Can you tell us how long you have been working for Carnival Cruise Lines? What year did you start and what is your current position?
I started 6 years ago in 2001 with Carnival. My current position is 2nd purser
Where are you from and what is the best thing about living there?
I live in Portugal the best thing about living there is that it is still a quiet peaceful country and the food and the people actually everything is wonderful
Are you married and tell us about your family?
I am not married at the moment. In my family I have 1 brother and 1 sister both my parents are retired.
What does your job involve? Describe what you do each day.
My job involves customer service, guest relations, hospitality and providing information to guests and resolving any issues that the guest might have.
What is the best thing about working on a cruise ship?
The best thing is meeting new people with diverse backgrounds, culture. Also getting to travel to these beautiful places and overall the sea life experience.
What is the hardest thing about working on a cruise ship?
The worst thing I found is being on duty 24/7 also being from the family especially on the holiday seasons i.e. Christmas and birthdays.
Please tell us your favourtie things?
Food This is a Portuguese dish called “Bacaltiau a brat” — it is a typical codfish.
Movie My favorite movie is The Bridges of Madison County
Music I like all music except heavy metal and trance. (note from John: What the heck is Trance Music?)
Favorite way to relax I like to listen to music
If you could have any job on the ship for a day what would you like to do and why.
I would love to be a production singer because I love to sing and dance also being in the spotlight. I also love the stage atmosphere.
Favourite port.
My favourite port is Venice and Rome because they are just beautiful.
If you could met one famous person in the world who would it be and why.
The one famous person is Dalai Lama because it would be interesting to discuss life philosophy with him.
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Very interesting interview.
I’ve always wanted to go to Portugal and the codfish dish sounds pretty good.
great interview, a very important possition that does not alway get the credit due to it.
(have no idea what trance music is, not sure I want to know, I’ll just stick with classical and southern gosple)
John,
I’m kind of old to comment on current music, but I think “Trance” is the kind where it seems one note or beat goes on and on and on and on and on and on and…you get the idea. Eventually, one finds oneself in a trance without a thought in the world (or the mind). It may also be known as “electronica” or “techno.” At any rate, if you want to forget your troubles, your name, your location or anything else, just listen to this genre for 30 minutes and you’ll be putty in the hands of the first personality you encounter. It could probably qualify as a “date r— drug.” Just give me that old time rock and roll!!!!! At least I knew what I was doing and why.
John,
I noticed you spelled favorite wrong, for this you must be ignorant! (just kidding, reference to the days ahead blog)
I just returned from a 7 day western caribbean cruise on the Carnival Legend (along with my husband and 2 other couples). What a wonderful trip! And being able to go to two ports that we had never been to before, Belize and Isla Roatan, made it even better.
I wanted to tell you about one of the staff members on the ship that we all thought was wonderful… Yusef, our Maitre d’. He was great! He made a point to introduce himself on the very first night. Everyone night when we made announcements he would always apologize for “interupting our meals and conversations.” And he just seemed like a fun guy. He was always around when the dining staff was performing and even had an a curly black wig (with side burns) and big glasses a couple of nights. He reminded us of Borat, even though we weren’t sure if that was what he was going for our not. But we all loved him. He was one of the highlights of our dining experience each night. He always made us smile and I wanted to share
The design of the blog is getting better all the time. Articles separated, photos looking good, links to goto or to skip parts.
Keep up the great work.
Hello John & Heidi,
It was interesting reading the interview with Florencia Pereira. My wife, Ilda is (maiden name Pacheco), Portuguese. There are two things I can vouch for. One, Portuguese women are very beautiful! My wife has a very exotic look, very much like the the beautiful lady in the photo. Two, Portuguese cuisine is absolutley incredible. The correct spelling of the dish she mentioned is “Bacalhau a Braz” It is a traditional Portuguese dish usually prepared with “dried, salted codfish.”
In our hometown of New Bedford, Massachusetts, we have a very large Portuguese community (LOTS of Pereira’s). Needless to say, there are many fine Portuguese restaurants, bakeries and markets that offer up some of the most delectable things you have ever eaten! It was great for my wife to see someone onboard from her country. Keep up the great personal interviews. It gives us a peek into the backgrounds of the many individuals that make our Carnival vacations so diversified and special!!
Florencia Pereira,
To you and all the pursars we thank you for putting up with us the passenger’s some of us like to harrass you about why the ship needs to rock and other because there is something wrong in their mind but everything is just the way it should be. We thank you, for doing what you do every day with a smile and a great attitude even if some people are total putz’s.
And John I belive trance music is a style of electronic music that developed in the 1990s. Trance music is generally characterized by a tempo of between 130 and 165 bpm, featuring repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and down throughout a track. It often features crescendos and breakdowns. Sometimes vocals are also utilized. The style is arguably derived from a combination of largely electronic music such as ambient music, techno, and house. As this music is almost always played in nightclubs at popular vacation spots and in inner cities, trance can be understood as a form of club music. But i could be wrong, but I bet you a cigar i’m not. best to all
Kevin
John,
Great interveiw. I sure would not want to be a purser at all. I can imagine how many angry people she has to deal with all them time. I think that would be a lot of pressure on her shoulders. I bet she hears more complaints than most other Carnival employee’s combine (except for you).
When you do the interviews, please leave that last question in…I always enjoy reading who is the one famous person they would like to meet!
Susan
Great interview. On-call 24/7 takes a very special person. Good luck in your career.
Kevin – Of course you’re not wrong, you copied that straight out of Wikipedia!
Dear John
Not sure i am writing this in the correct section but hope it reaches you, I would just like to say a big thank you, we sailed on the Sep 10th cruise, This was are first cruise with Carnival and had a wonderful time your shows are very amusing and you have a wonderful sense of humour, i am still following your blog and see congratulations are in order, Well done and well deserved. I hope one day we will sail again on one of your ships. i hope every thing is a great success for your best friend(who i have forgotten his name)
Tim Martin Hastings
When asked what you do you responde din opart, “resolving any issues that the guest might have,” without the kindeness and patience our travels would have been fraught with stress! each and every time we needed help a purser provided us with it. from returning our lost camera to excursion or direction help. we may use your services more than we should, but where in the world can we meet so many kind people? Thanks for being there to make our special time.