John Heald’s Blog

It’s a tough job this blogging thing and tonight it was extremely difficult as I had to force myself to go to the supper club…………..actually……..lets get one thing correct …………… we must all get used to calling them steak houses now………not supper clubs. The menu is the same and the service is still the best at sea but steak house seems to represent the product better ………………..so steak house it is then.

Anyway, armed with my corporate sail and sign card (thanks Gerry for paying) I headed up to the steak house here on the Carnival Freedom which is called The Sun King ……. Steak House…………..so I could tell you all about the experience …………… tough life eh?
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Last night we held the Remember Michael party in the Dance Club. It started at 7:30pm – 8:30 pm and was scheduled at this time as it falls between the dinner sittings. I had expected it would be reasonably popular…………….I was wrong……………………half the ship turned up………..I have never ever seen a ship dance club so busy. OK, I must admit that over the years I have spent more time in the gym then I have in the ship’s discos as being dragged on the dance floor by a group of well lubricated female guests is my idea of hell. However, I did go last night and was shocked at just how many people came to pay homage to the gloved one. I said a few words on the microphone and although I had not planned what to say in advance I found myself spouting words of love and devotion for MJ…………and as I cued the DJ to play Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough and Michael Jackson’s image appeared on the multi screens……………I saw people were crying………..not just one or two but dozens and dozens………………….and as one people of all ages started to dance…………they were crying and they were dancing.
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My geography teacher’s name was Mr. Alistair…….or Glass Eye as we would cruelly call him out of ear shot…. due to the fact that he only had one eye. I also sat next close to a girl called Louise whose breasts were the size of the Alps and thus my interest in old Glass Eye’s lessons amounted to bugger all. Therefore I never had any idea of the location of the Cayman Islands until some 20 years ago when I first sailed there on the Holiday. It turned out that these islands were not where I had imagined them to be — somewhere in the Pacific — but were tucked away in the Caribbean, just below Cuba and not all that far from Jamaica.

I suspect that my ignorance was shared by many. But, these days, the Cayman Islands have become much better known thanks to the only film apart from Top Gun that the dwarfish and slightly strange Tom Cruise starred in……..The Firm. Thanks to books by people like John Grisham and others the Caymans have become very well known as an offshore financial. Most people now know that the islands are associated with international finance. Indeed, say the word banks and I imagine that quite a number of people would say “Cayman Islands” just as quickly as they might say “Switzerland” ………or “bastards that lost all my money.”
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So I had to see what all the fuss was about. Unless you have spent the last two years on Uranus or have been held captive in a cellar by terrorists waiting for Jack Bauer to rescue you will all have heard of High School Musical? And as it was one of our new Seaside Theatre movies and was playing last night ………….I went to have my first look.
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One of the things I love to do on the first day of a cruise is have a walk around the ship….no name tag on………dressed casually…………so unless someone has cruised with me before they will have no idea that I am the cruise director.

I have done this for many years as taught to me by Carnival’s greatest ever CD Gary Hunter. I do this so I can a feel for who is onboard and the demographics of our guests. One of the places I always hover around is the Information Desk or Guest Services Desk as it is now called. Here you will see and hear everything from cabin upgrade requests to people who are just lost and can’t find……well…………..anything. That was the case today but as always there was one person or in this case one couple who stole the show.
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