Today marks the sixth-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. We extend our thoughts and prayers to all who lost their lives, as well as their families, friends and loved ones.
When you walk
Through a Storm
Hold your Head up high
And don’t be afraid
Of the Dark.
At the end of a Storm
Is a golden Sky
And the sweet silver Song
Of a Lark.
Walk on
Through the Wind,
Walk on
Through the Rain,
Tho’ your Dreams
Be tossed and blown.
Walk on,
Walk on with a HOPE
In your Heart
And you’ll never
Walk alone,
You’ll never,
Ever walk alone.
Walk on,
Walk on with a HOPE
In your Heart
And you’ll never
Walk alone,
YOU’LL NEVER,
EVER WALK
” ALONE “
Filed under: Catherine Zeta Jones, Tales from the Ship | Tagged: Splendor Godmother, Tales from the Ship
John,
As a person who was in NYC on September 11th 2001, and as a new yorker. I thank you on the behalf of all of us who lived through that terrible day. One to hopefully never be repeated again, anywhere around the world.
Kevin
Formerly Mr. Vanquish
An apt tribute to all those who died in this dastardly attack.
I have always thought that one of the verses of America the Beautiful summed it up best:
O beautiful for heroes prov’d
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life.
God Bless America
God Bless those who serve to protect – in this country and every country.
May God preserve and protect them as they undertake their appointed tasks and return them to their loved ones tonight.
John, all those who lost their lives, as well as their families, friends and loved ones will “NEVER EVER WALK ALONE” because we will always be there with them. WE WILL NEVER FORGET that day. The memory of that day will be with us forever. All of us that sat in front of our TVs in horror that day and saw those two towers come falling down live WE WILL NEVER FORGET.
Ed Konefe
It was a day that will never be forgotten. So many lives lost–yet so many thousands spared. The country rallied together as one that day, and party lines evaporated. We joined together as one nation, under God, Americans all, and our wounded spirits entwined into one being, even stronger than before. And those of all faiths, and those of no faith at all, joined hands and prayed for the families of those who gave their lives unwillingly–yet nonetheless they gave their lives–for those of us left behind. God has truly blessed the United States; let us never forget that day, or their sacrifice.
Rus Franklin
thanks john for taking a moment during the blog for 911, we will never forget america will never walk alone
Hi John,
Our very first cruise was on the Ecstasy. At that time, I didn’t want to fly, so we traveled 2 days by train to Miami for a 4 night cruise! I was addicted from the moment I stepped onboard and have been sailing ever since. (stopped taking trains though!) I’ve had the pleasure of cruising with you & Heidi many times. Quick note to all…if you haven’t sailed with John & Heidi yet, you are in for a big surprise. They are truly the best in the industry.
I am booked on the Freedom, 5/22/08. When I read you will not be onboard, I was very disappointed. So, when I found out the Freedom would be in Miami, with you onboard, I went and booked the 4 nighter, 11/12/07. I will just have to blame you for this!
One thing I would like to mention about Carnival. I’ve notice other cruise lines are slowly but surely removing lots of little extras in order to cut costs. It’s such a pleasure to know that Carnival has not followed along. Little touches, like robes in all cabins, iced tea & lemonade always available in the buffet, are noticed & appreciated.
I have 2 questions-
In Venice, if we decide to stay late in order to enjoy the music @ St.Mark’s Square, I understand the vaporettos run till midnight. What means of transportation are available besides walking, to get back to the ship?
Do you happen to remember Elisa D, from Italy, who worked as a purser on the Triumph for many years? We still email each other & she will always be special to us.
John and Heidi,
What a befitting blog for September 11. I don’t think any of us will ever forget what we were doing that day. No matter how much time passes lets hope we never get so complacent that we fail to recognize the bravery of the response teams and the numerous families that were impacted.
Well said!
John: We were on the Legend that week. I think that you were the CD. CCL and yourself did a great job handling a very hard situation. The free phone calls and religious services were a wonderful thing. The security was top notch at ports with extra guns you carry on the ship.
Thanks John for doing a great job.
Nice job John! Thank you!
What a sad, tough time in American history. Clearly, nobody will ever forget the events of that day.
They will always be remembered.
David
Thank you John for thinking of our country today as we go through this anniversary of a terrible event. Reading comments on cruise critic it appears that you payed tribute to the US on the day of the event and tried to normalized the day the best you could. It was great that Carnival supported the families by giving free phone calls and having the religious services to allow a person to grieve in their own way.
Tears well up as I recall 9-11-01 and the horror at watching our Twin Towers collapse. Having to explain what was happening to our children and then sending them off to school was heartbreaking and I was numb driving myself to work. Thank you for honoring those lost and your heartfelt words to those left behind. We will never forget.
Thank you for remembering 9/11. Living in Maryland we are so close to all three sites that were the scene if some much tragedy that day.
Our prayers are with those whohave been affected.
Thank you John for the beautiful words. It’s hard to believe that six years have passed since that terrible day. Time has helped many heal, but in the days leading up to today and in the days to come, emotions are stirred anew. It helps to know that the global community is bonding together together in remembrance of the many lives lost, yet also those that were saved.
Dear Heidi and John,
As always, I so enjoy reading your blogs. Great to hear that Heidi likes Starbucks mugs. My daughter, Rachel, in Chicago is a Starbucks “addict” both in collecting mugs and drinking their coffee. I will be bringing a mug to Heidi from Rachel and the thought that perhaps someday she and Heidi can exchange duplicates with one another. Also, did I read correctly that Heidi is a Piston’s fan? If so great! A very dear friend of our family is an assistant coach for the Pistons. His name is Terry Porter — and he even played for the Heat before becoming a coach!
In your blog you mentioned an excursion called the “Five Villages in Livorno.” We tried to locate a description of it on the Carnival site but without luck. We’d like to know more about it. We are getting very excited about our Oct. 4th cruise and, hopefully, getting to meet you both.
Laura
John and Heidi,
It seems so long ago and it seems like Yesterday. Thanks for the special blog today.
Hello John. Did you receive the my birthday press release. I just got home from work (Sept 11). It was not a busy day. It did have a different feel in the air though. Most of the people I had dealings today were….well, a little rude. Imagine, people being rude to the police…………Oh well…….my shift made it home. To everyone who appreciates what we do remember…….we are only a phone call away! Or in you rear view mirror!!!
Thanks for your comments John, I appreciate them!
Handcuffs To All!
Rosco P. Coltrane
Sheriff
Amen! & God Bless
Thank you John,
9/11 was a defining moment for this generation as the Kennedy assassination was 44 years ago. We’ll always remember where we were and the horror we felt at seeing the first plane and the absolute disbelief at seeing the second one. Everything changed for all the world that day and will never be the same again.
Thanks for putting up a remembrance. We must not ever forget.
George and Linda
Excellent as always. Seems hard to believe it’s been 6 years since that horrible day. We all must make the most of everyday that we get and realize it’s a wonderful gift. I have saved one of Heidi’s sunsets on my desktop so everytime I come back to my computer it is there. What a great reminder of all that we have. Thanks for those Heidi.
A couple of questions:
1) I am thinking of reserving a tux for my husband on the ship instead of carting all the extra weight of his around in a suitcase on our travels. Lord knows you would know if there were many complaints:) Do you hear many people saying that the alterations aren’t nice etc. or have your heard. He is a tad tall but a fairly normal size. If we got on the ship and it didn’t fit, is there anyone that could help, or are they altered on land?
2) When I’m reading your blogs it always sounds like you have everyone off the boat pretty early in the morning. We don’t need to catch a flight, we are going to be hanging out in Rome for a few days. What would be the latest that we would be leaving the ship for transportation purposes???
Thank you for all your great stories and hours of entertainment.
29 more sleeps, yeah.
Dayle Howell
John: That day, I was working in a Banking Centre here in Ontario, Canada, and we shut down the operation to watch CNN. I did not know at the time that a close personal friend was on contract working in Tower II. He was there when the plane hit and the ceiling tiles hit his desk. He made it out and we thank God for that. Thank you for bringing this back to the forefront of our thoughts. We must never forget!
Dave & Melanie Myers
Mary Ann: Since I have never cruised with another company I had nothing to compare my recent cruise on Freedom with. I absolutely loved it. I felt there were lots of inclusions and based on my research, that seemed to be the industry standard. I really did appreciate the iced tea and lemonde. I didn’t realize that some cruise lines didn’t include them. I learned the only cruise line to include pop was Disney.
I will tell you one thing that really bothered us was the $1.00 charge for popcorn on the Lido deck. I wonder if it is even worth the bother to charge for it. Just thinking out loud.
SewingNut
John,
Thank you for posting the lyrics from this song to mark the sixth anniversary of the tragedy. Beautiful song, it is…
John and Heidi,
Thank you for your 9-11 remembrance. It’s a tough day for all Americans as I’m sure for the rest of the free world. Thank God for our soldiers and sailors,Marines and airmen. Let us not forget that day and those you now protect this great Country.
John and Heidi,
Thought of you two today as I was thinking of that horrible, unforgettable Tuesday six years ago.
We had a group cruise scheduled with you on the Triumph sailing on Sept. 22, and had considered cancelling it. Fortunately we didn’t, and afterwards I wrote an article about that cruise… called Restoring Our Sanity. Here’s a link to it
http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/feature/Triumph-sanity.cfm
You did a masterful job on that cruise of being sensitive to what had happened, and to everyone’s fears, and those who may have felt guilty being there.
Under very difficult circumstances you were incredible that week! Showed us all why you are the best in the business; great humor, great humanity, and great leadership!! I left feeling honored to have cruised with you that week.
oh.. and by the way, along with that article are a couple of pictures of you and Heidi you may wish were lost in cyberspace. LOL
Regards,
Kuki
I agree with everybody. We will never forget 9/11 and we will never walk alone. Thanks for remembering (is that a word?) us in the blog.
I also want to ask all bloggers to send their prayers and best wishes to Barb (the bear) for today, Sept 12.
Hedi-I have watched As the World Turns for over 20 some odd years. Are you able to keep up to date with the show? Boy, could we talk about that show!
Good morning Dear John,
Thank you so much for those kind words about 9/11. And for my favorite song – I can still hear Barbra singing it. It was a day that still haunts me – everytime I sit on my terrace I can still see the smoke hundreds of feet in the air days after it happened, and then the wind changed and I actually had that horrendous smell. I have to tell you that I am as far north of the tip of Manhattan as you can get and still be in NYC. But it was visible. And this morning, when I got up, it was still dark but the twin beams of light were still burning brightly. We will never forget.
On a happier note, Barb – that is great news.
My reply to your post after the John Cleese interview is “still waiting moderation”. But I said I had forgotten to put my coffee cup down until I read the first line – then everything was kept out of the way and I laughed out loud while reading the rest. You must be completely overjoyed.
I’m glad you and Heidi received my little package. Enjoy. Thanks for posting the photos on the blog. Was that you as the social host during the contest? I didn’t even think about that.
And now for some really great news – I have finished paying for my cruise on the Imagination, completed my fun pass and have ordered by blog thingy t-shirt. Yippeeee.
So long for now, regards to Heidi,
Carol
John,
As always, well said.
Elaine
sorry John,
Thought I was emailing my question to the correct area.
I never meant to post the question I had along with 9/11 comments. I feel terrible.
Can you remove it & place it where it belongs?
Mary Ann
Hey John,
We are in Progreso. (Just trying to get used to this Mexican keyboard). We are having a great time. We have already gotten together with Wee Jimmy. He is quite a character. The look on his face when Heidi-Beth asked about Mr. Robinson was priceless.
The boys are still looking for their chance to win their ship on a stick. The ship is awesome. They are spoiling us beyond belief. Gotta get going. We will write when we get back to Florida. Thanks for all your help.
Kevin
Kuki,
Your right John just might you an offer to burn those photos but to late I got copies ready to send out. ROFLM*AO
“BIG” ED
Dear John,
I add my thanks to all the others for your remembrance of the tragic events of 9/11. Yesterday I watched MSNBC re-run the NBC Today Show broadcast in “real time” of that horrific day and it brought back every emotion as if I were seeing it for the first time. Again, thank you.
And now for something completely different – -
Now that I know that my daughter, our friend, and I will be arriving in Rome for the TA on different flights on different airlines I think we are just going to wait until we arrive and book our Sun. Oct. 28 tours at the airport. We’ll find out if the “Angels and Demons” tour is available at that time.
However – - I hate to bother you with this, but can you help us with the “Mysterious Case of the Disappearing Shore Excursion”? Awhile back you listed the tours available on Mon. Oct. 29. One of them was “Rome at Its Best”. When I just went to My Reservation and looked at the tours available for that day IT WAS GONE! Did that magician guy make it disappear??? What’s up? One of the things we three “girls” are looking forward to is the fountain at Trevi (you know, the “Three Coins in the Fountain” thingy), which is one of the stops on that tour. The only other option I see for that day which includes Trevi is the Countryside tour, which is our first choice option for when we arrive on Sunday.
Only 46 days to go!
Sue
kuki we remember that 9/22/01 cruise with john on the triumph and what a job john as the cruise director he did a great job, i remember miami so quiet and sad, remember flying very first couple of planes to go back into the air since 9/11, how sad everyone was. But America came together during that event and walked together thru it. Yesterday i took a moment and looked over at the new york skyline it is never the same without them two big towers standing tall.
Dear John, I left most of my clothes (shirts, pants, socks, etc) and a new black Zune mp3 player in a black and gray case. I left them in the hidden under-the-bed drawers in cabin 1116. The drawer is well hidden, so they might still be sitting there. My cabin steward was Rodolfo. I’m not sure what else I might have left in that drawer, but if you could find my things I would be even more grateful for everything you did for us on the cruise. Thanks much, RP.
John,
I finally had a chance to catch up on the last few blogs and what a fabulous tribute to 9/11. I also watched Oprah’s tribute to the children that lost someone from that sad, sad day and it literally brought tears to my eyes. The one thing I am proud of is my NYFD nephew who probably was in the audience while Oprah honored them all with a standing ovation. That was really nice.
Ok it’s really late so I’m going to get this slapped/posted on the blog thingy. Again thank you for that wonderful tribute.
All the best to you & Heidi
Inez & Dean
P.S Happy Belated Birthdays!
John? John! Where are you? It’s been two days since your last post. I’m having withdrawal symptoms. And I’m leaving for DC tomorrow morning thus will be sans computer ’til Sunday evening. Really need to see a word from you before I go, just to know you are “alive and kicking.” Hope all is well with you and Heidi, and that you’ll get “a round tuit” today and write to us.
Eagerly awaiting your pearls of wisdom and fun,
Myra
Hello John and Heidi,
Beautiful tribute (Thank you to Roberto as well) to 9/11. That was a tragic day that will live in all our hearts and minds forever. Isn’t it amazing how lives can be changed forever in just the blink of an eye. I remember the day vividly, I was at my job conducting business on the phone with a fireman, when he got the call. Unbelievable!!!
Surgery went well yesterday. They had to take more tissue from my leg than what I was originally told, but, I can live with that. I am having a lot of pain, but, I can live with that too. At least the cancer is removed from my body for now and that is the important thing. God has given me another chance, and I will cherish that. I hope Southern Dreams is doing well too. My prayers are still with her and everyone who suffers from this horrible disease.
May God Bless you all!
Barb
We were on the Carnival Liberty last year and are looking forward to boarding the Freedom next Saturday (Sept 22). I must admit the final push to bring us back was knowing that John would be our cruise director! We have told many stories of our wonderful trip last year, and wished we had purchased the video of the unforgetable “Play” that still makes us laugh when we think of John being thrown to the ground by the damsel in distress. Keep up the good work! Can’t wait to see you again.