Melissa Asked:
John,
Do you have any idea when Carnival will announce their 2010 cruise itineraries? Anxious to start making plans!
Thanks,
Melissa

John Says:
Hello Melissa,

I understand that the itineraries for 2010 will be released some time in December this year.
I am as excited to hear about them as you are and as soon as I know more I promise to pass them on.
Thank you for reading the blog thingy,

Cheers,
John

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Good Evening………..yes evening………..it’s 11:05 pm and my wife is watching Sex and the City episodes while her and the Thingy munch on bagels and peanut butter…….at 11:05pm. So rather than watch her munch and while she watches the one that looks like a boiled spaniel try on another pair of Jimmy Poo shoes ……..I thought I would say a quick hello………………….oh God…………I hate this show. She made me watch the movie and now she is starting again on series 1.

As I write one of the “girls” has entered a New York discotheque…….. sorry ….it’s a clothes store while the blonde one is making friends with a sailor or seven.

Well, what can I tell you at this late hour?………………Well, apparently I seem to have deleted some of Monday’s blog before I sent it to Stephanie.
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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.

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Pam Says:
my question is does carnival carry Diet Dr. Pepper because that is all I drink …. please let me know as we sail in 56 days….

John Says:
Hello Pam
Sorry – no Diet Dr.Pepper. We have all Coke products though. I love Diet Dr P as well.
Let me know if there is anything else you need to know
cheers
John

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Beware of Greeks bearing gifts……or …..Beware of Greeks bearing bugger all information.

From: Stelios _________
Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2008 8:18 PM
To: SPLENDOR SHORE EXCURSION MANAGER
Cc: ‘Christos _________
Subject: important news!!

Dear All
This is to advise that the center of Athens is going to be closed tomorrow at various points at various hours due to the bicycle tournament of Athens (for want of a better translation into English!).
Although the traffic police were very helpful, they can not know at this time exactly when each location will be closed to all vehicles, in order to let us know in advance.
We are going to slightly modify itineraries to avoid the center at the moments when it s closed.
Best regards
Stelios ________

Now, note the date and the time this e-mail was sent. October 11 at 8:18pm. That’s last night…………..that’s the night before we arrive and 11 hours after I had held my travel talk and, of course, told the guests “Oh, it’s Sunday, although some of the shops will be closed, many of the tourists stores will be open for business and the center of the city will be ready for you to explore.”
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I wish you could have been there. The new Cruise Director Jen was there………so was Heidi and the thingy………and about 200 guests. It happened just now and I ran ………….. OK, walked fast……..straight from my Q&A, after my travel talk for Athens and Naples ……………to the cabin so I can report word for word what happened. Remember all the Q&As are done with the guests asking the questions over the microphone.

Here we go.

JOHN NEXT QUESTION…………YES……..LADY OVER HERE

LADY AFTER THE CRUISE, MY GROUP AND I ARE TAKING A 15-DAY BUS TOUR ACROSS ITALY AND I AM VERY ANGRY THAT YOU HAVE THE SAME TOURS IN NAPLES THAT WE ARE GOING TO SEE ON THE BUS

JOHN SORRY, I DON’T QUITE UNDERSTAND

LADY I AM DOING A BUS TOUR AND WHEN WE COME TO NAPLES WE ARE GOING TO POMPEII AND CAPRI AND SORRENTO BUT YOU HAVE THE SAME TOURS SO THERE IS NOTHING FOR US TO DO…………WHY?

AUDIENCE (SNIGGER AND LAUGH)

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I was so mad this morning. During the night we had a guest taken very ill and the infirmary staff spent the entire evening saving that person’s life. So, this morning we arrived into Istanbul and, after a difficult maneuver by the captain to get the ship alongside between the Grand Princess and a cargo vessel, we obviously needed to clear the Deck 0 lobby so we could take the guest from the infirmary off the gangway to the waiting ambulance…….we were supposed to be alongside at 9 am and we actually arrived at 9:20 am.

So, I had staff asking the guests to clear the area. They refused. They were on a private tour and that was more important. I then made an announcement over the PA system and eventually and, with the help of the security guards, the 50-plus guests moved. Not before handing out abuse to the staff…….

I would love to tell you who these guests were but I am sure this would lead to accusations from a few reading this that I was being stereotypical ……….so, I will just say that I hope the guest makes a full recovery and I hope the bus on which these 50 very rude people are touring on today gets a flat tire, the air conditioning isn’t working and that they get back to the ship just as its pulling away.

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Morning all…………….let’s start with religion and hats.

From: SPLENDOR PURSERS
Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 10:57 PM
To: SPLENDOR CRUISE DIRECTOR
Cc: SPLENDOR GROUPS COORDINATOR; SPLENDOR PURSERS; SPLENDOR CHIEF PURSER; SPLENDOR HOTEL DIRECTOR
Subject: Request for Jehovah Witnesses gathering

Good evening John,

I’ve received a call from Mrs.________ who wanted an announcement for all Jehovah Witnesses to meet. She advised that she needed to meet with others as there was too much gambling and drinking on the ship and she needs to pray with others of her religion. She wants an announcement made. Can you contact the guest please?

Regards,
Evgeniya
Purser

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Let me set the scene for part one of today’s blog thingy with a true story……….and yep…………it’s a true story. Heidi and I were in the car a few years ago. We were sitting behind a car at a stop light and I noticed that it had a bumper sticker that read “Honk if you support British Troops.” So as I did……… I honked the horn and we were very surprised when the driver of the car got out and yelled, “The light is still red, you ar%^hole!.” He then proceeded to get back into the car and drove off through the light, which had just turned green.

And that’s how I feel this morning. You think you are doing something that is good and then you suddenly find out that it was perceived in a very different way.
I had received a letter from a guest. Here it is.
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