Hello Blogging People – hope you are all well.
Just a few replies to some of the messages posted.
Maxwell1100 – You asked about the two people taken off last cruise on medical evacuation. I can tell you I have new news on one of them but the other was well enough to be flown by Air Ambulance to the United States. I wish them both a speedy recovery.
Southern Dreams- I will be onboard in October and I am sure I hope to be part of a dream vacation for you.
Also, have a click on this http://www.avidcruisertv.com. I noticed some people were asking questions etc about my start with CCL, etc. Well here is an article I did with a great friend of mine and one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry, Mr. Ralph Grizzle. Ralph has a fantastic web site and magazine which I encourage all of you to read. Included in the one above is an article about me which you may want to print and throw darts at. Thanks Ralph for the great article, let’s do another soon together mate.
Today the ship was docked in Izmir, Turkey. The morning weather was much the same as Greece the day before with a crisp and sunny start with a high afternoon temperature of 16 degrees Celsius. For those of you sailing in July and August you can expect the ports in Greece to be over 40 degrees Celsius (100 degrees in the other temperature Fahrenheit), anyway it’s going to be bloody hot!
This evening I hosted the Repeaters Party for the 1300 passengers who have cruised on a Carnival “Fun Ship” before. This involves dancing to the Charlie Rounds Big Band and complimentary canapés and cocktails. During the party we show a video of the Past, Present and Future of this great company. I have seen this video many times but for some reason a though struck me tonight as I watched.
At this point I am sure some seasoned cruises will be thinking, O.K., here comes another Cruise Director story or joke and sometimes (ok most of the time) you may be correct. However, since starting this blog thing I seem to be constantly thinking of things that my reader may enjoy.
Anyway, I digress. Back to the video. It starts with a welcome from Carnival’s President and C.E.O. Bob Dickinson and a similar welcome from The Carnival Corperation Chairman and C.E.O. Micky Arison. The video then shows a clip of Carnival’s founder and Micky’s Dad Mr. Ted Arison. He was speaking about the past and how Carnival’s first ship The Mardi Gras ran aground on her maiden voyage on a sand bank. Not a great start to his vision of making cruising available to Joe Public, but his dream soon became a reality and from that one ship sailing to the Bahamas here we are some 35 years later sailing a 110,000 ton cruise ship to Istanbul Turkey. I remember the Mardi Gras as do many still working with Carnival and we have all watched this company grow into what it is today, The Most Popular Cruise Line In The World. We have had some bumps in the road along the way but if we can survive docking our first ship on a pile of sand of the Miami coast to having 21 ships with more on the way I guess we must be doing something right.
I never got to officially meet Mr. Ted Arison. I was on the bridge as the Cruise Director of the Carnival Destiny when it was the newest and largest ship in the world and I remember him sitting on a stool calmly watching as everyone ran around preparing the ship for its first cruise. I wish I had discovered the nerve to go over and introduce myself and shake his hand but I never did.
Tonight though when I watched the video tribute at the Repeaters party I silently said thank you to Mr. Ted Arison for starting a company that allowed me, an overweight, ugly, everyday guy be a Cruise Director and have his own blog that is read as of today by 75,000 people.
If he could see me now.
Goodnight Bloggers
Filed under: Tales from the Ship | Tagged: Tales from the Ship
John,
Will be on the Freedom the first two weeks in July. What kinds of things do you have going on at night. Do you have a kareoke contest etc?
See John, you are popular! I said in another comment that Carnival has the best staff! I hope to get to meet you one day!
Julie
PS I hope you have ran into Martina ( Posh Dining room) She is a wonderful server! She ( and the whole staff of the Carnival Spirit) hooked us on cruising! May 17th, 2007 it will be one year since Randall ( hubster) and I took our first cruise. As of right now, we have 2 more booked for a total of 4. Next up is the Victory in September then Freedom in N0vember 2008.
Good Morning John
Another great story the more I read your blog the more im looking forward to meeting you and have a great time in Dec. But I still would like to learn more about ther new things on the ship. and could you tell me how far the show are booked . Being a vet. and sence Dec. 7 will mark the 35 year I inlisted in the army. i cant think of a better ship then the Freedom
Fangclaw
P.S. Keep the storys coming and remeber all our troops now serveing in Harms way
A Great Life!
Morning John and Heidi. Just got up, it’s in the A.M. here in Los Angeles. I’m going to read your article after I finish “blogging”.
I think you two have a wonderful life not only with the travel aspect, but with the cross section of “folk” you meet not only onboard but off! That must me very educational and highly entertaining at times I’m sure ! Yes, a very great life!!
I watched the docking in Izmir yesterday. We are interested in the weather since we will be sailing with you in May. Looked nice and calm.
Guess we will be seeing the Carnival video at the Repeaters Party as this will be our 4th Carnival Cruise…..our 3rd in just a years time! Last year we were on the Spirit in Alaska …FABULOUS. …and the Liberty in Aug… Grand Med. ….even more FABULOUS! John, were you on the Pride in ‘04 ? I know, just beginners to some of you seasoned cruisers!!! We’re working on it !!
Kathy and Paul
would he be thinking “ahhh, here’s the spermofthedevil.hell now?” ha ha ha ha ha
see you in october john!!!
smiles, s’dreams
Hi John
I am enjoying you daily news its very addictive. We are cruising with you on 13th May 07. With my husband, dad & brother we are all getting rather excited. Dad will be 79 while we are on the cruise, its his first cruise as well so I am spending loads of time trying to explain what its like. Your blogs help as they make it all more friendly. I read somewhere that you come from Essex, England.
If that is correct then we have something in common as we herald from that part of the world as well. Look forward to meeting you soon, keep up the good work and thanks for the reports. Lesley
Hello John,
Really enjoy reading your blog. My husband George and I are doing a back to back on 6/6/07 and 6/18/07. We are celebrating our 33rd anniversary on 6/8/07 which I think will be the first formal night. These will also be our 11th and 12th Carnival cruises. Love being Platinum!
Have heard many great things about you so we are looking forward to meeting you in a couple of months.
Keep up the blogging so we can live vicariously until June.
Linda
Hey John,
What University did you study your degree in Political Science at?
When Ralph says ‘ One of your vices is cigars what other vices is he referring to?
How much did it cost you to get 10,000 T-shirts with your face on?
Is it true that 9,999 of them became polishing clothes for the maintenance crew on board?
Hi John, I am really enjoying reading your blog. My husband and I have sailed on the Legend, Triumph, Liberty and Tropical. We are sailing on the Freedom August 29. We both look forward to seeing you again.
Jo and Dave Myerly
Hi John,
What a fantastic job you’re doing on the blog! Your day seems busy enough without taking time to keep us all informed about your travels, but we DO appreciate it!
Can’t wait to sail on the Freedom. I just blocked 30 cabins for the Jan 26/08 Eastern Caribbean cruise. It will be a fundraiser for the Multiple Sclerosis of Canada. Will you be on the sailing? Keep up the good work!
ps. I’ll bring the Fawlty Towers tapes, perhaps we can show them on the big screen!
Jim, Bowmanville, Ont. Canada
I will be sailing the Freedom next Augoust (2008)? Will you be the CD? We had you on the Liberty in Europe and thought you were great.
Hello John,
It just goes to show you that, at 75,000 readers, cruising is a VERY popular way to see the world! I feel that in such a short period of time, this is just the “tip of the iceberg” (sorry about the whole Titanic reference!). There are many of us who look forward to reading about your life on board Carnival cruise ships. I do hope that one day soon we will have the pleasure of having you as a CD again. Keep up the blog. Remember, if you get tired, or come up short on ideas, your wife can jump in and take over! Perhaps that way we can get a more “in depth” look into one of the best cruise directors on the seven seas… John Heald! Keep up the excellent updates. It makes waiting for our upcoming cruise easier to take!
Lance & Ilda
Hello John
It is 915pm here in Kentucky and we are at home watching the second game of the NCAA final four. I love reading your blog. It makes me feel like we are already there even though we are 67 days away from the 6/6 sailing. My favorite entry so far has beem the one about the US navy ship. I have a couple of questions for you. What excursion do you reccommend in Messina Sicily? I have already booked one but may change my selection before the sail date. We have also booked our pre and post cruise in Rome with Carnival. Do you know anything about the hotels that we may be staying at like name,location or anything that you may have heard from other passengers about their stay? Have a good day and keep blogging.
kentucky cruisers
Kena and David
John,
My wife and I have really enjoyed reading your blog…we will be cruising with you on the 22 Sep cruise, we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary. I really enjoyed your comments about the naval ship docked next to you in Naples…it hit close to home with me, I retired after 30 years in the U.S. Navy. Maureen and I will be looking forward to meeting you in September.
Cheers,
Mike Lynch
Wow a fan club cruise didn’t even know about it, wish we were part of it. We would have been there for sure
John,
I am astonished you never got an opportunity to Meet Mr. Arison, considering your tenor and time with Carnival.
I too, never had the chance, but have had the opportunity over the past several years to hear many stories about Mr. Arison and his uncanny business sense. While there were many rocky roads, he was without a doubt a visionary and created a model that has stood through the times.
Perhaps you have met or know my friend (who in his own right has a story worthy of many editions) Zev Buffman? When he speaks of Mr. Arison he does so in a reverance that undoubtedly comes from respect and admiration, which after reading your words tonight, recalled the same thoughts.
Keep up the great work.
J. Todd Inman
Gee John. I’m blushing. Thanks for what you said about me and my publication. And as for your offer to do another article together, I’m ready. Congratulations on such a successful blog. I guess you have no more downtime now.
Hi John, not sure if this will be a repeat to you or not as we sent an earlier email.
We have enjoyed reading your blog this past week as we prepare for our trip on the Freedom, this Sat.
It seems the weather has been cool, do you think we should pack shorts? See you in Rome.
Thank you, George and Char
John & Heidi- wow- I really have enjoyed reading your bloggy thing each day. We’re booked for August 29th and reading your blog helps us plan the details of our cruise. Selecting the shore excusions is not an easy task in that there are so many great alternatives. I do have a specific question regarding our cruise…
Our cruise spends a full day in Rome on September 9th – which is a Sunday- so the Vatican-related tours are not operating. Do you have suggestions on “cool” tours that operate on Sundays? Lucky for us… we are arriving a day early so we can visit the Vatican Museum and St. Peters the day before embarkation. Hope to meet you in August!
John,
Thank you for your reply. Yes, we have resv. at the Supper Club for two nights. My family (wife, myself, two sons, brother and sister in-law and mother and father in-law, yes I deserve a medal) can not wait to be on the ship.
See you soon, but not soon enough.
Jerry
DAD????
OK, I have to spill…. Mom (Rebecca) told me about this one week love (?) she had that was so strong she could never find another man that made her feel as good, and never got married.
Just joking
Jerry Friedman