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I am delighted to welcome back to The Joy of Cruising Podcast Mikkel and Dan, creators of the Sometimes Sailing cruise website and Instagram. Mikkel and Dan are special friends, and this is a special episode.  I got to know Mikkel and Dan when I wrote about Sometimes Sailing in my new release The Joy of Cruising Again http://amzn.to/3lAfyON where I wrote about their penchant for small ship cruising as well as “ship-within-a-ship” spaces, for instance, Celebrity Cruises The Retreat, Norwegian Haven, and Princess Cruises Medallion Class. I hosted Sometimes Sailing on The Joy of Cruising Podcast Episode 28 last year, and on Episode 101 earlier this year where I mentioned how Mikkel and Dan were instrumental in motivating me to pursue my bucket list aspiration to sail our first river cruise—AmaWaterways Soulful Epicurean French River Cruise on AmaKristina. What makes this episode special is that Mikkel and Dan, Sometimes Sailing are the first guests to appear on the podcast three times! 

Mikkel and Dan have created a complimentary river cruise planning resource for our listeners. 

**Download their Essential River Cruise Budgeting Guide here.**

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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I present to you something quite different than what you are used to hearing from me. It’s a cruise news story—an absolutely amazing one. First, let me welcome to the show Cailyn. Joshua is an entrepreneur in Tulsa, Oklahoma who is a central figure in said cruise news story, and as a busy entrepreneur was not able to join us. I don’t normally cover cruise news. I leave that up to others who are renown and much better than I am about covering that sort of thing. However, Cailyn and her family’s story transcends cruise news. It was covered extensively worldwide by mainstream media. Besides, one topic I do like to bring to the cruising community are human interest stories—and the Gault's story is a human-interest tale on steroids. Let me summarize before I bring on Cailyn to give us the real deal:

In July 2024, Cailyn and her family of 9 embarked on Norwegian Encore for a family reunion cruise to Alaska. In total, 16 relatives were on the trip at a total cost of $30,000. Joshua and his immediate family, wife Cailyn, six children, and his 78-year-old mother-in-law, Sharron, went on an excursion which I’m sure many of you who have cruised to Alaska recall fondly—a Lumberjack show in Ketchikan. Cailyn and family did the right thing in that they chose an excursion offered by the cruise line. (I always recommend on various Facebook cruise groups that’s it’s best to choose an excursion offered by the cruise line versus an independent excursion because cruise line excursions come with a promise to never leave the port without you…) Upon the end of the Lumberjack show, Cailyn and family went to board the shuttle bus back to the port but it was full and they were told to wait for the next one—which never came. After a panicked phone call, a van was dispatched to pick them up but by the time it got them back to the port, Joshua and family watch the Encore sail off—with passports, clothes and prescription medications onboard. 

Cailyn joins us to share the ordeal in their own words as well as talk about the aftermath.

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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Melissa Davis, and have a conversation with her about how she grew from running Port Shopping Programs onboard cruise ships to providing Port Shopping information and running  to all cruisers as a private entrepreneur.

After running shopping programs on Crystal Cruises, Regent, Oceania, Viking,  and Marella, and launching the first and only onshore shopping program on Viking River Cruises, Melissa decided to create an online recommended and guaranteed shopping program for all cruisers featuring Cruise Port Maps, and a long list of fabulous recommended and guaranteed retailers and brands in each port, and tried and tested attractions and best beaches. Melissa is the number one Online Port Shopping Guide

After working with several amazing cruise lines and cruising a lot herself, Melissa was surprised to see not all Cruise lines provide accurate Port Maps when the ships arrive in port. She decided to put her Cruise Port Insider Secrets online so everyone could access it. 

Melissa’s cruise ship career started as a Fitness Instructor for Steiner Transocean on the old Holland America Line Noordam. She couldn’t wait for time off in port to explore the ports, and submerging herself in the culture and meeting wonderful people along the way. To this day she has artifacts, indigenous souvenirs and jewelry and art from these wonderful experiences. When a position came up as a Shopping Lecturer she jumped at the chance and for the next 7 years, she went to various cruise lines running lectures and helping cruise ship guests navigate the ports of call. 

Now Melissa has all these amazing Cruise Port Maps, and will tell you how to get yours free, as well as shop for wonderful products from each destination or snag a souvenir for a loved one back home.  

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Hello, passionate cruisers! This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, it is my pleasure to welcome back a special guest, Chef Rudi Sodamin, a culinary virtuoso of the seas. Chef Rudi is Princess Cruises' first Head of Culinary Arts effective January 2024. When I chatted with him back in December, Ep 71, we talked about his pending new role, along with his existing role as Master Chef for Holland America Line (HAL)—which I am particularly excited about as we cruise on HAL a couple times in 2025. Carnival Cruise Corporation—parent company of HAL, as well as Princess—was so impressed with Rubi’s Sel de Mer, the French-inspired intimate brasserie that Chef Rudi led the launch of on select HAL ships, that they commissioned him to create Rudi’s Seagrill for its new Excel-class ships—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 recently-released Sun Princess—which I am particularly excited about as I will sail her new sister STAR Princess in 2025.  

Since I last spoke with Chef Rudi, Princess Cruises announced it is joining with world renowned artist Romero Britto, known for his bold, colorful, and joyful style, and a global advocate for happiness, to create Love by Britto, the first artistically inspired dining experience celebrating the essence of "Love" aboard Sun Princess. According to Princess: Love and art converge with taste in an immersive culinary journey, showcasing a meticulously curated menu by culinary virtuoso Rudi Sodamin. With Sodamin's ingenious touch, Love by Britto transcends into a multisensory exploration, offering extraordinary dishes that embody profound passion, exquisite flavor, and boundless creativity. Love by Britto features a 7-course menu--a flute of Champagne upon arrival, lobster, caviar and truffles, and chocolate fondue.

Says Chef Rudi, "Food is the international language of love; Love by Britto could not be more perfect for Princess, home

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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome back this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Heidi Sarna and Ted Scull’s Quirky Cruise, which was featured in my second cruise book, Cruising Interrupted in a section called “Specialty Cruising: Fun and Quirky.” When I first interviewed Heidi and Ted I knew very little about small shipcruising, 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 is an online magazine that focuses exclusively on the important and growing sector of the cruise industry. 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. 

Here is Heidi’s previous appearance on The Joy of Cruising Podcast Ep 4 It is a pleasure to have Heidi back to talk about two very quirky cruises—from opposite sides of the world, one in driving distance from me here in North Carolina. Before I bring Heidi on, let me say Heidi has been involved in several ‘firsts’ in my cruise career. I already mentioned she and Ted were the first to familiarize me with small ship crusading; consequently, Hedi was instrumental in me taking my first River Cruise on AmaWaterways to Southern France on AmaKristina, and on the same River Cruise hired me for my first experience as a freelance travel writer for QuirkyCruise.com. Check out my article when you get a chance—the link is in the show notes https://www.thejoyofcruising.net/blog/amawaterways-soulful-experience-cruise-on-frances-rhone-river-paul-c-thornton-reviews-a-10-night-cruise-paris-combo.

It is an

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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, a special guest, Patrice Covington. We were introduced to Patrice on our recent anniversary cruise to the A, B, and C Islands in the Southern Caribbean on Celebrity Ascent. Patrice put on a show, I’m Your Whitney Tonight, a Whitney Houston Tribute.

Patrice Covington is an Emmy award winning Broadway, television and film actress. She is an accomplished singer, actor, voice over artist, media personality and educator of the arts. As a broadway veteran, Patrice has graced the world’s renowned, Broadway and toured the globe with all-star Broadway casts in several shows including The Book of Mormon, Motown The Musical, Ain’t Misbehaving, Dreamgirls, and the Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award Winning revival of The Color Purple. As a vocalist, she has traveled the world providing background vocals for top billed performers including Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, and Stevie Wonder. Patrice has performed on stages nationwide with The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Virginia Symphony, the American Pops Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. She also dazzles vacationers aboard cruises lines with her perfectly curated shows featuring music of the women she was influenced and inspired by.

 On television, Patrice is best known for her role as Erma Franklin in Natural Geographic anthology series, “Genius: Aretha,” a biopic about the legendary Aretha Franklin and Gracie in Amazon’s TV series “A League of Their Own,” a reimagining of the hit 1992 film. She can also be seen in guest star roles on All Rise, Chicago PD, and new series Sincerely Love. Patrice acts opposite Nicole Kidman in the upcoming murder mystery series “The Perfect Couple” on Netflix and as the lead in the new made for TV movie, “For What It’s Worth” on BET.

Patrice is the owner and operator of The Galaxy Space, a Performing Arts Studio by Patrice Covington, offering private training and a part of faculty at The Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, VA. Patrice is a is a proud member of the illustrious Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. inspired by Matthew 5:14-16, her trademarked motto is "Don't be a star...be a galaxy.” A phrase meant to inspire and motivate humans

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Hello passionate cruisers, this is Paul. This week on The Joy Of Cruising Podcast Cheryl and I will share our reflections on our recent cruise—a 9-day sailing to the Southern Caribbean—A, B, C Islands aboard Celebrity Cruises newest ship, the latest in its Edge-class, the Ascent. A, B, C  is an acronym for Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.

The full itinerary of Ascent was embarkation at FLL followed by a sea day; a stop at Cayman/Georgetown, a seaday, then Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire, then 2 sea days on the way back to Ft. Lauderdale.

We’ve gone on longer cruises and enjoyed the extra time but after a while Cheryl is like “I need land” like she said on our 16-day transatlantic with 8 straight sea days. The cruise was 9-days, a sweet spot for us; 7-days is just not quite long enough. This cruise was special in several ways. It was a celebration of our anniversary which was 3-weeks prior in October. A cruise on Celebrity Ascent was a direct challenge to our as yet favorite cruise which was on Ascent’s sister ship in Celebrity’s Edge Class, the Celebrity Beyond two years prior. I often proudly mention in the same sentence that the CEO at Celebrity who launched the Edge Class—Lisa Lutoff Perlo, was a guest on the The Joy Of Cruising Podcast and she too selected Beyond as her personal favorite. Lisa launched the Celebrity Edge, Apex, and the Beyond before her move back to Royal Caribbean.

Most significantly was the sentimental aspect of this trip. Aruba is where we celebrated our honeymoon, and this was our first return back in 32 years.

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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome back this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Roland and Emma, a couple I first met on a Facebook cruise group, and I immediately anointed them as my new travel role models. That cruise group happened to be the most influential on Facebook—the 106,000 member Melanin At Sea, created by friends of the show and global cruise personalities A Rich and Jazzy Life. Roland and Emma were the first guests to come on The Joy of Cruising Podcast not as global cruise personalities, but as “ordinary” cruisers to talk to the listeners about an extraordinary bucket list cruise. I had seen their great description and photos of the cruise, and I reached out to them and enjoyed reliving the cruise with them.

Well, they did it again! This time Roland and Emma traveled via land and sea on an epic European adventure covering 61 days! So, when I called them my new cruise role models before that might have been hyperbole; now I want to know if they are looking to hire an administrative assistant! The Epic Euro trip started with:     -

·      5 days in Airbnb London

·      14-night cruise Sky Princess (from London), a back-to-back 

·      14 Night Land of the Midnight Sun Cruise Sky Princess

·      7-night Oasis of the Seas Spain/Italy

·      3-city Spain Adventure

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This week on The Joy Of Cruising Podcast we want to revisit a show from earlier in the year February 12, Episode 79 The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Bucket List Cruises 2024-2025 where we discussed our plans to check some milestone cruises off our overflowing bucket list over the course of this year and next. This is a mini episode as we are on a cruise to the Southern Caribbean. It may be mini in length but this The Joy Of Cruising Podcast episode packs a major punch in terms of a couple of substantial updates that directly impact the bucket list cruise journey that we are still. 

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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome back this week to The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Jamie Robins, creator of Travel Blog Jamie, a blog and YouTube channel. I first met Jamie over a year ago when I hosted each of the finalists for The Wave Awards who had not previously been on the show. The Wave Awards, UK cruise industry’s premier award; included are award categories for cruise lines, ships, travel agencies, and most pertinent to this episode—Favorite Cruise Influencer. Travel Blog Jamie again made the short-list.

Jamie is an educator by training—he has degrees in Spanish and French and a master’s degree in linguistics— taught Spanish and French, in education leadership. Since that last year episode, Jamie stepped away from his education career of 25 years to pursue cruise vlogging as his primary career. Jamie got to sail Cunard’s new Queen Anne, one of the most anticipated ships of ’24, and we want to hear all about that; been to Bali; been interviewed by the BBC; started a role as a columnist, and more but we’ll let him catch us up.

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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