Well, apart from a few squabbles about seating on the tour bus it’s been a very successful two days here in St. Petersburg. Apparently there was a bit of handbag slapping between two ladies who both wanted to sit in the same seat…………and the sad thing was they were friends, travelling together and in the end the staff had to put them on seperate buses. That aside all the guests seemed to have a great time ashore and they will, I know, be extremely happy that we get an extra hour tonight with the clocks going back one hour.
Heidi and I spent the day trying to relax a little and even sat outside for 40 minutes before my phone rang and that was the end of that. I had to go and make an announcement because we had a huge barge moored next to us bringing on fuel and we needed to make sure nobody was on that side of the ship smoking. So, I went and made the announcement and then…………well………I sat down to answer one of 76 e mails in my inbox thingy and two hours later I was still there…………….bugger.
I should have made the effort to go ashore and check on some of the tours and I will indeed do that next trip but I guess my body still is annoyed at me and keeps telling me to rest as much as possible.
Here though are some photos of St.Petersburg today taken by Jaime.
The outside of el Hermitagio
The Opera House
St. Isaac’s Cathedral – 4th largest domed Cathedral in the world
Later on, at the Hermitage
Later on, at the Hermitage
The Small throne room
Here are some letters for today’s In Their Own Words Section
When you deliver a new ship lots of people sit down and think in a tank about what should be done to deliver the best possible cruise vacation and for the most part they think of everything. One area where I messed up though was Karaoke. I did not allow for the fact that with so many International guests we would get such a demand for International songs. I have had some Brits who want british chart music, a big group of Mexicans who want Latin music and the Japanese who want the lyrics to every song in the world in Japanese………………we are a long way short of being able to please everyone. I have requested more songs and hopefully this will help but as of know we are well off the mark………….and that’s my fault.
One thing that is as popular though with our teens in Club O2 and Circle C is the thing with the guitar. Now, I think its called Guitar Hero or Heroes on the Guitar but whatever its name the kids love it. They stand in front of the screen playing their Playstationxboxnintendo guitar thingy and banging their heads up and down as though they are members of Iron Maiden…………….but of course they are not. What possible guitar hero could the kids be emulating in their electronic world……….Brittney Agulira, Limp Cookie, The Black Eyed Pees? If you asked any of the spottied youths playing the game if they new who Hendrix, Blackmore, Clapton etc were they would probably look at you as if you were speaking Klingon. I watched the game and the top ten songs they had to choose from and I didn’t know any.
My top 10, as it stands at the moment, features AC/DC, Motörhead, Steppenwolf, Queen, Kenny Loggins, Golden Earring, and rather disturbingly Meat Loaf’s appallingly pretentious Bat Out of Hell. In the whole of my personal top 20, there are only three acts from the 21st century.
Do you see where I’m going here? There’s much talk, about which of the new bands are any good…….and there may be some. But the fact of the matter is that the good ones, and they are few, are drowned in a pit of Elephant poo.
Heidi says I am a rock dinosaur but you should see my her record collection. Of course, it isn’t a record collection as such; it’s an assembly of ones and noughts on her computer, but anyway, being Dutch and 8 years younger than me she likes Flo Rider, any band with boys in it and Madonna because ” she is cool ” and worse of all this awful Euro Pop rubbish that when I hear it makes me want to cut my ears off with a chain saw.
This means, of course, she refuses to come with me to concerts starring real rock stars. In the past ten years I have gone alone or with friends to see Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Yes, the Who (half of whom have disappeared in a pool of vomit and chemicals) and best of all …………Jethro Tull . Heidi has said she will come with me to see that crooner guy from Canada Michael Bubble
The last concert I went to was the reunion tour of The Police………..it was great. There was no unduly long queue for the lavatory cubicles, nobody was flogging bags of expensive aspirins, and in the ballads, instead of waving cigarette lighters around as we used to at concerts like this, everyone held up their mobile phones so their friends could hear the tunes too. Best of all, nobody was beaten up and murdered on the way out. Everyone just piled into their Range Rovers and went home.
Now, compare this with one of those rave thingies. Herds of people all having taken a cruise on a pill called Ecstasy, waving their arms in the air as though asking permission to go to the toilet,
Rock’n’roll, I’m beginning to suspect, is a dying art form concern.
Every attempt to change the original formula, be it hip and hop, drum and bass, techno or crap is being made by the record companies of today.
I can absolutely guarantee that 30 years from now, nobody will be going all the way to Madison Square garden to see Pee Diddly, or 25 cents.
Kids today need proper Guitar Heroes.
There was an extra treat today for us here in Europe as we got a great view of a solar eclipse. Here are some photos taken by Doctor Jason which I know you will enjoy
Here is an interesting comment
Guest: Mrs ————- Ref: 002802139A
Cabin: 7449 Booking#: 9T10K47449 – CHILD WAS WATCHING ADULT SPORTS CHANNEL
Mrs. _________ came to the Purser’s desk very upset because she had returned to her cabin after dinner and found her 14 year old son watching two men fighting in a cage on the sports channel. Guests said that there was a lot of blood and that this was not something she would let her child watch at home. Guest said that there should be a device like in hotels that allows parents to stop children watching TV. Purser apologized and said that her comments would be passed on to the relevant department heads.
Mrs. _________ thanked and left.
When I saw this comment I felt a need to call the guest………..so I did. I explained that we did have a parental lock on the pay per view movies and the use of minors sail and sign cards around the vessel. However, the program her son had been watching was being show on ESPN International at 9:00pm in the evening and we had no such ” lock ” on terrestrial TV.
The guest said that she was amazed at this and that her son had been corrupted by what he had seen. I didn’t want to get into a discussion about what her son had and had not seen in his 14 years so instead I offered an apology which she accepted ………….I think.
For those who are not aware of this sport let me set the scene. The idea is that two men are locked in a huge lions cage where they try to inflict as much harm on the other one as possible. They can use their hands, their feet, their knees, their …..well, anything I guess. The only thing that is not allowed is eye gouging and anything to do with the groin………..apparently you can use your teeth which means an opponent can be eaten.
The reason I know this is I remember the huge outcry of dismay in the British Press when this ” sport” crossed the pond. I remember Tony Blair our ex Prime Minister saying it was no different to fox hunting, bearbating, dog fighting etc. Ahhh, Tony, there’s another mistake mate………I mean how can you compare fox hunting with ultimate fighting. I mean, Mr Ripyourheadov the Russian fighter wasn’t sitting at home with Mrs. Ripyourheadov drinking a vodka when a pack of dogs barge in the door followed by Lord Singeon – Snob who looks on from his white horse while the dogs eat Mrs Ripyourheadov…………..these guys get in the cage on their own free will…………they do it for money and if they want to get in a cage and be kicked and punched and possibly eaten well………that’s their choice. I had a quick look at some facts and this cage fighting stuff is now more popular than the Hulk Hogan style of theatre………….sorry…………..wrestling.
I must say though that I hate fighting of any kind. I prefer passive resistance and a sharp wit to avoid a fight and if that does not work I prefer fleeing…………..lots of fleeing.
My friend Danny and I once put on some boxing gloves and got in the ring at the gym together. We made snarly faces at each other and I did Rocky Bilbao impressions and it was fun until he hit me in the ear………I said ” ouch ” and it was all over. I could not believe how much it hurt.
Then there was the time I was hit by a guest. …………..I am thinking that I may have told this story before months ago on the blog………….if I have…………..well, sorry but it ties into what I am talking about.
I was Assistant Bar Manager on the Carnivale and a very drunk passenger…………we called them passengers back then……….had been touching a lot of bottoms. He would walk up behind a girl and tap or pinch her on the buttocks. Eventually he did this to someone and it was the last straw………..he did it to me. Now, these were the days before security guards and it was just little old me…………and yes, I was little back then………….left to ask him to leave. So, I did ………….and he left………………but he came back 15 minutes later with his friend Mr. Heiniken. They both crept up behind me and Mr.Heiniken was smashed over my head.
People said afterwards that I should have hit him back which is not an easy thing to do when you are flat on your back in a dead faint seeing stars and three legged donkeys infront of your eyes………………he was disembarked in Nassau the next day and handed over to the authorities where I hope he shared a cell with a huge Bahamian who showed the passenger who hit me over the head that indeed everything is better in the Bahamas and after he had made him his bitch………….braded his hair.
As I said, I hate fighting but I love a good argument. Just this afternoon I was arguing with a guest………..in a good way. I met him on Lido Deck as I walked to get my new lunchtime choice of chicken from the rotisserie which is wonderful by the way and a big salad. I was with Heidi and while I was munching my lunch along comes a guest and asks if he can join us. Now, while your heart says ” no, bugger off, I only have 30 minutes break and I want to spend it with my wife and not with you especially as you are wearing an RCI shirt ” but my mouth said ” of course, please sit down”…………so he did.
Now, the fact that he was wearing an RCI shirt and was ok with showing the Cruise Director this should have raised the flag for what was to come.
He started off by introducing himself as Brad and how he was having a good time. He liked the shows, the food and especially the fact that we could close the lido roof at night. Wow, this was going good and I was about to offer him some of my chicken as a reward when he said ” but RCI will soon be the post popular cruise line in the world because they are building bigger ships and more of them”………….I withdrew my offer of chicken and instead considered stabbing him with one of the bones.
And so, we spent the next 30 minutes having right old argument about if bigger is better. He obviously wants to cruise in a shopping mall and stand in line for 3 days to get on and off the ship. He disagrees and his main argument was that in American culture bigger is always better. He referred to the new Jumbo 747 thing that has now gone into service and also the fact the larger the shopping mall the more choice.
I argued that bigger is better only if its done right………….you can dress Kirsty Alley and Catherine Zeta Jones up in stockings and suspenders and lay them on a bed of roses and I guarantee that its going to be Kirsty who spends the night counting petals.
I also mentioned that if he was on the Mall of the Seas the chance of him finding the Cruise Director to enjoy a spot of lunch with would not be easy……….in fact, finding a seat of any kind will be difficult.
Neither of us were going to back down and I honestly think that Brad was by the way……….or still is…………an RCI employee…………just a hunch.
Therefore, lunch became a tangle of statistics and opinions and towards the end unfortunately Brad brought the proceedings to the finger poking personal abuse about how an RCI Cruise Director called Spacey or Tracey or something or other was funnier and more personable than me. I have no idea who this CD is and I am sure he is brilliant………..in fact I hope he is a brilliant Cruise Director because a bad one on any cruise line gives all a bad name as we do always get tarred with the same brush.
Anyway, at this point there was no point carrying on. In an argument like this there is never going to be a winner. His mind is made up and so is mine…………so then if I really wanted to make my adversary see things my way I should I have just punched him in the face ?
Now, given the choice of backing down from my strongly held conviction or being punched in the face or hit on the head with a beer bottle I assure you I would back down, lie down and whimper like a cocker spaniel.
However, I look at programs like Meet The Press or even the debates for the next President of the United States. They spend hours trying to make their opponents look foolish through the use of big words and statistics………but why. Let your opponent have his say ………….and then punch him in the head. This would certainly make the program more interesting and advertising sponsorship would be through the roof.
Instead of going to a commercial break during these debates and having to watch Gas X and Depends commercials, if the big companies like Budweiser and Chevrolet knew that one of the candidates would leave the debate stand with a broken nose it would bring in more money than the Superbowl commercials.
Maybe takeovers should happen this way as well. When RCI and Carnival Corp wanted to buy Princess maybe instead of meeting after meeting and shareholder this and that we should have just put the two Chairman in a cage and the winner got Princess………….the outcome would have been exactly the same……….we would have won……….Micky “the Mauler “Arison could take Richard ” the Shopping Mall ” Fain anyday.
Goodnight
Your Friends
John and Heidi
Filed under: Europe, Tales from the Ship, Travel | Tagged: Carnival Splendor, St. Petersburg
John, you started out talking about a squable over a bus seat, and ended up talking about punching out a not-so-bright RCI fan (masquerading as a Carnival guest)! My how you connect subjects together to come back to the starting point, love it!!
Beautiful pics of St. Petersburg, and the eclipse and that strange shadow on the floor.
Guess you didn’t give Stephanie the day off, posting her own birthday cards, then this blog; well we really appreciate her, and you and Heidi.
Greetings from the heat in Texas, hovering around 100 now.
Diane
John:
Yes, you know who is Richard Spacey. I have talked to you about him previously. Remember the handsome CD that Vivi loved before she meet you and you won her over to your side? The one that also has a facebook page (with not as many friends as yours)
It was Richard. It seems he is the best in RCCL . Just like you in Carnival. He does the Hookey pookey and the dances and Austin Power.He is very popular just like you. I have to admit I did a blog about him and you and its the blog that gets more hitsin my page .Read it
http://nanetteali.wordpress.com/2007/11/09/the-other-cruise-directorof-the-other-freedom/
The pictures of the solar eclipse are amazing.
Loved your story about Mr. “I can put my hands on you”, and his friend Mr. Heineken. I can actually see him in his cell with the Bahamian braiding his hair. Hope he got his just desserts after messing the you.
The pax that decided to argue with you, what on earth was he thinking? Who argues with a CD about another cruise line?
I wonder if they have an award for a CD with the patience of a saint, if so, you would truly win.
BTW, can someone get back to me about setting up a Meet and Greet for pax on CC on September 11th at 1:00 in a corner/closet/someplace. I would like it to be in the Capers if that is at all possible. Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
Thank you John for making me smile everyday. I look forward to a fabulous cruise, I am so excited.
John:
A sure sign that your opponent is weak and losing a “discussion of differing opinion” is IF they must resort to personal attacks. (especially ones that have no basis of fact)
Mr. RCCL is a perfect example of that. He lost…he knew it…that is why he got personal.
Isn’t it a shame that folks like him can’t just be proud of the RCCL good points; instead of being so insecure?
Because it isn’t about better or worse, it is about different. RCCL and Carnival (while the same in any areas of mass market cruising) each offers something a little different. Some people want to “go to the mall”…while others (like myself) actually want to cruise and even prefer the smaller Spirit class ships.
It was a battle of wits and apparently, Mr. RCCL was unarmed!! You were kind not to embarass him any further.
As for the Mom who did not want her son to watch “fighting”….there is a “control”….it is called the off button (or change the channel). I would suggest that she teach her son what she feels is (or is not) appropriate to watch….instead of expecting the world to babysit him.
Last time I checked, there is a reason they call it “parenting” (as in a verb…indicating ACTION).
Thanks for another great blog filled with laughter!!
Linda (Mom of your friend ~who knows what he can and can not do~ DJ)
Hummm… the great debate… I’ve participated many times myself. My contention is that Carnival designs vessels for people who love to cruise and Royal Custard designs vessels for people who like malls and parks.
For the life of me I can’t understand why people would want to escape to a cruise ship and bring the mall with them… It’s beyond my scope of imagination.
Did Mr. Caribbean explain why he was sailing on a Carnival vessel rather that the Wasted Space of the Seas?? Curious… don’t you think??
The photos of St. Petersburg were lovely. Please thank Jamie for the work!!
Tell Heidi I pass along my howdies and a special birthday thank you to the lovely Stephanie!!!
Ciao
Host Mach
Hi John, You are talking about the rock and roll of your generation? Well let me tell my age……… sigh
See my generation was the ones that started all of this rock and roll. (Better songs and singers then, than any since)……….. Now back to the subject. We had Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jackie Wilson, Pat Boone, Fats Domino, just to name a few. We started the twist and the jitter bug, and yes this 700 million old woman can still do them both…………lol I might rock something out of kilter, but I’d have fun doing it. Bet your Mum and Dad would recognize those names also.
I don’t imagine many of todays teeneagers would know any of those singers with the exception of Elvis.
I’d have to argue with Mr. RCL what he’s name.
Our beloved John Heald is the best CD of any we have ever seen. Like Don says, we have sailed numerous ships and attended a lot of shows with different CD’s and there is only one that we can name. John Heald.
I must also say , and I have told you before I think, YOU are the only one that I have ever seen make Don actually laugh out loud. He might smile at some of the others, but you make him laugh.
You are also the only one that he would and did give up the Daytona 500 next Feb in order to go on the bloggers cruise and enjoy your humour (spelt right ?)
Now lest I forget the pictures are brilliant as usual. I really enjoy seeing places I shall never see.
Countess Carolyn ……. Don get out the Ben Gay and the heating pad, I think I’m in the mood to twist again like I did many years ago……. lol
John -
To me, there is nothing more entertaining than watching the House of Commons questions of the Prime Minister. You Brits have a way of calling a person a name in the most civil manner. They are a riot.
Great entertainers, you Brits.
Love, hugs and kisses to all,
Jon, Kathy & Stacy
John you are so funny.
Love from Grandma.
First, let me add ONE MORE HAPPY BIRTHDAY to STEPHANIE!!!
John… if you’re ever in or near Texas and need an escortee for a concert… HERE, OVER HERE! I’ll go with you! Rock ‘N Roll… Rock… R&B… LOVE it!!!!
Mr. RCI… I tried it… I really did! And I’m now on the road to Platnium with CARNIVAL!!! Sure I can think of good things I liked “over there” and things I’d do differently with CCL, but bottomline, I know which ships I will enjoy and why!! And those are the ones I book!
John, keep ‘em coming… the photos, the diary of what’s happening on the cruise, the interviews, and the memories and history!!!
I’m sitting and wishing the days carrying us to February would go quicker!!!
Lambie
I’ll take Carnival ANYDAY over RCI!! Yes, I’d like to take a cruise on one of Carnival’s sister ships, but I like the price, the crew and the fun of Carnival!
See you in 2 weeks!!
John:
Speaking of karaoke…. (as an avid, addicted and thoroughly hooked karaoke person) might I give one suggestion (actually THREE) on this subject….
As Carnival installs the digital systems (which I loved on the Imagination by the way) ….
1. Carnival needs to print out several lists of the songs avaiable.
These systems only have ONE screen for everyone to … a) look at the songs available (which takes a ton of time) AND b) “sign up”. This causes a huge line and some frustration.
Solution….simply print out a computer list of the available songs and have several copies for singers to look over! This is probably an option on the digital system since it is computerized.
2. PLEASE expand the song selection. The selection on the Imagination was pitiful. Having 1,000 songs sounds great. However, when 900 are Elvis songs and I don’t sing Elvis….then the selection dims quickly.
3. Make sure the set up ALSO has an old fashioned CDG player for those of us “professionals” who have our own custom disks.
Yes, we will accept all responsibility if those disks are damaged…it is just part of life.
Melvin H. (on the Imagination) had the PERFECT set up. He had the digital system AND the old fashioned CDG for folks like me. (Thanks CHRIS!)
I propose that set up on ALL the ships as they convert to the Digital World.
Thanks for listening!!
Linda (Mom of your friend ~who gets embarassed when Mom sings karaoke~ DJ)
30 days and counting until we are on Ecstasy…the ship that is!!!!
Thanks, John, for the wonderful pics of St. Petersburg. We’ll be there SOON, as we board the Eurodam on Monday!!! If I can’t be on Carnival, I want to at least be on a sister ship:-) Hmmm, will there be a blogger’s meeting onboard? I may have to see that there is! Will I be able to access your blog without having to use up my onboard Internet minutes??? Hmmm, stay tuned for my critique!
Duchesss Sandy and Duke Dick
Original members of Big Ed’s first Evil Crew 2008
John, once again thanks for being YOU….great job bringing the real to the people…we know the score. Cheers, Ray
John, love your blog as always.
My son (now age 17) has played all 3 of the Guitar Hero games and believe it or not has a HUGE collection of songs from the ’70’s, ’80’s, and ’90’s because of that game!
John,
Let me tell you…here in the Midwest of the great USA Guitar Hero is THE most popular thing since pizza was invented! Now there is Guitar Hero I, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero III, and let’s not forget the all famous “Rock Band”. If you have teenagers, you must have Rock Band. This will keep them in the same room without eating for hours on end!!! Well worth the money!!! LOL. Rock Band would be a good addition because it also up to 5-6 kids play all at the same time. I have saved soooo much money on groceries since we bought Rock Band for Christmas!
Mr Cheap would have loved to go to those concerts with you…Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Yes, the Who. What…no Alice Cooper???
Where oh where is the next Hedi Blog??
Princess Susan
ps…for the last time…HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHANIE!!!!
Please be assured that in America bigger is not always better ( ask the owner of a Suburban how they like filling up that gas tank) .. and I think in Cruise Ships some are already too big for my taste. I cannot imagine why anyone wants a shopping mall and central park on the sea.. I want the sea breezes and a DOD.
As always the blog continues to entertain daily!!
The first photo in the eclipse series is my windowsill on the ship. I was first alerted to the something strange happening when I saw those unusual patterns on my windowsill which I was sure I had not seen before, but I was still unaware of its significance. Then my girlfriend called me to tell me there was an eclipse happening, and then it all made sense. The shadows on my windowsill were made by the window cleaning platform above my window which has hundreds of little holes in it. Each hole works like a little pinhole camera, and casts an image of the sun below it. I took a photo of the windowsill, and then went outside to have a better look. It was impossible to see the eclipse initially as I didn’t have any filter or safe method of viewing the sun, but once the sun went behind the clouds the eclipse was easy to view, and also easy to photograph. I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Dr Jason Wolfe.
Ah…………the never ending complaints & nastiness of RCI folks. I think they just feel threatened by Carnival.
Sad that you and Heidi don’t get to have a lunch together–see you really are celebrities and the idiot on the last cruise that didn’t recognize you was just stupido!
As for RCI, to each his own. There isn’t anything to fight about but its jealousy on their part because Carnival is most successful!
I think that your blogs while you are actually on a cruise are my favorites, John. The endless supply of odd-to-outrageous comments you receive from guests are fun to read (and I can imagine as characters on the eventual sit-com).
Continue to rest, John!
Terri
Hi,
Thank you for your reply regarding the itinerary change of the October 5 sailing. I understand better now. I would imagine more people would be upset if Carnival dropped Naples instead of Katakolon. Although personally I would have gladly dropped Marmaris instead of Katakolon, but then the schedule would change even more and get more people upset. LOL
Just a thought! What if there is an organized private tour to the otherwise closed Archeological Museum? A Carnival exclusive! How cool would that be!
With both Freedom and Splendor in port, there might be enough interests to get a good sized group joining this excursion. A tour of Pompeii or Herculaneum (4 hour tours already offered), then a tour of the Museum (3 to 4 hours?) would be an awesome combo for a history/culture/archeology enthusiast.
Ah, yes, I’m a dreamer at times.
Again, thank you very much for your reply.
Looking forward to seeing you on the Splendor.
Regards,
Rebecca
Hi John.
When I meet a client like that, I just think of an old Aussie folk song – “Dilligaf”
If you’ve never heard it – click the link below – but….. BE WARNED ! ADULT HUMOR! CONTAINS SOME SWEARING! IN FACT QUITE A BIT OF SWEARING!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WxmUKVrT0iI
Still – I think of it often, and occasionally hum it to myself when dealing with the occasional difficult customer.
Hi again Jo & Dave, Yes we will definitely get together, we weren’t on the 1st bloggers cruise but Bee and Charlie were, so we will have to make sure to meet up somehow. Wonder if any other bloggers are gonna be on the Splendor that week? Linda & Mike
Empress Bee: Lets all meet up with Jo & Dave ok?
John,
We’re sailing 8/30 on Splendor. Will we be able to book a post cruise tour of London for September 11th (we have booked a post cruise stay at the Royal Lancaster through Carnival)?
Do we wait until we’re on board to book the London tour?
Thanks,
Linda
HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHANIE!
I’m sure that Tracy Spacy is a good cruise director though I’ve never seen him. RCI probably sends spys on Carnival all the time. But they haven’t learned much have they! Yes, their ships are like big malls and they just keep making them into bigger malls! Yet Carnival’s are still ships with a focus on food, service and fun and the sea.
BTW if bigger is better, did you get a chance to ask Brad why RCI just laid off 400 people? That’s really sad for those people because now is not a very good time to be looking for a job.
Cheers,
Ted & Pat
Hey, John,
One of the things I love about your blog is that I learn what’s going on in the world. Like for instance, I had no idea men really got in cages and chewed on each other! I sometimes think I live in a cave as there is so much stuff I miss…maybe it’s not having kids in the house to educate me, or not going to a job where someone will keep me up-to-date. I only learn stuff when I go to a movie and see the latest technology, etc. Quite frankly, I’m a bit underwhelmed by most of what I do hear about, since so much of it causes less and less actual human interaction. People don’t communicate anymore, they just talk at (or text at) each other, and find weirder and weirder things (i.e., men in cages) entertaining. Use your music preferences as an example…I like a lot of the groups you mentioned, and I’m considerably older than you. I also like the Stones and Aerosmith and Lynard Skynard (spelling ?), etc. and big band music and Sinatra and Michael Bubble(?). But most of todays “music” sounds like so much really loud, annoying noise, or else it all sounds exactly the same. Most of the girl singers sound like Brittany and all the boy bands sound the same.
And don’t you just hate the way the whole world is becoming the same…McDonald’s, Burger King, Bank of America (well, maybe not), but even “quaint, small towns” are so ALIKE!!! Even in England or France or Germany.Whatever happened to unique? Or individualistic?
Sorry, I got carried away. Tell Heidi hello. BTW, any news from the “smiley stick”?
Your Pal,
Myra
Dr. Wolfe,
Thanks for the pictures. They were great!
Myra
John,
WTF… It’s not even a matter of customer service when someone hits you over the head with a bottle. I would have thrown his a$$ up against a wall and thrown him in the brig myself it’s a shame you can’t carry tasers, that would have come in handy.
_BigMike
Blog Security Chief
“What possible guitar hero could the kids be emulating in their electronic world……….Brittney Agulira, Limp Cookie, The Black Eyed Pees? If you asked any of the spottied youths playing the game if they new who Hendrix, Blackmore, Clapton etc were they would probably look at you as if you were speaking Klingon. I watched the game and the top ten songs they had to choose from and I didn’t know any.
My top 10, as it stands at the moment, features AC/DC, Motörhead, Steppenwolf, Queen, Kenny Loggins, Golden Earring, and rather disturbingly Meat Loaf’s appallingly pretentious Bat Out of Hell. In the whole of my personal top 20, there are only three acts from the 21st century.”
JOHN! Not only are you the greatest CD in the WORLD, but your musical taste is impeccable (at least to me! HA!). I’d love to have a look at your Eye Pod thingy and let you glance through mine… it’s a 4GB one, and full to the gills with such bands as Iron Maiden, Nazareth, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Jefferson Airplane/Starship, Black Sabbath, Blackmore, Rainbow, Dio, Rush, Yes… the list is extensive! If the lovely Heidi does not want to go to a concert involving any along those lines, please consider me as your concert buddy! Ha ha!
Since you love that kind of music, check out Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, definitely would be up your alley in musical selection.
And on the RCI spygate bit, Ted and others have hit the mark: if RCCL is SOOOOO great, then why are they losing money quarterly and why did they just layoff 400+ employees due to “financial restructuring?”
I’ve been on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. I was on 10 Carnival before I even started Royal Caribbean. I’ve been on 7 Royal Caribbean cruises lately. My last Carnival cruise was on Carnival Valor in 2005. My last Royal Caribbean cruise was four weeks ago, lol. I’ve been on cruises with John Heald as cruise director (multiple times but in the mid 1990’s) and I can tell you that he is the best. I can’t decide which one is the best. I like Royal Caribbean for the concierge lounge. Carnival is just for something different because I get used to the Royal Caribbean way of doing everything. I admit to being on all the biggest and best Royal Caribbean ships though, lol. But, I like trying them at least once. I’m willing to try Carnival again because I haven’t in a few years.
But, I probably like Royal Caribbean a tad more. My next cruise is on Celebrity, lol. So, I guess I’m going the Royal Caribbean route again. I don’t really need the amusement type parks in the ships. But, I probably will try Oasis of the Seas once to see what it’s like. I like cruising all lines though. 
HI John/Heidi:
There’s just something funny hearing you talk about the “Mall of the Seas”. Pretty strange actually.
I really enjoyed your blog today. Its nice to see though (still) that many people choose a variety of cruise lines so as a result I think you have to be a little more flexible with who you are talking to. Know that people you sail on CCL will probably sail on the others and vice versa. Just have to be ready for that.
Crazy that the lady was complaining about what is on ESPN. Not like it was on Playboy channel or anything.
That Police reunion was a great concert. One of the better shows i’ve seen in the past year.
Thanks for another great blog today.
Take care!
David