Sunday, November 2nd, 2008...6:36 pm
Update from John
Hello Everyone,
You’re probably wondering what’s happening so let me tell you, unfortunately, due to the massive turnout of approx. 7000 people the Philadelphia police force decided it was not safe to break open the pinata. Their concerns were the huge crowd of people swarming towards the pinata to scoop up the free candy. Therefore the police decided to dispurse the crowd and told everyone to leave. This was not exactly what we had hoped for. We are now looking to break open the pinata later today or tomorrow. I would like to send my apologies specifically to all the bloggers who drove from as far as Tennessee, Michigan and beyond. I would also like to say sorry to all of you waiting to see this event online.
Safety as onboard is our primary concern and with this in mind we compiled with the police request. So right now I’m heading for a ride in a helicopter to shoot my part in the commercial. There will be an update from me later this evening.
Thanks for your patience and thank you for your time.
John
74 Comments
November 2nd, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Hi John!
Sorry things didn’t work out as planned. Murphy’s Law and all that nonsense.
Good luck getting it up and running.
Take care!
David
November 2nd, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Carnival has no control over the actions of a crowd of 7000 especially if the crowd decides to take their own course.
We’ll be here!!
See you soon!!
Host Mach
November 2nd, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Wow – what a poorly planned and executed event. I saw people online around the block for four hours. 7000 people!!!! I don’t think so! What did you expect from a city that has. 3 million people show up for a parade on a days’ notice??
If this is how you plan a cruise – I think all of Philadelphia and I will choose another line!!
Nice try guys – you need professional project managers for this sort of event – not cruise directors.
November 2nd, 2008 at 6:49 pm
What a dissapointment. I was not surprised at the crowd, why was Carnival? While it was nice (and free) the confusion throughout the day was frustrating and the cancellation so disapointing. It seemed poorly planned. We were waiting for you to come back for the next group for the commecrical! My kids did not want to leave-we wanted to at least see it destroyed! But we had to go home and tomorrow some school and work-I guess the Performing Arts High kids will stand in for those of us who were there today!
Of course, we expect our portion of the 8 tons of candy in the mail later this week since we gave our address at sign in! ;0)
November 2nd, 2008 at 6:55 pm
John, We had a great time there. Both Pat and I are dead tired. But I think you are wrong about the number. I heard somebody talking by the production tent saying 40,000 People.
BIG ED
November 2nd, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Hi John. WOW. We left mid afternoon before the police shut the party down. We had no idea they did that. I must say we had a hard time getting out of the fenced in area. We couldn’t find a open gate and had to talk someone into opening up a gate to let us out. There were huge lines still trying to get in.
) You are looking great. Thanks for inviting us.
It was fun. We enjoyed meeting some bloggers. That was the shortest distance we have ever gone to spend some time with you.
More later,
Jo Myerly
November 2nd, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Who would have expected this many people to turn out. The weather was perfect. The pinata was beautiful. Carnival gave out not just five cruises at this event but six!! Philly you lucked out! The free ice cream was the best I’ve had in a long time – true creamy ice cream. The caricaturists were wonderful (unfortunately I couldn’t get mine done), the kids had a great time with mini-golf and doing the karaoke booth. I can’t wait to see what ends up online or in a commercial. Big Sexy from Miracle and the CD from Victory and his dancers, and G-Force were outstanding and kept people dancing as did the Parrot band. The smoothies were delicious too! Nothing can be done about the number of kids but the Police did what was best for everyone, especially the thousands of kids that were at the event from newborns to teens. Could you imagine the little kids getting trampled. Picture a huge easter egg hunt with thousands of kids and everyone reading this will understand what I’m talking about. I hope the children, and I hope they are children, that get a chance to open this pinata have a wonderful time! Still had a great day. Our granddaughter enjoyed it as much as her first cruise. Maybe we’ll get to meet you, in person, on a future cruise!!
P.S. Are you going to Chicago?
November 2nd, 2008 at 7:06 pm
John, I think this was a wise move on everyone’s part. I think 7000 is a veryyyyyyyyyy low estimate. I think the crowd would have become very unruly once the free candy hit the ground. The EMT crew standing by with the ambulance told us they were expecting people to get injured. We left the fenced in area as the time grew near and the wrecking ball was getting into position to break the pinata.
We missed you.
We’re headed back to TN. I hope your flight back to Miami was uneventful and you got some rest.
Countess Carolyn and Don
hope you enjoy your sugar free chocolates.
HI Heidi, he looked spiffy . I could tell you picked out his suit……….
November 2nd, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I understand. It’s also an crazy time in this city with all the World Series fun. I’m looking toward to seeing that wrecking ball swing though.
November 2nd, 2008 at 7:27 pm
That seems like a ridiculous answer, you loaded this thing with 8,000 pounds of candy and weren’t prepared for 7,000 people? Sounds like a cop out to me, did you expect to have more than a pound of candy per person? This event was horribly planned from the start, great concept, really poor execution. I’m starting to believe the rumors that there was never any intent to break it open. Like some in the crowd said, we got punked.
November 2nd, 2008 at 7:31 pm
We were in the giant crowd waiting for the big piñata bust and what a bust it was! I have never seen such a case study for being unprepared. All the promos made it seem like the area around the piñata would be open from noon to three — nothing about having to go to the tent across the street to get wristbands first. We arrived about 1:15 and there were huge crowds everywhere with no one being allowed near the piñata area wristband or not. It was totally unclear which of several gates were going to open and there was no communication about what was happening. We finally left out of concern that the crowd would get out of control. I don’t blame the police for shutting it down… this was very bad planning on Carnival’s part.
November 2nd, 2008 at 7:49 pm
John – what a blast to meet you in person….and I also got to meet up again with Big Sexy from my cruise on the Miracle…so cool!!!
Let us know when the Paris the Pinata is going to meet her demise…..I can get sometime off Monday am but have a meeting at 1 pm.
It was so much fun to have Carnival do a fun day in Phila…..and meeting all the bloggers was a blast. Thanks Carnival, John and Big Sexy!!!
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Out of all of the action that Philly endured this week the police decided that this was unsafe somehow I don’t think that is true. The police have played the most important role in Philly this week, I reside right by the stadiu and I waited for 5 hours we were told 3 different times then they said that there were difficultities and now you say it was the police which one is it, make up your mind. You put a 6 story pinuata in a bad section of Philly what did you expect the turn out was going to be!!!! Just another screw up from carnival!!!!
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Thanks so much for a great day in Phili. We’re platinum members from Jersey and had to get our fill of Carnival until Feb when we do our first Back to Back. Great to see Big and Sexy (one of our favorites) and just laugh and have fun. We do believe that is the Carnival RULE. See you on the Triumph.
Love,
Peggy and Tony Tavalare
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Good evening John. Today was a fantastic day. I enjoyed the opportunity of being involved in this great event. What a bummer that you weren’t allowed to break open the pinata. Man was that thing large. It was great to hear and see many of the bloggers in our family. I hope that we can see your commerical soon. See you soon my friend. Ciao.
Paul F. Pietrangelo
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:09 pm
John:
I know “the Krewe” had a blast getting to spend some time with you and each other.
Wish we could have been there!!!!
We did have a good time via the Internet though!!
It was great to see Laura, Big Ed, Carolyn and Don.
We found 2 couples who will be sailing with us on the Splendor who are not on our Cruise Critic roll call…so it was neat to get to invite them to our Meet and Greet.
Stephanie, Tony, Walter and tech crew….
GET SOME REST!!!
Thanks again for a fun afternoon.
Linda (Mom of your friend DJ)
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:12 pm
This was the most unorganized and ridiculous event I have ever witnessed. If this is any indication as to how your cruises are run, I will NEVER cruise with Carnival.
My two children and I waited in line for 2 and a half hours. We were very close to the entrance of the registration tent when we were approached by an extremely rude Carnival employee (the first Carnival employee that we saw all day long) who proceeded to shout in our faces that the bracelets were all gone. So my extremely patient children were now not going to be included in the smashing of the world’s largest pinata after standing in the freezing cold weather for close to 3 hours.
Why did not one single Carnival employee think to advise the thousands of people that were waiting in the four block long line that they may not get in? At some point, someone with a brain may have realized that there were more people there then you could handle. So the crowd should have been made aware of that fact so they would have had the option to save the remainder of their Sunday.
When I approached the group of Carnival employees to find out how much longer until the pinata was going to be broken, no one cared to disrupt their conversation. I again was very rudely told that they didn’t know, maybe a half an hour or so. I was also told that I could continue to wait in line to get my name on a mailing list for future promotions!!!! Seriously?
I considered the fact that I already wasted close to 3 hours of my time so I might as well stick it out an additional half hour so my kids could at least see the thing get smashed. We proceeded to wait an additional 45 minutes and were then told that the event was canceled due to safety reasons! What?!?! Because the crowd was too large? Who was the genius that organized this event? Hopefully not the same individual that organizes the cruises.
I will NEVER cruise with Carnival and I will do my best to make sure that no one that I know does either. I’m going to stick with Royal Caribbean. Thank you for wasting my family’s time, as well as the city of Philadelphia’s.
Dayna Newton
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Seems, they can’t do anything in Philly without a major issue–and before all of you that live there object–I grew up there and lived there for 25 years. I never understood the mentality involved with what transpires in Philly when good things happen in the city. Sorry it didn’t happen as planned and I hope your commercial goes well.
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Honestly, I left early because I was afraid of what was going to happen when that thing was broken open. People were acting like they’ve never seen candy before!
I’m about 20 minutes north of the city so let me know if spectators are needed if the thing gets busted tomorrow….I’ll be there!
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:03 pm
John, It was wonderful seeing you today. The girls and I made it safely home. I can honestly say this is an experience we will remember for a long time. It was fun meeting other bloggers and Carnival sure knows how to throw a party! It was a very large crowd!
Linda and Kate
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:11 pm
This was a HUGE disappointment for our family (including 3 young children) that waited around for over 4 hours today. I hope this is not the way Carnival runs their ships. You should have expected the turn out for an event such as this.
This truly was a VERY disorganized event on your part. We are planning a cruise in February and will be sure not to consider your company.
HD
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Unfortunately there were alot of little kids out to enjoy the fun of breaking the BIG pinata. Then to be told at 2:50 that there was a malfunction and they can’t break the pintata upsetting. If it was too many people or the cops felt it was dangerous then your team should have said that. This was a big disappointment against carnival cruise. And if it was broke after people left thats a shame expecially for the younger kids who wanted to see how it was going to be broke.
November 2nd, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Carnival shoule have done this from Galveston….no riots (Philly burns stuff because they win?!)
BTW…Carnival returned to Galveston today…watched it on the harbor webcam. I still d0n’t have my damaged car back (6 weeks and counting) nor is our house back together. Way to go CARNIVAL! We leave on the Conquest 11/30…house or car ready…who cares?! We will be cruising!!!
November 2nd, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Breaking open pinatas results in crazy chaos at private parties with half a dozen children….I can understand the concerns of the police!
Better luck tomorrow!
November 2nd, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Hi John,
We watched this afternoon. It was a little disappointing that things didn’t fall together (or should I say apart… LOL) like they were supposed to. But, I agree, safety first! It’s a shame that the crowd couldn’t be more orderly for somthing like this.
It does sound and look like most people had a good time, despite the crowds. And that is the important part. No one was injured…. not even the donkey.
Well, maybe Carnival would like to try coming to Wisconsin and break a worlds record for making the largest cheese sandwich! Crowds are pretty orderly here in our little town! LOL And I already told Princess Susan she is welcome to stay here for the event. Just somthing to think about!
Hello to Heidi and the Thingy!
Hugs!
Princess Barb
November 2nd, 2008 at 10:42 pm
John,
It was wonderful finally meeting you today in Philly. What an event! Even though crowd control got out of hand, I still had a wonderful time. As I said to someone early in the day, it really felt like a “Sail-Away” party. I hope you enjoyed your Helicopter shoot and nothing horrible happened. Love the picture of all the bloggers. What an interesting group and all devoted travelers and Carnival fans!
I didn’t get any candy or win a cruise, but I did see the world’s largest Pinata and the best cruise director doing what he does best – keeping his charges safe, informed and happy. Don’t ever change.
All the best to everyone I met in Philly and to Heidi and the thingy!
Cheers!!
Derek
November 2nd, 2008 at 10:44 pm
John Please reply.
Hi John, I just returned from my first Carnival cruise on the Triumph. It was wonderful. Ryan the cruise director was great. The shows were the best I have ever seen on a ship! We were so impressed we wanted to book another cruise while on board. I was surprised to find no cruise specialist for future bookings on board. Why is this? Thanks.
Carol
November 2nd, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Dear John I agree the safety is far more important than the fun aspect of the event.I know it was a sad decision to make but wise none the lest.Best wishes to all Gary and Bug
November 2nd, 2008 at 11:25 pm
I AM SORRY THAT YOU GUYS COULD NOT DO THE PINATA TODAY GOOOD LUCK FOR THE NEXT TIME
November 2nd, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Bummer for the people in Philly!
November 2nd, 2008 at 11:55 pm
John, Even though we did not get to see the pinata broken we still had a wonderful day. Thanks for all you did and I hope we meet again soon.
Ellen and Dave (from Delaware)
November 3rd, 2008 at 12:48 am
Seriously, I have been to a lot of crazy community events in my time and this was the worst planned/executed ever. I was there with other adults and we had our required ‘wristbands’ and agreed to be herded around like cattle for commercial purposes within the fence for quite a while- we just wanted to see the spectacle. We were given constantly contradictory orders by yelling ’staff’ in red shirt and when their unamplified voices were audible, the crowd obeyed them. There was no P.A. system, no signs, very limited bullhorns, and virtually no communications to people who showed up and were overwhelmingly patient for a poorly organized event.
When the crowd without wristbands in the outer ring (who had been waiting 30 minutes past scheduled start time) breached the line of cones, that were spaced 30 feet apart without so much as Caution tape stringing them together, I watched the ‘director’ (young guy, red shirt, blonde afro) run toward them yelling ‘no’ before giving up. Finally someone jumped into an ambulance to try and use their P.A. to hold back the crowd.
How could Carnival have advertised the event all over the place then failed to plan a way to communicate with all the people who showed up?
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:18 am
Dear John,
I am really upset about this entire pinata let down. I find it hard to believe that the police decided that they couldn’t control a crowd of 7000 when this city just hosted a World Series parade 48 hours ago. The news is reporting a totally different story. They stated that there was some difficulty with the pinata. There were well over a million people at the parade starting from 20th & Market Streets all the way to South Philly at our sports complex. So now your telling me that the police could not provide safety for 7000 but did so for over a million??? I’m thinking this was a marketing scheme for Carnival Cruises to draw people in … sign-up to win a cruise and Carnival telemarketing will begin! I know you all will be calling and/or writing me soon!
Zalea P Barnes
South Philly
November 3rd, 2008 at 6:53 am
Will there be anyone there to scoop up the candy? Also, will it be shown on the Carnival site so we can watch it? Hope so! Linda
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:40 am
Hi John & Stephanie,
I am so sorry things haven’t worked out the way you hoped. 7000 people – wow! And Josh too. I’m sorry I missed him.
Maybe the Philly police aren’t used to the big crowds for events, or just not as big or as frequent as we have in NY.
Did you get a cheesesteak?
Keep us informed.
Hugs,
Carol
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:01 am
It’s really too bad that the Philly police had to put the kibosh on busting open the piñata….I somewhat understand they didn’t want a unruly stampede occurring just to nab some free candy…..some people……
Next time around perhaps if you provide full contact body armor for those participating… including hard helmets in case candy raining down from above were to bean someone in the head…
The Flying Dutchman
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:28 am
Sorry you day did not go as planned John. Morphy’s law and all I guess. But glad some of the bloggers were able to be there. It is always fun to meet people in person.
Looking forward to what happens next.
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:42 am
John,
My sister and I had a great time yesterday in Philly. We were disappointed things didn’t go as planned with the commercial shoot and the breaking of the pinata, but Carnival threw a great party.
It’s just a shame people don’t know how to behave and have to ruin it for everyone else.
The entire Carnival staff deserves a pat on the back and kudos for a job well done considering what they had to deal with. Malcolm and Big Sexy kept the party going in the tent, the band was great, all the dancers and staff that helped with registrations, booths, cruise raffle, etc. really showed the Carnival way…what a treat to experience it on land. The band was great…if it was a little warmer I would have thought I was in the tropics.
Of course, Stephanie and her team did a great job as well. It was a treat to get to say hi to her even for just a brief moment.
Thanks, again, John.
Lisa K
P.S. Don’t forget to wear your “crabby” hat when you have to deal with unreasonable people.
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:47 am
First of all they did not give away 6 cruises they gave away 5 of them. Second of all on their website it said they were giving away 5 (4) tickets each and when we got there it was only for 2 tickets for each winner. And they told you that you had to be present to win and that was not true either. for being party planners this event could have been handled better. Regardless of whether it is in Philly or not you do something like this in a major city you are going to have lots of people especially on a day like it was. I was in line for almost 2 hours only to be told that we were not going to be able to get into the pinata area and this is before they decided not to open it up. And as I got closer and closer to the front we were noticing that people ( and freinds of the workers) were being ushered in past all the people who were patiently and followed the rules standing in line. I had my son who is 4 1/2 who heard on the radio about the biggest pinata and wanted to go see it. That is why we were there so he could see the biggest pinata. And he was extremely disappointed in not getting to see it and it left not only a sour taste in our mouths about carnival cruises but alot of people in line as well.
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:57 am
John please reply,
I had a wondeful time yesterday. Unfortunately, I had to leave a little early to take care of a few things at home with the family. I’m truly sorry that I didn’t get to say hello to you due to my unexpected early depart. Greeting you was the main reason for my arrival and I’m sad that I couldn’t do so. I did get to see you on stage, though, which was great. I tried to get there early for the private bloggers event before noon, but the already long line prevented me from going in. It was nice meeting Big Ed though. I spoke to him briefly a little while before I left. Very nice guy.
So my question is did you guys break the pinata yet? I would like to try and show up again if it’s still standing. I’m not that far from Philadelphia.
Thanks and again my apologies for not being able to say hello. It was a great event despite the police order and I hope you guys do this again in a nearby town soon!
Regards,
Alex G.
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:01 am
Well….we made it home to Ohio by 11:00 last night. We both had to work today…..and boy are we tired. It was great to have an opportunity to meet everyone; I know there were more people I didn’t get to meet. Looking forward to the next time. Again, thank you to everyone who made me feel like part of the family. I’m sorry the crowds caused the filming to stop/pinata to remain in tact. (Wayyyyy more than 7,000 people.) Will look for video on-line once it finally breaks open. Thanks to John, Stephanie, and all the Carnival team for going out of their way to keep things controlled. In spite of it all we had an amazing and fun day! It was definitely worth the trip.
Hugs to all,
Lori
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:05 am
Well this was a big letdown from Carnival. Not only did the Pinata not get broken the organization was very poor. After standing in line to get a wristband from 11AM to 1:30PM and finding out, as I was getting closer, that the reason the line was moving so slowly is that everyone is jumping it and the Carnival staff is doing nothing I was a bit ticked off. Then I found out that the entrance was also the exit and that slowed the line down a lot and the stations that were giving out the consent forms were disorganized and slow. Then came one delay after the other culminating in cancellation. If at least some amount of organization and crowd control was put into use for this event it would have turned out much differently, but as it did happen the outcome of this event would make me question Carnival as a cruise line of choice.
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:14 am
Yes, how could anyone have foreseen large crowds? major metropolitan city + giant pinata + wrecking ball + free candy + week long advertising blitz = oh my god, what are all these people doing here?
Here’s a little tip, try informing the crowd what you want them to do. Roping off the area where you don’t want people standing might be a good start. Also, you might want to think about hiring more than 10 teenagers for crowd control. I think you’ll find a little planning goes a long way. Also, since you don’t seem to know much about Philly, I would advise you not to leave that pinata sitting out too long.
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:25 am
That was fun, remember to have big Ed to send all his Krew the candy…… that was the plan???? right??? ….. maybe not but it is a nice thought.
when will/did it break? I want to see that!
the one
and only 1
Heidi-Beth
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:48 am
Hey John,
It was great to finally meet you yesterday! My friend Erin and I had a wonderful time at the event. I’m trying to introduce her to the wonderful world of Carnival and may have suceeded! It was also great to see Big Sexy again since he was the ACD on my first Carnival Cruise.
It’s too bad the the people of Philly can’t handle something like this without going crazy. I’m not surprised, but it was disappointing to not see Paris explode into millions of candy pieces. I can see why they had concerns since it was chaos just trying to get into the fences in the first place. We gave up and went to eat lunch while we waited!
It was great seeing everyone and only 27 more days until the Splendor Post Thanksgiving get away!
Sarah
November 3rd, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Dear John and staff and crew:
Thank you for the invitation to a Guinness World Class Event.
I think there were two records broken, the Pinata (I am not going looking for for the infinity over the n) and unruly mob. But for mobness and a bit of They can’t make me pull down my hood or back up for the overhead shot mentality, I ran away before I saw any vicious weapon wielding or even shoving and I don’t think that happened, so it was just mob not riot.
Yay!
I think we had met at least one of the beautiful dancers before and have her autographed photo. We got to dance to cruise music! The stilt walkers were quite personable and approachable and well balanced (oh that was bad) and I have to confess that I was the person that was continually told by the Red Shirts that it was a commercial shoot and that we weren’t supposed to talk!
I hadn’t met the other bloggers in person that I remember before, but that never stopped me from talking to anybody on a cruise and it was just another one day cruise to nowhere. I just didn’t need a sign and sail card to unlock my room but the rest was just another embarkation and Carnival has years of experience and it was as good as it ever could be.
Now that it is over, logistically speaking, did anybody try to get like the parking lot at Harrah’s just off I-95, which could have been worse, or the grounds of the Maryland Rennaissance Faire which is in the greater Baltimore Area, or even the wharf area in Annapolis where the Volvo Ocean Race had its Event 3 years ago? That was gorgeous.
I must also say, for all the reports that ever come out detrimental to Phillie police, it can’t be said for your event. It wouldn’t have taken much to turn that mob into riot, and while there was considerable jeering it wasn’t tipped and as we made our way out, we told them all thank you and they just told us they were already dressed for the occasion. I hope they get into the commercial because they were just gorgeous. Pull them out of the heli shots and cgi them in! Cops can have candy too.
So, no tipping of pinata candy or mob, but I guess it was just another day at the office for you. You did good.
Catch you around.
kk
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Dear Mr. Heald,
I should say that this was poorly handled from the start. Clearly Carnival and its advertising firm failed to hire enough security and set things up to make sure that the viewers would stand in appropriate places. Furthermore, the delays built around the filming of a commercial should have been announced in advance online to possible attendees, the project should have been organized in a way that the event would pose no risk and so forth. Finally, to blame this on the Philadelphia Police Department is dodging responsibility for creating a publicity stunt that was run so badly it surely suggests that future transactions with Carnival Cruise Lines would be unwise. In the words of my young but observant daughter: “they should never have invited us to come see the pinata be hit by the wrecking ball and then not hit the pinata.” Hmmm, kind of strange that a five year old knows the ropes but your company and its contractors do not.
Good luck scrounging up the cash to pay the PPD overtime and clean up costs, although I saw that you saved money by only having 8 porta johns – only 4 of which attendees could stand in line for 2 hours to use.
sincerely,
Father of a furious five year old
November 3rd, 2008 at 2:31 pm
funny how all of the nice comments make it to your page. you are unbelievable. these people are all morons for giving you money. i can’t believe you’re actually blaming it on the patient crowd that stood and froze waiting for you to get your head out of your ass for three hours.
thanks for addressing my first email, i will now be taking this issue to the newspapers to be sure my concerns are addressed
November 3rd, 2008 at 2:42 pm
John..greetings…quite a media event…or semi non-event!..lol..but you handled it very well…and good luck for next event upcoming if, in fact, it is in Philly….
Now, how was commercial shoot?…As a local actor, I would have gladly been a part of your project….let’s do lunch!…take care…Randy
November 3rd, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Hi John,
Just wanted to let you know as an avid Carnival Cruiser – I was really dissapointed in the outcome of the event. I waited in line with my 7 and 9 year old for 2 hours just to get a bracelet only to be told the event was over. I wish you guys could have planned better. Unfortunately, it left a negative impact on the 7,000+ plus people that attended. I was in the crowd. I heard all the complainers. Any chance you might ever cruise out of Philadelphia? – Avid Cruiser
November 3rd, 2008 at 4:13 pm
John,
Sorry that the pinata festivities didn’t go as planned. I know it’s probably hard to read the negative comments here and on other websites. Please know that I, many other bloggers and Carnival lovers are behind Carnival and support the decision that was made. It was all done in the interest of safety and that is one of Carnivals top priorities.
In looking at the good…you’ve made tons of new friends. I too have made new friends and by meeting you, other bloggers, and cruise critic people I feel like I’m a new member of the family. This is although I’ve traveled on Carnival multiple times, read CC and your blog everyday. When you start getting disappointed about what didn’t happen yesterday think about what did happen yesterday and in Dallas. World records were broken, friendships were formed, others were rekindled. All thanks to you and Carnival!!
November 3rd, 2008 at 4:23 pm
John just bring everything back down to Texas. At least we would not talk trash about the folks at Carnival trying to provide a FREE family event.
November 3rd, 2008 at 4:38 pm
The Flying Piñata
So the largest piñata wrecking ball was a bust (or not so much)…..I can imagine that the organizers and Carnival were slightly disappointed that the bloggers and throngs (errr mobs) of people that came out to witness the event didn’t get to participate in the release of gobs of candy.
Perhaps you should have made a slight retrofit of the payload (aka Paris) and hired an industrial helicopter to airlift Bessie (errrr Paris) to Citizens Bank Park ……. As the piñata beastie descended on the ballpark…..John in the chopper would hit the “fun” button ….. causing the spectacular Flying Paris to unleash her goodies on the field below .
Fireworks near the park could have enhanced the moment as well…
The Flying Dutchman
November 3rd, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Philadelphia was an embarrasment.
How grown men and women can riot over some penny candy the day after Halloween is beyond me. I saw college age people stuffing backpacks with candy, when it was provided to the waiting crowd. People were throwing candy back at the organizers. What, Free isn’t good enough!
Personally, I was there with my family. We acknowledge that we arrived too late (1 pm) to get into the tent for the giveaways, but were satisfied that we could at least watch the action from outside the fence. Then someone with a bullhorn said we could get inside, where all we had to do is wait paitiently “like third graders”. Not the best course of action to demean a large crowd that had already been waiting hours.
There was certainly a dramatic lack of crowd control. I had the impression that when the Philly Motorcycle Squad arrived, it was part of the show, since they just drive through & parked. Not a one approached the crowd or gave the impression that they were there to help Carnival contain the ’set’.
At least I was able to teach my daughters that being irresposible has it consequences. Even if some people felt they could ignore the rules, all were punished by being denied the show.
By the way, the candy we collected is being donated to our local school district, which has arranged to send it to our troops.
November 3rd, 2008 at 4:46 pm
John / Stephanie – please respond
Can the Philly people get an update as to what happened with the pinata?
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Ouch ….I figured that there would be more than a few unhappy people since no free candy spilled out all over the ground for a mad (very well likely injury causing) dash…… Get over it already!!!
There obviously was ample justification in calling off the event…but for those choose who get pissy about it… perhaps you would have liked to get trampled … just sprawl yourselves out in the middle of an intersection in St Petersburg.
Speaking of unbelievable……
Free candy for the day Nadda….but the bytch and whine fest is in full force…..
They say the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree and in this case…..It’s true….
Halloween is over…….. It is time for some to take off their witch costumes….. However if the character is permanently engrained in their psyche…..I am not certain anyone would be able to attend to this type of distress… medication may be the answer…
Just sayin
The Flying Dutchman
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:51 pm
John:
As usual, no good deed goes unpunished.
Dallas and Philly are the same size. Same advertising frenzy. Same goodies given away (only packaged a little differently) .
Dallas just did this same event last weekend without a hitch. Amazing isn’t it?????
Dude, what was Carnival thinking? Philly vandalized their own town, burned cars and had a mob mess just because someone won a baseball game….not the city you want to try to do something nice for!!!
I did not see Carnival “blaming” the Philly Police. I saw Carnival acknowledging what the police were telling them and following the police’s sage advice. The police know this community. Carnival does not. Carnival was wise to follow their direction.
Next time, I suggest that Carnival picks a city that knows how to act and not one that burns, loots and mobs over something as silly as a baseball game!
Linda (Mom of your friend DJ)
November 3rd, 2008 at 6:11 pm
John,
Now please listen to me…none of the below were to blame for yesterdays issues.
1-You
2-Philadelphia Police
3-The Filming company
4- Carvival
5- The Spectators
I was there along with the 30/40 other Bloggers. I arrived at 9 am and was there till the end.
While i am sure that many were disappointed in the way things turned out. There was no way that You, the Promotional company, Carnival, or the Philadelphia police could have ever predicted the large amount of folks who showed up to witness the event.
I have read above many of my fellow philidelphians who have expressed their extreme displeasure by venting at you personally.
And it is with the above statement that i take issue.
Notice:
To My fellow Philidelphians,
To blame Mr. Heald for the issues of yesterday is paramount to blaming your parents for you being born a Philadelphian.
I have seen this man personally put the needs of his customers and charges above both him and the Carnival Corp that he works for.
It is in no way fair to blame him for the unfortunate ciccumstances that happend on Sunday. This man personally went way beyond what anyone could expect to make this event fun for all who participated.
For my fellow philidalphians to complain when a Corp. steps up and follows the doctrine of SAFTEY and FUN the way Carnival and its employees did all because they did not get their share of the free candy totally makes me ASHAMED to be called a Philadelphian.
John,
On behalf of all Philadelphians please accept my sincere apologies for the writtings of a select few.
You did everything in your power yesterday to live up to the Carnival Corp moto of ALL FOR FUN,FUN FOR ALL. while at the same time making sure that no one got hurt over a silly worlds record or even worse some free candy.
In this Philadelphians eyes you and the folks from Carnival were HEROS yesterday by making and UNPOPULAR decision in the name of SAFTEY.
You and all involved should be commended for your actions vs being chastised by a few NARROW minded folks .
Keep the faith as there are many more of us that support you and the decision that was made
Semper Fi
Bill
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Just so I make sure I understand…
There are people out there that won’t cruise Carnival and will tell their friends not to cruise Carnival because they didn’t get to see a pinata get smashed?
Brilliant.
John, you should know that those of us who could not attend the event, but were watching over the live “steeming” video, WE HAD A BLAST! Thanks to you, Stephanie, Tony and all the others at Carnival that made my Sunday special.
Kisses to Heidi and the baby.
Princess Elaine
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:46 pm
You should have came to New Brunswick Canada,we would have behaved.. No mobs no angry adults beating off children to get at the Candy,and to all the “grown-ups” that complained here today grow up,…saute ….Bien nuit
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:51 pm
I was there and this was my day once we arrived. Got in a long line about 11:50am. The event was to be noon – 3pm. The event was heavily advertised on a few radio stations and some said on billboards that I did not see. We finally made it into “Funville” about 2 – 2:15pm. No bracelet to get in for the breaking of the Pinata – okay fine. If I wanted to stand in more lines, I could have had a smoothie or I could have sent someone a video email. I did manage to score a bottle of water. I know they had ice cream but not sure if they did when we made it in and I was cold anyway. They did have pretzels that I saw while we were waiting in line but none when we got in. Hot dogs – gone but they did bring out more to cook. There was a band and they did some dances while we were there.
Free cruises – I understood that they would be giving away 5 cruises. So if anything I figured I had 5 chances to win a cruise. Wrong. They gave away the 3rd cruise just after we arrived. Looks like they did not even empty out the bin that I put my form in when they pulled the name for 4th cruise as it was still filled to the top.
I was so excited to attend this event and it was going to be the highlight of the my weekend but it did not turn out that way. I am not sure why they did not anticpate a lot of people when it was advertised so much? The event really needed to have been thought out better but whats done is done. I do NOT think it is right for some to blame everything on Philly’s residents. I did not witness any bad behavior but I was not one of the “lucky” or not so lucky ones that made it over to the pinata area. You have to understand that most of the people there stood and waited for a few hours. They would let people into Funville and when people left, more people could enter. It is not a matter of just complaining because we did not get “free candy” and to “get over it”. I am a Carnival cruiser and I stood in line for a bottle of water. That’s it. Yeah – it was cool to see the pinata from afar and I was not mad or upset that it was not broken but it was just an issue of poor planning and not being prepared for a very large crowd of people. I am not complaining either – just telling my experience and it was pretty much a waste of time. Hopefully, this is a lesson for the future and just to be better prepared.
Thankfully, I have cruised Carnival before and I have enjoyed all my cruises with them and look forward to cruising with them again!
November 3rd, 2008 at 8:25 pm
I don’t think it is the lack of candy or cancellation causing most to be upset, but the poor planning. I saw it early in the day.
My kids were cool with no candy as long as they saw the SMASH-we were told only 300 were gonna be let in and we waited for our bracelets for entry and stayed in Funville waiting for them to round people up to go acrossed the street. One group was brought over before 1pm and that was it. Then random people were let in/going in. Just poor planning. I was not surprised by the crowd-not sure why Carnival was.
November 3rd, 2008 at 8:54 pm
John,
I watched for our “Big Ed’s Krewe” online and it was really great seeing you all!
Now, as for human behaviour. The Phillies win the World Series and cars are over-turned and fires are lit, etc., etc., etc. Like a broken record all over this country. What a way to celebrate. I’ve been witness to people behaving badly before, but not like this. I don’t think Carnival realized the depths that people can sink to when there is the mention of the word “FREE.”
You all make it sound as though Carnival had thugs rush the crowd, firing rubber bullets (Cheap 10CC reference!) and subjected you to bodily harm. Grow up, will ya?! What happened there you all did to your collective selves.
Very ugly indeed. The Texas event went very well and there was MUCH more potential for chaos there! (Big bouncing beach balls over a crowd of people) To all of the natives of the “City of Brotherly Love”, who ruined this event, all I can say is… I am VERY happy you won’t be sailing on Carnival Cruise Lines. I’ve been subject to folks like you (from all over the country) on past cruises and the less I see of your kind, the better off my cruise will be. Oh yeah, do us all a favor… go ahead and book that cruise on Royal Caribbean, they deserve people like you. Oh, and when your dangling by the seat of your pants on the end of a rope in front of a phony rock wall at the base of the smokestack, ask yourselves, am I having fun yet? Sorry, but a special edition “Climb This” t-shirt is NOT in your future! (Don’t ask, you wouldn’t get it anyway).
Sorry for the response, but this type of behaviour makes me embarrased to be a human being. Besides, this hit me in JUST the right mood tonight!
Lance & Ilda… PROUD to sail Carnival Cruise Lines.
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Just to let some people know we went back again today because on our local news they said it was going to be smashed some time today. Well guess what??? It was done last night when everyone left. But the funny thing is no one actually saw the candy come out, no news, no people in the neighborhood. Which makes me think that the darn pinata never had any candy in it to begin with. We did talk to a very nice man who used to live in Havertown, he was location scout for the pinata and he told us: That when they did the ball in TX only 2000 people showed up and they were disappointed so they decided to pump up advertising and add the FUN EVENT TENT to Philly but never told the Scout guy until he came yesterday now again this is his story and i am sure he is sticking to it. I have to say it isn’t that the kids didn’t get cany it’s the point that they pumped this huge pinata got people there, kept people there by telling them oh yeah it’s going to go off at 1:30, then at 2pm then at 2:30 that by 2:50 a decision was made that NO it was not to happen. So if you think we are sour it’s because of the lack of communication on carnivals end. And I can only think that the people who are writing all these nice stuff are the same people who got in ahead of all the people who waited in line for almost 2 hours, the same people who probably got free shirts, free pretzels, free hot dogs, and free smoothies w/ out having to wait more than 5 minutes!!!
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Is Philadelphia the only city that ever had some bad incidents when a sporting championship was won?? I don’t think so. Doesn’t make it right and does not mean that all residents of the city are bad people and should not have something “nice done for them”. Give me a break. There are bad seeds everywhere.
I will ask too – what happened with the pinata?? I hope we get a response to this because I would love to know! What about the 8,000 lbs of candy inside?
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:23 pm
For those who say they will never cruise with Carnival and they will tell ALL their friends, go ahead and deprive yourselves of a great time. Those who have cruised with Carnival before know what a great value it is.
I’m sorry that things did not go off as planned, but get real, in life, stuff happens, and in the big scope of things, this really isn’t that big of a deal. You could have been the family or friends of the Marine who gave his life protecting the freedom of us and those whose names he never knew and was buried over the weekend.
I don’t want to paint with the broad brush of generalities and condemn the entire city of Philadelphia, but it certainly does have an unsavory history of unruly crowds who demonstrate less than exemplary behavior. I still remember the Cowboys vs. Eagles game in which wide receive Michael Irvin was injured and lay motionless on the field and crowd actually “cheered.”
Could things have been better organized? Probably.
I’d be willing to bet that in the future things will be worked out and so that the majority of those attending an event like this would come away pleased.
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:44 pm
I was #84 in line at your recent affair in Phila.People jumped in front of us…No security at all 11;45 am.I mean 35 people.I did drive from n.j…..After the pushing…we were finally allowed in.Now taking us across the street was another problem,we were told to go to the gate on the left…While we stood there the people who had arrived later in the afternoon hours were allowed in to film the commercial while we looked through the gate.We stood there for two and a half hrs. finally I threw in the towel….yes I returned to n.j.Your staff did not know what to tell us why we were not allowed in the gate but people on the other side were.I was among the first 100 people sent across the street.What a mess.I love and cruise with carnival but I feel as though I was truly left behind…… I am very disappointed.I heard I don’t know so much from your staff.Why?Planning and event such as this takes a lot of know how…..Those people became very aggressive…We could have been injured that was poor planning.I would never attend another such event…..I cruise carnival lines,3/4 of those people never cruised before……..Would you have been standing in that line?
November 4th, 2008 at 4:30 am
I had a good time at the event…but I have to agree, witha lot of the above comments, that it was poorly planned, Carnival is a wonderful cruise line, in my opinion, but to not have expected that many people to show up in such a large city? BTW, I agree, that their seemed to be a lot more than 7,000 people there! The crowd seemed actually be fairly well behaved, until the end, when they finally cancelled everything, after some people waited in VERY LONG lines for several hours. John, you did a tremendous job, you were great! Love ya all and see you in Feb in New Orleans!
Sue M aka suefromnarrowsburg
November 4th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Lance,
AMEN
BIG ED
November 4th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I just love the people who make comments but were not there. I guess you needed to stand in line for over 2 hrs for nothing to really appreciate how some of us feel but I guess that makes me ungrateful. I certainly did not misbehave, boo, throw things or curse. I will cruise with Carnival again and will not bad mouth the line because of how Sunday went. It just cracks me up how everything is blamed on the residents of Philly. Was everyone an angel – I am sure they weren’t but again I did not see anything bad happen but I’ll believe it for sure. It happens and it happens everywhere.
November 4th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
The event in Philly was tame. Really tame. The PAs were overreacting, treating people like hired help and not human beings, and expecting them to act like the lemming extras you find in Hollywood. Um, not in Philly you don’t. A little respect, honesty and street smarts is all you need, not someone saying “do what I say or NO ONE WILL GET ANY CANDY!”
For those of you afraid of the unruly crowds of Philadelphia, you must be terrified of all the babies in carriages, 90 pound college students and families you saw. It was a terrible ferocious crowd indeed. Go back to the suburbs, we don’t want you.
Carnival got the footage it wanted, it didn’t care about the kids out in the chilly air waiting for hours on end only to be disappointed. What a shame, and if anyone had any cajones they would be taking Carnivale to task for their poor handling of this matter.
November 5th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Hi John! Come back to Dallas. We had a great time and everything was smooth!! Great meeting you!
November 8th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Hi John,
It’s been a long time sense my last post. I’m sitting here catching up on all the blogs I’ve missed and was going to post when I was all done but this just pisses me off. No I wasn’t there but are you kidding me? What happened to the city of brotherly love? These people that have been sooooo nasty with their post sound like a bunch of spoiled kids. If they were my kids, they’d get a swat on the bottom. I don’t blame anyone that went to the event for being disappointed but to be so nasty to you is just sad. I agree with some of those above that next time Carnival will do a better job of planning but to say they won’t cruise with Carnival is silly. Anyway I’m sorry that you had to take this crap from them. Sounds like Dallas went great and if you want to come to NW. FL. We would love to have you and we won’t act like a bunch of spoiled brats. Sorry but I just had to write this because I know what a great company Carnival is and I just don’t want to see people be so darn mean! Congratz on your wonderful news. Tell Heidi and the baby I sent my love. Hope to see you soon.
Leasa
November 11th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
If there were 4 Carnival employed people inside the piñata waiting to release the candy, that got trapped due to the increasing crowds – do you really think it was a real wrecking ball folks?
They never intended to “smash” it. Just use some old fashioned movie magic.
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