Origins of Eat Sleep Cruise
We are Don and Heidi, the husband and wife team behind the popular travel brand, Eat Sleep Cruise. Across multiple media channels, we’ve been sharing expert cruise tips and advice, cruise reviews, and cruise news for nearly a decade.
We took our first cruise together back in 2007 and have been hooked ever since. Having sailed on 80+ cruises with over a dozen different cruise lines since then, we’ve learned a thing or two about planning and executing the perfect cruise vacation and love sharing it all with our community.
In late 2014, we launched EatSleepCruise.com as a way to express our own unique approach to cruising and to connect with other like-minded travelers. With full-time, completely unrelated professional careers, we slowly turned our passion project into a business. Over the years, we’ve also established a presence across multiple social media platforms and launched a successful YouTube channel that now has over 100K subscribers.
Along with a team of contributors, our goal is to provide travelers with honest, accurate, and up-to-date information, so they too can embark on their journey to “sea the world, one port at a time”.
Contact us: editor@eatsleepcruise.com
Why Work With Us
Eat Sleep Cruise is a trusted travel brand with a highly engaged audience devoted to all aspects of cruising. Eat Sleep Cruise reaches millions of avid travelers each month across their website, YouTube channel, and social media platforms.
Don and Heidi are award-winning content creators who were named as one of Porthole Cruise Magazine’s Top Cruise Influencers and have served as cruise experts for USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice awards. They are trusted voices in the travel industry and have been featured on sites such as Frommer’s, Thrillist, Forbes, Good Morning America, The Washington Post, Toronto Star, and more.
Eat Sleep Cruise has partnered with several major cruise lines, tour companies, tourism boards, and hotels to showcase the respective brands and share their honest experiences. These collaborations have included sponsored content across their website, YouTube channel, Instagram, Facebook, and/or TikTok. Working directly with their partners, Eat Sleep Cruise will develop a custom campaign that aligns with marketing efforts and maximizes reach and engagement. Eat Sleep Cruise strives to always provide authentic content that resonates with their audience and only collaborates with brands that align to their travel style.
As passionate cruise travelers, Don and Heidi have sailed to various destinations across the globe on ocean cruise ships, expedition cruises, and recently took their first river cruise sharing each step of their journey. They hope to continue to showcase more cruise lines, cruise ships, and cruise destinations in the future to help their community make informed vacation choices.
When not cruising the high seas, Don and Heidi are likely rope dropping Walt Disney World. Thus, their latest business venture, Eat Sleep Disney, was a natural progression.
If you are interested in working with Eat Sleep Cruise, you can contact Don and Heidi at editor@eatsleepcruise.com. You may also request a media kit to learn more. Please note that only paid collaborations will be considered.
Heidi Bucolo
co-founder
Hi, I’m Heidi, the better half of Eat Sleep Cruise. I am a physical therapist by profession but a cruise enthusiast at heart and Princess all the time! You are probably wondering how I’ve acquired this nickname. Well, I’ve always been a bit high maintenance. I love getting dressed up for formal nights and might have a small obsession with shopping for fashionable cruise wear, especially sunglasses. However, I was formally crowned by a tour guide on a shore excursion several years ago.
While I love cruising and am a self-confessed thrill-seeker, I can not swim. While on a tour to Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica, I may have had a mini freak out. The rushing water, slippery rocks, and steep inclines, coupled with my inability to swim and not-so-ruggedness, set me over the edge. Wanting to bow out of the climb, it was then that the only female tour guide at the falls grabbed my hand and said, “Princess, Let’s go. You are coming with me”, while dragging me to the front of the line. And from that moment on, the nickname has become a running joke!
When it comes to cruising, I am always looking for the latest and greatest adventures onboard and ashore from zip lines, to go-karts, and everything in between. I also enjoy researching and planning every aspect of the cruise almost as much as the cruise itself. Some might say I’m a bit of an obsessive planner and over packer, but what do they know?
Contact: Heidi@eatsleepcruise.com
Don Bucolo
co-founder
Hi, I’m Don, the brains and voice behind Eat Sleep Cruise. As a trained research scientist, I spend my days investigating everything that has to do with cruising. Whether it is reviewing deck plans to know what there is to do on a ship to regularly price checking different cruises, I love nothing more than digging into the data. From evaluating the value of a cruise ship drink package to compiling every moment for our day-by-day cruise reviews, I use my analytical skills to provide readers with accurate and honest reviews based on our direct experiences on a cruise.
I am also the resident videographer, so don’t be surprised if you find me roaming a cruise ship early in the morning to capture video and photos of venues sans people. Along with filming, I am also the team’s video producer, so you probably won’t find me in front of the camera…much. While you may not recognize me, you have surely heard my voice if you’re one of the millions of viewers who have watched one of our videos on our relaunched YouTube channel.
When I am not cruising, you can find me curled up watching science fiction and fantasy movies and television. You can often find me listening to one of my favorite podcasts or audiobooks, even when I am on the deck of a cruise ship. I am also an amateur runner, and running a marathon is one of my (many) bucket list items.
Contact: Don@eatsleepcruise.com
Meet Our Contributors
Sarah
Bretz
Sarah has been writing about the cruise industry since 2015, and in that time has taken a dozen cruises and counting. Her favorite onboard activities include trying the casual dining options, spending time in the spa’s thermal suite, and attending the love & marriage show. You can keep up with her on Instagram at @IAmSarahJaneB.
Cyndal
Benullo
Growing up an hour from Disney World, Cyndal has been visiting the parks for as long as she can remember. Her favorite parks are Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Currently, she is an HR/Marketing Manager by day, but visits the parks almost every weekend and enjoys making new Disney memories with her husband and son, Luke, named after Luke Skywalker of course.
Brittany Chrusciel
Brittany has covered cruising professionally for more than a decade. She embarked on a world cruise as a college student aboard Semester at Sea, and never stopped sailing. Formerly a Cruise Critic editor, Brittany now writes about ships and their many destinations for various industry and consumer outlets. She is a lifelong resident of the Jersey Shore.
Theresa
Russell
Theresa reluctantly set foot on a ship sailing French Polynesia many years ago. The rest is history. She now thrives on visiting new places, learning about a destination and meeting the locals. Taking her hotel room along for the ride, Theresa continues exploring the world by sea. She hopes to get to her 7th continent soon!
