Send us a Text Message.
I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, a special guest straight from somewhere in the world, Brandee Lake, the creator of Tik Tok’s 179k followers iambrandeelake, and same named Instagram. Brandee’s profile at IG says simply: “Asia finishing…Africa loading.”
On December 10, 2023, Brandee embarked in Miami Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise on Serenade of
the Seas and is scheduled to disembark in Miami on September 10, 2024. In mid-2023, Brandee had announced she was stepping away from corporate America for a 9-month world cruise with her parents and younger sister and urged friends to follow along with her journey on social media.
Within days the Ultimate World Cruise became a social media sensation, and for several passengers it became a social media obsession. The best known of those passengers is Brandee Lake.
The Ultimate World Cruise is scheduled for 274 days and is divided into four segments:
Ultimate Americas Cruise
- 64 nights from Dec. 10, 2023, to Feb. 11, 2024
- 36 destinations, including Cozumel, Mexico; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Los Angeles, California
- 4 Wonders of the World, including Iguazú Falls and Machu Picchu
Ultimate Asia Pacific Cruise
- 87 nights from Feb. 11, 2024, to May 9, 2024
- 40 destinations, including Kailua-Kona, Hawaii; Manila, Philippines; and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- 3 Wonders of the World, including the Great Barrier Reef and the Taj Mahal
Ultimate Africa and Southern Europe
· 63 nights from May 9, 2024, to July 10, 2024
· 38 destinations from Dubai to Barcelona. It includes Mauritius, Seychelles, Cape Town, Dakar and Nice
· 4 Wonders of the World, including the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Temple of Artemis
Ultimate Europe and Beyond Cruise
- 63 nights from July 10, 2024, to Sept. 10, 2024
- 40 destinations, including Casablanca, Morocco; Paris, France; Bruges, Belgium; and Nuuk, Greenland
It is now my pleasure to bring Brandee’s story to the listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast.
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 https://bit.ly/TheJoyOfCruisingPodcast-BookACruise
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
Paul C. Thornton started writing at 58 years old incited by the task of delivering a father-of-the-bride speech at his daughter’s wedding. Told to talk about memories of Kina growing up; among Disney trips, high school sports, proms, and first boyfriends, Paul divulged the most powerful memory of all, when Kina was six and his life changed forever. At the end of the talk—as they say—"there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.” It was both liberating and cathartic to release secrets that had tortured Paul for 30 years. Needing to hold on to that feeling of release and empowerment, when he returned to his hotel Paul started his memoir, provocatively titled White Man’s Disease.
Paul’s just completed book, The Joy of Cruising Again, is his fourth; the third in The Joy of Cruising trilogy, and follow-up to the fun, upbeat, award-winning The Joy of Cruising, and Cruising Interrupted. The Joy of Cruising Again is the finale of the series but Paul won’t give up his passion. Besides continuing to cruise as much as possible, Paul hosts The Joy of Cruising Podcast, a weekly conversation with one of the dozens of passionate cruisers featured in the books and other global cruise personalities.
The cruise-themed books are a stark departure from Paul’s debut: White Man’s Disease, a memoir described as “gripping and inspiring” in the press release announcing it as the winner of the North Street Book Prize for Memoir and Creative Nonfiction about Paul’s harrowing brush with death, the journey of recovery from trauma, resilience and ultimately transformation. White Man’s Disease is at once poignant, sad, tragic, funny, and compelling. (And, if I could get a dollar for everyone who asks what White Man’s Disease means, I would be a wealthy man!) Despite their very different subjects, at the heart of White Man’s Disease and The Joy of Cruising Trilogy is passion and how passionate people do wondrous things. Paul just started a sequel to White Man’s Disease; a fun, and hopefully inspirational tale called Gracefully. In addition, he is planning a podcast series that deconstructs White Man’s Disease.
Paul is originally from Brooklyn and Long Island, New York. After serving in the US Army and simultaneously earning a bachelor's degree in business, he attained his MBA and then spent concurrently, 17 years in corporate management, and 23 years in small business ownership. After leaving corporate, he started a career in higher ed. He earned a doctorate, attained tenure as a business professor, and subsequently moved into administration in Dean or Executive Director positions before retiring in 2021.
Paul lives in Mooresville, North Carolina with his wife Cheryl and considers cruising with their children and grandchildren life’s ultimate escape. Paul longs to cruise as much as the people he writes about in The Joy of Cruising Trilogy.
