Thinking Of The Future……A Blog Survey Thingy

October 2007
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118 Responses

Greg Baldasarri, on October 20, 2007 at 2:19 pm Said:

Thank you, my friend, for another glimpse of your life on board the Carnival Freedom.

I suspect that all your loyal blog thingy fans will understand the need for you to bypass answering the comments. I find it amazing that you’ve managed to answer ANY of them considering how remarkably busy you are.

We’re fortunate, indeed, that you’ve been as generous with your time as you have.

Please pass along my greetings and well wishes to SouthernDreams and her husband. If you have a moment, an update on your mate, and our friend, Alan would be greatly appreciated.

As always, my ‘howdies’ go out to Heidi and Roberto.

Thanks again.

Greg

PS… I’m working on my homework assignment now!

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Lauren, on October 20, 2007 at 2:31 pm Said:

LIKE:
1. Value
2. Destinations
3. Entertainment

IMPROVE:
1. Service
2. Food
3. Out-dated cabins

DREAM:
Like stepping on a Cunard ship with all fine food, service and luxery – but actually being affordable for the common person.

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nanetteali, on October 20, 2007 at 2:59 pm Said:

Hola John!!
Sorry about your fingers LOL sorryyyyyy
Dont worry about not answering , we are your friends and we know you are there for us even if we dont hear from you although Im going to miss “talking with you” Y Alan???
As you wish here are my 2 cents on the subject:
Why do I continue to cruise with Carnival;
1. Value for the money********
2.Fun and entertainment
3.Friendliness and service of the crew(personal touch)
Top three areas for improvements:
AHHH To be sincere we had booked another cruise for the Med this year, (not the Freedom but one from the line whose name im not going to mention) we changed our reservation to the Freedom(Thank God YES!) because it was much cheaper(again value for the money). When we did I think our biggest worry was the quantity of passengers on the ship. Oh yes, we were worried about lines, tendering and simply going in and out of the ship. Everything was great but you were the Cruise director John I dont know if on the other ships….what I mean dont over stuffed the ships. When we went on the Holiday they put and extra bed on a cabin for 2 and extra bed on a cabin for 4.On the Ecstasy our cabin steward made our bed at 10:30 pm the first night because the ship was extra full(more beds to do).
The other thing you have already improved a 100% and thats the food. At least on the Freedom it was wonderful. Maybe you need to have more people on the Cafeteria on the Lido bringing things when we sit down and we forget. You know how many times my husband had to stand up to get things? And these are large places when he came back the food was cold.One thing I did like on the other ship(&^&& seasLOL)is that they have people assigned to every table and they didnt let me stand up again, once i sat one will come and ask what you need, another drink, spoon, dessert,syrup even they could get you sodas from the bar etc,etc. I like that.I dont remember anything else I dont know if I am spoiled because I only remember my last cruise with you and it was perfect.
What I would dream to see on a ship??
1.I love the big screen every ship should have one.
2.You know this already but what makes my vacation is not the facilities that the ship has(although my husband thinks your pools should be bigger) Its how they make me feel, is the friendliness, personal touch.Is feeling that Im not another one in the mass and that nobody cares who I am. Make the ship feel small even if it humongus.The ship should have a heart not be a flashy hollow structure.Like you say , made you feel at home and when you are not there you miss it.You dont skating rings or climbing walls if you have this.
You have that on your ship John,in many ways. Now you have to make others do it.
This is my humble and sincere opinion.I hope it helps.

Reply
"BIG" ED, on October 20, 2007 at 3:04 pm Said:

1. TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL
(1) Friendly casino staff
(2) Set dinning times
(3) 8 cruises and no problems yet

2. TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT
(1) Like land casinos free drinks WHILE PLAYING or at least the pit boss buying a drink now and then. You can’t comp us a room, a dinner or a show we already paid for them. Well I guess you could comp a Super Club dinner.
(2) Precruise booking of spa appointments.
(3) Robes that are “THESE FIT THE REST”

3. YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD
I would like to be able to see the Great Lakes while on board a Carnival ship. I would like to see the many possible great ports of call on the Great Lakes while on a Carnival ship. It would be GREAT for Carnival to be the first MAJOR cruise line on the Great Lakes.

“BIG” ED Konefe

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Nico R, on October 20, 2007 at 3:09 pm Said:

John,

Don’t feel bad about not being able to respond to comments/question anymore; personally, I dont know how you have been doing the blog and being a cruise director at the same time! Additionally, I am sorry about that one blogger who left that rude and assertive comment about not answering things. He/She obviously is one of those people who do not understand how much work you have to do and how busy your job is.

I hope the Atlantic crossing goes well, and you get everything situated and prepared for Todd to board as you hoped for. Make the best of your last few weeks on the Freedom, and I wish you the best. As soon as I see question/comment answers have resumed, I will write you back once more; I dont want to bombard you with comments since I see your running low on time.

I wish you and Heidi the best! See you in July.

- Nico R

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Nico R, on October 20, 2007 at 3:11 pm Said:

ALMOST FORGOT TO DO THIS FOR YOU…

1.TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL
1)The service 2) The value 3) The fun atmosphere

2. TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT
1) Honestly, I know that everyone tries their best to make each and every cruise the best one for the customer, and that being said, I have no areas that I can think of which are in need of improvement.

3. YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD
1) Possibly a second specialty restaurant
2)SeaSide Theaters Fleetwide

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cruisingeagle, on October 20, 2007 at 3:29 pm Said:

Hi John,

How are your fingers? How is Alan?

Please don’t apologize for not being able to answer all the comments. I read the blog because it allows me to cruise daily. The blog also allows me to visit places I have not had the opportunity to visit yet. The blog also makes the time pass quicker while waiting to go on my next Carnival cruise (Imagination, July, 2008). I do not consider or expect you to be my personal vacation planner or problem solver. You have a job as cruise director and Carinval hires other woderful people to take care of other things. Now, if I was on the Carnival Freedom and had a problem I thought you should know about, then I would turn to you with the problem. Just keep giving us insight to the wonderful world of cruising.

The top 3 reasons I love Carnival: a great value, everything is included, close to home ports.

Top 3 areas where Carnival needs improvement: it is hard to improve on a great product but I would like to see more clearly defined areas on the open decks and other public areas with signs that clearly say no smoking. Have an area for the smokers, but would like an area to sit in the sun and not have to worry about someone coming up later and sitting near me and smoking. It is really nice that the dining rooms and the main show lounge are non smoking. I would just like a deck that is non smoking. Also, I would like to see the ships change their home port every couple of years or for the itinerary to change every couple of years. We have sailed on the Holiday and the Fantasy (Mobile and New Orleans are about 100 miles from where we live). Love sailing out of these 2 ports but would like to do so again on a different ship or on a different itinerary. I know there is a lot involved, but the itineraries do change at a moments notice during hurricane season. With a little advanced planning, these ships could do some different itineraries.

Enjoy getting ready for your much needed vacation. Will be looking forward to your blogs and it is okay if they come only every few days.

Have a great day.

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Greg Baldasarri, on October 20, 2007 at 4:11 pm Said:

My friends John and the Remarkable Roberto…

My Mont Blanc is out of ink but my computer is chock full of available ones and zeros.

Here’s my list:

What I love:

I love the people of Carnival. The crews are always willing to go the extra mile to make my experience memorable.

I love the décor. Joe Farcus does an AMAZING job designing the interiors of the ships, especially given the restrictions placed upon him by the physical limitations of being on a ship!

I love the food. I have never been disappointed by the food. On rare occasions, I’ve had to tolerate a line but then with 3,000 people all trying to get breakfast at the same time it’s understandable. One additional note… Sur Mer type restaurants, or at least stations, on all ships!!! I LOVED Sur Mer!!!

Not that there is a tremendous amount to improve but a few things I’d like to see:

Keep assigned seating in main dining. I love having the same wait staff every evening. The opportunity that I have now to make new friends and compare events of the day simply wouldn’t happen with ‘freestyle’ dining.

Enforce the dress code a bit more strenuously. Many people complain about seeing folks in shorts and T-shirts in main dining and I can’t blame them.

Delay the life boat drill at least until after the sail away. I, and I believe everyone else who sails, love the sail away. A delay of an hour or so for the drill simply can’t hurt and would make a great many people happy.

My dream…

Supper clubs on all Carnival ships. Perhaps even more than one!! What could be better than having a choice between TWO fantastic dining options for dinner!! I LOVE the supper clubs. They are a wonderful dining experience and I hate the fact that I have to be without them sailing on other than Spirit and Conquest class ships.

PLEASE, no ships larger than the Carnival Magic and Carnival Dream!!! Although the Conquest class ships have more than enough space for the 3,000 plus passengers on board I abhor the thought of sharing my vacations with 5,000 others. Consider the Cunard experience. Often, less is more. I have to believe that facilities, both land based and on board, would be taxed beyond belief with the ships some lines are building. And while you’re at it, no rock walls and skating rinks, please. If I want to scale an escarpment I can do that on an excursion.

Expand the presence of the 22 foot LCD screens on the Lido Deck to all ships, perhaps even a few giant screens per ship. They appear to be tremendously popular and would only add one more wonderful aspect to the voyage.

So… there you have it. My list. Do with it as you will, my friends! One last item… It wouldn’t break my heart if Carnival restricted smoking in the cabins. Balconies and other areas of the ship are available. I smoke cigars on occasions but would never do so in a cabin. We have to have some consideration for those sailing after us.

Thanks a bunch for all you two have done for so many folks.

Regards,

Greg

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Uncle Doug, on October 20, 2007 at 4:33 pm Said:

1. TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL
It is still the “Fun Ship”! Been on other cruise lines but keep coming back.

Great destinations from US ports.

Oh Yea, the Chocolate melting cake.

2. TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT
The beef entries seem to be a little difficult to prepare for 2500. It may be just me as a large beef eater.

No bisquits and gravy out of Southern US ports. Thats not very Southern of Ya’ll

Change up ports of call from same departure port. Galvestion is stuck in a rut, need a few new ports of call.

3. YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD
Vacation planner to arrange future cruises (with discounts or on board credit) it books while on the cruise.

Carnival Vacation Club host as we seems to have been dropped after they got our final payment. Great program, poor planning.

Free drinks for Platinum guests! As long as we were wishing I figured to go for broke.

Oh John and Heidi, it has been a great year with the blog. Enjoy your much deserved vacation. See ya on the flip side.

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Rikki Boyce, on October 20, 2007 at 4:56 pm Said:

Top 3 reasons:
1. Not as stuffy as other lines.
2. Hysterical decor (I love it!).
3. Fun cruise director’s staff.
4. Oh! I forgot… the awesome bedding.
5. And, the best designed bathrooms.

(yes, I can count; get over it)

Things I’d change:
1. That red/white/blue team thing in the dining room. Hate it.
2. Re-arrange the rooms like Crown Princess (seating area next to window/balcony, closer placed to it almost makes a dressing room with the bathroom).
3. Improve the library — longer hours and better books.

Dreams:
1. Have rotating (I don’t mean spinning)dining rooms like Disney Magic. I haven’t been on it, but that’s the main reason I want to go. Same table mates and wait staff but a different environment. Awesome idea.
2. Classes in tai chi.
3. More lounge chairs in shady areas where you can look out at the ocean.
4. John Heald clones on every ship;-)

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Maria Ring, on October 20, 2007 at 5:04 pm Said:

TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL

1. value
2. friendliness of the crew
3. cabins, cat 11 is awesome

TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT

1. More dance friendly lounges and more dance music for the early 60’s types, also more variety of entertainment in the lounges

2. Adults only pool area that is really enforced

3. Food is good, however it would be nice to have some finger food such as cheese and crackers, veggies, little appetizers offered in the lounges so one could have a snack with a beverage before dressing for dinner. Also, more snack items offered on room service menu.

YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD

Cruising with others who are there to have a good time, but at the same time are mindful of others and who are not rude to other guests or crewmembers. seeing guests respect the dining room dress code. Dance classes that teach partner dances, not everyone on the stage. Cooking classes.

YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD

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mrs.missingthesmokefreeparadise, on October 20, 2007 at 5:19 pm Said:

I am Missing the Smoke Free Paradise
I Love Carnival Because there was a time when Somebody Cared. Then there was a time when somebody who Cared for something else, who never did anything to promote the Smoke Free Paradise, decided that people weren’t standing in line to get on board.
Do you know how many people NEVER KNEW there was a Smoke Free Paradise Cruise Ship belonging to any cruise line?
Do you know how many Travel Agents in Bona Fide licensed establishments had never Heard of the Carnival’s Smoke Free Paradise?
Do you know I NEVER saw the first bona fide commercial for the Carnival Smoke Free Paradise?
The ONLY reason I know there was a Smoke Free Paradise and was able to cruise with my honey on her, and, stupidly, assumed that she would be there for us until her rivets rusted was because I was deepcleaning the Christmas Tree Room with the tv on a slow news day and horrible movies and caught a press release of happy passengers in New York who had been treated to a vacation in a clean and easy breathing and non stinky floating resort CRUISE SHIP the SMOKE FREE PARADISE and I just stopped with the furniture shifting and plunked in front of this station until it cycled around to find out what Line was so Considerate of People with Handicaps.
Yes, being unable to be around Cigarette Smoke is a Handicap. There are just too too many places a person who can’t be around Cigarette Smoke can’t go because there is Cigarette Smoke there. Like, Fairs. Like, walking across the parking lot to get into the store. Like, right outside the door to get into a store that doesn’t allow smoking. I have learned to hold my breath, even though there are passages that once clear, I have to stop and pant for a while. But, the choice is that I would get sick anyway if I breathed instead of holding my breath, and the effects would make me sick for several days, or I don’t get to go at all. Going into the store is one thing, but Fairs and a cruise ship where there is no place to go to breathe are just too long to hold my breath.
Let’s face it. Insurance companies give a discount on rates for people who don’t smoke. It is a healthier lifestyle. And yet, when there was a perfectly good Cruise Ship, Built and Enjoyed with people who chose it for its Smoke Free Status, somebody decided to desecrate it because it wasn’t, according to various sources, generating a sufficient profit margin.
For IRS sakes, people, IF you had advertised and Promoted the Smoke Free Status as a Handicap Accessible Vacation Resort Destination as a Public Service, you have enough highly paid corporate attorneys you would think one of them could have rooted around every year to find the tax breaks, IF YOU ADVERTISED THE SMOKE FREE PARADISE, you would have made enough to pay off the highly paid corporate attorney and show the percent profit that the other ships were showing.
I was surprised that any corporate entity would have built a Smoke Free Cruise Ship, and that in itself endears Carnival to me. There are a few unnamed soulless profit driven individuals out there in Carnival, however, who are not on the receiving end of my blessings.
However, having once enjoyed the Smoke Free Carnival Paradise, I don’t want any other kind of vacation. True, I would like to go to Kohler Wisconsin and tour the bathworks. I also think Williamsburg, Virginia during the Christmas lighting would be charming. But that isn’t a week’s worth of nothing. Both of those involve finding a restaurant and finding dancing and finding Smoke Free all that.
So, there were years we didn’t do a get away. Even though it was sorely needed.
Only this December 2006 did we hear that our favorite people who also provide our favorite dance music were in Smoke Free areas on the Liberty, just for a couple months, and it was not with joy but with steadfast determination that we plotted a vacation with Carnival.
My husband had a cruise. He was able to go to places like, oh, the INTERNET CAFE. I only had a vacation. I couldn’t go to the internet cafe because the genius who designed the ship put the internet cafe Sole, Single, and Only access through THE CIGAR BAR. Now, when one looks at the floor plans, there is an outside door. That happens to be where the lifeboats are, and if there is a passenger access door it is a deep dark secret, because the only door I know of is the one we used to get out there for lifeboat drill, and it doesn’t have door knobs and was shut, duh, it’s a fire door. There was also the issue of the CIGAR BAR smoke OPENING into the rearmost stairwell and stinking up the stairwell with pollution. So, he had a cruise, I only had a vacation.
BUT, the dining room and the food was marvelous. Somebody DID put regular sized rooms with balconies AND make the windows low enough that it wasn’t necessary to find a step ladder to see out.
There are a couple dishes on the dining room menus that I have tried and found to be not to my taste, but there are too many to eat at any one sitting that are beautifully prepared, artistically presented, and delivered with charm.
If I win a cruise with another cruise line, and believe me, I put my name in the pot every time I hear of one, I would certainly take it, but I will be surprised if I like it even as much as I have liked my Carnival Cruises on the Smoke Free Paradise or my vacation on the Carnival Liberty, and I certainly have no expectation that I would like it better.
So,
1. I like carnival because:
a. It gave me the Smoke Free Paradise for a few years.
b. The food in the dining rooms makes up for all the eating out I don’t get where I live. Way makes up for it. In fact, I don’t think I could find food of the quality and deliciousness of the Carnival dining room. Love the buffet.
c. It gave me the Smoke Free Paradise for a few years.
2. Areas for Improvement:
a. GIVE ME MY SMOKE FREE CRUISE SHIP.
Ok. Don’t get between me and a good steak, chocolate, or cola. I understand that there are cravings and addictions. I understand that some people, while having good manners, honestly can’t imagine that a vacation would involve giving up cigarettes in order to travel with people who can’t be around cigarette smoke, or just prefer to be places where it doesn’t stink leaving them reeking just from association.
So, put an air lock entry into a single dedicated ventilation room, open 24 hours. Give it a bar and a dance floor if you must. People can’t smoke in their rooms, on any open decks, on balconies. Only in this one room. Also, they have to buy their cigarettes on board. If they want to buy a pack, it is kept in this lounge for them. Or they can buy them one at a time. But they can only smoke the cigarettes they buy on board.
And enforce the rules. According to the tv shows, there is a spectrometer that can analyze residue, and smoking leaves residue, and when in doubt, analyze it. Somebody has smoke residue in their room, they don’t have free run of the ship until they have to leave, they get confined to quarters until they have to leave. And put up a fine to cover the cost of cleaning the room for the next person to have the Smoke Free Room they have selected.
The word gets out, people who think they can cheat won’t try, and more people will recognize the beauty of a Smoke Free Resort.
b. There are also Adults areas.
It isn’t your fault that people who have children and should therefore be assumed to be adults, aren’t. Or that your passengers can read. Or that a discreet sign will not impact the enjoyment of an Adults area. If I hop in a hot tub in a family area and a stupid 3 to 7 year old with stupider parents jumps in, it is to be expected. But there are child care areas with dedicated swimming areas, 3 to 7 year olds do not have any business SWIMMING in the adults only hot tub. It shouldn’t be MY fault if I complain. About the Swimming, about the 3 to 7 year old in the hot tub, about the stupid parent who thinks it is my fault if I complain.
My thought? Impose a fine on parents who fail to keep their paid guests within bounds. Kids are loose, but quiet, only in areas they could be with adult supervision, well, they are within bounds. Kids running on the promenade, punch your card here, kid, fine on the sign and sail account. Kids in the hot tub area, with or without body parts in water, with or without “adult”, punch your card here, fine on the sign and sail account. Two kids, two fines. Or, write up a ticket like a traffic cop on a bar slip with folio number. Fines would be, thats a 9 14, running on the lido, a 5 14, running on the Promenade, a 14 being a kid running and the first digit the level on the particular ship, that being Freedom. Another number would be kid in adult only area. Another number, it would seem, would be children who should be in Camp Carnival left unattended while parents off boat, with a higher fine. Parents would need to sign a paper before boarding indicating they know they will get fines if the kids escape the boundaries. Have somebody who can hear protests and remove the fines if it was something like the kids were sent to find the grandmother before she went into the spa, or to tell her the rest of the family would be late and they got excited.
c. Another thing was safety issues. From time to time there are stories of intestines being traumatically vacuumed from bodies, usually children, because of stupidity, sitting on the drain of a pool. So, there are laws, in fact, that an emergency shut off for pools and hot tubs has to be accessible. We found out that it was impossible to do this. It wasn’t guts being sucked out, I have to laugh it was the bigger the boys the bigger the toys. A fellow went on his active shore excursion wearing his shorts like swimsuit, and got back, went to the hot tub. After a little while, the lady next to me had a very strange look on her face, and reached around behind her, grappling a bit. When it was over, she said, I thought it was toilet paper and wondered how I could have dragged it into the hot tub. It was a twenty dollar bill. Little boys throw in pennies and nickels and quarters to dive in and retrieve from the pool. Big boys forget they took a couple hundred dollars in the pocket of their britches on a shore excursion. So, everybody in the hot tub was joyously actively grabbing for the money in the hot tub. Well, it would have been easier if we could have turned the bubbles off. I found a phone and called. The person who answered had no idea what I was asking. Can you turn the hot tub off? The one on the upper deck in the back? Didn’t have any idea, English was maybe a fourth language. I saw somebody in a uniform walking around. From Nigeria. I would have thought he would have good English, he looked at me like I was from Mars. Right about then I realized, this is for ten minutes to chase down this guys cash, what if somebody was having their guts sucked down. Finally got somebody who explained that the hot tubs were connected to the engines and they would have to shut down the engines to stop the hot tub bubbling. I don’t know if this was a fact, and if it was, what kind of highly paid mickey mouse rinky dink system was that, but there was no safety shut off for emergencies.
3. What I would like on Board:
a. 24 Hours. Actually, I need 36 hours. There is too much to do and not enough time to do it.
I would like the Lobby Bar, where the purser is open 24 hours already, to be open 24 hours. I have my fountain card, and I am cut off until a bar opens in the morning. I wake up before the bars open, I am out of luck. Ahem. Yes, cut off super drunks, but that would mean you have to close the bars at, like, 9 at night sometimes, so don’t say you are closing the bars to keep people from getting too drunk. You don’t have to keep them all open, but choose one, and the Lobby Bar in all ships is a Likely candidate, to be open 24 hours. It would also be a safety consideration, 2 different facilities keeping an eye out for each other.
b. 24 Hour hot tubs.
I go dancing. I close down the lounge. It would be nice to have a nice hot tub to soak in in MY FLOATING RESORT. oopsie, the spa closed at 8 and the outside tub shut down at midnight. How dare you tell me that it is too late to sit in the hot tub at 2 in the morning? You are worse than my mother. Well, you did sort of address that issue on the new Splendor, but then you went and ruined it. How much is your budget for cleaning up the graffitti you are going to get on this stupid name you chose?
c. A SMOKE FREE CRUISE SHIP.
I don’t need the big one. I don’t need climbing walls or ice rinks. The SMOKE FREE PARADISE was a SMOKE FREE PARADISE. Change the name of the desecrated hull and give us a SMOKE FREE PARADISE.
Sincerely yours,
mrs.missingthesmokefreeparadise
PS I am also now mrsmissingthesmokefreeparadisebutlookingforwardtothenearlysmokefreecarnivalfreedomtransatlanticvacationwithouttheseniorcruisedirectortheoneandonlymr.johnstephenhealdandhislovelywifeheidi

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Linda Hernacki, on October 20, 2007 at 5:25 pm Said:

Hi John, No problem, us bloggers all understand it is impossible to answer any more questions till you leave on the 28th, we just enjoy reading your blog every day, and look forward to that! You asked about Mike and my 3 favorite things on CCL, they are:
1. The PRICE is right – especially as a Platinum member
2. The Food is OUTSTANDING
3. The accomodations and being pampered are fantastic.

Changes:
1. New and different Platinum gifts – I already have so many of those bags! Maybe mens hat and shirt.
2. New and different childrens gifts/souvenirs on the ship to take home to the grandkids.
3. NEW and different ports to visit, especially liked Montego Bay one year when we travelled and the port of Ocho Rios was not accessible due to another cruise line ramming into the dock, we LOVED Montego Bay and would love to go back there again. Also, other ports CCL hasn’t visited yet in the Caribbean. Would like to see another 8 days to Panama Canal cruise too, besides the Liberty.
Other than that everything is fantastic! Keep up the good work. I hope you are sitting in the front row of that bigwig meeting in Miami to accept your Aston Martin when it is presented to you.
Your package is on the way, hope you get it soon. I know you won’t be answering emails, but can you somehow let me know when it arrives? Thanks! Linda & Mike (your Forever friends)!

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Catherine Ebert, on October 20, 2007 at 6:33 pm Said:

Hi John so sorry about your fingers. Tell Heidi she should use an electric shaver or wax. That way taking a shower would be safer for you. Don’t worry about not having Q&A as you are a very busy person and you do not need to explain to all of us. How is Alan doing? When will he have his next surgery. We will continue to pray for a quit and thorough recovery.
The 3 best things about Carnival.
1. You being our cruise director on all 3 of our cruises(hopefully for out cruise on Splendor next year)
2. The food is great and the service at the meals is wonderful.
3. The price is much better and love the European destinations. I also love sea days and hope to do another transatlantic soon.

3. Things that could be improved.
1. The library as it has terrible hours and little to read.
2. Free orange juice throughout the day. You can get it for breakfast but it cannot be found during the day.
3. Don’t make us go home when the cruise is over. How can you tell us one day that the ship is our home and the next day we are being kicked off and sent home. Honest, We will not misbehave next time! HA-HA! Could not think of another improvement.

My dream would be that Carnival have a book store with up to date books, magazines, puzzles and newspapers.

Wish you and Heidi well and a great break.

Sincerely Catherine Ebert.
P.S. Did you ever eat the pig poop?

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Matt Edmunds, on October 20, 2007 at 6:36 pm Said:

Likes:
1) Price
2) Crew being totally outgoing to make you smile
3) Selection of food

Improvements:
1) Casino is vegas style, well like vegas should offer occasional complimentry drinks
2)Carnival’s website/customer service dept. of the website needs to do a better job of getting back to people, like say 24hrs instead of days or 75% time never
3)Needs to start taking ship layout designs from some other lines, meaning not so simple, try cutting edge stuff.

Dreams:
1) Cont. off ship layout, meaning should start considering like RCCL with the rock climbing wall,flowrider, Even and would love it a central promenade that is completely open from end to end..I feel for most part carnival has stayed with same basic design but different themes.
I think after dream and magic or incorporate into them should try opening the envelope even further.Even you sister comp. Princess has done stuff like at the rear of the boat is the observation deck by day than club at night, now tell me how cool that is to be that high up from the ocean dancing the night away?

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Sue Grohol, on October 20, 2007 at 6:39 pm Said:

John,

Sorry you have another boo-boo finger. You need some of that no-tears baby shampoo – - you big baby!

Things I like about Carnival:
Value; attentive staff (shipboard and at embarkation points); great food and entertainment; no-smoking areas; amenities in the cabins (robe, hair dryer, etc.); perq’s for platinum guests; oops – that’s more than three.

Things that need improvement:
Can’t think of anything right now. Seems Carnival takes comments to heart and always works to keep ahead of the curve.

Oh – - Just thought of something – - maybe better pricing for single cruisers???

John, I know you are very busy but back to my question of a couple of days ago regarding logistics in the Rome airport. Since Jennifer’s, Karen’s and my flight arrive at different times, is there a comfortable area where we can wait for each other after we get our luggage and check in with the Carnival representative?

We’ll see you one week from today.

Sue, Jennifer and Karen

P.S. Alan is still in my prayers daily.

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tracy, on October 20, 2007 at 7:07 pm Said:

hello john sorry about ur fingers.
TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL
the friendlyness of the staff
affordable
pammperd
TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT
the camp carnavil the biger kids scare the 2 and 3 year old(my 2yr old wouldnt stay in their if the 5 and 6 and 7 and 8 yr old were in their.
the apple juice was so bad my son would not dring it it smelled like it was going bad.
more finger food on the 24 hour room service crackers and such sucks just having sandwiches and grilled cheeses sandwitch would be nice.(my son loves grilled cheese)
YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD
a movie screen would be cool i havent seen one yet on carnaval
more stuff to do for the little ones.
hot tubs not luke warm or cold
ty have a good day john and heidi
love to cruise again mabye when chris is 5 hes 2 now

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Della Dunn, on October 20, 2007 at 7:10 pm Said:

TOP THREE REASONS WE LOVE CARNIVAL
1. Value/cost for the experience.
2. Proximity to our home, at less than 250 miles, we can drive instead of fly.
3. We really felt special on board.

TOP THREE AREAS WHERE YOU NEED IMPROVEMENT
1. A club/dance area where beautiful cheek to cheek romantic dancing can be had. Pop music is great but since we pulled off the great escape to vacation sans kids, we just wanna be able to hold onto each other and slow dance…
2. We did not swim in the pool once during our cruise because it was always full of kids, perhaps an adults only pool and more hot tubs?
3. Cleaner windows for a clearer view. We were upgraded to a cabin with a window, however it was kinda yucky and couldn’t really enjoy the view without standing on the bed, not that we were in our room much! Ditto for the chaise lounges in the long halls along the ships, the windows weren’t too clean. There has to be a product out there that can be used to keep your windows cleaner between washings .

OUR DREAM OF WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD
1. Free internet. It really is the way most of us keep in touch.
2. A discount of back to back cruise bookings ( I don’t know if this is already done.)
3. In cabin blow dryers.
3.

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Timoneer, on October 20, 2007 at 7:13 pm Said:

Top 3 Reasons that I love Carnival:
. Friendly, efficient staff
. Improved food
. Value for money spent

Top 3 Areas for Improvement:
. enforce the no reserved lounge chair policy
. Lido restaurant – additional seating
. additional space/music for dancing

What I Would Like to See On Board:
. open seating at one of the main restaurants (like Princess & HAL)
. Great Lakes cruise (great idea from “Big” Ed)
. big outdoor screens fleetwide

Have a GREAT vacation (and best wishes to Alan)

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John & Susan from Frisco, on October 20, 2007 at 7:13 pm Said:

John….

Firstly, how is Alan! We are thinking of him daily!

What keeps us coming back….We take our first cruise as Platinum cruisers November 23 on the Miracle…..

1. The value! We look for other things to do but when we add up the cost…we always come back to Carnival.

2. We have been on many other cruise lines and always come back to Carnival. You are the “Fun Ships”.

3. You make it easy! From reservations, to check-in, to food and fun, and getting off! It’s always easy!

With all the good stuff I would like to see a couple of things improve….

1. The furniture on the balconies must have been made for very small, light people. Like the airlines….you guys have not heard that the population is getting bigger!!! I’m a big guy and when I go out I do not look to sit on the wicker furniture!!!

2. Change the ports in Galveston! We would go more often if the destinations would change once in a while!!!

3. I really don’t know how to fix this but we miss a lot of the announcements because we are on our balcony or in our room. We find ourselves hearing them start and running for the door to see what’s being said! Most of the time they are over when we get their.

Overall……we are not looking for a new cruiseline. We are funshipers!!!

John & Susan

2.

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Leasa, on October 20, 2007 at 7:43 pm Said:

Hi John,

Oh my goodness sweetie, don’t even think about trying to answer all us bloggers with all you have to do! I saw those 300 and something comments and I thought, holy cow!, how’s poor John going to answer all of them? I love to read or have my computer read the blog because I love to hear about what my blog family is up to. I will be asking again later about your cruise schedule in Feb but it can wait until your life is a little less hectic. I’m sorry about another injured finger. You gotta be careful of us ladies razors. They’re sneaky little buggers! I’m really glad you wrote about some of the negative comments you saw. They kind of made me a little mad. I know they probably haven’t read the blog a lot or even maybe this was the first time but it bothers me to see people blast you when they haven’t taken the time to see what this thing is all about. Wow! Almost a million slaps! That’s awesome! You rock! Thanks so much for all you have shared with us. John, you touch me again and again. The story of the lady who will be leading the walk almost made me cry. I’m glad she will be leading it. I have a bit of sad news on the breast cancer front. I just returned home yesterday from attending my Cousin Alicia’s funeral. She battled lung cancer 11 years ago and beat it but sadly she lost her battle with breast cancer 2 days ago. Thank you for doing this walk. Maybe one day we won’t have to say goodbye to another loved one. Give Southern Dreams a big ole hug from me! I hope she’s having a blast.
I’m going to give you my answers to your questions but you get 2 sets. 1 from me and 1 from Geoff. I hope that’s o.k.
Geoff’s list
TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL
1. Attitude
2. Attention to detail
3. The energy of the crew.

Leasa’s List
1. Awesome casino staff
2. Fantastic service which is especially important to me as a visually impaired person.
3. The best crew on every ship I’ve sailed on.

TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT
1. Geoff would like to see food that isn’t so fancy. He’s a guy that likes some sort of regular food choices
2. More ice-cream machines
3. A little improvement in the dining room service.
Leasa’s list
1. Get rid of the automatic shuffle machines in the casino.
2. Free drinks in the casino.
3. Better spa prices and booking on-line before your cruise.

YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD
1. Geoff would love an observatory with telescopes. I’d like to see Carnival offer some 10 night cruises in the Caribbean. Man! A long post today! Aren’t you glad you only have to read it?! Hehehehe! Big hugs to you and Heidi. Please an update on Alan when you can?

Leasa

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Leasa, on October 20, 2007 at 7:45 pm Said:

II’m sorry if the list looks funny. Sometimes us blind people have trouble with our darned screen readers and that’s why it may look a little silly!

Leasa

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Linda (Mom of DJ), on October 20, 2007 at 8:00 pm Said:

First, just a note to thank you and Heidi for taking the time to share yourselves with us. We completely understand about the “comment replies”. We hope to catch up in person one day!

Know that Alan is still in our prayers and we lift you and Heidi up, as you sustain your friend and his family. May your vacation be refreshing, our prayers for Alan answered positively and seeds planted, while in Miami, towards future endeavors for you with Carnival.

Now for your “assignment”. Since my husband has been cruising exclusively with Carnival since 1982 (with soon 30 under his belt) and the boys and I since 1998 (with soon 20 under our belts)..
I took this assignment seriously. Not to rag on Carnival, but to improve the cruise line that I intend on sailing for many, many more years at least 5 times a year.

TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL

1. The care our boys have received over the past 10 years at Camp Carnival. Our special needs son has always received care that exceeded our expectations. I have an advanced degree in being over-protective, so exceeding my expectation takes a lot. This caring manner has extended to the staff and crew on every cruise as they strived to provide the “best” cruise for DJ.

2. Karaoke for Adults. Where we live, there are no places to do karaoke that are safe. Carnival provides me with a safe and usually smoke free place to do what I love.
However, the “adult” part is very important. Adults do not want to feel like they are babysitting someone else’s kids during their vacation.

3. Value. We are blessed and could cruise with any cruise line. It is nice to know that we are getting the best value for our dollar. At the same time, though, I do not want Carnival to become to “inexpensive”. I don’t want cruising to go the route that air travel has. Don’t ever make Carnival so “cheap” that you lose the “value”!

TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT

1. Designated smoking areas should not bleed into the general areas. They should be in areas that have doors that close them off from the general population and should be well marked (BIG RED LETTERS – NO SMOKING PAST THIS POINT). Folks with their vacation brains in gear need signs big enough for a blind person to read.
This would eliminate the exposure to children that is happening (particularly on the Fantasy class ships where you have smoking right in the Promenade ~ at the casino bar). If children are there, smoking should not be. This means no smoking in cabins.

2. Adult only areas. RCCL has Carnival beat on this one. Even Disney realized that “family” does not mean having children around 24/7. It says a lot (and nothing good) about a society, where people dream of the day, when their kids are grown; so that they can sail Carnival when school is in session. There are people like myself, who never intend to cruise when school is out again. And there are lots of us. We live in a society where “little Johnny” does not wrong in the eyes of his parents. Adults simply do not want to be around that. Thankfully the unruly children are only a small percentage, but when you are sailing with 1,000 kids…even a small percentage can be a lot.

3. Enforcement of the rules. Sadly we are living in a world where lots of people do not know how to act. Again, what few Adult areas that Carnival has (like hot tubs and the gym) are invaded by splashing and kids playing with the equipment and Security does nothing far to many times.
Groups of disruptive guests have become a growing problem on many cruise lines and no one wants to believe they are stuck on a ship with people who will not behave …and no one will do anything to stop them. The Liberty August incident is a perfect example. Guests should not have to worry about being inconvenienced by rude and unruly guests, much less have their safety threatened. Additionally, “quiet time after midnight” in the Cabins and Hallways should be posted and enforced.

YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD

I would love to see Carnival take 3 Fantasy class ships and form a cruise line that uses Oceania as their model (again like RCCL has done) with smoking only allowed in 2 small areas of the ship and no formal nights (business casual ~ no jeans).
I would like to see these ships placed at 3 different ports (like New Orleans, Tampa and Los Angeles) so that most of the country to have access to them at any given time.

The Paradise was great in theory, but unrealistic. Every group (even small family groups) are going to have at least one smoker. Groups are a life blood of the cruising industry. Had the Paradise been introduced with the Oceania model (and not stuck at the “end of the world”) … moved around from port to port every few years…it would still be in operation today.

Ok John….this is what we want…now…go get it!!!

: )

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Paul F. Pietrangelo, on October 20, 2007 at 8:32 pm Said:

Good evening Mr. Heald. Sorry about your finger. This is the reason I enjoy having the opportunity to speak to you. My wife got into a car accident today. The other driver drove straight threw the stop sign. MaryLou’s car was totalled but luckly she was Ok, just bumps & bruises. See this why I like talking to you. Talking to you eases my tensions. Thank you. As far the bloggers giving you are permission not answering the questions & comments, it you should you saying what has to be done at the moment. You my friend have done far and beyond what you really had to do. We respect anything that you want to do. As I said before, you are only a human even though at times, you appear to be a Superman. Please let us know how Alan is doing and especially you and Heidi.
Now for your questions:
Reasons: 1 Value that allows me the chance to cruise.
2. The friendleness of everyone invovlving the Carnival family.
3.Amazing bedding, never slept so well.
4. Fantastic food. Having to get home and start to lose weight.

Improvements
1. Better shower arrangement( larger)
2. Better seats and tables on the balcony
3. Deembarkment is always a downer, so how make it a little happier for us wanting to come back.
4. Having the opportunity of meeting John Heald( This is my own )

New features: As of now none that I know of except maybe cruising the Great Lakes on a Carnival ship.

To complete this post, all I can say is thank you for all the work and love that you have given to Carnival and to us. Thank you again Mr. Heald. Ciao my friend, rest and take care of those fingers.

Paul F. Pietrangelo

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John from Mount Holly, on October 20, 2007 at 8:34 pm Said:

Hello John,

I would like for you to wish Maurice well and just remind him what Big shoes he has to fill. I keep trying to talk Leona into more Yabba Dabba Doo Time! I still long for the attention I gained on our Cruise. It’s absolutely the BEST vacation ever. (Still waiting on my trophies that broke on the way home.) We wish you and Heidi the best of everything. It didn’t surprise me that you were recognized for your achievements in the cruise industry. You certainly made our time full of laughter and enjoyment. Any new developments on you Thursday project? Can’t wait for our next cruise, hopefully it will include you as Cruise Director. It just wouldn’t be the same without you!

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Kevin, on October 20, 2007 at 9:45 pm Said:

John,
Once again thank you so much, we have never meet, but I feel like I’ve known you for years and we are great friends. Thank you for all you do to not only make everyone who sails on the same ship as you feel important and special but those of us who know you and sail on other ships, sadly without you important. Brent was very nice we meet Friday night. Spoke for a few minutes I think he was a bit confused about why I wanted to speak with him, but after a few minutes he caught on. Then I mentioned the Aston to him, and he almost fell over. At that point I gave him your message well joke message. He laughed and said ” Yeah that sounds like John”. Thank you once again my friend I owe you a ride in the car and a cigar and dinner in the supper club with Heidi one night soon I hope. And don’t object or I will be upset and you don’t want me to be upset now do you ? I completly understand your not being able to answer questions and comments till you leave the ship and that is fine. I’m sure your just as excitied as we are when going on a cruise to be getting off right now.

You asked us to do some home work for you so here is mine:
1. TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL
A.Value, I can sail twice a year on carnival compared to the cost of once a year on another ship.
B. The staff everywhere on the ship are so friendly and polite, even at 7am at the bar.
C. John Heald’s blog. (I don’t need to say any more on this)
2. TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT
A. Single’s events one event for a entire cruise, just isn’t that great and to hold it in some bar / lounge for 45 minutes isn’t too much fun either. They need to be a interactive event not trivia, maybe mini golf or some sort of pool games even maybe a interactive class on say making cocktails or cooking. Something where everyone will be equal at the start with the others in the room
B. Food, I know George Blanc is the celebrity chef for carnival and I’m sure the dishes he has created (I’ve had all of them) work out great within the right enviorment, but when being served to 2000+ people they are a bit lacking and their prensation is very lacking on all dishes. 4 pieces of potato’s and 2 broccoli florets on a dish with a steak isn’t exciting. People eat with their eyes more than their mouth. If the plate looks great and smells great the food will never get a complaint.
C. Carnival needs to read my application and resume and hire me to work with John Heald on the same ship as him, why because he needs someone else to share the sugar free jelly beans with.
D. ok C really diden’t count as one well it does but not what your looking for probably. The night clubs need some work first of all it’s great to play loud music and dance to it, but to play it so loud you can’t think or even talk to the people your with is a bit much, turn it down to a level that will be enjoyable for everyone.
3. YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD
I would love to see better on deck services other than bar service maybe back into the days of the cool towel being offered, more area by the pool where chair hogs can’t hog all day. fresh water pool’s not salt, the ship can make more than enough water to supply all the pools along with everything else. i understand why they use salt water but I hate that grity feeling you get after well going in because no ship pools are bing enough to swim to much in.

Hope theses help

Talk with you soon
Kevin

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Gina, on October 20, 2007 at 9:50 pm Said:

1. TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL
-the value is phenomenal!!
-the food in the dining room and the Lido grill.
-Comfy beds!!
2. TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT
-more diverse drink selection. I don’t drink anything with sugar, and that has to include juices which leave water, coffee, and iced tea. Thankfully, I like iced tea, but more sugar free selections would be nice.
-Bigger font in the Carnival Capers
-I know this is petty, but better distinction between the shampoo and soap in the showers.

3. YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD
-Free Diet Coke!!! or let guests bring their own. I know this is a money issue, but this goes back to the more sugar free drink choices.
-prices for solo cruisers to go down, not up.
-special pet friendly cruises.

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JennaBomb, on October 20, 2007 at 9:56 pm Said:

Hello again John,
First of all congrats on your article in the St. Pete Times (Florida). Out of pity, I have not been posting comments on your blog because I know you are having trouble finding time to answer everyone’s questions, but I wanted to let you know that I check your blog every day and enjoy reading all of your stories! I most recently cruised on the Miracle but was also on the Imagination and Destiny in the late 90’s with you as the CD, so I felt I could contribute some honest feedback for you so here it is:

Why I like Carnival:

1.) You can get a really nice room without paying an arm and a leg for it. Great value and really comfy beds!
2.) Great variety of ports of call. I’ve been to Jamaica, Cozumel (twice), Cayman Islands (twice), St. Thomas, St Croix, Costa Maya, Puerto Rico, and Belize City. All are beautiful and have awesome shore excursions.
3.) Entertainment is really impressive. Shows like the Blues Brother Show and Tribute to the Beatles are A++ (as well as the Cruise Directors!) but I could do without the jugglers and magicians, they were kinda cheesy.
4.) You asked for three but this one ranks up there so I had to include it. Hard-working staff, especially the room stewards! Staff do a fantastic job keeping the ship clean and running smoothly. Most are very professional and friendly.

Things that could use some improvement:

1.) Food. The dining room food was usually very good but there were a few meals that I didn’t enjoy like the turkey I had on Thanksgiving last year. The desserts in the dining room were fantastic but the desserts available on the Lido Deck were not good at all. Also I think $30 for a soda card is a little pricey. There was a good variety of food though so there’s a plus!
2.) Providing activities for a wider range of ages and demographics. I first sailed as a teenager and remember feeling like there wasn’t much to do since there wasn’t a Teen Club on the Destiny and we obviously weren’t allowed into the casinos, bars, etc. Also, providing activities for singles and older guests.
3.) The decor on the Miracle was almost offensive. A lot of half-naked pictures of women. I know it was meant to be sophisticated and artsy but many of the people I talked to agreed that it was not very appealing.

Hope this info is helpful and keep up the good work on the blog!

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Linda Lewandowski, on October 20, 2007 at 10:15 pm Said:

John,
I am WAY impressed with the renovations of the Freedom. My husband just took our daughter and a friend on her first ever cruise on the Elation. We decided to take them on a shorter cruise to see if it was something she would enjoy, plus, it fit in nicely with her school break.

I wanted to know who I could write to regarding shore excursions? Specifically the one we took the girls on in Ensenada. What an absolute waste of time and money! We took them on the mini jeep tour – should be renamed to “ride in a constantly breaking down mini jeep through dirt roads and garbage dumps”. No off roading as implied in the advertisements, just hours of riding on back dirt roads (picture rural neighborhoods) and literally through a dump site – through the trash! We didn’t stop for anything to eat or drink. At one point we did go through some civilization (a small town) and STILL didn’t stop for any refreshments. The girls jeep kept breaking down and a couple times the tour lost site of them for over 20 minutes (very scary) when we were out in the middle of nowhere. We finished thoroughly filthy, hot and unimpressed. The company that ran the excursion did provide bottles of water at the end, and some chips, salsa and cheese cubes (all covered in flies), that was the snack that was provided. We got back to the ship hot and hungry!That night was formal night and we all had red, puffy eyes from all the dirt.

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lv2cruise, on October 20, 2007 at 10:21 pm Said:

John

Don’t apologize…it is a very generous gift to all of us that you are willing to continue to blog while on vacation. I would not be so kind as to do work on my vacation!

Here is my 2 cents to bring to the folks in Miami:

Why I love Carnival: 1.Value, 2.Ports of Call, 3. the sushi bar

What could be improved: 1. Eliminate or at least restrict smoking, especially in cabins and on balconies. 2. Offer open seatings for the evening meal in the dining room 3. Teach bartenders and wait staff on how to address disruptive behaviors right away so that behaviors don’t escalate.

What would I like to see on board? 1. Wireless internet in cabins. 2. Lecture series/informational classes (that don’t try to sell you things) 3. Adult only areas (that are really “adults only”).

Thanks John and my best to you and Heidi

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Jennifer Hammond, on October 20, 2007 at 11:00 pm Said:

Three things we love:
1. Value
2. They fix any problem you have (with-in-reason)
on our first cruise our cabin smelled of smoke so bad and I can’t stand smoke, and they got rid of it by the time we went to Lido and ate.
3. The staff.

Things to change:
Nothing. just keep doing what you are doing.

WE tell everyone how great Carnival is.

Jennifer and Danny

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lookingforwardtothenearlysmokefreecarnivalfreedom, on October 20, 2007 at 11:06 pm Said:

John -

My three reasons for cruising on Carnival:

Value
Value
Value

There is no better vacation value IMO than cruising.

As you are aware, we were attracted to Carnival by the (then) Smokefree Paradise. With that in mind, let me make the following suggestion:

1. After refurbishing one of the smaller ships, consider the smokefree experiment again, but with slightly higher fares. I would gladly have paid more for the smokefree environment, but no one ever asked.

2. Design improved ventilation systems for areas that allow smoking. If hospitals can design negative pressure ventilation to contain airborne contagions, there is no reason why walking past the casino should result in the smell of smoke.

3. I agree with the aforementioned better enforcement of the adults only areas.

As for dreaming, let me hit the sheets and get back to you later.

TA minus six days and COUNTING

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Susan B, on October 20, 2007 at 11:26 pm Said:

Hi John,
This time I really do feel sorry for your finger…I have cut mine on the razor and it really does hurt bad!

Top three reasons we continue to cruise on Carnival:
1. Like everybody else-the value!
2. The food (boy my hubby really likes the late night pizza place…wished it had a variety of food)
3. The service…also VERY important…if the service is not what we expect…we let Carnival know and they make it right!)
4. Everybody on the ship truly wants you to have a wonderful time.
5. Medical staff is wonderful.
6. Even though there is a lot of people on one ship, the ship really never seems to crowded-short lines for food on the Lido deck, plenty of areas to enjoy.

I can’t count either…

Changes:
1. Free soda at dinnertime…other cruise lines do this…(RCL)
2.

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Susan B, on October 20, 2007 at 11:31 pm Said:

My cat hit the submit button before I was done…
2. I miss the Carnival beach towels with the name of the ship on it. Now they just say “Carnival”…I would like more mechandise with the ship name on it. It seems like everything is turning to just “Carnival”.
3. More ice cream machines…and do not close them so early!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, for my dreams…
1. Win a free Carnival cruise!
2. Free soda all the time.
3. Somewhere we can get our own ice…many times our ice is melted and our cabin steward is off for the night, so it takes a long time to get ice. I like cold water late at night to take my med’s with.
4. An ice cream machine in everyroom (ok…you said dream)
5. A port close to Springfield, Illinois!!!

I’ll stop dreaming now…and I wish you and Hedi a wonderful holiday, you two really deserve it.

Tell Alan we are still praying for him!! Please keep us updated.

Maybe…just a thought…since Bonnie is having such a terrible time, and had a bad dinner on her airline flight…maybe a CD on the Carnival Freedom could buy her dinner at the Supper Club.

Susan

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okteach, on October 20, 2007 at 11:40 pm Said:

Hey John,
We completely understand how busy you are so don’t worry, we’ll survive just knowing you are still reading. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Alan and his family.

My list:
Like: 1. Value 2. Still Have Formal Nights
3. Bedding
Improvements: 1. Ships designed with the large atrium type promenade with shops, cafe’s & such like other lines have 2. Ice Rink or Bowling (some additional activity) 3. Non-smoking Lounge
Dream: After 1st cruise, beginning with second free offerings by # of cruises ex: 2nd cruise 4 free drinks, 3rd free spa treatment, 4th free excursion…

Hubby List:
Like: 1. Military Discount 2. Assigned Dining Times 3. Variety of Ports of Call
Improvements: 1. Galveston Port Terminal terrible (Fun Pass useless) 2. Larger pools (Carnival’s seem like a postage stamp)
3. Central atrium type promenade
Dream: Promenade Cappuccino Bar Free

One week from today and we will be on the wonderful Freedom!

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Tammy & Mike from NY, on October 21, 2007 at 12:41 am Said:

1. TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL

a) best selection of many ports of call within one (European) cruise for the cost

b) service and comfort of the ship (clean and well maintained)

c) We began reading John’s blog shortly after booking our cruise and by the time we set sail we felt like we knew him. His sense of humor and style made us feel special and connected. Every cruise director should have a blog like John’s for their own ship that they are directed to after they book their cruise. It keeps the Carnival experience in one’s mind leading up to and long after your actual cruise.

2. TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT

a) although the food in dining hall was excellent, the food in the Lido deck (breakfast & lunch) could be brought closer to the same level of taste

b) Venice – no signage to Piazza Roma, the walk was a little far and thru traffic, I don’t expect Carnival to put street signs through out Venice, but a map or better directions would have been helpful.

c) Some of the shore excursions were a bit expensive and with a little research people could do the same thing on their own at a much lower cost. So lower the prices of the excursions that people could do on their own. Or, make more of them unique experiences that one could not do on their own.

d) Guests who complain too much should be made to walk the plank.

3. YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD

The internet cafe on the Freedom was sorely lacking. It’s unfortunate because it was the only thing I had a real problem with on the ship. It should be larger, more centrally located, and not located within the smoke filled cigar lounge. It should be a place with comfy chairs where they serve specialty coffees and other snacks, so we can sit and read John’s blog while on board. Also, the pricing plans should be much cheaper to promote more frequent, relaxed usage. I would have used the internet plan more, and I would have bought more coffee, if it was like this. It’s 2007, internet usage and email should be more than an afterthought (even on vacation).

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TXLADYDI, on October 21, 2007 at 12:59 am Said:

Dear John,
You spend way too much time worrying about your blogger friends, you should take better care of your poor stubby fingers and your dear sweet Heidi! I’m another of your daily readers, but haven’t posted – nothing particularly interesting to say. But now you’ve asked for it, so here goes.

TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL
1. Value for the money
2. Friendly crew – being treated like a queen, even though I’m berthed on level 2.
3. YOU

TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT
1. Except for Bingo, games and fun gatherings start exactly on time, but don’t last long enough. If you are 5 minutes past the start time you can miss most of the fun. Maybe make announcements, “The Newleywed game starts in 5 minutes.”
2. Taking lots and lots of photos is fine, but drop the price, or offer package deals. Alternative: don’t print them, put them on computer slide shows, people find themselves, and order only the prints they want. Saves CCL lots of money by not printing photos that must be tossed later.
3. Improve port timing. A port stop that starts at 7am and leaves port at 3pm, is a very short day. Few people are up, dressed and fed by 7am, especially after enjoying the late night shows.

YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD
More ships out of Gulf Coast ports, especially Galveston or Houston. Or rotate ships and itineraries. Why is it that ships out of Miami, go to the Western Caribbean in 7 days make the same 3 ports, but the price is so much less. I just compared prices online for the week of 12/8/07, an interior room on the Conquest is $180 more per person than an interior room on the marvelous Freedom.

Oh, and while we’re dreaming, can you make all European’s accept US Dollars, and make sure they all speak perfect American (not English as your lot can be hard to understand, as well)! LOL Just kidding, we Americans can be so clueless about the rest of the world. Please accept our apologies, but next time you need our help, just ask – we’ll come running.

Please rest on your vacation – that’s what it’s for. Get away, focus on Beautiful Heidi and Ugly Alan. We’ll all be here anytime you can spare the time.

Cheers,
Diane

Reply
KayentaJane, on October 21, 2007 at 1:20 am Said:

Hi John,

As I’ve yet to set foot on a cruise ship, I can’t really comment on items 1 or 2, but for what we’d like to see, or dream of seeing, my vote is for having the carbonated beverages (soda) included.

Sorry about your accidents with the glass and razor. Typing with injuries is just not any fun at all.

I wish I was someplace nice and warm as it’s snowed today. Icky. I am not at all ready for winter.

Reply
Michael Chandonia, on October 21, 2007 at 2:13 am Said:

Please note I do not wish to have this posted in the blog.

TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL

1. Price
2. Sets sail from Florida after Mid May; most other lines pull out and go to Alaska or Europe.
3. Close to home, living in the Panhandle of Florida I have seven different ports to sail from and only an eight-hour, at most, drive.

TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT

1. Add hot items to the room service menu, both breakfast items and non-breakfast items. I would like to see maybe for breakfast an egg item, pancakes or French toast, and bacon or sausage. Non-breakfast items could be fries, pizza, cheese/hamburgers. (Maybe have non-breakfast items from 11AM to midnight).
2. Change the port of calls or ship homeports more often.
3. Have a better past guest program offers. Give some of the benefits of the Platinum cruisers to those who have 5+ cruises.
4. I know you asked for three but I have a good final one. Give those who book back to back cruises VIP boarding for the first leg of their voyage.

YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD

I would like to see more of the specialty food venues. Offer something like a hibachi style restaurant, Italian style food, and specialty seafood venue.

On a personal note,
I am disappointed that I will be unable to meet you John on the November 12 sailing. I guess this will make me even more eager to meet you on the 2 special Splendor sailings November 15 and 17, 2008. Cannot wait to meet you when doing the back to back on Splendor (I had a reason for my idea).
Hope the best for Alan, you, and all families involved. Enjoy you ever so needed, yet unplanned, time off.

Reply
Kellie O'Leary, on October 21, 2007 at 6:54 am Said:

Hello John & Heidi, hope all is well. John sorry to hear about your two fingers must be very difficult to type with those band-aids on!
For your survey
Top 3:
The value for our money can’t be beat.
The wide variety of destinations.
Our PVP she is wonderful, she has gone beyond the call of duty to help us with planning our TA next year aboard the Splendor.
Improvements:
Carnival’s web site needs to catch up with some of the other cruise lines it is not very user friendly. ie: pre and post cruise vacations we have to call our PVP for prices and information it would be great to be able to view and book directly from the web site.
I have to agree with Big Ed drinks in the casino should be comped it is more fun losing money when you have had a few!!!
My dream cruise would be to have Rod Stewart on board for our TA next year! But any dream with Rod Stewart is a good dream………
Take care,

Kellie

Kellie

Reply
Dave Myerly, on October 21, 2007 at 8:46 am Said:

Private

John I was scanning ebay motors and find they list 54 Aston Martins for sale. Maybe one of these is for you. I like the 1959 model listed.

Go to
http://motors.listings.ebay.com/Cars-Trucks_Aston-Martin_W0QQsacatZ5358QQsocmdZListingItemList

You and Heidi enjoy your time away.
Dave (Jo and Dave)

Reply
Peaceful, on October 21, 2007 at 9:06 am Said:

Enjoyable read, as always. As one who types for a living, it’s hard to imagine what you do and that you can type a blog…do you ever sleep?

Top 3 that I love:
1. Price, meaning value for the money.
2. Staff, whom I have always found to be smiling and helpful. They are your true assets.
3. The comfort of the rooms. The Carnival bedding improvements made the need to sleep a highlight. Nothing like crisp white linens.

Top 3 opportunities for improvement:
1. I have to vote against the red, white, and blue team thing. Too silly during dinner; if you are not interested in such a thing, you are a captive audience. The dancing is not too bad. I’m not fond of pirate pictures.
2. I would love the opportunity to make spa reservations some time in advance of a cruise. You could limit the number available for early bookings to be sure those on board would still have a shot at a massage.
3. Better updates on the Carnival website. So many of the photos related to ships are badly outdated and misrepresent what is real today. There cannot be too many pictures for some of us.

My Dream
To cruise my way into old age. I am happy with the product that Carnival offers. Good luck at your meeting!

Bonnie

Reply
Earl Allen Boek, on October 21, 2007 at 9:09 am Said:

Mr. Heald: Enjoyed your blog. Never been on a cruise yet, so reading about yours is better than
nothing. Many of my 127,000 travel associates will be taking cruises on YOUR liners, for the first time,
over the next months. We appreciate your company
and the relationship we currently enjoy.

I am committed to seeing that my organizations, now in 10 states and soon two countries, rewards your fine company with a huge increase in new business.

Safe Journey,
Earl Allen Boek
http://RobertsResorts.Net

Reply
host star from cruise critic, on October 21, 2007 at 9:29 am Said:

hi John,
enjoy the R&R… you must be getting container ships full of sugar free jelly beans, because they were out of them at several places yesterday!.. as soon as they restock, more will come your way.. at least Heidi can prepare a REAL dog house for you.. hope allen comes thru everything ok

as a first time cruiser coming up on the April trans I can only make a few observations..
WHY I PICKED CARNIVAL AFTER CRUISES 28 CRUISES ON OTHER LINES

1.. value
2. need some fun in my life after hubby’s death
3. my good friend Kuki from cruisemates conned me into it

WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ON BOARD CARNIVAL SHIPS THAT I DON’T THINK YOU ALREADY HAVE

1. Cruise Critic meet and greets!!
2. on cruises with lots of sea days,, some lecturers or historian speakers , especially when heading for european ports
3. have carnival rescind their new policy of tacking on double port charges for solo passengers

Reply
Dave and Melanie Myers, on October 21, 2007 at 10:26 am Said:

TOP 3 REASONS WE SAIL CARNIVAL
1- Value. We consistently get the best prices and the most bang for our buck.
2- Cabin size. More spacious rooms and bathrooms.
3-Miami as a home port. Living in Canada, we have no choice but to fly to the home port. We love Miami and appreciate that Carnival home ports so many ships there. Gives us lots of variety to choose from.

3 AREAS NEEDING IMPROVEMENT
1- Location of the internet cafe on the Conquest class ships. Not enjoyable passing through the cigar bar to get there.
2- A few more shaded areas on the Lido deck. We love being around the fun and music , but by mid afternoon, we often have to leave the area because we’ve had too much sun and can’t find any shaded area to escape to. We would love to hang out there longer with another drink and enjoy the music, but without worrying about getting burnt.
3- More affordable spa treatments with the emphasis on service, not on sales

OUR DREAM OF WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE
Some new ports of call. After 16 cruises, we would love to see some new itineries

Reply
Kathy Kroll, on October 21, 2007 at 10:28 am Said:

Top 3 Reasons……
.
The “Good”….
1. Heidi Donovan-Air & Sea, Miami
2. Destinations & Excursions
3 John and Heidi Heald

The “”Improve” area.
1. The “Carnival” Sea Miles. Really a separate Agency. should be disclosed .
2.Change of same menu in Sun King, Harry’s, David’s, etc. Good food, but needs a change.
3.Not feeling like “cattle” going to slaughter when leaving for an excursion!

The Dream……
A little more “Cunard”( now that you own it) in
decor and style.

Kathy and Paul

.

Reply
Jane, on October 21, 2007 at 10:33 am Said:

John…You make my day…..love your blog…..read it faithfully! My question…..will you be sailing on the Freedom next June 3, 2008? I sure hope so.
Jane from Boston
GO SOX!

Reply
PA Dutchman, on October 21, 2007 at 10:50 am Said:

Top 3 reasons we love CCL
1. Value/room size/enjoy crew
2. Itinerarys
3. Food (Lunch choices on newer ships the best)

Areas to improve
1. Layout/color of cabins. Would be nice to sit by the window.
2. Platinum, we have enough CCL bags, give us something else, hat with CCL ship name and Platinum or shirt. At 20 cruises give us somthing, Free bottled water in cabin or a few free drinks or free embarkation photo with platinum on it. Little things mean alot.
3.Special guest entetainment with 7 day cruises, we have been on some CCL cruises over 7 days that had this and it was great.

To Dream
Only one , If you are going to have rules ENFORCE THEM or DROP them.
With new leadership in CCL , keep up the good work and don’t forget you loyal cruisers. Move some ships close to my house so I don’t have so far to walk for a cruise.
See you in January.
The PA Dutchman

Reply
Longin2cruise, on October 21, 2007 at 11:06 am Said:

Thanks for doing this survey. Just another of your wonderful ideas.

3 reasons I love Carnival:

1. cost
2. fellow passengers (they’re not snobs or stuffy)
3. fun atmosphere on ship

3 areas of improvement:

1. more frequent refurbishment of older ships. Sailed on Elation a few years ago & it was in very bad shape. I’m not a picky person, but it was really BAD.
2. Expansion of port choices-Carnival already doing this somewhat with their Europe/SA cruises.
3. Better response from Public Relations dept. Quite a few people on Cruise Critic complain about the lack of responses from Corporate Office in Miami. I’ll admit some of their complaints are crazy, however some are not & all should be addressed, not ignored.

Dreams:
I’m going to mention a couple of smaller dreams first, but please, really pay attention to my last dream.

1. Continuation of current smoking policies that allow passengers to smoke in their cabins.
2. Additions of periodic specials (like past guest specials) for solo cruisers.
3. My biggest dream: When you retire as Senior Cruise Director you should be named Carnival’s Official Good Will Ambassador. You could be based in your home country, but periodically make cruises on different Carnival ships to check things out(like you’re going to be doing shortly). You would also do the “Official Carnival Blog” for all ships & perhaps even have teleconfrences scheduled on each of the Carnival ships.

Reply
PA Dutchman, on October 21, 2007 at 11:15 am Said:

Forgot a Dream, I’m on a Platinum kick today.
Extend the use of Carnival Platinum Perks at 20 cruises for us to use on the rest of the Carnival Cruise Lines, Princes, Cunard, Holland America, Costa maybe we would pay the price and go on one of them. We are family.

Reply
Tom & Jane, on October 21, 2007 at 11:34 am Said:

John, in answer to your questions for the survey:

TOP 3 REASONS WE LOVE CARNIVAL:
1. Lots of fun & activities going on.
2. Younger crowd of people although we are 65+.
3. Extra comfy beds.

TOP 3 AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT:
1. Give Platinum members some other gift other than the tote-bags. Maybe a Polo type shirt?
2. We would like the room service menu to have more options such as a more complete breakfast, or maybe even a choice for dinner.
3. After a set amount of cruises after Platinum, a guaranteed ocean-view stateroom with a booking of an inside stateroom.

OUR DREAM OF WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE ONBOARD.
1. Sorry but no ideas here. Carnival is the greatest!

Another idea we would like to see is the Carnival ships going to other ports out of Tampa, Florida. We live 30 min. drive from the Tampa port, but these ships go only to the Western Caribbean and we would like to see a change. I know they are limited, but during storms, etc. they have gone to Grand Turk & Coco Cay, so I know it is possible.

Reply
Kevin, on October 21, 2007 at 12:49 pm Said:

I forgot this one,
Give solo passengers a bit of a break double port charges come on lets not be so greedy we already pay more to travel. Take it easy on us or make some single cabins I know I would cruise more if i had one. Cunard has the most in the entire fleet I believe on QE2. Why can’t carnival have like 10 per ship I bet they would fill up before the doubles’s even got 25% there.

Reply
vicki, on October 21, 2007 at 1:02 pm Said:

Hi John and Heidi ! Been away for a bit–our Holiday cruise and then myson’s weding in Virginia.

3 reasons we love CCL

The food is excellent and sooo much variety. In the supper clubs, it’s superb.

The price ! And since we are 30 ruises now, got 25% off for our cruise coming up in March on the Freedom.

The crew is the best !

Needing improvement—–

debarkation–have had 2 bad expereinces and the last was on the Holiday-Carnival told us to get off as were are Platinum, even though they were still calling self assist—when we got off we were told to get back on by the port people and one was very rude ! We stood out in the hot sun for over an hour—-not happy campers.
Also had trouble on a back to back on POrt Canaveral once.
It seems one hand doesnt lnow or care what the other is doing.

More choices on room ervice menue would be great.

Cant think of any others–oh—how about getting rid of the lame piano players ? We’ve been very unlucky latey–they should all be singing at a retirement home or something. But know Ron will be on our March sailing and he rocks !

Hope your fingers improve !

Reply
girldoc, on October 21, 2007 at 1:35 pm Said:

TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL–
1. The value is such that I can cruise often.
2. The Casino (my home away from my cabin) is full of friendly staff and lots of fun!
3. The entire staff are attentive, friendly and courteous!

TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT
1. I wish there were more varied itineraries in the caribbean instead of the same islands.
2. Change up the drink specials from year to year!
3. Update fitness equipment (get rid of the keiser resistance machines on many of the ships and get stack weight machines

YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD
1. Trap shooting off the stern of the ship!!!
2. Cooking classes? Maybe three different offerings such as “entrees”, “sides”, “deserts”, “ethnic (such as indian)”
3. I’ll refer you back to “improvements” #1. Carnival needs more varied caribbean ports of call. Consider a 9 or 10 day cruise so that visits can be made to the ABC islands…Isla Margarita, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, you get the picture.

Reply
Kathy Kroll, on October 21, 2007 at 1:56 pm Said:

Calif. Fires !

Just came back from Sunday Brunch at a restaurant located along side the runway
at Van Nuys Airport. As we sat down we looked
out the window . Right across the runway the LA
Fire Dept.’s aircraft were fueling up including what looked like the”Super Scooper” and other fire fighting apparatus.
We live in Van Nuys which is about 35 min. drive to Malibu. We are now starting to smell smoke although the wind seems to be blowing away from us at this time. The news on TV just announced gust up to 106 mph ! Not good ! We have some windy conditions here in the San Fernando Valley, but nothing like that.
Thought we’d share a local point of view. Let’s hope no more homes are lost. So far no injuries.

Kathy and Paul

Reply
"BIG" ED, on October 21, 2007 at 2:11 pm Said:

John, Fatima left a picture and message for you on my blog.
http://ekonefe.wordpress.com/

“BIG” ED
T-90 days till blast off of the BLOGGERS CRUISE

Reply
Rikki Boyce, on October 21, 2007 at 2:25 pm Said:

I just read all the surveys responses to date and had to add…

NauticalBy Nature is so right about the free internet for crew. I bet that is the single greatest thing you could give them as so many are far from home.

I want to reemphasize how much the red/white/blue thing was distasteful at dinner. As soon as that voice came over the speakers (Hello all you happy people) everyone at our table groaned. It’s just the timing of the thing — you’re all relaxed and stuffed and it puts a loud and unwelcome end to a lovely evening. Maybe at some other venue?

The web site is a mess. I had to try out three different browsers before I could print out my documents. And the browser that let me print out the documents wouldn’t let me read about excursions — I had to use another one.

You didn’t ask, but here ’s what I’m looking forward to next week that I haven’t experienced on Carnival yet — the fish and chips, the Mongolian barbque, the movies under the stars (they had this on our Princess ship but as second seating diners, there were no chairs left for us so we never got to experience it).

Reply
Myra Bushnell, on October 21, 2007 at 2:53 pm Said:

Hi, John,

Love:

1. value
2. most foods
3. wonderful service

Improve:

1. longer time frames for “games”
2. adults only pool
3. less expensive spa services. It says something weird when a one hour massage costs more than a seven hour excursion which includes transportation, a guide, lunch and entertainment!

Dream:

1. Pets allowed to cruise
2. Complementary wine at dinner
3. Smokefree casino (Just a way to clean the air as someone else suggested. Not deprive smokers of their pleasures…I am an ex-smoker and know how that feels.)

My last two postings seem to have disappeared, so here is my “review” again for Heidi of “Elizabeth: The Golden Age.” She will love it. Elizabeth was amazing and apparently one of your best monarchs. Scott and I were so intrigued we both did internet research of her. Also, Kate Blanchett is outstanding in the role…she is one of today’s best actresses. There aren’t that many fluffy-shirted men, so I think you’ll find it bearable. Check out the hand placement during the dance Elizabeth compelled Bess and Sir Walter to perform! You and Heidi could add that to your Thursdays.

Good luck at your Miami meeting. Hope they come through with the Aston Martin! Oh, and I hope your fingers are healing well.

Hello to Heidi, and prayers for Alan and family. And is Southern Dreams having fun?

Later,

Myra

Reply
Teresa C., on October 21, 2007 at 2:58 pm Said:

Oh John, what a picture. That’s all I’m going to say. I won’t say I won’t miss you replying to our Q & A, but you gotta do what you gotta do. You have very understanding friends. This is a very busy time for you. Let Maurice know he has to represent Chicago in a good way. Propose to the woman!!!

TOP 3 REASON LOVE CCL
1. Value
2. Itinerary choices
3. Friendly and good looking staff

NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT
1. Food variety (doesn’t include MAIN DINING)
2. Direct flights from overseas
3. Activities
4. Space issue during captain’s party.

DREAM
Drinks included. I know this is in my wildest dreams. You did say DREAM BIG.

Finally, my dream for you is that you have a relaxing and enjoyable vacation with your lovely wife Heidi and try to stay out of the dog house.

Reply
marcia014, on October 21, 2007 at 3:05 pm Said:

TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL
1. Value for price
2. Food
3. Options of activities available

TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT
1. MUSTER DRILL – I really liked the process of meeting in various lounges and public areas that was set up on Princess. You could be comfortable and in the air conditioning until everyone is assembled, then have instruction regarding emergency procedures. This was also better for a family in which one of the members was elderly or frail – they could wait in the lounge area before and after the muster drill without having to worry about being trampled by the herd of people leaving the same place at the same time, as well as for anyone suffering from claustrophobia – the Carnival deck can feel very closed-in quickly!
2. More sturdy lounge chairs on shaded decks. This is really 2 issues. The first is the white plastic loungers are not sturdy for those of us who are extra-medium sized. The second is to have nice comfortable loungers in covered areas where we can sit and watch the ocean.
3. More enforcement of rules. I would like to see staff members constantly walking through the public areas such as pool areas or showrooms during peak hours and reminding people about rules such as not saving seats, smoking vs non-smoking areas, dress codes, and keeping an eye on rowdy passengers. Just because I can appreciate value for the dollar doesn’t mean I am not willing to pay more for quality.
4. I have to agree with the photo comments. There has to be some better, affordable technology where you can look up your photos and have them printed after ordering them instead of wasting all of the paper, chemicals, and time to print every shot! I put most of my photos in the refuse bin each cruise, and only purchase 1 or 2 photos per person.

YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD
I don’t want to see mega-ships take over the line. I enjoy the medium-size ships where you can see the same people more than once and build a rapport with other cruisers.

Reply
Msqpon - Jo Myerly, on October 21, 2007 at 3:42 pm Said:

Hi John, Sorry you have two wounded fingers. You should try to get some liquid bandages. It comes in a bottle like nail polish. If you get a little cut you paint it on with the brush in the bottle. It takes the sting away and the cut heals faster. Try to get some at a drug store. It really works.

Jo

Reply
michelle mann, on October 21, 2007 at 3:59 pm Said:

Hi John

Here we go…
LOVE:
1) staff ; friendly, helpful, funny
2) value
3) Food & Cocktails & cabins etc etc

Improve
1) some nice eye candy for the ladies, have a young man singing by casino bar.
2) stop playing the same port of call movie all day long on the big screen on port days. It drives me crazy watching the same film over and over, feels like ground hog day.
3) more hot tubs

Dream
1) Be able to choose table in restaurant and time when making booking.
2) Larger pool area
3) Get rid of chair hoggs PLEASE!

Take care, safe journey home
michelle

Reply
Dave and Barb Butler, on October 21, 2007 at 4:09 pm Said:

Hi John and Heidi,

See you soon on the TA!

Why we came back to Carnival
1. Value I think that this has been the number one reason for most people.
2. Service. Has always been wonderful.

Reply
Arnold & Elizabeth Tucker, on October 21, 2007 at 4:12 pm Said:

Hi John
Sorry for your “Boo Boos” Those Razors and glass cuts are buggers! Hear are your answers for your questions
1. TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL
a. Value for the Money
b.Friendliness of the Staff
c.Quality of the Food compared to other lines we have been on.(Sush bars)

2. TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT
a.free sodas(cans instead of 30.00 coke cards)
b. non- smoking area in the casino.
c. not saving chairs on the sun decks.

3. YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD
a.John Heald Clones as Cruise Directors on ALL Carnival Cruises we go on.
b. More Ports of Call
c.Havew credits for past guests transferrable between ALL carnival owned lines. Have more options of gifts for platinum guests to choose from instead of their totes.
Hope that helps
Best wishes to Alan
STAY SAFE!
See you in a week!
The Tuckers

Reply
Dave and Barb Butler, on October 21, 2007 at 4:43 pm Said:

Hi John and Heidi,

See you soon on the TA!

Why we came back to Carnival
1. Value I think that this has been the number one reason for most people.
2. Service. Has always been wonderful.
3. Food. It’s always good and David can have as much as he wants, even lobster tails!

Areas for improvement
1. Rules. If you are going to go to all the trouble to make a rule please enforce it. Like appropriate dress for the dining room or areas that are meant for adults only. Please don’t always be afraid of offending someone and do nothing.
2. Room service menu. Better selections. Hot food would be wonderful.
3. More rooms that are handicapped ready and truly hold these rooms for people who need them until 6 weeks from cruise. Also automatic door openers. Those doors are almost impossible to open from a wheelchair or scooter!

Dreams
1. Free drinks at sailaway like old times.
2. Perks, a catogory between being a new past guest and platinum.
3. Departure points. Other areas such as Norfolk, Philli, or Baltimore.

Reply
Msqpon - Jo Myerly, on October 21, 2007 at 4:52 pm Said:

Hi John, You asked for our opinion so here goes.

What I like about Carnival:
Value – I have cruised to places I could only dream about on other lines. It is the old bang for the buck.
I love the Liberty and Freedom ships and their wireless internet service. We bring our notebook along and use it in our room. I have my address book and favorites to use just like at home. I can do my banking and shop (QVC) just like at home and I don’t have to worry about using a strange computer. Dave downloads our mail and we read it off line. That saves a fortune on internet time.

Things Carnival could do better:

We are working towards Platinum membership. We usually take 12 day cruises. Someone can take 10 three day cruises for 30 days and be platinum. I take 3 twelve day cruises for 36 days total and I need to take 7 more cruises before I am Platinum. Even Princess has changed their rules and counts days. Make it a combination of cruises OR days to be Platinum.
If you are a Platinum member either discount internet service or make it free. The highest level should get internet service free.
Back to back cruisers should get a discount. Even 10% would be nice.
We are doing two of the South America cruises back to back. We qualified for the military
discount. When I booked the cruises that was the only discount available. No one told me when I booked those cruises that because I was using the military discount I couldn’t use Carnivals Air and Sea program. I might end up having a real problem when I try to get flights. This seems totally unfair.
I’d like to see cranberry juice available at breakfast. I’d like to see more choices at the Supper Club and change the menu sometimes.
Give us free soda at dinner. Make diet soda available at the cocktail parties. I ask for it and somtimes I get it but usually I just wait for a Coke and wait and wait.

My big dream? Well this will never happen but I always ask. Get Pepsi on board preferably caffeine free Diet Pepsi. PLEASE?

Jo and Dave Myerly

Reply
Gloria, on October 21, 2007 at 5:12 pm Said:

Dear John, Of course you can’t possibly keep up with all the comments and we really often don’t need a personal response. I will assume that you have read my comments, sometimes you really touch me and I feel I have to say something. That speaks for the quality of your blog thingy and the intensely loyal following you have. We all want to talk to you! I hope that you will NOT let the blog dominate your well deserved vacation. I’m sure we don’t mind not getting direct answers or comments on our comments. As a “veteran” cruiser of the Carnival Liberty (W Caribbean), Carnival Freedom (Europe) and booked for Christmas on the Carnival Liberty (E Caribbean), I KNOW why I love Carnival
1- Excellent value for the money
2-I feel like I am on vacation–I can really relax in the great and feel really important with the great service everywhere on board.
3-We love all the entertainment–bands during the day, folk singers, the evening shows, the wonderful ports and the FUN days at sea. A perfect vacation.
Areas to improve-while I don’t like to complain, since you asked, I think that food service in the Lido could be improved. 1-Sometimes the food just doesn’t turn out the way it’s supposed to. I one night in Posh had overcooked Choc Melting cake and another night the Creme Brule had never been anywhere near the Brule and had nothing that would have burned anyway!
2-I found that lineups in the Lido area were sometimes quite long and didn’t move as well as they should have. it was a combination of older guest and empty serving dishes that held things up. I do realize that your people try VERY hard.
3-Some of the waiters in the Lido should be bringing around drinks (juice, coffee, water etc) more aggressively than they do. Although I’ve seen people with drink carts, I’ve never been offered a drink and we always breakfast and lunch on Lido.
DREAMS–the big screen on the Freedom was awesome especially when it was showing movies or concerts. My non-reading husband especially enjoyed it while relaxing on deck. It would be nice to have more TV stations or at least a few more channels with movies on board. TV really wasn’t very good except for John’s shows and we got tired of the same reruns of Carnival ads.
2-I would love to have some [North American] hors d’oeuvres (see, I can even spell it!) occasionally. A few bacon wrapped scallions, spinach and chees stuffed triangles, crackers and cheese even, would be nice. Although we conscientiously tried the sushi, tapas etc on the Freedom almost every night I longed for some familiar items as well!
3-Occasionally I would realize that yes there are 3000 people on board. That occurred when the stores on board opened with a sale, before dinner and the shows, after dinner and the shows, and occasionally in the Lido restaurant (as well as when coming on deck nearer noon when all the chairs were occupied by towels or people). This effect needs to be minimized more–there is a crush that builds in certain areas of the ship at different times that it would be nice to be able to avoid.
However, given all of these comments, I would like to say that I don’t anticipate ever choosing another cruise line unless Carnival doesn’t service an area I decide I want to go to. We have been super satisfied with our first 2 cruises and look forward to becoming Platinum members in a few years.
John, you make the cruising even more special with your blog that keeps us cruising fromour computers. Your stories make wonderful pictures in my head and remind me of the great cruises we’ve been on. The only thing better, of course, is looking forward to our next cruise! Take care and our best to Heidi, Gloria

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Sharon and Jeff, on October 21, 2007 at 6:05 pm Said:

Why we return to Carnival

1. John Heald ..he is the best CD in the industry
2. Best production shows at Sea
3. Carnival Comfort Beds

What needs improvement

1. Enforcing rules in adult only areas
2. Passenger Space Ratio ( on the Victory I felt like I was in a crowd constantly)
3.Hotter water in hot tubs, more hot tubs, open 24 hrs a day.

Dreams

1. Ship from Boston. Year round would be a fantasy, in the summer would be a start. Even a smaller Fantasy class ship, heck even the Holiday.

2. Yes free drinks at sailaway would be awesome, just increase the cruise price by 15 and I won’t even notice -LOL

3. More exotic itneraries. Now Carnival has made great strides since our 2002 cruise from England to New York on the Legend(one of our most memorable thanks a great deal to you John) However, It would be nice to see more Panama Canal cruises, and longer itineraries as your value for $$ is so much better than the other lines. We are booked for 49 days to South America on the Splendor in 2009.
The ultimate Canival cruise……..a World cruise for 105 days LOL. Who knows!!

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Divetrash, on October 21, 2007 at 6:55 pm Said:

Hi John,

You look so sad with your fingers all bandaged. I hope they heal quickly.

So in response to your survey:

TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL:

1. The Value. The best bang for the buck.
2. The People. I’ve been continually overwhelmed by the kindness and friendliness of the crew on my cruises. The keep me coming back to Carnival.
3. This is a toss up. I’ve loved the varieties of itineraries offered, even though all of my cruises so far have been to the Western Caribbean. But if I’m being really honest the one thing that really keeps me coming back to Carnival and afraid to try others, is the Piano Bars and the quality of talent y’all get in there. It becomes my home each trip and I’ve loved every minute in there.

TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT

1. The internet cafe. You really need someone available for support on a more regular basis, particularly on the first few days of any cruise when people are trying to set up accounts.

2. This is kind of part of number 1, but I’m lacking in criticisms… On the Conquest class ships, you really need to move access to the Internet Cafe so you don’t have to walk through the Cigar Bar. I can’t stand the smell of cigars and end up holding my breath as I dash through to the Internet cafe.

3. Better enforcement of the rules: non-smoking areas, adult only areas, chair hogging.

YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD

1. I know you already have tons of activities. I also would love to see a Seaside Theater option fleetwide. But I’d also love to see more dance classes or other types of classes offered.

2. An alcohol inclusive option. I know it’s the biggest money maker, I’m sure you can find a number to keep your profits up and still allow the passengers and option not to worry about having to sign a bunch of slips.

3. Bigger pools. I’ve yet to set foot in one because they are always so crowded.

There you go. My opinions based on my not so vast experience of 3 cruises.

My thoughts are with Alan and family. I hope he is doing well.

My best to you and Heidi.

Cheers mate,

Laura

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Clair, on October 21, 2007 at 8:16 pm Said:

Hi John & Heidi,

I don’t see how anyone could expect you to answer every single post you get! I read the blog everyday and post comments sometimes. I wouldn’t even imagine that you would respond each time.

I’m not really in the position to answer your first question (Give 3 reasons why I love Carnival) as I haven’t cruised on a Carnival ship in many many years. I can tell you that the reason why I taking my first Carnival cruise in almost 20 years (spring of next year) is because of you and how wonderfully you speak of the Company.

Areas of improvement:
Pre-book spa appointments on-line.

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SewingNut, on October 21, 2007 at 8:25 pm Said:

Hi John and Heidi of the Freedom:
I laughed so hard about finger #2. Mr. SewingNut wanted to know why I was laughing. I told him of your issue with finger #1 and explained I was reading about the razor’s assault on finger #2. He was almost rolling on the floor. My sincere wish for quick healing.

SewingNut’s Homework:
TOP THREE REASONS YOU LOVE CARNIVAL
1. good value for money (We researched many cruise lines and to take a similar cruise with 2 or 3 other lines would have cost us as a couple about $2000.00 more for comparable cabin.)
2. destinations – ports of call (We did Grand Med. The ports were incredible.)
3. Choclolate Melting Cake (and Bitter and Blanc is a close second) re: food — I have simple (non gourmet tastes) so I was very pleased with the cuisine on board. I know so many have said there is a cruise line or 2 that are a notch above but I was satisfied and would welcome the cuisine again any day, any time.

TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT
1. Internet cafe – I did not like having to walk through the Habana Bar (filled with smoke) to access the computers. This is a poor design in my opinion.
2. Taking too many elevators out of service during boarding to move luggage.
3. Move lines along faster in buffets on Lido deck.
4. Pools closing before posted times – frustrating at times. Post hours of slide – I found out the hard way it closes earlier than pools (after I went back to my cabin to get dressed in the appropriate swim attire.)
5. To the person who thinks of how to deal with saving lounges for hours on the upper decks – you will be famous. Maybe a brainstorming session on this would be good. Do other cruiselines struggle with this as well? What have they tried?

YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD
1. waterpark like what went on the remodelled Inspiration.
2. shuffleboards
3. A sewing room (You had to know this was coming.) — Laugh now.

SewingNut

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tcup, on October 21, 2007 at 8:31 pm Said:

Three reasons we love Carnival:

1. Price. The best value for our money.
2. Itineraries. great Ports of Call
3. Warm Chocolate Melting cake.

Three areas that need improvement:

1. Bar service. This was extremely slow. We would sit and wait 10 minutes or more for someone to come and take our order and then another 10 minutes or more for our drinks to be served.

2. More emphasis on use of hand sanitizers at buffets and resturants, and also have a hand sanitizer station at the gangway to use when returning to the ship in ports.

3. Debarkation. More staff to help us find our luggage and the right bus and avoid confusion.

What we would like to see on board:

1. Free drinks
2. Chocoholic Buffets
3. More information on ports of call, e.g. maps, attractions, shopping, local buses, etc.

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kiciaski, on October 21, 2007 at 9:13 pm Said:

Hi John and Heidi,

I’ve been really behind on reading the blog again and I’m not sure if I read all the comments or not. Since you don’t have to answer this I’ll make a few comments of my own pertaining to your last few blogs.

It was very good to hear about the Montgomerys and how they’re dealing with the setbacks in their lives but still have a positive attitude about the present.

Thank you for buying supper for the Mastersons. I’m glad that they’re starting to be able to laugh again. That’s important. Nothing will replace their son but they have to help each other.

For the man from Brooklyn and the others who can’t seem to understand the crew or have them understand them – I don’t know what planet they’re from because we’ve never had a problem with any of the crew and being understood. Besides who can understand some of the accents from Brooklyn anyway.

I’m sorry you couldn’t move the Vatican to Naples for your passenger. Sounds like the same person that was mad they weren’t going to the Grand Canyon on the Caribbean cruise. I know Americans are lacking in knowledge of geography but I would think they would research a little bit to know where they were going and how long they would be there and what the weather would be like.

I’m glad that Alan came through his surgery and hopefully with your kind attention he will do as well with the next one. Send our best to Alan and Allison. They are in our prayers.

I must have missed the original comment somewhere but I did figure out that Nanette’s sister-in-law passed away. We’ll pray for her and Nanette’s family too. Say Hi from us.

I’m glad you’re finally taking your vacation because it is well deserved for the both of you. It has been a long time coming. It’s too bad that you only have a couple of days at home before you fly to Miami for your big meeting. I hope you get your Aston Martin and a big raise. Hope those few days pass quickly so you can be back with Heidi and really enjoy your vacation.

As far as replying to your survey, here is a list.

Why we like Carnival:
- As others have said, it is a great value for the money
- The crew is fantastic!! They are very friendly and if we need anything everyone is quick to try and help us.
- This relates to the above but the service is great.

What we would improve:
- Change the menus around more. When you cruise a few times a year some of the choices get old.
- Change the Platinum perks to use days instead of numbers of cruises.
- Free internet for Platinum cruisers.
- Be able to use Platinum perks on all CCL lines
- Enforce the rules regarding kids in adult areas and dress code in dining room.
- Discount for back to back cruises and for booking cruises on board

Dreams:
- Have more varied itineraries and longer cruises from south Florida, Tampa, and Port Canaveral.
- Special Platinum past guest parties
- Cruises to the far East, South Pacific, Australia, etc. Hopefully that is being considered for one of the new ships after Splendor.

I told you that George and I are working Disney’s Food and Wine Festival. We are in the Oklahoma exhibit in a tipi and I have a joke for you regarding that. A man went to his psychiatrist’s office and said I’m a tipi, I’m a wigwam, I’m a tipi, I’m a wigwam. What’s wrong with me? The psychiatrist answered. You’re too tense (two tents). We’ve been seeing a lot of guests from the UK and we’re anxious to tell them we’ll be there next summer.

Enjoy your time off and we’re still looking forward to maybe meeting you in Miami in January and then again on the Splendor. Plan something good for the inaugural.

Take care and we’ll be thinking of Alan too.

Linda

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Lance and Ilda, on October 21, 2007 at 10:39 pm Said:

Hi John & Heidi,

John, my wife and I take only ONE vacation a year due to our schedules and jobs. We have always sailed with Carnival for the value and consistency of service for the dollar spent. We have never really had a bad cruise (the includes the one with you on the Destiny that lost power to one engine).

We always go with the flow. If you look for things to complain about, you will find fault with EVERYTHING in life. Carnival does MOST things very well. The cabins are spacious, the entertainment is top-notch, the service is, based on the number of cruisers, very competent. I would guess that if I were to ask for anything different, I would say a spa area for adults, away from crowd with a hot tub, pool and bar for those passengers only. A truly adults only area that has no kids running around. Other than that, we have found Carnival to fit our niche of cruising perfectly. I think that most of the complaints that come from some of your passengers are due to the fact they are cruising on the wrong line. Carnival is the “Fun Ships” for a reason. When we go on vacation, we want to leave the “REAL” world behind. We find that when we are on a Carnival ship, we are EXACTLY in that type of environment. Is it for everyone? No. If it’s not your cup of tea, there are many other choices out there. I work as a graphic designer for the food service industry. My wife and I happen to think that the cuisine aboard a Carnival ship is excellent. Given the sheer number of meals that must be reproduced on a weekly basis, I think they do an outstanding job preparing these meals. Well, that’s our input, for whatever it’s worth. You do a fantastic job on the blog, John. It is a pleasure, not only to read the blog, but to also play a part in participating in this great community. Sometimes my wife and I think that people just expect too much from a cruise vacation. If you put the entire experience in perspective, it is without a doubt, the most satisfying vacation we could imagine. It is why we continue to sail with Carnival year after year.

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Joko Joan, on October 21, 2007 at 10:56 pm Said:

Dear John:

Top 3 reason to love CCL:
1. John Heald (Really & truly it is why I keep coming back)
2. Initial Value (see below)
3. Bedding

Areas Needing Improvement: (I always like to give constructive criticism but that is not always possible.
1. Hot food – I don’t know how to fix this problem.
2. Use of internet in cabins
3. Price of soda card, photos and excursions are seen clearly as a means of nickel & dime-ing us to make up for the initial “value” given.
4. Enforce rules – maybe making them clearly visible in the brochures.
5. I would love to see more of a variety (selection) of movies on TV. Seeing the same movies over and over I’m sure can be rectified.
5. I was at first going to agree with others about hearing the announcements in the cabins, but they ARE in the bulletin. I always run to the door in case there is an “urgent announcement.” To hear that “Bingo” will be starting . . . I don’t need that, but I certainly do not want to miss something important.

My Dream:
1. Big screen on every ship.
2. Have a vacation planner available.
3. Back-to-back discounts.
4. I don’t expect ‘free’ sodas, but don’t penalize me by raising the prices of soda cards because I’m not a drinker.
5. A “John-clone” on every ship.

Sorry – I can’t count!!!

John, I understand how swamped you are with all the blogs coming in. I’ve asked twice before and will trying asking again. For instance, today you asked us three questions and already you have bloggers answering. How is this happening???

Our prayers are continuing for Alan and also wishing you a much deserved vacation.

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the Bears, Barb & Carl, on October 21, 2007 at 10:57 pm Said:

Hi John,
Sorry about the fingers! Hope Alan is doing better than you right now. Vacation will be here soon and then you will feel better.

1. TOP THREE REASONS WE LOVE CARNIVAL
a.) Value for the money
b.) The crew… Everyone goes the extra mile to make sure we are happy and comfortable.
c.) The bedding… (I sleep better on ship than at home!!!)
I know you said 3, but I have to add:
d.) The food. It’s all wonderful (and I don’t have to do the dishes, either!)

2. TOP THREE AREAS WHERE WE NEED IMPROVEMENT
a.) The Vacation Club… one ship we were on had never even heard of it. So, the perks we were promised when we purchased havn’t been all that great. We were also told (when we purchased the package) that all Spirit class and new ships would have a vacation club office on board, but haven’t seen that either.
b.) chair hogs…. enforce the no reserved lounge chair policy

3. YOUR DREAM OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON BOARD
a.) John Heald Clones on every ship! )
b.) Great Lakes cruises (great idea Big Ed!!!)
c.) Big outdoor screens fleetwide

Take care John and Heidi! Hello to Alan and his family.
Carl and Barb

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Joko Joan, on October 21, 2007 at 11:09 pm Said:

JOHN:

P.S.: Regarding Note from Host Star from Cruise Critic . . . On our last cruise of 9/2/07 on the Legend, we had a large group who met on the Cruise Critic blog over the previous 6-8 months before cruising. We had a grand time meeting and greeting new friends. We had great fun together, and identified ourselves by wearing leis or our Cruise Critic shirts on the “Funship” and we are in the process of booking a reunion cruise in the future, probably on the Legend again as we missed the ports intended because of the Hurricane in the Western Carribean. All it takes is for someone to start the blog.

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jtoddinman, on October 21, 2007 at 11:20 pm Said:

John,

It’s impossible to rhyme on such a subject, but more importantly it’s our once chance to provide what is hopefully feedback that can be constructively used to provide an even greater fun ship experience. Thus,

Things we love:

1. The Crew. There is no doubt they create the “atmosphere” and feeling that is unparalled by almost any another vacation encounter

2. The Cuisine. Dining is always a pleasure when on vacation, but dining while cruising makes it an experience. When combined with the above it rivals any other destination based vacation

3. The Ports of Call. Most any other vacation can put together 2 of the three referenced here, but only cruising can put together all three. Carnival just seems to do it a way that is more affordable and enticing to a larger segment of the market.

(So now that we have touched on the Carnival Three C’s, Crew, Cuisine, And Calls) On to things that can be improved.

1. Guest Services. It should become quite troublesome to Mr. Rodriguez (but overcomeable) that websites such as Cruise Critic, Cruisemates, etc. in many cases has become the predominant information source for answering cruise questions especially to loyal cruisers. Carnival is slowly evolving and this blog is a great example, but there is much more that can be done. Shouldn’t a company know more about it’s product and benefits than it’s customers?

2. I would have to echo the other comments about the past guest program. My airline gives me perks based upon the number of miles I fly, not the number of trips. We have taken several two weeks cruises (none on Carnival) and thus don’t have any incentive to take longer trips with Carnival. As they extend to the European market and beyond this will become more important to consumers who are more concerned with the experience than the price.

3. The Carnival Air program. We have never purchased the air program in all of our Carnival cruises. This is mainly because of the pricing and uknown of when we will fly. However, this could be a HUGE incentive for booking unsold cabins or harder to fill cruises. I receive about three proposals a week from cruise agencies that identify great values or special sailings and the ones that catch our attention are “air included” Even is the cruise price is higher, taking the unknown out of the air, especially closer to sailing would increase demand.

4. Ok so I know that you didn’t ask for four, but I truly believe Mr. Rodriguez will appreciate this one. I am in the sales business and I can tell you I know every month who are my best customers, not such for how many interactions I have with them, but the ones that when I do are the most profitable.

My wife and I will typically have a sign and sail charge of over $750.00 for every cruise. I would guess we are a greater profit center for CCL than those that book an inside cabin and incur charges of $100.00 for the week. With that in mind, why is Carnival not segmenting these markets and proposing rebates, incentives, or possibly dedicated reservation lines for those that are their most profitable?

We sailed a European line a few years ago and while we enjoyed the trip, the atmosphere was not as pleasureable as other trips, thus we didn’t originally consider going back. However, I have heard from them at least 12 times since then and even got a call from one of their customer service reps asking why we haven’t booked another cruise. I’ve sailed Carnival seven times (15 cruises total) and have received one magazine that entire time from them. I really like Carnival but am considering the European line again just because they are staying in the forefront of my mind.

And lastly, the Casino program. Since this is owned by Carnival but is a separate division, I hope you can pass this along. When I play at the casino we play at large amounts. Much larger than are typical from what they normally see. However, they have a player development area that is lacking. NCL has offered free cruises, additional tie ins etc on numerous occassions just because of my rating at a certain chain in Las Vegas. When we contact Ocean Players Club they are happy to send us a fruit basket upon arrival, but otherwise very little. On board our experience increases dramatically, but I believe there is a huge opportunity for development in that area. The individuals who work shore side do an amicable job, but I don’t believe they have the resources nor ability to cater to a high end environment. In fact in a conversation a few months ago they couldn’t even describe what the different levels of their own membership tiers meant. We’ve been a Platinum VIP for several years and still don’t know what it entails.

Lastly, to Dream:

I hate to use the line that has the Mouse Ears as an example, but they’ve learned how to make a guest experience perfect at least on land. Thus I would steal from them.

A check in system at the port that allowed me to get a “check in” time that I could pick up and come back to. An all inclusive package that I could pay more up front but worry with nothing. Priority packages based upon the cost of the room I buy. (such as staying in the park, you get early entry times) Luggage that leaves me at the airport and arrives in my room and leaves my room and meets me at final airport (I know you’re already working on this)

John, thank you for giving us the opportunity to comment. While I know we can send our letter to CCL, however you will find some real “gems” out of all the comments and can continue to build on what is already a fabulous vacation package.

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Marilyn Vischio, on October 21, 2007 at 11:28 pm Said:

Of course, I hope your fingers are better soon. Just don’t injure another one!!
Things I like: 1. Value for the money
2.Ports of call, especially in Europe
3. Nice cabins

Things to improve: 1. Consistently good food, all courses in all meals. Also in Lido area.
2. Longer transcannal cruise
3. The cigar thing has come and gone. Especially when it is a portal to other locations.

Dreams: More northern European trips, perhaps to Norway, Sweden Etc.

Hope all is goes well with Alan- prayers to you and the both families.
Marilyn

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Mary, on October 22, 2007 at 12:01 am Said:

Hi John;
Things l like,
Comfortable beds,
Value for money
Destinations

Things to improve on;
More staff in lido to help carry trays, clear tables and assist with drinks and cutlery.
Stop the crazy dancing on the tables during dinner,everyone at the table groaned when it started and we were a captive audience so to speak.
More reasonable internet rates.
Smoke free areas in the casino.

Dreams;
Perhaps a package for wine at dinner and lunch, and beer, like the 1x package on Costa
More exercise classes like tai chi. Also walk-a-mile sessions on deck at certain times as on Royal Carribbean.
Single rates for solo passengers to be more reasonable.

Looking forward to seeing you and Heidi next Sunday
Mary

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Sheryl Pelton, on October 22, 2007 at 12:22 am Said:

Hi John, Looks like you need a good nurse to take care of you! I will keep this short since you will have a lot of reading to do.

REASONS I LOVE CARNIVAL (Way more than 3, but I will only list 3)

1. You as the cruise director extrodinaire!!!
2. Reasonably priced, excellent vacations with a wide variety of ports.
3. The wide variety of entertainment including shows, pool games, casino, dancing etc.

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT (This is difficult as you are darn near perfect in every aspect)

1. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE change from Coke products to Pepsi. While in Europe it was next to impossible to find Diet Pepsi whereas Coke products were everywhere!
2. Something needs to be done about all the people who go on deck early in the am and put personal items such as books, towels, etc. on lawn chairs and then don’t come out for hours. Perhaps if you had one of the crew make rounds frequently and if the lawn chairs remain un-occupied they could collect the personal items and place them in lost and found–maybe if people knew that their things would be removed, maybe fewer of them would “save” chairs.
3. Lower the prices in the Spa–I know that it is run by a different company other than Carnival, but if you ran it maybe the prices could be affordable to more people.
4. Let fountain sodas be free, even if only at meal times.

WHAT MY DREAM WOULD BE

CLONE JOHN HEALD SO THAT HE COULD BE ON EVERY SHIP ALL THE TIME!!!
Seriously, I would like to see theme oriented cruises, for example, country and western, jazz, comedy, etc. I also think that single cruisers should not be penalized and have to pay 1 1/2 times the rate for the room or for 2 port charges, taxes, etc. (I’ve not cruised alone, but feel that it isn’t fair to those who do.)

Thank you John for doing this survey and I hope it helps. Keep up the good work! I just hope at your Miami meeting that they are not planning to make you on shore staff. You are too great an asset and we would all miss not seeing you on board. Hopefully the first thing they do is present you with your own personalized Aston Martin!

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Marsha Breen, on October 22, 2007 at 8:39 am Said:

Well – here’s my list for you John.

Things I love About Carnival:

1. The military discounts – thank you Carnival for recognizing our veterans!
2. The value for the product we receive.
3. The great service aboard the Carnival ships.

Things That Need Improvement:

1. Please enforce your rules. (Chair hogs, dining room dress code, not smoking in non-smoking areas). Why have “rules” if you don’t enforce them?
2. Non-smoking cabins. Just like hotels do, you could offer some cabins as smoking and some as non-smoking. You need to also add non-smoking area in the casino.
3. Offer free sodas in the dining room with dinner. We all know the markup on sodas and this wouldn’t cost that much.

Dreams:

1. Adult only areas (enforce this rule please). I love kids, but sometimes I want to be away from other people’s kids – especially those who are not well behaved!
2. More comfortable chairs on balconies. Those plastic ones aren’t very comfortable.
3. Some different caribbean itineraries – not just the same Eastern and Western itineraries. Those of us that cruise over and over get tired of the same itineraries.

Thanks for all the great work that the Carnival employees provide their guests!

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Longin2cruise, on October 22, 2007 at 9:03 am Said:

Hi John,

I’d like to add a little more about my dream of you becoming Carnival’s “Official Good Will Ambassador”. My next cruise I will be platnium & on only 1 of my previous cruises have I ever seen a Cruise Director other than when I attended a show. On my Freedom cruise you were out & about & mingling with people all the time! Although I didn’t stop to talk to you I had this feeling that you were always available. Matter of fact, I wondered if you ever had any time for yourself. Everywhere I went, there you were! Obviously you enjoy people……….with the exception of Ms. Knee Hi, Fatima, & a few others & this enjoyment is infectious. Im sure your personality & enjoyment of people is responsible for the success of this blog. You are the ultimate in public relations!!

Now on to other things……………I do hope that you & Heidi enjoy your well deserved vacation. Take care of Alan & his family & give them my best wishes.

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RBGates, on October 22, 2007 at 9:36 am Said:

Things I love about cruising:
1. Best vacation value there is
2. Love the ocean and the shipboard life
3. The all-inclusive nature of a cruise. (Yes, I know there are many things not included in the cost but most are optional and you can really control how you spend your time and money on a cruise.)

Things I would like to see improved:
1. I love to read and make use of the library onboard. Many ships no longer maintain much of a selection in books and there usually is no one in the library to assist or answer questions. I realize that the library is not a revenue-generating area but surely someone could come up with some ideas for this.
2. A totally smoke-free ship.
3. A few extra benefits for booking a suite.

I want to add just how much I enjoy your blog. I check for new entries every day and get such a kick out of your adventures and mis-adventures, the photos, and all the comments by the bloggers. This extra duty has added so much to your workload that it might be a good idea to explore some ways to make it more manageable. The blog is a fantastic PR instrument for Carnival so I wonder if it would be possible for other staff members on additional ships to write a blog? One that comes to mind is Captain Schoonderbeek on the HAL ship Veendam. I also follow his blog daily and enjoy it greatly. At any rate, enjoy your vacation. Good luck to Alan and his family. Find a wonderful restaurant where no one can find you and treat Heidi to a fantastic romantic evening!

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Kathy Kroll, on October 22, 2007 at 9:48 am Said:

“Comment awaiting moderation” !

Have I missed something in the weeks I was away guys?
I see my comments on the fact that we are ablaze here in Souther Cal isn’t “relavant”.! It “is” if the wind and smoke’s so bad you can’t fly out to meet the ship! (Not so at this time.)
Perhaps the news hadn’t made it as far as Dubrovnik when I posted. That’s another “Needs Improvement” area, CNN, BBC more news onboard!
Kathy and Paul

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Myra Bushnell, on October 22, 2007 at 10:15 am Said:

John,

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE…do NOT change from Coke to Pepsi! Yuck

(Just had to chime in.)

Myra

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adias.angel, on October 22, 2007 at 10:16 am Said:

Sorry I didn’t get to this sooner. Weekends are so busy here.

LOVES:
1.) Value for your money
2.) Wonderful & Attentive staffs
3.) ‘Comedic’ attitudes of everyone. No matter whats going on there is a joke to be made and usually as someones expense. LOL

IMPROVEMENTS:
1.) Night life for non-dancing and non-Broadway show people. Were in our mid 20’s and were boarded with the shows. Would love to see a big screen on all the ships as an alternatives to the Broadway style shows at night.
2.) Activities during the day. It seemed to us there were 2 classifications of activities; poolside and kids/teens. As ‘Geeks’ we look for things that are more mentally challenging that physically challenging. Would like to see more than just a couple trivia contests during the day.
3.) New ports for Caribbean. Would love to have some new smaller ports that have a real feel for local culture.

3. YOUR DREAM
The only thing I would want is a quite area for adults with a beautiful view and exciting ports with an authentic cultural feel. Peace and quite with a bit of exploring.

Reply
Kendra, on October 22, 2007 at 10:49 am Said:

Dear John,

Let me first say that I wish all cruise directors on all of the Carnival ships cared about the guests and crew as much as you do. You truly are a fine example of a cruise director! I was a social host with Carnival for 2 years and unfortunately never had the opportunity to work with you.

I have been a landlubber now for 5 years and have cruised on almost all other cruise lines. I can see cruising from both sides of the table.

Carnival is great because:
1. Entertainment
2. Food
3. Value.

Areas of improvement:
1. Tendering
2. Debarkation

Carnival is a great cruise line with wonderful entertainment, food and crew. But the other cruise lines have got Carnival beat with their tendering and debarkation. I don’t know why Carnival always had problems in these 2 areas. But on other cruise lines these are smooth and effortless. But with Carnival there always seems to be a problem. Maybe Carnival needs more staff to help with tendering (not just the hosts and a few dancers).

Anyway, these are my 2 cents and I hope it helps.

Kendra

Reply
shellyp, on October 22, 2007 at 10:52 am Said:

Dear John,

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to have our voices heard.
Reasons I love Carnival:
1. The value
2. the food
3. the entertainment

Ways Carnival can improve:
1. Not only big screen at night on deck but also show movies in theater on sea days during the afternoon.
2. waterproof bingo cards for games of bingo by the pool
3. allow guests who lost luggage to use tuxedos or formal dresses free of charge on formal night

My Dream:
1. Galapagos destination
2.more “theme” cruises targeting specific activities: cooking, wine tasting, etc…, or having mini themes within regular cruises
3.having some outdoor seating at your reservation only restaurants-what could be more romantic than gourmet food and wine while watching the sun set?

Thanks again for letting us have an opinion. Also, please enjoy your vacation and relax. Don’t worry about us bloggers. Your vacation is about rejuvenating yourself, not keeping up with the blog! John, you give us a great vacation, so remember to give yourself one also!

Take care.
Shelly

Reply
bill (zydecocruiser), on October 22, 2007 at 11:06 am Said:

Great:
1) Carnival sails year round from New Orleans This is HUGE to me.

2) Value (Including Shareholder’s OBC)

3) All of the essentials I look for in a cruise are covered – from cabin size to bedding to quality and variety of food, embarkation ports, itineraries, good balance/compromise of suggestions/illusions/reality/rules including enforcement. That the entire ship doesn’t go to sleep immediately after diner.

Needs improvement:
1) Carnival needs to put a 7 day ship in New Orleans. While I cruise from many ports, the ability to cruise for 7 or more days from New Orleans is more important to me than the destinations or for that matter the cruise line. Even a ship every other week – e.g. a ship from Miami or other Florida port that ends a cruise in New Orleans and then departs from New Orleans and ends back in Florida (or some other Gulf port). Offers lots of choices including B2B or B2B2B to your port of debarkation and/or 1 way airfare is usually relatively cheap in the region.

2) Either roll back the recent price increase for singles or reduce the single supplement on some categories above cat 1A.

3) I also have a gaggle of the Carnival bags given Platinum members – I know one item everyone is getting for Christmas this year. Free or reduced price Internet would be a perk I would like to see added.

———————————–

Dream cruise?

Since I am booked on the first two Splendor cruises, receiving an invitation to whatever festivities are going to take place in the July 10-July 13 interval in between the two cruises.

I might be willing to settle for an invitation to some events and having a secure place to store the bulk of my luggage since I won’t need it for wherever I end up those three days. I have the same cabin for both cruises, so that would be a convenient location.

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/splendor_pre/splendor_pre.htm

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/splendor_08/splendor_08.htm

———————————–

I saw someone request ice machines or such – I think you can usually get ice in the Lido most of the time.

There is a public bus stop by a small gas (petrol) station just before the worst part (the overpass) of the walk to Piazzale Roma.

Reply
Canuck Cruiser, on October 22, 2007 at 11:37 am Said:

Hi John,
Bet you’re counting the days now until some well derserved R&R.

Ok……..here goes.

A. Things we love about Carnival
1. Value for the $$$$$ Can’t beat it.
2. The crew- Top notch all the way!!!
3. The FOOD!!!!

B. Things that could be improved
1. Update the activities around the pool area…..seen enough hairy chests…..get the drift?
2. Bigger pots of $$$$ in the BINGO games
3. Food outside the dining room doesn’t need to be as fancy……..good old fashion stick to your ribs grub and some pub food available in the sports bar instead of the bird seed on the bar!!!! BRING BACK PEANUTS and chips ( crisps for you John)

C. Dream section
1. More variety in the big lounge- comedians, magicians……………..broadway shows are all looking the same…..sorry!
2. A completely supervised and restricted ADULT section on each ship………………the kids have Club Carnival and Club O2. We adults need a place to chill without the little darlings.
3. Special interest classes for passengers- ie guest speakers (John Cleese perhaps)………..more demonstration classes on different interests.

Just a few thoughts on your homework assignment.
All the best to Heidi…..crew and of course our main man………………Roberto.

Don’t be a wall flower at the BIG meeting in Miami John, we’re counting on you to voice our suggestions. I’m sure you’ll do fine.

All the best from the land of the changing seasons

B&D from Canada

Reply
Lisa and Elaine, on October 22, 2007 at 12:07 pm Said:

Hi John,
Sorry to hear about the boo-boo on your other finger…if you keep this up you will have to type the blog with your nose!
Your bloggers understand totally about not being able to respond…you have so much to do. Take care of you and yours first…speaking of which, how is Alan?

Having traveled on other cruise lines, I wouldn’t change a thing…however, I would love to have the hot tubs open 24/7. Sometimes after a long night of dancing, I would love to wind down in the tub before heading off to bed!
Hello to Heidi and Roberto!
Elaine

Reply
Peanuts, on October 22, 2007 at 12:31 pm Said:

Good afternoon John and Heidi,

Smoochy…for you second “bo bo”.;D

Three reasons why we love Carnival:

Service
Food
Value

Three areas to improve

Past guest perks/Perks for suites
new ports (Caribbean)
Better selections of gifts in shop

My Dream:

I live on the Great Lakes (Huron) and would love to see Carnival do Great Lakes cruises. There is some very beautiful shoreline on the State side and the Canadian side. Not to mention Wisconsin and having Chicago or Detroit as a port, what great towns, along with all the smaller quaint cities. This is really an untapped market.

Reply
Mark Twain and a Half, on October 22, 2007 at 1:26 pm Said:

Hi John,
Please DON’T feel the least bit guilty about not replying to 350 comments. If you even considered it for a millisecond you are doing too much.

About your fingers – here’s some genuine sympathy. I just had a small skin cancer removed from my nose. The cancer was not a big deal at all, but now I have a wound on my nose that is messy and ugly and I can’t wait for it to heal up – so we should exchange Purple Hearts. (In case you haven’t heard of that, it’s a medal that American soldiers get for being wounded in combat.) I also think Heidi could have shown a bit more sympathy to you, especially since it was mostly her fault. Working around a million little bottles in the bathroom is just part of the price of living with a woman, but things containing razor blades should always be carefully put out of harm’s way. So, you have my support there, too.

I liked the photos and story of the Arizona Shrimps. I guess he is a jumbo Shrimp and she is a popcorn Shrimp. Did you ask either of them to mix you a drink? Because I’ve heard that a Shrimp cocktail is delicious.

3 Reasons I love Carnival:
-Excellent value for the money.
-Ships are classy without being pretentious.
-Tone of the cruises emphasizes fun and inclusiveness rather than snobbishness.

3 Things that need improvement:
My last cruise was 5 years ago (Not due to any fault of Carnival), so these may have been fixed already:
-Debarkation at end of cruise takes a long time and is really boring.
-When twin beds are pushed together, it needs some kind of wedge-shaped thingy to fill up the crack in the middle.
-Lines at the Purser’s desk were always very long.

3 Dreams for the future:
-7 day cruises out of New Orleans and/or Mexican Riviera cruises out of San Francisco.
-FUN ways to exercise, maybe a rock climbing wall (sorry John, but it does look fun), or a boot camp-like obstacle course (crawling under a net, running through tires, swinging on a rope over a pond, etc.).
-Staying overnight at some ports.

Reply
GO, on October 22, 2007 at 1:50 pm Said:

THINGS I LIKE:
1. FUN — festive, uninhibited, gotta love that decor!!
2. VALUE — best bang for the vacation buck anywhere, maybe best value for money on earth
3. CHOICES — lots of ships sailing all the time from lots of different places, yeah most of them go to the same places, but so what, after so many cruises you don’t always get off the ship anyway.

THINGS TO IMPROVE:
1. SINGLE TRAVELER PROGRAM — I would take more cruises if I didn’t have to take it in the neck in order to travel alone. I’m not married and can’t always find someone to travel with, and a Carnival cruise is a great place to have fun with new friends. Bring back the Single Share program and give us a supplement break at least some of the time. (Yes, I can say ‘capacity controlled.’)
2. TOO MUCH INDOOR SMOKING — I appreciate this dilemma for Carnival, but come on now, I had to walk through cigarette smoke to get to the no-smoking blackjack table in the casino, what sense does that make?
3. MORE VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES — yes, the bellyflop contest is fun, but on my September cruise to the Caribbean on the Legend, I don’t think there was a single onboard activity that wasn’t offered on the 7-day Caribbean trips I took on Carnival 10 years ago. It wouldn’t take much, folks – bartending class? lecture on the history of pleasure cruising?
4. (Yes, I can count, too.) BETTER PAST PASSENGER PROGRAM — As far as I can tell, the program offers nothing fare-wise that can’t be obtained through any Internet agency, and the shipboard ‘reception’ for past passengers isn’t worth the time – no real schmoozing with the staff or officers, no sense of anything special.

IF I RULED THE CRUISE LINE…
I would DITCH THE DRESS CODE. Might as well face it, folks: the days of really formal dining are long gone on land, why should it be any different at sea, on vacation of all places? If your clothes are clean, you’re in. There are major cities in the USA where a man wearing shorts at the door of a high dollar restaurant will be greeted with, “Good evening, sir. How many in your party?” Cruise ships should be equally hospitable. I might consider, however, making one or two ships formal-only, with a jacket-and-tie dress code for dinner every night and those not properly attired being turned away at the restaurant…….but how hospitable is that? (Full disclosure: when I cruise, I wear a tux on formal night.)

Reply
Lindsey B, on October 22, 2007 at 1:51 pm Said:

Hi John,
I hope your fingers are feeling better soon!
Well here it goes:
Things I love
1. The value
2. The food and great service (and having the same table and waiters every night)
4. The atmosphere of happiness and excitement on the ship- I can’t really explain it but it’s amazing and the only time I feel it is when I am on a Carnival cruise. (I also love the decor on all of the ships that I have been on) Ialso love the bedding- I even have it at home!

things that should be added:
1. Free drinks to frequent fliers in the casino.
2. Big screens on all of the ships
3.Larger and fluffier bath towels inthe staterooms.
But these are just suggestions, I can totally live without them! Carnival is great!
Best Regards,
Lindsey

Reply
Ruth Jamison, on October 22, 2007 at 2:08 pm Said:

Top Reasons Why We Cruise With Carnival:
1. The service on the ship is outstanding.
2. Top of the line service is provided for children who are on board. The adults are able to enjoy the cruise also.
3. A wide range of cruises are offered at reasonable prices.

Three Things to Consider
1. Make sure get togethers are provided on each cruise for single adults to meet.
2. Continue to expand areas where you cruise. Some of us have been cruising for quite a while. We have seen most of the Caribbean ports.
3. Keep options open for more ships…..the more the merrier!

Reply
Susan, on October 22, 2007 at 2:14 pm Said:

Hi John,

Susan from the West Midlands here again. My favourite reasons to cruise with Carnival are as follows:-
1) Value for money
2) Fantastic production shows
3) Generous size cabins

The three areas where Carnival can improve are as follows:-
1) More ships in Europe with the option of shorter itineries. That cruise line that snitched on you have some 4 night routes sailing from the UK and Barcelona which are great for a short getaway but I’d rather do them on Carnival
2) Better post cruise hospitality in Miami. As you know the flights to the UK are in the evening and when you disembark in the morning you are transferred straight to the airport and stuck there all day. Princess transfer you to a hotel for lunch and then take you to a shopping mall. It makes all the difference knowing you are not going to be sitting in the airport all day.
3) An anytime dining option for the main restaurants or failing this more tables for two

My dream would be to find English bacon on board. How do you cope without it ?

Enjoy your holidays.

Susan

Reply
Ruth Jamison, on October 22, 2007 at 2:33 pm Said:

John and Heidi,
I forgot one thing that I wanted to be sure the Carnival folks heard-
This blog is the single most incredible thing any cruise line has offered. There are many of us
who have truly caught the cruising bug. My husband and I have been on over thirty cruises.
We are strictly committed to Carnival, but this blog is what keeps us going until we can earn the money to come back on another cruise. John has done a wonderful job of introducing people who have never cruised to the magic of stepping on board a cruise ship and sailing to exotic ports.
It is as if time stands still for a while and all the problems that you had before you left are forgotten.
People do not realize how wonderful cruising is. John has painted that picture through words and photographs. He is to be commended for the extraordinary amount of time he spends answering questions and responding to comments.
Those of us who frequent the blog have become a support group for each other and a family.
I hope the folks at Carnival appreciate all John has done to instill a love of cruising in most of the passengers who have had the pleasure of sailing with him; as well as the number of people who have read his blog and decided to give Carnival a try.

Reply
DWA76, on October 22, 2007 at 2:59 pm Said:

John,
Sorry to read about your new cut. I hope things improve soon.
And I can’t get over the weather! Wow!
My comments echo what a lot of other people have said here. I love the value, service, and food for the company plus the overall atmosphere.
My only criticism (which is being addressed) is adding ports and i know that will be resolved in due time.
Getting excited for you since i know vacation is right around the corner! Congrats!
David

Reply
catmama044, on October 22, 2007 at 3:27 pm Said:

OK, since I have never sailed on Carnival (I know, I know…other lines will go un-named) answering all of the questions will be difficult.

Things I like (without having sailed Carnival)
1. Value
2. Adults only section (hopefully this will be enforced during our cruise.)
3. Can’t wait to try the Comfort Beds

Things I would like to see improved (again, without having sailed Carnival)
1. Want to book the spa on-line prior to sailing
2. Less expensive soda card
3. Based on previous comments – hope that room service improves to include more hot items, especially breakfast and late night.

My dreams:
1. Maybe an all-inclusive cruise. I say this because my daughter has changed her honeymoom from a cruise to one of those all-inclusive vacation deals. I think you might be missing a group – by not having this as an option.
2. Cooking classes.

John, take care of your fingers and get ready to enjoy some well-deserved vacation time. Of course this will be AFTER you receive your Aston Martin in Miami.

Hope Alan is well.

Take care!

Reply
M@ & RT, on October 22, 2007 at 4:56 pm Said:

Use the dragon talk device so you no longer have to type. It will type the words for you based on your ‘talking skills’…. I’m not sure if it knows buggar or wanker, but you can program those words into the internal dictionary. That way, you can kick your feet up on the desk, eat a Canolli and talk to your hearts content, all without typing a single thing. That would make your fingers smile!

How about Fatima treatment session in your spa, with a ‘heard about John’s experience discount, if mentioned’… haha

3 things I love:

1- People and crew, best yet… including you John!
2- Food in the Supper Club, outstanding!
3- Excellent experience to experience Europe as we never had before until we started with the European Carnival cruises. We are now hooked.
4- Outside balcony cabins, expecially the Aft ones!

Things to improve upon:

1- Learn Russian for crying out loud… sheesh! ha
2- More exquisite restaurants, such as Todd English, Bobby Flay, etc… something more than just the Supper Club. Though it is outstanding!
3- Promenade like the RCCI ships, more shops, more things like that.
4- Golfing or flying kites off the back of the ship. I want to hit a 300 yard smacker off the back of the ship with my new Nike club. Now that would get people excited about the Golf Excursions…. even a chip would go hundreds of feet and give people a lot of confidence. I’ll bring my own balls or invent some sort of bio ball that disolves in salt water after a little time to keep up with the environmental concerns and requirements. Skeet shooting would be a great comeback too! haha

Last but not least, John, you need to do a cruise with the other directors, etc and show them how it’s ‘REALLY’ done.

One more… more comedy acts… not so much dancing, more funny stuff… not just jugglers, etc, but real comedians… adults only stuff…

Other than that, we stay with Carnival because you are the ongoing cruise director with whatever ship we next decide to cruise on… we make it a point to decide upon our trip based on that. Thats a great thing for you, having a ‘following’.

Have a great time off John, take care of Alan, his family and your wifie pooh….

Did you try that Arizona Salsa yet? What did you think?

Talk more to you soon, if not, then at the Frying Pan, man!!! More fish and spotted dick please!

Hasta,

Matt & Arte (M@ & RT)

Reply
Karen Tessier/Edmonson, on October 22, 2007 at 5:46 pm Said:

Dera John and Heidi
3 reasons I love Carnival
1. great destinations/ports
2. value for price
3. variety of ships- as important as the ports
3 areas of improvement
1. seaside theater on all ships- Freedom was great
2. food on each ship as good as another
3.upgrade to include the “comfort” bed/linens that was on the Freedom- most comfortable of any ship(Med cruise was my 5th)

My Dream on a ship
A pre-platinum rating- to include some amenities but obviously not as many as a platinum cruiser, maybe a VIP embarkation/debarkation, for someone with 5 or 6 cruises…..

Reply
Jayneen Casbarro, on October 22, 2007 at 7:20 pm Said:

3-Love Carnival
1. The absolute best value for your money
2. The Crew are undeniably award winning, top notch.
3. Food is outstanding-creme brulee to die for “yum”
3- Improvements:
1. extend dance lounge hours (2-3 am)
2. First time cruisers should have their attention brought to the fact “The carnival capers” is not just a paper they put outside your door every morning it actually gives you a wealth of information at to what is going on throughout the day.
3. Embarkation: Upon arriving once you complete the check-in process. Have area set up for passengers to take group photo before proceding to the boarding area. This should help expedites the boarding process. Then allow passengers to start boarding the ship early,knowing there rooms will not be available until ?:??. and not to go into these areas. It gives the passengers a chance to grab a bite to eat, explore, People love to listen to live music by the pool, why not makes extra $$ on libations during this time.
I agree the beverages (non alcoholic) be inclusive with the price of the cruise. maybe for the kids smaller glasses be provided to help curb waste (not saying adults are not wasteful)but maybe bring attention to take only what you will drink. I am sure this is why beverages (soda and water)are a charge now. I vote for pepsi to be an available product on board.
PS: John keep up the great work and enjoy your vacation!! disneyworld? : )

Reply
As You Wish, on October 22, 2007 at 7:50 pm Said:

3 Things I Love
1. Great Value
2. Wonderful atmosphere & service
3. Delicious & varied food

Areas for Improvement

Reply
As You Wish, on October 22, 2007 at 7:52 pm Said:

3 Things I Love
1. Great Value
2. Wonderful atmosphere
3. Delicious & varied food

Areas for Improvement
1. Enforcement of your own rules–i.e. no hogging pool chairs, saving seats in lounges, kids in hot tubs…
2. Updated cabin decor
3. Provide cultural info & some history on ports rather than just shopping info.

Dream:
Soaking tub in each cabin, preferrably on the balcony.

Reply
Kathy of the HavinsNest, on October 22, 2007 at 10:54 pm Said:

Our first cruise is in 62 days so I my homework assignment is being handed in incomplete.

Like: The price, the destinations, how helpful the Carnival website has been for me, this blog

Dislikes: Don’t have any

Needs Improvement: Wish I could have paid for our Supper Club reservation in advance (okay, I’m a little OCD, what can I say?)

Reply
Julie Gantt, on October 22, 2007 at 11:41 pm Said:

Hi John,

I love Carnival because of the value and the staff.

Areas I would like to see improved:

Don’t care for the arrangement of Lido deck buffet on the Liberty. You had to go to different lines for different food you wanted. Here for your burger, over there for your salad…. you get the picture. The lines were so long that some food got cold while I stood in line to get something else to add to my meal.

Hate the Red, White, Blue stuff in main dining rooms.

More things I’d like to see:

New/More Caribbean Ports.

Better value for single people to sail. I’d like to come by myself and not have to pay double for the room.

More adult areas to get away from the screaming kids.

And, the MOST IMPORTANT THING, Size friendly chairs. If you look at the pictures of the bloggers on Big Ed’s web site, you’ll see how many of us are fat. We need sturdy, ARMLESS chairs on the Lido deck to accomodate us. I would also enjoy a deck chair/chaise that would be easier for a fat or handicapped person to use. Higher off the ground and big and sturdy. Us fat folks want to lounge in the sun and sea air as well.

Carnival travel agents: I always book my cruise through Carnival. If you book your air flights through Carnival you can choose your room. I would like to be able to pick my room even if I don’t have Carnival schedule my flights. I have been unhappy with the fact that when Carnival schedules my flight, they get me there and onto the ship at the last minute and the buffet is closing down and I have to scramble. When I ask them to schedule me sooner I’m told to schedule it myself because there is nothing they can do. I love having them schedule it so I can get off the plane, hop on Carnival’s bus, have them handle my luggage and get me to my ship.

Hair dryers and hand held showers would be nice on all the ships. The newer ones have them. (hand held showers are the ones where the shower head is on a hose and you can take it down and reach all the parts on your body)
(Great for getting sand out of your crack)

Love ya John, and thanks for listening. Enjoy you Vacation. Hugs to you and Heidi.

Reply
Piper, on October 23, 2007 at 9:10 am Said:

Reasons we love CCL:
1. Wonderful bedding!
2. Good value for our vacation $$.
3. Wonderful family vacation.

Areas of improvement:
1. More sea days!
2. More variety in Western Caribbean port of calls.
3. Would like to see 7 day cruises out of Mobile & New Orleans.

Reply
John and Michele Lewis, on October 23, 2007 at 12:46 pm Said:

Top Three Reasons for Cruising Carnival
- Affordability (in comparison both to other lines and land vacations)
- Itineraries
- Fixed Dinner time and location (we enjoy getting dressed up and going to dinner without having to worry about finding a restaurant which suits the whole family as one has to on shore)

Top Three Areas to Improve On
1. Ship Layout – in particular the trips to and from the dining rooms;
2. Wine selection – Rather limited in the dining rooms, particularly when cruising Europe!
3. More deck chairs – give everyone a seat.

Here are the new THREE facilities or guest experiences we will be placing on board our next generation of ships”
1. Slashing the prices of shore tours to match local competition (particularly for family groups);
2. Doing away with the Returning Guest Party in favour of a new tier of Cruising Rewards based on nights cruised on any Carnival Corp. line. Rewards could include Blogthingy t-hsirts, a complimentary bottle of wine in the cabin or similar, pant pressing or laundry service;
3. Bringing Broadway or West End Shows to the Sea – a whole new calibre of onboard entertainment.

Best Regards
John and Michele Lewis

Reply
MaryKay, on October 24, 2007 at 9:13 am Said:

Hi John….your poor fingers!:) I applaud you for taking a breath from replying to all of us…we know you’ll be back sending amusing and snappy replys as soon as you can, and good luck to a smooth turnover of your duties to Todd…I’ll be sailing with him on Dec.8th!
The top three things I love about Carnival:
1.) The way I’m always greeted like a long lost friend – no one has better customer service – from your booking agents, bon voyage dept., to the staff on the ship you guys are a special lot!
2.) No one is forced into a schedule – I love this! Activities are there for you to participate in but if you just want to kick back you can and still have a fabulous time!
3.) The professional way all of the staff conducts themselves ( even when the cruisers are obnoxious and abusive to them) – I will be taking my first cruise as a married couple – before I was always single and I have never had any inappropriate behavior from the staff as I’ve had on other lines and I feel VERY safe with Carnival – without feeling safe a vacation is really no fun.

Things I would like to see changed:
1.) More muted colors – especially in the cabins and in common areas – the bold bright and most times clashing colors can cause quite the headache.
2.) Revolving dinner table seating on longer cruises- just because not everyone gets to see the entertainment or the better views – this would really enhance the dining experience – I realize that our servers are the same all week but I’m sure that each server has a section and that there will always be a better table for “sightseeing” in each section – don’t revolve us around the entire dining room but just in the section.
3.) Ship board activities while in port – there is absolutely zero to do for a guest not able – or wanting – to go onshore. This doesn’t have to be elaborate – card tournaments, movies, discussion groups, etc.(they can even be led by a guest freeing up the staff to go onshore) And I would love to see a pool table onboard!!! I have never seen billiards or a pool table on any of the ships I have been on – what about an adult gaming center? It’s not just kids and teens that like to play games – The Wii would be a great addition for adults to play while in port and many others times.

Inclosing let me just say that I enjoy all the many aspects of The Carnival experience…from the cabins to the foods…I really love it when there is a new soup everyday…nothing like a warm bowl of soup when you had one martini to many the night before.
So if none of the changes us bloggers submit come into play I don’t know that it matters….the things we want changed are somewhat trivial….so tell them in Miami that you all deserve a pat on the back and an ‘atta boy for the great job you all do!

Have fun in Miami and totally enjoy your vacation with the wonderful Miss Heidi and I hope to meet you on a later cruise…God Speed.

Ta ta for now,
MK

Reply
MaryKay, on October 24, 2007 at 9:20 am Said:

BTW…I think doing away with the past cruisers party is a BAD BAD BAD idea…I don’t need an extra shirt, pant pressing, or a free bottle of wine…I do enjoy meeting past cruisers all in one spot and have found people I’ve cruised with before at these parties – I may have never stumbled across these folks without the past cruisers party…just one past cruisers opinion.
mk

Reply
Carol Schoenberger, on October 24, 2007 at 10:20 am Said:

Hi John,

I still haven’t gotten through reading the past few blogs & comments, but I thought I would answer your homework assignment first.

But 2 things first – how are your poor fingers? I know how hard it is to use the keyboard with bandaged fingers, and I’m a professional, so I say bravo to you for what you do. And, second, give my best to Alan – he is in my thoughts.

Now here’s my list:

Top 3 reasons: Value, Fun & Relaxation, Friendliness of staff.

Could use improvement: More “Extra-Medium” clothes in the shops, Big Screen on Lido Deck on all ships, Better pricing for single cruisers (actually this would be #1) & better co-ordinated debarkation/bus transfers to airport so flights are not missed.

Dreams: Easier stair entry into pools and larger pools, year-round cruising from New York, free sodas (soda machine on Lido Deck?).

But I do have a response to Julie Gantt who mentioned not being able to pick her room unless Carnival arranged the flight. I have been able to do so on-line and then confirmed with my PVP. And my flight in December will be in Miami before 11:00 a.m. This was through Carnival. Maybe leaving out of the NY area has its advantages of more flight choices.

Now I’ll get back to the other blogs.

Take care John and if I don’t get any response from you until after your meetings, no problem. Just have a wonderful vacation. Are you going to catch any Heat games while you’re in Miami?

Hugs,
Carol

Reply
"BIG" Ed, on October 24, 2007 at 11:20 am Said:

Julie Gantt,

I’ve never booked a flight and I’ve always picked my cabin. But if you do the guarentee price you get what you get.

“BIG” ED

Reply
Kersplott, on October 24, 2007 at 1:04 pm Said:

John here are my survey answers:

Top 3 Reasons to come back to Carnival:
1 – Onboard staff
2 – Dollar value
3 – Size and comfort of cabins

Areas to improve:
1 – Better cruise rates for singles especially after attaining Platinum status.
2 – Meal allowances/vouchers for guests purchasing Fly Aweigh and booked on all night flights west to east across United States. Domestic airlines do not have meals – International flights do.
3 – Easier across to VIP checkin at all embarkation facilities.
Dreams
1 – More rocking deck chairs in covered or shady areas on deck for guests who must limit sun exposure.
2 – Designated cell phone area.
3 – Free bottled water in cabins especially for Platinum level

Thank you Roberto and John for gathering our suggestions to be presented to the Carnival powers that be.
Kersplott

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Matt, on October 25, 2007 at 3:21 pm Said:

LIKE:
1. value
2. Food – good with a good variety but always room for continuous improvement
3. TRADITIONAL DINING and getting to know and talk with the staff such as waiters and waitresses

IMPROVE:
1. SIZE of the POOLS
2. PRICE of drinks and PICTURES (pictures should be cheaper so more people buy them isntead of them being thrown away)
3. Variety of entertainment (late night shows/comedians, magicians, vantriloquists, etc.)

DREAM:
-A mall/promonade like other lines have – a center to congregate, walk, people watch, and relax
-A PRIVATE ISLAND just for Carnival ships – a relaxing, secluded island with jetskiing, parasailing, and more… and areas just to lay down and listen to the band.
-more entertainment facilities… waterpark (slides, pools, bumber boats…), ice skating, bowling…

personal note:
the caribbean poolside bands by the pool all day is great! also, maybe Carnival can sail year-round from NY with a new ship to other places than just Florida/Bahamas/St. Thomas…

Reply
ccarr, on October 31, 2007 at 4:13 pm Said:

My husband and I cruised the Inspiration after it was put back into service, and was also very disapointed. If the ship was refurbished or cleaned or whatever, it didn’t show. We have cruised with you 4 times now and I have to say I was completely amazed that Carnival didn’t do a better job. Nonetheless, it hasn’t changed our thoughts on cruising with you all, as we are set to sail the Feedom in December. We are looking so forward to seeing what you and so many have blogged about. Shame we aren’t going to get to meet you. Love your blogs. Keep them coming.

Reply
meredith, on November 16, 2007 at 11:31 pm Said:

I have never cruised Carnival, only other lines, so I hope you will forgive me for answering in general cruising terms rather than about CCL.

LOVE: (1) The experience of walking on board after checking in. Champagne and escorts to your cabin are great here. But mostly I love just getting out of the “real world” and onto the ship! (2) The Broadway revue style shows. My spouse doesn’t like them but I love them, please never have a cruise without at least one! (3) Carving! Ice carving, watermelon carving, all of it. I’ve been on three different cruise lines and they all had this and it’s great.

HATE: (1) Never being sure what’s on TV, what the channels are, etc. Would a simple channel listing secured to the TV or remote be so difficult? (2) Uncovered pools in cool climates. I’ve been to Alaska in May and September, and the pools just go unused. Either build a roof over it, install heaters, or cover it so we don’t have to look at it – maybe it could be used for something else? (3) Lack of seating on the lido deck. Always seems to be hard to find a seat when I’ve got a tray full of food!

HOPE FOR: (1) More cruises out of Baltimore now that they have their new terminal open! (2) Improved quality of internet services. If I’m going to pay so much, it would be nice if it was fast and didn’t break all the time. (3) A shift back toward traditional dining – I’m only 26 but my first cruise (Celebrity) had traditional dining and I liked it. I did Freestyle on NCL and hated it! I wish more cruise lines would offer traditional dining, they all seem to be going open seating or multi-restaurant now.

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