Have you ever wondered what it’s really like to live and work on a cruise ship? Is it all glamour and exotic locations, or is there a hidden, more challenging side to life at sea?
How do you cope with being away from family for months at a time, and what strange events unfold on these floating cities? In this episode, former cruise ship entertainer Wendy Nugent talks about her journeys and how they inspired her mystery novels.
If you like episodes about the sea/books, check out episode 1 where I talk about my tallship journey from Fiji to Vanuatu, Sailing around the world with Tom Dymond; Tallship sailing in Galveston, Texas, and Sailing the Pacific with Nadine Slavinski.

Wendy spent a decade as part of an award-winning magic act performing on cruise ships all over the world. She traveled from Alaska to Venezuela, Bermuda to Tahiti, and many exotic ports of call in between. Now, Wendy uses her insider knowledge of cruise ship life to write entertaining cozy mystery books set on cruise ships.

* Wendy’s journey from a theater graduate to performing on ships around the globe
* The highs and lows of life at sea, from incredible shore excursions to the challenges of being away from family
* The strict social hierarchy and unique culture on board, with crew members from many different nations
* The weird and wonderful things that happen on cruises—from ship fires to rescuing refugees—that inspire her mystery novels
* Practical tips for potential cruisers on choosing the right itinerary and ship size for their travel style
* How to make a tiny, temporary cabin feel like home, especially when your cabin mate is a performing parrot
* Recommended books

You can find Wendy at WendyNeugent.com.

Transcript of the interview
Jo: Hello, travelers. I’m Jo Frances Penn, and today I’m here with Wendy Neugent. Hi Wendy.
Wendy: Hi Jo. It’s so nice to get to talk to you.
Jo: I’m excited about this. Just a little introduction. Wendy spent a decade as part of an award-winning magic act performing on cruise ships all over the world. She traveled from Alaska to Venezuela, Bermuda to Tahiti, and many exotic ports of call in between. Now, Wendy uses her insider knowledge of cruise ship life to write entertaining cozy mystery books set on cruise ships. I think you’ve got one there as well, haven’t you? One of your books.
Wendy: Yeah, Murder Takes a Bow.
Jo: Fantastic. So this is going to be really interesting. To start off, just tell us —
How did you come to work on cruise ships in the first place? Why did you want to be part of that kind of life?
Wendy: I have a degree in theater, so I had a background in entertaining, but I was actually working at Colonial Williamsburg as a costumed tour guide straight out of college. I had moved there from upstate New York and was excited to be someplace a little warmer. I met someone who was working on cruise ships and they ended up hooking me up with a job working as a youth counselor. So that was my first contract. It was just three and four-day cruises, really quick. It was on the former Disney ship, the Premier Cruises. I ended up working my way up to being part of a review show where I had a section where I would hold up big dance cards and dance around on stage and do silly things like that. 9