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.
Recent Content

Send us a textHello, 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 Chann…
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Send us a textHello, 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 in…


Send us a textThis 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 …
Send us a textThis w…
Send us a textThis 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…


Send us a textRegular listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast know that I include in most conversations a section about the guest’s most memorable, funniest, and/or most embarrassing cruise or port…
Send us a textRegula…
Send us a textRegular listeners of The Joy of Cruising Podcast know that I include in most conversations a section about the guest’s most memorable, funniest, and/or most embarrassing cruise or port recollection. The answers have ranged from touching—for example marriage proposals; to poignant, like last year when Iris from Life of Iris—who expected to join a vibrant Holland American ship as a Communications Manager responsible for getting out the daily activities listing to cruisers, instead was sent to a ship designated exclusively to host Ukrainian women and children refugees fleeing …


Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome back this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Sam & Brian, hosts of the massively successful DCL Duo podcast. DCL…
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Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome back this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Sam & Brian, hosts of the massively successful DCL Duo podcast. DCL Duo is a Disney Cruise Line-focused podcast, with occasional detours into general cruising and Disney topics including the Disney parks, Adventures By Disney, Run Disneyand Disney Vacation Club. It is great to get back together with Sam and Brian, who are not just friends of mine but are podcast mentors as well. DCL Duo is featured in my newest book release, The Joy of Cruising Again amzn.to/3…


Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Chris Warren. As you know, I try to portray cruising in all its diversity…
Send us a textHello,…
Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Chris Warren. As you know, I try to portray cruising in all its diversity: region of the world; age; celebrities as well as “ordinary” cruisers with extraordinary stories; and profession—cruise CEO’s, Captains and crew, chefs, performers, travel writers, cruise influencers and content creators, etc. Here we are with over 160 episodes and have yet to host a professional travel photographer. Until today…Chris is a talented photographer born in Philadelphia, who…


Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Laura Pedlar, and Craig Shaw of Cruise Lifestyle Blog. Those of you with my …
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Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Laura Pedlar, and Craig Shaw of Cruise Lifestyle Blog. Those of you with my second cruising book, Cruising Interrupted amzn.to/3seFU8y, know that I featured Laura and Cruise Lifestyle in a section called “Bloggers: Cruise Community Champions.” Laura also came on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Ep 46 Cruise Lifestyle over a year ago and I’m glad to talk to her again, and to welcome Craig for the first time. I was reminded that it was time to invite Laura back to the pod…


Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome back this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Emma of the massively successful Emma Cruises. Emma is one of the most …
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Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome back this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Emma of the massively successful Emma Cruises. Emma is one of the most well-known cruise personalities in the world—and she is still in her 20’s. I first met her in 2019 after Emma shocked the UK cruising community at age 23 by winning the UK Wave Award for Best Cruise Blogger for her irreverently named blog, “Cruising Isn’t Just for Old People.” I was writing my first cruise book, The Joy of Cruising amzn.to/2EAMddF, so I reached out to Emma, and she becam…


Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Melissa Newman.Melissa Newman is a university professor who loves to cruise.…
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Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Melissa Newman.Melissa Newman is a university professor who loves to cruise. For most of her life, she held two full-time jobs, serving as professor and also running a nonprofit organization. In 2022 she decided to stop letting work dominate her life and she exited the nonprofit sector and used her newly found free time to pursue one of her passions... Travel. And specifically, cruise travel. She now cruises monthly and creates content to share with others what she learns…


Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, a special guest, Magical Bones. We were introduced to Bones on our recent anniversary crui…
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Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, a special guest, Magical Bones. We were introduced to Bones on our recent anniversary cruise to the A, B, and C Islands in the Southern Caribbean on Celebrity Ascent. Bones was a headliner that put on a show that was spellbinding, funny, and captivating as Bones broke into breakdancing! So, I enjoyed his performance but I was knocked off my feet as he shared his story of growing up Black in UK; getting into Bboying, and then into magic.Magical Bones is one of the most exciting talents …


Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Kim Anderson, global nomad, host, and creator of the Design Her Travel podca…
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Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Kim Anderson, global nomad, host, and creator of the Design Her Travel podcast. Design Her Travel inspires you to live the life of your dreams and incorporate more travel into your daily life. Each week you'll discover travel tips and tales from individuals doing just that. Whether you're dreaming of taking your first trip or an experienced globetrotter, each week—through guest interviews and solo episodes—you'll hear inspiring stories and discover prov…


Send us a textThis week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Matthew Jones of The Cruise Maps. Based in UK, their ingenious, unique products based on maps of your cruise journey i…
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Send us a textThis week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Matthew Jones of The Cruise Maps. Based in UK, their ingenious, unique products based on maps of your cruise journey is far more than meets the eye. It all starts with your cruise shipʼs navigation system. While it was designed to help seafarers identify other ships and safely navigate the seas, it also enables The Cruise Maps to remotely follow the progress of every ship in the world in real time. A massive global network of satellite and land-based receivers are continuously sending signals them back to databa…


Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome a special guest, Colleen McDaniel. Among the global cruise personalities,…
Send us a textHello,…
Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome a special guest, Colleen McDaniel. Among the global cruise personalities, we are blessed to host, today, I am honored to welcome another one of those Googleable individuals (is that a word...yes) we occasionally have the honor to host. Colleen McDaniel is Editor-in-Chief of Cruise Critic. She considers cruising to be a true passion, having traveled the world by water – from Alaska, the Caribbean and Hawaii, to Europe’s rivers, Antarctica and Africa – on ships of…


Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Brandee and Shannon Lake, a couple of special guests who were recently sailo…
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Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul. I am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Brandee and Shannon Lake, a couple of special guests who were recently sailors, roommates on Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise on Serenade of the Seas. We want to get their reflections about the special cruise which left Miami December 10, 2023, and disembarked in Miami on September 10, 2024. Shortly after embarkation Ultimate World Cruise became a social media sensation, and for several passengers it became a social media obsession. One of the best known of those…


Send us a textI am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Jon Saxx, saxophonist extraordinaire. I first experienced Jon on a cruise we attended prior to the shutdown—Festival…
Send us a textI am d…
Send us a textI am delighted to welcome this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, Jon Saxx, saxophonist extraordinaire. I first experienced Jon on a cruise we attended prior to the shutdown—Festival at Sea. Jon was a ‘house musician’ for Festival at Sea, the longest-running African-American cultural cruise. Created by African-American entrepreneur and owner of San Francisco’s Blue World Travel Agency, Patricia Yarbrough, Festival at Sea has put on over 35 consecutive years of sold out full ship charters of its annual cruise. In addition to Festival at Sea, Patricia’s affiliate brand,…


Send us a textIn my effort to portray cruising in all its diversity, now for something completely different. This week The Joy of Cruising Podcast is delighted to welcome Cris Kostiuk, creator of Cris…
Send us a textIn my …
Send us a textIn my effort to portray cruising in all its diversity, now for something completely different. This week The Joy of Cruising Podcast is delighted to welcome Cris Kostiuk, creator of Cris the Cruising Duck Man. Let me preface by saying that for the most part up until recently, I have been rather ambivalent toward the phenomenon of hiding and finding toy ducks on cruise ships. First of all, I assumed it would be a short-lived trend that would fade away. Wrong! Secondly, I kind of thought it was mainly for kids—and since I no longer have young children to cruise with I have “age…


Send us a textI am delighted to welcome back to The Joy of Cruising Podcast Mikkel and Dan, creators of the Sometimes Sailing cruise website and Instagram. Mikkel and Dan are special friends, and this…
Send us a textI am d…
Send us a textI am delighted to welcome back to The Joy of Cruising Podcast Mikkel and Dan, creators of the Sometimes Sailing cruise website and Instagram. Mikkel and Dan are special friends, and this is a special episode. I got to know Mikkel and Dan when I wrote about Sometimes Sailing in my new release The Joy of Cruising Again http://amzn.to/3lAfyON where I wrote about their penchant for small ship cruising as well as “ship-within-a-ship” spaces, for instance, Celebrity Cruises The Retreat, Norwegian Haven, and Princess Cruises Medallion Class. I hosted Sometimes Sailing on The Joy o…


Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I present to you something quite different than what you are used to hearing from me. It’s a crui…
Send us a textHello,…
Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I present to you something quite different than what you are used to hearing from me. It’s a cruise news story—an absolutely amazing one. First, let me welcome to the show Cailyn. Joshua is an entrepreneur in Tulsa, Oklahoma who is a central figure in said cruise news story, and as a busy entrepreneur was not able to join us. I don’t normally cover cruise news. I leave that up to others who are renown and much better than I am about covering that sort of thing. However, Cailyn and her fam…


Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Melissa Davis, and have a conversation with her about how she grew from r…
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Send us a textHello, passionate cruisers! This is Paul and this week on The Joy of Cruising Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Melissa Davis, and have a conversation with her about how she grew from running Port Shopping Programs onboard cruise ships to providing Port Shopping information and running to all cruisers as a private entrepreneur.After running shopping programs on Crystal Cruises, Regent, Oceania, Viking, and Marella, and launching the first and only onshore shopping program on Viking River Cruises, Melissa decided to create an online recommended and guaranteed shopping program…
