Editor's note: Daytona Times/Florida Courier Publisher Charles W. Cherry II sailed on the Tom Joyner Foundation's 'Fantastic Voyage 2005' week-long Caribbean ocean cruise with wife Lisa Rogers-Cherry, J.D., brother Dr. Glenn Cherry, and sister-in law Dr. Valerie Rawls-Cherry. This is the eighth of a series of stories about the cruise.

We are now on our way back to San Juan, Puerto Rico, the port from which we departed a long seven days ago. I knew it was the last day of a great vacation, and it took some mental effort to stay focused on the last day, rather than mentally returning back to work prematurely. My energy level is down. If this cruise was a day longer, the crew would find me unconscious on the pool deck from sheer exhaustion.

The shipboard activities are just as wide-ranging and intense as they have been all week. There's Donna Richardson's daily exercise team, the 3-on-3 basketball tournament, speed dating for singles, live music on the pool deck, even teeth whitening and weight loss seminars, all before 11 a.m.

The pool deck became the focus of attention at noon, with a Royal Caribbean-furnished BBQ picnic featuring corn, baked beans, and all the usual fixings. Most Black folks I know who eat barbequed ribs are very picky about how they taste, and rib cooking is considered to be a serious skilled art in most of Black America. It was a tribute to Royal Caribbean's cooks that I didn't see too many ribs being thrown away with meat still on the bones.

After the pool deck picnic, I stayed on the deck to shake my tailfeathers for a while, before heading off to get random pictures and interviews of Joyner cruisers who wanted to discuss their cruise experience. Lisa went to the 'Girlfriends' Coffee Talk' runway fashion show, which used Joyner cruisers of all shapes and sizes, including our photographer Delroy Cole, as models. J. Anthony Brown also debuted his showcase of men's fashions.

There was also the continuation of a live auction of great Black art that occurred off and on during the week, which we unfortunately had to bypass because it just wasn't in our tight household budget. As we walked around the ship, everyone noticed the great paintings on display in the main corridors. Many of the artists, whose art is readily recognized among Black Americans, were also Joyner cruisers. The prices, including elaborate framing and matting, were as low as I have ever seen them for such high-quality paintings. If you are a Black art collector, or if you like to pick up a few high-quality pieces for display, this was the place to be.

Most Black southerners I know are familiar with BC Powder, used to treat headaches and fever. As a child, I remember my grandmother sending me to the local store in Desoto, GA to get her some BC. Well, BC was sponsoring auditions for a new set of 'regular people' commercials that showed real people doing their everyday jobs and praising BC Powder for relieving their headaches.

I took a few minutes to write a script which showed me running around my office trying to coordinate our newspaper and radio operations, and fussing with church folks who want me to print or broadcast their information for nothing. (Now that will give you a headache!) The punch line: "When Black folks want me to do everything for them for free, I take BC Powder for fast relief, and I throw them out of my office. Just like that, my headache's gone!"

Alas, by the time I showed up at the audition, there was a waiting list. I missed my shot at TV stardom. I spent the rest of the day hanging around the pool deck girlwatching with my fraternity brothers of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.

Tonight's theme: Toga Night. There had been a toga-tying seminar earlier in the day I wished that I had attended. Men in various parts of Africa wear togas made of yards of hand-made kente cloth that rests on one shoulder. Years earlier, I had participated in African fashion shows, and learned to tie them. For some reason, I got brain lock during the cruise and couldn't tie my kente toga correctly. Lisa had me safety-pinned up so tight that I was walking like a Japanese geisha in a tight gown and high heels, six inches at a time.

There was also a special reception for the premiere of Black Hollywood director John Singleton's new movie, Hustle and Flow, starting Terrence Dashon Howard (who is on the cover of the latest Essence magazine). I think Howard is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood today. In every movie I have ever seen him in, whether he was a good guy or villain, I have believed he was whomever he portrayed. To me, believability is the mark of a true actor, no matter the role.

Sorry, John and Terrence, but Lisa and I weren't feeling Hustle and Flow, just from the 'trailer', or commercial. The movie is about Howard, a pimp, who finds redemption through rap music. My Afrocentric mindset kicked in as it always does, even on vacation.

Do we really need another gritty urban movie that you know, even before you see it, will probably include graphic language, drug use, sex, dysfunctional Black male-female relationships, etc. that perpetuate the fictional 'savage Black man' stereotype that the world already believes? Do you support such an effort by your presence, even if the movie is free, and it is a project of a director and actor you like? I say no, because the negative images, which are distributed worldwide, are too detrimental, and tend to overwhelm even a great story of redemption.

I remind myself, again, that I am still on vacation, and not to get too deep into 'angry Black man' mode. We head to the promenade to join in the toga party and parade.

I don't have to tell you again how seriously some folks take the costume aspect of this cruise. There were some folks who looked like they just walked off the floor of the old Roman Senate from 2000 years ago, with custom-designed togas and gold-painted olive leaf garlands they wore as crowns. In contrast, there were other Joyner cruisers who took sheets off their beds and wrapped themselves in it as best they could.

Lisa went in early as usual, leaving me in my favorite spot, Jesters disco, with a last night Long Island Iced Tea prepared in advance and waiting for me by a bartender who had gotten to know me very well. I was more tired than usual; taking six-inch strides in a tight toga was tough. How women walk in skin-tight gowns on high heels is beyond me.

I'm in at 1 a.m., early for me. Time to pack. Remember my cheap flea market bag? The Puerto Rican baggage handlers have wrecked it. We've learned that you always return with more than you bring, so I brought an empty duffle bag for excess items. I fit my stuff in both bags, tie up the beat-up bag, pray for their safe return, and hope for the best.

The final morning came much too soon. The ship was bustling with folks who were filling out customs forms and were lined up to pay the credit card 'piper'. Royal Caribbean's shipboard card makes carrying cash onboard unnecessary, but it makes it so easy for you to blow through cash because you never see it coming out of your pocket. (I'm sure that's by design.) I could see the shock on some Joyner cruiser's faces as they reviewed their bills.

We said our goodbyes to favorite crewmembers and Joyner cruisers. I could feel my mind resetting itself back to the American 'hurry-hurry' work-oriented lifestyle. We flew back to Fort Lauderdale with the same colleagues we met on the way. When we got back, the cruise began almost immediately to fade into a happy memory as we re-embraced our regular reality of children, work, housekeeping, and bills.

I immediately sat down to collect my thoughts for this series, and make arrangements with Delroy to get high-resolution digital pictures for these stories. As all our relatives and friends interrogated us about the cruise, there were always the same questions: are you going back next year?

Would you ever go again?

Easy questions to answer. Our 2006 cabin is already booked.

Next week: The conclusion. What's the cost?