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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Nathalie Holiday, creator of Round Trip Nat, Travel Content Creator and World Cruiser.Nathalie notes, “I like to speak on the reality of travel. Nothing is ever perfect no matter what price point you are traveling at. Someone at a 4-Star accommodation can have the same issues as someone staying at a 2-star. I like inspiring people that don't think they have the finances to travel. There are so many options that can help you see at least one of your dream places before you leave this earth. I don't travel like the typical person. We used public transit, we don't book $350 pp excursions for the same thing you can see from the ship for free. I'll never forget my 1st Alaska cruise where a group went whale watching and spent an insane amount of money, but not one whale in sight. Only for all of us to be at the back of the ship and seeing a bunch of whales for free. I chose to travel WITH my kids instead of leaving them home. We are world schoolers. We were before it was a popular term to use, before it was trademarked and before it became doing online school and traveling once or twice a year. Our sons not only visit destinations, but they also immerse themselves in them. They study them, the culture, traditions, food, politics of the places we visit. They speak with locals, eat in their restaurants, cook in their kitchens and get a feel, although small, about the places we visit. My next endeavors…our family will be offering Outdoor Hospitality, farm to table cooking and self-sustainability classes where everyone is welcome. We will do farm stays, family educational enrichment weekends including farm to table cooking classes, family outdoor weekends and host lively private events for the grown folks that camp and look for a fun, safe and relaxed atmosphere.” 

At 10, a commercial showed her favorite band going to Disney World and on a cruise on Premier Cruise Line (later became Disney Cruises). This vacation of a lifetime on the first New Kids on The Block Cruise, is where her cruise addiction began! Fast forward to April 2024, her dream of visiting all 7 continents with her kids in tow became a reality as she stepped onto Africa to celebrate her 45th birthday in Mor

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Hello passionate cruisers. This is Paul and I am joined by a special guest, my wife Cheryl, to share our thoughts on the Soul Train Cruise. Longtime listeners and readers of my books know of my fascination of theme cruises, especially my first cruising book, The Joy of Cruising http://amzn.to/2eamddf where I included a section on theme cruising and featured a chapter on my first theme cruise, Festival at Sea, the oldest African-American Cultural Cruise, and a chapter about StarVista Live, a company that does a series of theme cruises about various music genres including the Soul Train Cruise. The Soul Train Cruise was on my bucket list and we are glad to check it off.

My attraction to theme cruises is simple; the passengers onboard are not only passionate about cruising but they are also passionate about the theme, the subject of the cruise. So every one has something in common that drew them to that cruise. Almost everyone is friendly, it is very low in drama, and very high in chill. Theme cruises feel like giant family reunions.

Soul Train has a long legacy and it is only fitting that the host is Tony Cornelius, son of the Soul Train television host Don Cornelius. We loved it…but would we do it again? Check out our thoughts!

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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome back this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, 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 & Stef is an iconic cruise brand. Sean was a talented artist, visual effects guru, and magical storyteller. Stef and I shared the sad, tragic story of Sean’s passing in Sean & Stef Ep 76, and Stef covers it comprehensively on the Sean and Stef YouTube Channel. We also discussed our experience sailing the same cruise, along with friends of the show, Ben & David—a bucket list journey from Hawaii to Alaska. Great videos on Stef’s channel.

Today I welcome Stef back to catch up with her and also get the scoop on her recent cruise on Margaritaville at Sea Islander coming off its surprise win in the recent Cruise Critic 2024 Best in Cruise Awards for Cruisers' Choice Best Ocean Cruise Line

Relying on ship wifi is slow, unsecure, sometimes not available & at foreign ports travelers don’t want to pay their carriers’ high fees. Save $ with GigSky! Get a data package usable on the ship & in ports. Link to GigSky:  https://gigsky.pxf.io/nloxor. For a 10% discount use code: joyofcruising

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This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Kathy Lu of Explora Journeys. Let me preface my conversation with Kathy by pointing out that Explora Journeys was not even on my radar a few months ago. Then a series of events converged in a short amount of time. In November the Cruise Critic Awards came out and Explora Journeys was announced as respectively Best Cruise Line, Best Dining, and Best for Families in the luxury category. Mind you at the time of that announcement, a luxury cruise was on my bucket list—perhaps Regent Seven Seas, Crystal, Seabourne—Explora Journeys was not even in my thinking. Then I hosted Colleen McDaniel, Editor-in-Chief, Cruise Critic and asked her to reflect on cruising luxury cruise lines. Part of her response related to Explora Journeys, and I recall responding, “Wow, I have got some research to do.” That research led me to Kathy Lu.

Kathy Lu is Explora Journeys’ Business Relationship Lead, USA Southeast. Having spent 14 years at Crystal Cruises—first in Los Angeles, later in Miami—Kathy flourished in the brand’s culture of excellence, in which respect for others was paramount and exceeding expectations was inherent within the team. From her beginnings as an administrative assistant, through promotions into a myriad of roles in strategic partnerships, international sales and marketing, and ultimately as Regional Sales Manager for the Southeast, Kathy has formed unique global perspectives and valuable insights into all facets of luxury tourism today. A playful and curious lover of travel who began cruising from a young age, Kathy has spent much of her life exploring the world. Her favorite destinations include Greece, Hungary, and Vietnam and her future-travels wish list includes iconic spots like South Africa, New Zealand, and especially Iceland; a broken ankle, occurring hours after stepping onto the land of fire and ice, cut her holiday short in 2021. 

Whether at home in Atlanta, in a fine restaurant, at a taco truck, or aboard a luxury ship, Kathy enjoys the foodie life and relishes opportunities to entertain. She loves contemporary art and Scotch whisky that is old enough to order its own drink. She’s a friend to all canines, and she loves people, particularly her supportive family in Los Angeles. Kathy holds a bachelor’s degree

Relying on ship wifi is slow, unsecure, sometimes not available & at foreign ports travelers don’t want to pay their carriers’ high fees. Save $ with GigSky! Get a data package usable on the ship & in ports. Link to GigSky:  https://gigsky.pxf.io/nloxor. For a 10% discount use code: joyofcruising

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Regular listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast know that I include in most conversations a section about the guest’s most memorable, funniest, and/or most embarrassing cruise or port recollection. The answers have ranged from touching—for example marriage proposals; to poignant, like last year when Iris from Life of Iris—who expected to join a vibrant Holland American ship as a Communications Manager responsible for getting out the daily activities listing to cruisers, instead was sent to a ship designated exclusively to host Ukrainian women and children refugees fleeing a sudden outbreak of war in their homeland—to hilarious.

Last year in celebration of The Joy of Cruising Podcast’s first birthday, I did a retrospective of some of the best responses from guests I hosted during its first year— Episode 77. It was so fun to put together and I hoped you enjoyed listening then, so I decided to do it again.

Relying on ship wifi is slow, unsecure, sometimes not available & at foreign ports travelers don’t want to pay their carriers’ high fees. Save $ with GigSky! Get a data package usable on the ship & in ports. Link to GigSky:  https://gigsky.pxf.io/nloxor. For a 10% discount use code: joyofcruising

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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome back this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Sam & Brian, hosts of the massively successful DCL Duo podcast. DCL Duo is a Disney Cruise Line-focused podcast, with occasional detours into general cruising and Disney topics including the Disney parks, Adventures By Disney, Run Disneyand Disney Vacation Club. 

It is great to get back together with Sam and Brian, who are not just friends of mine but are podcast mentors as well. DCL Duo is featured in my newest book release, The Joy of Cruising Again amzn.to/3lAfyON in a section called The Communicators. I have been on their podcast a couple of times and have been fortunate to host them on The Joy of Cruising Podcast Episode 16.  Importantly, as discussed in that episode, I was in a funk and had a self-imposed writers block due to the pandemic declaration in the middle of the writing of my 2nd book. A note I received from DCL Duo—whom I did not know at the time—inviting me on their podcast due to their enjoyment of my 1st cruising book, The Joy of Cruising amzn.to/2EAMddF is what motivated me to restart writing.

My only experience with Disney Cruise Line was a single cruise on Disney Dream. I took my grandkids on their first cruise, (there was never any consideration for another cruise line for my grandkid’s first cruise!) Everything I have heard about the new Disney Treasure suggests it just might be the ship to draw me back to
Disney Cruise Line. I figured there is no one who is a better ambassador for DCL than DCL Duo, so I am anxious to hear all about Disney Treasure!

Relying on ship wifi is slow, unsecure, sometimes not available & at foreign ports travelers don’t want to pay their carriers’ high fees. Save $ with GigSky! Get a data package usable on the ship & in ports. Link to GigSky:  https://gigsky.pxf.io/nloxor. For a 10% discount use code: joyofcruising

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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Chris Warren. As you know, I try to portray cruising in all its diversity: region of the world; age; celebrities as well as “ordinary” cruisers with extraordinary stories; and profession—cruise CEO’s, Captains and crew, chefs, performers, travel writers, cruise influencers and content creators, etc. Here we are with over 160 episodes and have yet to host a professional travel photographer. Until today…

Chris is a talented photographer born in Philadelphia, who has resided in South Florida for the past 30 years. Specializing in hospitality and ocean photography, Chris has been passionate about capturing stunning images since childhood. As a self-taught artist, he has developed a unique style that showcases his deep understanding of light and motion, bringing each photograph to life. 

Chris is multifaceted as he has two related but distinct photography careers—hospitality photography, and ocean photography, and also is an artist. These excepts from his 2 websites help get a feel for Chris’ different vocations and avocations.

www.cwarrentravel.com Christopher Warren, a hospitality photographer is a true artist with a passion for his craft and a fine art background that informs his work. He has built a reputation for himself in the industry and is frequently flown to resorts around the world to capture the essence of each property through his lens.

www.cwarrengallery.com Chris was raised in the city but tamed by the ocean. He ran with the wolves on Wall Street for over 20 years before deciding to focus solely on combining his love of the ocean with his love for photography. Today, Chris’ passion is pursuing the fine art of ocean photography in a way that captures the everchanging magic of color, textures and light in every wave that comes ashore.

Relying on ship wifi is slow, unsecure, sometimes not available & at foreign ports travelers don’t want to pay their carriers’ high fees. Save $ with GigSky! Get a data package usable on the ship & in ports. Link to GigSky:  https://gigsky.pxf.io/nloxor. For a 10% discount use code: joyofcruising

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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Laura Pedlar, and Craig Shaw of Cruise Lifestyle Blog. Those of you with my second cruising book, Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y, know that I featured Laura and Cruise Lifestyle in a section called “Bloggers: Cruise Community Champions.” Laura also came on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Ep 46 Cruise Lifestyle over a year ago and I’m glad to talk to her again, and to welcome Craig for the first time. I was reminded that it was time to invite Laura back to the podcast when I saw a social media post that she and Craig were on Celebrity Ascent. I tried to get them on the podcast in advance of my own cruise on Celebrity Ascent in November so they could get me excited about what I was in for, but I couldn’t work out the dates. So now we’ll just compare experiences, and also catch up on what’s new with Laura, Craig, and Cruise Lifestyle.

Relying on ship wifi is slow, unsecure, sometimes not available & at foreign ports travelers don’t want to pay their carriers’ high fees. Save $ with GigSky! Get a data package usable on the ship & in ports. Link to GigSky:  https://gigsky.pxf.io/nloxor. For a 10% discount use code: joyofcruising

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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome back this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Emma of the massively successful Emma Cruises.

Emma is one of the most well-known cruise personalities in the world—and she is still in her 20’s. I first met her in 2019 after Emma shocked the UK cruising community at age 23 by winning the UK Wave Award for Best Cruise Blogger for her irreverently named blog, “Cruising Isn’t Just for Old People.” I was writing my first cruise book, The Joy of Cruising amzn.to/2EAMddF, so I reached out to Emma, and she became one of the features in the book. Emma progressed in the cruising world significantly over the ensuing years, so I decided to feature her in my 3rd cruising book, The Joy of Cruising Again amzn.to/3lAfyON, mainly to discuss her transition from a 23-year-old part-time blogger to a full-time cruising business owner and global cruise personality, Emma Cruises. After publishing that book, Emma was a guest on my new podcast Ep 13, and discussed her new charitable venture, selling plush toys based on her beloved cat, Hudson, to raise funds in support of Mercy Ships. We are so thankful Emma came back to The Joy of Cruising Podcast, to talk about the state of her charitable venture and the huge milestone it just reached. And, Emma discusses a new passion—recently becoming a part of a venture we featured on the podcast a few weeks ago—The Cruise Maps Ep 154. Finally, hear why I refer to Emma as the answer to a trivia question!

Relying on ship wifi is slow, unsecure, sometimes not available & at foreign ports travelers don’t want to pay their carriers’ high fees. Save $ with GigSky! Get a data package usable on the ship & in ports. Link to GigSky:  https://gigsky.pxf.io/nloxor. For a 10% discount use code: joyofcruising

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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Melissa Newman.

Melissa Newman is a university professor who loves to cruise. For most of her life, she held two full-time jobs, serving as professor and also running a nonprofit organization. In 2022 she decided to stop letting work dominate her life and she exited the nonprofit sector and used her newly found free time to pursue one of her passions... Travel. And specifically, cruise travel. She now cruises monthly and creates content to share with others what she learns along the way, which is the perfect marriage of her job and hobby — teaching and cruising. Professor Melissa and I share two significant things in common—we both have been university professors, and are certified travel agents, so I am anxious to hear how those backgrounds mix to create challenges and opportunities.

Melissa has some valuable insight to share  that we did not have time to delve into for potential and new travel agents, as well as ways to cruise free using casino incentives. Following is some key information that you can follow-up with on your own about both:

Info on becoming a travel agent: https://www.profmelissa.com/travelagent

 How to Get FREE Casino Cruises (The Secrets) Curious about how to get free cruise offers through casino programs? In this video, I'll share the approach I use to get free casino cruises, and these are strategies anyone can use to (potentially) get casino offers.

Video about casino offers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN1JkeEGHpc

Relying on ship wifi is slow, unsecure, sometimes not available & at foreign ports travelers don’t want to pay their carriers’ high fees. Save $ with GigSky! Get a data package usable on the ship & in ports. Link to GigSky:  https://gigsky.pxf.io/nloxor. For a 10% discount use code: joyofcruising

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