Media expert, Mitchell Symons, is to join Regent Seven Seas ultra-luxury cruise ship, Seven Seas Mariner, as a guest speaker as part of their enrichment programme, on her 14-night transatlantic sailing from Rome (Civitavecchia) to Fort Lauderdale in November.

Having known and worked with all the key players in the recent phone hacking scandal, Symons will host a debate about celebrities, newspapers and privacy that will offer guests the chance to put themselves in the position of a celebrity, journalist or newspaper editor and examine everyone’s rights and interests. He’ll also explore the subject of celebrities and their right to privacy. Symons has also personally known the last seven Prime Ministers so is well placed to host another talk about ‘British Prime Ministers from Churchill to Cameron’.

After working at the BBC as a researcher and Director, Mitchell Symons developed an extensive writing and journalistic career. He has written more than forty books (including thirteen for children) as well as an award-winning opinion column for the Daily Express. He was also a principal writer of the early editions of Trivial Pursuit and has compiled many books of trivia – including ‘That Book’ which sold more than a million copies worldwide.

Having cruised with Regent before, I’m really looking forward to going again apart from anything, they have the most wonderful guests” said Symons. “When I was last onboard, I was doing a lecture about the film Casablanca and I showed a slide of the film’s iconic poster. At the end of the lecture, a guest in his late eighties came up to me and told me that it was he who had designed that poster. I defy any other cruise line to have guests as interesting as that”.