 Marcus Adams lives in Winchester, Hampshire, UK, about an hour from London, where he commutes each day to work as a Policy Advisor to the Mayor of London. Marcus is creator of the cruise blog Sparkx (Marcus’ nickname during his youth.) Marcus was introduced to travel early on as his dad, a bank executive, did a lot of travelling in conjunction with his work as his responsibilities included developing and organizing all the management incentive trips. Consequently, Marcus got to visit a number of interesting and exotic places. Part of this exposure to travel at an early age included accompanying his parents on cruises. Marcus sailed on his first cruise ship, Majesty of the Seas, at just nine years old. He considers it a life-forming event and has been hooked on cruising ever since....
As a young adult Marcus continued to return to what he refers to as “my happy place,” cruising, and increasingly wanted to share his experience with others. I asked Marcus, “At what point did you develop your passion for cruising? Was it right away in those first couple of cruises as a young boy or did it develop over time? How did you know you were hooked?” Marcus responded, “I think to be honest that first cruise hooked me—I was hooked straightaway. I was the one who suggested the second cruise....” Marcus has a particular fondness for Celebrity and Viking cruise lines. Nevertheless, Royal Caribbean will always hold a special place in Marcus’ heart. First, he got engaged on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. In 2014, Marcus was the first person to propose in the North Star on board the new Quantum of the Seas. The North Star observation tower is a glass-walled capsule that extends on a giant robotic arm out over the ocean and takes groups of up to 14 cruisers to more than 300 feet above sea level.... Marcus has sailed across the world including the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Northern Europe. His most recent and upcoming cruises are of particular interest to me. Marcus’ last cruise of 2018 was a nine-night New York, Canada, and New England cruise on Anthem of the Seas. I was anxious to get a review from him, given my own plans to sail Anthem three months later. At the beginning of 2019, Marcus is booked for Celebrity Edge, perhaps the world’s most anticipated new cruise ship which launched officially in December 2018. Just a couple of months later, Marcus will cruise on the maiden voyage of MSC Cruises stunning flagship MSC Bellissima, with its bowling alley, Cirque du Soleil at Sea, and virtual cabin assistants. MSC Bellissima will be christened in Southampton, UK, becoming by far the largest cruise ship ever launched there.... Marcus is the answer to a trivia question: Which The Joy of Cruising subject has been seen by the largest number of YouTube and television viewers in the world? To find out why, read the complete story of Cruising’s Young and Restless in Chapter 13, The Joy of Cruising. Available now at Amazon and everywhere online....
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 He had me at The Cruising Baker. With that name, that clever “mash-up” of passions, I just knew The Cruising Baker needed to be in The Joy of Cruising....
Danny’s introduction to cruising was on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas. Independence had been warmly welcomed into the hearts of Britain’s cruisers. Independence of the Seas was christened a little over a year earlier during a ceremony in Southampton by its godmother, Elizabeth Hill of Chesterfield, UK (profiled in Chapter 4 of The Joy of Cruising). Among the world’s largest, most advanced ships, the Independence sailed Danny and his family to the Italian Mediterranean, with port of calls including Rome and Pisa. Despite the fantastic locations at which the ship docked, Danny was even more awed by the Independence itself, with its ice rink, boxing ring, royal promenade with shops and restaurants, climbing wall, FlowRider® surf simulator, and West End London-style entertainment. The grandeur of Independence left a lasting impression. Ever since his first cruise only ten years ago, Danny has been passionate about cruising. Since then he has cruised another twenty times.... ....an August 2018 “bucket list” transatlantic cruise with Cunard on Queen Mary 2. I write this with a mix of intrigue, envy, and joy on behalf of my new friend; Danny gets to check off one of his bucket list items before he is 30! Danny’s cruises have sailed to Norway, Scandinavia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, Iberia, Canary Islands, and throughout the Caribbean; quite remarkable for someone who ten years prior had never travelled out of the UK. Clearly, Danny’s thirst for exploration was ignited and his passion for cruising inflamed by that first experience on Independence of the Seas. Danny has made up for lost time; not yet 30 years old Danny has cruised more than the average traveler cruises in a lifetime. Danny cites his cruises to Norway among his personal highlights. He has been fortunate enough to cruise around Norway numerous times. Danny loves Norway and it is his favorite destination—he suspects what might account for part of the reason he loves it there so much is because he is nearly a quarter Scandinavian, according to AncestryDNA! Danny has sailed as far north as Longyearbyen.... ....in August Danny flew to New York, spent a couple of nights in Time Square and got to experience a little of New York City before embarking on Queen Mary 2 for a transatlantic cruise back to Southampton. “New York City was amazing. I only had a short amount of time to spend so had to prioritize what I wanted to do. But my absolutely highlight was going to The Top of the Rock…breath-taking! The views are simply stunning and it was an experience I will never forget.” Top of the Rock is an observation deck atop Rockefeller Center, considered the best panoramic view of New York City; coincidently.... ....mixed in with the cruise trip reports, interviews, features on existing and upcoming ships, and yes, recipes for lemon drizzle surprise, is something that caught my eye and is worthy of mentioning. From a young age, Danny and his family have worked with and been surrounded by children and young adults who have various special educational needs and disabilities, and this extended on to Danny’s psychology studies and work with autism. Danny notes on the blog, “A topic close to my heart is accessibility and inclusion for everyone.” Danny has several posts on his blog pertaining to accessibility at sea.... ....besides cruising and blogging, Danny, of course, loves to bake, hence The Cruising Baker. I know that I had a little fun with the name earlier, but Danny is very serious about his baking.... Read the complete story of The Cruising Baker, Cruising’s Young and Restless in Chapter 13, The Joy of Cruising. Order soon....  Jason Leppert was a 10Best Readers’ Choice New Media Award for Best Cruise Blogger finalist for the Popular Cruising blog. Prolific is the word that comes to mind with Jason—both in terms of the sheer breadth of his writing and videography that ranges from cruising to an extensive knowledge, experience and coverage of Disney theme properties—to the frequency and diversity of his cruising.
At only 30 years old Jason Leppert was a 10Best Readers’ Choice New Media Award for Best Cruise Blogger finalist for Popular Cruising. Today at 34, the indefatigable cruiser and writer is now up to 138 cruises, and in addition to serving as editor in chief, “the captain”, at Popular Cruising, Jason is the Cruise Editor at TravelAge West, founder of Popular Cruising and its successful YouTube channel, and contributor to other outlets such as Cruise Travel, Porthole, and Oyster.com. He also annually attends “Comic-Con International: San Diego,” the 50-year old entertainment and comic convention which draws over 130,000 over three days to Jason’s home town. Jason is the epitome of a passionate cruiser who manifests his passion with driven, concerted action personally and professionally. Given the amount of time he dedicates to cruising, both sailing and writing about it, one would be tempted to conclude that about sizes up Jason’s life. However, all things Disney round out much of Jason’s personal and professional life. As a native and resident of San Diego, California—having never lived anywhere else despite having traveled the world—Jason enjoys spending leisure time at Disneyland Resort with his wife Heidi, and professionally covers Disney parks and resorts domestically and abroad for TravelAge West, Oyster.com and MiceChat.com. In addition to Disneyland, Jason has visited Walt Disney World in Florida, Disneyland Paris, Shanghai Disneyland, and Aulani Disney Resort and Spa in Hawaii. Jason has also experienced several Adventures by Disney trips; Adventures by Disney provides a series of planned vacations across various parts of the world where guests are taken on expeditions featuring activities designed for families. In a mash-up of Jason’s duel passions, he has cruised on all the Disney Cruise Line ships.... ....How can a 34-year-old accumulate 138 cruises? Well, beside the fact that cruising is both Jason’s passion and his profession, he started early! Jason sailed on his first cruise at only two years of age. He is an only child, and his parents wanted to share their passion for travel with Jason early on, taking him on his first cruise aboard the original Royal Princess—the one launched in 1984, named by Princess Diana, and occasionally a stand-in for the Pacific Princess as the setting for the television series The Love Boat. There were two later cruise ships christened the Royal Princess. I asked Jason about the first cruise he could remember. “My next cruise was actually another one aboard the original Royal Princess only a couple years after the first. And I actually do remember bits and pieces from that ship, especially its observation lounge. It was a quiet place that I enjoyed roaming as a little one. Perhaps that’s why to this day I cherish ships that still feature such venues. It’s also been quite neat to sail on the current-generation Royal Princess that is in operation today, coming full circle.” Growing up, Jason also sailed a lot with his family on Crystal Cruises and on Celebrity Cruises. Recognizing the difficulty of singling out memorable cruises out of dozens, I asked Jason what comes to mind. He said, “That is a challenge, but I must say that expedition cruising has really proven to be a memorable experience for me. The opportunity to visit some of the most remote destinations in Alaska and Micronesia with Silversea Expeditions (Silver Discoverer) and UnCruise Adventures (Safari Endeavour and S.S. Legacy) has just been a blast. Of course, any time I go on a Disney cruise is always special too, given my affinity for the brand overall.... Read the complete story of the Captain, Popular Cruising’s Jason Leppert in Chapter 11, The Joy of Cruising. Order soon....  "I don't live in a lavish house, I definitely don't speak the Queens English and I still have many things to learn in this life, but I'm pretty confident in my cruise knowledge—I could put a few people under the table. You see, that's what I do, that's what makes me tick and brings me life, so for me, that's all that matters." Drops mic.
Danielle Fear, known to many with a passion for cruising in UK and beyond as CruiseMiss, is the author of the above quote. She didn’t really “drop the mic,” but I could picture her doing so as I read her quote. To make such a self-assured statement, you have to be recognized as someone who knows of what you speak. Let’s see, earlier I mentioned CruiseMiss as being one of the winners in the USA Today10Best Readers’ Choice New Media Award for Best Cruise Blogger, one of only two UK bloggers to join that venerable list, and many other cruise blogger accolades have been accorded CruiseMiss: Best Cruise Blogger; Top 25 Socially Shared Cruise Blogs; Top 10 Cruise Bloggers You Need To Follow; Top 50 Cruise Blogs To Follow in 2018, and more including finalist and highly commended recognition in other major awards such as the UK cruise industry’s The Wave Awards. Perhaps even more of a testament to CruiseMiss’ credibility and esteem in the cruise writing world is the frequency with which her perspective and insight is sought for expert commentary, quotes, and articles in media such as World of Cruising, Cruise Critic UK, Porthole Magazine and more. Danielle has done radio interviews, email interviews, and provided content for numerous online travel sites.... .....After launching CruiseMiss, one of Danielle’s most memorable cruise highlights was the first time she was invited to a cruise ship naming ceremony. Danielle was chosen to attend because of the sailings she had previously been on with P&O Cruises and because of the credibility of CruiseMiss.com. The naming ceremony was for P&O Cruises Britannia. All cruise ship naming ceremonies are special, but this one was particularly so as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 2 had been named as Godmother to Britannia, her second time being selected by P&O as a Godmother as the Queen was selected in 1995 to christen Oriana—the very first ship Danielle sailed. The naming ceremony was held at the Ocean Terminal in Southampton on March 10, 2015. Danielle said she felt like a kid at Christmas! “I couldn’t believe it. Me, at this big, flashy event. I loved every second of it. I love, and I mean love cruise ships, and one of my favourite times of the year is Christmas. When you are passionate about something, so passionate that it literally is what you eat, sleep and breathe, to have the honor of being included in such a momentous occasion that involves your passion is a massive privilege. I couldn’t believe I was there. I could see the Queen and it still didn’t feel real. I have been to a few more naming ceremonies since then and for me, they are always a great privilege.” Danielle loves cruise ships of all kinds, but prefers the smaller, more traditional vessels. Her favorites are the Fred Olsen Balmoral, Fred Olsen Black Watch, P&O Oceana and Saga Sapphire. Danielle’s longest cruise was on the Black Watch: a 108-nights world cruise from Southampton traveling to the Azores, the Caribbean, Central America and the Panama Canal, Easter Island, the South Pacific, Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East from January 5 to April 24, 2018. In total the world cruise visited 23 countries on six continents. Black Watch is.... Read the complete story of CruiseMiss: Danielle Fear in Chapter 10, The Joy of Cruising. Order soon....  I first became aware of Sheri Griffiths in the spring of 2018 when she was named one of the “10 Travel Influencers Changing How We Vacation” by Porthole Cruise Magazine for her popular YouTube series CruiseTipsTV. Porthole Cruise Magazine stated, “When it comes to planning the best cruise vacation, there’s no better follow than Sheri Griffiths.” CruiseTipsTV was created in pursuit of Sheri’s passion for family cruise travel, and to share videos with other cruisers looking to make their cruise experience the best it can be. The CruiseTipsTV channel now has close to 500 videos, 60,000 subscribers, garners over 600,000 monthly views and has grown to 11 million total views. While Sheri is the host and on-camera presence, CruiseTipsTV is a family production along with her husband and ten-year old son, referred to affectionately by her audience as, respectively, Mr. CruiseTipsTV, and Junior Editor. The family production originated out of another family event—conversation over family dinner when Junior Editor was only five years old. Their conversation went something like: “We’re going on a lot of cruises. What if we made a little cruise packing video helping people to learn about packing for a cruise…it will be terrible and no one will watch it…. I’ll hate it…let’s just do it, why not?….
CruiseTipsTV started off with modest intentions and modest production values. Sheri nor her husband had any formal training in broadcasting, although they did have videography training from their years as wedding videographers, and had video editing experience from editing their family vacation videos. Furthermore, Sheri, the sole on-camera presence, was terrified of public speaking, although it did help that Sheri danced until 17 or so, so she wasn’t totally new to the “performance” aspect of being in front of the camera. It also was beneficial that Sheri had studied media and communications in college where she earned a degree in communication studies at University of California-Santa Barbara. It was with that media and technology background that CruiseTipsTV premiered with “What to Pack for a Cruise” in October 2013. “When I tell you it was terrible…it was so bad. I can’t even watch it now.” Despite Sheri’s declaration to the contrary, ratings from the 84,000 viewers of the video over the years are overwhelmingly positive and Sheri and her family were definitely on to something as people started commenting and awaiting more videos. Increasingly, CruiseTipsTV received a lot of demand from its viewers first to vlog, that is, to video and write about their cruising exploits beyond just offering tips; then the CruiseTipsTV viewers implored Sheri to turn the camera around. “In our early days, all of our episodes were filmed in the studio—my house—and were pre-recorded. When we reference that our subscribers wanted us to turn the camera around, they were referring to showing our surroundings, and also turning to selfie mode and showing ourselves in the cruise environment. Things really started to change for us when our community said, ‘Hey, we want you to take us on vacation.’ So, we started filming vlogs. That was the big turning point for CruiseTipsTV—when we started letting people into our lives.” ....Sheri’s cruise on Seaside also produced one of her family’s most memorable experiences on a cruise—an excursion to the Blue Hole in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. The Blue Hole is a breathtaking series of waterfalls with scenic views and photo-friendly vantage points for the less active traveler, and for the adventurous—from swimming, climbing the falls, swinging from ropes into the water, to cliff-diving. Yes, Sheri and family chose jumping off cliffs!.... Sheri cited several other memorable cruise experiences that were as unforgettable as those in Ocho Rios: The simple pleasure of enjoying the hot tub with 5-year old Junior Editor in 40-degree weather on the side of the Diamond Princess in Alaska while approaching a glacier. Or, on a stop in Loreto, Baja California while on a Star Princess cruise, Sheri and her family took a private tour on a panga (small fishing type boat) to Loreto Bay, near Isla Coronado. “Out of nowhere, hundreds of dolphins surrounded our boat and surfed the wake for what felt like hours. We plunged our GoPro into the sea and captured video of the dolphins following the boat. The camera also captured their vocalizations, which was a beautiful surprise when we arrived home and pulled our footage in to the editing bay.” ....While Sheri is an influencer that many thousands of cruisers, fans, and followers on her multitude of social media platforms look to for cruising advice and to experience cruising vicariously through Sheri and CruiseTipsTV, she maintains what seems an ideal work-life balance and is able to compartmentalize the various aspects of her personal and professional life. “The core of my life is that I am a wife and a mom.” Despite being a busy professional with a couple of disparate careers, Sheri thrives spending time gardening vegetables, or in the kitchen cooking with her son, with loud music playing. In her non-CruiseTipsTV professional life Sheri is a busy managerial employee for a Southern California firm that she has worked for 21 years. Despite being somewhat of a “mini-celebrity”—after all she has many thousands of fans and followers, and is a recognized influencer—Sheri told me that at work her cruising versus professional life is separate and largely unnoticed. There are a handful of fans, but for the most part her co-workers may know about Sheri’s cruising life but are not really cruisers themselves. Although, for colleagues who are about to go on a cruise, she is recognized as “that lady, Sheri, she knows things!” Read the complete story of Sheri Griffiths: CruiseTipsTV in Chapter 6, The Joy of Cruising. Order soon....  The Traveling Wife Cruising Around the World is more than just a catchy tagline for Lucy Williams. It literally is a way of life by virtue of the fact that Lucy—a former cruise ship employee—is the spouse of a cruise ship officer. In her thirties, and having visited nearly 80 countries, Lucy’s story would fit well in Chapter 13, Cruising’s Young and Restless about several amazing millenials and cruising. However, the circumstances behind her intriguingly titled story and attendant blog, The Traveling Wife Cruising Around the World, are interesting in their own right. And, Lucy Williams’ story is well-suited for The Joy of Cruising’s section, The Influencers, given The Traveling Wife Cruising Around the World blog is all about cruising tips and helping cruisers make the best choices, her extensive presence and following on social media, and Lucy’s comprehensive website, Lucy Williams Global, www.lucywilliamsglobal.com, with its continuously updating graphic of a world map pinpointing Lucy’s current location.
After working onboard cruise ships for a year, Lucy met her future husband, Paolo, one of the ship’s officers. They managed to get assigned to the same ship for a while. Paolo then proposed to Lucy. “I met Paolo in the summer of 2007 onboard and we got married in England in 2012.” For a few years after getting married Lucy continued as part of the shop management team. “I stopped working onboard as the company would no longer put my husband and me on the same ship, so I chose to leave my position and just travel with my husband.” So, Lucy began traveling as the “traveling wife,” as the term is used onboard, and ultimately branded her blog with “the traveling wife” phrase. I was curious about the term “traveling wife”.... ....Paolo is the Food & Beverage Director for a well known American cruise line, and Lucy travels with him while he is working onboard. Lucy finds life onboard as a traveling wife to be very different as she is not a crew member, but does not quite feel like a passenger. “It is like you are an in-between,” she says. “I did not set out to marry an officer and stop working; it just happened. I did want to continue working onboard, but it wasn’t meant to be. So, I treat travelling onboard as my home life; it is not a vacation. If I treated it like a vacation, I would be the size of a house as I travel for three to four months at a time!” Lucy and Paolo dine and socialize with the ship captain and other senior officers and their traveling wives when “on duty.” I asked her to talk about the majority of time when she is not on duty—what is life like? “I live in crew quarters. My husband’s cabin is very nice. It is a suite that has a bedroom, dressing area, bathroom and day room. I can’t complain! The other passengers are obsessed with where I live and eat and it usually is the first thing they ask me when they find out I am married to an officer. I eat all around the ship like a regular passenger or in the officer’s mess, depending on whether I am dining with my husband or doing my own thing in the daytime.” I asked Lucy, what do you do when Paolo is working and you do not need to accompany him? She told me.... ....After a year of cruising as a traveling wife, Lucy felt she needed something to keep her mind active; Lucy and her husband were going on a world cruise and she thought there was no better time to start a travel blog. In January 2017, The Travelling Wife Cruising Around the World was born. The blog focuses principally on cruise ports, cruising tips, packing tips and guides, and travel in general when not on a cruise ship. Lucy has a unique perspective from which to author such a blog given her work onboard as a crew member nearly ten years and another couple of years as a cruise passenger as a “traveling wife.” In addition, she spends time in her native country of England and in her husband’s country of Italy, so she is never short on travel stories.... I was intrigued about Lucy’s world cruise. Several of the individuals I spoke to for The Joy of Cruising have a long-term goal of a world cruise. And, those who have gone on a world cruise would like to do so again. When I discuss world cruises with friends who are casual cruisers, I get a mixed reaction. When I mention the length and number of sea days, I get reactions of either incredulity (“oh, that’s too much time on the ocean”) or awe (“wow, I wish I could get the time off from work to do one of those.”) Lucy told me, “In 2017 my husband was assigned to a ship that was going to do a world cruise. The world cruise is one of the best cruises to go on as you see so much in 111 days. We went to 36 ports, 25 countries and six continents and spent 73 days at sea. I had worked a world cruise before, but it was a different route so I got to see a lot of new places for the first time. My favorite parts of the world cruise.... Read the complete story The Traveling Wife Cruising Around the World, and her 60 cruises totaling approximately 600 days and over 80 countries—since 2015! Chapter 7, The Joy of Cruising. Order now....  According to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the world’s largest cruise industry trade association, millennials and generation Xers (generally 20-50 year olds) are cruising more than ever before, and they rate cruising over land-based vacations....
Cruising Isn’t Just for Old People is the name of an award-winning blog run by Emma Le Teace. Emma created the blog in 2016 with a vision to dispel the myth that cruising was the domain of an older demographic. The CLIA findings suggest Emma is doing her part! Cruising Isn’t Just for Old People started as a cruise blog but has evolved to become a collaborative community of young cruisers. The site brings together bloggers and cruisers from all over the globe, and all walks of life, who all share a passion for cruising and a belief that cruising is for everybody irrespective of age. Contributors to the site share a wide variety of content, including cruise reviews, top tips about cruise lines and destination guides – all with new cruisers in mind. The foregoing words were written by 23-year old Emma Le Teace on the occasion of winning the 2018 Wave Award for Favorite Cruise Blogger. The Wave Awards celebrate the best of the UK’s cruise industry, including several categories for cruise lines and cruise ships, as well as industry operations such as technology, marketing campaign, etc. Emma is from West Sussex, UK, about 60 miles south of London where she traveled to attend “The Oscars of UK cruising” to accept her Wave Award over numerous more experienced and renown cruise writers.... ....Emma sailed on her first cruise with her family when she was 11-years old. “It was my Gran's idea that we should take the cruise; she is still cruising at 91! This cruise was actually two parts and was advertised as a 'fire and ice' cruise, meaning that we visited both Hawaii and Alaska. The Hawaii part was onboard Norwegian Cruise Lines Pride of Aloha (now the Norwegian Sky) and the Alaska part was onboard the Norwegian Spirit. It was amazing, I had so much fun exploring the ship with my cousins Libby and Fern, and brother Max.” Quite a memorable first experience cruising; in a single voyage Emma ticked off two destinations which are on many experienced cruisers’ bucket lists. So, early on Emma’s passion was inflamed.... ....Emma created Cruising Isn’t Just for Old People when sailing on her first Cunard cruise, the Queen Victoria to the Greek Isles in 2016. “I had no idea that 'cruise blogging' was a thing. Who'd have thought it? I was joking around with my brother about how I would make a website. He jokingly asked me what I would call it and I said Cruising Isn’t Just for Old People. The rest is history. I aim to write content that will help cruisers pick their perfect cruise. I am a firm believer in the idea that there is a cruise line and ship for everybody; the challenge is finding each person his or her match.” ....After disembarking from that Cunard cruise, Emma spent the first six months “stumbling around the internet” trying to learn how to set up a website. Emma works in the information technology field—she writes computer code for a living—but found that it is a different language from that behind a website. After launching her website, she created the aforementioned Cruising Isn't Just for Old People Facebook group to create a space for cruisers, and those who aspired to go on a cruise, to chat. Emma said, “If I have a question about cruising or I'd like to share a story or photo, I now know that there is a community of people who want to listen and help.” I asked Emma when she became aware that Cruising Isn't Just for Old People was a success. “I blog in my spare time so I never really envisaged it becoming a success. I have been absolutely blown away by the way that people have reacted to me and my community. In 2018 when I won “Favourite Cruise Blogger” at the Wave Awards (an award show run by World of Cruising, a UK cruise magazine) I never expected to win. The cruise blogger category was up first, and when my name was called I didn't know what to do. It was incredible but absolutely terrifying at the same time. I suppose this validated to me that there is an audience of young cruisers who want their voices to be heard. We now have Cruising Isn't Just for Old People engraved in a trophy!” I was curious as to how life has changed for Emma since winning such a prestigious award. She told me.... Read the complete story of Cruising Isn’t Just for Old People in Chap 14, The Joy of Cruising. Order soon....  Arriving in Havana at dawn Cuba Cruising profiles three diverse couples from different parts of the world who visited Cuba under quite distinct circumstances:
Despite being only 90 miles away from the southernmost point of the United States, Cuba is often on the bucket list of US cruisers right next to cruises to such far-flung destinations as Alaska, Antarctica, Hawaii, Galapagos, South Pacific, and more. Among a number of appealing factors to travelers, cruising to Cuba brings with it an unquestionably desirable aspect that few other ports of call have: rarity. Simply because Cuba has not been accessible to cruise travelers for very long. Consequently, a Cuba cruise is on the to-do list of a number of cruisers, particularly seasoned cruisers who have experienced other Bahamas and Caribbean itineraries multiple times. Coupled with the fact that there are some restrictions, both logistical and government imposed, a Cuba sailing has an exclusiveness, a cachet to it. That in part explains why older cruise ships, albeit refurbished and outfitted with features popular with cruisers such as Food Network star Guy Fieri’s “Guy’s Burger Joint” on Carnival ships, elaborate water slides, and onboard Cuba-themed venues and enrichment activities, get repurposed and repositioned for Cuba sailings, and can command a significant premium over comparable length itineraries to other destinations for that same ship. A collateral benefit to cruise lines of older ships sailing to Cuba is that their smaller size relative to the newer mega-ships cruise lines are increasingly introducing are able to dock; Havana’s existing pier cannot accommodate mega-ships.... ....“My Mojito in la Bodeguita, my daiquiri in El Floridita” supposedly said Ernest Hemingway of two of the most famous bars in Havana. Despite the mythology of this saying—and the dubiousness of its authenticity—there is a hand-scrolled sign with that statement and Hemingway’s autograph in La Bodeguita del Medio, along with inscriptions on the walls from the likes of Harry Belafonte, Nat King Cole, and Fidel Castro. Paul and Carole tried a couple of times to get into La Bodeguita, as well as El Floridita, but they were always too packed. They did manage to sample a few mojitos and daiquiris in other bars that drew them in with alluring live music. “In Old Havana we found a bar called Cafe Bosque Bologna on Obispo Street. The daiquiris were excellent. We sat down and noticed that just behind our table was an area where there were turtles, which was a bit strange, but we soon learned the reason they were there is that the Cubans believe that they bring them good karma,” Carole said. “In San Francisco Square right opposite the cruise terminal is a bar called Restaurante Cafe del Oriente, a lovely bar with a seating area outside, ideal for watching the world go by and inside a very talented piano player where we spent a wet afternoon having a fun sing-song. The Mojitos here were excellent too!”.... ....Barbara and Bill’s tour was in a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. “The car was large enough for Bill and me, the couple that accompanied us, the tour guide, and the driver, a young man who owned the car. He had retrofit air conditioning into the car so it was very comfortable, and much more fun than the tour bus that the ship’s tour would have provided. 1950’s car buffs will swoon over the variety of lovingly restored vehicles.” Among the highlights of their tour was El Floridita. “We went to El Floridita, the night club associated with Hemingway, and we were delighted by the performances of three different groups. I think the live music in Havana was the happiest part of the adventure.” Another place Barbara and Bill got to visit that Ernest Hemingway frequented—as did Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and John Wayne—was historic Sloppy Joe’s Bar (originator of the sloppy joe sandwich). Sloppy Joe’s Bar was an iconic gathering place frequented mainly by Americans in pre-revolution Havana. Consequently, after the revolution Sloppy Joe’s Bar closed and remained closed from 1959 until just several years ago when it was restored in its old location, replete with much of its original façade after 50 years.... ....The Sloans’ diverse travel pursuits all over the world have included a number of cruises, and in February 2017 they ventured to Cuba on The Soul Cruise, a unique seven-day R&B themed-cruise branded as “The first ever soul music cruise from the United States to Cuba!” The cruise was on Fathom Adonia (now Azamara Pursuit). Fathom Cruises was established in 2015 to conduct “social impact travel” cruises from Miami to the Dominican Republic, and Cuba, where in May 2016 Adonia was the first United States cruise ship to dock in post-Castro Cuba. Joan said, “Fathom Adonia, a 750-passenger ship provided intimacy, specialized in culture tours, and provided Cuban-inspired foods throughout our weeklong cruise.” Joan and Jim enjoyed the dancing tour the most. “It was fun with three different dance activities, but it also was very exhausting. We began early in the morning with two hours of group salsa lessons. Our instructors were high energy and engaging, and Jim and I came away feeling like we were ready to go out salsa dancing. Our next stop was to a ballet company and school where we met with the dancers who were all graduates of the university, and we enjoyed a performance that contrasted African and European ballet. Our group decided to make a donation of ballet slippers for the company as they were not made in Cuba and costly. Lastly we went to see a performance of the Habana Compas Dance Company. The dancers were classically trained and were accompanied by powerful percussionists who mixed traditional and contemporary dance style.... Read the complete story of respectively, Carole and Paul, Barbara and Bill, and Joan and Jim, in Chap 10 Cuba Cruising, The Joy of Cruising. Preorder soon....  USA Today/10Best Readers’ Choice New Media Award for Best Cruise Blogger winners Matt Hochberg and Scott Sanders share a couple of things in common: each authors a blog that’s dedicated to coverage of primarily a single cruise line, and they both have successful podcasts as companions to their blogs. Matt won for The Royal Caribbean Blog which he started in 2010 and is described as “your ultimate source for Royal Caribbean coverage,” and he hosts The Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast. The Royal Caribbean Blog is an unofficial fan blog written for other fans of Royal
Caribbean, and is not affiliated with Royal Caribbean International. Scott won for The Disney Cruise Line Blog. Since 2012, The Disney Cruise Line Blog and accompanying podcast has been an unofficial source of Disney Cruise Line news and information and a place where fans can share Disney cruise experiences. ....Matt Hochberg, a USA Today/10Best Readers’ Choice New Media Award winner for Best Cruise Blogger is the creator of the Royal Caribbean Blog, and the reassuring voice of the Royal Caribbean Blog podcast. I say reassuring because if you happen to be listening to the podcast a lot, including going back into the archives to listen to episodes you might have missed or replaying episodes you’ve previously listened to, it likely means you are booked on Royal Caribbean and your sailing date is approaching! You are part anxious, and part excited, and Matt (along with occasional guests) calms your anxiety with useful information and stokes your excitement with fun insights. In anticipation of my December 2018 Anthem of the Seas cruise, I listened to every episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog podcast of the last couple of years (and if Anthem was in the episode title, let’s just say I listened to it more than once.) ....I asked Matt how the Royal Caribbean Blog came about. Matt recalled that his second Royal Caribbean cruise was on Oasis of the Seas. As alluded to earlier in The Joy of Cruising, almost every couple of years the world’s largest cruise ship is introduced. But sometimes a new world’s largest ship is so revolutionary, so spectacular, that it “changes the game” in cruising (much like Royal Caribbean’s Sovereign of the Seas discussed in Chapter 1.) Oasis was that kind of ship when it was introduced. Matt said, “I remember back when Oasis of the Seas debuted it was a really big deal, still is, and I was really pumped to go on it. It just redefined what a cruise ship experience could be. My excitement was so great that I needed an outlet for it. I was just that kind of person that I like people to share my experience. I wanted to blog about my experience. I ended up expanding that idea beyond just blogging about my cruise on Oasis to actually covering Royal Caribbean in general. There were a lot of existing cruise websites, some great ones in fact. But none of them focused just on Royal Caribbean. While they did a good job, they only got, say, 10-20% deep into what Royal Caribbean is all about and there is still quite a bit left out. I felt like I’m not going to be able to compete with the major cruise websites out there and cover the whole industry, but if I do a deep dive and cover everything Royal Caribbean, then I can really stand out from other people and bring something different to the table.” Royal Caribbean Blog was born. Matt.... ....Scott Sanders is a USA Today/10Best Readers’ Choice New Media Award winner for Best Cruise Blogger for the Disney Cruise Line Blog. I first became aware of Scott several years ago when I discovered his blog in advance of taking my grandkids on their first cruise, a four-day voyage on the Disney Dream. Two weeks before our sailing, Scott posted a video on his blog of his daughter’s first time on Disney Cruise Line’s AquaDuck, the first "water roller coaster" at sea introduced on the Disney Dream. So, my then 5-year old granddaughter watched Scott’s daughter Isabelle screaming gleefully riding AquaDuck—along with the many other AquaDuck videos on YouTube—over and over. Scott’s blog and podcast are the go-to source for Disney Cruise fans looking for news, tips, and opinions in addition to, or instead of, official information from the company itself. It’s not just Disney Cruise fans that rely on Scott’s insights. Scott is extensively consulted by media such as the Orlando Sentinel and USA Today to opine on Disney Cruise Line news and developments, and has appeared in the book, The Unofficial Guide to Disney Cruise Line. Scott started the Disney Cruise Line Blog in 2012. He added a companion podcast April 2016. The website is more than just a blog chronicling Scott’s cruises. In addition to posting daily trip reports when taking his family on a cruise, the website also offers fans a historical look at the various Disney Cruise Line itineraries and provides info about upcoming sailings. In addition, each week Scott summarizes the current special offers and blogs about the latest news surrounding Disney Cruise Line and its ports of call. Scott lives with his wife Emily, and daughter Isabelle in Celebration, Florida, known as “The Community Disney Built.” Celebration is located five miles from Walt Disney World Resort and was originally developed by The Walt Disney Company. Scott is originally from the Midwest and came south to Florida for the weather and has lived in Florida for most of his adult life. Scott and Emily were married in a Disney Wedding at Walt Disney World Resort. I asked Scott to talk about how his passion for all things Disney was formed. He told me.... Read the complete story of how Matt and Scott’s passion for cruising moved them to become a main resource for fans of two of the world’s top cruise lines in respectively, Chap 18, Royal Caribbean Blog: Matt Hochberg, and Chap 19. Disney Cruise Line Blog: Scott Sanders, The Joy of Cruising. Available now!  ....given her background in sales and marketing, within days of contacting the employment firm Flavia was offered an interview. It was for a position with Royal Caribbean as a Cruise Specialist—an entree to a career that I suspect many of the readers of The Joy of Cruising would have been very enthused about in their thirties. Flavia, however, was not all that excited, as the opening involved a position in a call center, which was far from the ideal environment given Flavia’s extroverted personality. (Above Flavia on her first ever cruise, Grandeur of the Seas.)
Flavia reflects back on the day she arrived for her interview with Royal Caribbean with amusement. “My attitude was already negative and when I saw one of the employees arriving at the office in jeans and tee shirt, I was quite disgusted. Only later did I learn that Friday was ‘dress down’ day.” Long before she was blogging about couture and style, Flavia was cognizant of how people should present themselves—even though her presumption about the employee’s attire was incorrect! It turned out it wasn’t so much an interview as a written assessment administered to a roomful of applicants. Applicants would move on to an interview with Royal Caribbean staff only if the assessment score was adequate. Flavia dutifully took the exam, still not particularly enthused about the position. In fact, Flavia had arranged an interview for later that day with a previous employer and was just going through the motions at Royal Caribbean. While waiting for the assessment to be scored, the applicants were shown a video of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Flavia had never cruised before. It was at that moment of watching that video that Flavia’s life was changed forever. “I mean really, really, changed,” Flavia told me. “The ship was huge; it looked like a lot of fun and it had a pool and a kid’s club. Then there were endless other things; I just kept thinking, what, there’s a rock wall; what, there’s a surf simulator; what, there’s a mini golf course; a theatre, parades, parties, nightclubs. My mind was blown.” Now Royal Caribbean had Flavia’s attention. She was captivated by what was on the screen. “Now I wanted that job; I had to have that job, I had to get on that ship. It was like everything else just melted away and I had one vision: getting onboard that cruise ship with Lucy, my daughter.” ....Now Flavia found herself fantasizing. This cruise ship on the screen meant there was a way she could travel again, and even as a single mom. Normally a cruise would be out of reach financially for Flavia, but she had recalled one of the Royal Caribbean staffers mentioning something about free or very cheap cruises during their presentation to the applicants. “I had to get on that ship, and I had to get this job. That was that.” Flavia did get the job with Royal Caribbean. She set out to make her fantasy of traveling with her daughter a reality. The Royal Caribbean call center training was rigorous and comprehensive, providing Flavia with in-depth knowledge into Royal’s products, services, and system. It also included training on Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises as they were all under the same parent company. It was six weeks before she was allowed on real telephone calls, and once that began, she was subject to constant monitoring and mentoring on her performance and was accountable for a stringent set of criteria to meet on each call. Flavia and her call center colleagues faced financial consequences for failing to meet the call standards as determined by the Royal Caribbean Quality Assurance team. There were many times Flavia wanted to rip her headset off and quit. But her mind kept going back to that video about the cruise ship. So, she resolved to get past the six-month probationary period, take her daughter on a discounted Royal Caribbean cruise, and then quit! Despite the demands and tedium of call center work, Flavia thrived and frequently exceeded sales milestones. As a result, she was offered a free “familiarization” trip (familiarization trips are for employees and travel agents, but not everyone is lucky enough to get one; they are usually based on sales performance.) Flavia could not believe it. The fantasy was about to become a reality in the form of a four-night cruise on Grandeur of the Seas departing from Palma de Mallorca, Spain and docking in Málaga, Spain. Flavia was overcome with gleeful anticipation. “I did panic a bit I must admit,” Flavia said. “I wondered if it would really be everything I had expected. What if Royal Caribbean had just told me it was great, but in actual fact when I get onboard I am going to hate it and be stuck on the ship with a bunch of people I don’t like? Suddenly I started to worry.” When we arrived at the port there was a huge ship, just like the one in the video. Then as we turned the corner there was what seemed in comparison a small, not so impressive ship behind it. Oh no, that was the ship we were going on, not the lovely big one. Now I was really worried.” Flavia boarded and found that “small” ship to be quite nice and it did not feel small at all. In fact, once onboard she found it to be huge. The ship was gorgeous, with a lovely chrome and beech atrium with marbled floor and a ceiling that seemed to extend to the sky. The first food venue Flavia and her colleagues tried was the buffet with a seemingly endless array of choices. After eating they went to the sundeck and Flavia laid out on a sun lounger. She felt like she was back at the beach, only there were really friendly waiters wearing Hawaiian shirts saying hello and asking if anyone wanted anything. She also found the other cruisers to be very personable. The cruise was off to a great start and getting better and better. Flavia kept hearing others talking about the sail-away: go find one of the many ideal vantage points on the ship, with a cocktail in hand for sail-away. Flavia chose to join the group of Royal Caribbean employees that she was sailing with on the top deck. Cocktail in hand, steel drum band playing and guests joining members of the Royal Caribbean entertainment team to dance on the deck stage, the anticipation was thrilling. That larger ship, the Liberty of the Seas, the one Flavia mistakenly assumed was meant for her to board, went off first. Despite already being captivated by the more modest ship she boarded, Flavia watched wistfully as the “ship like the one in the video” sailed past. Someday…. Read the complete story of Flavia’s transformation from cruise line call center rep to cruise travel influencer in Chap 8, Ships and Champagne, The Joy of Cruising. Preorder soon.... |
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