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I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, a special guest, Carol Riddick. We were introduced to Carol on our recent bucket list cruise, The Soul Train Cruise, where she was one of many performers ranging from some Soul Train television show stars like Shalimar, to contemporary favorites like Carol. We enjoyed it so much that we booked for 2026. If you listened to our reflections of the cruise a few weeks ago on Ep 165 The Soul Train Cruise I think it would be clear that our favorite was Uncle Charlie, Charlie Wilson formerly of the Gap Band. However, the person that clearly ‘stole the show’ for us was Carol Riddick.The thing is, unlike the dozens of old school performers on the cruise, we weren’t familiar with Carol when we boarded!

Carol Riddick, an artist who has graced stages across the globe winning fans and admirers alike with her extraordinary voice and presence. Highly regarded in the music community for her vocal dexterity, mesmerizing performances and genuinely warm personality, Carol is a unique entertainer whose evolution is ongoing. She has blessed the tracks of many distinguished artists and is featured on records by Anthony Hamilton, Musiq (Soulchild), Jill Scott, Will Downing, Norman Brown, Jeff Bradshaw, and a host of others. Most recently she can be heard on Eric Bellinger’s 2022 Grammy nominated album on the track “Shine on the World”. 


After partnering with Axis Music Group, a former Philadelphia-based production company, Carol started an independent label “CriddickNotes” and creatively spearheaded the creation and release of her debut CD, “Moments Like This”. She also co-wrote, produced, and sang “Nuances”, the intro to Philly’s WDAS FM 105.3’s “Quiet Storm” program which can be heard weeknights and most recently tapped into her communications background as she hosted her own radio show titled “Love & Life with Carol Riddick” on WURD Radio, the only African-American owned talk radio station in Pennsylvania (and one of only three remaining in the country). 

In addition to her recording efforts, Carol lends her impressive vocals to other artists, like Philadelphia’s Philadelphia’s Queen, Patti LaBelle and Jazz great, Gerald Veasley, but most notably, her live performance with R&B crooner, Will Downing of the riveting duet “Nothing Has Ever Felt Like This,” is sure to take your breath away. 
 
Carol Riddick a renaissance woman. She's a songstress, songwriter, multi-media personality, actress, label-owner and mentor. In addition, her beautiful spirit, sensuous stage presence and passionate vocal delivery will soothe your ears and alter your spirit in the most alluring way.

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Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Bill, creator of Ritzy Travel Guide. As many listeners know, I am a serial viewer of YouTube cruise channels, watching them continuously while I work on my podcast and will even play them on mute when I listen to music. They are informative and sometimes introduce me to prospective podcast guests. That was the case with the Ritzy Travel Guide. Bill’s seductive voice and accent first caught my attention, but more substantively Ritzy Travel Guide’s great content made me a regular viewer.

Bill and his wife first cruised in 1997 and have never looked back. They enjoy variety and spread their cruises amongst as many cruise lines as possible, rather than sticking to one or the other! Like me and Cheryl, they find them all so different and love aspects of each. They split their year roughly into three parts: 1. Europe; 2. North America, and 3. Asia. Bill notes, ‘You might say we are travel nomads! Love the culture and differences of each.’
Ritzy Travel Guide’s preference in ships is those under 3000 passengers. Bill emphatically points out they are not fans of mega-ships. ‘We prefer the more intimate, conversational style of small to medium ships. That being said we're adventurous, and also book the livelier ships, such as Virgin. We're also huge fans of the Celebrity Edge class of ships.’ Two of my favorites—no wonder they caught my attention on YouTube.  
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Ritzy Travel Guide also does land-based vacations but have rarely featured them on their YouTube channel. That’s about to change. Bill says, ‘Starting this year we will mix cruise and land content on our channel, to have a 'Grand Tour' feel to it.’ Speaking of Grand Tour, around the time this episode airs they are embarking on an amazing journey: In February and March, they are doing 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. Take me with you! That’s just the beginning—we’ll let Bill tell you about their other plans.

Listen at www.thejoyofcruisingpodcast.com or Home

​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 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 for adult trips. 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. We actually world school. 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 the age of ten, Nathalie saw a commercial that showed her favorite band going to Disney World and on a cruise vacation on the Premier Cruise Line (which later became Disney Cruises). This ‘Vacation of a lifetime on the very 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 Morocco. January 2025 settled another goal of sailing to all 7 continents! Her slogan; ‘Do what you can, while you can!’

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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, 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

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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 .

Book Explora Journeys at www.thejoyofvacation.com
​
Listen at www.thejoyofcruisingpodcast.com or Home

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

Support the show
Supportthejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new
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Contact Me https://www.thejoyofcruising.net/contact-me.html
Book Cruises http://www.thejoyofvacation.com/
US Orders (coupon code joyofcruisingpodcast)
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The Joy of Cruising Again https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruisingAgain

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