How a Former Educator Redefined his Passion for Travel

By Charles Baran  

The cruise industry is booming! The dark clouds cast by COVID-19 have lifted and ships are disappearing out of ports faster than tickets to Madonna’s last concert.  According to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) 35 million passengers will set sail in 2024. Forbes magazine states that the global cruise market is expected to grow 11% from 2022 to 2028. Thanks to ZOOM and Google Meet, staples of the post-pandemic work environment, countless numbers of people have found new career opportunities and creative ways to earn a living. Enter thirty-five-year Florida resident Mark Strauss. In 2021, he decided to set sail on a new venture and start Island City Travel, fulfilling his twin desires of exploring points unknown and helping people navigate the daunting task of planning a vacation.  I recently met with Mark to find out more about his exciting new life.

Charles Baran: Hi Mark! Tell me how you got into the travel business.

Mark Strauss: I moved to South Florida for a teaching job in 1989, taught for a while, then became a school administrator. Finally, I became a district administrator overseeing anywhere from 15 to 25 elementary principals.  It was a great run and I did well. But given all the changes politically with the schools and with the state, changes that I didn’t agree with, I decided to take early retirement in 2021 and leave before I got into trouble. Let’s just say I’m not shy in expressing my opinions. I needed a plan for what I’d do next, because I’m not the type to sit around. Fortuitously, my next-door neighbor, who owns a travel company, planted a seed when she said to me, “You are always helping everyone with their travel plans, you travel yourself so well, why aren’t you doing anything with this?” The conversation evolved from there and that’s how I started Island City Travel under her host agency, Prestige Travel Systems. I work primarily with the LGBTQIA+ community, but I’m more than happy to help anyone who wants to book a trip through me.

Charles Baran: Did you travel a lot when you were in your former role as an educator?

Mark Strauss: Absolutely. I have big time wanderlust. I have a map hanging downstairs in my living room of all the places I’ve been and the places that are dream destinations that I still want to go to.  I’ve been on six of the seven continents so far and I’m hitting the seventh continent, Antarctica, this December with a spectacular cruise.

Charles Baran: Antarctica! How exciting. Tell me more.

Mark Strauss: It sails from the very bottom of Argentina. First, you fly to Buenos Aires. Once in Buenos Aires, everything will be covered by the tour operator, Atlas Ocean voyages. I like Atlas for a number of reasons, one of which is that the CEO is a member of our community. Then there’s a charter flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city which sits at the Strait of Magellan and the Drake passage. From there you board a first-class ship which crosses the Antarctic circle which I’m really excited about.

Charles Baran: How big is the ship?

Mark Strauss: It’s called a luxury yacht. It’s 178 passengers at max capacity.

Charles Baran: It’s very small and exclusive.

Mark Strauss: That’s very important with Antarctica actually. Antarctica has a lot of regulations in place for environmental reasons, if the ship has more than 200 passengers, they are limited to where and how often they can disembark. If the ship has over 500 passengers, they are not able to disembark anywhere on the continent or the peninsula.

Charles Baran: What cities are in Antarctica?

Mark Strauss: There aren’t any!

Charles Baran: Where and how do you disembark?

Mark Strauss: The ship will anchor offshore. Then you use Zodiac boats, like rafts, to get from the ship to the shore.

Charles Baran: What should someone expect when they step off the raft?

Mark Strauss: Penguins! You’ll be walking around on snowpack, or ice. The ship provides you with boots to wear, and a winter parka. You get to keep the parka but have to give the boots back!

Charles Baran: Is there any form of civilization? A CVS? A 7-Eleven?

Mark Strauss: There’s nothing like that. It’s exploring the wilderness. It’s an expedition and they call it that for a reason. There are people who live part of the year in Antarctica but they are all scientists. Most likely we won’t see them.

Charles Baran: What will the weather be like incase some of our OutClique readers are interested in going.

Mark Strauss: In the Southern hemisphere, the seasons are opposite of ours. So going in December, you’re actually going in the summer. December and January are typically the warmest months. It’s not going to be beach weather, but you’re not going to freeze either. It will probably be in the 40s.

Charles Baran: Will there be any danger of icebergs?

Mark Strauss: No. These ships are actually built for expedition cruising. Atlas has three ships in their fleet and all three are going to be in Antarctica at that time. We’re going to be on the World Voyager.

Charles Baran: How many nights is it?

Mark Strauss: It’s 11 nights on the ship, and 1 night in the hotel in Buenos Aires prior. The hotel night is included in the package.  I’m personally going to go down a few nights earlier because I love Buenos Aires.

Charles Baran: Do you go on all your vacation packages?

Mark Strauss: Not all. I didn’t go on the “Bad Moms” cruise, as it was a woman’s event, and I said, let the women have fun! Men were welcome to go and there was one man who did go.

Charles Baran: You also have a New Year’s cruise happening. Tell us about that.

Mark Strauss: It’s called New Year’s at Sea and it’s a 6-night cruise. We leave on December 29th and get back January. 4th. It’s longer than the one we did last year. Miss Bouvee is the host!