
Advertise on podcast: The Joy of Cruising Podcast
Rating
5from
This podcast has
229 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
Paul C. ThorntonExplicit
No
Date created
2023/02/04
Latest episode
2026/02/05
Average duration
59 min.
Release period
8 days
Description
The Joy of Cruising Podcast is a conversation with one of the dozens of amazing cruisers with fascinating stories that have been featured in The Joy of Cruising Trilogy—The Joy of Cruising, Cruising Interrupted, and new, The Joy of Cruising Again. In addition there will be conversations with global cruise personalities and cruisers I encounter with fascinating stories the cruise community would enjoy hearing. Order here: The Joy of Cruising; Cruising Interrupted; bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruisingAgain; Contact Me
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Check latest episodes from The Joy of Cruising Podcast podcast
Ritzy Travel Guide
2026/02/05
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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome back Bill, creator of Ritzy Travel Guide. I became familiar with Ritzy Travel Guide during my aimless browsing of YouTube cruise channels. I noticed I would stop on Ritzy Travel Guide because the videos were not only rich in production value but also rich with information. I knew I had to invite Ritzy Travel Guide on The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Bill shared an amazing cruise and land-based travel journey with his wife, Ms. Ritzy EP 167
We are glad to have Bill back to catch us up on what they have been up to since we last spoke. Scheduled to start just a week after our previous Ritzy Travel Guide a 6-week Asian trip, including jungle touring in Thailand, staying at a train-themed hotel in the deep jungle, feeding elephants breakfast from a tree-top canopy, staying in a bamboo eco resort on stilts over the water, and taking an overnight sleeper from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Of course, we first want to hear about that.
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Rubin Ervin, Child Star on Nickelodeon Family Cruises, to Parent on Disney Dream
2026/01/29
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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast; I am delighted to welcome Rubin Ervin as my guest.
RUBIN ERVIN is the short guy with the big voice! He doubles as the Announcer and the Warm-up guy for the #1 game show in the country, Family Feud. Rubin started his career having the Slime of his life as a child actor for Nickelodeon Studios and later became a show host for their live shows. As his career progressed, he soon became the life of the party, MC’ing and DJ’ing shows for Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Nickelodeon Recreation, and many more. As the “Warm-Up Guy” for many shows such as The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Little Big Shots, 500 Questions, Password, Judge Steve Harvey, and many more, Rubin gets the crowd pumped and ready to have a fantastic time no matter what. You can also hear Rubin’s voice as the announcer for many shows, in addition to Family Feud, such as Showtime at the Apollo, The Kelly Clarkson Show, and America’s Got Talent.
I first met Rubin when I hosted him on my other podcast, Lucid Driver Podcast Ep 16 as Rubin owns one of the baddest Lucid EV’s on the planet
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Daniel Edward, Cruise & Travel Director; Writer & Presenter; Podcaster, Destination Unlocked
2026/01/22
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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on I am delighted to welcome Daniel Edward to The Joy of Cruising Podcast. He shared with me:
“I started cruising with Royal Caribbean, where I was Cruise Director's Staff, then promoted to Activities Manager. I was first a Cruise Director over there in 2018. After the pandemic, I returned to cruising with Holland America Line, where I was a Cruise & Travel Director on their Grand Voyages. I circumnavigated Australia and New Zealand twice, South America once, cruised to Antarctica and up the Amazon River, as well as the usual Mediterranean and Northern Europe itineraries. Over the years of cruising, I've always written for newspapers and magazines (my first job was as a finance journalist at the Daily Mail), and I have just been elected to the board of the British Guild of Travel Writers. After leaving the Cruise & Travel Director role at Holland America I decided to launch a travel podcast, called Destination Unlocked, where I'm joined by a local expert in each episode to unlock their part of the world or travel style for my listeners.”
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Jones Getaways, Our Ghana Journey—From Accra to Ancestry
2026/01/15
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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome back this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Nikki and Tommie Jones. Nikki and Tommie are the owners of Jones Getaways by Dream Vacations. Travel agency. They are instrumental in my travel life in a couple ways. They introduced me to Dream Vacations and as many of you know we are the somewhat new owners of our own travel agency, The Joy of Vacation by Dream Vacations. I have watched them grow and have emulated them and consider them travel agent mentors. The other way they have been influential in our travel life relates to the first time I hosted them on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, August 2024, to talk about Jones Getaways, Soulful Epicurean French River Cruise on AmaKristina, Episode 123. As many of you know we subsequently went on that same cruise, and coupled with our land excursion to Paris, we selected it as our #1 all-time cruise in our recent podcast, Paul & Cheryl’s All-Time Top Ten Cruises, Episode 203.
In 2025, Nikki and Tommie fulfilled what is #1 on my bucket list—a trip to Africa, specifically Ghana. On their YouTube channel, Jones Getaways, they chronicled the trip, in a 4-part series, Our Ghana Journey—From Accra to Ancestry. If you are a lifelong learner like me, I urge you to check it out. And if Africa is in your future—and I am booked— Our Ghana Journey—From Accra to Ancestry is a must. In the meantime, we want to hear all about the trip.
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Alan Shapiro, 20+ Years Working and Living on Over 15 Cruise Ships
2026/01/08
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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Alan Shapiro to The Joy of Cruising Podcast, to talk about what it was like 20+ Years Working and Living on Over 15 Cruise Ships. Alan shared with me:
“I worked on 7 different cruise lines and probably at least 15 ships. Some of my more exciting cruises included going to Antarctica, cruising down the Amazon River, going on a Nude Cruise to Alaska. I even was on a ship that hit an iceberg in Alaska. I worked on cruise ships as small as 500 passengers, and the largest 4000 passengers. I worked for Holland America Line for five years as an onboard Cruise Consultant, and three of those years, I also had my girlfriend/fiancée/wife on board. For a very short time I was with the Royal Olympic Voyager in 2003, which was starting a world cruise, and immediately after sailing from Fort Lauderdale, the line declared bankruptcy. This led to us being held in limbo in St. Thomas for more than a month. I was the Art Auctioneer, and had 300 paintings onboard, some pretty valuable, being held hostage. After about 4-5 weeks, we were moved to Ft. Lauderdale. And there is an intriguing story about what happened to me, the paintings, the passengers, and the crew, who were held in limbo for several months off Ft. Lauderdale Beach.
I started working on ships around 1989, when cruising was quite different than it was when I retired, and certainly much different than the way it is now. I did work on some contemporary, large ships, such as the Carnival Glory and Royal Caribbean Monarch of the Seas. But I preferred working and sailing on the smaller ships like the Costa Riviera, or The Marco Polo. I also spent six months sailing transatlantic on the old Queen Elizabeth 2—the QE2— before it was taken out of service. Quite a different sailing experience from the other cruise lines.”
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Damion & Quanda EXP, Travel with Us
2026/01/01
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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Damion & Quanda EXP, Travel with Us to The Joy of Cruising Podcast. They shared with me:
We’re Damion and Quanda, a couple whose love story started fast and hasn’t slowed down since. Damion moved from Jamaica in 2012, met Quanda, and just three months later, we were married. More than a decade later, we’re raising our two adventurous boys (10 and 11), building careers we love, and exploring the world together, mostly by sea.
Both of us are proud to work with Royal Caribbean Cruises. Damion, originally from Jamaica, is part of the Executive Escalations team, where he responds to communications sent to executive leadership from directors all the way up to the CEO. Quanda, who proudly carries both Jamaican and Turks Islander heritage, works on the Accessible Needs team, helping guests with physical, emotional, or mental challenges enjoy a cruise that’s not just possible, but unforgettable, because everyone deserves an amazing vacation.
Outside of work, you’ll find us doing what we love most: cruising with our kids. We believe there’s no better way to see the world than by ship, since you get to experience multiple destinations in one trip while creating unforgettable family memories. While Royal Caribbean is our home at sea and our first love, we’ve also enjoyed sailing with Celebrity, MSC, Carnival, and most recently Virgin Voyages.
For us, cruising isn’t just travel. It’s a way to teach our boys about different cultures, show them the beauty of the world, and remind them that adventure is always just a boarding pass away.
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Paul & Cheryl, Reflections on Princess Cruises Star Princess
2025/12/22
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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast I am delighted to welcome back my cohost Cheryl. For the first time since we moved into our new house, we are doing a podcast together. Some of you know the past several weeks have been quite hectic for us. We have been slowly moving from North Carolina to Virginia during that time. Weekly we would drive a load of stuff to the home we bought in September. Right in the middle of this moving process, we cruised for 3-weeks straight on 2 cruise lines. Terribly inconvenient timing but badly needed. Of course, both of these cruises were planned long before we decided to move. The first leg of our side-to-side cruises was on Holland America Line Rotterdam, about which Cheryl and i shared our reflections on episode 218 November 27. The second leg of our side-to-side was on the new Princess Cruises Star Princess—5-days stopping at Amber Cove, Dominican Republic, and Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos.
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Sail with Gail and Mike, Cunard Queen Victoria, Celebrity Apex, P&O Arvia
2025/12/18
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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome back Gail and Mike, from UK and creators of the Sail With Gail and Mike YouTube channel, Instagram platform, and Facebook group. Check out their previous episode at where they were present at Cunard’s Queen Anne’s official naming ceremony at the Liverpool waterfront. Gail and Mike are from Liverpool, UK, and Cunard had announced the unprecedented decision to choose the city of Liverpool as “Godparent” of Queen Anne.
We want to catch up with Gail and Mike and see what they have been up to. I know just from the title—a lot.
Welcome back, Gail and Mike to The Joy of Cruising Podcast
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Wayne Schell, 89-Year-Old Resort Owner, Over 100 Cruises, Bare Necessities Great Barrier Reef Luxury Yacht Cruise
2025/12/04
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Hello, passionate cruisers! I am delighted to welcome Wayne Schell as my guest on The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Wayne is the 89-year-old owner of Laguna Del Sol near Sacramento, CA, one of the largest, most well-known clothing optional resorts in the us. He also owns Mira Vista, another clothing optional resort in Tucson, AR. I first met Wayne on my other podcast, Lucid Driver Podcast, which is about my dream car, the electric vehicle and one of the fastest cars in the world. Wayne is the owner—maybe the eldest in the world, of a Venus Red super luxurious Lucid Air GT.
Wayne told me, “I see you are also into cruising. I have traveled the world and have been on at least 100 cruises.” I knew then he would be a future guest on The Joy of Cruising Podcast.
Wayne told me that just returned from their most recent and most upscale cruise. “It was on a 550-foot-long cruise ship called the Scenic Eclipse II, a yacht holding only 225 passengers and 225 crew. The cabins are large and well appointed. There are two helicopters on board and a submarine. There are seven different eating venues. We had the honor of being invited to the Chef’s Table. It was an over-the-top experience with nine courses, and I lost count of the number of different wines offered. What was the highlight of this cruise? Because of the many Bare Necessities cruises we have been on half the people know me and I am a pretty good stand-up comedian. They asked me to do stand-up one evening in the theater and I got a standing ovation. I am very blessed at my age to still be able to travel and tell jokes without forgetting the punchline. How many total cruises have I been on in total? I lost count but it’s well over 100. What’s the key? Work hard when you’re young and live to be old. I’ll be 90 in July of 2026”
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Paul & Cheryl, Reflections on Holland America Line Rotterdam, Panama Canal and Columbia
2025/11/27
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Welcome passionate cruisers. Our brief thoughts about our dream cruise to the Panama Canal on Holland America Line Rotterdam.
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Kenneth Jarvis, Global Citizen, World Traveler, Travel Influencer
2025/11/20
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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Kenneth Jarvis. Ken is a confirmed Global Traveler (he’s visited 6 continents); Frequent Flyer (1.5 Million Miles on American Airlines and it’s One world Partners); Frequent Floater (118 cruises all in suites, Pinnacle with Royal Caribbean / Zenith with Celebrity); and Business Traveler (Senior Director in Global Networks and Technology for a major telecom company).
Ken is also a retired social media influencer. He has numerous cruise reviews on Cruise Critic. Ken is a former co-leader of RCPeriscopers which was a Facebook group for people who used the live streaming app Periscope to broadcast live from cruise ships and would host an Annual Super Bowl Group cruise. Ken still hosts the YouTube Channel, Kcjarvis Suite Life.
We have been social media friends for a couple of years and I have always found Ken’s posts to be interesting and even intriguing—for instance his infamous “Post of the day,” whereby he highlights naïve, asinine, or outrageous cruise line posts made by prospective travelers; or references to #KJsAmazingSummer which I now know relates to major spring and summer vacations Ken goes on. And, he is from or at least works in my original hometown of New York City. So, I am delighted to now get to ask Ken about is travels directly and am so glad he agreed to come on The Joy of Cruising Podcast.
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Paul & Cheryl, Reflections of Our Land Trip to Las Vegas
2025/11/13
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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast i am delighted to welcome back a special guest, my cohost Cheryl.
As you know we are largely in the bucket list checking stage of our lives, and just got the opportunity to check one off. We recently traveled to Las Vegas. That’s not the bucket list check I am referring to—we have been to Vegas a zillion times. An aside, we used to own a chain of video stores—memba them—and the annual conference and trade show of the Video Software Dealer’s Association was held in Vegas and were can’t miss events. What made this trip to Vegas a bucket list checking opportunity was the allure of the Sphere, the iconic spherically shaped venue built by the owners of the NY Knicks and Madison Square Garden. The Sphere, costing about 2.3 billion opened in 2023 with a 40-night residency by U2.
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Roland & Emma's Grand Asian Invasion Holiday, 86 Days, 35 On Diamond Princess Episode
2025/11/06
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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, certainly worthy to join the handful of guests who have been on the podcast for three times. I first met Roland and Emma a couple of years ago on the 119,000 member Melanin At Sea, created by friends of the show and global cruise personalities A Rich and Jazzy Life, and I anointed them as my new travel role models, after they posted photos and description of just an absolute bucket list trip, Ep 63 40-Day Enchanted Princess European. I had to invite them on. Then they did it again the following year with an epic Ep 142 European adventure covering 61 days!
Well, they have outdone themselves themselves with their Grand Asian Invasion Holiday!
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Richard Fain, Chairman and former CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, Author, Delivering the Wow
2025/10/30
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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am honored to welcome a special guest, Richard Fain, Chairman and former CEO of Royal Caribbean Group (RCG). Mr. Fain’s new book, Delivering the WOW: Culture as Catalyst for Lasting Success (October 21, 2025; Fast Company Press), reveals actionable lessons from Royal Caribbean’s rapid growth: a culture that motivated employees to deliver WOWs to customers, transforming the customer and employee experience all at once with electrifying energy. RCG’s trademark culture and dedication to delivering wows also catalyzed innovations including the world’s first and biggest megaships, beginning with Sovereign of the Seas in 1988—Cheryl and my first cruise, also in 1988—peerless onboard experiences, including soaring atriums and unexpected ice-skating rinks at sea; and unforgettable offboard experiences including Perfect Day at CocoCay, a private island resort owned by RCG.
Proceeds from proceeds from Delivering the WOW will be donated to the Fain Scholarship Fund, a scholarship program Richard Fain established in 1999 to support the education of Royal Caribbean Group employees and their children, which he has been contributing to at an average of $200,000 in annual support.
Richard Fain served as chairman and CEO from 1988 to 2022 when he transitioned to his current role as chairman. Under his leadership, the company grew from a small cruise line to its current place as one of the world’s most valuable vacation companies. Recognized for his “visionary leadership”, Mr. Fain was named one of the 30 World’s Best CEOs by Barron’s for three years running and received the Ultimate CEO Award from the South Florida Business Journal. His international awards include the rank of Officier in the Légion d’Honneur of France and Commander, First Class, of the Order of the Lion of Finland. He and his wife of 56 years have four children and eight extraordinary grandchildren.
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Life of Iris, How Does It Work Living on a Cruise Ship as a Family?
2025/10/23
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This week I am delighted to welcome back to The Joy of Cruising Podcast Iris MacBeath creator of the blog Life of Iris. I wrote the story of Life of Iris in my latest book The Joy of Cruising Again amzn.to/3lAfyON in a section called “Ship life,” which followed the career of four past and present crew, staff, and officers from three different cruise lines.
At the time, I wrote that 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 Holland America Line. Secondly, Iris is what is known in cruise ship parlance as a “traveling spouse,” or a “Spouse-On-Board.” Specifically, Iris’ husband Stuart is a ship officer, and Iris has lived on ships with him. Those distinct vantage points afford Iris a unique perspective of onboard life, and she chronicles that on her blog, Life of Iris. The chapter I wrote about Iris in The Joy of Cruising Again was easily the most poignant in the book as I chronicled how Iris’ ship life directly intersected with two of the major world events of the 21st century—Covid and the cruising shutdown; and the refugee crisis in Ukraine due to the unanticipated war with Russia.
Iris came on The Joy of Cruising Podcast almost 2 years ago to recount those events, Ep 62; her story was also featured in Ep 77, Most Memorable, Funniest, Embarrassing Moments of the podcast’s 1st year. Iris also broke some news during her podcast—she was pregnant with her and Stuart’s first child. When we reconnected for this episode, I was surprised to learn she had just delivered their 2nd baby. Congratulations Iris and Stuart!
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Podcast reviews
Read The Joy of Cruising Podcast podcast reviews
estelleivana 2024/05/24
Love this podcast
This podcast is so wholesome and sweet an enjoyable easy listen when I’m at work or at home. The interviews are compelling as well! I have never been ...
miss kinabean 2023/03/10
Cruising through others
I have enjoyed listening to this podcast. The stories of the guests are super engaging and it gives you a peak into what it’s like to cruise. There ar...
Profcruise 2023/03/07
The next best thing to cruising!
If I can’t be on a cruise, listening to the stories of other passionate cruisers is the next best thing! These interviews are fascinating and enterta...
bflock 2023/02/05
Telling the Stories of Passionate Cruisers
We’ve read Paul’s first two books and are eagerly awaiting his next installment. We can’t wait to hear from all the great cruisers who are featured in...
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Christine Arylo

4.123100
KCBS Radio In Depth
Audacy

2.9171093
Houston's Morning News on KTRH
KTRH (KTRH-AM)

4.611338
For The Kudos
For The Kudos

4.7545178
History of the 90s
Curiouscast

52672
Nicky Byrne HQ
Nicky Byrne

4.69939
Leafs Morning Take
The Nation Network

4.312105
AM
ABC News