About

Richard currently lives in Palmira, a tiny town in the mountains just outside Boquete, Panama, where he and his wife raise coffee and three dogs – two Dalmatians and a Rottweiler.   When not in Panama Richard can be found lecturing on various cruise ships.  He has worked on Celebrity, Holland America, and Princess, and will be spending the Northern hemisphere “winter” ‘09-’10 onboard ROYAL PRINCESS.

Retired as an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America (a/k/a “Dutch Reformed”) Richard served as senior pastor in churches in Bronx, NY, Milwaukee, WI, Littleton, CO, and Thousand Oaks, CA.  Later he served on the staff of a United Methodist Church in Westlake Village, CA. 

For 15 years Richard owned and managed Just Cruising travel agencies in Westlake Village and Camarillo, California. 

As Director of eCommerce he created from scratch the highly successful online Web presence for 24 Hour Fitness and Apex Fitness.  According to Bryan Andrus, vice president of information technology and business development for 24 Hour Fitness, “We’re in the multiples of tens of millions of dollars that the site has generated since 2000 as a combination of direct and indirect sales.”

Richard was a top producing REALTOR for Troop Real Estate in Ventura, CA.

He has a Master of Divinity, Doctor of Philosophy, and at 55 went back for a MBA from Cal State Northridge. Along with his wife, Nicola, he has written How To Recover From Grief (available from Amazon), Norman Vincent Peale: The Man & His Ministry, God Loves You and I Do Too! and Positive Living In Tough Times.

Richard loves to travel and  enjoys gardening, except for pulling weeds,  kayaking, beaching, and walking, or being walked by, a Rottweiler and two Dalmatians. and reading.  Dick & Nikki have two children, a daughter who teaches in Seattle, and another who teaches at Yosemite Institute, Marin Headlands.

Richard says, “Since we were able to do it, it only made sense to ‘cash out’ of Ventura while the market was high and do what most people just dream of – retire early in Paradise!  I continue to help others who are ready to get off the wheel in the hamster cage and escape to Paradise!  Not a day in Boquete goes by that I’m not happy to be in Panama and my only wish is that we would have done this sooner!  To be able to travel and lecture on  luxury cruise ships is just the icing on the cake!”

In answer to the frequently asked question, “How did you end up on cruise ships?” . . .

It started in 1968. I was pastor of a little all black church in a Puerto Rican section of the South Bronx. Holland America Line’s offices were at Pier 42 on the Hudson River. I started filling in for Protestant Chaplains who cancelled at the last minute. My first cruise was on the old ROTTERDAM for 19 days. Back in ‘68 cruising on the ROTTERDAM was quite the experience! A table for two in the La Fontaine dining room was attended by a waiter and a busboy who just took care of your table! Every meal was presented on a huge silver platter. Well I did lots of cruises.

I watched as groups of friends and from various organizations sailed together and saw how much fun they had, so eventually I started taking church groups on cruises. In Milwaukee I worked with a local travel agency and the owner soon discovered I knew a whole lot more about cruising than he did, so he got me to start working with his agents teaching them how to sell cruises.

Eventually, when we ended up in California, we decided to open a cruise only agency. This was when cruising was just catching on and we were one of the first “cruise only” agencies. At first no cruise line would give us the time of day, except Carnival. My Carnival sales rep was a young woman who was eager, energetic, and delighted to help us get started. Princess wouldn’t return our phone calls! As things worked out we became a top producer for Carnival, Holland America, Princess and Sitmar. When Princess and Sitmar merged we became the number one Princess producer between LA and Santa Barbara. My Carnival sales rep went on to become the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Carnival!

We had the cruise business for 15 years and I went on lots of cruises and inaugurals. I tell people I’ve been on over 100 cruises . . . actually, I think the real number now, is more like over 200, but I’ve stopped counting. 

Four years ago I started sailing with Holland America again as Chaplain. About a year ago I started lecturing on ships, first on Celebrity and later on Holland America and Princess. My goal as a lecturer is to entertain and educate, something called “edu-tainment”, hopefully a far cry from the old days when professors would come on with dog-eared yellowed course notes and put their audiences to sleep! I talk about exploration, the Canal and life in Panama, piracy, slavery, rum and tequila . . . and it’s lots of fun.

What others are saying . . .

“We want you to know how much we appreciated Richard’s lectures. He made the islands come alive and we felt we had already been here. So, thank you Holland and thank you Richard” Stateroom 4103

“I particularly enjoyed the lectures by Richard Detrich. He was very well informed and also humorous. He was an excellent addition to the cruise.” Stateroom 8116

“We were very impressed with Richard – Travel Guide. His lectures were informative, funny and on point – great addition to the cruising experience.” Stateroom 8014

“The lectures given were exceptional – Richard is very knowledgeable and can hold an audience.” Stateroom 7103

“I just wanted to comment on how much my family and I have enjoyed the Travel Guide presentations given by travel guide Richard. We’d been watching them on the TV in our rooms, and finally were able to see one in person this morning. VERY entertaining and informative.” Staterooms 1067, 1043, 1037

“What impressed me most on this cruise were the talks by Dr. Richard. In all the cruises I have taken he has to be the most intelligent speaker I have ever listened to. He has a way of making all his topics very informative but his way of delivering his speeches made it great listening. If only more professors could communicate the way he does. He could have mini courses on board. Please keep him around for a long time. For me the most informative cruise I have ever taken.” Stateroom 6014

“One of the best resources of information and vignettes is Richard Detrich. His extensive experience with this part of the world is quite noteworthy, and it was very refreshing to hear his personal stories about living in Panama as an ‘ex-pat’.” Stateroom 4066

“Dr. Detrich gave very good talks explaining local customs, etc. Also good jokes.” Stateroom 6074

“Richard was outstanding…this is definitely a plus that Holland has added since our last cruise… I found the history and customs fascinating, he even did a lecture about coffee and another one on pirates…all excellent with humor and great understanding…. “” Cruise Critic db777

“One thing I really enjoyed those days were the “travel guide talks” give by “Richard from Panama” (Richard Detrich). Richard was very informative and entertaining. Also, he was very accessible (before talks, after talks and generally at fixed locations for individual questions).” Cruise Critic Meterman2

Cruise Critic . . . 12-9-08 “Richard Detrich provided information most days and we found [his talks] and him quite enjoyable. His help was appreciated on the Embera excursion and the info he provided on each port and its history was great. While we didn’t make many of the actual talks we listened to them conveniently on TV in our room.” Cruise Critic Ron57nie

12-4-09 “We are really enjoying the Panama lecturers! Dr. Detrich brings life to education. His insight on the various countries and their cultures makes learning entertaining. This is the kind of presentation we keep asking for on our end of cruise surveys.” Browns

“I enjoyed your lectures immensely and wish I could have had the honor of having you as a guest lecturer in my classroom.” David Tucker

“My wife Beth and I had a wonderful time on the previous cruse 9-19 December – greatly enhanced by your lectures on the places we’d see, the history, and the cultures we’d encounter. Add to this the enthusiasm you have about the life in retirement that you have chosen and wow!” John Pattison

“Zuiderdam entertainment was outstanding . . . The travel guide, Dr. Richard Detrich, was excellent and provided lectures on the history, people, and land of each of the ports we visited in addition to information on the Panama Canal.” Cruise Critic Cruizin’ Joe

“Zuiderdam travel guide Dr. Richard Detrich. An ex-pat American, a few years ago Detrich and his wife retired to a small coffee farm in Panama’s Chiriqui Mountains. The author, motivational speaker and former minister is passionate about his adopted homeland, its history and its culture. He loves sharing his passion with passengers during entertaining lectures and informal “chats” around the ship.” Robin Robinson, TORONTO SUN

“Panama canal lecturer Richard Detrich is fantastic.. his series of presentations are among the most interesting I have attended among enrichment lectures at sea…including those I have experienced on Cunard and Crystal ships.” Cruise Critic edgee

“Richard has been a phenomenal Travel Guide. As it is the first time this position has been held on this ship, he has been very innovative creating a program from the ground up. He has formed a good working relationship with the Shore Excursion team and has increased sales and awareness of the excursions offered. The guests have found his style of lecture perfect both in listening to it live and on the television. Richard has consistently gone above and beyond to make this position valuable on this itinerary and is an incredible asset to the entertainment team.” Julie Seidel, Event Manager, ZUIDERDAM

“Travel guide Richard did a great job and the guests really appreciated his style and expertise.” Rose Abello, Holland America VP traveling on ZUIDERDAM

“Richard is responsible for all questions relating to the ports of call in the itinerary. He advises, informs, and recommends what guests should do in port. His presentations are informative, well prepared and very well received by guests. His public speaking skills are phenomenal . . . Richard is organized, efficient, extremely competent and has excellent rapport with people of all ages. His communication skills, both written and verbal are excellent.” Yolanda Popelier-Visser, Shore Excursion Manager, ZUIDERDAM