Afleveringen

  • 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".

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  • 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 on the 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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!

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  • 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.

    Thank you listeners, thank youThe Joy of Cruising Podcast .guests. Here’s to a great second year.

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  • 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 great content on the Sean & Stef YouTube channel. Her blog has likewise been quite busy. A recent blog entry was, “Not Happy But Way Less Sad, Year 3, Week 31” (since Sean passed).

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  • 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.

    Stanley & Lynette have an extensive cruising background, are knowledgeable cruising advisors, and they exude fun in all their videos and photos.

    It is my pleasure to chat with Stanley & Lynette, and to share their story with the listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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!

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

    Everyone who celebrates should sail a Christmas cruise. Put it on your bucket list—that’s an easier one to check off than some exotic destination. If your situation allows you do both! As many of you are aware I wrote my first cruising book, The Joy of Cruising amzn.to/2EAMddF during the process of researching a family cruise which was on the Anthem of the Seas in 2018. That cruise was chronicled in the final chapter of The Joy of Cruising, "Holidays."

    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.

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