The Joy of Cruising Podcast (Paul C. Thornton)
Explore every episode of The Joy of Cruising Podcast
| Pub. Date | Title | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03 Feb 2023 | The Joy of Cruising Podcast Introduction | 00:08:01 | |
Paul C. Thornton, author of The Joy of Cruising Trilogy—The Joy of Cruising, Cruising Interrupted, and new release, The Joy of Cruising Again introduces The Joy of Cruising Podcast—a weekly conversation with one of the amazing cruisers with fascinating stories featured in The Joy of Cruising Trilogy. Paul highlights the amazing diversity of the books in terms of where the various cruise personalities he writes about are from in the world, their age range, and their fascinating stories about cruising from the perspective of celebrities, to “ordinary” cruisers doing extraordinary things! Paul emphasizes this is the last time you'll hear just him, and mentions some of the podcast guests in upcoming weeks Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 09 Feb 2023 | Cruise Tips TV | 00:30:50 | |
Sheri of Cruise Tips TV is one of the most popular cruise influencers and content creators on social media, and is often called upon to represent the perspective of cruisers in mainstream media. Cruise Tips TV was featured in both The Joy of Cruising amzn.to/2EAMddF and Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y, and when I wanted to get quotes to include in the new book, The Joy of Cruising Again amzn.to/3lAfyON, from cruise community leaders following the restart Sheri is one of the first I turned to. Sheri is a welcome and ideal first guest, always full of valuable cruising insights. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 16 Feb 2023 | Life Well Cruised | 00:26:11 | |
A conversation with Ilana of Life Well Cruised, a massively successful cruise blog, YouTube channel, and influential FaceBook community. Life Well Cruised was featured in the second book of The Joy of Cruising Trilogy—Cruising Interrupted www.amazon.com/Cruising-Interrupted-follow-up-formerly-known/dp/1098344650/ in the section, Bloggers: Cruise Community Champions. Ilana and Life Well Cruised are certainly Cruise Community Champions to its almost 200,000 fans. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 23 Feb 2023 | Vincent Ingala: Performing On Theme Cruises | 00:38:02 | |
The Joy of Cruising Podcast welcomes contemporary jazz star Vincent Ingala to the show. One of the fastest emerging contemporary jazz recording artists in recent history, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer, Vincent Ingala has blasted into an exciting stratosphere. Still in his twenties, the charismatic saxophonist has been named Billboard Smooth Jazz Artist of the Year in 2012, Sirius XM Watercolors breakthrough artist of the year in 2013, and his music is consistently found atop the most noteworthy music charts in the world, including nine number one hits on the billboard smooth jazz chart, and twenty one singles in the billboard smooth jazz top 10. In The Joy of Cruising, I wrote extensively about theme cruising in a section called Theme Cruising: Two Passions In One, and another section called, Performing On the Ocean. I am delighted to welcome Vincent Ingala to talk about theme cruising from the performer’s perspective.
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| 02 Mar 2023 | Quirky Cruise | 00:36:05 | |
Quirky Cruise was featured in Cruising Interrupted in a section called “Specialty Cruising: Fun and Quirky.” I have had conversations with cruisers who have gone on over one hundred cruises but have never experienced a cruise on a non-traditional cruise ship; that is, a small ship designed to hold 300 or fewer passengers; some low double digits, even single digits! These small ships can range from spartan to ultra-luxury, and because of their size and design can access destinations that mainstream cruise ships cannot. Quirky Cruise's slogan is “travel without the crowds.” Quirky Cruise is the source for reviews, news, and round-ups about unusual and small-ship cruises under 300 passengers, from river boats to canal barges, sailing ships, coastal cruisers, and expedition vessels. Heidi Sarna and Ted Scull created Quirky Cruise because they love small-ship cruising and want to share what they know and have experienced with others who also like traveling on small, intimate vessels. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 30 Mar 2023 | Dana Freeman Travels | 00:30:47 | |
Dana Freeman of Dana Freeman Travels, is Vermont-based. Dana got her start in travel focusing on Vermont area staycations. Today, Dana is a world traveler in every sense—she is one of several featured in The Joy of Cruising Trilogy who transcend cruising—travel icons who cruise. When Dana cruises, she focuses on small ship and luxury cruising. Dana is a highly demanded freelance travel writer.
I featured Dana in The Joy of Cruising in a section called The Influencers. I reached out her when writing the book in 2018, as Dana was named one of the “10 Travel Influencers Changing How We Vacation” by Porthole Cruise Magazine, and one of the “30 Bloggers and Travelers to Follow for Summer Vacation Advice” by Travel Pulse. The title of Dana’s feature in The Joy of Cruising is "Dana Freeman Travels: Cruising With Grandma." Dana’s passion for travel, particularly cruising, can be traced directly to her grandmother. "Cruising With Grandma" is the most poignant story I featured in The Joy of Cruising Trilogy; yet it is joyous—highlighted by 95-year-old gran kayaking in Costa Rica. I suspect some tears were shed as "Cruising With Grandma" was read. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 09 Mar 2023 | Joe Church: Marathoner of the Seas | 00:35:04 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Joe Church, a truly amazing story and reader favorite. In The Joy of Cruising. I dubbed Joe the Marathoner of the Seas, and told his unique story of how 70-something Joe runs a marathon distance, 26.2 miles, on every Royal Caribbean ship—beginning with Liberty of the Seas in 2008, not only his first marathon distance on a ship, but his first cruise—through to Royal’s newest, the largest ship in the world, Wonder of the Seas just a few weeks ago. Joe was also featured in the second book, Cruising Interrupted—his story is evergreen—as long as Royal builds new ships, Joe says he going to run a marathon distance on them. As fascinating as that is, there is a lot more to Joe than running on ships. He ran in the NYC Marathon a couple years ago; he has run marathons on every continent, 63 countries, and in every state in the US—well over 25,000-miles since running his first marathon in only 2005. Joe is a man of three passions: cruising, running, and oh, he is an ardent bird watcher who traveled the world birdwatching long before his first cruise. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 16 Mar 2023 | In The Loop Travel | 00:24:15 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome John Roberts the embodiment of In The Loop Travel. I featured John and In The Loop Travel in Cruising Interrupted in a section called The Globetrotters, which focused on world travelers who transcend cruising. John is a consummate cruiser, however. He has sailed 120 cruises and has a wide breadth of cruising experience, from mega-ships to luxury craft to expedition cruises to Antarctica. Whenever I am close to booking a ship—and I wish it were one of the luxury vessels John vlogs about—I first check to see if John has a review up. And he always does. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 06 Apr 2023 | Lucy Williams, The Traveling Wife Cruising Around the World | 00:39:06 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Lucy Williams. Lucy was in The Joy of Cruising in a section called The Influencers, as The Traveling Wife Cruising Around the World. As you might expect, my interest was immediately piqued when I came across her catchily titled blog. It turned out that The Traveling Wife Cruising Around the World was much more than just a catchy tagline for Lucy. It literally was a way of life for her by virtue of the fact that Lucy—a former cruise ship employee—was the spouse of a cruise ship officer, and she cruised with him full time. In her thirties, as a “traveling wife” Lucy has been on over 60 cruises totaling approximately 600 days and has visited over 80 countries. Amazing right? Well, that has just been since 2015 when Lucy started cruising as a traveling wife; It doesn’t include the hundreds of cruises and destinations Lucy experienced as a crew member—so many that she doesn’t remember her first as a 24-year-old jewelry shop hostess Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 23 Mar 2023 | The Legendary Manny Kellough | 00:39:23 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast I am delighted to welcome The Legendary Manny Kellough. Legendary? At 17 Manny played drums with Ray Charles; later Barry White, Carmen McCrae, The Main Ingredient, Freddie Hubbard, The Rolling Stones (Goat's Head Soup Tour), Quincy Jones (Sanford & Son Theme Song), Billy Preston (Grammy, and 4 gold records) and Larry Graham and Graham Central Station. Manny set up the jazz program on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Currently he appears with his ensemble on Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas, and also is a guest musician on Virgin Voyages. An amazing gentleman and a great conversation! Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 27 Mar 2023 | Billy D. Washington, Stand-Up Comedian On Cruise Ships | 00:57:24 | |
On this bonus episode of The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Comedian Billy D. Washington. Those of you who have cruised Carnival, specifically the beautiful new Mardi Gras or Celebration have likely seen him late-night in Punchliners, or with your kids at the family-friendly show. We took my granddaughter on Mardi Gras for her 13th birthday; we watched Billy D at the family-friendly show—on more than one occasion. And, we watched every version of Billy D’s uncensored sets in Punchliners. He was hilarious, and what set him apart was his delivery, timing, and total unpredictability—he took funny stories in directions I totally did not expect. He killed! I have always been interested in the entertainment aspect of the cruise experience, especially music and stand-up comedy. In The Joy of Cruising, I included a section called “Performing On the Ocean.” And then when we cruised Mardi Gras, with 4 comedians—a first for me in my cruising experience—I was fortunate to be introduced to Billy D. Washington. They were all funny. Billy D. distinguished himself from the others by interspersing music, by way of a keyboard—and he was very good at it. Lastly, he had a unique, and impressive, background—appearances on HBO; Comedy Central; and was a regular host on VH1. And he once had a career in law enforcement. A funny and thought-provoking conversation. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 13 Apr 2023 | Card Player Cruises featuring Poker Hall of Famer/The First Lady of Poker, Linda Johnson | 00:24:12 | |
This week The Joy of Cruising Podcast is honored to welcome Linda Johnson of Card Player Cruises, a leading theme cruise operator that for the past 30 years has specialized in partial- and full-ship chartered poker cruises. Card Player Cruises has hosted over 200 poker cruises and well over 50,000 passengers--from beginners to a virtual who's who of professional poker. Linda Johnson was the second woman inducted into The Poker Hall of Fame, and is universally known in the world poker community as The First Lady of Poker. Linda and Card Player Cruises was featured in The Joy of Cruising in the section, Theme Cruising: Two Passions In One. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 20 Apr 2023 | Professor Cruise | 00:35:36 | |
This week on The Joy Of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Sarah, known in the cruise blogosphere as Professor Cruise. And yes, she really is a professor (she has a PhD in psychology.) Sarah no longer teaches for a university—but she is still holding class online—cruisers are her students. Check her blog out because I guarantee you’ll learn an lot about cruising in general, as well as for your upcoming cruise—like what are the menus on every restaurant on a particular ship. Professor Cruise is featured in my new release, The Joy Of Cruising Again in a section called “Cruise Bloggers, Vloggers, And Content Creators.” The name of her feature of course, is Professor Cruise. I could have subtitled it though, as Professor Alaska. For one thing, my interviews with her for the book took place over a couple of months, because she was constantly cruising, and seemingly was in Alaska every few weeks. How much does Alaska appeal to Professor Cruise? Well, she relocated to Seattle from the northeast because of her attraction to cruising to Alaska. And oh, she overlooks the pier from her apartment. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 27 Apr 2023 | Emma Cruises | 00:23:52 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Emma, of Emma Cruises a blog and accompanying YouTube channel, which is one of the most popular cruise channels worldwide. As mentioned, I like to say to the cruise personalities I write about in the books that we are forever connected—many years from now their friends and relatives will be able to read about them in a book written by me. Well, Emma and I are doubly connected because she one of the very few cruise bloggers or cruise personalities that have been featured in more than one book in The Joy of Cruising Trilogy . Emma first appeared in The Joy of Cruising when I featured her after the then 23 year-old part-time blogger shocked the UK cruise community by winning UK’s Wave Award for Favorite Cruise Blogger for Cruising Isn’t Just for Old People. I featured the 28 year-old Emma in The Joy of Cruising Again after she transformed herself into Emma Cruises a full-time global cruising personality. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 11 May 2023 | A Rich and Jazzy Life | 00:53:01 | |
The Joy of Cruising Podcast is delighted to welcome Rich and Jasmine Ranmarine, the creators of one of the most popular YouTube channels in the world, A Rich and Jazzy Life, along with their highly influential private Facebook group, the 57,000 member Melanin At Sea. A Rich and Jazzy Life was featured in my new book The Joy of Cruising Podcast Again in a section called The Cruise Communicators. Of course, A Rich and Jazzy Life is a play on Rich and Jasmine’s names. I didn’t know that when it showed up in my search results on YouTube, after I searched for Carnival Mardi Gras, which I had just booked for my granddaughter's 13th birthday celebration. Despite seeing some search results, I was familiar with, I clicked on the one I wasn’t familiar with. The name, A Rich and Jazzy Life, evoked style and glitz, and I was curious. Well the style and glitz was off the chart, the visuals were compelling including a well-dressed, beautiful family comprised of Rich, Jasmine, and their daughters Reign and Royce--that always wore matching outfits-- and the review was substantive. I became a loyal fan with that introduction to A Rich and Jazzy Life and proceeded to gorge on their video catalog. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 25 May 2023 | Cruising's Young and Restless: Sparkx | 00:33:26 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Marcus Adams of the website Sparkx. Marcus is a 30-something leading UK-based blogger and travel writer who is passionate about cruising.Marcus is a sought-after cruise expert, and he writes for and contributes to several publications and websites in UK and the USA, such as Porthole Cruise Magazine, Huffington Post, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, and CNN. Marcus has also been a featured contributor for Cruise International Magazine, specializing in LGBTQ travel.I featured Marcus in The Joy of Cruising in a section called “Cruising’s Young and Restless” which focused on up-and-coming millennials making their mark in cruising. Marcus is still doing great things in cruising, and it is so good to chat with him again. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 04 May 2023 | The Godmother | 00:55:10 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Elizabeth Hill. Two queens, a convicted felon, and a schoolteacher board a cruise ship.... Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. This is no joke, however; these four individuals are, respectively, the Queen of England, Queen Latifa, the iconic, and Snoops good friend, Martha Stewart, and my guest today Elizabeth Hill—all Godmothers of cruise ships. Cruise ship Godmothers perform the task of christening a new cruise ship, ceremonially naming the ship marked by the smashing of a bottle of champagne against the ship hull. Cruise ship “Godparents” are usually women, even animated ones like Tinkerbell who was named Godmother to Disney Cruise Line’s Wonder—although rapper Pitbull was selected as Godfather of Norwegian Escape. The notion of a ship godmother had its origins hundreds of years ago where ceremonial launching of seagoing vessels took place in various forms, either celebratory or religious, depending on local custom, but generally to bestow the ship and crew with well-wishes and safe travels. Usually, celebrities are chosen as godmothers, such as Oprah, Helen Mirren, Dame Judi Dench, Whoopi, Reba McEntire, Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, J-Lo and Simone Biles. And then there is Godmother Elizabeth, who you probably never heard of. I wrote about her story in The Joy of Cruising and called it a ‘Modern Day Fairy Tale.’ Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 18 May 2023 | DCL Duo | 01:08:15 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Sam and Brian of DCL Duo podcast. Their impressive website describes them as follows: "The DCL Duo podcast is a Disney Cruise Line-focused podcast, with occasional detours into general cruising and Disney topics. We’re fans of the Disney parks, Adventures By Disney, Run Disney and Disney Vacation Club." Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 22 May 2023 | Fire & Ice: Reflections of 16-Day Hawaii to Alaska Cruise On NCL Spirit | 00:27:47 | |
Fire & Ice refers to our late April/early May 16-day cruise on Norwegian Spirit to the dual bucket list destinations of the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska. This episode shares our reflections of this unique cruise. Would we recommend it? I learned of this cruise several months ago when I interviewed Professor Cruise, a leading cruise blogger and Alaska expert, for a feature I was writing about her in The Joy of Cruising Again. Professor Cruise who also goes by Sarah, had just returned from this same cruise and I was amazed that such a cruise existed—especially given that it contained two destinations that were on my bucket list. In fact, on episode #12 Professor Cruise, which aired a couple of days before we flew to Honolulu, I thought it would be fitting to have Sarah on the show. When Sarah first told me about the Fire & Ice cruise, I thought “What a wonderful way to check off two bucket list destinations in one trip.” However, I knew that convincing my wife was not going to be easy. She is not quite as cruising addicted as I am, and this was a more costly cruise than what we typically spend. Not the most money we’ve spent on a cruise but certainly significantly higher than our average cruise expenditure. So, I figured perhaps we could do it in a couple of years. And then an opportunity presented itself! Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 29 May 2023 | Cameo Rascale, Internationally Acclaimed Acrobatic, Comedy Juggling Act | 00:31:27 | |
On this bonus episode of The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome James and Rebecca, who are the embodiment of Cameo Rascale, internationally acclaimed circus variety act dazzling audiences across the globe! We experienced this dynamic husband and wife duo performing exciting acrobatics, mesmerising juggling and quick-witted comedy on our recent bucket list 16-day cruise from Hawaii to Alaska. On the second day of the cruise I saw that the headliner in the theater was a juggler. Jugglers are always a lot of fun, and if you listened to Episode Two featuring Ilana of Life Well Cruised, you might recall her being asked to toss the bowling pin to the juggler and she almost hit him in the head with it (the video of that is in episode two's show notes.) I thought perhaps this juggler was the same one. Well, it turned out this juggling act, Cameo Rascale was unlike any I had ever seen. First of all, as mentioned it was a married couple. James did all the amazing things jugglers do, including juggling axes, knives, and bowling balls. But the acrobatics, dance, and humorous interplay with Rebecca added a unique dimension. We were spellbound, and laughing the entire show. And at the end of the show, we were excited when James mentioned they would be performing an entirely different show later in the cruise, which we made sure to get better seats for and had as much fun or more than the first performance. I am so appreciative they agreed to be on The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 12 Jun 2023 | The Jenn Danielle Experience: Reflections On Virgin Voyages | 00:45:48 | |
I am delighted to welcome to The Joy of Cruising Podcast, The Jenn Danielle, who I could refer to as a social media star, leading solo travel content creator, influencer, brand ambassador, or vlogger! I’ll refer to her as Jennifer, and ask her to share her insight into a topic of immense curiosity to passionate cruisers like our listeners: critically acclaimed, rapidly growing, and yet a mystery to most cruisers—cruising on Virgin Voyages. In the three books comprising The Joy of Cruising Trilogy, I have had little content regarding Virgin Voyages. When the 1st book The Joy of Cruising was published early 2019, cruisers hadn’t heard of the line yet. The new release The Joy of Cruising Again, was startedwhen the cruise world was in a state of suspended animation, although I said this in the introductory section: I’m intrigued by Virgin Voyages; the upstart cruise line jettisoned two cruising institutions—buffets and, wait for it…kids! I got into travel at all-inclusive resorts where buffets were the “entry drug” that led me to try cruising. At first, I was put off by the prospect of no buffets. After COVID-19, buffets are no longer as significant a part of the cruise experience for me. Virgin’s no kids policy also gave me pause. Before the pandemic, I almost always cruised with my granddaughter. And as a young adult I grew up in cruising by taking my young daughters with me. So, it’s definitely a new passenger experience for me. Later in the book after cruising had restarted, I featured UK cruise writer legend Dave Monk (Shipmonk) whose photo at the naming of Scarlet Lady showing Richard Branson dancing on the table to Rihanna, was front page in UK. By the way, Shipmonk will be my guest on The Joy of Cruising Podcast in August. Now, Virgin Voyages, whose Scarlet Lady was named Best New Cruise Ship in 2021 at the Cruise Critic Awards, dominated the Ocean Cruising category of the 2022 Cruise Critics Editors Picks Award (Best Dining; Best Nightlife; Best for LGBQT+ Travelers). We are booked on Scarlet Lady, interest in the unique cruise line is sky high, and there’s no one better to share her perspective on Virgin Voyages than The Jenn Danielle! Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 01 Jun 2023 | Cruise Ship Diaries | 01:15:38 | |
The Joy of Cruising Podcast welcomes to this week's episode, Neil Gregory who kept, and continues to update a diary of his time working as a videographer on several ships for Princess Cruises. His story is real, raucous and laugh-out-loud funny! Cruise Ship Diaries was featured in the just released The Joy of Cruising Again amzn.to/3lAfyON Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 05 Jun 2023 | Mother's Day: A Daughter's Love Letter, The Today Show, and Alaska Cruise On Holland America Line | 00:56:29 | |
On this bonus episode of The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Stephanie and her mom, Marineda. A few weeks ago I did a fun episode called The Godmother and referred to it as a modern-day fairy tale. Well, I just learned of another modern-day fairy tale—a sweet Mother's Day oriented tale that I would have found compelling in and of itself. What made it extra special for me was when I clicked on a Holland America Line blog post, I recognized in the accompanying photo of Stephanie and Marineda, that I knew Marineda from when we worked together in Florida where I lived for nine years. And, we were Facebook friends. When I read the post, some other considerations made me that much more interested in their story. First of all, Marineda and I both grew up in Brooklyn, and moved to Long Island, NY. The blog post discussed a Holland American Line Westerdam cruise to Alaska that Stephanie and her mom sailed. We recently did a podcast episode, Fire & Ice, which detailed our own cruise to Alaska in May so I couldn’t wait to compare and contrast Alaska experiences with them. Stephanie and Marineda’s Westerdam cruise was the result of a touching letter Stephanie sent to the NBC Today Show about her relationship with her mom in response to a Mother’s Day Brunch challenge. Perhaps most amazingly, I learned from the blog post that Marineda was 88–which means we worked together when Marineda was 85! I’d have never guessed that! I am so appreciative they agreed to share such a beautiful story with the listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 08 Jun 2023 | Eat Sleep Cruise | 00:37:46 | |
Today on The Joy of Cruising Podcast I am delighted to welcome Donald and Heidi Bucolo, the creators of the popular and highly influential Eat Sleep Cruise, an award-winning blog. Eat Sleep Cruise was selected by Porthole Cruise Magazine to its list of the top 10 Cruise Influencers of 2019. Eat Sleep Cruise has been quoted regularly in places like Forbes, CNBC, AARP magazine, and Porthole Cruise Magazine. Eat Sleep Cruise was featured in my second book Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y in a section called Bloggers: Cruise Community Champions. Eat Sleep Cruise brings a very comprehensive and diverse perspective to the cruise conversation. Don and Heidi have sailed all the major mega-ships; they tend to try out every major new ship that is launched; and, they also have also sailed on more intimate vessels to unique destinations like the high-end Viking Ocean Cruises, and Windstar Cruises. They have sailed throughout the Caribbean and Bahamas, Alaska, Hawaii, Cuba, Bermuda, Ireland, Iceland, and Northern Europe and have experienced bucket list excursions like helicopter tours in both Alaska and Hawaii; a glacier walk in Alaska, exploring Chacchoben Mayan Ruins in Costa Maya, Mexico; a stop in St. Petersburg, Russia where they visited the Hermitage Museum and attended the Russian Ballet; Berlin where Heidi and Don saw the Berlin Cathedral, the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, and visited the remnants of the Berlin Wall; the Game of Thrones tour on a visit to Northern Ireland. And, they have visited some of the world’s best beaches including Horseshoe Bay Beach in Bermuda, Eagle Beach in Aruba, Waikiki Beach in Oahu, White Bay Beach in Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands, and the Baths at Virgin Gorda. I could go on and on, but i just wanted to provide you a sense for what you can learn about by visiting the Eat Sleep Cruise blog and YouTube channel. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 15 Jun 2023 | Royal Caribbean Blog | 00:38:53 | |
This week The Joy of Cruising Podcast is delighted to welcome Matt Hochberg, creator of the Royal Caribbean Blog. My first direct involvement with Matt was when I featured him in The Joy of Cruising in a section called “Cruise Bloggers: The Readers’ Choice” comprised of finalists and winners in the 10best Readers’ Choice Best Cruise Blogger, sponsored by USA Today. Matt won for the Royal Caribbean Blog. Royal Caribbean Blog originated in 2010 and the accompanying podcast is now up to 500 episodes, and today is indisputably the leading unofficial source for all things Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. To say Matt dominates his space is an understatement. The Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube channel is the second most popular cruise channel in the world, with 235,000 subscribers, its blog is the third most visited in the world and the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is a consensus top three in the world—all the more amazing when you consider Royal Caribbean Blog exclusively covers a single cruise line. How popular, and influential is Matt’s brand: search “Royal Caribbean” and one of the top results—the first result after Royal Caribbean Cruise Line will be Matt’s blog. He has become almost synonymous with the cruise line! I mentioned my first direct involvement with Matt was his inclusion in The Joy of Cruising. However, I became really familiar with Matt well prior to that. After sailing my first cruise ever on Royal Caribbean Sovereign of the Seas—the world’s largest ship in 1988, I got hooked and sailed many cruises in the ensuing years, but I didn’t return to Royal for 30 years. Then I booked Anthem of the Seas in 2018 (which turned out to be the genesis of The Joy of Cruising series). Matt’s podcast was the first stop for my research! Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 22 Jun 2023 | The Disney Cruise Line Blog | 00:38:20 | |
This week The Joy of Cruising Podcast is delighted to welcome Scott Sanders, creator of The Disney Cruise Line Blog. My first involvement with Scott was when I featured him in The Joy of Cruising in a section called “Cruise Bloggers: The Reader’s Choice” comprised of finalists and winners in the 10best Readers’ Choice Best Cruise Blogger, sponsored by USA Today. Scott won for The Disney Cruise Line Blog. Since 2012, The Disney Cruise Line Blog and accompanying podcast has been an unofficial source of Disney Cruise Line news and information and a place where fans can share Disney cruise experiences. I have told the various individuals I’ve featured in The Joy of Cruising books that we are forever connected. Many years from now a reader will pick up a book written by me and featuring them. Well, Scott and I share a special bond. In addition to The Joy of Cruising feature, Scott’s photo of Disney Magic against the midnight sun in Reykjavik, Iceland is on the cover of my new book The Joy of Cruising Again! When I included the photo and its backstory in The Joy of Cruising five years ago, I told Scott it was the most stunning cruise ship photo I had seen. Little did I know it would become an indelible part of my writing journey years later. Scott lives with his wife Emily, and daughter Isabelle in Celebration, Florida, known as “the community Disney built.” Celebration is five miles from Disney World and was originally developed by the Walt Disney company. Scott and Emily were married in a Disney wedding at Walt Disney World Resort. Half of their honeymoon was at Disney World, and the other half on Disney Wonder. He was destined to create The Disney Cruise Line Blog! Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 29 Jun 2023 | Paul & Carole Love to Travel | 00:38:44 | |
This week The Joy of Cruising Podcast is delighted to welcome Paul and Carole of Paul and Carole Love to Travel, a blog and accompanying YouTube channel, one of the leading UK cruise sources. I like to say to the cruise personalities I write about in the The Joy of Cruising books that we are forever connected—many years from now their friends and relatives will be able to read about them in a book written by me. Well, Paul and Carole and I are doubly connected because they are one of the very few cruise personalities that have been featured in more than one book. They first appeared in The Joy of Cruising in a chapter called “Cuba Cruising”, which chronicled the experience of three diverse couples—two from the US, and Paul and Carole from the UK—cruising to Cuba prior to Cuba being cut off as a destination for US travelers. So, it’s still on my bucket list. I had a lot of fun interacting with Paul and Carole in the writing of Cuba Cruising. When they talked about their bar crawl in Havana, I felt like I was on it with them. In the ensuing months, every time I saw photos or videos of Paul and Carole I would smile—they just exuded fun and always seemed to be having a good time. When I decided to write a follow-up, Cruising Interrupted, I included a section, “The Passionate Cruisers of The Joy of Cruising...What Are They Up To Now” and I reconnected with Paul and Carole. It was again a lot of fun, and I am delighted to once again reconnect with them on The Joy of Cruising Podcast . Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 26 Jun 2023 | Jason Venner, Cruise Entertainment Producer, Director, Creator, MC Extraordinaire! | 01:12:37 | |
This week The Joy of Cruising Podcast is delighted to welcome MC Extraordinaire Jason Venner. In a section called "Specialty Cruising: Fun and Quirky," I wrote about Jason in Cruising Interrupted—Cruise Entertainment Producer, Director, Creator, MC Extraordinaire! Jason Venner has spent essentially his entire adult life in the cruise world, mostly in a variety of cruise music and entertainment capacities. In other words, bringing the fun! Jason got his start in cruising in 2002 as a DJ with Holland America Line (HAL), a high-end cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation. At HAL, Jason progressed through the ranks from a DJ to over 10 years as a Cruise Director, to Corporate Trainer, to three years as Producer and Host of the joint ABC/BBC HAL production, Dancing with the Stars: At Sea. Since 2015, Jason has been self-employed as a Producer, Director, and Host of full-ship music charter cruises, primarily in partnership with StarVista LIVE, a leading theme cruise operator. For StarVista LIVE, Jason hosts the following annual cruises, each of which features scores of legendary performers as well as comedians, activities, and ship décor in keeping with the musical genre: Malt Shop Memories Cruise; Soul Train Cruise; The Country Music Cruise; Flower Power Cruise; Ultimate Disco Cruise, and more. The hundreds of entertainers Jason has introduced, interviewed, escorted, and accompanied include Smokey Robinson, Frankie Avalon, Kenny Rogers, Charley Pride, Chubby Checker, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Beach Boys, Earth, Wind & Fire, and The Temptations. “It’s crazy to be on a first-name basis with the legends of the music industry.” Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 13 Jul 2023 | Mr. Scott Eddy, One of the World's Most Popular Travel Influencers | 00:37:07 | |
This week The Joy of Cruising Podcast is delighted to welcome Scott Eddy. I wrote about Scott in Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y in a section called "The Globetrotters." And a globetrotter Scott is, whether by land or sea or literally—it’s on his website and social media: Innovator—Trendsetter—Globetrotter. And, Scott is the television host for the first travel series ever on LifetimeTV, called Video Globetrotter. @MrScottEddy, as he is known on social media where he is among the world’s most popular travel personalities, has taken somewhat of a circuitous route to arrive at his current designation as one of the top travel influencers in the world. A Forbes Magazine profile stated that Scott Eddy “is consistently rated as one of the top five luxury travel influencers in the world.” Yet, travel wasn’t even Scott’s first career, although he traveled quite a bit with his family in his youth. Before travel, he found success in financial services as a stockbroker. But if not for a tragic twist of fate Scott would have ended up in neither investments nor travel, but as a police officer. Scott has over 100 cruises but he transcends cruising. He is a top tier hospitality and travel brand ambassador and influencer. He lives in south Florida but from following his whereabouts on his social media you’re as likely to find him anywhere in the world—abroad or in the US—on a given day.
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| 06 Jul 2023 | Sometimes Sailing | 01:00:12 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Mikkel and Dan Woodruff, known in the cruise blogosphere as Sometimes Sailing. Specializing in small ship sailing and ship within-a-ship concepts such as Celebrity Cruises The Retreat, Norwegian Haven, and Princess MedallionClass, Sometimes Sailing is featured in my new release, The Joy Of Cruising Again amzn.to/3lAfyON in a section called “Cruise Bloggers, Vloggers, and Content Creators.” They also have a companion blog which predated Sometimes Sailing called Sometimes Home. From their website: Sometimes Home grew out of a deep passion for exploring the world and wanting to share it with you while maintaining a home base. We write about travel in the United States and internationally as adults, only, on a mid-size to luxury budget. We also share tips about our home because we take care of it while we travel (plants included). And when we’re home, we love our cozy nest. We’re often away. And we’re sometimes home. While Mikkel and Dan Woodruff chronicled their extensive travel--local as well as international--on Sometimes Home, during the cruise lockdown they launched Sometimes Sailing to specifically focus on small-ship sailing. On the podcast we discuss barge cruising, yacht cruising, river cruising and ship-within-a-ship experiences on large cruise ships. They are particularly knowledgeable about river cruising, which has long been on my bucket list. When I interviewed them for The Joy Of Cruising Again we focused substantially on river cruising. It's a fun read, but be forewarned: I booked my first river cruise for August 2024 on AmaKristina shortly thereafter!
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| 27 Jul 2023 | Cruise Mummy | 00:38:17 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Jenni Fielding, creator of the Cruise Mummy blog. I featured Cruise Mummy in Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y in a section called “Bloggers: Cruise Community Champions.” To say Cruise Mummy is one of the top cruise blogs out of the UK is an understatement. First, Cruise Mummy is the second most trafficked cruise blog in the UK. And recently, Jenni and Cruise Mummy won UK’s Wave Award for Favorite Cruise Travel Blogger for 2022. As a matter of fact, Cruise Mummy is the 7th most popular cruise blog in the world! Besides the recognition from the Wave Award, Cruise Mummy has been quoted in USA Today, Cruise Critic, Yahoo, World of Cruising and many more. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 20 Jul 2023 | Joseph Farcus, Renowned Cruise Ship Designer/Author, Design On the High Seas | 01:00:02 | |
This week The Joy of Cruising Podcast, welcomes a special guest. In The Joy of Cruising books, all the passionate cruisers I write about are special—whether they are “ordinary” cruisers with extraordinary stories, or “Googleable” individuals such as TV personalities, Grammy winners and nominees, a Hall of Famer, and UK’s first non-royal, non-celebrity cruise ship Godmother. Today I am honored to welcome one of those Googleable individuals: Joseph Farcus, a veritable legend of cruise ship design, and author of the book, Design On the High Seas. I featured Joe in my new release The Joy of Cruising Again in a section called “The Fun Ships.” Joe’s entrée into the world of cruising was in 1975 when the architectural firm he worked for, Morris Lapidus Associates, was engaged by Carnival Cruise Line to work on its 2nd former liner to add to its Mardi Gras. Morris Lapidus, renowned for its design of Miami’s famed Fontainebleau Hotel, was commissioned to design the ship, which was renamed Carnivale, for its transformation into a cruise ship. Joe oversaw much of the work as the project manager on board at the shipyard and designed Carnivale’s theater. By the time Carnival purchased its 3rd ship, a passenger/cargo ship that would become the Festivale, Joe had left Morris Lapidus. Joe approached Ted Arison, founder and CEO of Carnival, in an effort to obtain his first contract as an independent architect. Joe eventually got the contract to design Festivale, and it was a massive success, positioning the Fun Ships to launch their first build of a new ship, the Tropicale. Joe landed the contract to design the Tropicale and went on to design the next 30 Carnival ships. In 2000, he also began designing for Costa Cruises, Carnival’s Italian subsidiary and designed 11 ships for them. Joe’s last ship where he led the design for a Carnival ship was the Magic in 2011. He designed the Costa Diadema in 2014 before retiring later that year. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 03 Aug 2023 | Ask Chef Dennis | 00:42:26 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Dennis Littley, better known as Chef Dennis to his prodigious fan base— 830,000 followers on his Facebook account, A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis, 73,000 on Twitter and 72,000 on his Instagram accounts Ask Chef Dennis & Chef Dennis Travels. Chef Denniswas featuredin my second cruising book, Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y in a section called “Cruisers Like You and Me…Sort Of.” By 2019 when I interviewed him for Cruising Interrupted, Dennis had gone through an amazing career journey—and I longed to share his story with the cruise community. Chef Dennis epitomized a “Cruiser Like You and Me…Sort Of.” He had only done his first cruise—Disney Dream a couple of years prior—but did he ever have a story to tell. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 21 Sep 2023 | Cruise With Amber | 00:36:23 | |
Hello, passionate cruisers! This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Steph, the creator of one of the top cruise blogs from the United Kingdom, Cruise With Amber. Steph and Cruise With Amber were featured in my new release The Joy of Cruising Again in a section called Blogger, Vloggers, and Content Creators. Cruise With Amber was created by Steph just at the beginning of 2020. So, like me, publishing a cruising-themed book, Cruising Interrupted, as the pandemic set in, as well as several other content creators, I featured in my new book, Steph presented her brand, Cruise With Amber, to the cruise world as cruising was shutting down. Didn’t stop her though! Steph sailed her first cruise as an adult, immediately became hooked, and went on to experience milestone after milestone on cruises—got engaged on P&O Aurora, then returned to honeymoon on the same ship the following year; Steph and her husband Neil celebrated their 10th anniversary on P&O Britannia, along with their kids who were on their first cruise. Steph went all out celebrating on that cruise with a huge suite and balcony; unfortunately it set an expectation on her kids first cruise that every subsequent cruise would come with a butler! At least the kids got hooked on cruising right away, and that was very important to Steph. And since, the kids, Steph and her husband have celebrated a number of milestones on the ocean. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 31 Jul 2023 | Cruise Life Matt | 00:45:44 | |
I am delighted to welcome this week for a special Bonus Episode on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Matt Theriault, the embodiment of Cruise Life Matt, a blog, YouTube channel, and an Instagram account comprised of stunning images of ships. It was on Instagram that Matt first caught my attention. His IG feed is comprised almost exclusively of cruise ship photography—mostly stunning drone footage. Matt is an FAA Certified Drone Pilot. As a result of those amazing images, Matt is extremely popular on IG with over 100,000 followers. I love drone photography: tropical vistas, buildings, and my passion, cruise ships. No one does cruise ships like Cruise Life Matt. Matt also has a second IG account, RV Camping To Go, featuring RVs, Camping, and Family Travel. Matt has a YouTube channel—more great drone shots and some videos from his family vacations. However, it was the Cruise Life Matt blog and his accompanying Facebook group where I got the best sense for his passion for cruising and sharing that passion with his followers. His amazing images led me to Matt, but the Cruise Life Matt blog and a Facebook group led me to invite Matt to The Joy of Cruising Podcast to share his passion with the listeners. Matt started cruising in 2004. His first cruise was on the Caribbean Princess, and he is one of the many who got hooked on their first cruise. Matt has since sailed 65 times. He says, "Cruising is my true passion in life. When I cannot be on board a cruise ship, you can most likely find me talking about them or planning my next cruise vacation." Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 10 Aug 2023 | The Singing Maitre D' | 00:27:45 | |
I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast Ken Byrne, known to his legion of fans who cruise on Carnival Cruise Line as The Singing Maître D’. I had the pleasure of writing about Ken in my new book, The Joy of Cruising Again, in a section call Ship Life, which was intended to provide a perspective of life onboard cruise ships through the eyes of current and former crew and staff. Ken Byrne is a consummate professional within the hospitality industry. He started off in the hotel industry in Dublin, Ireland in 1975. He was serving a gentleman in the hotel where he worked who was recruiting waiters for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. He offered Ken a job. Ken started at Royal Caribbean in 1986 as a busboy on The Song of Norway. Given his skills and experience attained from his hospitality background, Ken quickly moved up to waiter, and then became head waiter on the Sun Viking. Ken also served on the Nordic Prince, Song of America, and Sovereign of the Seas—which was my wife and my first cruise 1988. After Ken’s four years between Royal Caribbean and Premier Cruise Lines, The Big Red Boat, where he was a head waiter on Atlantic, Majestic, and Oceanic, he decided to go back to Ireland and the hotels. His respite from working on cruise ships was short-lived. He told me that after five months he got hungry for the sea. He was about to come back to Royal Caribbean when an opportunity arose to join Carnival instead. Carnival hired Ken in 1990 as a busboy, then waiter, then in 1994, he became maître d’ on his first new ship to take out, the Fascination. The first time Ken sang in public was on the Carnival Triumph in 1997 when a couple was celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. Ken recalls. ‘I was about to make the nightly announcement and was walking by their table with a microphone when the man grabbed my arm and said, ‘Hey Ken, you’re Irish. Sing us a song for our anniversary.’ Ken belted one out. The rest is history. Within a couple of weeks after his impromptu performance, Ken’s singing in the dining room—and even in the theater—became a regular fixture on Carnival for the ensuing 26 years and he became known as The Singing Maître D’. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 14 Aug 2023 | Cruise with Ben and David | 00:56:31 | |
I am delighted to welcome this week to The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Ben and David of the massively successful Cruise with Ben and David. With 200,000 followers on YouTube and over 500 videos, only since starting the channel in 2015, landing Cruise with Ben and David as the #3 cruise channel in their native UK, and #6 worldwide. To garner those kinds of numbers in that time means Ben and David are constantly cruising. It seems any ship I am considering—they have already sailed it. So, I watch every one of their videos. Not just because they are topical and relevant to me as a cruiser willing to try different lines. Ben and David’s videos are also incredibly informative and entertaining. Married since 2014. they sprinkle their banter with irreverence, ‘We are two queens on Princess,’ and double entendres; David might do an impromptu dance like he did when demonstrating Virgin Voyages ‘get it on mode’ music and lighting scene on Scarlet Lady; and they clearly love food; watching them sample eating venues and then listening to Ben’s reactions: ‘Fireworks in my mouth;’ ‘Oh Mother Goose that’s good;’ ‘We’ll probably die from overeating;’ ‘Hit me with a carrot and call me a snowman” has become a standard anticipated feature for me. They feature pristine video and photography so stunning that they generate comments from the audience about technique. That clearly is due to their professional background which I will ask them about. Cruise with Ben and David has been featured in some of the top publications and news outlets globally, such as The Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USAToday and The Mail on Sunday. And, they have made a memorable appearance on the BBC's "The One Show". Prepping for this show, I have been gorging on Cruise with Ben and David videos. That has been great fun—not just because their videos are excellent, but they’ve recently done a series of videos about their 16-day Hawaii to Alaska cruise aboard NCL Spirit. As you know Cheryl and I were on that sailing, so it has been joyful to relive that bucket list experience! Finally, if the above is not enough to explain why I could not wait to host Cruise with Ben and David; in The Joy of Cruising books, and on the podcast, I have interviewed several UK Wave Award winners and finalists. The Wave Awards is the UK cruise industry’s premier award. But I never have had the honor of talking to a two-time winner like Cruise with Ben and David —winning Favourite Cruise Travel Blogger in both 2019 and 2021. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 17 Aug 2023 | Living On Cruise Ships | 01:00:28 | |
I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Nancy and Robert (Dale) Houchens. I found out about Nancy and Dale when I read articles about them in both USA Today and Miami Herald. The Houchens retired in 2015 to a life—planned well before their last day at work—of living on cruise ships. I wrote a feature about the Houchens, Living On Cruise Ships in my new book, The Joy of Cruising Again amzn.to/3lAfyON in a section called “Cruisers Like You and Me…Sort Of.” I have been intrigued about this burgeoning trend for people to live largely, or entirely on the ocean. It is not a new thing. Cruise fans who are “loyal to Royal” know about Mario Salcedo, aka Super Mario who left the work world in the 90s and has been cruising continuously on Royal Caribbean ever since. Or “Mama” Lee Wachstetter who started living on cruise ships in 2005 and has cruised continuously into her 90s. There are numerous others, and I love to have you on The Joy of Cruising Podcast to share your story with our listeners! Retiring to live on cruise ships remains an option financially out of the reach of most retirees inclined to trade their retirement home for the ocean. Nevertheless, many of us cruisers are fascinated by such retirees. Such a life is the embodiment of the joy of cruising. I suspect that, like me, many fantasize about doing the same thing. I think I could rationalize a virtually full-time life on cruise ships, but I don’t think my wife would approve. Nancy says tell her about no cooking and cleaning--maybe I'll try that in a couple of years! Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 07 Sep 2023 | Travel With Nick: Cruising's Young and Restless | 00:39:46 | |
"I’m Nick, and you guys are the Dream Team." One of the several catchlines belonging to our precocious guest. I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast ,16-year-old Nicholas Jackson, aka Nick Jay. Nick Jay is a content creator whose popular YouTube channel, and accompanying Instagram account Travels With Nick, mainly features Carnival Cruise Line content, sprinkled with content featuring Galveston, Texas hotels and cruise port. Galveston is close to Houston, where Nick was born and lives with his parents Nathan, Trecia, and older brother Nate. In a section called “Cruising’s Young and Restless, I wrote about Travels With Nick in the just-released The Joy of Cruising Again amzn.to/3lAfyON. A couple of things of note set Nick Jay apart from his fellow cruise content creators. One, of course, is age. Nick was 15 when I interviewed him—along with his parents—for his feature in The Joy of Cruising Again. The other, well-known to Nick Jay’s fans and followers, is his plan and desire to become a Carnival Cruise Director. That theme runs throughout his videos and posts. As you know, some established cruise directors have a staunch following who even influence cruises that people book. Long before Nick Jay is old enough to work on a cruise ship, he is developing his own following who believe in him, and fully expect him to realize his dream. I am not a prognosticator—my NFL and NBA predictions bare that out—but I closed Nick Jay’s feature with "I look forward to someday interviewing Carnival Cruise Director, Nick Jay." Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 24 Aug 2023 | Captain Bos aka Captain Alaska | 00:48:15 | |
I am delighted to welcome Captain Peter Bos to The Joy of Cruising Podcast this week. In a section called “Ship Life” in the just-released The Joy of Cruising Again amzn.to/3lAfyON I tried to provide readers a sense of what life onboard a cruise ship was like for crew, staff and officers, and wrote about several past and present cruise line employees. I am honored Captain Peter Bos agreed to be featured in the book. Captain Bos retired from Holland America Line (HAL) in March 2018, after 37 years with HAL and 44 years at sea. He was the longest-tenured Captain at HAL when he retired. At the time he retired, Captain Bos was the captain of the Vista-class MS Noordam. Captain Bos traversed the world regularly, as Captain on ships with world cruise itineraries such as Rotterdam and Prinsendam. However, he is known best by HAL fans for his travels to Alaska, garnering the nickname, Captain Alaska, not just because of how much time he spends taking ships there, but the knowledge he routinely shares with his passengers about their surroundings in Alaska—wildlife and glaciers. As one Captain Bos fan I quoted in The Joy of Cruising Again said, ‘He makes you feel like he’s found something wonderful and can’t wait to show you.’ Captain Bos lives with his wife Kathryn on Lake Hickory in North Carolina, not that far from where I live, so a couple of our interviews for The Joy of Cruising Again were in person. When I was trying to get an official headshot from HAL of Captain Bos in uniform, because he lives so close, he offered to get dressed in his uniform and take a photo. I declined that gracious offer and ultimately did receive a photo from HAL. I told Captain Bos ‘I wish I could fit in my work clothes four years after retirement!’ Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 28 Aug 2023 | The Places Where We Go, Baltic/Scandinavian Bucket List Cruise | 01:05:55 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Julie and Art of The Places Where We Go podcast and accompanying YouTube and blog. The Places Where We Go chronicles Julie and Art’s reflections of traveling throughout the world and across the US. Their mode of travel varies—cruises, land resorts, road trips, and hikes—and the places where they go are just as diverse.
Julie and Art recently returned from an almost month-long dream trip beginning with five days in London. They then boarded Princess Cruises Island Princess in Southampton for a 14-day Baltic and Scandinavia cruise. What an itinerary: Bornholm, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia; Riga, Latvia; Klaipeda, Lithuania; Gdansk, Poland; Visby, Denmark; and disembarking in Copenhagen, Denmark. Julie and Art capped off their trip with five days in Copenhagen before flying back to their home in southern California.
I was excited when Julie and Art indicated they were available to share a recap and highlights of their journey. I wanted you the listeners to enjoy the trip through Julie and Art’s eyes and words, and selfishly speaking it’s a part of the world that I am unfamiliar with and am anxious to get some insight about. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 31 Aug 2023 | Festival at Sea, Patricia Yarbrough, Founder | 00:52:40 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Patricia Nicholson Yarbrough, founder of Festival at Sea, the nation’s oldest and most successful African-American cultural cruise. Patricia is also President, Blue World Travel in San Francisco.
In The Joy of Cruising amzn.to/3lAfyON I wrote extensively about theme cruising in a section called “Theme Cruising: Two Passions In One.” I featured Patricia and Festival at Sea, and writing that profile was indeed a labor of love—one of my favorite writing projects ever. It was made all the more sweeter by the fact that I experienced a Festival at Sea cruise during writing. A favorite anecdote I wrote about in the Festival at Sea feature was about a man I sat next to in the Celebrity Equinox buffet shortly after we embarked. I told him it was my first Festival at Sea cruise and asked him how many times he had been. ‘15,’ he told me. Immediately, I thought that I had found a potential person to feature in the upcoming The Joy of Cruising—a seasoned cruiser with dozens of past cruises. I assumed that this individual was a very experienced cruiser given how many times he had been on Festival at Sea. I said, ‘Wow, 15 times on Festival at Sea! How many cruises have you sailed on altogether?’ He said, ‘15.’
That’s the kind of intense loyalty Festival at Sea garners. And why the majority of the following years’ cruise is booked before the current cruise is over. Toward the end of my cruise, I stood in a long line to book Festival at Sea for the following year. After a while, I decided I would just book online. When bookings opened up, I procrastinated for a couple days. Then I received a notification that next year’s Festival at Sea was sold out! That's how it is every year. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 04 Sep 2023 | David & Stephanie, Performing On Cruise Ships, Their First Contract | 00:57:03 | |
On this first of two episodes of The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome David & Stephanie, a married couple that performs as an intimate musical duo—David plays the guitar and sings, and Stephanie sings. In October of 2022, David & Stephanie attained their longtime goal of their first contract as cruise ship performers. They were assigned to Carnival Elation. David is the creator of David Paige Music and is one of the hardest working independent artists in the business. Hailed as a truly gifted entertainer, the Chicago rock singer delivers a seamless blend of pop and rock with a 90’s twist. He was a finalist on VH1’s “Make a Band Famous”, has appeared on national TV, and has toured the United States from LA to New York – headlining venues like House of Blues in Chicago, The Mint in LA, and Bowery Electric in New York. He performs with his original band, The David Paige Band; an 80s and 90s cover band called The Student Body; and as David & Stephanie. Carnival Elation is the oldest, smallest ship in the Carnival fleet. Don’t take that as a slight however; near the end of their contract, Carnival Elation’s Hotel Manager informed the crew the Carnival Elation was selected as number one in guest satisfaction across the entire Carnival fleet. David & Stephanie loved that contract on Carnival Elation. But in the follow-up episode, OMG, wait until you hear where their next contract took them! Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 11 Sep 2023 | David & Stephanie: New Contract, Performing on the World’s Greatest New Ship, NCL Viva | 00:38:57 | |
On this bonus episode of The Joy of Cruising Podcast , I am delighted to welcome back to David & Stephanie, a married couple that performs as an intimate musical duo—David plays the guitar and sings, and Stephanie sings. In October of 2022, David & Stephanie attained their longtime goal of their first contract as cruise ship performers. They were assigned to Carnival Elation. They vlogged their experience and in watching, it was clear to me they were living their dream. Particularly touching was when David’s young son Ben, and David’s mother joined them for a week on the ship, and both were adopted by David & Stephanie‘s crew mates. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 14 Sep 2023 | Shipmonk | 01:00:19 | |
This week I am delighted to welcome to The Joy of Cruising Podcast Dave Monk, the embodiment of the blog Shipmonk.Dave Monk is an award-winning cruise blogger and journalist who has written for the UK’s major publications. Dave created Shipmonk, the blog that cruise line executives, travel media, and passionate cruisers visit for up-to-date cruise industry news, ship reviews, and features. I wrote about Dave in the just-released The Joy of Cruising Again amzn.to/3lAfyON in a section called “The Cruise Communicators.”
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| 28 Sep 2023 | Cruise Lifestyle | 00:56:57 | |
I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Laura Pedlar, creator of Cruise Lifestyle Blog. I got to know Laura a few years ago when I featured Cruise Lifestyle in my second cruising book, Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y, in a section called “Bloggers: Cruise Community Champions. When I started writing Laura’s story she was coming off a great 2019–a year of firsts. Laura had experienced her first river cruise, which was on AmaWaterways AmaMagna on the Danube; her first time on an inaugural cruise, the launch of Royal Caribbean Spectrum of the Seas with an amazing itinerary leaving from Barcelona, through the Suez Canal, to Dubai; and, she attended her first UK Cruise Lines International Association Conference, an indication that you have arrived as a UK cruise influencer. Perhaps most importantly it was Laura’s first year hosting Cruise Hour, as that is how I met her. Cruise Hour is a weekly online gathering of cruise enthusiasts who discuss fun topics about cruising including cuisine, fun things to do, excursions, destinations, etc. I happened upon Cruise Hour on Twitter and started posting responses to the fun questions posed by Laura, often proudly accompanying my responses with cruise photos, typically of my cruising partner granddaughter. I kind of thought Cruise Hour was a catchy Twitter name—and didn’t realize it referred to an actual hour! I was fairly new to social media, so I didn’t “get” live events early on. Despite being named Cruise Hour, I thought it was just an ongoing thread about various cruise topics. It took me a while to notice that my responses tended to be many hours, even days, after the Cruise Hour discussion ended and the participants had long moved on to other parts of social media, or were asleep—Laura was hosting the discussion group UK, a six-hour time difference from me in Florida! I told Laura that story when I was interviewing her for Cruising Interrupted, and she laughed, assuring me that others would respond even later than I used to. (I think she was trying to make me feel not so “duh.”) Laura continued that torrid pace of cruise highlights into 2020 with a January two-week Southern Caribbean cruise on P&O Britannia to Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, Dominica, Saint Vincent and Bonaire. Then the pandemic happened. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 18 Sep 2023 | Jorge Solano, Former Carnival Cruise Director, Current Carnival Comedy Star | 00:58:13 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Jorge Solano. I’ve previously featured a Cruise Director, Holland America Line’s former top CD Jason Venner on episode #26. And, I have featured a cruise ship comedian, Carnival’s thought-provoking, hilarious Billy D. Washington on episode #8.
Jorge Solano can represent the perspective of both a Cruise Director and a stand-up comedian! He was a popular Cruise Director for Carnival Cruise Line for 10 years, and for over 35 years, he has been a stand-up comedian performing at comedy clubs, venues, and cruise ships worldwide. Jorge also appears often in and around his native Miami, a hotbed for comedy that I recall fondly from my days in South Florida. It was fun researching Jorge—as often his time as a Cruise Director would turn up in the searches and it was fun reading about cruises in the early 2000s. One said, “Carnival Triumph guests stop him to shake his hand and to tell him how much they enjoyed his shore excursion talk, his debarkation talk, but mostly how much they liked his introductions to the shows in Triumph’s theater. ‘You were much funnier than the comedian,’ they tell him, ‘Have you ever thought of becoming a professional comedian?’ Unbeknownst to the passengers, at the time Jorge was a professional comedian with many years of experience."
Comedy led Jorge to Carnival. While working the comedy club circuit he began to do guest performances on Carnival. The story of his introduction to working on cruise ships is both fascinating and hilarious. When Jorge heard Carnival was looking for Cruise Directors capable of performing an act, he pursued a new career that turned out to be successful—lasting 10 years—and helped establish Jorge as a comedy star. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 09 Oct 2023 | Travel Blog Jamie | 00:42:49 | |
I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast,Jamie Robins, creator of Travel Blog Jamie, a blog and YouTube channel. Let me set the stage by pointing out The Wave Awards is the UK cruise industry’s premier award; included are award categories for cruise lines, ships, travel agencies, and most pertinent to this The Joy of Cruising Podcast episode—Favorite Cruise Blogger. As you are aware I greatly appreciate cruise bloggers and vloggers and have written about them extensively. In the books, I call them “cruise community champions.” Several of the cruise personalities I have featured in The Joy of Cruising Trilogy, as well as The Joy of Cruising Podcast are previous Wave Awards winners and finalists. This year’s award ceremony will be held in London in November. Most of the 2023 Favorite Cruise Blogger finalists have been featured in the books and/or guests on the podcast. Travel Blog Jamie has not, and I thought this was a great opportunity to get to know Jamie and to share a passionate cruiser’s story with the cruise community.
Jamie is an educator by training—he has degrees in Spanish and French and a master’s degree in linguistics. Jamie has lived in both Spain and France and currently lives in London. He’s been involved with teaching Spanish and French/education leadership for 25 years. This is a special time for Jamie; besides being a Wave Award finalist, he is about to embark on a new chapter. Jamie is giving up all leadership roles, reducing teaching significantly, and pursuing vlogging as his primary career. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 23 Oct 2023 | Cruise Monkeys | 00:58:16 | |
I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising PodcastGavin and Luke, creators of the UK-based cruise blog and YouTube channel, Cruise Monkeys. Let me set the stage by pointing out The Wave Awards is the UK cruise industry’s premier award; included are award categories for cruise lines, ships, travel agencies, and most pertinent to The Joy of Cruising Podcast—Favorite Cruise Blogger. As you are aware I greatly appreciate cruise bloggers and vloggers and have written about them extensively. In the books, I call them “cruise community champions.” Several of the cruise personalities I have featured in The Joy of Cruising Trilogy, as well as The Joy of Cruising Podcast are previous Wave Awards winners and finalists. This year’s award ceremony will be held in London in November. Most of the 2023 Favorite Cruise Blogger finalists have been featured in the books and/or guests on the podcast. Cruise Monkeys has not, and I thought this was a great opportunity to get to know Gavin and Luke, and to share another couple of passionate cruisers' stories with the cruise community.
Gavin and Luke have been at this for quite some time after their first cruise in 2014. The cruise was on P&O Aurora, and as with most first-time cruisers, they fell in love with cruising. Gavin and Luke launched a blog, initially called Holidays At Sea in 201x, and rebranded it to Cruise Monkeys in 2021. Their tagline is ‘Bananas about cruising.’
Cruise Monkeys are well known for their P&O and Cunard cruises—and have sailed the entire fleet. However, they sail a wide variety of lines and I look forward to getting their reflections about a couple of ships I’ve also experienced, as well as one I will be boarding in a few months. They have a casual style of wandering around the ship taking in the atmosphere, and as they point, ‘working our way through the cocktails.’ In fact, they are rather unabashed in noting their appreciation wine and cocktails! ‘We tend to always favour inside cabins, this is so that we can spend money on more cruises and a drinks package—if you’ve seen our vlogs, you will know we like a cocktail or two! We bring you along with u; we love our wines so are often tipsy but don’t hide this as we want to show the real us.’ Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 05 Oct 2023 | Drama On the High Seas | 01:13:58 | |
I am delighted to welcome Christine Beehler this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast. I wrote about Chris in my second cruising book, Cruising Interrupted, in a section called “More Joy of Cruising,” which was originally the title of the follow-up to The Joy of Cruising. Then the pandemic happened.
I first encountered Chris when we became kindred spirits, so to speak. We were among a group of cruise enthusiasts interviewed by CNN. com during the pandemic for an article about interest in cruising as soon as possible, “Cruise Fans Explain Why They Can’t Wait To Cruise Again,” by Francesca Street (July 24, 2020). All the cruisers interviewed were eager to get back on the ocean again; well, all except yours truly! I came across as the most cautious of the bunch, in stark contrast to Chris.
The article began with a depiction of Chris’ cruise which took place in March 2020—at the dawn of the pandemic—on the ill-fated Princess Cruises Coral Princess, which was denied docking after the pandemic declaration and then was stricken with a Covid outbreak. That opening to the article immediately caught my attention; it said, “...Beehler returned home on April 6; she also tested positive for coronavirus. Beehler is 72, with a partial right lung. She also suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema.....” Most remarkable of all, the article went on to point out, Chris can’t wait to cruise again!
I knew I would have to reach out to Chris as she sounded like the kind of passionate cruiser I had come to love to interview. I was right; Chris has traveled extensively worldwide, and particular via cruise in the last ten years, and she agreed to be featured in Cruising Interrupted. In the process of interviewing her, we would spend hours with Chris telling me about the ill-fated Coral Princess saga—a high seas drama that I could easily visualize on the big screen. Of course, there’s a lot more to Chris’ cruising career than that Coral Princess cruise. It is a pleasure to host Chris on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, to get some insight into both her cruise background, and The Drama On the High Seas! Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 12 Oct 2023 | Gary Bembridge, Tips for Travellers | 01:00:33 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Gary Bembridge, the embodiment of the successful Tips For Travellers blog, podcast, and most notably, YouTube channel. Oh c’mon, ‘successful’ is an understatement. With 400,000 followers, and over a 140 million views, Tips For Travellers is the world’s leading cruise channel…by far.
I featured Gary and Tips For Travellers in Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y in a section called “The Cruise Communicators.”Gary founded Tips for Travellers as a pastime to occupy himself during his travels—two to three weeks out of a typical month—as a Marketing Vice President for a multinational firm. Gary has since retired as a corporate executive and now operates Tips for Travellers full-time. By the way, he has maintained his record that began during his corporate career of traveling every month consecutively for over 25 years!
Beyond cruising, Gary’s backstory is multifaceted, fascinating and diverse. With regard to cruising, his content is similarly fascinating and diverse. Gary sails a wide breadth of cruise brands from formal cruising on his beloved Cunard, to brash newcomer Virgin Voyages, the largest ships in the world, to ultra-luxury five-star small ship cruising. I suspect one reason Gary is able to draw and grow such a huge following on YouTubethat he is able to talk about a five-figure per person cruise that most of his viewers will never sail, and yet they are transfixed to the images on the screen and Gary’s informative delivery. Whenever I finish one of Gary’s videos, I feel like I am back in college—except learning about something I love!
Gary epitomizes the kind of individuals I wrote about in The Joy of Cruising Trilogy and/or interview on The Joy of Cruising Podcast—passionate cruisers who act on their passion in fascinating ways. From part-time blogger to the top in the world! Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 16 Oct 2023 | The Jenn Danielle Experience: Virgin Voyages Greek Island Glow/The Dress! | 00:48:38 | |
I am delighted to welcome back to The Joy of Cruising Podcast, The Jenn Danielle Experience. Jennifer is a social media influencer, and solo travel content creator. The Joy of Cruising Podcast first welcomed Jennifer back on episode 23 in June, when she was the first guest on The Joy of Cruising Podcast specifically to chat about the rapidly growing, critically acclaimed Virgin Voyages she had cruised solo several times. Since then, Virgin Voyages continues to rack up awards in the cruising industry. When Jennifer was here before, Virgin Voyages had just crushed the Cruise Critics Awards; they have since added Travel & Leisure and Conde Nast accolades for, #1 Best Mega-Ship & #1 Best Large-Ship, respectively. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 19 Oct 2023 | Popular Cruising | 00:34:38 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Jason Leppert aka the Captain, of Popular Cruising. I wrote about Jason’s story in my first cruising book, The Joy of Cruising, in a section called "Cruise Bloggers: The Readers’ Choice," which featured finalists and winners in the 10Best Readers’ Choice New Media Award for Best Cruise Blogger, sponsored by USA TODAY along with its companion site 10Best.com which provides users with travel and lifestyle content. Along with The Joy of Cruising, the following books, Cruising Interrupted and The Joy of Cruising Again in sections highlighting bloggers, vloggers, and content creators paid homage to cruise enthusiasts who decide to create, cultivate, and curate a blog or other content, and sometimes a related podcast and YouTube channel. Passionate cruisers like Jason epitomize what The Joy of Cruising is about: individuals moved by their passion for cruising who choose to manifest that passion in an engaging way when not sailing.
Prolific is the word that comes to mind with Jason—both in terms of the sheer breadth of his writing and videography that ranges from bucket list cruising on a wide diversity of ships sailing great destinations—to an extensive knowledge, experience, and coverage of Disney theme properties.
At only 30 years old Jason was a 10Best Readers’ Choice New Media Award for Best Cruise Blogger finalist for Popular Cruising. Today, still in his 30’s, the indefatigable cruiser and writer is now up to 196 cruises, and in addition to serving as editor in chief, “the captain”, at blog and YouTube channel Popular Cruising—which he founded, Jason is the Cruise Editor at TravelAge West, and contributor to other outlets such as Cruise Critic, Porthole Cruise and Travel, Travel Channel, Fox News and USA Today. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 26 Oct 2023 | CouplesTravel | 01:01:03 | |
This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome my good friends, Joan and Jim Sloan, of CouplesTravel. I wrote about Joan and Jim in my first cruising book, The Joy of Cruising amzn.to/2EAMddF in a section called “Cuba Cruising” which featured three very different couples sharing their perspectives on a cruise to Cuba. The Sloan’s feature was called, Joan and Jim: Cuba and Jazz, detailing the first music charter cruise to Cuba. In February 2017 they ventured to Cuba on The Soul Cruise, a unique seven-day R&B-themed cruise branded as “The first ever soul music cruise from the United States to Cuba!” The cruise was on Fathom Adonia (now Azamara Pursuit). Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 30 Oct 2023 | Sail Away With Dan & Jay | 01:03:30 | |
I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast Dan and Jay, creators of the UK-based cruise blog and YouTube channel, Sail Away With Dan and Jay. Let me set the stage by pointing out that the Wave Awards is the UK cruise industry’s premier award; included are award categories for cruise lines, ships, travel agencies, and most pertinent to The Joy of Cruising Podcast—Favorite Cruise Blogger. As you are aware I greatly appreciate cruise bloggers and vloggers and have written about them extensively. In the books, I call them “cruise community champions.” Several of the cruise personalities I have featured in The Joy of Cruising Trilogy and The Joy of Cruising Podcast are previous Wave Awards winners and finalists. This year’s award ceremony will be held in London in November. Most of the 2023 Favorite Cruise Blogger finalists have been featured in the books and/or guests on the podcast. Sail Away with Dan and Jay has not, and I thought this was a great opportunity to enlarge my circle of cruise friends, learn about Dan and Jay, and share another couple of passionate cruisers' stories with the cruise community.
Dan and Jay haven’t been at cruise blogging and vlogging for that long, but they have entered the cruise influencer space in a big way. Sail Away with Dan and Jay started out as a hobby, based on a shared passion for cruises and traveling. The cruises aspect of that hobby is relatively new—at least for Dan—he sailed his first cruise post cruising lockdown! That’s certainly not the case with Jay, who first cruised as a child, and went on to serve in the merchant navy.)
One characteristic of the Sail Away with Dan and Jay YouTube channel distinguishes them from most of the YouTube content creators I have interviewed. That is, you rarely see them in their videos! When I was researching them, the first several videos I watched, their faces were not shown at all, and when I did finally see them, it was just a brief cameo. However, their voiceover narrative is constant, comprehensive, and very informative. They note on their website, “Our channel is a little different to the others on the list, as we don’t feature our faces—and therefore don’t class ourselves as “vloggers". Our videos are cinematic, with the aim of showing the viewer as much of the ship as possible.”
In the midst of their excitement about making the shortlist for the Wave Awards, they are also celebrating the launch of their Sail Away Cruise Travel Magazine. I let them tell you all about that—now let me go subscribe so I can be entered to win a cruise on the world’s only remaining ocean liner, Queen Mary 2! Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 02 Nov 2023 | Trapped In Paradise | 00:44:56 | |
I am delighted to welcome Doris Vasconcellos-Bernstein and Doug Bernstein this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast. I wrote about the Florida couple in my second cruising book, Cruising Interrupted, in a feature called “Trapped In Paradise.” Interestingly, when I set out to write the follow-up to The Joy of Cruising, originally titled More Joy of Cruising, I neither knew Doris and Doug nor was I likely to learn of them. Not that they weren’t the kind of passionate cruisers I enjoyed interviewing, and emulating, as Doris and Doug have sailed to destinations and on vessels that are bucket list items for me. I like to tell stories representing cruising in all its diversity—cruise lines, types of vessels, and destinations. So, they would have been a good fit in the book if I had known of them. Halfway through the book’s completion, the world drastically changed. Nations worldwide struggled with the healthcare and economic consequences of the pandemic; cruising was suspended; writing of More Joy of Cruising—now titled Cruising Interrupted—was likewise stopped pending cruising’s return. Living in Florida at the time, I read a compelling human-interest story early in the shutdown in the local newspaper about a Florida couple, the Bernstein’s, who found themselves “trapped” on a cruise ship in Brazil. The newspaper had found out from the couple’s friends about their plight and was able to contact the couple on the ship and conduct an interview. Fascinated both by the circumstances—the Bernstein’s were forced to quarantine due to Covid in a suite on a luxury vessel—and the ‘glass half full’ outlook the couple exuded, I knew that I wanted to reach out to Doris and Doug. And I am so glad I did.
I imagine that for some cruisers, the notion of ‘living the life’ on the ocean— being personally served virtually around the clock filet mignon, lobster, and chocolate-covered strawberries, drinking martinis, fine wine, and champagne, relaxing and luxuriating in the suite accommodations with an unparalleled view of the ocean from your veranda on a six-star cruise line—is an occasional fantasy. A relatively small percentage of cruisers get to experience some aspects of this on luxury cruises. That ‘fantasy’ was Doris and Doug Bernstein’s experience around the clock for 12 straight days. Sounds glorious, except they had no input to this real-life fantasy except whether to order Lemongrass Beef Nam Tok Nua, or Lobster Thermidor, or Milk Fed Veal Escalope. And it took place at a time that outside of Doris and Doug’s suite on Silversea Cruises Silver Shadow—from which they could not leave—the world was grappling with a raging pandemic.
Cruising Interrupted was released at the heigh Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 06 Nov 2023 | Peter Knego: Travel Writer, Cruise Ship Historian, World’s Most Unique Maritime Artifacts Collection | 01:10:36 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome a special guest. In The Joy of Cruising books, all the passionate cruisers I write about are special—whether they are “ordinary” cruisers with extraordinary stories, to celebrities, Grammy winners/nominees, a Hall of Famer, to global cruise personalities. Today I am honored to welcome Peter Knego, a cruise personality quite unlike anyone I have hosted before. First, consider the sheer breadth of his expertise/passion. Peter is a cruise writer, maritime historian, and collector of cruise ship artifacts. Secondly, Peter has one of the most unique stories I have ever heard: his home is virtually entirely comprised of said cruise ship artifacts. I don’t mean filled with, although that’s true too—Peter has a collection of over 200 cruise ship models—but remarkably, every part of his home is made up of panels, artwork, and furniture including bars, from scrapped ships. I could easily spend this entire interview on just one aspect of Peter’s amazing background. I’m sure he could regale us with stories of maritime history. I am somewhat familiar with the travel writer Peter. He is a contributing writer for Quirky Cruise and was mentioned when I wrote about both Quirky Cruise in Cruising Interrupted and hosted Quirky Cruise on The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Today, I will focus mainly on the collector aspect of Peter’s persona. Besides, Peter has an open invitation to come back on the podcast.
You can learn a great deal about Peter the collector, and his passion for older ships from his website, midshipcentury.com,and YouTube channel, Peter Knego's MidShipCinema, described as “unique, exclusive and personally captured video of the world's great ocean liners and cruise ships...past & present.” This excerpt from midshipcentury.com captures his reason for being, his raison d'être: “… today's mega cruise ships, offer a myriad of amenities to make the passenger forget he or she is even at sea. But unlike ocean liners, these boxy monoliths are fitted out like modern hotels with store-bought furnishings and fire-resistant materials. The era of the individual ship representing the best of its nation's artisans and craftsmen ended in the mid-1960’s. Seizing the one-time-only opportunity to save these items from obscurity or destruction, Knego not only bought items for his collection, but to share with those with a similar love for ocean liners or a penchant for the sleek stylings of the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. Rich, rare, tropical hardwood veneers, heavy nickel plated fixtures, a serving of "high style Italian chic" from Gio Ponti's collaborators, and much more!
Watching Peter’s videos of him cruising these ships, reminiscing about them, and on the global search to shipyards, auctions, cruise s Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 09 Nov 2023 | Hot, Hot, Hot: Donna K. Phillips Remembers Her Fun Ship Father | 00:53:23 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Donna K. Philips. I wrote about Donna in my new release The Joy of Cruising Again in a section called ‘The Fun ships,’ where I featured Donna’s dad, the cruise industry, and carnival cruise line food and beverage giant Everette Daniel Phillips, in a chapter titled ‘Hot, Hot, Hot: Donna K. Phillips Remembers Her Fun Ship Father.’
In the introduction to The Fun Ships, I wrote: “Carnival Cruise Lines owned the brand, and the space in the fledgling cruise market, of The Fun Ships, essentially from its beginning with the launch of Mardi Gras in 1972 and Carnivale in 1975. In 1977, Joe Farcus was commissioned by Carnival to design its third ship, the Festivale, and stayed to design its next 30 or so ships. Today the retired Farcus is an internationally known icon of design. Shortly thereafter, food and beverage innovator, Everette Phillips, came to Carnival after stints with Morrisons Cafeteria, Eastern Steamship Line, Commodore Cruise Line (with its dancing waiters), and Chandris Cruises (now Celebrity Cruise Line), and stayed at Carnival until retirement. The late Phillips was recognized universally by the cruise industry as a food and beverage giant. No one did more to bring to life the motto ‘The Fun Ships,’ than Joe Farcus and Everette Phillips.”
Perhaps that bold assertion is subject to discussion. If so, perhaps we can talk about it on The Joy of Cruising Podcast! Joe Farcus was on The Joy of Cruising Podcast episode#30. Today through the words of Donna, who shared much of her dad’s experiences from the time of her first cruise with him at 11 months old through his retirement from carnival in 1997, we get a sense of the other The Fun Ships pioneer, Mr. Phillips, as he was known as by the many people who worked with him and for him.
I met Donna a couple of years ago. I was talking to a friend about the premise of The Joy of Cruising series, and she said, “You should speak with Donna Phillips; she’s part of cruising royalty.” Of course, that piqued my curiosity, and I asked if she could facilitate an introduction to Donna. She stated that she would and then shortly after our call, forwarded me an article shedding light on “cruising royalty.” The article was “Carnival family mourns Food & Beverage giant Everette Phillips,” Seatrade cruise news, by Anne Kalosh, and quoted several former associates of Mr. Phillips, one of whom I was familiar with, John Heald. I knew I needed to research Phillips and meet Donna. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 13 Nov 2023 | Vitamin Sea UK | 01:08:57 | |
I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast Scott and Tom, creators of Vitamin Sea UK. Their credo is ‘Sailing the seven seas (and rivers), two Hawaiian shirts at a time. We're here to show that there's a cruise line for everyone, shattering the image of what some believe cruising is. We #ChooseCruise to embrace new cultures, new food, try new experiences and see what the world has to offer wherever the sea laps the shore.’
I ‘met’ Vitamin Sea UK on Instagram. Our mutual interest in cruising was obvious from the beginning. What made Vitamin Sea UK captivating is that they always seem to be fun, happy, and embracing the moment. I’m sure you have heard some variation of ‘there is no such thing as a bad cruise.’ Well, Scott and Tom seem like the poster boys representing that ethos. Indeed, they describe themselves ‘as a fun, happy couple that both have a passion for travel, adventures, and embracing new cultures. Rather than focusing on the amenities that a ship has, we show ourselves enjoying them and what you can actually do on a cruise holiday.’ Vitamin Sea UK is big on Celebrity Cruises but has tried numerous cruise lines, like Princess Cruises for its classic feel and intimate venues like its Jazz club, to the Queen Mary 2 with its classic activities like afternoon tea, white gloves, traditions, fine dining and champagne. They love dressing up for formal nights in a tux; or a twist of formal chic nights, but also like to dress down and enjoy smart casual evenings.
Vitamin Sea UK notes ‘there’s so much to cruising; the staff really make the difference, it’s their attention to detail and service that can set a cruise line apart. Oh, and the food! We love good restaurants and champagne and wine! We love that we’ve made so many friends. There is something about cruising that makes everyone want to talk to each other and share experiences.’ Vitamin Sea UK sounds like they embody The Joy of Cruising. Let’s let them tell you themselves. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 16 Nov 2023 | Sea of Glamour | 00:42:30 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Kandes Bregman of Sea of Glamour. The name combines Kandes’ love of the sea with hints of her past life as a beauty pageant winner. I wrote about the former Mrs. Southwest and Holland America Line super cruiser in my second cruising book, Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y in a section called “Cruisers Like You and Me... Sort Of.” Kandes is the consummate Holland America Line cruiser. When I met her, I told Kandes there should be a photo of her on the HAL homepage. In fact, after researching Kandes and reviewing Sea of Glamour, I opened up my Cruising Interrupted interview with Kandes by stating facetiously, “You should be in a Holland America Line advertisement!” Kandes responded, “Well, I was....”
I am not implying Kandes is HAL’s most prolific cruiser or biggest fan, but she would be a good personification of the joy of cruising on Holland America Line. First, from a sheer quantitative perspective: Kandes has cruised virtually all of her over 100 cruises on HAL, visiting 87 countries on six continents and spending the equivalent of almost four years of her life at sea with HAL—all the more remarkable given that Kandes has been cruising with HAL since just 2000. And, while perhaps there are those out there who exist, it is hard to imagine someone who is more of an ambassador for HAL. Kandes is a five-star Mariner—which is HAL’s customer loyalty program—and has over 100 referrals of cruisers booked and sailed on HAL, several of whom are now four and five-star Mariners themselves.
At the beginning of my new book The Joy of Cruising Again, I quoted a number of passionate cruisers who I was confident had immediately gotten back on the ocean. When I contacted Kandes for a quote last year, she told me. “I returned to cruising in October 2021, for an 18-day Panama Canal cruise on Holland America Line Nieuw Amsterdam; I was so excited to be back, and we sailed eight more cruises over the next seven months!” That’s a passionate cruiser! Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 20 Nov 2023 | Addy and Terry | 00:59:45 | |
I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Adrienne and Terrence Bibb, the creators of the popular Addy and Terry. blog and YouTube channel. Addy has been in the hospitality industry for over 15 years as a professional chef but has branched off to go further into another realm of the hospitality industry, travel. Terry is a top radio executive with I Heart Radio, and as learned when I asked him about his radio DJ-sounding voice he is also top talent behind the microphone. Addy and Terry’s aim for their blog and channel is straightforward: 1. take the mystery out of cruising; 2. dispel any myths about cruising (you know it’s for old people, etc.); 3. help their followers identify the best ships, itinerary, and type of room for their cruising needs; and 4. as parents of 3 young adults understand the need to stretch a dollar and have a focus on value in traveling, and can help cost-effectively plan family vacations—cruise or land.
Addy and Terry don’t just dispense cruise advice and create fun vlogs, but they can help you put your plans in effect. Addy is also a Certified Leisure Travel Specialist, Certified Cruise Counselor, and member of CLIA, Cruise Lines International Association, ASTA, American Society of Travel Advisors, and ITWPA, International Travel Writers and Photographers Alliance. Finally, they are specialist in group cruises and can help you put a group cruise together and have hosted several themselves. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 27 Nov 2023 | A Voyager of Distinction | 00:53:32 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Christine Zimmer, a voyager of distinction. No, she is not royalty, a celebrity, a Cruise Ship Godmother, or anything like that. She hasn’t cruised hundreds of times. She is a cruiser just like you and me…well, sort of. I wrote about Chris in my second cruising book, Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y in the feature, A Voyager of Distinction, in the section “Cruisers Like You and Me…Sort Of.”
It’s always fun to feature someone I know in the book or podcast. Chris lives in southwest Florida, where I lived for nine years and after she retired from a distinguished career as an educator, Chris and I became co-workers and friends when she settled into a part-time career working with adult learners at a university I worked at. Emphasis on part-time: when not helping lifelong learners keep their minds engaged, Chris traveled the world helping seasoned cruisers keep their minds, bodies, and spirits engaged on luxury cruise ships.
Chris is a Host for Distinctive Voyages. What that means is she leads and coordinates cruise activities for passengers that have availed themselves of the services of Distinctive Voyages, a selection of hosted cruises whereby a Distinctive Voyages Host serves as a private expert to answer questions, provide advice, and coordinate the services and amenities available to each traveler in the group: a private Welcome Reception attended by ship officers; an Exclusive Shore Event, a private excursion lead by the Distinctive Voyages Host; and select luxury amenities. I’ll leave it to Chris to provide the inside scoop. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 30 Nov 2023 | Life of Iris | 01:12:35 | |
This week I am delighted to welcome to The Joy of Cruising Podcast Iris MacBeath creator of the blog Life of Iris. Iris is a longtime staff member for Holland America Line, most recently as a Media Manager. I wrote the story of Life of Iris in the just-released The Joy of Cruising Again amzn.to/3lAfyON in a section called “Shiplife,” which followed the career of four past and present crew, staff, and officers from three different cruise lines.
In the community that comprises onboard life, Iris is a dual member: first, not only is she a longtime crew member on various ships for HAL (before assuming her role as Media Manager, Iris worked in a series of youth activities positions.) Secondly, Iris is what is known in cruise ship parlance as a “traveling spouse,” or a “Spouse-On-Board,” which is the term used by her cruise line. Specifically, Iris’ husband Stuart is a ship officer, and Iris has lived on the ship with him for over 400 days. Those distinct vantage points afford Iris a unique perspective of onboard life, and she chronicles that on her blog, Life of Iris.
Life of Iris was conceived in early 2020 as a way for Iris to document her reflections as a Spouse-On-Board on the Grand World Voyage on which her husband Stuart, a 1st Engineering Officer was assigned. Iris time “I wanted to keep track of what we were up to; basically, because going around the world is pretty cool.” Iris did launch Life of Iris prior to boarding the World Cruise. However, little did Iris know that in the ensuing two years, her cruising career would be directly impacted by the two greatest global crises of the century. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 04 Dec 2023 | Roland & Emma’s 40-Day Enchanted Princess European Bucket List Adventure | 01:00:05 | |
I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Roland and Emma, a couple I met by happenstance and who immediately became travel role models of mine! I was browsing Melanin At Sea, the influential 87,000-member Facebook affinity group created by friends of the show and global cruise personalities A Rich and Jazzy Life. Roland, a content creator, and professional DJ—he longs to DJ on a cruise ship in some capacity—posted about what sounded like a wonderful bucket list itinerary: a 28-day port-intensive cruise on Princess Cruises Enchanted Princess, one of the line’s newest and largest ships, bracketed by stays in two great cities, seven-days in Barcelona before embarkation, and five-days in Rome after debarkation. This sounded like a dream trip to me, and as I have done before, I wanted to talk to Roland and Emma on the podcast so that I and the listeners could experience their trip vicariously through them. So, I reached out to them, and am so glad they agreed to join The Joy of Cruising Podcast.
I have posted an image of the detailed itinerary on The Joy of Cruising Podcast Facebook group and Instagram account—it’s too comprehensive to cover here, but Roland and Emma will take us through the highlights of the seven countries they visited—Spain, UK (Gibraltar), France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Montenegro. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 11 Dec 2023 | Peter Antonucci, Billionaires At Sea Trilogy, (inspired by his time aboard The World) | 00:57:11 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Peter Antonucci. It's fun to welcome a guest with whom I share so much in common: Peter is from New York—I’m from New York; Peter graduated from the University of Rochester in 1982—I graduated from the University of Rochester in 1980; Peter authored a trilogy about life on the ocean—I authored a trilogy about life on the ocean; Peter is rich…Well, 3 out of four means we have a lot in common! By the way, Peter didn’t tell me he is rich. That was easy to gather by the fact that he was an owner at The World, a privately owned super yacht ship occupied and managed by its residents. The World is comprised of 165 apartments costing between $2 and $20 million, and a minimum $10 million net worth is required to buy at The World. By the way, Peter owned four apartments….
I have been fascinated with this burgeoning trend of passionate cruisers deciding to live at sea for 6-12 months per year. However, the creation of The World was way ahead of the current trend. The World has been sailing exotic itineraries to bucket list destinations in every corner of the world since 2002. I'll certainly be asking Peter what led him to The Worldbut unfortunately, time won’t allow me to spend the entire interview on that. You see Peter is one of those multifaceted individuals for whom we could spend an entire interview on one of several aspects of his life. For instance, his best-selling trilogy, Billionaires at Sea, comprised of: Billionaire’s Paradise: Ecstasy at Sea; Scandal at Sea: Billionaires In The Deep; and the just-published Tides of Betrayal: Scandal in the Waves. Or his time as an esteemed commercial litigator in the New York City offices of two of the largest law firms in the world. So successful was Peter that he was able to retire at 52. Or, Peter’s experiences as a globetrotter. He has visited over 100 countries, traveled to Antarctica for three consecutive years, and is a Guinness Book of World Records entrant for having been a part-owner and passenger of a vessel that traveled to the southernmost point ever reached by a vessel, surpassing the previous records set by Amundsen, Shackleton, Ross, Scott and Hillary, Peter’s heroes of Antarctic exploration.
We’ll somehow get Peter to talk about all of that! But such an esteemed guest always has an invitation to come back to the show. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 14 Dec 2023 | 21 Cruises In a Year, Mark and Leanne | 00:36:38 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Mark and Leanne Weston of Queensland Australia. I wrote about Mark and Leanne’s story in my first cruising book, The Joy of Cruising, in a section called “Cruisers Like You and Me...Sort Of.” This section, a reader favorite that has been retained in each book of The Joy of Cruising Trilogy, follows the theme of “ordinary” cruisers with extraordinary stories. Mark and Leanne’s cruising is anything but ordinary, but as Mark stresses in The Joy of Cruising, he and Leanne are ordinary cruisers. “Mark tells people that cruising doesn’t have to be expensive. Sure, it can be, but he and Leanne typically book much less expensive inside cabins, since they rarely spend much time in their stateroom.”
My introduction to the Weston’s was simple and kind of amusing. It was the middle of 2018. I embarked on this journey to write a book about cruising—one that focused on cruisers who were passionate and pursued their passion in ways that I thought were worthy of sharing their stories with the cruise community. I was browsing a cruise group on Facebook when a post piqued my interest. “Does anyone else have our addiction—10 cruises done for the first half of this year, 11 more before Christmas...?” Mark asked the cruise group discussion board. His query elicited over 900 responses, the most I had ever seen regarding a single post. Of course, Mark’s post captured my attention, and I was just as curious as to what the commenters would say. So, I read several hundred comments —more than half—before my eyes started to glaze over. Most reflected a mix of awe, envy, “go for it” encouragement, and a fair amount of religiosity (there were dozens of variations of “you are blessed”). Of course, this being the Internet there was also a smattering of haters and snark. “Get a life!” “Buy a boat!” There was at least one comment delivered to Mark privately. It was from me, and essentially said, “Tell me more! Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 07 Dec 2023 | Traveling Judi | 01:00:46 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Judi Cohen, known in the cruise community as Traveling Judi. I featured Traveling Judi in my second cruising book, Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y in a section called “Cruisers Like You and Me... Sort Of.” Traveling Judi is a fervent world cruiser with a penchant for smaller, and even tiny ships relative to mainstream cruise ships. Judi is also a travel writer extraordinaire—in fact, I met her through my association with Quirky Cruise online magazine, for whom she is a significant contributor. Quirky was also featured in Cruising Interrupted and on the podcast.
From travelingjudi.com: Judi has traveled the world in search of unique experiences and off-the-beaten-path destinations. She is also a connoisseur of small-ship cruises that pack big adventure, and local cultural and dining experiences. Judi became a full-time traveler and travel advisor in 2015 following her 35-year career in engineering and transportation, and today she writes about her experiences to inspire others to step outside their comfort zones and embrace new kinds of adventures. Judi has been to over 90 countries on six continents and enjoys sharing her stories along the way. Her training and experience as a Health Coach and as a Travel Advisor allows her to plan trips and seek out wellness destinations and experiences. Combined with her story-telling skills, she has become an accomplished Travel Writer accredited by SATW, NATJA and IFWTWA, and her work has been published on travel websites such as Quirkycruise.com. She is also a Board Member on the Travel Media Association of Canada's (TMAC) National Board and Board Secretary.
It was fun interviewing Judi for Cruising Interrupted. A couple of anecdotes stick in my mind. One, was from Judi’s recollection of her expedition cruise to Antarctica. ‘…one of the most memorable—maybe not in a good way—was crossing the Drake Passage. It was rough, it was crazy, and my husband gets seasick in a bathtub,’ Judi laughed. The other was asking Judi about her bucket list. As you know I ask all interviewees about what’s on their bucket list. Judi’s response was colorful and hilarious. Unfortunately, I can’t repeat it on the podcast! What I can quote is ‘I liken bucket list to ‘before I die.’ For me, I am much more forward-thinking than that. I want to do these things while I am healthy, while I can, and while I am still interested. I don’t know, talking about what I am going to do before I die just has a negative connotation...I’m more about turning my dreams into memories every day.” Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 18 Dec 2023 | Cruise Mummy: Winner of 2023 UK Wave Award, Favourite Cruise Influencer | 00:41:54 | |
I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast Jenni Fielding, creator of the Cruise Mummy blog and just named winner of the UK Wave Award for Favourite Cruise Influencer. I featured Cruise Mummy in Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y in a section called “Bloggers: Cruise Community Champions.” I also was fortunate to host Jenni on a previous episode of The Joy of Cruising Podcast—episode #31 Cruise Mummy https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/13142254
When last on the show, I congratulated Jenni for winning the 2022 Wave Award and vowed to have her back because she is a leader in the global cruise community, and I knew she would be going on great cruises that The Joy of Cruising Podcast listeners would want to hear about. However, I have since hosted all of Jenni’s co-finalists for the 2023 award on the podcast, and decided we would bring the winner back on the show as soon as possible after the winner was announced in November. So, Jenni is back sooner rather than later—we are excited about that—and we will still have her back on the show in 2024!
Jenni describes herself thusly, “I’m a 38-year-old mum of two from Bolton, UK. I first developed my cruise addiction when we booked a honeymoon cruise in 2013. As soon as I stepped onboard Allure of the Seas I was hooked! So much so, that we took our second cruise just six months later. Nowadays, cruising is a very different affair, since the arrival of our two children, who are eight and six.” One way things are different is that Cruise Mummy is an authority on family cruising!
To refresh your memories, Cruise Mummy is one of the top cruise blogs in the world. Cruise Mummy is the second most trafficked cruise blog in the UK, and the 7th most popular cruise blog in the world! She has been quoted in international cruise and news outlets. And now, Cruise Mummy joins the massively successful Cruise with Ben and David as the only two-time Wave Award winner for bloggers/cruise influencers. Cruise Mummy https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/ Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 21 Dec 2023 | Cruisers Just Like You and Me…Sort Of, Bill and Rosie | 00:53:05 | |
This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Bill Raffel now of Fort Lauderdale. I say now of Fort Lauderdale because when I wrote about Bill and his wife Rosie several years ago, they lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I wrote about Bill and Rosie’s story in my first cruising book, The Joy of Cruising amzn.to/2EAMddF, in a section called “Cruisers Like You and Me...Sort Of.” This section, a reader favorite retained in each book of The Joy of Cruising Trilogy, follows the theme of “ordinary” cruisers with extraordinary stories. And then I wrote about Bill and Rosie again in my second cruising book, Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y in a section called “The Passionate Cruisers of The Joy of Cruising...What Are They Up To Now?” So, of the approximately 75 or so fascinating cruisers I wrote about in The Joy of Cruising Trilogy, Bill and Rosie are among the few I can count on one hand that I wrote about twice!
I said now of Fort Lauderdale because when I wrote about Bill and Rosie several years ago, they lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Like me, Bill is a cruise geek! He told me one of the main reasons they moved to Fort Lauderdale “was to be near the multiple ports and of course the weather… We live along the inlet between the Ocean and Port Everglades, and I take photos of all the ships as they sail away. I post the photos in numerous Facebook groups where the people on the ships can see themselves as they sail away. For example, photos from Royal Caribbean cruise ships are in the “Royal Caribbean Cruisers” Facebook group.”
Amusingly, when I reached out to Bill to schedule him for The Joy of Cruising Podcast, he said, ‘…if you think your listeners would find my cruising life interesting.’ I responded, ‘Bill, I saw fit to write about you in two books so they will either find your cruising life interesting or question my judgment!” Interesting? Bill and Rosie have been on 81 cruises. Alaska four times, Panama Canal four times. Add to that Africa on a three-week Safari, Australia to scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef, and Hawaii and a whole lot more but I’ll let Bill tell you. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 28 Dec 2023 | DCL Podcast | 00:54:02 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Steve Kriese, creator of DCL Podcast, a podcast that covers all things Disney Cruise Lines, related Disney events and properties, and a smattering of general cruise matters. Yours truly benefitted from DCL Podcast’s coverage of general cruising; Steve invited me to my first-ever podcast as a guest after I published my first cruising book, The Joy of Cruising. So, we have a connection. We are further connected by the fact that DCL Podcast was featured in my second cruising book, Cruising Interrupted, in a section called The Cruise Communicators.
Besides being a really nice guy, there are two other fascinating aspects about Steve. Steve is one of the most unique content creators in cruising. When not podcasting—or cruising worldwide—Steve is an airline pilot. Of course, there are likely other pilots that have podcasts, blogs, or vlogs but I don’t know of any in cruising. As a 737 Captain for Alaska Airlines, Steve gets to see the world. As host of DCL Podcast, Steve and guests talk about seeing the world from the perspective of a Disney Cruise. The other fascinating aspect of Steve is that on a cruise in the Mediterranean, he was part of coverage in the media for almost ruining George Clooney’s wedding! That probably really sounds random, so I’ll let Steve explain. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 01 Feb 2024 | Sean and Stef | 00:41:01 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Stefanie Mullen, co-creator of the Sean and Stef blog and YouTube Channel. From the Sean and Stef website: ‘We are Sean & Stef, your favorite cruise travelers! We are professional filmmakers and have won 3 Emmy awards for our video work. We are positive filmmakers who focus on the joys of travel and all the fun that goes along with the journey. We travel the world exploring destinations, all while making video memories that last a lifetime. Our mission is to inspire and connect with people all around the world and show them the joys of traveling. We are personally and emotionally fulfilled by the amazing people we meet and hope to continue this great journey as far as the road will take us.’
Sean was a talented artist, visual effects guru, and magical storyteller. Sean's talents took him all over the world and has won him many accolades, including three Emmys. He worked on a few Hollywood productions and TV shows, creating his own company, Rampant Design, before landing his dream job of helping to create magic for Disney theme parks. On February 24, 2020, Sean was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and was given roughly three months to live. Refusing to accept that timeline, a friend helped get Sean into the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and Sean was a patient there long beyond three months. Throughout Sean’s treatment, Sean and Stef kept their prodigious fan base apprised—especially Stef—via Daily Journals on their website. Stef’s first post was: Day 0—The Worst Day Of Our Lives. Reading each entry was at times poignant, wrenching, incredibly sad, and yet full of hope. After a pause, they also started vlogging on YouTube again. Stef said, ‘Editing kept Sean’s mind active, and filming kept us always busy. We were documenting the good times, the sad times, and everything in between.’ Sean succumbed to his hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer on March 6th, 2021, almost a year beyond the life expectancy given at the time of his diagnosis. He was just 43 years old.
It is my honor to welcome Stef of Sean & Stef, to The Joy of Cruising Podcast. While it is Stef’s first appearance on a cruising podcast since Sean passed, she has not stopped cruising, blogging, and vlogging. In fact, on my last cruise, adouble bucket list 16-day journey from Hawaii to Alaska on Norwegian Spirit, Stef was aboard, traveling with top cruise influencers, Cruise With Ben and David. Stef posts regularly on Sean & Stef and if you want to see vlogs about the Hawaii/Alaska cruise, Stef has a bunch and I love reliving that cruise through her eyes. In fact, Stef has cruised since December 2021, and I have been gorging on g Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 25 Jan 2024 | Secrets of a Cruise Ship Doctor, Joanna Nell, Best Selling Author | 00:59:56 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Joanna Nell, bestselling author, medical doctor, and advocate for positive aging. Born and raised in UK, Joanne studied medicine at Cambridge and Oxford universities, then trained as a general practitioner in UK before emigrating to Australia with her husband and kids, where she lives today. It was an Australian publication where I learned of Joanna by reading her essay, Secrets of A Cruise Ship Doctor. That title would stop any cruise ship geek in their tracks, especially a podcaster always looking to bring fascinating guests to the show. As I read the article a broad smile came over my face, as rather than a dry, clinical—pun intended—recitation of the day-to-day activities of an MD at sea it was a fun, well-written, and touching composition. It ended with, “And though I wasn’t expecting to find actual love on The Love Boat, I did. A year after I left the sea, I married the second engineer. Twenty-five years later, our son is following in the family tradition and is now a ship’s engineer.” Yep, I knew I had to try to reach out to Joanna.
No wonder the article was nicely done. I didn’t know it at the time, but Joanna is a best-selling author having written five novels. Her newest, Mrs Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year, was just released November 1st and Joanna is in the midst of a book launch tour and media events. So, The Joy of Cruising Podcast is especially fortunate for Joanna to take the time to chat with us. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 18 Jan 2024 | Captain Albert, Holland America Line | 00:54:59 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am honored to welcome and bring to the listeners, Captain Albert, of Holland America Line. Captain Albert created and curates Captain Albert’s Website and Blog, described as “Ocean Liner History and Stories from the Sea, Past and Present. With an In-Depth focus on Holland America Line.” Captain Albert J. Schoonderbeek joined Holland America Line in 1981 on the old SS Statendam. He sailed a variety of HAL ships, attaining the rank of Captain in 2000. Captain Albert’s longest stints as Captain were on Veendam 2004 to 2008 and, Prinsendam2008 - 2011.
In 2014, Captain Albert was offered the opportunity to assume the function of Travelling Master, and later Fleet Master, to lead a first-in-industry program to provide training for captains and deck officers. Like everything else, the program was put on hold when Covid hit. Earlier this year, burdened by having to repay the debt incurred due to the need to keep the fleet in running order while not generating revenue during the pandemic, the decision was made to shelve the program for at least three years. As that would put the restart of the program beyond Captain Albert’s official retirement date in 2025, the company offered early retirement this year after 42 years of service to HAL.
Working onboard HAL cruise ships has been Captain Albert’s vocation, his avocation is also cruise ships: running Captain Albert’s Website and Blog, traveling on non-HAL ships with his wife Lesley on what they call “busman’s holidays” (a vacation spent observing someone else in the practice of one's usual occupation), and writing books including Captain Albert’s current massive project—a five-part history of Holland America Line. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 08 Jan 2024 | Rudi Sodamin: Master Chef, Rudi’s Sel de Mer Holland America Line, Rudi’s Seagrill Carnival, The Catch by Rudi Princess Cruises | 01:00:24 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, it is my pleasure to welcome a special guest, Chef Rudi Sodamin, Princess Cruises' first Head of Culinary Arts, along with his role as Master Chef for Holland America Line (HAL). If you have cruised on HAL, Princess Cruises, or on Carnival Cruise Line’s Excel-class ships you may have been fortunate to have experienced Chef Rudi’s specialty restaurants.
On HAL Chef Rudi led the highly successful launch of Rudi's Sel de Mer restaurant onboard Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam (which I look forward to try as I have Rotterdam booked. Furthermore, Sel de Mer is run as a "pop-up" one night per cruise in the Pinnacle Grill on most of the remaining HAL ships. Rudi’s Sel de Mer is an intimate brasserie featuring classic French dishes reimagined with contemporary flair. A signature dish is whole Dover sole meunière with shaved pink Himalayan sea salt. Carnival Cruise Corporation was so impressed by Chef Rudi's concept, that they commissioned him to create Rudi's Seagrill for its new Excel-class—Mardi Gras, Celebration, and Jubilee. In 2023 Chef Rudi partnered with Princess Cruises, to create The Catch by Rudi on Enchanted Princess, Majestic Princess,Sky Princess, Discovery Princess, and the just-released Sun Princess—which I am particularly excited about because I am booked on her also. There is so much more I can say about Chef Rudi, but that would take away from the time we can spend with him, so I will save the rest for our discussion. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 11 Jan 2024 | The Magic of Cruising: Writing About It & Doing It. Vanessa Armstrong, Writer Extraordinaire/Jon Armstrong, Cruising’s Top Magician | 00:51:32 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome two guests, a married couple, Vanessa and Jon Armstrong. Vanessa’s website opens to a close-up headshot which is inscribed, “Why is my face so big…?” Right below that it says, “Vanessa likes to write about things. Sometimes she gets paid for it.” I suspect a sense of humor I am going to enjoy! Her bio goes on to say, “Vanessa started her adult life as a very serious businessperson (she got not one, but TWO master's degrees!) and spent most of her twenties working for very serious companies and moving every two years or so. In her early thirties, she and her dog Penny moved to Los Angeles, where she began writing and dying her hair in different colors. Vanessa continues to live in Los Angeles with Penny, her daughter Maddie, and her husband Jon, who is a professional magician (no, she doesn't know how he does his tricks). Her writing has appeared in publications like The New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, Vulture, The LA Times, Travel + Leisure, Glamour Magazine, Atlas Obscura, and /or Film. Her hair is currently blue, but she is thinking of dying it purple.”
It was Vanessa’s article in Travel + Leisure, I Married a Cruise Ship Entertainer — Here's What My Life at Sea Is Really Like that brought the Armstrongs to my attention. I reached out to Vanessa to come and chat on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, and she was so kind as to introduce me to Jon.
Jon is from Orlando, Florida, and became fascinated by the magic he saw in the theme parks all around him. He acted on that fascination and—are you ready for this—at age 20, became the resident magician at Walt Disney World! After 5 years at Disney World, Vegas beckoned Jon and he became a headliner at Caesar's Magical Empire. That spring boarded Jon to do tours all over the world including—thankfully for our listeners—on cruise ships. Jon has also worked on many films and television shows as a magic consultant and designer, is co-creator of the IDW comic series Smoke and Mirrors, and stars in the documentary Magicians: Life in the Impossible. Jon just published a book, How To Win: Essays and Routines for the Stand-Up Magician.
Wow, what a dynamic couple! Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 04 Jan 2024 | MSC Meraviglia Christmas Cruise Reflections | 00:44:32 | |
We hope you all had a wonderful holiday, and we’d like to wish you a Happy New Year. This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, my wife Cheryl joins me to share our reflections of our just completed Christmas Cruise on MSC Meraviglia. Well we just did it again on MSC Meraviglia and we provide our reflections of the cruise, assess an overall letter grade for the cruise and its private island, Ocean Cay Marine Reserve, and discuss what I believe is necessary for MSC to compete with Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 08 Feb 2024 | Alanna Zingano, Travel The World From A To Z | 00:55:29 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Alanna Zingano, creator of the Travel The World From A To Z Facebook, and self-named blog and YouTube channel. Alanna is a highly regarded cruise influencer. I consider Cruise Bloggers, Vloggers, and Content Creators as Cruise Community Champions and have featured them throughout The Joy of Cruising Trilogy and on The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Passionate cruisers like Alanna epitomize the joy of cruising; they are so passionate about cruising that they want to share it with the world! Cruise Bloggers, Vloggers, and Content Creators champion the cause of cruising and at the same time they are champions to cruise fans by providing them with free, useful information, reviews, videos, photos, and cruise tips to cruisers planning a voyage, and prospective cruisers considering their first cruise. It is a pleasure to chat with Alanna, whose channel I rely on for cruise reviews and information, and to share her story with the listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast.
Alanna’s content revolves around teaching and inspiring others to travel more as she shares her advice and knowledge from her own adventures and experience. Her continuous goal is to create a message about weekend getaways, cruise planning, travel and vacation tips and tricks, and excursion advice! She is incredibly passionate about helping others feel empowered when they travel! Alanna can be found traveling with her husband Rafael who is known as “cameraman” within the community. They welcomed their first child, Valencia, into the world in early 2020. Both are ecstatic to begin to show and teach their daughter what the world has to offer! Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 20 Feb 2024 | Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Former CEO of Celebrity Cruises; Author, Making Waves: A Woman's Rise to the Top Using Smarts, Heart, and Courage Episode | 00:54:51 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome a special guest, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo. Among the global cruise personalities, we are blessed to host, today, I am honored to welcome another one of those Googleable individuals we occasionally have the honor to host. Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, the Chief Executive Officer of Celebrity Cruises from 2015-2023 is admired across the cruise industry for her accomplishments during her tenure at Celebrity, and she is a role model to women leaders and aspiring leaders beyond cruising. The legion of women, and men, interested in the leadership lessons of Lisa’s brilliant career is about to grow significantly, because today February 20, Lisa’s new book, Making Waves, A Woman's Rise to the Top Using Smarts, Heart, and Courage is released. So, besides being fortunate to be able to host someone of Lisa’s stature on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, we get to do so on the launch day of her new bestseller-to-be! ‘It's the stuff dreams are made of to start at the bottom and make it to the top. But that’s what happened to theVice Chairman of External Affairs for the Royal Caribbean Group and Former CEO of Celebrity Cruises Lisa Lutoff-Perlo who got her start in an entry-level sales position selling cruises door-to-door to travel agencies in New England and then found herself running a multibillion-dollar global company.’ Lisa Lutoff-Perlo is a high-impact leader in the travel and hospitality industry, whose vision and strategy not only propelled Celebrity Cruises to achieve transformational financial results as a brand within the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. portfolio but also dramatically increased the number of women in leadership roles throughout the Celebrity brand. Her passion for building extraordinary ships, creating unique experiences, and opening up the world through travel has brought recognition and countless awards to Lisa and Celebrity Cruises. Lisa and Celebrity have achieved global impact, earning her a reputation as a trailblazer bringing transformation, diversity, and inclusion into the travel and hospitality industry and onto bridges of ships. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 29 Jan 2024 | LifeWithUsTv, Stanley & Lynette | 01:14:22 | |
Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and on this bonus episode The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Stanley & Lynette, (the Queen!), creators of popular and growing LifeIsUsTV YouTube channel, Instagram platform, and Facebook Group. LifeIsUsTV is the 17th most-watched YouTube cruise channel with 100k subscribers. Feedspot lists Stanley & Lynette as #11 on their list of the world’s top 90 cruise influencers. Lynette is also a travel agent and books travel and has a blog a CodeFunTravel.com I consider Cruise Bloggers, Vloggers, and Content Creators as Cruise Community Champions and have featured them throughout The Joy of Cruising Trilogy and on The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Passionate cruisers like Stanley & Lynette epitomize the joy of cruising; they are so passionate about cruising that they want to share it with the world! Cruise Bloggers, Vloggers, and Content Creators champion the cause of cruising and at the same time they are champions to cruise fans by providing them with free, useful information, reviews, videos, photos, and cruise tips to cruisers planning a voyage, and prospective cruisers considering their first cruise.
It is my pleasure to chat with Stanley & Lynette, and to share their story with the listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 29 Feb 2024 | Mike Jason, President, StarVista LIVE Music Theme Cruises, Grammy Nominee | 01:00:37 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Mike Jason, President, StarVista LIVE, one of the world’s largest producers of music-themed cruises. StarVista LIVE offers a diverse collection of eight theme cruises covering a cross-section of music genres all generally aimed at 55-plus cruisers. StarVista LIVE’s flagship cruise is the Malt Shop Memories Cruise which features the music of the 50s and 60s, and artists have included the likes of the Beach Boys, Frankie Valli and Dion. Other theme cruises are the Soul Train Cruise which has starred artists such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Smokey Robinson, and Kool and the Gang; The Country Music Cruise which has featured Vince Gill, Kenny Rogers and Alabama; ‘70s Rock & Romance Cruise with the likes of Peter Frampton, and America; Ultimate Disco Cruise which has featured Gloria Gaynor, and KC and The Sunshine Band; Flower Power Cruise featuring Three Dog Night, and Blood Sweat & Tear; Sandy Beaches Cruise headlined and curated by Delbert McClinton; and, their newest event, The Big Easy Cruise, featuring New Orleans jazz, funk, and R&B and just premiered in November.
Mike is one of the few passionate cruisers I wrote about in two books of The Joy of Cruising Trilogy. Mike and StarVista LIVE was in my first cruising book, The Joy of Cruising, in Malt Shop Memories in a section called “Theme Cruising: Two Passions in One.” In my new release, The Joy of Cruising Again, I decided to circle back to Mike to cover how StarVista LIVE fared with the pandemic. The pandemic’s effect on the cruise lines was major but the impact on operators of theme cruises is about as significant a crisis as they are likely to face. Every consequence of COVID-19 on the cruise lines is exacerbated for a company dependent on full-ship charters, particularly a music-oriented theme cruise company. Not only are they dependent on what the cruise lines do (who are dependent on the Center for Disease Control), but they had two sets of stakeholders they had to maintain ongoing relations with during the cruising shutdown—guests, who in theme cruising are very likely repeaters, and performers, also likely to have an ongoing relationship with StarVista LIVE. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 05 Feb 2024 | Happy 1st Birthday, The Joy of Cruising Podcast: Most Memorable, Funniest, Embarrassing Moments | 01:35:56 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am thankful. Thankful that you have allowed me into your personal space for 80 times over this past year. I am thankful to the listeners that have made this podcast global in 100 countries. Cruising is loved throughout the world! And I am so appreciative of our guests, who make it possible for me to attract you. I only wish I could have included all 80 guests in this show.
We premiered a year ago, with Sheri of Cruise Tips TV, followed up by Ilana of Life Well Cruised. I knew early on who I wanted to start the podcast with. Both are friends; Sheri and Cruise Tips TV was in both The Joy of Cruising and Cruising Interrupted and did my first video ad for The Joy of Cruising. So in the first clip I wanted to honor her and say thank you by playing the first words of the first guest on the show. Ilana and Life Well Cruised was in Cruising Interrupted. She is also in the 1st clip and I wanted to honor her and say thank you by sharing the 1st of many of the most memorable, funniest, and most embarrassing moments in this one year old celebration. Finally in this 1st clip I share my most embarrassing moment. I am sure I butcher the Queens English from time-to-time; and in my very 1st show—that’s right with Sheri—my phone rings and I discovered it well after the episode was released! My most embarrassing moment was when I was a guest on a podcast which shall remain nameless. I made a boo boo, apologized to the host and completed an otherwise very nice conversation. Of course my expectation was that the host would edit out my boo boo and apology. Uh, nope. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 15 Feb 2024 | World's Largest Ship, Icon of the Seas Launch With A Rich and Jazzy Life | 01:23:59 | |
This week I am delighted to welcome back to The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Rich and Jasmine of A Rich and Jazzy Life. It is only fitting that this first the first reflections of the launch cruise of the world’s largest ship come from one of the world’s most influential cruise personalities. A Rich and Jazzy Life has over 101K followers on their You Tube channel, and perhaps even more impressive is their 95k Facebook affinity group, one of the largest Melanin at Sea. Rich and Jasmine also were featured in my new release The Joy of Cruising Again amzn.to/3lAfyON.
Rich and Jasmine first appeared on The Joy of Cruising Podcast in May 2023, so I know that have plenty of cruises to discuss, but first and foremost let’s delight in today’s ship, Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 12 Feb 2024 | The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Bucket List Cruises 2024-2025 | 00:24:50 | |
We were blessed to check off some of our bucket list in the past 14 months: Mediterranean Cruise, The Smooth Jazz Cruise, Hawaii, and Alaska. We’re leveling up with our bucket list cruises for 2024-2025. In this short bonus episode on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Paul and Mrs. The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Cheryl, discuss their plans to check off some cruise bucket list items in 2024-2025. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 22 Feb 2024 | R&B Superstar Maxwell’s Valentine’s Day Cruise Reflections | 00:20:07 | |
Hello passionate cruisers, this is Paul. And this is Cheryl. This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast we want to briefly share our reflections about our most recent cruise. This one was a short R&B music cruise to the Bahamas on the Norwegian Pearl.
The cruise starred R&B superstar Maxwell and was called the “Urban Hang Suite Cruise.” Urban Hang Suite is the name of Maxwell’s iconic first album. This was not part of a series of cruises—it was the first Maxwell Urban Hang Suite Cruise but I am confident it will not be the last.
Maxwell is a global R&B superstar who takes his time releasing new music. The cruise was named after his first album which was released almost 30 years ago, indicative of the staying power of his brand, and his fans are every bit as fervent. Other headliners were Ledisi, Robert Glasper, Sabrina Claudio, Leela James, Musiq Soulchild, Gallant, and comedian A-Train. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 04 Mar 2024 | Venus’ Sydney, Australia Bucket List Cruise on Carnival Splendor | 01:13:07 | |
Hello, passionate cruisers! I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Venus Anderson, I was browsing Melanin At Sea, one of the most influential Facebook affinity groups comprised of 96,000-member, created by friends of the show and global cruise personalities A Rich and Jazzy Life. Venus happens to be the administrator of Melanin At Sea (and sister and sister-n-law of the founders, Richand Jazzy.) Following the holidays Venus posted: “We recently returned from our 19-day trip to Sydney, Australia. After planning this trip for about 16 months, we braved the 22 hours in flights from JFK to SYD with ease. Thankfully no hiccups or delays. We had the opportunity to stay in Honolulu, Hawaii for 36 hours and in Sydney for one whole day before boarding the cruise. We took an 8-day cruise on the Carnival Splendor to Noumea and Lifou, New Caledonia.” This sounded like a dream trip to me; I have interviewed well over 100 passionate cruises and many, even seasoned world travelers still have Australia on their bucket list. As I am wont to do, I reached out to Venus and invited her to the podcast so that I and the listeners could experience hertrip vicariously through Venus. I am so glad she agreed to join The Joy of Cruising Podcast.
Venus’ adventure took place from mid-December 2023, through Christmas and New Year’s. Accompanied by her daughter, 13-year-old Autumn, and her cousin, her cousin’s husband and their son, the group flew from JFK in New York to Honolulu, Hawaii, where they got to spend a couple of days. Afterwards, they flew to Sydney, Australia and boarded the Carnival Splendor December 18 for an 8-day Christmas cruise with 2 stops—Lifou, and Noumea, 2 French territories in New Caledonia.
After the cruise they spent 6 additional nights in Sydney and rung in the New Year there. Before flying to New York. Surprise, Venus plans to go back again someday! I asked Venus what inspired her to put together such a grand trip. Many veteran world travelers still have Sydney, Australia on their bucket list. One influence on her to see the world was a quite poignant interaction and left a lasting impression on Venus. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 14 Mar 2024 | Lois: No Cruise Control | 01:07:02 | |
This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Lois, creator of the UK based Lois: No Cruise Control blog, YouTube channel, and Instagram platform. Lois is a highly regarded cruise influencer—39th in the world according to Feedspot. Although she has been cruising for 14 years, she has sailed dozens of cruises. On her website, Lois introduces herself, “Hello! I am a Specialist Nurse and a Cruise content creator, living in London, UK. When I am not posting Cruise photography to Instagram, filming YouTube vlogs or writing about my Cruise adventures here, you will find me supporting amazing families and saving strangers' lives by Organ Donation!”
I consider Cruise Bloggers, Vloggers, and Content Creators as Cruise Community Champions and have featured them throughout The Joy of Cruising Trilogy and on The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Passionate cruisers like Lois epitomize the joy of cruising; they are so passionate about cruising that they want to share it with the world! Cruise Bloggers, Vloggers, and Content Creators champion the cause of cruising and at the same time they are champions to cruise fans by providing them with free, useful information, reviews, videos, photos, and cruise tips to cruisers planning a voyage, and prospective cruisers considering their first cruise. Lois has an extensive and incredibly diverse cruising background, yet she started out with an amazing 22 straight cruises on a single cruise line. Looking forward to asking her about that.
Lois and I have interacted over the years on cruise social media, and it is now my pleasure to chat with Lois, and to share her story with the listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 07 Mar 2024 | MH Family Adventures | 01:00:59 | |
This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome RacQuelle and Ron, creators of the fast-growing MH Family Adventures, YouTube channel, Instagram platform, and Facebook Group. MH Family Adventures is a growing YouTube cruise channel with 15k subscribers, and 55k followers across their various social media platforms. Feedspot lists MH Family Adventures as #40 on their recent list of the world’s top 90 cruise influencers. RacQuelle has cruised at a torrid pace since 2019—44 cruises and preparing to go on her 45th as a volunteer with Autism on the Seas (the special needs community is near and dear to RacQuelle and Ron).
RacQuelle Major-Holland is a Cruise Content Creator/Travel Influencer & Travel Agency Owner. She spent 19 years as an educator—uh that’s Dr. Major-Holland—before stepping out on faith to establish with Ron, Major Adventures Travelwhich focuses exclusively on cruise travel. RacQuelle’s first cruise was just in 2019 and now she has dozens of cruises behind her on a diverse selection of cruise ships. Ron is a workaholic and with the family traveling as much as they do, it has really forced him to learn balance (something he didn't have before, and RacQuelle feels is extremely important in life). Ron has worked in accounting for the last 25 years and has served as a business consultant for small to medium sized businesses.
As the name implies MH Family Adventures is truly a family affair. RacQuelle and Ron’s 3 children, Andrew, Dice, and Jo are seemingly in every video and photo although RacQuelle travels a fair bit solo or with relatives as the kids have school schedules and Ron has to work and watch the kids. And on several videos, I've seen where RacQuelle cruises with each of the children, one at a time.
I consider Cruise Bloggers, Vloggers, and Content Creators as Cruise Community Champions and have featured them throughout The Joy of Cruising Trilogy and on The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Passionate cruisers like MH Family Adventures epitomize the joy of cruising; they are so passionate about cruising that they want to share it with the world!
It is my pleasure to chat with RacQuelle & Ron, and to share their story with the listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 18 Apr 2024 | Dream Cruise to Greenland, Tom and Dom Travel | 01:01:04 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Tom and Dom, a couple from UK and creators of the Tom and Dom Travel blog, YouTube channel, Instagram platform, and Facebook group. Tom and Dom have only been cruising since right after the pandemic, sailing MSC Virtuosa on a short cruise to nowhere—referred to UK as a staycation as UK phased in cruises after the lockdown. Only three years and many cruises later Tom and Dom are now sailing exotic itineraries to Greenland! Also, in that short time they have appeared in BBC Radio Wales, BBC NEWS, The Times, The Sun, Daily Mirror, OUT Traveler, and Business Insider. They are a CLIA Choose Cruise member 2023.
I consider Cruise Bloggers, Vloggers, and Content Creators as Cruise Community Champions and have featured them throughout The Joy of Cruising Trilogy and on The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Passionate cruisers like Tom and Domepitomize the joy of cruising; they are so passionate about cruising that they want to share it with the world! Cruise Bloggers, Vloggers, and Content Creators champion the cause of cruising and at the same time they are champions to cruise fans by providing them with free, useful information, reviews, videos, photos, and cruise tips to cruisers planning a voyage, and prospective cruisers considering their first cruise.
I have interacted with Tom and Dom occasionally on cruise social media, and it is now my pleasure to chat with them, and to share their story with the listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 04 Apr 2024 | Transatlantic Crossings: Myths & Facts, Suite Natured | 01:12:50 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Linzi and Mark, a couple from UK and creators of the Suite Natured blog, YouTube channel, Instagram platform, and Facebook group. They are a CLIA Choose Cruise member 2024. Linzi and Mark state on their website: Based in Northern England, getting to the cruise port is always an adventure, so we usually travel the day before embarkation to avoid any cruise day hiccups.
I consider Cruise Bloggers, Vloggers, and Content Creators as Cruise Community Champions and have featured them throughout The Joy of Cruising Trilogy and on The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Passionate cruisers like Linzi and Markepitomize the joy of cruising; they are so passionate about cruising that they want to share it with the world! Plus, I have a special affinity with UK content creators. Such a passionate cruise community and the first person to agree to be in my first book, The Joy of Cruising http://amzn.to/2EAMddF, was a UK cruise personality.
In the February issue of UK’s Sail Away Magazine, Suite Natured authored a feature titled “Myths & Facts of Taking a Transatlantic Crossing,” and they mentioned it on their FB Gp. The timing of coming across that post couldn’t have been any better. I was in the process of creating a podcast discussing our upcoming cruise, one of which is our first transatlantic —Bucket List Cruises 2024-2025 https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/14366745. I reached out to Suite Natured, and it is now my pleasure to chat with Linzi and Mark about transatlantics, and to share the story of Suite Natured with the listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast. It's a fun conservation and ends with a hilarious anecdote. (I told Mar and Linzi they will be sure to be included in my second annual end-of-the-year episode oh the year's "most memorable, funniest, and most embarrassing stories!" Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 11 Mar 2024 | Hollydaysatsea, Sun Princess Inaugural Cruise | 01:00:55 | |
This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Holly Crabtree, creator of the UK-based Hollydaysatsea, YouTube channel, Instagram platform, and Facebook group. Holly is visiting The Joy of Cruising Podcast today to discuss mainly her recent cruise on the inaugural sailing of the highly anticipated Princess Cruises Sun Princess—which you might have heard me refer to as perhaps my future favorite ship. I am so smitten by this new ship—which I am not booked on until April 2025—that I arranged for a cruising content creator to come on the podcast and further pique my interest. (Also of course, to share with the listeners all the bells and whistles on the shiny new gigantic sea playground.) The originally scheduled inaugural cruise was cancelled. So, I got another content creator who was on the follow-up cruise. It too was cancelled. The third time was a charm, and I am thankful my friend and cruise influencer Holly was scheduled to be on the Sun Princess and we are glad to have her on The Joy of Cruising Podcast.
Holly is a multi-award-winning cruise expert who says she is “More passionate about cruising than ever before and am excited to share my experience, tips and tricks, and the mistakes you can avoid.” Holly sold cruises for over 35 and decided to share all the insight she has learned with the cruise community on her various platforms. She points out on her channel, “Throw in a little Yorkshire humour, the odd cocktail-making class with some fabulous cruise cocktail recipes and of course my favourite cruise wine recommendations. So come and join me on this amazing and fun adventure as I cruise around the world sharing all I know to make your cruise experience fabulous.”
I am so glad Holly is here to share her story with the listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 28 Mar 2024 | Where’s Walter Travel | 00:59:21 | |
I am delighted to welcome this week to The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Walter Biscardi, Founder of Where’s Walter Travel. Sometimes I mention passionate cruisers I interview who moved me to add a destination or experience or vessel to my ever-expanding bucket list, or to book one already on my bucket list. Walter was one such passionate cruiser who moved me to booking a cruise on Virgin Voyages. Here’s the thing; I hadn’t interviewed him. I met Walter on YouTube where I incessantly watch cruise videos, even with the sound down when I am recording or editing a podcast episode or just listening to music. I happened upon a video where Walter was reviewing every food venue on Virgin Voyages, which was on my bucket list. Walter seemed so genuine and impressed by the food. Most importantly, he was persuasive. Shortly after viewing that video we booked Scarlet Lady for our first cruise on Virgin Voyages next month!
Since viewing Walter’s Virgin Voyages video, we’ve become not just friends and followers of each other on social media, but collaborators. Where’s Walter Travel is The Joy of Cruising Podcast’s Travel Agent Partner. So, shameless plug, you can now book your cruises through The Joy of Cruising Podcast www.thejoyofcruising.net!
Walter is relatively new to the travel business; yet, I wanted him as a guest on The Joy of Cruising Podcast based on the difference he has made in the 15 months or so he has been involved in cruising. Walter’s appeal is mainly as a cruise content creator who I have found that I can relate to mainly because of his relevant and incisive commentary, outstanding production quality, and frankly, his ‘everyman’ persona depicted on his videos. As we became friends, I learned of hisbackground prior to becoming a Travel Agent: over 30 years in film, television, and marketing. Walter owned creative agencies in Atlanta for 20 years. Heard of the Food Networks’ Good Eats with Alton Brown? Walter was fortunate to be a part of Peabody Awards for the show. Wow. Walter started Where's Walter TikTok in December 2021. He wanted to offer honest information about cruising so folks could make an informed decision on whether to take a cruise, noting, “There was so much bad and incorrect information out there as cruising restarted.” By April 2022 his audience started asking him to become a Travel Agent. In October 2022, Where's Walter Travel was launched and realized virtually immediate success. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 21 Mar 2024 | Cruise with Colin and Nick, Cruising’s Young and Restless | 00:52:18 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Colin Stewart and Nick Jackson, co-creators of the new brand Cruise with Colin and Nick, comprised of a YouTube channel, Instagram platform, and Facebook Group. As some of you know, Cruising’s Young and Restless has been a recurring section in The Joy of Cruising books taking a look at passionate cruisers of today who will be cruise community leaders of tomorrow. Some of you may know and follow Nick, aka #FutureCruiseDirector. I featured Nick in my latest book, The Joy of Cruising Again http://amzn.to/3lAfyON, and he was onthe podcast in September, Travel With Nick, Cruising’s Young and Restless for his own YouTube channel. When interviewing Nick for The Joy of Cruising Again he mentioned that he and another aspiring cruise director, Colin, were partnering to launch Cruise with Colin and Nick, a YouTube channel that chronicles their journey toward a mutual goal.
I introduced you to Nick a few months back, a high school student, track star, and a part-time employee at the Carnival pier at the Port of Galveston but I will ask him to reintroduce himself. This is my first-time meeting Colin, although we have interacted on social media, and I mentioned him in Nick’s feature. Colin is a college student at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, and it’s good to get to know more about him.
It is my pleasure to chat with Colin and Nick and learn what they are doing together—and separately to further their aim to be a Cruise Director, and to share their story with the listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 25 Mar 2024 | Cruise With Ben & David | 00:46:01 | |
I am delighted to welcome back this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast Ben & David of the massively successful Cruise With Ben & David. Their 248k followers on YouTube puts Cruise With Ben & David as one of the top cruise channels in the world. Along with Cruise Mummy, Cruise With Ben & David are the only two-time winners of the UK Wave Award in the cruise influencer category. Among cruise content creators/influencers they just may be the most influential cruise brand in the world. As an example, just weeks ago Cruise With Ben & David dominated cruise news and the cruise blogosphere/vlogosphere regarding an interaction they had with a major cruise line. Surprisingly, however that’s not why I invited them back on. Well before that incident, I was browsing their channel and was shocked to find that Ben & David went back to MSC cruise line—on MSC World Europa—after a “falling out” they had with MSC several years ago, which we discussed when they were last on The Joy of Cruising Podcast. This first of what was to be several MSC World Europa videos was quite positive. So, I reached out to them to come back on to discuss their return to MSC, as well as get their reflections on Icon of the Seas, and just catch up on what they have been up to. Shortly after Ben & David agreed to come back on cruise news blew up.
Part of the reason for Ben & David’s influence is their credibility with the people who watch their channel. They pay for all their cruises, which enables them to provide their unfiltered—and very candid—reflections and opinions about the broad diversity of cruises they take. If a ship is among the world’s top ships, Ben & David have likely sailed on it. They pepper their videos with hilarious interchange between the two. And they feature highly polished video and production quality.
Cruise With Ben & David has been featured in some of the top publications and news outlets globally, such as The Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USAToday and The Mail on Sunday. And, they have made a memorable appearance on the BBC's "The One Show". Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 11 Apr 2024 | Mr. Bucketlist | 00:59:16 | |
I am delighted to welcome this week to The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Justin Sorrell aka MrBucketlist. Justin is a video creator and influencer and the creator of the MrBucketlist YouTube channel where 16k subscribers get to follow his adventures on the seas usually on the newest ships, like the largest ship in the world that launched just last month, Icon of the Seas. Justin recently cruised the launch and did a little bit of everything so I can’t wait to hear the details. He cruises exclusively solo, which is relatively atypical for men, and has done 19 Solo Cruises—3 of which involved leading MrBucketlist group cruises.
As suggested by Justin’s brand name, cruising is only one aspect of his adventure seeking lifestyle. He has checked off over 150 items on his bucket list in numerous forms. Justin is a confirmed thrill seeker having visited over 80 Theme Parks; 49 of 50 States—and that will soon be 50/50 as he just booked a Hawaii cruise for this Spring; and 5/7 Continents.
And then there was this statement on the MrBucketlist homepage, and Justin became a new travel role model of mine: “I vacation every 2 weeks!” Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 15 Apr 2024 | Cruise Tips TV | 00:50:22 | |
I am delighted to welcome back to The Joy of Cruising Podcast Sheri of the Cruise Tips TV. Sheri is a special friend to me, having been featured in my first two cruise books, The Joy of Cruising http://amzn.to/2EAMddF and Cruising Interrupted http://amzn.to/3seFU8y, and then being my first choice for the initial episode of The Joy of Cruising Podcast which she graciously accepted https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/12197161. Cruise Tips TV has its own podcast, Cruise Tips TV Unplugged, as well as blog, You Tube channel, IG and more. In fact, across all platforms Sheri and Cruise Tips TV is one of the mostly followed and influential cruise brands in the world.
It's been over a year, so I wanted to catch up with Sheri, get her thoughts on her recent Sun Princess cruise, and share with the cruise community the recent major change in Sheri’s cruising career. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 09 May 2024 | Paul & Carole Love To Travel, Mekong River Cruise, AmaWaterways, AmaDara, Japan! | 01:07:38 | |
I am delighted to welcome back to The Joy of Cruising Podcast Paul & Carole, creators of Paul & Carole Love To Travel. I go aways back with Paul & Carole whom I consider friends though I have never properly met then. But I kind of felt like I met them in our first interaction when I featured them in my first cruise book, The Joy of Cruisinghttp://amzn.to/2EAMddF and they took the readers on a Havana, Cuba bar crawl and it was like I experienced it vicariously through them. Every time I saw a photo of them subsequently, they seemed to be having fun and it reminded me of that first feature, Cuba Cruising. So, I invited them to do a more extensive feature in my second cruise book Cruising Interrupted http://amzn.to/3seFU8y. And last summer it was my pleasure to host Paul & Carole Love To Travelon The Joy of Cruising Podcast Podcast Episode. Paul & Carole Love To Travel has its own blog, great You Tube channel, IG and more.
I wanted to catch up with Paul & Carole as soon as I learned from their channel of their AmaWaterways river cruise. Chery and I go on our first river cruise this summer on AmaWaterways AmaKristina, so I wanted Paul & Carole to share all about AmaWaterways AmaDara with the listeners. In addition, following the river cruise, they had a dream trip to Japan that I am sure contains some fascinating anecdotes. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 02 May 2024 | Le Boat, Who's On Board? | 00:38:24 | |
This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Lisa Mclean, Le Boat, Marketing Manager for North American. Le Boat is the market leader in providing luxury houseboat vacations on the beautiful rivers, lakes and canals of Europe and Canada. They have the world’s largest fleet of luxury houseboats and the widest choice of fabulous boating destinations to choose from. Le Boat has been at this a long time—over 50 years’ experience on the water. Here’s the part that fascinated me when I first heard of Le Boat from a previous guest on The Joy of Cruising Podcast: You don’t need a license or prior experience to be the p of your own houseboat. As Lisa will explain, Le Boat conducts a pre-departure briefing with you, explaining safety, controls and maneuvering the boat, how onboard features of the boat work, and even take you for a test drive.
I first heard about Le Boat from Judy Cohen, Traveling Judi when she was on the show in December https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/14100013. I featured Judi in Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y, and while she is one of the most prolific world travelers I know, Judi enthralled me talking about her return to cruising—during the Covid lockdown—in Canada where she lives, and one of several places in the world, Le Boat operates. “You captain your own boat! When we arrive there—we don’t have a boating license—they gave us 2 hours of training…and away you go. You maneuver through the locks and stop at the various ports.” At this point I loud exclaimed. “Get out, that sounds amazing!” Judi went on to talk about how they brought their whole family, including their dog for a 4-night cruise. They cooked their own food. Judi said, “The kitchen is nicer than the one I have at home!” Read more at https://travelingjudi.com
I am anxious to speak with Lisa, and to have the listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast get the inside scoop on this unique way to cruise with family and friends.
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| 22 Apr 2024 | Life Well Cruised | 01:08:14 | |
I am delighted to welcome back to The Joy of Cruising Podcast Ilana of Life Well Cruised. Ilana is one of my first friends in the cruising blogosphere, having been featured in my second cruise book, Cruising Interrupted http://amzn.to/3seFU8y, and she has been a social media friend since my first book (which Ilana would have been in if not for an email issue!) Life Well Cruised was the second episode of The Joy of Cruising Podcast over a year ago and amazingly, her episode remains in the top five to this day Episode 2, Life Well Cruised. Life Well Cruised is a well-read blog, one of the top cruise You Tube channels in the world, IG and more. In fact, across all platforms Ilana has a fervent followership and Life Well Cruised is one of the mostly followed and influential cruise brands in the world.
It's been over a year, so I wanted to catch up with Ilana, get her reflections on her recent Sun Princess cruise, compare our recent MSC experiences, and get an update of her cruising plans in this red-hot cruising market. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 25 Apr 2024 | Lucy, Cruising As Crew | 00:51:51 | |
This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Lucy, creator of the Cruising As Crew, website, YouTube channel, and Instagram platform. Lucy has worked for P & O and Virgin Voyage in the shops, and for Royal Caribbean and Disney Cruise Lines as a shopping ambassador. I will be sure to ask Lucy to elaborate on and differentiate between those positions. Lucy’s passion, the mission of her website and channel is to facilitate the entry of others into working on cruise ships. Her tagline is: “Helping People Land Their Dream Job On Cruise Ships.”
After qualifying as a beauty therapist/masseuse at 19, Lucy got a job with Steiner International, a leading recruiting agency for cruise ship spa departments, which Lucy calls “hard work but the best thing I’ve ever done,” Lucy’s cruise ship work includes: The Onboard Spa 2015- 2017 on Royal Caribbean, Harding Retail 2018- 2022 on P&O and Virgin Voyages, and in 2022 she became a shopping ambassador and worked on Disney Wish and Royal Caribbean Harmony OTS. Lucy’s motivation to create Cruising As Crew was because before I she started working on cruise ships, she would scour the web for information on ‘life onboard’ and couldn’t find much, so she thought she would put together something that she wishes she could have read.
I wrote about cruise ship crew, staff, and officers in my latest book The Joy of Cruising Again in a section called “Ship Life,” and from when I first started cruising have been intrigued with what it would be like to work on a cruise ship. It is my pleasure to chat with Lucy to gain some additional insight into that and to share her story with the listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||
| 06 May 2024 | Spike Davis, Comedy On the Ocean | 00:41:46 | |
We love stand-up comedy here at The Joy of Cruising Podcast, and no one does it better on the ocean than Carnival Cruise Lines. I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Spike Davis, a Carnival favorite comedian, host, and writer. He is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, now residing in Atlanta—when not on the ocean. Perhaps after looking at his Carnival Cruise Tour Dates at https://www.spikedavis.com, I should restate that as: when not residing on the ocean Spike rests his head in Atlanta. He performs on ships a lot! Spike’s not new to this. For the past decade, Spike has been a crowd favorite on Carnival, earning his spot as one of the most sought-after comedians on the high seas. That’s not all Spike does.
Spike has been on the comedy scene 30 years and has shared stages with legends like Steve Harvey, Jamie Foxx, Rickey Smiley, Mike Epps and D.L. Hughley. He's graced national TV on Dry Bar Comedy Show, Comics Unleashed, HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, and BET. His clever and entertaining sets, infused with humor and poignant messages of hope and inclusion, make Spike a comedic force to be reckoned with. From coast to coast and cruising the shining seas, Spike leaves audiences laughing and pondering in equal measure. Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new | |||