The name of the airline is Easy Jet and the only thing easy about them is that it is easy to get so frustrated that you would rather develop a hemorrhoid the size of one of their planes then ever fly them again. More of that in a moment but first of all…….where are my manners? I have not even said hello yet……….so…………hello.
I am sitting here at home writing my first ever blog from off the vessel which means for the first ever time I am writing a blog thingy without phones ringing, and with the constant need to check my watch to see how much longer I can write for without having to run off………….OK…….walk off somewhere else.
The last 48 hours onboard were very surreal. Sitting in the audience watching Todd the new cruise director host the Welcome Aboard talk was like walking into your bedroom and find someone else is wearing your underwear…………it felt really strange……….by the way……..the underwear thing……….you do realise that has never happened to me before ……….right?……….It was just a……never mind. Anyway, I sat there and watched Todd do a great job but boy……did that feel strange.
After the talk, Heidi and I hosted a welcome party for the 30 something guests who are bloggers and whom Heidi and I wanted to personally apologize to about not being onboard for them. We all had a great time and I hope also that the bloggers will make sure they have fun together during the 14 days they are onboard together.
Mr and Mrs. Missingthesmokefreeparadise arrived in costumes of the Paradise and they were the life and soul of the party. I also met many other wonderful people including Sue Grohol whose luggage had yet to arrive…………I hope it has by the time this thingy is posted.
Anyway, it was a fun time for all and I thank them so much for all the gifts………I can now officially open my own Old Spice shop! The other strange thing about last night was that Heidi and I stayed in a guest cabin, for me, that’s the first time I have ever had the privilege. There were many good things about this but also I was amazed and somewhat bemused at the amount of flyers and advertising from all the departments that were placed in the cabin in just one day. We have to try and stop this and design a in cruise directory…………I was a little embarrassed about the “in your face” advertising……….. we can do better.
However, the Carnival Comfort Bed was outstanding and it was nice to see how you all live when you cruise and experience the wonderful new in cabin amenities and experience the friendly stateroom stewards ourselves. Heidi and I hate fuss…….we really are not into big group functions and parties and therefore had decided to try and slip away quietly………however……we were not allowed this privilege and instead were treated to a wonderful send off by the Entertainment Staff……….they are great people and Todd is lucky to have such a super team.
So, at 7 am this morning we were supposed to be on a plane and heading for London from Rome. There can be no translation for the word “organisation” in Italian as proven from today’s fun and games at the airport. I can’t be asked to go into details but let’s just say that the people who work there are some of the rudest most uncaring people I have ever met and if there were Rude Olympics held every year then these people would win gold every time.
This was proven when at 7 am as 150 people plus lined up in three or four zig zagging lines as the time to board came………and went. Then at 7:10 am a bored-looking lady who for some reason was wearing sun glasses that would have done a oil rig welder proud got on the PA system and mumbled something in Italian……stood up…………and walked away. Now, I knew by the sudden increase of frantic hand gestures and shouts of “mama mia” that Senjorina Welder had not just told us that they would be serving free lobster during the flight. However, the mostly English speaking passengers were left with no bloody clue what was happening……luckily a English chap who for some reason had bothered to learn Italian told me and others that the flight ………….was canceled and that another plane would be here at 11:45am……He said that there had been no sorry………no……..oh, have something to eat on us……….nope……….the rough translation was……..the flight is canceled………..you’re buggered.
That was that then……….we sat in a terminal building with only vending machines offering refreshments which looked as appetizing as eating one of my socks……..on toast. Oh……..also……..150 passengers………30 chairs…………… At this point I have to tell you that I was tired, stressed and honestly……..really pi%^&D off.
Thank goodness for Heidi who can see something good in every situation. We sat and waited and I discovered that my mobile phone has three games on it ……… skateboarding ……..a driving thing and soemthing really annoying called Tetrus. The hours went by slower than a Turkish bath and eventually……after 3 hours and ten minutes of sitting on the floor……….we boarded the bright orange plane……..it looked like a lifeboat on steroids.
On these flights which are laughingly known as “budget airlines” there are no confirmed seats as everyone rushes on the plane as though a Rolex is hidden under one of the seats.
Eventually………we took off………tired and hungry. I needed to take my diabetic pill with food and as they brought the snack cart around I begrudgingly paid £5.50 for a sandwich.
The wrapper said cheese, ham and tomatoe…….well……..with respect I think the sandwich had been made by Stevie Wonder as someone had forgotten the cheese and the tomatoe and instead of ham had added the inside of a flip flop.
So, we landed………thank goodness the luggage had decided to take the same flight as us and we then went through customs and immigration. Then it was time to collect the rental car. Now, I have to admit that I have been living in the hope that some faithful blog reader would have an Aston Martin waiting for me………..and would say “Here you go John”……….that illusion was shattered when Avis handed me the keys for something called a Renault Megan…………it’s French…………you can tell………..it’s ugly…………hates corners and has hair under the wheel arches.
Mistakes happen….we make them…I make them………but my experience with Easy Jet reinforces my commitment that customer service delivered in a fun and caring way is the most important aspect of my job and I will make sure that I learn by my mistakes …………and theirs……..they made it Easy for me to never fly with them again.
I am typing this blog from home…………it feels weird being here after nine months onboard…..nothing has changed except I appear to have new neighbours…….more about them tomorrow. In a few minutes it will be off to Mum and Dad for a birthday dinner for Dad who is 74 today. I asked him where he wanted to go and he choose…………..an Italian restaurant………..oh joy………….we haven’t had Italian in ………one day.
Tomorrow I drive to London to visit Alan in hospital and spend the day by his bedside. I will pass on the many cards you have sent to me on his behalf and let you all know how he is doing. Then, pack again tomorrow for the flight on Wednesday morning to Miami for the meeting and then back for Alan’s surgery on Tuesday.
Goodnight
Your Friends
John and Heidi
Filed under: Catherine Zeta Jones, Tales from the Ship | Tagged: Splendor Godmother, Tales from the Ship
John, sorry for your travel woes, but glad you finally made it home safely. Look on the bright side–your travels onboard have given us insight to challenges we face on the ship. Your travels since have given you insight to challenges we faced getting to the ship. Live and learn, and we all benefit.
Much love to you and Heidi – enjoy your vacation in Jolly Old England. Praying for Alan.
Rus Franklin
Dear John & Heidi,
It is so good to hear (or read) your blog thingy again. I’m another one who keeps checking to see if anything new has been posted. And great news – right before I’m supposed to leave – there’s a new blog.
I’m sorry about your horrible flight, etc. on the way home. I hope your father’s birthday dinner went well and that Alan is doing ok.
Hugs as always,
Carol
John! Glad to hear you and Heidi are back home safely!
I think its rather funny that you found the amount of advertising in the guest cabins to be a bit excessive; it truly is. A montage of in-your-face ads and coupons becomes tiresome after 7 days. Nonetheless, the fact that your on a cruise always compensates for it! Sorry to hear about your delightful encounter with the airlines…I seem to share the same luck as you when it comes to flights being canceled…Delta Airlines is not much better…
I wish Alan the best. Hope all is well with you and Heidi!
Warm Regards,
Nico R
Welcome home.
Sorry to hear that you were not given the same customer service that you give – and am so glad that we have booked British Airways and not EasyJet. Of course, we still have to go to the Rome airport.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, to your Dad. Hope dinner is wonderful.
Cannot believe they messed up your car rental. Perhaps the Aston Martin will be waiting for you in Miami.
Good wishes to Alan.
Thanks for the new blog!
Ann
Dear friend:
Miss you!!! Im so glad to hear from you. I am sooooo happy you are home!!
Enjoy your time with your family and give Alan a big huggo from me and we will be praying for his recovery.
John,
We can sympathize with you on your experince at the airport. I believe it was you who told me the Italians make great wine, food and love but not organization.
In case you haven’t heard, the RED SOX ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!! We defeated the Colorado Rockies in 4 games. That means I have momentos for you. Should I send them to Miami or will you have something set up in the UK?
Happy Birthday to Dad. Our best to you and Heidi. And always to Alan and his family. We hope and pray his surgery goes well.
Hope you have a safe trip to and from the States and will soon be able to enjoy your comfy chair.
Alan & Chris
We were in the Rome airport last year, and I have never in my life met people so rude and unwilling to help us poor English speaking folks – then again, I’ve never been to France.
How wonderful to hear from you!!
I’m sorry about your experience with JetCheap. You are so right about how important customer service is and how rare good customer service really is. I suspect the level of service that Carnival provides is the primary reason for their ever so impressive success. It seems that all the smiling, happy, outgoing people work for Carnival and all the other industries are stuck with the dregs.
I hope your evening with your dad and mum was fun. Wish him ‘happy birthday’ for me!
What a shame that your Aston Martin wasn’t waiting for you. I can’t believe that you didn’t find the Megan a worthy replacement! A vehicle with lines and grace like the Megan should be able to inspire the utmost confidence… or terror… yeah… probably terror. That nasty looking protuberance at the aft end looks like it has a load in it’s diaper.
So good to hear from you again, my friend.
Pass along my best wishes to your mate and our friend, Alan.
Tell Heidi I said ‘howdy’ and all my best to the Remarkable Roberto!!
Adiós, for now.
Greg
Glad you and Heidi made it home safely and you are very kind to post a thingy. Thanks.
Just curious…after nine months at sea, how long does it take for you to lose that rocking sensation of being on the ship? After a week cruise, I still feel it for a couple of days.
Enjoy your brief stay at home before you leave for Miami. Happy Birthday to your Dad and warmest wishes to Alan.
Barb
So John took a trip on Easy Jet
And now he seems a little upset
Booking with them has caused some regret
After cancelling a flight whose time was set
And getting a seat was like playing roulette
At least the luggage they did not forget
But his lunch shouldn’t even be served to a pet…..
Surprise! I read the interview first, then realized you had blogged from home after all! So nice to hear from you again! Well, you will be off to Miami and the meeting, can’t wait to hear more about that! I hope you got or get our package soon so you can give Alan our gift/card to him. Keep us updated on his hospital stay, and progress. Hope your dad had a wonderful birthday. My friend is on the Liberty this week, today in Cozumel and going to Costa Rica on Wednesday and Panama on Thursday, I hope she doesn’t get stuck somewhere in Hurricane Noel. Write again soon! Linda & Mike P.S. We leave Nov. 17th on the Freedom! Can’t wait!
Hi John,
Glad you made it home safely for your much needed vacation. Enjoy your time with family and friends.
I do have one thing I would like to address and this goes back to the blog where you asked us about what we like about Carnival and where Carnival can improve. One area in which I think Carnival can improve is the pictures. Carnival makes great pictures but the prices are too high. You should not be required to buy an 8 x 10 in order to get other sizes. Walt Disney World has a great system. The first time one of their photographers makes your picture, you are given a photo pass card (looks like a credit card). Each time you have more pictures made, the photographer scans your card. You then have the option of looking at the pictures while you are at WDW or you can wait until you get home and look at all your pictures on line and order what you want in the sizes you prefer. I normally spend a lot of money on pictures and would probably buy more if I had the option of purchasing some of the pictures in a 4 x 6 size and would definitely buy more 5 x 7. I don’t like the 6 x 9 size. Carnival would probably make more money because they would not be printing all the pictures that people are not going to buy and just throwing them away. They would save on paper and ink and just print pictures that people just are buying.
Have a safe trip to Miami.
Keep us updated on Alan. Hope all goes well for him and his family.
So glad y’all eventually made it home. I am sure that sort of trip makes you even more aware of how important good customer service is. And so grateful to know yours is SO much better than good ol’ Easy Jet’s is.
Eagerly awaiting your next blog post. Have a wonderful time with your parents and a lovely visit with Alan.
Hi John & Heidi,
Sorry to hear you had a “great” time in the airport too! Our flight was cancelled getting to Rome, and delayed 3 hours with no explaintion leaving Rome, and yes total madness boarding the plane. We never in all our years witness such an unorganized operation. When we could finally board the plane, a few people got through only to return to the gate as there was another delay for one hour. When we all finally boarded and we were up in the air, there was absoultey no air moving anywhere.
Long story short, when we arrived at JFK, there was an electronic difficulty with the off ramp which held us up to 20 minutes to leave the plane and to make matters worse, another electronic problem occured waithing for our luggage. Finally, we all realized daylight savings happened in Europe not America, need I say more.
All in all, we had a wonderful time on the Carnival Freedom and enjoyed all the ports we visited despite the horror of flying “Euorfly”. We plan on writing Eruofly and suggesting they change there name to “Maybe wea Fly”, or “We A Lier Fly” or “Euro Don’t Fly”, or “Never ona Time Fly”.
Thanks for entertaining us. We had great belly laughs watching your morning show. Hope to see you on our next “Caribbean Cruise”.
Your Friends,
Kevin & Robin
Man- we had the very same experience at the Rome airport, can’t believe that the higher ups don’t hear it and get it…….right.
Been going thru Freedom cruise withdrawal reading your blog helps, thanks so much, we can do without it a little if you need the rest and I suspect you do………….. rest and enjoy!
Best to you and Heide and all your friends and family-
Rich
Hi Big Guy!!!
Sooooo glad to hear you both have arrived home in one piece!
I can only symphaize (oh, I no it’s spelled wrong, who cares, keep reading!!)
When we arrived at Rome airport after our Freedom cruise (THE BEST!) I had to wee, so I found a bathroom, but it was roped off with yellow tape, I went under the tape or stand in line and everybody watch my puddle begin. All of sudden he’s this cabineri dude with a machine gun at me. He said come here, oh lord, I thought, all i could see was Nelson in the crowd ahead of me looking to see if I had made it, the cabineri swoshed me down (I just made up a new word!) with a wand stick and said, GET IN THERE AND GO!!! in Italian (luckily I know the language well) Wasn’t sure if I was coming back out, but yes, there he was waiting for me. I was never so gald to see Nelson’s face in my whole married years! That MY ROME AIRPORT NIGHTMARE!!
Back to what I was going to say, have a wonderful time in Miami and are prayers and good wishes are with Alan. Love to Heidi.
Love to you all, Paula and Nelson Baker
See you in the Southern Caribbeen (I don’t own a dictionary, poor thing!)
Hello John and Heidi,
Glad you arrived home safe and sound even with all the problems with EasyJet. You’ll have to find another airline to fly in Europe.
Hope you dad had a great birthday and the dinner was great too.
How is Alan doing? Tell him we’re still thinking about him.
I don’t know if you mentioned this before or if I just missed it but who is the Captain of the Splendor? I’m sure it has already been decided but my vote would be for Captain Pier Paolo Scala. He is the best captain we’ve ever had. We met him on the Elation in February.
Hope you can relax a little before it’s time to fly again to Miami this time. Maybe there will be an Aston Martin waiting for you there. Or, better yet, maybe you’ll find out you’re getting one in appreciation for being the best cruise director ever. I’m sure Carnival knows this too and I hope they do something special for you.
Hope the time in Miami flies so you can really enjoy your time at home with Heidi, your parents, and Alan and his family.
Have a great vacation!!
Linda
John,
It’s so good to read a blog from you, but most importantly, it’s great to hear that you and Heidi made it home safely! I have to agree that the experience one takes away from the airport in Rome is, well, not the highlight of the trip.
Please wish your dad a Happy Birthday, please pass our best wishes to Alan, and I can’t wait for the “at home, on vacation” installment of the blog!
John,
. And what do you mean you diden’t get your aston martin rental. I called that bloke last weekand confirmed it for you, only thing i can think of is BIG ED’s credit card got declined. Sorry mate, we’ll try again. Glad you finally made it home. As a group of loyal bloggers we formed a special group hounoring you. Please come and visit the John Heald Fan Club at Http://fansofjohnheald.wordpress.com
Umm I send a 55 gallon drum of old spice to you did you get it yet, came with a free crank pump
Happy Birthday to dad 74 is nothing to shake a finger at. Best to Heidi. And Alan
Talk with you soon
Kevin
Hi John, It was so good to hear from you. It sounds like Easy Jet is the ugly stepson of Alitalia. Both are horrid. I told you over a year ago how bad the Rome airport is. I am afraid it hasn’t improved much.
It was so good to hear from you. We miss the two of you so much. Have a wonderful time with your family and Alan. At least Miami should be warm. We look forward to hearing about the meeting.
Jo and Dave
Hi John
Don’t suppose you’re going to have time to drop in for a cuppa with Helen and me whilst back home? Sounds like things are quite hectic for you!
Kaz
Glad you made it home safely.
As I recently retired from a job where I dealt directly with customer, I certainly do appreciate your comments about customer service. I believe many of the airlines are in business to provide a bad example for the rest of us.
Take care.
Doc
Glad you made it home safe and sound. Inquiring minds want to know if Heidi got her coat back? I agree that there are entirely too many unwanted advertisements delivered to the cabins. We filled up our trash can daily; what a waste of paper! (If it’s any consolation, the Snitch of the Seas ships do the same thing.)
John the people were rude, the plane was late, the food not up to Carnival’s standards, the Aston Martin got lost but your luggage didn’t and you know what? YOUR HOME. Make the utmost of your vacation and your time with Heidi, your mate Alan and your families.
Hope you achieve all you what at the meeting in Miami. With all you gleaned from us bloggers in the last 8 months you should have plenty of input and I’m sure they will listen to you. They would pay a lot to a consultant firm that had a staff of 1 million like you do.
“BIG” ED
T-82 days and counting till blast off of the SEA SHIP FREEDOM
John -
Glad to see you home… I am still gutted that you won’t be on the Freedom in November, but I will have to just find you on the blogger cruise.
Btw… you need more blog thingy stuff to buy.
John and Heidi,
As with all the others, I am sorry you had a horrible experience getting home–nothing is worse than being gone for so long, being tired and just wanting to get home and then to be delayed. We actually had no problem in the Rome airport going home, but it was a little, actually a lot, unnerving, seeing all the guards with their machine guns all over the place. The people we came in contact were all nice and accomodating. Sounds like that may be a rarity. I also read the blog containing the interview while I was at work today. Now at home, I logged on again and found this from you. I’ve only logged on at least 6 times today hoping for even a few words from you. Thanks for taking time out to write to all your faithful readers!!! Did Heidi get her coat back seems to be a major question from alot of us? Best of luck to you in Miami, and luck to Alan next Tuesday. He is one lucky guy to have such a devoted friend as you. I will continue to log on every day, anxiously awaiting more words from you and Heidi. You have us spoiled my friend!! Even though it was only a few days in between blogs from you it seemed like an eternity. Best to all–Sheryl
So… answer me this…why do we spend good money on fancy cruises and then book cheap flights to them on sub standard airlines? It doesn’t make any sense.
You get what you pay for. I’m going to fly Air Canada and pay for decent service and decent treatment.
Hello John & Heidi!
Glad to see you made it home. Sorry you had to have such a miserable time in the airport and flight home. Hope you don’t have to use that airline anytime soon again!
It was nice you got to see how the guests live on-board the ship. And aren’t those comfort beds wonderful?
It was a nice surprise to check in and see you were blogging so soon! Welcome back! And yes…. we missed you!
Happy Birthday to Dad! Hello to Mum! (Be sure to send more recipes) And all our best to Alan and his family!!!
Barb & Carl
Welcome home you two! I’m sure once you get back from Miami, you’ll be more able to rest and kick back. All the best to your family, including Alan!
Dear John and Heidi,
Welcome home! I missed your daily blogs for the past few days. I am glad you are both home safe and sound on a well-deserved vacation. Good wishes to Allan – I wish him the best. Have a safe flight to Miami, and keep us updated if you can. Hopefully you can bring up some new ideas for Carnival such as new ammenities (while keeping the old ones) – maybe waterparks, a center promonade, an ice-rink… here I go getting carried away. It may seem like a small issue also… but we are conserned that the poolside screens will replace the caribbean bands. If we cruise on the Liberty, will the bands definitely still be playing throughout the day? We recently cruised on another line recently, and they had a terrible band play by the pool for no more than two hours a day. This seems so trivial, but it really does make a difference, and we will not be returning to that line for that reason, in addition to others. We love just sitting by the pool and listening to live music. Ok, again, weclome home, and enjoy yourself in Miami.
-Matt
Home at last! Congrats, I can imagine the enormous amount of stress that is lifted off your shoulders. I know work awaits, but enjoy this time with your family and with Alan too — he is gonna be amazed to see all the love pouring out for him, but that is of course because there is so much love for YOU and for HEIDI. You guys are great.
By the way, I copy and pasted your blog for today and sent it out to my group. It seems like all of them, in one way or another had the “trip from hell” a’la Leonardo da Vinci airport in Rome. I mean everything you can think of: lost bags, missed connections, cancelled flights, and the mother of all evils: the dreaded Airline Strike — which happens quite often in Europe so I’m told! Well it happened the day they arrived back home, and I had about 15 people stranded in Rome, and just miserable. That Easy Jet sounds like our “EuroFly” which is so UNpopular here in the States, it doesn’t even show up on the FUNPASS registration screen!!! hahaha I should have looked at that as a SIGN! hahahaha
Anyhoo — I’m so glad you are home, I’m STILL waiting for some of my clients to make it home. They’ll be flying for about 20 hours tomorrow to make it home. *sigh*
Have a great time you two
Love,
EsmeeK
Bummer that my Aston Martin reservation for you fell through…LOL!
Welcome home… at least for a while. Get some good R&R, dearies.
We were on the Oct 4th cruise. Back in Australia now and have been spreading the word, showing the pictures and generally raving about the cruise. I think i could be your unofficial sales rep.
Love reading your blog- Will keep reading- enjoy your family
Hi John and Heidi, Glad you made it home safely…I’m glad you have a couple days before leaving again. Having overnighted in the Rome airport (after being led in circles for hours, unfed, a group of 200 and about 6 chairs!) I can certainly sympathize with your experience. Just be glad it was only 3 hours and not 24 (an ill-fated Air Canada flight after our Freedom cruise). Fortunately, we needed to diet at that point anyway! Our best to Alan…..thanks for letting us know how you are doing! Gloria
John and Heidi,
So glad to hear that you made it home safely for a well deserved rest…but from the looks of your schedule it may be sometime before you get to actually relax…
I can definitely relate to your flight cancellation; my travel agent had me booked on a round about journey to Rome for my Carnival Freedom cruise. We flew from Orlando to Chicago, then to Munich, Germany where our flight on Lufthansa to Rome was cancelled due to a strike by air traffic controllers in Italy!!! We sat in the Munich airport for around 8 hrs waiting to be scheduled on another flight. By the time we arrived in Rome we were already late for our night tour of Rome. Thank goodness we had scheduled the pre-cruise night in Rome to allow for any travel difficulties.
A belated Happy Birthday to your Dad…please give my best to Alan and his family.
Don’t forget to let us know if Heidi ever got her coat back!!!
Have a safe flight to Miami and I look forward to your updates from there.
Linda
Good morning John,
Take a nice BIG breath and relax! The worst is over.
Traveling at the best of times can be a chore. I’ll add another airline that is a cattle car with wings to your list……………in Canada it’s called SKYSERVICE!!! What a joke. Enough of giving them any free press.
Welcome home………….HI Heidi!
Have a wonderful time in Miami……good luck at the meeting.
Alan is in our prayers.
Congrats on the RED SOX win! Cowboys are playing again this week after a week off and we’re on a roll!!!!!
Keep smiling John…………….and remember to breathe…………..in and out ,,,,,,in and out……….there you go…………relaxing………..and having fun!
All the best
B&D from Canada
Hi John and Heidi!!
I was going through Blog Withdrawals. It was sure fun to get to work and see a new blog from you. I’ve been checking everyday! Wow, I hope our flight is not a nightmare like yours! After all, we are flying from the remote state of Montana. HA!
Sounds like you’re still really busy, but hopefully that will calm down soon and you can enjoy your time off. We have Alan in our prayers and thoughts.
Dear “DON” John the Carnival Godfather. On my blog I have a picture of the look you should take into the “meeting” in Miami. Plus a list of your demands. Here is a link to that post.
http://ekonefe.wordpress.com/2007/10/30/don-john-the-carnival-godfather/
“BIG” ED
81 days till our meeting with the Godfather
PS, Bloggers you can add to the wish list too.
Hi John & Heidi,
Glad to hear you finally made it home. I am filing away the name of the airline in my memory so I DON’T book them when I am able to go on my Med cruise someday!
Tell us John, inquiring minds want to know. Did Heidi get her coat back?
Give my best to Alan and tell him there will be many prayers for him on the day of his surgery. I will have special prayer to deliver him from ugliness!
Hope everything goes good in Miami. Thanks for letting us know you are all doing good.
Karen
John,
Feels good to be home, doesn’t it. When we were in the Rome airport before our voyage on the FREEDOM, we were met with many challenges as well. We waited in line for nearly two hours at security while Francesco and Francescina tried to fix the alarm on an emergency exit door that was malfunctioning. The sound is still in my head “DEE-DOO-DEE-DOO-DEE-DOO-DEE-DOO-DEE-DOO”. By the time we all got through the security line I believe that we could have all been declared legally deaf. By the time we got to the ship, all I wanted to do was sleep. Keep on Blogin’, John.
hi john and hidi glad u had a safe trip home sorry about ur plane trip home. i had 1 bad experiance with ata before my cruise on the glory but least ur home and u can relax and enjoy yourselfs. and give my best to ur friend hope his surgery goes well.
(please visit my page sometime anyone its my cruise page and my webpage )
Hi John, glad you FINALLY made it home. Hope your dad had a very happy birthday with you and Heidi by his side.
Hope you had a nice visit with Alan. Do wish him the best with his up coming surgery.
Can’t wait to hear more from you. Tell Heidi Danny says hi.
Jennifer
WELCOME HOME! Sorry your trip was so full of adventure…but, you made it. Happy Birthday to your Dad. Good luck in Miami. And I have lost a lot of sleep wondering if Heidi got her coat back. Seriously, enjoy the Aston Martin you will be receiving in Miami and all the best to Alan!
Lori
john and heidi to see you made it home safe and sound, wow coming back to maimi already, did you miss carnival lol. John know you know why we came to rome in april flying first class, amazing what you go thru. Good luck with alan and fly back to maimi, was glad hearing from you guys.
Glad you two got home safely. Happy Birthday to Dad, hugs to Mum and prayers for Alan and family.
Did Heidi get her coat back?
Have a safe trip to Miami and back and keep on believing for that Aston Martin.
Tell Alan over a million prayers will be said for him next Tuesday!
Best Wishes,
Myra
Hi John/Heidi:
I am sorry that you had a travel nightmare working your way back home. I do hope your situation improves as you get ready to travel to the states shortly before heading back home.
Thinking of Alan and I hope his situation starts improving.
Hope all is well and great to hear from you!
David
What???
Albert was not there with your Aston Martin when you arrived….alert Scotland Yard about the theft!!
Seriously, glad you both are home safe and none the worse for Easy Jet’s wear!!
John,
I was getting upset that I was missing some blogs, but it looks as though I can stay on target. I’m glad to hear that you and Heidi got home safely. Especially after that fiasco. Customer service isn’t the same everywhere, and I have to agree Rome’s airport is the absolute worse!!! Not to worry that is done and over and now it is time for pure enjoyment. Have a safe trip to Miami and wish Alan all the best.
Hi you two big sweeties!
I was dieing over here from thingy withdrawal! Man it’s only been a few days but it seems like forever! I am glad you got home safely. Sorry about the bad service. Didn’t they know it was the simply fabulous John and Heidi Heald? Just kidding. You guys rest and relax during your vacation. Happy birthday late to Dad and my prayers are with Alan. Write when you can. We’ll be waiting.
Love to you,
Leasa
hello john
enjoy your holiday
greetings too heidi
en thanks again for the amazing holiday whe had on the freedom in july.
doeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
marij van dinter
John and Hiede, Welcome Home—There!!!!
Sorry your trip was so difficult. Hope your trip to Miami is easier, but wouldn’t count on it. Air flight isn’t what it used to be, that’s for sure.
Of course prayers to Alan and his family.
After the Miami thingy get a good rest and be happy to be home.
Affectionatly, Marilyn
Dear John and Heidi,
Hope you and Heidi enjoy your vacation. Keep us informed as to Alans status….We are on the Miracle on November 23. Really looking forward to it. Great to hear from you!
John and Susan
Happy Birthday to your Dad. Dan’s was on the 29th. He turned 56. All I can say is, I am blessed to have this man by my side. I hope for many more years. Glad you are home safe.
Yours,
Kathie
glad your home safe, our prayers go out to alan. happy b-day to your dad. was glad to see you back on. we will be on the freedom02-09-2008, i have booked 48 people and should be no it will be soooo much fun again. been on several cruises whith you even the ones that stop in the middle of the ocean. that was the triumph. you are so good, both of you for what you do. funnnny. will you be on that 02-09 sailing i will bring you some boxer shorts haaaa, take care. Deb and H
What a story!
I can just picture the airport in Rome……………
I thought I was sitting with you and Heidi the way you descibed it! Glad you’re safe and in the USA by the time I write this !
Our best to Alan ! Hospitals are no fun that’s for sure, I spent 5 weeks in one and almost came out feet first! I think they were annoyed I “made” it! I’m sure Alan has a great hospital staff taking care of him. We’ll say a few words to the “Cruise Director in the Sky” !!
Kathy and Paul
You know there is an EasyCruise too? It’s within the “spirit” of the airlines as well. Everything extra (even the sheets for the bed, I believe). I think they try to be a ferry that you happen to sleep overnight on. Plus they sail during the morning, arrive at port in the afternoon, and leave in the very early morning (right after a night of partying).
I feel your pain, John. I missed my flight (I was only 1 and a half hours early, Italian protocol requires at least tow hours for a 6:30am flight). My ignorance cost me… a whole day of waiting “on call” for another flight. It was my fault, but I really felt I was being punished. Two flights later, 200 hundred bucks more, I finally made it home. I had to check luggage each time and go through security as well. I finally threw out my belt since I had to take it off each time I went through a metal detector. Sigh. Glad to be home. Good luck John. You were a pleasure on the ship! — Tom M