis at the University of Toronto. As Professor of Geography at the University of Lethbridge, Ian has always relished opportunities for global travel and research. During his thirty-year academic career, Ian held visiting appointments in Japan, Mexico, Scotland, and Australia.

Now retired, Ian’s third career brings him to Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School where he is a Professor in the School of Urban Planning and Design and an occasional lecturer in Architecture and Urban Planning at Chongqing University. His research interests span urban and regional planning, economic and industrial geography, and architectural history.

He has published in journals such as Canadian Geographer, Planning History, and Urban Geography. His most recent work concerns public housing initiatives for talent workers in Shenzhen. He is also compiling a lecture series on the development of skyscrapers in American and Canadian cities and now in Asia which has come to dominate the world’s mega tall structures.

As a destination speaker, Ian applies a geographic lens to the fascinating regional features at ports of call from the Baltic to the Med, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and across the Isthmus of Panama.

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WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN LECTURE SUMMARIES

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Barcelona: Iberian Architecture & Design Capital
After observing Barcelona’s significance as Mediterranean port, manufacturing center and high technology magnet, we shift the focus to architecture and urban planning. It turns out that that Franscico Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia did not have a building permit until June 2019! Our architectural tour will pause briefly to observe Barcelona’s squats, the Venetian Towers, and functional adaptation of Barcelona’s two most famous bullrings.

Palma and the Balearics: Spain’s Easternmost Archipelago
We open with Palma’s heritage skyline comprising Palacio Real de La Almudaina and Le Seu, a cathedral incorporating elements of the Moorish Mudéjar style intertwined with Levantine Gothic. We will consider some of the 84 atalayas that once encircled Mallorca to watch for marauding pirates from the Barbary coast. No discussion of Mallorca would be complete without observing the work of Joan Miró.

Valencia: Mediterranean Miracle
Our harbor panorama includes the world class port facilities visible from the Lido deck and the many fascinating attractions within a short shuttlebus ride from the gangway. Spain’s third-largest city gives us a good opportunity to take a historical perspective that includes the Spanish Miracle and post World War II industrialization and extends back to El Cid, Moorish Spain, the Reconquista, and Spain’s Golden Age.

Malaga, the Costa del Sol, and Gibraltar
Our destinations are both gateways: Malaga is the main entry point of the Costa del Sol while Gibraltar is the gateway to the Atlantic. We will put Malaga in its full Andalusian context observing resort development along the coastal strip, Ronda and the famous pueblos blancos, and one of the most stunning cliff edge walks anywhere in the world: El Caminito del Rey. We will finish up in Gibraltar, the only British Overseas Territory that is part of the European Union. Watch those monkeys!

Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis and Sète, Venice of Languedoc
Learn how the cultural landscape of Languedoc can include both Roman- and French-built aqueducts. Environmental phenomena such as the etangs are discussed along with cultural features such as Place de la Comédie, Canal du Midi, and the splendid ecclesiastical architecture of Marseille.

Two Rivieras: From Liguria to the Côte d'Azur
Imagine beaches without sand or sharing the Promenade Anglais with Queen Victoria or Leopold II. The lecture includes Villefranche, Nice and Monaco along with some features of the Italian Riviera.

Tuscan Heritage: Pisa, Lucca, and Florence
Marvel at Renaissance Architecture, Galileo’s discoveries, and the Italian industrial miracle. We touch on the memorable campaniles of Tuscany and some of the fascinating stories about design during and construction during the Italian renaissance.

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MONTREAL - QUEBEC - ATLANTIC CANADA - EASTERN SEABOARD LECTURE SUMMARIES

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Montréal: Seaport, City & Mountain
For many years Montreal was an Anglo-Scots city and largest in Canada. It is now the commercial and cultural capital of Quebec, very largely French speaking yet cosmopolitan. We will focus on the history of the city, some fascinating features in sight of the ship and some of the magnificent period architecture within a short walk of the Cruise Terminal.

Quebec City, La Capitale-Nationale
We focus on some of the spectacular vistas that are clearly visible from the Lido Deck: La Citadelle and the Château Frontenac, Dufferin Terrace, and the Price Building. We will conclude with a few words about the Lower St Lawrence, Cradle of Rural Quebec; Montmorency Falls & Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré; and the Battle of the St Lawrence.

Saguenay Fjord and La Belle Ville de Québec (upstream)
Our approach to the port of debarkation traverses two very different landscapes: the mighty Saguenay, a fjord etched deep in the Canadian Shield. The scenery of Charlevoix and Manicouagan is as spectacular as their hydroelectric potential. Nearing La Ville de Québec, we shift to political and cultural themes: the magnificent heritage skyline of Quebec, Canada’s oldest city and site of its most famous battle on the Plains of Abraham, the Quebec Conferences, La Citadelle, the Château Frontenac, and Dufferin Terrace.

The Many Faces of the St. Lawrence: From the Seaway to the Gulf (downstream)
The lecture puts our serene passage up and down the St Lawrence into its full riverine context from the rugged Canadian Shield country of the upper lakes to the industrial heartland of the lower lakes, the Thousand islands and St Lawrence Seaway and on to tidewater. Whales are found in abundance in the lower St. Lawrence and have been spotted as far upstream as Montreal. We conclude by noting the declining fortunes of commercial shipping in the St Lawrence.

Charlottetown: Cradle of Confederation
Canada’s smallest provincial capital played a catalytic role in the political process that created Canada as a federal state in 1867. Our exploration of the contemporary “Garden of the Gulf” ranges from Anne of Green Gables to “Bud the Spud from the Bright Red Mud,” magnificent golfing opportunities, and of course, the Atlantic Lobster, no longer ridiculed as po’ folks’ fare.

New Brunswick, the Land of Herring Chokers, Saint John, and the Bay of Fundy
As Canada’s only officially bilingual province, New Brunswick presents two very contradictory faces to the world: Canada’s Acadian heartland and its United Empire Loyalist bulwark. Saint John experiences the greatest tidal range of any seaport in the world which contributes to the reversing falls phenomenon, one of the city’s many tourist magnets. We will conclude by noting the familial idiosyncrasies of Atlantic Canada’s most famous enterprises: beer and potatoes.

Halifax and the Bluenosers of Nova Scotia
Halifax is the gateway to Atlantic Canada. Our harbor panorama will note the many fascinating attractions within a short walk of our ship’s gangway: Pier 21, Canada’s Ellis Island commemorating the immigration experience; the Maritime Museum with artifacts from Canada’s naval and seagoing past; and Barrington Street, the rollicking shopping and entertainment district just blocks from quayside.

Manhattan Skyline I: Evolution of the Modern Skyscraper
The quintessentially American origins of skyscraper design and development from the first Equitable Building and Park Row to the Chicago Style, from the mid-nineteenth century to the 1920s.

Manhattan Skyline II: Setback & Art Deco Designs of the 1930s
This lecture features three iconic skyscrapers that responded directly to New York’s 1916 zoning ordinance styled with distinctive ziggurat features: American Standard, Chrysler, and Empire State Buildings.

Manhattan Skyline III: The International Style from Lever House to the Seagram Building
After a long hiatus in skyscraper construction, the 1950s saw a sea change in modern architecture originating with the Bauhaus Movement. The United Nations Secretariat, Lever House and Seagram Building were the trend setting structures of the late 1950s that established the new architectural paradigm of curtain wall construction and recalling the famous dictum of Mies van der Rohe: “less is more.”

Charleston: Colonial Seaport, Naval Yard and “Oh, what a bridge!”
This port of call is among the most fascinating cities of the Southern littoral. It has a fascinating heritage as the “Ellis Island” for African Americans and heart of the “Southern Aristocracy.” Charleston harbour now features two notable points of interest: Fort Sumter National Monument and USS Yorktown (CV-10), the first aircraft carrier to be preserved in this way. We conclude with a discussion of the new Ravenel Bridge.

Key West & the Dry Tortugas
We begin with the hydrography of the Floridian Carbonate platform and the Florida Keys as stepping-stones for Flagler’s Folly The unique landscape and history of Key West includes the home of Ernest Hemmingway which is open to visitors in search of his polydactyl cats. We conclude with a discussion of the fascinating history and management challenges of Fort Jefferson National Park in the Dry Tortugas.

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PANAMA CANAL TRANSITS & CARIBBEAN LECTURE SUMMARIES

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Panama Canal I: What Can We Learn from a Megaproject?
Beginning with Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Darien Venture, and the French folly of Sieur de Lesseps, this lecture on the history of the Panama Canal extends to the American triumph of 1914. The lecture concludes with five memorable life lessons as cautionary tales showing how much we can learn from history.

Panama Canal II: Towards a New Panamax Era
This lecture takes us through the 1914 canal from west to east illustrating many of the fascinating details of a canal that operates with electromechanical mules to control the progress of Panmax vessels. By the new millennium it was growing increasingly obvious that the canal would need expansion if it was to retain its global significance in linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Panama Canal III: Maritime Engineering Innovations in the New Millennium
We focus on the engineering innovations that make the new canal locks so much more efficient than the old ones: sliding lock gates in place of mitre gates, water conserving reservoirs, tugs instead of mules, and of course, their capacity is so much larger!

Panama Canal IV: Historical & Global Context for Nationalization
The political and technical events leading to the nationalization of the Panama Canal, its successful operation by Panamanians, and the recent canal expansion can only be understood by considering canals in historical context and global processes of decolonization.

Tourist Based Development in Quintana Roo
The “Mayan Riviera” was a product of the luxury cruise industry and a national economic strategy to promote tourism. It is very different from its Pacific counterpart, but both have been enormously successful as tourist destinations. Yet the global tourist market can be fickle, and tourist-based development strategies are notoriously unstable. Our lecture will scan the Mayan Riviera, noting the exciting new developments in the Tulum region and consider the island of Cozumel in detail.

Mexico: Developing Dynamo
Introduction to Mexico’s dynamic geological basement, a federation modelled after the USA but with a very different political structure and a very different Presidente. It is now the world’s tenth largest country with enormous economic potential, ample petroleum, a growing percentage of the North American car and light truck assembly industry, yet huge challenges as the most unequal country on earth. We’ll finish up with a survey of Mexico’s best known cruise ship ports-of-call.

Cartagena, Colombia, Carthage, and Columbia
Cartagena is our port-of-call in northernmost Colombia, but these toponyms have very interesting origins that tell us much about their origins and historical development. We will also say something about the city of Cartagena, its tourist zone, some must-see points of interest on the way to the old city, and a charming parrot garden just off the gangway.

Caribbean Islands: Fragmentation and Microscale Supranationalism
To better understand islands such as St. Barts, Martinique, and Aruba, we discuss centrifugal and centripetal political forces. The trend towards amalgamation of key government functions among 20 Caribbean states is undeniable but uneven: CARICOM, the Caribbean Common Market will play a key role.

Islands in the Stream: St Barts and Curaçao
Saint-Barthélemy is a rugged volcanic high island with French colonial roots where most locals speak St. Barts patois. By contrast, Curaçao has a Dutch colonial heritage, a distinctive creole known as Papiamento and a low island topography. While they have very different cultural landscapes and geological origins, they share many development challenges as Caribbean islands.

Dutch Antilles: The ABC Islands
Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao share a common Dutch colonial heritage and a distinctive creole known as Papiamento. They are low islands with a very different geological origin from towering volcanics like Montserrat. Their early development benefited from the industrial employment of thousands in massive oil refineries; however, the tourism and offshore banking industries are now the most dependable sources of employment and foreign exchange.

Costa Rica: Middle America’s Richest Country and Poorest Coast
Costa Rica is just one of six comparatively small Central American Republics between Mexico and Colombia. Yet it is unique in its comparatively high level of development, the strength of the European influence, its commitment to environmental conservation and the fact that it has no standing army. Our visit to Puntarenas Province features the stunning ecology of Central America’s cloud forests.

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BALTIC LECTURE SUMMARIES

Baltic Europe
Unique oceanographic properties such as salinity and tidal range make the Baltic quite unlike the North Sea or Atlantic Ocean. We will consider the influence that those properties have on the political geography and collision of cultures that typify Baltic Europe.

The Baltic Sea and World System: From the Hanseatic League to the European Union
We begin this lecture by observing trade as a fundamental component of human nature and the prominent role it has played in Baltic history. We go on to consider the Hanse as the world’s earliest strategic alliance which was based on herring, salt, and beeswax and how that medieval guild evolved into the European Union, the greatest supranational trading bloc the world has ever seen.

Baltic Capitals: Looking Aft
The Baltic’s top five destinations for cruise ships are all capital cities: Saint Petersburg, Stockholm, Talinn, Helsinki, and Riga. Let’s review come of their commonalities and most glaring contrasts!

Professor Emeritus (University of Lethbridge) and Professor (Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School) with a record of published research in urban and economic geography, regional planning, and architectural history.

Enrichment Speaker with Viking: Ocean
Trade Routes of the Middle Ages: Bergen-Barcelona (2022)
Iconic Western Mediterranean: Barcelona-Civitavecchia (2022)
Transatlantic: Barcelona to San Juan, Puerto Rico (2022)

Eastern Seaboard Explorer: New York-Montreal (2023)
Canada and New England Scenic Shores: Montreal-Fort Lauderdale (2023)
Panama Canal and Pacific Coast: Fort Lauderdale-Los Angeles (2023)

Destination Lecturing with Crystal
Crystal Serenity Stockholm-Copenhagen, Baltic Sea (2013)
Crystal Symphony Montreal-New York (2016)
Crystal Serenity Charleston-Los Angeles via Panama Canal (2018)
Crystal Serenity Barcelona-Lisbon-Port Everglades (2019)
Crystal Serenity Miami-Los Angeles via Panama Canal (2020)

Destination Lecturing with Celebrity
Celebrity Infinity San Diego-Port Everglades via Panama Canal (2005)
This cruise was evaluated as follows:
Ian MacLachlan received 238/8.46..........no CD comments
Excellent/62 Good/27 Fair/15 Poor/3

Best Regards,
Pat McPherson
Specialist, Enrichment Program
Celebrity Cruises, Inc.
1050 Caribbean Way/#312B
Miami, FL 33132
Ph: 305.982.4961
E-Mail: McPherson@rccl.com

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