Star Trek: The Cruise VIII – Day 2: ‘Strange New Worlds’ Cast Teases Season 3, ‘Voyager’ Doc Impresses

All of Monday was spent at sea as the Explorer of the Seas sped from Florida toward Mexico. For those on Star Trek: The Cruise VIII, this meant a schedule full of every possible Star Trek-related activity. In additional to traditional convention panels, there were fun events like Nana Visitor and Denise Crosby hosting a tequila tasting, Robert O’Reilly and J.G. Hertzler hosting “Klingon Karaoke,” and Linda Park teaching a sushi-rolling class. While there was plenty of fun to be had in the lounges and cafes, fans looking to focus on the franchise itself were set to have a banner day as well as have opportunities to get a different look at their favorite characters that evening. The theme for Monday was “Mirror Universe Night,” and passengers appreciated the chance to try out their best daggers and gold armor.

Our day 2 log features some of the panel highlights.

Strange New Worlds panel has three words for season 3

In the ship’s Studio B theater, Melissa Navia and Celia Rose Gooding faced a barrage of questions arranged by the special moderator, none other than Jonathan Frakes. The TNG star and Trek director appeared to be taking considerable satisfaction in having planned some extremely thorough questions, some about very obscure facets of the women’s careers before Star Trek or about their experiences very early in the casting process. One could get the impression that Jonathan had bought lunch for former roommates or best friends in order to get questions to surprise Gooding and Navia.

He asked Gooding about Ethan Peck’s tendency to prank her on set. Although perplexed by how Frakes could know about it, Gooding answered:

“Ethan is a little trickster spirit, that man! Oh my God! The way our consoles are set up is that I am pretty separate from everybody else but the person who is in my nearest eyeline is Ethan. And so on those 13-hour bridge days, we’re just giggling between the two of us. And one day… I’m very easily frightened, and people love frightening people who are easily frightened, it’s f—ed up… but he had a gross, gross thing, he had a fly in his hand and he’s like “Hey, check this out!” and he opens his hand!”

Melissa Navia and Jonathan Frakes on Star Trek; The Cruise VIII (Photo: TrekMovie)

Although happy to give an extensive deep dive into Navia’s and Gooding’s set shenanigans, Frakes was very candid about insisting on no season 3 spoilers. At Sunday’s welcome event, Melissa Navia said she and the cast haven’t even been told when to expect the new season (although we know it’s coming this year). Having personally felt the consequences of accidentally leaking a future plot twist, Jonathan is very protective of Star Trek shows in active production. With a heightened sense of awareness and caution, the three actors allowed themselves to describe season 3, limiting themselves to one word each. Gooding chose “intimate,” while Navia opted for “fearless,” and Frakes (who directed an episode) said “brave.”

Melissa Navia, Jonathan Frakes, and Celia Rose Gooding on Star Trek; The Cruise VIII (Photo: TrekMovie)

Voyager Documentary impresses

The most anticipated event of the day was a theatrical screening of the documentary To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager. The two-story Palace Theatre was packed with 1,350 guests to watch the doc, introduced by producer Lolita Fatjo and producer/director David Zappone. As the film isn’t yet released for streaming or on physical media, rare public showings such as this one have been the only glimpse available for this celebratory film, done in the same spirit (and by the same creative team) as the highly praised What We Left Behind documentary on Deep Space Nine. To The Journey is a film meant for the fan who has seen every episode multiple times and now wants a way to appreciate their show from the perspective of the people who made it.

The documentary recaps, in a very succinct way, the pre-production of Voyager through the stories of each of the principal actors. The audience gets a real sense of how stressful (and exciting) it would be to get cast in a high-budget follow-up to a highly acclaimed entry in a giant sci-fi franchise, and on top of that, be told that your show would be the cornerstone of a brand-new television network. More than just a collection of interviews, To the Journey takes great care to also tell the larger story of Star Trek: Voyager—how it shaped popular culture, and how it impacted the Star Trek audience as a whole. Despite the great detail found in the production stories, just as much storytelling revolved around fans who found, through Voyager, a path into space and science.

The documentary includes recently recorded interview footage of the late Jeri Taylor, who passed away shortly before the film’s first screenings late last year. When she first appeared on screen, the theater audience responded with an emotional burst of applause. At the preceding panel, Lolita Fatjo recalled:

“She taught me so much, she was just a great mentor for so many people. I miss her very much. So glad we got to do the Voyager documentary when we did because she was in it, in full force.”

Robert Duncan McNeill, David Zappone, and Lolita Fatjo introduce the Voyager doc on Star Trek: The Cruise VIII (Photo: TrekMovie)

Voyager Panel

The screening was a great compliment to the earlier Voyager panel, held in the same Palace Theatre. Cast members Garrett Wang, Tim Russ, Robert Duncan McNeill, and Jeri Ryan, were joined by producer (and later showrunner) Brannon Braga for a chat moderated by Lolita Fatjo. While To the Journey invoked the more profound larger impact of the show, the cast was happy to talk about the weird and stressful nature of Star Trek production.

Robbie McNeill, for example, noted that while his character’s beloved alter ego Captain Proton was a lot of fun to play, the jet pack costume caused him some posterior burns. He then recalled how the rocket effect was created by strapping pyrotechnics to his jet pack:

“I love the Captain Proton outfit. I thought Bob Blackman did a great job of capturing that nostalgia and the detail of it, it was really fun. Especially when my butt caught on fire, that was awesome. Special effects caught my pants on fire. I had some blisters on my cheeks, yeah.”

Jeri Ryan, Garrett Wang and Brannon Braga on Star Trek: The Cruise VIII (Photo: TrekMovie)

More Cruise VIII day 2 photos

Robin Curtis poetry reading on Star Trek: The Cruise VIII (Photo: TrekMovie)

Denise Crosby and Nana Visitor host tequila tasting on Star Trek: The Cruise VIII (Photo: TrekMovie)

Melissa Navia and Celia Rose Gooding join fans for trivia on Star Trek: The Cruise VIII (Photo: TrekMovie)

Dr. Erin Macdonald gives a science briefing on Star Trek: The Cruise (Photo: TrekMovie)

More cruising

Star Trek: The Cruise VIII still has a long journey to go to Belize and back, returning on Sunday. So check back for more updates. And if you missed it, here is our departure day log.