The Joy of Cruising Podcast

Paul C. Thornton

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 

  1. 4D AGO

    Jason Venner, Producer/Host, Soul Train Cruise & Various Theme Cruises: 60’s, New Orleans Music, Country, Rock, and Disco

    Send a text Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast; I am delighted to welcome back Jason Venner. In a section called Specialty Cruising: Fun and Quirky, I wrote about Jason in my book Cruising Interrupted in a chapter titled, Cruise Entertainment Producer, Director, Creator, MC Extraordinaire! And Jason joined me for a podcast of that same name, way back on Episode 26. I am really happy to have Jason back. I finally got to meet him in person, first last year on the Soul Train Cruise 2025 and then again just a few weeks ago on Soul Train Cruise 2026. Jason is really good at what he does, and I thought I would have him back to get some insight specific to the Soul Train Cruise, and hear Jason contrast it with theme cruises of other genres he has hosted.   Jason got his start in cruising in 2002 as a DJ with Holland America Line (HAL), a high-end cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation. At HAL, Jason progressed through the ranks from a DJ to over 10 years as a Cruise Director, to Corporate Trainer, to three years as Producer and Host of the joint ABC/BBC HAL production, Dancing with the Stars: At Sea. Since 2015, Jason has been self-employed as a Producer, Director, and Host of full-ship music charter cruises, primarily in partnership with StarVista LIVE, a leading theme cruise operator. For StarVista LIVE, Jason hosts Malt Shop Memories Cruise; Soul Train Cruise; The Country Music Cruise; Flower Power Cruise; Ultimate Disco Cruise, and more. Over the years Jason has introduced and interviewed hundreds of star performers.  “It’s crazy to be on a first-name basis with the legends of the music industry.” Do you have a dream car? Support the show Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new Support Me https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drpaulth Contact Me https://www.thejoyofcruising.net/contact-me.html Book Cruises http://www.thejoyofvacation.com/ US Orders (coupon code joyofcruisingpodcast) The Joy of Cruising https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruising Cruising Interrupted https://bit.ly/CruisingInterrupted The Joy of Cruising Again https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruisingAgain Intl Orders via Amazon

    1h 22m
  2. FEB 26

    Emery Gill aka DJ Gilla, Headlining Cruise Ship DJ

    Send a text Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast; I am delighted to welcome my friend Emery Gill, aka DJ Gilla. I call him my friend as I first interacted with DJ Gilla on a long cruise, our first transatlantic, it was Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady where I would find some shade around the pool and chill, or groove, depending on what he was spinning. There was a lot of that as the first 8 days of this long cruise were sea days. We got to cruise with DJ Gilla again on our last cruise, one of the inaugurals for the new and very attractive Princess Cruises Star Princess. We were on the Star Princess along with several hundred other travel agencies like ours, The Joy of Vacation by Dream Vacations, as Dream Vacations was holding its annual conference. DJ Gilla dj’d a couple of private parties for as some of you might have seen a short video of DJ Gilla spinning in the promo for this episode.   I am particularly excited for this episode. Besides my love of music, I have tried to bring my listeners a perspective of everyone one who works on cruise ships to make your experience great. I have hosted Cruise Directors, performers, comedians, Captains, and various crew and staff, but in all my 230 episodes of so have not brought you the perspective of a DJ, one of the mostly hidden people so key to making your voyage memorable.   Emery Gill, known as DJ Gilla, hails from the Central American Country of Belize. He's an open format Disc Jockey that started out playing for students at his high school some fourteen plus years ago, which was where his fan base had originated. DJ Gilla made it to the International Stage in 2017 when he was highlighted at the International New Orleans Jazz Festival in Louisiana. In 2019, he became a part of a Pro DJ fleet serving numerous cruise lines allowing him to perform sets for audiences of many different cultures, all around the world. DJ Gilla has also performed on Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, and Azamara Cruises, as well as theme cruises, The Groove Cruise and The Temptation Cruise, both in 2023. Key Clients & Partners have included BPM Supreme, iHeart Radio, and Belikin Beer.   Among DJ Gilla’s significant Events & Venues: •         New Orleans Jazz Festival (NOLA) •         Farah Night Club (Marseille, France) •         The Vault (Miami, FL) •         Club Upperclass (Los Angeles, CA) •         Triple Deuces (New York)  Do you have a dream car? Support the show Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new Support Me https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drpaulth Contact Me https://www.thejoyofcruising.net/contact-me.html Book Cruises http://www.thejoyofvacation.com/ US Orders (coupon code joyofcruisingpodcast) The Joy of Cruising https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruising Cruising Interrupted https://bit.ly/CruisingInterrupted The Joy of Cruising Again https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruisingAgain Intl Orders via Amazon

    1h 11m
  3. FEB 19

    Paul & Cheryl’s Reflections on the 2026 Soul Train Cruise

    Send a text Hello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul, and this is Cheryl, and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast we are pleasedto present our reflections of the Soul Train Cruise 2026 we just experienced the first week of February. It was a welcome respite from a very busy last few months as I think most of you are aware we went through the process of relocating from North Carolina to Virgina.   We want to preface by recalling a podcast episode we did several months ago about our top ten all-time cruises. There were two aspects of that episode that are particularly relevant to this episode about our reflections of the Soul Train Cruise on Holland America Lines Eurodam. The first relevant aspect of the all-time top list is that it was dominated by theme cruises. Any regular listener of The Joy of Cruising Podcast knows how much we’re endeared to theme cruises. And readers of my first cruise book, The Joy of Cruising know I devoted an entire section of the Amazon best seller to theme cruising.    The second aspect of that top ten all-time cruise list that is relevant, is that Soul Train Cruise 2025 was #4 on that list! Well listeners, I’m here to tell you Soul Train Cruise 2025 is now #5 as it has been surpassed by Soul Train 2026!   Let me first give you some background. Soul Train Cruise is produced by Star Vista Live, a company that puts on a series of theme cruises each featuring differing genres including country, rock, disco, 60’s music, even New Orleans inspired music. This was the 15th sailing of the Soul Train Cruise. Up until 2025, the cruise ran once per year—always sold out—in February. Beginning last year, Star Vista Live added a second sailing in the Fall. The line-up of performers for each of the Soul Train Cruises reads like a who’s who to people who were fans of a certain genre of music which was popularized in homes by the groundbreaking television show Soul Train, which ran from 1971 to 2006 and was created and hosted until 1993 by the legendary Don Cornelius. Most of the acts featured on the Soul Train Cruise appeared on the television (of course many original members of the various acts have moved on or stopped performing.) So, it is no surprise that the headline acts are supplemented by more contemporary performers including stand-up comedians whose music or comedy is geared toward the demographic that makes up the bulk of the Soul Train Cruise passengers. Do you have a dream car? Support the show Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new Support Me https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drpaulth Contact Me https://www.thejoyofcruising.net/contact-me.html Book Cruises http://www.thejoyofvacation.com/ US Orders (coupon code joyofcruisingpodcast) The Joy of Cruising https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruising Cruising Interrupted https://bit.ly/CruisingInterrupted The Joy of Cruising Again https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruisingAgain Intl Orders via Amazon

    31 min
  4. FEB 5

    Ritzy Travel Guide

    Send a text 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. Do you have a dream car? Support the show Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new Support Me https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drpaulth Contact Me https://www.thejoyofcruising.net/contact-me.html Book Cruises http://www.thejoyofvacation.com/ US Orders (coupon code joyofcruisingpodcast) The Joy of Cruising https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruising Cruising Interrupted https://bit.ly/CruisingInterrupted The Joy of Cruising Again https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruisingAgain Intl Orders via Amazon

    1h 28m
  5. JAN 29

    Rubin Ervin, Child Star on Nickelodeon Family Cruises, to Parent on Disney Dream

    Send a text 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 Do you have a dream car? Support the show Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new Support Me https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drpaulth Contact Me https://www.thejoyofcruising.net/contact-me.html Book Cruises http://www.thejoyofvacation.com/ US Orders (coupon code joyofcruisingpodcast) The Joy of Cruising https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruising Cruising Interrupted https://bit.ly/CruisingInterrupted The Joy of Cruising Again https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruisingAgain Intl Orders via Amazon

    40 min
  6. JAN 22

    Daniel Edward, Cruise & Travel Director; Writer & Presenter; Podcaster, Destination Unlocked

    Send a text 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.”  Do you have a dream car? Support the show Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new Support Me https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drpaulth Contact Me https://www.thejoyofcruising.net/contact-me.html Book Cruises http://www.thejoyofvacation.com/ US Orders (coupon code joyofcruisingpodcast) The Joy of Cruising https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruising Cruising Interrupted https://bit.ly/CruisingInterrupted The Joy of Cruising Again https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruisingAgain Intl Orders via Amazon

    1h 15m
  7. JAN 15

    Jones Getaways, Our Ghana Journey—From Accra to Ancestry

    Send a text 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. Do you have a dream car? Support the show Support thejoyofcruisingpodcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/2113608/supporters/new Support Me https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drpaulth Contact Me https://www.thejoyofcruising.net/contact-me.html Book Cruises http://www.thejoyofvacation.com/ US Orders (coupon code joyofcruisingpodcast) The Joy of Cruising https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruising Cruising Interrupted https://bit.ly/CruisingInterrupted The Joy of Cruising Again https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruisingAgain Intl Orders via Amazon

    1h 23m
5
out of 5
26 Ratings

About

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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