Lindblad Expeditions has joined forces with One Day University to add a lecture program to a number of expedition sailings in 2019.

“We basically wanted to create an experience that people wouldn’t expect, and go beyond what was usually done,” said Steven Schragis, founder and director of One Day University.

“We did some test trips, and it went very well, so we are rolling it out some more,” he continued.

Lindblad’s One Day U brochure includes four key expeditions in 2019, each with two professors aboard.

There is a March 6 sailing to South Georgia and the Falklands; a May 6 expedition to the Inside Passage; a Patagonia expedition on Oct. 7; and an Easter Island to Tahiti voyage on Oct. 9.

The programs are included with the cruise price.

The test expedition happened on a cruise to Iceland, where guests got the opportunity to hear a lecture on Abraham Lincoln.

“It turned out the guests were very interested in Abraham Lincoln, and we have a lecturer that is about as good as anyone in the world on the subject,” Schragis said. “We are matching the most popular professors and the most popular subjects.”

Those subjects aren’t matched to geography or the expedition, but are instead concentrated on professors who can deliver thrilling lectures to an interested and highly educated passenger base, Schragis explained.

Lectures generally last about 70 minutes.

“We didn’t just confine it to one subject,” Schragis continued. “History may be the most popular, but music, film and science are not too far behind.”

One Day University describes itself as a highly entertaining, engaging and educational live lecture event, delivered by popular professors from among the finest universities in the country.

The group recently registered its 100,000th student and since 2007 has grown from a single half-day event in New York City to a series of nearly 200 full- and half-day programs in over 60 cities around the country.