Time to pick on the Greeks again.
I always tell our guests that the taxi driver in Athens are quite honestly ……….. abysmal ………….and they will do anything they can to extort money from the tourists. Just to say that Athens is the only European port that I actually recommend taking the Metro and not a taxi……………why…………..because of frequent incidents like this.
Good morning John,
Please find the following comments as FYI. Mrs.__ was quite upset over it and crying at the desk yesterday.
TAXIS IN ATHENS
Mrs.__ came to the desk in tears saying that she wanted to take a taxi and go to Plaka and but the taxi driver had asked her for 200 euros and then she had to go to the police officer standing by the taxis to ask for help. She stated that her husband is in a wheelchair and she did not feel safe with all the taxi drivers harassing her for more money that she was expecting to pay. She stated that she had to ask several taxi drivers and they all quoted large amount of money because of having to put a wheelchair in the car. The police ignored her and started laughing. John, Mrs.___ is very upset and just wanted to let you know.
Thank you and regards,
Geri Georgieva
1st Purser
I wish I could have met this taxi driver………………I wish I could have seen him try take advantage of this poor lady and her husband who was in the wheelchair……………I wish I could have told the Greek sod that I would have his license suspended. Instead, all I can do is apologize to the lady and her husband and let everyone know that the taxi drivers in Athens are men of no honor and should be avoided like the inside of my underpants the night after I have eaten Indian curry.
I just spoke to Mrs. ___ and she is still very upset. She had to pay 200 euros for a 30-minute journey. I apologized and promised her I would use her example to help and warn others………………I also sent her some gifts and a letter of apology.
Guests like that you just want to wrap up in a big blanket and protect.
And on the other side of the coin…………we have this one.
From: SPLENDOR PURSERS
Sent: Sunday, October 12, 2008 4:03 PM
To: SPLENDOR CHIEF PURSER; SPLENDOR HOTEL DIRECTOR
Cc: SPLENDOR PURSERS
Subject: UNHAPPY WITH PASSPORT COLLECTIONGood evening John
Please see below comment from Mrs. _______
UNHAPPY WITH PASSPORT COLLECTION
Mrs. ___________ called the pursers information desk extremely upset with the passport situation. Purser offered assistance. Mrs. ____________ said that she had just received her passport back and could not believe that there was not a single stamp in her passport. I informed the guest that the Greek authorities did not stamp all the passports. Guest started to scream really loudly and state that she should never had to have given her passport to us because she was an American citizen. I tried to explain that we were in Europe and follow European laws, but she would not listen saying that she was American and her passport was the most important and should never have to be taken. Guest said she would be calling her “Congress Person.”
Email sent to cruise director, chief purser and hotel director for information.
And so, with a weary heart I listened to a high pitch whine for 10 minutes telling me the same stuff she had told the purser. Her voice sounded like a cat being given the good news with a cattle prod.
There was no point arguing or stating the obvious………….I just think she was disappointed her passport was not stamped………….that I understand ………. but to argue that because she was American she should not have to have her passport collected and to say that she was going to report us to Congressman Gilchrest of Maryland ………yes……she told me his name……about five times…………and apparently he is going to “take action.”
I apologized and again tried to explain that because we were in Europe and that Turkey was a……..and that’s what I got…………….a dial tone……………because she had hung up on me. I contemplated calling her back…………..but I knew it was as pointless as me trying on anything that doesn’t have two X’s on the label………I was never going to win her back. And that upsets me……..not because I am right but because the guest will never forgive us and will leave the ship feeling mad………and you all know how much I hate that.
So, let’s get happy again and look at some photos from Athens. These were taken by my friend and entertainment tech, Brett, who did the sensible thing and went on a tour — ignoring the Greek taxi drivers whom I hope all develop itches in deep unscratchable places.
Acropolis Theatre
Column Bits
Parthenon with columns
Parthenon
Ruins
Street in Plaka
Top of Acropolis
Last night I met a fantastic guest, although I doubt he will remember me. I was in the cigar bar being naughty and enjoying a Monte Cristo Edmundo when a guest weaved his way toward me. He was a young man in his 30s and he was walking erratically and was, not to put too fine a point on it, incapable of either coherent thought or coherent speech.
He came up to where I was sitting enjoying my cigar with Jim the musical director and two cigar-smoking guests who had joined us. He just stood there…..swaying gently from side to side …….just staring at me. He had a big glass of scotch in one hand and a beer in the other.
I waited for him to say something and after three seconds of just being stared at I said, “Good evening sir, are you having a good time?” He looked like he’d been asked to explain the atomic properties of plutonium. He had the IQ of a tulip, the conversational ability of a sock.
Still nothing.
And then……..bizarrely…..he leaned forward inches from my face and said “I Love You Man.”
Well….at least that’s what I though he said as it came out ” I loooowee you, mam” and just as I wondered if he was about to ask me to marry him……he turned round and staggered off.
There was, obviously, lots of laughter from the people with me and as they laughed I tried to think what had possessed him to say that. Obviously he was very, very drunk but did he really love me……..did we have a future together?……….I will never know …………. he left…………..and I will never see him again……………..I think I might cry.
So, here we are at sea and today has been a very strange day for Heidi and I. For me, it’s been strange because I held my last travel/debarkation talk and morning show for what maybe quite some time. It was a strange day for Heidi because she fancied a big bowl of cornflakes……nothing unusual with that…except instead of cold milk she wanted hot milk ………so that was me off to the coffee shop and then back to the cabin to watch my wife eat hot milk cornflakes………at 4 pm. The Thingy is weird! Then again, I am not one to talk…….I came here in May saying that I would diet and lose tons ………..literally.
Have I?
Have I buggery.
It’s nobody’s fault but my own but I am determined to try harder. I will probably find it easier at home. I will be able to eat what I want when I want and I must try harder.
On the surface the human being appears to be a flawed design. Obviously our brains are magnificent and our fingers enable us to do many useful things like type, point and poke arrogant Greet taxi drivers in the eye.
However, there seems to be something wrong with our stomachs. It doesn’t matter how many slices of roast beef we cram into us, they always want just one more roast potato. And then, instead of ejecting all the excess fat, they feed it to our hearts and veins, and we end up all dead.
Of course, we can use willpower to counter these demands, but this makes us dull and pointless. You need only look at the number of people in lonely-hearts columns who neither drink nor smoke to know I’m right. If they did, they’d have a partner.
What I tend to do when it comes to the business of being fit is not bother. I eat lots, and then I sit in a chair. The upside to this is that I have a happy family and many friends. The downside is that I wobble and wheeze extensively while going to the fridge for another chicken drumstick.
All this has to change though with the arrival in May of the Thingy. I have a gym machine at home and will promise to use it every day and, to start my exercise regime, the first thing I will do once I open the front door is to throw the remote control in the garbage. This will mean I will have to move my lard-ridden arse out of the chair and walk the ten feet to the TV…………….great idea, don’t you think?
I have met many great guests this week. I would like to introduce you to one of them. His name is Peter……….he is from Australia and here he is singing in the talent show last night.
As you can tell from the video Peter has a great voice and, from his “we met on a blind date” statement, he also has a wonderful sense of humor.
Peter embodies the spirit of life and the fact that he was able to sing in front of 1,500 people was something he told me he would never forget.
After the show I met another sight-impaired gentleman from Colorado. His name is Kerry and he was one of the guests I went to share a cigar with after the show. Kerry has been blind these last 23 years yet he has achieved so much. Not only does he own a successful cleaning business but he also runs……….long distance track events. After the “I Love You, Man” staggered off he told us about his running. He has won medals and trophies and this coming year he will be running in the New York Marathon.
Tim Harwood who was with us last night is Kerry’ s best friend and is the guide runner who runs alongside him over the course, shouting “bend” and “straight” so that Kerry can imagine the racetrack ahead.
I listened to their stories of friendship and of courage……………and I gave silent thanks that this job I have allows me to meet such inspirational people like Peter and Kerry. On my way back to the cabin I tried walking along the deck with my eyes closed and hadn’t gone more than a few steps before I was hitting the wall……imagine then running ……. around a track or the streets of New York in total and utter blackness
Today’s blog then is dedicated to Peter and Kerry whose lives are spent in darkness but who this week……….. Have shone brightly here on the Carnival Splendor.
Goodnight
Your friends
John, Heidi and the Thingy
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.
Why is it that people have the notion or idea that people that don’t drink or smoke are dull or boring??
Oh my they are wrong!! I have hear to much of that lately and believe me we know how to have fun without alcohol.
Hi John,
I hope all the moaners and whingers that you have had on the Splendor look at today’s blog and feel utterly ashamed. What a brave and lovely guy Peter is.
How I shall miss your tales from the ship.
Regards to you, Heidi and thingy.
Hi, John,
What a wonderful change for you today (well, except for the taxi driver thing); even the “I Love You, Man” man was a hoot!
Beautiful song sung by a beautiful voice. Bravo, Peter. And his sense of humor is amazing. Also, kudos to Kerry. Most of us are too lazy to run although we can certainly see to do so.
Thanks for such an inspiring message today!
Your Pal, Myra
Hello John,
No ahclocal or smoking is playin it saff, and Its the right thing to do to stay free of these addictions, and I for one was very disapointed when I saw my elementary school guidiance counslor once smoking in public, when she is the one who told my entire school wjen i was in elementary school to not smoke, I wish people could be a little bit more wise when smoking or drining on cruises, becuase that coulld be very dangorouse.
And can you tell me the exact date that QE2 will be retired, becuase I would like to make a nice blog on my site about her history when te time comes.
Thanks, JAKE ( :
John: I appreciate you admitting that you are struggling with your diet. It takes a lot of courage to bring all of us along through your diet because most people to “fail” quite a lot before becoming successful. I truly believe you need an external, dependent motivation to beat your weight. Guess what? May 15th that motivation arrives and will be depending on your health and your life to be around and to live long to hold his/her hand throughout the years.
However, if weight didn’t make you any less healthier than a “skinnier” John, then I think you look fantastic and Heidi loves you I am sure, just the way you are!
Sometimes when we take things for granted it takes some special people in this world to snap us out of oblivion. In that, we occasionally do become blinded by the light….. There is hope for us ……. I think….
So rather than shrieking that our passports didn’t get stamped or that being an American should somehow permit one to circumvent policies and procedures around the world ….perhaps one should stop and think for a moment ….. What is really important?……To love life, to enjoy our time in this realm, and to be appreciative of the world around us….and the difference each person can make….. or should we kvetch about every little buggery thing?
The Flying (revved up like a deuce) Dutchman
Joh: I agree with Nanni, you don’t need to smoke or drink to have fun! And, about your weight, I know you lost some weight, because it is obvious looking at you that you did. As you said it will be easier once you get home. When do you leave? Keep in touch! Linda & Mike (my handyman)!
Brilliant… Peter and Kerry are brilliant. End of discussion. Thank both of them for me. They are completely inspirational.
As for the taxi drivers in Greece… I’m sure that some of the deepest pits in hell are populated by many of their peers…
The pictures of Athens are gorgeous. Perhaps someone should buy up the ruins and move them to Arizona where neither pollution nor taxi drivers would be a problem.
Thanks for the fun!!!
Ciao!!!
Host Mach
I love the “I love you man” story. I believe I have met this guy on several other cruises but he never specifically said that to me.
The passport issue lady needs to get over it. It wouldn’t matter if she had it–it wasn’t going to get a stamp. There wan’t one place that we went on that cruise on the Liberty on or off the ship that stamped them including the airport in Rome when we arrived! I did get one at Heathrow last month but that is the only one I have other than Aruba.
Great story of Peter and Kerry and the photos are good too.
Mixed emotions for you both as you do things for the last time for awhile. But good things to come with warm milk on corn flakes at 4 in the afternoon not being one of them.
Hi John,
I always have to surrender my passport on embarkation. Hoping they might loose it, them having a problem getting me off the ship. Bad luck they never lost it.
Only Turkey does stamp your passport twice arriving/leaving via aeroplane.
Well John, I enjoy a good drink, and when I’m on the ship with you next year, I expect to have a cigar with you!
Jeff
Well now John, the new love of your life… does Heidi know? More important does the new love know that a Thingy is on the way and said new love will have to just understand that what could have been, but it just can not.
I can’t even imagine the pain that woman must have had when she would not be helped by the police considering her husband in his wheelchair. That truly is pathetic, on all of their parts. They deserve whatever happens to them.
And then you have the screamer that wanted her Passport stamped. If I had been there (oh my you are so blessed I do not work for Carnival, but then I would last about a minute in a half), I would have said “you want it stamped, here it is stamped” and do some creative stamping to her Passport .
And then the very dear man that is sightless. I am sure after the day or I should say the cruise you have had this really did make it seem like maybe it was not so bad.
Keep smiling John, my best to Heidi. She is so lucky to be pregnant. She was thisclose to loosing you to a new love. I just can not imagine how funny that scene must have been.
John, just so you know not everyone from Maryland is as rude as the “lady” who ranted about her passport. Some of us are very nice!
Jennifer and Danny
John I agree with Nanni you don’t have to drink..which I don’t and never have, or smoke which I did for 30 years and quit, to have fun.I am now highly allergic to cigarette smoke, well smoke of any kind. I was when I smoked just didn’t have enough sense to figure out that was causing my sinus infection. I quit smoking , as did all of us grandparents, when my DIL had my first grandaughter so there wouldn’t be any smoking around her.
….. I can’t get over the happiness I feel for the two of you.
Nuff said! What I wanted to ask you is…. are you craving anything now that Heidi is pregnant?
My step daughter’s hubby craved more than she did when she was pregnant. Go figure! lol
How many more days do you and Heidi have on the ship?
Heidi’s pregnant
Countess Carolyn
Dear John and Heidi and Thingy
What a wonderful Blog today
I agree with Nanni as well I don’t drink , I people watch and I have fun. Mr. “I loooowee you, mam” actually sounded very lonely. Sad. It was also sad that the couple with the wheelchair had to endure the Greek “take me for a ride” syndrome.
Peter and Kerry are very special people indeed. Peter’s voice is truely lovely. and the line about a “blind date” was priceless! They are an inspiration. I hope that if I lose my eyesight in my other eye I can cope as well as they do in life. (I am legally blind in my left)
Now John as far as your dieting, do what you can, because your true inspiration is Heidi and Baby “Thingy” and when “Thingy” is born you truly will be running around and not have time to dwell on food. Especially as the child gets older there will be soo much to do and see thru the eyes of a child. Trust me The inspiration will be there.
Take Care
The Tuckers
Elizabeth & Arnold
Good evening John, Heidi and little Thingy. You know John, reading about people that always complain about the little things that they think are big like the lady about her passport and then you bring us about Peter and Kerry . These are the true people who are able to deal with the real problems in life yet with a big smile go on as if nothing has happened. Thank you my friend for giving us the music of Peter and the strength of Kerry. My struggles each day are nothing compared to these fantastic mene. Ciao until tomorrow.
Paul F. Pietrangelo
I agree with several above who say you dont have to drink or smoke to have a good time. We have been on 8 cruises and have had a wonderful time on all of them….without drinking or smoking!
Hi John,
PLEASE REPLY-Congratulations on your “thingy”. I am a relatively new reader of yor blog (approximately 2-3 months) but I am hooked and my wife who does not read English, expects a summary every evening.
We are cruising the Valor beginning on November 9. It is my second cruise (I cruised the Elation in 1999 with my ex) but first for my wife. Since we met, I have told her about the wonderful experience a carnival cruise is and I promised her that one day we would cruise together. Well that one day is finally here as we decided to celebrate our 5th year wedding anniversary by taking this Caribbean Cruise.
We are also trying to have a child as we have no children of our own, but have been unsuccessful throughout our marriage. I told her about Heidi’s thermometer and she is going to ask her doctor about teaching her that method. But hey, maybe all we need is the magic of carnival and our child will be conceived on the Valor during our upcoming cruise
Is Chris Jefferson still the CD on the ship? Also, I read on one of your recent blogs that you sent a signed picture of the ship to one of your passengers. How can we get a signed picture of the Valor for ourselves?
Thanks for reading and good luck with all your future endeavors both with carnival an beyond
Sergio Medina
HI JOhn/Heidi:
I wish you a lot of luck as you tackle your new diet in the next few weeks.
Great pictures from Athens. Brings back a lot of memories. I feel bad for the passenger who had the taxi episode. That’s just awful.
Very impressive about Kerry. That’s quite an amazing story.
Hope everything else is going well.
Keep the blogs coming.
Thanks!
David
John -
You needn’t worry about Ms. Pass-notinthisport complaining to Congressman Gilchrest. He is not up for re-election. From his website:
As you may know, based on the results of Maryland’s Republican primary this past February, my name will not appear on the ballot for the general election in November 2008. My tenure in the House of Representatives will come to an end with the final adjournment of the current Congress.
Jon in Maryland