Doug Smith was born to Scottish parents (his mother, Sheila, and his father, Bill) in Newfoundland, C Canada, where his (now-late) father was a pilot. He has one older brother, Bill, who is married to his sister-in-law, Doreen, and together they have two lovely daughters, his beautiful nieces Sara and Leanne. Doug was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. When he was born, his consultant told his parents that he would only live a very short time. How short? Between three and six months! After almost five decades, he is still alive. And he is not going anywhere… Unless it’s on a cruise ship, of course! Back in 2006, Doug was in a bad place. He had no job, no money, and no prospects. He decided to go back to college, not just to better himself but also to better his self-esteem, his qualifications, and his prospects of getting a job. He studied for an HNC (Higher National Certificate) in travel and tourism at Aberdeen College in the northeast of Scotland. After completing his HNC in 2007, Doug was very fortunate that he had the opportunity to work in the cruise industry. He worked for a major cruise company as a reservations cruise consultant. It involved selling cruise holidays for some fantastic cruise lines to travel agents and the general public alike. He also conducted cruise ship tours for groups of able- bodied guests, as well as those with disabilities, showing them around some of the magnificent ships when they were in port. More Info