The Joy of Cruising an Interview with Paul C. Thornton

Welcome to an interview with author Paul C. Thornton from The Joy of Cruising book trilogy and The Joy of Cruising Podcast. Back in 2019, I interviewed Paul for my Cruise Tips from Cruise Ship Passengers series. He gave some great advice and he had just launched his book ‘The Joy of Cruising’, which I feature in.

Fast forward to 2023 and he has written two more books and made The Joy of Cruising into a trilogy. Paul has started this year – The Joy of Cruising Podcast.

I was delighted to be interviewed by Paul for his podcast. It was completely nerve-racking as I have not been on a podcast before! But I think in the end it turned out okay – listen for yourself and see what you think.

Listen now

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The Joy of Cruising An Interview with Paul C. Thornton

Anyway, back to Paul!

Paul C. Thornton is an award-wining author and has a passion for cruising. Paul is originally from New York City and now lives in Mooresville, NC near Charlotte with his wife Cheryl.

Why did you start writing books about cruising?

After a wonderful Christmas in 2017 where my wife and I surprised our kids and grandkids by knocking on their door on Christmas morning (we lived far away and hadn’t seen them in a couple of years), we decided we wanted to generate that same kind of excitement for Christmas 2018. So we decided to do an extended family cruise for Christmas (a surprise for the grandchildren). We chose Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas. In researching the most expensive purchase I ever made – besides cars or houses – I researched on every cruise forum I could. What I found was that there were a lot of passionate cruisers with fascinating stories out there. So, I decided to bring those stories to the cruise community in The Joy of Cruising, which came out shortly after that Christmas cruise on Anthem.

How did you find all these different types of cruisers for the books?

At first, it was a challenge, because I was “just some guy on the internet” and had no credibility. Through reading blogs and forums I would find candidates and would reach out to them cold. For instance, what led me to reach out to you was the intriguing name of your blog – The Traveling Wife Cruising Around The World. I surmised, correctly, that you had a story to tell. As I gained some success in finding passionate cruisers, they began to tell others about me, and some even approached me about being in the book.

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The Joy of Cruising Books

What are the titles of your books and how are they different? 

The Joy of Cruising; Cruising Interrupted (which came out during the cruising shutdown); and the just released, The Joy of Cruising Again. There’s little difference between the books: fascinating cruising tales and profiles, including some well-known cruisers and even celebrities – Grammy Winner; Winner, Last Comic Standing; Television Host; Cruise Ship Godmother; Poker Hall of Fame Member; CEOs of cruise companies – but mostly “ordinary” cruisers with extraordinary stories.

The Joy of Cruising Podcast

Why did you start the ‘The Joy of Cruising Podcast’?

I knew that The Joy of Cruising Again, which was in celebration of the return of cruising from the brink due to the pandemic, was going to be the end of the series. However, I am still passionate about cruising and telling the stories of cruisers. So I created the podcast www.thejoyofcruisingpodcast.com, which is a weekly conversation with the dozens of cruisers I have featured in the books and more, so I could continue to pursue my passion even while writing other books. (I am currently writing an autobiographical book called Gracefully.)

Peter Antonucci, Billionaires At Sea Trilogy, (inspired by his time aboard The World) – The Joy of Cruising Podcast

This week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Peter Antonucci. It's fun to welcome a guest with whom I share so much in common: Peter is from New York—I’m from New York; Peter graduated from the University of Rochester in 1982—I graduated from the University of Rochester in 1980; Peter authored a trilogy about life on the ocean—I authored a trilogy about life on the ocean; Peter is rich…Well, 3 out of four means we have a lot in common! By the way, Peter didn’t tell me he is rich. That was easy to gather by the fact that he was an owner at The World, a privately owned super yacht ship occupied and managed by its residents. The World is comprised of 165 apartments costing between $2 and $20 million, and a minimum $10 million net worth is required to buy at The World. By the way, Peter owned four apartments…. I have been fascinated with this burgeoning trend of passionate cruisers deciding to live at sea for 6-12 months per year. However, the creation of The World was way ahead of the current trend. The World has been sailing exotic itineraries to bucket list destinations in every corner of the world since 2002. I'll certainly be asking Peter what led him to The Worldbut unfortunately, time won’t allow me to spend the entire interview on that. You see Peter is one of those multifaceted individuals for whom we could spend an entire interview on one of several aspects of his life. For instance, his best-selling trilogy, Billionaires at Sea, comprised of: Billionaire’s Paradise: Ecstasy at Sea; Scandal at Sea: Billionaires In The Deep; and the just-published Tides of Betrayal: Scandal in the Waves. Or his time as an esteemed commercial litigator in the New York City offices of two of the largest law firms in the world. So successful was Peter that he was able to retire at 52. Or, Peter’s experiences as a globetrotter. He has visited over 100 countries, traveled to Antarctica for three consecutive years, and is a Guinness Book of World Records entrant for having been a part-owner and passenger of a vessel that traveled to the southernmost point ever reached by a vessel, surpassing the previous records set by Amundsen, Shackleton, Ross, Scott and Hillary, Peter’s heroes of Antarctic exploration. We’ll somehow get Peter to talk about all of that! But such an esteemed guest always has an invitation to come back to the show. Support the show

1. Peter Antonucci, Billionaires At Sea Trilogy, (inspired by his time aboard The World) 57:11
2. Traveling Judi 01:00:46
3. Roland & Emma’s 40-Day Enchanted Princess European Bucket List Adventure 01:00:05
4. Life of Iris 01:12:35
5. A Voyager of Distinction 53:32

Cruising Questions

Now for some cruise questions!

How many cruises have you been on?

20

What is your favourite cruise ship and cruise port?

Probably Celebrity Beyond; favourite ports were several in the Mediterranean which we visited on Beyond.

What is your favourite part of cruising?

I am an introvert, so sitting alone on the top deck looking out at the ocean, listening to music, and sipping a tropical drink while writing. The best office in the world!

Where will you be cruising again soon?

I leave in a couple of weeks on the Norwegian Spirit to two destinations that are on my bucket list – 16-day Hawaii to Alaska. After that, we will try two cruise lines I have never experienced: in Christmas 2023 we are sailing MSC Meraviglia, and in April 2024 we are sailing a transatlantic for the first time on Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady.

What is on your cruise bucket list?

A river cruise and we are close to booking one for 2024. Longer-term, a cruise/land tour to Africa.

Thank you, Paul that was a great insight into how The Joy of Cruising book trilogy and podcast started. Make sure you get your own copies of Paul’s books and please tune into the podcast to hear some great stories from his interesting guests.

Follow The Joy of Cruising

Join Paul’s Facebook group: The Joy of Cruising Podcast

Listen to the podcast: The Joy of Cruising Podcast

Follow on Facebook: The Joy of Cruising Again by Paul C. Thornton

Follow on Instagram: @thejoyofcruisingpodcast & @thejoyofcruising

Buy the books: The Joy of Cruising; Cruising Interrupted; and The Joy of Cruising Again

Cruise Ship Essentials

Here are some cruising products from Amazon you may find useful on your next cruise. To see more, have a look at my Amazon shop page and click here.

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Happy Cruising!