Good Morning . . . it’s time for my favorite blog. . .the 5:30am rise and shine blog thingy as we start debarkation again. This time in 12 days I will be debarking guests for the last time before our vacationâ . . . .seems strange saying that. I will have time to wander down memory avenue later this week as we look back at the blog thingy . . . oh, by the way, we reached 802,000 visitors to the blog as of Monday . . anyway, our last cruise starts today.

Here are the demographics.

TOTAL GUESTS – 3007
GUESTS UNDER 18 – 28
INTERNATIONAL GUESTS – 770

The largest of these groups are 88 Russians and 70 from Venezuela. We also have 180 from French Speaking Canada who are also listed as International guests so we can provide written information in Italian….French.

Here is an interesting fact. We have 157 back-to-back guests. This means we have 157 people who will sail on this 12-day Grand Med cruise and the 14-day Trans Atlantic crossing. That’s 26 days they will be here with us and we will make sure we pay them extra attention.

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Good Evening from the beautiful South of France.

The season is over and there are many ways of seeing this is the case. First of all, we are the only ship here today and I am not just talking about cruise ships. Obviously the rich and famous have realized the weather is getting colder and the season is over as most of the mega yachts are gone…….where………I would guess the Caribbean but certainly today there are very few around. Even George Hamilton must be tanning elsewhere because I don’t see his yacht anywhere.

So, the sun was with us even though the temperature peaked at only 72 degrees. The tender operation went smoothly and compared to Dubrovnik……….well………….it’s like comparing a night of passion with Catherine Zeta Jones or …………well……me.

No time to go ashore today as blogging duties are required and of course helping Todd prepare everything for the ship’s return to the U.S.A. and in particular Miami. …………..funny…………I just used the delete button then……….I had written “ship’s return home” but then I decided that Europe is her home……….don’t know why…………just felt like this is the case……….look at me getting all sentimental.

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Hello everyone and welcome to a special blog. Let me start by saying hello to some of you who may be reading this for the first time………..”hello.”

You are in great company, in fact 785,000 people have slapped on this blog thingy of mine since I started writing it (with two fingers) back in March.

What is the blog? ………….I have no idea.

It started out as a diary of my life as Cruise Director on the new Carnival Freedom and was supposed to last a week or so but here we are eight months later. The blog has become a community of people who love life, like a good laugh and most importantly, like me they love cruising.

Each day (except Thursdays………..you will have to read back a few blogs to discover why) a new post will be slapped on. These posts include a look at what has been happening onboard the Carnival Freedom, real stories of guests comments and concerns as well as your questions and comments answered.

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I cut my finger today…………I needed a stitch…………it hurts…………….I am a big baby…………..Heidi added that bit.

The worst thing is its one of my two typing fingers so I now have one finger for you………..pardon the expression.

I cut my finger on a piece of glass………..I accidentally dropped a photo frame (of Heidi and I at our wedding) that was sitting on the desk. In my hurry to pick up the pieces before the Mrs. arrived on the scene I cut my finger on a piece of glass deeply enough for the doctor to add a stitch. I would appreciate some sympathy because I got none from Heidi who was more concerned at the damage to the $20 photo frame I had broken. So here I am starting today’s blog at 1:30 pm with a stitched finger and back in the dog house………again.

So, good afternoon on this lovely Friday afternoon as I sit here to start the blog before I leave to host the Newly Wed game and then the 5 pm Afternoon Show. The weather is lovely once again and the sun is shining on this autumnal day…………typing with one finger is going to take forever.

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As the water taxi drew nearer to the shipyard just outside Venice, that feeling of excitement I felt last time I visited Her Royal Highness returned and the hairs on my arms stood to attention like the guards outside Buckingham Palace.

What is it about this ship?

We were met by our guides, the director of the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, Mr. Capobianco, and Carnival Corporation’s vice president of shipbuilding, the larger-than-life Giovanni Esposito.

It had been two months since I last visited the Queen Victoria and I wondered how far things had progressed. We walked up the gangway and even though the ship is still being completed and the crew is not yet on board, that special feeling that only a liner like this can provide returned to me. As we began our tour, one thing became evident straight away and that was how proud these young men and women from Fincantieri were in being part of building this regal liner.

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The weather is changing as Mother Nature puts away her summer clothes here in the Mediterranean and is now wearing a light waterproof jacket and socks. Yep, at 7:30 am when we arrived today it was only 8 degrees and although it reached 67 degrees at noon there was a definite chill in the air. The weather had already taken a turn for the worse yesterday evening when for the first time I had to cancel the evening movies under the stars and move them indoors because of the heavy rain and lightning storms. Now it is raining cats and dogs and guests are returning very wet, for the first time I really feel that summer was over.

Another port has gone by without Heidi or I getting off the ship. There is still so much to do. I am preparing schedules and plans for the TA crossing so as much as possible is ready for Todd when he joins on the 25th of this month. Obviously, he will have the final say in what activities and events are held but I still feel obligated to have as much done as possible for when he walks up the gangway.

What else can I tell you? Oh yes, don’t go jumping into our main pool today because there ain’t know water in it. Unfortunately we have had to close the pool all day for maintenance and replace one or two tiles on the bottom. We try and do this on days like today when the weather is not so good and the majority of guests are ashore. Most people are understanding so hopefully this will not impact the guests too much.

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Ladies and Gents……..usually I have a long introduction for guest interviews but on this one I just need to say……….. Here is Roberto.

1. Everyone knows you as Roberto who administers the blog but who is the real Roberto Castro? What can you tell us about your self i.e., home, family, education etc.
What can I say about me? Well, I’m from Hialeah, Fla., (lived on the same block my whole life). I’m very fortunate to have a very tight-knit family; we’ve been through a lot but they are truly the best I can ask for. I’m also very fortunate to have some of the greatest friends in the world. I’m currently a candidate for an MBA at the University of Miami, where I also obtained my undergraduate degree (Go Canes!). In my spare time, I’m involved with the Greater Miami Alumni Club (the local chapter of the UM Alumni Association) where I serve as president and I have the honor of serving as Chief of Iron Arrow Honor Society, which is the University of Miami’s highest honor.

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Do you want the good news or the band news? OK, the good news. The weather remained gorgeous today with the sun shining and giving us a nice temperature of 75 degrees.

Now the bad news.

As I mentioned we were tendering today as there was no room at the pier. Now, I sang my own praises last time about how well I had this organized and I woke up this morning feeling confident that this would be repeated and all would be well………..it wasn’t…………bugger !

It started of OK with us arriving on time into Dubrovnik. The arrival is gorgeous and the outer islands glistened as the sun shone on cleanest water in the Med. We arrived at 7 am and started the process of dropping the anchor and then lowering six of our lifeboats which we used for tenders. This is always a fascinating sight for our guests who as I watched from the bridge stood on their balconies in various states of undress taking photos.

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I remember when I was a young teenager every time I went to Heathrow airport in London, I would not look for the 747s or the big cargo planes, for me there was only one plane worth seeing……………………………………………Concorde.

This was the pinnacle of air travel and just catching a glimpse of this supersonic passport to far off places was something everyone, including myself, wanted to experience.

In today’s world of the cruise industry there is, and I say this with the greatest respect, only one company that still has that magical “Concorde effect” on people and that company is ……………………………………Cunard.

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Good Morning everyone from Venice…………..a sunny Venice ………….. yippeeeeeee.

The day started at 7 am when Heidi awoke to send the tours on their way. I had not been in the doghouse for a few days but that was about to change when she discovered that I had used the last bit of toothpaste and had not opened another tube which in Heidi’s book is one below mass murder on the doghouse scale………….so my day started doing time with the Spaniels and Poodles.

Then, at 9:30 am a water taxi came to the Carnival Freedom and took Heidi and I and Duncan the Hotel Director back to see how the Queen Victoria was shaping up as she nears her delivery date. This was an amazing experience yet again and I will be writing my review of that trip in the next 48 hours ……………..it will be worth the wait I promise.

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