I had introduced Jamie Allen the Maverick Magician on stage at the 9:00pm show, the crowd were already applauding and staring wide eyed at the amazing slight of hand magic that he was performing and that was being projected onto the screens…………I am not a big lover of magic shows. I know that it is impossible to make the Statue of Liberty disappear or turn a white tiger into a hamster. However, this slight of hand close up in your face kind of magic has me enthralled. So, when my phone rang I was not happy especially as the people watching close to me gave me dagger looks of death.
So, I went to the back of the lounge and discovered that someone was calling me from the Pursers office which was 8 paces away. So, I hung up, walked 8 paces and said " Hello "………….I was ready to have some fun with the Purser about me being right there but I could see from the look on her face that something was not quite right. ………………and it wasn’t.
I was informed that we needed to make an announcement through the emergency system which would effectively stop the show. The reason for this was that a 12 year old boy had been playing basketball and trying to dunk the ball had fallen, landed on his knee and hurt himself quite badly. He was now in the infirmary and I needed to find his parents……………
So, I firstly called the dining room to make sure they were not at dinner but they were on the early sitting and had already eaten. So, I made the announcement without disturbing the show. This is done because we can block of each area of the ship when using the PA system so not to disturb shows and music etc…………I made the announcement………….waited………………nobody called………………..bugger.
So, then I walked into the lounge and waited for an applause break which as the show was brilliant came very quickly. I then used my microphone……….apologized to Jamie the magician and the audience and asked if Dad was here……………….he was. he met me at the back of the room and looked ashen faced as if he knew something was wrong. I told him what had happened as we walked down the stairs to the infirmary. let me tell you know that the young lad is fine…..he had some urgent treatment on board administered by our superb medical team and he is now well and back with Mum and Dad.
This morning I gave them a friendly call to make sure all was well and Dad said his son was fine but his wife was mad at him because he had given him permission to play basketball with his newly made friends. ……………he was where I have spent most of my life…………in the dog house.
I want to be a father………I could never be a mother.
Obviously Heidi and I have yet to blessed with a child and even though Heidi says I would make a good father I think she may be nervous when it comes to me looking after them on my own. Last Christmas I was entrusted to look after my niece and nephew Luke and Isabelle while their Mum, my sister and Heidi went Christmas shopping. In essence I was given the role of a single father for one day. Judging by what happened I would have been better off pressing wild flowers or learning how to make Sushi underwater…………I made a complete mess of it. When my sister and Heidi came home it was way past the kids bedtime, Isabelle had glue in her hair and in her eyes and was crying profusely and Luke was stuck up a tree.
Things had probably started going wrong earlier that afternoon. Lunch……….OK, I had been given instructions to feed them but before that their plastic cups, plates and cutlery would need washing from breakfast. ……….I stared at the dishwasher for about an hour and then finally realized I had no idea how it worked. Oh, I may be able to write an OK blog and entertain an audience but if its white and lives in the kitchen I have bugger all idea how it works.
Washing Machines……….nope……………….Deep Freezers………….well I don’t see the point of them at all. Send me into a supermarket and I come out with what I need now which is usually a bag of potato chips and some hemorrhoid cream. …………..anyway, in the end I gave the kids plates a quick wash under the tap with some Dove soap and some water and fed them their micro waved and obviously slightly burnt pizza……………Luke said his tasted soapy.
I had left Isabelle gluing sea creatures into a scrapbook thingy while Luke put his shoes and coat on and was playing with a huge double barrel mega water pistol thingy that I had bought him that morning and was busy giving the birds and the odd insect the good news with gallons of cold water. This seemed pretty natural to me so I put on my Eye Pod to drown out the screeches of horror from the wildlife getting a free enema from Luke’s water pistol and sat down in my office to blog.
And so instead of coming home to a scene of kids ready for bed in their pajamas, all the toys put a way and the house as clean as a laboratory they came home to Isabelle who had super glued her eye shut and Luke who was stuck up a tree after trying to get a good firing position for if and when I had bothered to come out and check on him.
Of course like the Dad who had said his son didn’t need to watch the show but could play basketball I was in the doghouse…………….thank goodness Suedrip and Heidi never discovered my worse moment. One of them had done poo poos and kept shouting "ready "…………….thank goodness Suzanne never discovered I bribed the other kid with 5 pounds to go and do the thing with the toilet paper while I hid under the bed.
So, Good Morning from Tallinn. Lots to tell you today starting with another nice day for guests to explore and another nice day stuck on board for me…………more on that in a moment.
First though, here is a look at some photos of Tallinn today from Jaime.
Tower of the old city wall
Church with the Coat of Arms
Estonian school of Music and Theatre (left) and Ballet School (right)
Random parade in Estonia!
More Random Parade =)
/> Panoramic Shot of the city, with the ship in the distance =)
Now, onto next cruise. We have a whole new itinerary next week because of space and availability in port. Europe continues to be very popular and space as ever is limited. This means that we have had to change the order of our ports of call for this cruise.
Here is the new itinerary:
| 8/6/2008 | Wed | London(Dover), England | 7:00 AM | 5:00 PM |
| 8/7/2008 | Thu | "Fun Day" At Sea | At Sea | At Sea |
| 8/8/2008 | Fri | "Fun Day" At Sea | At Sea | At Sea |
| 8/9/2008 | Sat | Tallinn, Estonia | 1:00 PM | 9:00 PM |
| 8/10/2008 | Sun | St. Petersburg , Russia | 11:00 AM | Overnight |
| 8/11/2008 | Mon | St. Petersburg , Russia | Overnight | 7:00 PM |
| 8/12/2008 | Tue | Helsinki, Finland | 8:00 AM | 6:00 PM |
| 8/13/2008 | Wed | "Fun Day" At Sea | At Sea | At Sea |
| 8/14/2008 | Thu | Berlin(Warnemunde ), Germany | 6:00 AM | 10:00 PM |
| 8/15/2008 | Fri | Copenhagen , Denmark | NOON | 8:00 PM |
| 8/16/2008 | Sat | "Fun Day" At Sea | At Sea | At Sea |
| 8/17/2008 | Sun | Amsterdam, The Netherlands | 10:00 AM | 6:00 PM |
| 8/18/2008 | Mon | London(Dover), England | 7:00 AM | 5:00 PM |
Now, this presents the following challenges.
1. I had a meeting today with the Estonian authorities who have insisted that everyone from a Non European Union country must have their passports collected and processed through Immigration. This means the following.
1. All US and Canadian and non EU passports will be collected during embarkation check in
2. Guests will have a photo copy of their passport taken as the originals are collected. If guests already have a photocopy they will not need an extra.
3 Guests will be given a receipt for their passports.
4. During the stay in Tallinn Immigration inspectors will come on board and stamp and process each passport
5. After departure from Tallinn guests will need to bring the receipt and collect their passports as they will be needed for St.Petersburg the next day.
Now, we managed to talk them out of a full immigration check where each guest would have to present themselves to the authorities before leaving the ship but lets be honest, its still a pain…………….why are they doing it…………….well……………t
here are lots of different reasons but honestly and in my opinion…………it seems like a bit of tit for tat stuff going on…………….if you know what I mean.
Now, the other big change is in St.Petersburg where we have a noon a 11:00am arrival. This means we cannot offer the Grand Tour but instead we are packaging together a wonderful selection of daytime tours. The evening tours are unaffected.
Apart from this………..well, nothing else has really changed. We are staying in Estonia and Denmark to later which is nice and hopefully all will be well. If you have any questions on this please let me know via Stephanie marking the comment " Urgent, please reply ."…………and I will.
One other problem from this morning was that for some reason our telephone system decided to go bonkers and did not reset itself for the time change. This meant that with the hour back a few guests were woken up at 5am and not 6am for their tours…………we caught this as soon a the guests told us but not before many had been woken up early…………some were very unhappy and who can blame them.
Some very sad news, this morning at 5:05 am I was informed that an elderly guest had passed away in her sleep. I went down to the cabin and spent time with the husband. There are no words that I am able to write to describe this scenario except to ask you all to remember her and the family she left behind in your thoughts and prayers……………………………thank you.
Well, lots of you are booking the blogger’s cruise and lots of you have booked your Dream voyage on…………the Carnival Dream. You know, I cant stop thinking about that chap with the T Shirt on yesterday. He kept banging on about the new mall of the seas using words like "gigantic" and "humongous" and all I could picture in my mind was that narrow promenade looking like the Mall of America during the sales.
Anyway, back to the Carnival Dream and I wondered if you had seen this wonderful video………………..here it is
Makes you want to pick up the phone and book doesn’t it?
There will be much more on the blogger’s cruise this week by the way.
Just before we continue, do you remember my blog about how I enjoy cutting the grass at home………….well, here is one of my Dad mowing the grass at their house today……….notice the cap?………..well my Dad has always worn a cap……….I think if Mum let him he would wear his cap in bed.
The life boat drill used to be just about that…………life boats………which one is yours and which one you are assigned to.
These days however its also about smoking and the areas you must and must not do this…………….washing your hands to prevent gastro illness…………the Environmental rules and regulations and even tips on saving water when you brush your teeth by turning the tap off and talking of turning things off…………I even ask guests to turn the lights off before they leave their staterooms.
These are subjects that are all necessary and although I support each and everyone of them I do feel a little uncomfortable in telling 3000 adults to " wash your hands " and " don’t let the taps run when you clean your teeth"…………….it makes me feel like I am lecturing them on something they probably all do already. What’s your thoughts on this?
Also, I have been thinking about maybe having a bit more " fun " at boat drill something similar to what I hear Southwest Airlines do. What do you think?
I am already fighting such things at home where we live. Council’s are handing out £5,000 fixed-penalty notices to those whose lights are keeping people from getting to sleep.
Every single day there is a small piece in the papers that announces the introduction of a law banning something which you thought was harmless. And here’s the thing. You raise your eyebrows momentarily and then you turn the page and read about a celebrity who has gone mad and married a horse.
It’s only when you add up the number of new laws that have come along that you realize just how much of our freedom they have tried to erode in the past years.
I was speaking to the Staff Captain who told me that in Italy you may not legally fix a broken window pane in your own home unless you are a qualified broken window mender and that when the work is done you must get it inspected by a broken window inspector from the local mafia…………I mean council.. Furthermore, I learned from Heidi that in Holland it is against the law to change or tamper with the electrical sockets in your own kitchen.
There’s so much more to come as well. Horse racing will be banned , you will not be allowed to tread on a cockroach, you will not be able to have sex or a few drinks with your friends after work. Red Meat will have to be marked with a government health warning and you will be prevented from telling jokes about yourself, homosexual men, lesbians, Muslims, Catholics, the Irish, RCI, Polar Bears, fat men with bent teeth and the French……………OK, maybe not the French.
Naturally you will also be banned from smoking anywhere except Mars, owning a Bible, sending Christmas cards that feature the nativity and smacking your children. Happily, you will be allowed to drive a car, but not at more than 10mph, not if you’ve had a some rum cake and certainly not if it has four-wheel drive.
I have had enough
I’ll carry on telling jokes about myself and when stuck in a traffic jam I shall call someone in France and tell them they smell.. I will eat as much beef as I like and I shall sit in my Range Rover and smoke twenty cigars and make sure the headlights are on full beam.
This evening I’m thinking of smacking someone else’s children. For fun. And then, when I go to bed tonight, after I’ve altered all the wiring in my kitchen and eaten a whole cow I’ll leave the outside lights on. And dream about the glimpse of Catherine Zeta Jones’ G-string I saw in a movie last week.
I am a rebel with a cause.
Goodnight
Your Friends,
John and Heidi
Look, friends — there are a few things you should remember before you comment. The space below is for you to post your comments about the post I've just written above. If it is something that's unrelated, please use the Ask John tab above. Now, while I may not be able to reply to your comment below, I do sit in my underpants almost every morning and read everything that is here. So feel free to comment on the comments and then if someone wants to comment on the comment to the comment then go ahead as well. Please be courteous unless the poster is French...........then you can say whatever you want.
I applaud your cause and join you in it!! Political correctness is ruining human life as we know it. The litany of ‘thou shalt not do’s has grown to epic proportion and there’s no end in sight. When some rather vacuous blond appeared on the nightly news and told the world that LAWN MOWERS were ruining the atmosphere and that we all needed to go purchase some anemic battery powered lawn whacker I had enough… I wandered about and bought the five most feeble, smoke belching lawn mowers I could find. I lined them up in front of the house and started the lot… let them belch that bluish gray smoke ’til they ran out of gas and did it again. Protest… it’s good for the soul…
The Dream is just that… at least it is for people who love to cruise! As you know, I’m putting together a cruise on the Dream and the numbers are already stunning!! Seems everyone wants a chance to sail on the brilliant new ship!!
Tell your dad for me that his yard looks wonderful!!!
Howdies to Heidi and, please, Stephanie, how was your birthday?? Excellent, I hope!!!
Ciao for now!!!
Host Mach
dude! please do me a huge favor!!! tell jamie allen that i bought his cd and kit on a cruise and gave it to my grandson. he is now known as magicmatt. he is 12 and has watched that cd so many times it is about worn out and he can now do all the magic tricks. it is amazing. this (small) 12 year old can even levitate and card tricks? by the bucketfull! so tell jamie THANKS for creating this new little magician.
smiles, bonnie and prince charlie
John you are going to be a great father. That situation you describe is normal. Very…. specially if children are left with fathers. You are not alone. We are going to keep praying for it to become a reality soon.
Glad the kid is fine it must have been very scary for the parents.
Prayers for the family of the deceased.
Tell your dad his yard looks great.
The Mall of the Seas is a city not a ship. Not for me.
Nanni
John -
I am sure if you visit Camp Carnival you will get all the practice that you need for daddyhood!!
Jane
John – Am thoroughly enjoying the blog as I wait for my time to take the 8/18 cruise. I was on the Freedom last year for the Mediterranean cruise and look forward to your humor again. One question:Will our cruise schedule be adjusted due to port space or will we keep our ports and times as planned? Looking forward to your reply.
bluecrabgirl
Stephanie – Urgent – Please have John reply
Will the 8/18 Splendor cruise be affected by the port changes or just the 8/6 cruise?
Hi John,
Love the blog as it has prepared us well for our cruise on the 18th. Will the port order change for the next cruise also impact the August 18th trip?
Thanks for all the news!
Hey John,
I agree with the “PC” attitude in the world today. I cannot believe how offended people get at nothing. Hewever, as my family is from Donegal, you may find that making fun of the Irish does require immediate and full retribution. I am okay with that as long as you are. I mean, I don’t want you to be offended by this.
And if you want to smack some kids to get into practice, I know two that live with me that you could use for practice. They wouldn’t mind, as this would mean they would be on a cruise with you. Unfortunately, the economy in Florida has not been good to us as of late, and our vacation plans for at least the next year are on hold. Maybe we can get things in order for the Dream in December of 09. Our anniversary is then, and it would be a great way to celebrate.
Til next time
Kevin
Good evening.
For what its worth, I am a single father of a singularly hideous (and altogether marvelous son). We will be on the Valor next week for what I find is great father son.
My little guy is adopted and much loved. I look at him lovingly knowing that he and I have absolutely no DNA in common.
Don’t be blinded. The fact that you may be an inept parent (which we all are) doesn’t mean you can’t raise a very fine child.
And for the record, I am old, fat and have crappy teeth. I smoke cigars and cannot tell you how happy I am.
Bob
John, your experience with the children is pretty typical of a man left alone with them, don’t worry too much about it. Besides, when they are your own, you get to learn how to deal with them from the beginning, not like you were thrust into action after they are a few years old.
Loved the pics, how fun to be in town for that parade. Nanni is right, your Dad’s yard is beautiful.
Being a Baby Boomer, I have never quite got the reasoning behind this Political Correctness thingy. Progress should be about making life better for all of us, not about pleasing the hyper-critical. So, i join you and Mach in your cause.
Looking forward to the Dream, hope to cruise on it with Mach’s group. Would love to sail the Splendor, too. Who am I kidding, I would love to sail any CCL ship!!!
Be glad you aren’t in Texas today, we were up to 104 degrees in Dallas, it’s 8pm and we are still at 101. Sunday is expected to be hotter.
Diane
John, Please extend our sympathies to the man who lost his wife last night. What a nice way to pass on to the other side though. in your sleep doing what we all love to do, cruising and enjoying yourself.
I’m so glad the little boy wasn’t hurt bad. But I bet they were two scared parents.
Ahhhhhhhhh the magnificant Dream. We are already booked on the very first cruise out of NYC. I can’t wait, but first things first,the Holiday out of Mobile in 51 days, then the Splendor out of FL next November, then the Bloggers cruise in Feb.
Prayers are still being said that you and Heidi will be blessed with a baby of your own before too many more moons. You will make a wonderful parents.
Please reply, Have you found out if you will still be on the Splendor the end of November?
Carolyn, Countess of the Evil Krewe
John, you are such a bad boy….LOL
that must be why we all love you so much, right?
I’m glad the young boy is OK, my sincerest sympathies to the family of the woman who passed away……and to Heidi, you must keep an eye on John, he’s such a bad boy!!!!
Cindy
John -
Just think of all the things that you got into as a kid – those things are what you need to avoid when you become a father.
I always hated growing up in a small village (about 2,000 people) – you couldn’t get away with anything because everyone knew everyone else.
But, there was another side – you were never far away from someone who cared about you. If something happened to you, it was attended to and your parents were contacted.
It is said that it takes a village to raise a child. This blogger’s community is your village. We will insure that your child is properly raised – even if we have to banish you to forever cruising and raise the child ourselves. (Note that Heidi would not be banished. We know that she will be a great mother.)
Red skies at night,
Jon, Kathy & Stacy
Hey John, been awhile since I posted on here. In your next post, can you clarify your ideas about how you could make the life boat drills “fun?” I haven’t rode Southwest Airlines in awhile, so I don’t know anything about their air drills.
Doesn’t hurt to tell people once about the washing your hands or the “lights out” thing. Just say it’s protocol?
And on a personal note, I just returned from the Carnival Liberty! Great crew there; give my regards as an anonymous guest to “Karl with a K” and everyone over there, if you can get in contact with them. Thanks!
John, I agree with you and Host Mach! Enough is enough. We need to stand up for our rights!
So sorry to hear about the lady who died onboard.
Love your parents garden!!! Can we all go visit them and have a picnic there?
The pictures are great.
As for telling people to wash their hands, you might be surprised how many people don’t…even after they’ve used the toilet! I think if they didn’t learn hygiene as kids, they’re not likely to change as adults. Besides, as far as I can tell not many people pay any attention to much of anything that’s being said at boat drills. Usually, they’re all griping about having to be there, or fussing about having to ditch a drink, etc. I think the most they get from the drill (and the only thing that’s really that important anyway) is where the life jackets are, how to use them and where their boat station is. Especially for folks who cruise a lot…it’s kind of like on an airplane…you know to put your oxygen mask on first, etc., so you just keep reading your book or whatever and waiting for the drink cart!
Best to you and Heidi,
Your Pal,
Myra
Hi John,
You know I’ll be on the Carnival Dream Inaugural. I had prearranged with a TA book me the first day of sales since I was on my way to Genoa at the time.
If there is more that one Inaugural I am prepared for that, too! If not, can you squeeze me in on the VIP cruise?
Elizabeth tells me she reads your blog. We shall see. Hi Elizabeth!
Dear John as always a great read.It just amazes me of the beautiful architecture in these ports of call. Simply marvelous as are the pictures.I am so glad the little chap is alright.I imagine it embarrassed the little fellow more than hurt.I just don’t understand the fascination of people going on a cruise to get away from there ordinary lives and then want a mall on the ship as a reminder.Oh well to each his own,but not for me.
It is a shame the turn of events of our everyday life is full of can’t dos and whats a violation of the rights of the African Dung Beetle or the North American Flying Squirrel as well as everything else under the sun.The one group that is happy with all this petty fallderall is the attorneys. God bless them all.Keep doing what you do best bringing smiles to peoples faces.That is truly a blessing.
Best wishes to you all. Gary and Bug
John,
I will be saying prayers for the husband and family of the deceased woman.
Now about the subject of you being a father…I can see it now, you will be called into the school to explain the behavior of your children and it will be…I was just doing and/or saying what dad did last night. I see a lot of nights in the doghouse for you; but I also see many of joyful years for you.
Thanks Jamie for the wonderful pictures! They make me wish I was there.
Tell your dad he has a really nice back yard! I would love to have that patio outfit!
I have three words for you….Hedi blog please!!
Princess Susan
Hi Stephanie
When you tell people to wash hands and turn off water while brushing .. do they tell you “Why.. I am on vacation ?” Personally think those announcements are a little silly but some do need to be reminded.
Now what I really wanna see is you doing the Drill ala Southwest Airlines .. that is a great idea!! I suspect you will be vetoed on that though .. is is supposed to be very serious. and it should be .. but why not have some fun being serious.
I was very glad to hear that the young man is alright.
John,
You are so right…seems our leaders should have a lot bigger fish to fry than worrying about some of these crazy laws they spend time passing. Sounds like it’s true in many countries, not just the states.
Your dad’s lawn is gorgeous…looks like a lovely place to sit and enjoy a drink and good company.
I also have to comment on yesterday’s blog…love your taste in music. I’m a sucker for classic rock. Is there any chance you had tickets to the Zeppelin reunion last year at the 02 in London? George and tried desperately to get tickets through the lottery and would have gladly flown across the Atlantic to take part. Unfortunately, we’re stuck hoping for it to be released on DVD someday.
Take care,
The Kilmartins
Good morning John,
Just a quick comment…………….
Political Correctness is the opposite of the old concept of ………………..wait for it………………
COMMON SENSE!
Keep us smiling John,
B&D from Canada
John, The pictures of Estonia were beautiful and also your Dad’s yard! By the way, he should wear a cap when he’s outside -sun damage you know.
Yes, there are way too many rules and regulations these days. Naples, FL (a city to the south of us) tried to ban power lawn mowers because the noise was a disturbance. I guess they finally just banned them on certain early morning hours. I’m glad we live in the country! Jeri
John,
If you want to alter lifeboat drills, there are still many complaints about the ships sailing during the drill. This ruins the experiance for 1st time passengers (and those of us who have sailed many times).
With the new rule that everyone has to be checked in one hour prior to sailing, it seems that the drill should be able to be done in time.
Looks like your dad is at the end of his cord. Electric lawn mowers. They are wanting everything to change to electric but then at the same time they barely have the capacity to support the increase in usage.
Dave
As always, you and I totally agree, John. Day by day liberals and their big government nanny state are taking away freedom after freedom, and heaping regulation after regulation on us. The liberal media loves it and promotes it, and the sheeple fall in line. I do my part and vote against these tax-loving, rule-making, freedom hating PC far left loons, but it seems I’m outnumbered. It’s very sad and frustrating.
Jeff
Hi John, Please write about the changes you made in the St Petersburg tour. I would like to do a condensed tour both days we are there in September. I am not sure I want to do two all day tours two days in a row.
Thanks,
Jo
John:
It is unfortunate that we do have to have so many rules these days, but sadly we live in a world of the “common sense challenged”. You answered the question in the same sentence….years ago, no one would have been marrying a horse!
In our town, we had to pass an ordinance that you could not cut your grass before 6am. Why? Because we had lawn services mowing people’s lawns at 5:00AM…on a SATURDAY when normal people are trying to sleep.
Our laws have taken the place of the common courtesy and common sense that is just far to nonexistant in these times.
We now live in a world where grown (supposedly adult) people have to be TAUGHT how to act.
When they still don’t listen, more regulations have to be implemented. A perfect example that you used is smoking on the ships.
The announcement makes it very clear that Carnival does not want smoke in the cabin hallways. And yet, smokers ( in order to prevent sitting in their own waste in their cabins) will prop open the cabin doors and flood the hallways with smoke. And when asked by Security to close their doors, they do it with a smirk…only to prop it open again when Security leaves….with this “no one is going to tell me what to do attitude”. And, while 90% of the smokers on the ships I have come across have been EXTREMELY cautious and respectful,….they will have to pay for the stupidity of the other 10%; because the only solution will be to ban smoking in the cabins.
And smokers will have a hissy fit when that is announced (as we all know it will be). They will blame everyone; except the 10% of smokers who made this next step necessary to protect the health of others (especially children) .
So keep making all your announcements, because unfortunately … far to many just don’t know any better.
Linda (Mom of your friend DJ)
First, my sympathies to the family of the deceased woman. Hopefully she had had a wonderful time on the cruise beforehand.
Second, your parent’s yard looks beautiful! What great care your parents take with all of the flowers and the landscaping.
Third, I agree with the laws that are infringing on a lot of people’s rights! What happened to letting people live and be happy? Now, everyone has to worry they are doing something “wrong” no matter if it’s in public or in your own home. I agree with the other bloggers who said people are just too sensitive about everything.
Finally, Estonia looks fabulous! I can’t wait for the August 18 sailing!!! I would like to know if we need to bring copies of our passport to make it easier or if we will get copies as we leave the ship for a tour?
Can’t wait to see you and Heidi. I also believe you will both make very good parents! It’s easier to raise your own children that watch someone else’s. You know what to expect with your own child!
John, have no worries, mate, you would (will?) be a great father. I was in the same place you were about 7 years ago, afraid of messing up a little life since mine wasn’t so wonderful. But my wife and I brought our amazing son into the world and it’s been no going back for me. I can’t imagine life without him! Then two years ago, we were blessed with his baby sister, and now I have a real sense of completeness and purpose. My kids are my life and I love every minute with them (though, as any parent can attest, I might not _like_ them all the time, I do thoroughly love them more than anything in existance). Something changes in you when you hold that tiny little bundle and you see those little eyes light up in recognition of you and a littel smile creeps across that precious face… granted, it may just be gas (something you know, eh mate?) but from that moment on you’re a goner.
I’ve commented before in the blogs and I’ll repeat it ad nauseum: PC is short for “pure crap!” Yes, we should all respect each other. Yes, we have more of a care on how we live in the world. But making into law every little nuance and variable is worse than just using the common sense our parents raised us with. Everyone is so thin-skinned nowadays and it’s our own fault. Someone did someone wrong somewhere at sometime and now following generations pay for it. The whole “sins of the fathers” bit and that’s rubbish. Ex.: I’m of Irish descent (go figure, eh?) and I LOVE Irish jokes. My grand da’ is 2nd generation off the boat to Ellis Island and _HE_ tells some of the greatest “Irish bashing” jokes there are. If you can’t laugh at yourself, what can you laugh at? Apparently nothing – laughter and humor is next to be banned
Continue being a rebel, John! There are many others that will rally to your cause – VIVA LA REVOLUTION!!! (ooops!
)
“I do feel a little uncomfortable in telling 3000 adults to ” wash your hands ” and ” don’t let the taps run when you clean your teeth”…………….it makes me feel like I am lecturing them on something they probably all do already. What’s your thoughts on this?”
This is your practice for when you have kids, John !!!
Phil & Liz
Good afternoon Mr. Heald and Heidi. I think that you will be a great dad. I think all men feel the fear of not being a good father, but when the time comes, it just falls into place. I felt the same way being a father and also a grandfather but when the time came, I just loved it and had no problems. Having such a very positive and easy going attitude which you have my friend will give you the heads up to be a good father. If we every meet, I’ll give you some of my ideas that I used when my children arrived and it’s even better when you become a grandfather. Have a great day. Ciao my friend.
Paul F. Pietrangelo
My grandson cut his hair so badly they had to shave his head while Mom was at work and he was in the care of his father so I believe that you have not disqualified yourself for fatherhood with your sister’s children!
Gorgeous pictures again today. Really makes me want to do the Baltic which before I never thought I would.
I have always been of the mind that humor just makes things better so go for it on the life boat drill! Its such a pain thing to have to do after just boarding and I know its necessary but still annoying so anything to make it more fun would be great in my book.
I do so agree that the world is over the top with laws and rules because someone is always offended by something. Whatever happened to tolerance? Speaking of that there are many times that I would love to slap someone else’s children too, but not just for fun..did I just say tolerance?…:-) You are too funny. Also great photo of Dad at work!
Sad for the family of the deceased.
Everything that Jason the mick, said, is true, especially the part about children and becoming a parent. When you see that precious little face, nothing else in the world matters!! …Also if only people and young adults would use the common sense and manners that there parents taught them…! These days, no one can take a joke…and some people are sue happy ( Oh no, did I just SAY that!?!)Well, that’s my 2 cents worth for today.
…And John, you will be a fantastic father…
Love to Heidi,
SuefromNarrowsburg
So sorry to hear about the guest that passed away. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends.
Wow, what a beautiful yard/garden your dad has created. No wonder he has inspired you.
I think it is okay for you to remind everyone to wash their hands and sneeze/cough into their elbow. Not everyone may have those good habits. Better that you share your good health tips with everyone than for the those that are unaware to share their illnesses with everyone.
Can’t wait to hear more great plans for the blogger’s cruise.
Ann
Hi John/Heidi:
Or should i say Mr. and Mrs. Rebel!
Great blog today and very interesting comments.
I think its a great move on your part to warn guests of things ahead of time. Its that time of year where Norovirus is around and people have to be reminded to wash up.
I am sorry about the guest who passed away. Very sad.
Good luck with the changeup of the schedule next week. Something tells me that some passengers are going to be quite upset.
Looking forward to hearing more.
Thanks again,
David
I believe that safety at sea procedures are too important to have them treated in other than a serious manner. If passengers perceive the ship’s crew is not serious about the boat drill, I think that it will lessen the importance placed on safety.
Yeah, right!
The guy who can’t figure out how to turn on his dishwasher is going to rewire his kitchen!
Please make sure Heidi is there with her video camera. This I gotta see!
My condolences to the family and loved ones of the woman who passed away during that cruise. This can never be an easy event for the ship staff either…
As far as lack of common sense which is apparently running rampant these days and subsequently the need for reminders to coax some of the more challenged individuals’ feeble brain cells to start firing on all pistons…… No wonder the overzealous (moronic) law makers have a field day in setting up regulations and laws to “help” society.
The Dazed and confused…….Flying Dutchman
Mark
John,
My husband and I have followed your blog since the beginning and love it! We returned home LATE last night from our wonderful cruise on the Spendor. We loved David Bright and agree you should add more lectures. We enjoyed lectures on Princess when we went to Alaska a few years ago!
Gail and Harold from Nashville, Tennessee