Parents Need Love: Jasmine Ramnarine’s Family’s Solution Through Global Cruising
Written By: Shamika Sanders
There’s strength in numbers. And Jasmine Ramnarine’s Black travel group Melanin At Sea proves that with over 100k members on Facebook. In between planning cruises for hundreds of melanated folk at a time, the mother of two manages to balance motherhood, taking her kids on cruises around the world and creating engaging family content with her husband Richard Ramnarine on their brand @arichandjazzylife.
Jasmine Ramnarine has always had a penchant for drama. The NYC native moved to Atlanta to build a life and got pregnant within two months. She took on a job as a middle school drama teacher where she worked until budget cuts threatened the drama program.
Then the pandemic hit and the world shut down. “It was nice 'cause I was home with my kids and I never got to experience that.” When the pandemic ended, and the 2021 school year began, Jasmine got word her position was up for elimination again. “I started working in the new school, and the new school wound up finding out that I was just a placeholder.”
So her husband made a suggestion that would change their lives. He suggested that she stay home and really dedicate the time to building their brand.
“I took it as an answered prayer,” she laughed jokingly. It's definitely great to have a supportive husband that sees your potential.”
Jasmine had already begun building an audience on Youtube (where they’ve amassed over 100k subscribers) by sharing videos of her family vacations as a way to originally keep family members feeling connected to their lives.
“We had our channel since our oldest was born. We created the channel just so that people in New York could see what we're doing in Atlanta.”
Jasmine finds joy in creating content with her family. Her daughters Reign & Royce are the center stone of her world. She focuses on creating core memories with them that translates into organic and engaging content.
“Knowing that I am responsible for two little girls lives and to make them amazing well-rounded individuals in life, and creating core memories with them really is important to me.”
Jasmine noticed the audience who gravitated to their travel content, so in 2021 she began booking as many cruises as possible. And with more content came more viewers.
Eventually, Jasmine launched Melanin at Sea – a Facebook group that allows her to bring the same joy she gets from traveling with her family to other families. It naturally led to her becoming a travel agent. Through the online community, she has been organized large groups of up to 200 people cruising at a time. The group all wear matching Melanin At Sea shirts, all of which is an extension of the family brand. Imagine 200 Black travelers on the Lido deck proving the power of Black travel agents and travelers.
While Jasmine had a knack for planning large scale events, motherhood is to thank for teaching her how to multitask. “I’ve learned to prioritize better, become more patient, strengthen showing love and empathy, and using my imagination more. The sacrifice of motherhood has truly bought me joy these past eight years.”
With Melanin At Sea growing bat a steady rate, and a flourishing Youtube page Jasmine is steering her own ship and making it look easy.