Morning All.
First of all, replies to a few messages.
Kathy and Paul – Movie Contract – OK. Which actor would play me? Let me know.
Barbara – Your message has been passed and she was nearly in tears.
Ed – The mountain range you saw on the web cam in Naples was "Mount Everest"
What a gorgeous day today in Naples. I love this time of year in Europe. Spring is my favorite season, not to hot and not to cold. Still, summer is not far away and it won’t be long before I am gallivanting around the Mediterranean beaches in my Speedo.
Today I pay homage to the 80 guests who missed the ship yesterday and arrived today in Napoli. Their flight was cancelled when a catering truck hit the wing of the aircraft on the runway at JFK.They spent the night in a hotel and arrived looking pretty miserable today. I met them in the lobby along with our fantastic pursers and we did our best to make them feel welcome.One can only imagine the frustration of having to spend your first night of your vacation in an airport hotel instead of aboard the newest ship in the world. I will be paying them special attention at the show tonight.
Today in Naples we were docked next to a U. S. Navy ship whose guns and flight deck were bristling with activity. I stood on our bridge and watched what was going on. Watching the men and women go about their daily business was an amazing sight and then I watched as many of them arrived on the flight deck, armed with their cameras, and started taking photos of the Carnival Freedom.
Why were they doing this, was it because they new it was the newest cruise ship in the world or was it because they may have been on a Carnival cruise themselves?
Then I thought that maybe, just maybe, the sailors saw our ship as a little piece of America and a flavor of what they had left behind.
Later, I was talking to one of the directors of the Port of Napoli who told me that the ship (which obviously I cannot name) was stopping in Napoli for refueling and stores before heading to the Persian Gulf!
I have been thinking about this all day. Two huge ships, both full of young men and women, both sailing the Mediterranean waters.
One taking passengers on a relaxing and exciting cruise vacation, the other taking young men and women into a danger zone. Then I wondered if all those sailors had been taking photos because the name of the ship was the very thing they were going to protect, our…………………………FREEDOM.
Goodnight bloggers
Look, friends — there are a few things you should remember before you comment. The space below is for you to post your comments about the post I've just written above. If it is something that's unrelated, please use the Ask John tab above. Now, while I may not be able to reply to your comment below, I do sit in my underpants almost every morning and read everything that is here. So feel free to comment on the comments and then if someone wants to comment on the comment to the comment then go ahead as well. Please be courteous unless the poster is French...........then you can say whatever you want.
I think sometimes we take things for granted and then you mention something like this and you realize how lucky we are to be Americans!
Message for a passenger !
A Dr.John Wright e-mailed me through my web site as he couldn’t log on here. His wife and granddaughter are onboard right now and he wanted to say hello to Christine Jose and Ashley !!
Dr. Wright wanted me to tell you John how much he appreciated your blog!
Click on “WordPress” on the bottom of this page to join in on the blog.
Let’s see…who could play you…..what do you say fellow bloggers? My husband wants a part, he’s too tall for your role ! How about a musical ?? ha!
“Mt Everest” ha , “cruisers” will be looking for the excursion………….Sherpa’s are extra !
Kathy and Paul
Hi John,
Ahhhh Freedom, yes it’s precious. My younger brother Zach just joined the Navy and is shipping out October 10th of this year. He enjoyed a cruise with Carnival last year.
I look forward to meeting you in 2008. I have a kind of interesting history with Carnival….
I met the man of my dreams and fell head over heals in love on the Sensation in 1998, traveling from Miami to San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Marteen. Since two weeks after the cruise, we have lived together in the Florida Keys and have never been apart!
We got married on the Sensation in 2001, anniversaried on the Fantasy in 2002, family reunion cruise with 50 people in 04 on the Triumph and came last year just for the fun of it on the Fantasy again.
You get the picture, we love Carnival, it seems that our cruises with Carnival fit with a lot of milestones in our lives.
Anyway, we are expecting our first child in August and are going to name it Carnival, wheather it’s a girl or boy!
(Ha! Ha! Just Kidding)
Kidding aside, we are coming in Feb next year to retake the same route we met on… San Juan, St Thomas, and St. Marteen and we look forward to meeting you and making some more Carnival memories!
Melissa & Lionel Vargas
John, thanks for taking time of your incredibly busy schedule to write this blog and to reply to our comments. Reading your replies and specially reading my name on them makes me very excited and I just wish it was July already so I can be enjoying all those wonderful things you keep writing about. Can’t wait!!!!
Jose
John, that’s a nice ship your on but it’s not that fast. You where in Naples not Nepal.
Thank you Kathy for the right answer.
“BIG” Ed
John,
I sure wish that you could tell me the name of the US Navy ship that you saw in Naples. I think that it was a ship in the class of ships that I helped design and build.
Anyway, I will see you on Freedom’s May 1st cruise.
Thanks
I really don’t know how you do it John. Not only are you the funniest Cruise Director on the high seas but you in drag on the stage is one of the most realistic routines I have ever seen (and I’ve seen a few!).
If you haven’t cruised with John, you haven’t really cruised at all is my motto.
Thanks for the picture you sent, but you really didn’t have to go that far.
When do you get the webcam?
Thanks also for recommending the black coral fist that I bought when I was on the Cayman Island trip under you, that I’m really pleased with that.
Oh, when will I see your talent again? Just get that webcam working!!
Yours Quinty
x
i am sure the soldiers were quite smitten with the name “freedom” cause that is their goal. we are retired military and i assure you we would have been on deck camera in hand john! thanks for sharing this lovely moment….
smiles, s’dreams
John,
We’re sailing with you on May 1 so we love reading your blog about life on the ship. We sailed on the Triumph with you, so we were VERY happy to find out you’re on the Freedom now! My two friends and I – all of us women – have cruised every year since 1990, but this is the first time in the Mediterranean — or anywhere other than the Caribbean, so we’re pretty excited! See you in May!! ……Judy
John,
Excellent blog. Looking forward to meeting you and cruising on the Freedom during America’s freedom week. Keep up the blogging
Thanks so much for your replies and advice re: Amsterdam. I am still trying to get a hotel booked but little availability anywhere downtown. I will just have to keep trying. I think I am going to love your city Heidi! After Amsterdam its on to Italy and the Freedom for the Sept. 22 cruise! Can’t wait to try the stroopwafels! I love your blog!
John,
The obvious actor to play you is Patrick Macnee AKA John Steed.
Hello!
I just found out about this blog thru a fellow cruiser we are sailing with on the Freedom June 6th. Two quick notes:
to lyleba: I stayed in Amsterdam last December at the A Train Hotel. It is very close to the train station and to wander downtown. I would stay there again. Just in case you haven’t found anything yet.
to John: My 19 yr old son leaves for Kuwait during the middle of our sailing in June. (lousy timing for mom) He has cruised Carnival a few times and would probably have been taking photos for all the reasons you mentioned.