Today, the guests on the Carnival Fantasy, like most of North America and indeed most of the world will sit down to watch the Super Bowl which features the Arizona Cardigans against the Pittsburgh Peelers. The Super Bowl is not quite the right event to mark the birth of a newer, humbler and saner America. Here’s what I know about the game.
American football has always been the Republican Party at play. It celebrates might and size. The Super Bowl is a multiple orgasm of showbiz and commerce, and the MVP — Most Valuable Player thingy — traditionally goes to Disneyland……when he should, of course, go on a Carnival cruise.
It will attract more viewers than President Obama’s inauguration, spark more heated debate than the war in Iraq and practically bring the country to a standstill. But it will pass with barely a murmur in the UK where American Football is still widely seen as a bunch of over-padded men throwing a rugby ball in the wrong direction and stopping every 30 seconds for a snack……….and that’s a shame because there are many reasons to watch this game…..here then for my British Bloggers are reasons you should watch the game
1. As much a part of Super Bowl as the game itself, the national anthem is a treasured moment in the pre-match build-up. This year someone famous called Jennifer something will be warbling the Star Spangled Banner and as the entire stadium grabs their left breast I will be as well…….if not my breast then I will grab the breast of whoever is sitting next to me.
2. The event has become a showcase for high concept advertising, with everything from movie premieres to David Beckham’s stateside debut featured during 30-second slices of advertiser heaven. Some people even tune in just to watch the adverts. It costs a fortune and despite the credit crunch I am sure there will be many companies that have paid many famous people millions of dollars to advertise their soft drinks etc. My favorite last year was Shaquille O Neal riding a tiny horse and the pigeon one for ummmmm…..can’t remember what company it was for but I remember a lot of pigeon’s pooing on cars.
3. Since the now infamous nipple-gate saga involving Janet Jackson and Justin Trousersnake, the half-time show has seemed a little tame, but the Super Bowl attracts only the finest performers with greats such as U2, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones etc. This year its time to get your denim on, get out your cigarette lighter and prepare to slow clap your hands as Bruce Springsteen reminds us how old we are.
4. I am told it takes a lot of skill to be a cheerleader and these noble artisans should be held in high regard. Still, if you’re admiring their graceful twirls and applauding the brilliant choreography, then you’re probably not in their target audience and you may be better off watching Dancing with the Stars or going to a Cher concert.
5. Unlike proper football or “soccccccer” as it’s pronounced here there is little or no chance of having your head kicked in by a supporter of the other team. You’ll never meet a nicer bunch of supporters than American Football fans. Light-hearted, passionate and knowledgeable, most games don’t have home or away stands; instead the fans mingle, inevitably arguing like school children before reconciling over a chest bump and a cold Bud.
6. The winning team will win a trophy and I am sure a huge amount of money. The economy will also benefit as sales of beer, hot dogs, beer, guacamole, beer, flat screen TVs, beer, Pepcid, beer, Zantac, and beer go through the roof. However, the main prize in all American sports is…………the championship ring. To mark your success at the Super Bowl, The World Series of Baseball or the NBA (let’s go Heat) you’re going to need some bling. More specifically some diamond-encrusted white gold bling personalized with your name or number. That should keep up your retirement home payments when you auction it on eBay in later life.
7. Americans love their stats. Most interceptions, most yards rushed, longest inner-leg measurement. OK, I made that last one up……. but those tuning in on Sunday will probably need a math degree to decipher broadcasters’ cryptic presentations. The game itself is simple…..it’s called football although only one of the 300 players in each team can use their ummmm…….feet. The idea is for the big players to knock the small ones over and try and get the quarterbacker fired…….or sacked as its known here. The quarterbacker passes the ball to a running backer or wide catcher who then has to run with the ball into an area known as the M zone. It is then the law that the player who reaches the M zone must do an impression of either a Michael Jackson dance routine or go down on his knees and say a prayer
8. The uniforms are brilliant. OK the shoulder pads are a bit eighties and the players may look like they are wearing one of Joan Collins dresses from that program Dysentery ……. but the ladies seem to like them as do the men who are not watching the cheerleaders. Yes, yes, we can all tune in and say how they’re big girl’s blouses and how in England we do it without padding. Of course in England we prefer to have a cauliflower ears and broken noses in rugby…….. a problem unheard of among American sportsmen…..so I guess its us who are the idiots then and its why no rugby player is having rumpy pumpy with Jennifer Simpson like football star and rib restaurant owner Tony Roma.
So my British friends enjoy the game but unfortunately you won’t get to see the commercials and most importantly you will have to endure the British commentators who know less about the game than I do. You won’t get to hear Al Michaels say “Kurt Warner the one time supermarket shelf stacker steps out of the shotgun. It’s a pump fake, the defense come at him with a full on blitz ………..Warner looks up sees Larry Fitzgerald is open the throw…………what a catch …….a shimmy move and Fitzgerald is free……he might go all the way………….he does……………TOUCHDOWN CARDINALS!
Nope……….the BBC commentators will no doubt be the ones who usually describe cricket.
“It’s a beautiful day here in Tampa, Florida unlike the snow we have had here in the UK as the ummmm….quarterback seems to be doing a funny dance with his left leg and now he has the ball and oh I say it’s a jolly good throw to the tall one who is running very fast toward the pirate ship which was built in 1996 modeled after a 18th century Spanish design…….oh now the tall one is doing a funny dance so I think he has just scored a goal………….spiffing play old chap.”
Enjoy the game
Now, I usually take Sunday’s off but there is a lot to do so I thought I would give you a quick Sunday blog plus I needed to answer these outstanding questions.
Timmer Asked
Dear John, (Please reply when you have time)
Thank you for your wonderful blogs. I have been browsing them for the past month or so and found a lot of good information with plenty of humor. I have never gone on a cruise before but am planning a cruise for my wife and I in February 2010. It will be an early anniversary present for us (5 years) and a 1st anniversary present for our two traveling companions. I saw in a question from Catrin regarding Easter Sunday and any special services you may or may not be providing. My question is this: Since we are planning our cruise for over the Valentines holiday in 2010 , does Carnival do special events or anything special for this holiday? Thank you for your wonderful blogs and your great sense of humor.
Sincerely ,
Tim McKinneyJohn Says:
Hello Tim
Firstly I send you and your family a warm welcome to the blog and how wonderful that you are planning a Valentine’s Day cruise. The ships will indeed have many a romantic activity planned including a very special dinner. Maybe you could upgrade that experience by choosing a ship that has one of our award-winning supper clubs. A dinner there followed by a romantic walk under the stars would truly make for a wonderful experience. I am here should you need any more information and I hope you continue to enjoy the blogs.
Cheers
John
Ed Milan Asked:
John please reply
Hello Ed
We can organize this for you. Please let me know what time and I will talk to the ship. It sounds like you will have a great group to enjoy the Carnival Miracle with.
The 18th a sea day around 10 or 11 AM if possible. Best to Heidi and thingy kudos to Steph also
Thank You
John
John Says:
Hello Ed
I will advise the ship accordingly
Have a wonderful cruise
Cheers
JohnMelissa (please reply) Asked:
John,
I just got started reading your blog, but my parents have been cruising with Carnival for years. 2010 will be their platinum cruise and my husband, myself and my kids are booked with them in 2010 on the Dream for our 3rd and the kids first. But what I wanted to ask you is this , I was exploring the blog yesterday and found your list of the CD’s on the different ships and see that you are on the Valor now (if I am reading everything correctly) and are supposed to be there till some time in March or April. Well I called and told my Mom this because she and my step-dad are booked on the Valor for the Feb 8th Eastern Caribbean, she was so excited to cruise with you again (she has been on one or two ships with you before). Unfortunately then I discovered that sailing is the one where you will be at the ‘bloggers’ cruise in New Orleans. I wondered if it would be possible for you to have a note or something delivered to her cabin (# booking # , Darlene K) from you. She would really get a kick out of it if it is possible. Thanks so much and keep the info on the Dream coming.
John Says:
Hello Melissa
I am glad you have started reading the blog thing and thanks so much for sending a comment to me. I will be honored to send your Mum and Stepdad a little something to mark their special occasion. I am sorry I cannot be with them but hopefully we will be together on the Carnival Dream or another of the Fun Ships. Please keep reading the blog thingy and send my best to all the family.
Cheers
John
Tracy Asked:
Hi john do u have the cruise director schedule for nov? do u know who will be the cd on the splendor in nov? I hope everyone is good.
John Says:
Hello Tracy
I will post the new schedule next week but I can tell you that Goose will be the CD and he…………is brilliant. Thanks Tracy and I send my best wishes to you and the family
John
Lisa Asked:
John, can you please comment on this:
HI!
We are having a discussion on Cruise Critic about what “Carnival should do away with”. One poster suggested Carnival do away with ports, and just cruise for 7 days with no destination. I have always wanted to suggest the opposite to Carnival. How about 2 or 3 ports with overnight stays, instead of the very small amount of time currently spent at each one? I love to explore ports, but always feel so rushed and wished we could spend more time at each. Multiple sea days have me restless and bored, and while I attend the activities, they can become redundant after 2 days.
I have done many land vacations just so we could explore the ports we have previously visited on a cruise. In fact, we have not done a Hawaii cruise with Carnival because of the MANY days at sea.
I would definitely cruise more often if port days were 1 1/2 to 2 days instead of 7 hours!
Anyway, those are my thoughts today as I sit in my living room watching the snow come down (it’s a whopping 10 degrees here). ICK! I NEED A CRUISE!!!
As for Bingo, we play once per cruise, as the cards are rather expensive. I just hope Carnival doesn’t go to the electronic handheld Bingo game thingy like NCL…
Thanks again,
Lisa in the cold, cold winter of the Midwest.
John Says:
Hello Lisa
Thanks so much for taking the time to write. This is a very interesting question that you and your friends on Cruise Critic have raised. I honestly don’t think there is a correct answer to this one. During my 20 years at sea I have spoken to many guests who love to have multiple ports in the itinerary and then I have met the same number of passengers who can’t be bothered with the ports and never go ashore. I just checked for example our stay in Cozumel yesterday here on the Carnival Fantasy.…..and the security report showed that 356 guests never went ashore at all. I also know of many guests who love the longer cruises because of the days at sea and then those who like you mentioned that they don’t like extensive periods with no ports of call. So, knowing this Carnival has a wide and varied selection of cruises ranging from 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8-day cruises and longer ones like the Carnival Splendor’s current South American voyage. There are 44 days of cruising of which 30 something are at sea……….and we have approximately 1,500 guests who are onboard the entire 51 days.As for night ports…….well, these are OK – and believe me we love having you on board at night with all our fun activities and shows – but many of the ports don’t really offer anything of a nightlife apart from drinking and eating……all of which you can do aboard ship. Think about some of the ports you have been to and what they could offer you at night. Outside of Cozumel and its late night shopping there are few places I can think of in the Caribbean worthy of an overnight stay…..let me know what my friends at Cruise Critic have to say about this please.
I can tell you that Carnival more than any other cruise line is in a position to adapt to the needs and wishes of you the guest………..so………….let’s see what exciting new things are around the corner. My best wishes to you and your family
John
Maribeth Kring Asked:
John, Please Reply
Why aren’t any of the bloggers cruises or inaugural cruises during the summer months when the kids aren’t in school? My daughter reads the blog with me all the time and would so love to go on one or the other but school doesn’t allow it?John Says:
Hello Maribeth
You know, you are the first person to suggest this and it’s something I absolutely should have thought of and for that I sincerely apologize. I will make sure that we take this into consideration when planning the next one. Please can you send a big hello to your daughter from me…………”hello”…………..and I hope we can all meet soon
Cheers
John
RonRN Asked:
Dear John (please reply)
There are still no excursions listed for Isla Roatan on my 2-22 Legend cruise. There are quite a few excursions missing from the other ports as well. I had heard new contracts were pending. Is this just an online thing or will excursions offered by Carnival be limited? I think the blog ate my comment on Bingo last night, I’ll repost if it doesn’t show up later. All the best to Heidi and the Thingy.
Cheers
Ron (cruisin’ in ‘09, my economic stimulis plan) RN
John Says:
Hello Ron
I will have an answer to this for you on Monday and will make sure I write straight back to you when I have it. I am not sure as to why these excursions are not showing but I will check for you.
Cheers
John
OK, that’s all for now and I will answer more questions on Tuesday so please, if you need my help I remain at your service.
I did want to address another topic of discussion that I have recently been made aware of on one of the cruise boards. A guest had been on a cruise and was refused service by one of our bartenders because he was allegedly “intoxicated.”…..this made the guest very mad indeed.
Now when I was in the bar department back in the 80’s we would serve absolutely anyone, even if they’ve crawled to the bar on their hands and knees. This was the same on all the cruise lines……you would never hear of anyone being refused service.
However………..suddenly and correctly things changed.
Yes, there is alcoholism in the world and, yes, its effects on people are catastrophic. I know this only too well, sadly having lost a friend and colleague to the disease a few years ago. But that is not the reason we at Carnival stopped serving people who have had too much to drink. The reason we do this is of course safety………theirs and the other guests.
I read that this guest threatened the bartender with physical violence during this dispute and because of this he will never sail Carnival again……the politically correct reply to that is “that’s a shame, please come back” but as this is my blog I can say what I like and having threatened a crew member with physical harm my honest answer to him never sailing again is………..”Good, bugger off.”
This is a rare occurrence but its one I wanted to address ……..what’s your opinion?
Let’s get back to the Carnival Fantasy
One of the areas we haven’t had chance to highlight is the Spa Carnival facility which has also undergone a massive and luxurious upgrade.
Here are some photos of the new Carnival Fantasy spa.
Well, here we are spending the day at sea. The day is a little overcast I am sorry to say but there the atmosphere on the ship is brilliant and many guests I have spoken to are having a great time.
I wonder how things are going on the Carnival Splendor which yesterday left for her South American adventure. During the voyage we will be blessed to have first hand reports of this fantastic voyage from our great friend Jaime. Here she is to set the scene with the first of her Dear John letters
January 31st, 2009
Dear John,
A new year, THE new ship, a new adventure, In order to get to the ship to begin the South America run with the Carnival Splendor, my travels must begin the day before en route to Los Angeles Airport with a final destination of Ft. Lauderdale! In order to get to the airport on time, my fastidious father finds it necessary to wake up at the crack of 6:00am for my 10:40 flight! We left he house at 6:45am, and yes I understand it usually takes an hour to get there, and it is “LA traffic” but utilizing the carpool lane or the 405 we managed to make it there by 7:30am… I wonder where I get my obsessive compulsiveness from!?
Next mission, try to manipulate my way into not paying a million dollars for my excess luggage. Now, every time I join another ship I end up taking out some articles out of my luggage, but for some reason I just can’t figure out how to sign onto the ship with less than 16 pairs of shoes! Between the formal nights, day wear, gym shoes… and now that Carnival does not allow us to wear flip flops – for our personal safety of course, we just have to deal with the fact that the clogs from Berlin weigh significantly more than the flip flops from France! Turned out I paid $90 for my luggage: With one bag weighing in at 70lbs, and the other weighing 54.3 (good ol’ Pedro let that one slide under the radar), I paid the $50 overweight fee in addition to the $15 American Airlines now charges for the first bag and $25 for the second bag! Rats!
After my 3+ hours of exploring at the airport… I boarded that lovely 757 and unlike our friend John, had a largely uneventful flight! The first leg of the trip I was able to catch up on the book that I was attempting to read during my five-day “mini vacation,” and took a much needed nap after the pre-dawn wake up call! The second leg of the trip was a little more interesting; the highlight was being surrounded by guests that were going to be sailing with me on the Splendor. They had all types of questions and shared in my excitement about visiting South America.
Since I was blessed enough to be able to take part in the Splendor Inaugural sailing, I have met a lot of the office personnel from Carnival that work out of Miami. Therefore, my good friend Erik Hatfield greeted me at the airport and escorted me over to the Holiday Inn Sunset where I would reside for the evening. In the car, we caught up on what is going on in the office, my adventures taking over as cruise director on the Pride this past holiday season, as well as new diet plans and family matters. We discussed the upcoming inaugural of the Carnival Dream, and how I doubted I would be joining him in Genoa this year because I had not ever met the cruise director Todd Wittmer (it gets better don’t worry).
We arrived at the hotel, and being the fortunate individual that I often am, the lady at the front desk was kind enough to upgrade “us” to a suite. I informed Erik he would not be staying.. But I would still enjoy the big bed, couch, big screen TV for myself! After getting settled in, I had instructions to meet the nurse in the lobby of the hotel at 9:30pm, because every crewmember needs a yellow fever shot ten days prior to visiting Brazil.
Once she hadn’t shown up by 10:30pm and I had called every hotel in the greater Ft. Lauderdale area in pursuit of “a nurse from Carnival”…. Erik and I altered our original plans of going out to eat and took a seat at the bar of the hotel for a quick bite.
Sitting at the bar was none other than the aforementioned Carnival Dream cruise director, Mr. Todd Wittmer. Small world. He was returning from vacation and scheduled to sign on the Carnival Freedom the proceeding day. Who knows what will happen now, the possibilities are endless =).
Eventually, around 11:45pm nurse Carol arrived. Erik and Todd held my hand for moral support while she administered the shot. And now I am safe to admit I will not be bringing yellow fever back to the United States!!!
SO after a long day of traveling, and some much needed rest and relaxation, I now I sit in the hotel lobby, waiting for the taxi to take me to the ship. I am nervous, excited, and eager to embark on my 49-day journey all the way around South America and end up…exactly where I began… in Long Beach, California. It is certainly going to be a challenge to have 2,200 of the 3,500 Splendor guests sailing with us for the full journey. Lots of new ports, challenges questions, activities the list goes on and on. As crewmembers, we are used to doing the similar itineraries and entertainment schedules week after week. This time we will have fresh, new exciting forms of stimulation that will be consistently presented to our guests. Whatever happens, I am ready to take on the challenge – of course I have a fully detailed binder explaining each of the ports to act as my guide. I look forward to keeping you posted along the way!
All the best,
Your Friend,
Jaime!
A great start Jaime and we are all excited that you are taking your valuable time to keep us informed ………….we are very grateful.
I know the guests will enjoy the game here as Big Tex and Andy the Hotel Director have arranged big screen coverage of the game as well as all the food and trimmings that go with it.
Tomorrow I have two videos to show you featuring Cruise Director Big Tex and hotel director Andy Brown.
I was thinking that maybe people’s expectations of the ship are that as its one of our oldest it may not be as exciting as one of our newer vessels……maybe even I had that feeling a wee bit before I arrived. But we are all wrong …….the Carnival Fantasy has exceed our expectations and if anyone from Mobile, Alabama, is reading this………you are going to be very very happy indeed …..because the Carnival Fantasy is coming to town y’all.
Of course, the Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration have received the same upgrades as the Carnival Fantasy in fact I will within the next 48 hours make sure I post a list of all the Fantasy class ships and what upgrades they have received…………don’t let me forget. I can tell you that Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration are complete with all the EOF upgrades and remember the Carnival Sensation is in dry dock as we speak and will be ready to sail soon.
So, to sum up let me say this. I know many of us look at the big ships of today first when we choose our cruise vacation but we must not forget the ships of yesterday like the Carnival Fantasy especially with the upgrades that Evolutions of Fun have provided.
Doing so is like saying no to Slum Dog Millionaire and awarding the Oscar to Police Academy 9. So I send a message to all of you that think the Fantasy class of ships is like Marlon Brando. Way past its sell-by date, fat and possibly a bit wet in the underpants department. But you would be wrong because the Fantasy class of ships are like Jack Nicholson ………….. Ice-cool and loads of fun.
Goodnight
Your friends
John, Heidi and the Thingy
Filed under: Caribbean, Destinations, Tales from the Ship, Travel | Tagged: Carnival Fantasy, Evolutions of Fun, Jaimie's post, John's Replies, spa, Waterworks
Hi John:
I want you to know I still love the Fantasy Class and plan on sailing on as many of them as I can. I really wish some still offered 7 night cruises. Our very first cruise was on the Sensation and it was the cruise that got us hooked on cruising! I am looking forward to the upgrades being done on the Sensation and curious to see how they are adding the balcony cabins too! I will sail on her again soon!
I enjoyed Jaime’s note about the start of her upcoming adventure on the SA cruise. Looking forward to updates from her.
I hope you enjoy the Super Bowl party on board! My daughter is going to college in Tampa and talked to her this morning. She said the town is going crazy but having fun too!
Have a wonderful time!
Susan & Scott
Thank you for the great pictures of the Carnival Fantasy. She is a beautiful ship, hopefully one day I’ll get to check her out up close and in person.
Also, welcome back Jamie! I’m looking forward to reading all about your adventures on the Carnival Splendor.
Hi John!
Hope you are enjoying/enjoyed the game today.
It is truly a global event and amazing at both how many people tune in to watch as well as how much the ads cost.
Great to hear from Jaime. I look forward to reading more.
Hard to believe one of my favorite vessels is the oldest. My how time flies.
Take care and thanks for posting.
David
John:
You missed the best part….the 6 HOURS of “pre-game” …which I have had to listen to all afternoon long.
One interesting bit of trivia…the second lead singer for Journey (after Steve Perry retired) won the spot in a KARAOKE CONTEST!! I am not kidding…..see why I love karaoke so much!!!
The bottom line is if the Steelers win…then the refs were wonderful and everyone will be happy. If the Steelers lose….the refs were cheaters and my household will NOT be a happy place….this is the game according to DJ!!!
The Fantasy Spa…(hey Charlotte)….I am forever indebted to them. They FINALLY talked my oldest son into getting his hair cut in such a way that looks amazing!!! He loves his new hair cut and has received a ton of compliments back at college.
A shout out to Jaime….we just sailed with Todd on the Freedom. He is wonderful. We first sailed with him on the Conquest when it first came out. He got stuck playing karaoke host back then…and he and I had a great time. I predicted he would be a Carnival Super Star…and he is. Enjoy your South American adventure!! We know you are up to the challenge….I have also predicted that you will be a Carnival Super Star…wait a minute…you already are!!!!!
Linda (Mom of DJ)
Hey Jaime!! How exciting!!! You are lucky.. thank you for taking us with you. Can’t wait for the pictures of those exciting places. YAY!!
Nanni
John, did you feel out of place taking those pictures in the Spa. I know you must have felt you were in a strange land.
Yes I think the bar staff has every right to tell me I’m cut off and should go back to my cabin and pass out.
BIG ED
Dear John… thank you for answering my posts in the past! For you to take the time to do this for so many of us ‘bloggers’ is so amazing and we really appreciate it and YOU! When we were on our last cruise on the Valor (in Dec), I was so excited to attend the scrapbooking class. However, upon arriving, it was evident that unless you bought a ’scrapbooking kit’ from Carnival, there was not much to do. Our assistant CD had brought along a few items herself (kudos to Amy!)that she had picked up off ship but admitted that Carnival had yet to realize just how many people enjoyed this class. My suggestion is for Carnival to put out some extra money so that there would be plenty of material to use. Having to share 3 pairs of scissors or 2 small tubes of glue with 25 people just won’t work! So many of the ones that showed up for the first class did not come back for the next because of the lack of supplies. Please believe me when I tell you that there are a lot of ‘crafty’ people who travel on cruises who would love an area filled with things to do. Most of us would even pay an upfront fee for the usage of supplies so we can craft the entire cruise… Thank you for listening to an ‘old scrapbooker’ of 52!
John,
Our Newark NJ Star Ledger paper had a great Sunday section on cruise travel and mentioned
many now are participating in the “Bare It All – Nude cruises”.
It mentioned this group has chartered the Carnival Legend next month with over 2000 passengers top be aboard for a Caribbean cruise.
That brings me to these questions….
Who will be the cruise director on that cruise?
Will the Carnival staff join as a nude crew for
this cruise?
If so, I assume it will be voluntary.
Dave Myerly
John,
You’re right that I always consider a newer, bigger ship when planning our cruises. However, after reading your review of the “new” Fantasy and looking at the pictures, I cannot wait to embark on that beautiful ship on Saturday. George and I were on the Inspiration for hour honeymoom in ‘96 and again a couple of years later. I think it’s time to try the Inspiration again and experience all the wonderful improvements I’m sure she’s experienced.
Thanks for opening our eyes to these “older” beauties.
The Kilmartins
dude! wanted to tell you how carnival has improved on the debarkation process. i thought the liberty in december was the best but today the valor was even better!! they did NOT take all the self assisters off first, they mixed them in with the rest of the numbers and no one could go to the atrium until called. it was brilliant! and we could stay in our cabins until called if we wanted. thank you carnival!!!!!
smiles, bonnie and prince charlie
Hi Jaime, it’s so nice to hear from you again. Hopefully one of these days we will cruise with you instead of “almost” cruising with you.
You were getting off of the Splendor in Ft. Lauderdale as we got on. Passing as the old saying goes, like 2 ships in the night….or something like that. I look forward to your reports from the Splendor as you make it’s new cruise around SA.
Countess Carolyn………… anxiously awaiting the blogger’s cruise next weekend
hey john
did you see the Carnival commercial
just before the big game,,,it was the one
in philly,,,breakin open the big PINATA
FUN FOR ALL. ALL FOR FUN
see you soon
tom & jane
Hi John
Thanks again for a great blog and the pictures of the Fantasy oops…the Carnival Fantasy. I too have a special feeling for the Fantasy class ships. In fact the Fantasy was my 3rd cruise after 2 on the Mardi Gras. I like the atmosphere on the smaller ships. I like the larger ships too, but the smaller ones are nostalgic for me.
Thanks to Jamie for her updates. I am looking forward to hearing about her adventures around the Cape. I was booked on the initial sailing, but was unable to go. So…I booked the blogger’s cruise instead.
You mentioned Todd. I have sailed with him on the Liberty twice and what an awesome CD he is. He is so personable and energetic. He is definitely the definition of an almost perfect CD, coming in close behind YOU!!! He has an awesome voice when he sings Can’t get no satisfaction too!! Of course, if I go way back, I will have to admit that Corey Schmidt was probably my favorite. I loved his bird show.
Give my best to Heidi and I will see you in Nola in 4 days!! Hi Stephanie…see ya soon!!
Gloria aka Sue
Dear John the it was nice to have a Sunday fix of the Blog Thingy.I agree with the actions of Carnival to the Twit who had to much libations on board.A person should never threaten another with bodily harm for doing what is in the best interest of all concerned.Good riddance to the twit.We will see you soon take care of our Fantasy.Best wishes Gary and Bug
John,
I think the bar staff did the right thing indeed. and you where right to say what you said.
I loved reading Jammies “Dear John” letters. keep them comming. one question though, is she the assistant cruise Director? or did she the the big seat for the trip??? I thought you said someone else was the CD, but old age is setting in (at 47) and I can’t seem to remember.
Have a great day
Capt Bill
Dear John, I hope that you will please answer this.
My daughter Erin is going on the Carnival Glory (For the third time) for her 30th birthday. I was wondering if you could tell me something that could be done on the ship that will help her to celebrate her 30th in style. She loves the Glory and the cruise director “Butch” and it would really be fun for her to have something special done while she is onboard. I am her mom and I have been on the Glory with her two of the 23 times. Thanks for such a great Blog and I look forward to your suggestions.
Really enjoyed Jaime’s blog. What a wonderful cruise those 2,200 are going to have.
I agree with you about the drunk. I would rather not have him or anyone that has anger issues when drunk on my cruise. So good for you, tell him to bugger off.
See you in New Orleans.
Ann
Hi John,
Yes as far as cutting someone off who has had too much. The problem for the ship staff is making that determination. Make sure there are procedures in place for making such a determination BUT also make sure the person accused has a recourse if they feel it is unjust.
Now as far as threatening a crewmember, there is only one answer……..walk the plank………..or to be kicked off at the next port. It should not be tolerated. The cruise industry should be treated more like the airline industry in that regard.
Dave
Regarding the intoxicated guest being refused bar service and “taking it out” on the bartender, I agree with your “bugger off” sentiment
John,
Next to New Year’s Eve, I think Super Bowl is one of the best of the days to be on a ship. Just too much fun!! No doubt everyone onboard had a great time!
I owned bars for 30 years (up until 2 yrs ago), and I’m ALL FOR refusing service to customers once they’re intoxicated. One of the toughest jobs there is, is to tell a drunk they’ve had enough, but one of the most important, for their safety and everyone else’s, whether it’s on land or at sea.
Watching people drink responsibly and having fun was one of the best things about my career. I always enjoyed the party. Watching those who didn’t know when to stop, resulting in much too much tradgedy, are my heartbreaking memories.
It isn’t always easy spotting who’s over the line, but I would hope Carnival moves to even more stringent guidelines, to error on the side of caution.
So, we’re meeting for drinks in New Orleans on Friday, right?:)
Regards,
Kuki
CruiseMates.com
Hi John,
Please reply (no rush, though!)
Last year my husband & I were suppose to take our first Carnival cruise (we usually cruise on Princess & sometimes with “the mouse”) together, however those plans were changed due to work. We are now going to be on the Carnival Splendor this coming May. This will be DH’s first Carnival cruise, and my second….although the first one was many, many years ago when the Carnival Elation was a brand new ship.
We have requested a table for two in the dinning room, however when we made our reservations we were told it probably “won’t happen.” I completely understand that our request is just that, a request, however, my question is, if we are not assigned a table for two, when we get on the ship is it possible to try to change that? If so, can you please advise, on what we should do once on the ship? Thank you in advance!
Hi Jaime – Thank you for taking us with you on the South America journey. Have fun!
Hi Jon,
Please reply (when you get a chance).
First, the Spa really does look great, as does the whole ship. There really is something special about the smaller ships that surprised us when we cruised the Imagination, compared to the larger ships. Sometimes, it is good to cruise a variety of ships (both small and large).
Anyway, I have a few quick questions. First, you had once written about the lack of activities and entertainment options for the 18-21 year old age group. You had asked for our opinions on what Carnival can do to entertain this group since they are often “left out.” I had asked some family members in that age category, and I had come to the conclusion that a few organized and unorganized (hosted and not hosted) socials (meet ups / ice breakers / gatherings) and organized activities (pool and hot tub night, scavenger hunt, group dinner or tournament or interactive cooking demo / fun type class) would all be great additions for that left out age group.
The reason why I am bringing this up is because I am working on planning a family and friends group cruise (possibly for the Dream), and I am trying to find the best line and ship for all ages of our group (with several members in this age group). I am hoping within the next year when we plan to cruise (hopefully will book soon), that Carnival will begin some new activities and/or fleet wide program for this age group. Are there any plans in the works?
Also, if you have the video camera and are able to catch some Lido deck fun or the band out playing, we would love to see that… but definitely understand if your busy or have other good things to write about and take pictures/videos of.
Lastly, as I said above, we might be going on the Dream, and definitely think Jaime would be a great addition to Todd’s Dream crew… we would love to see her on our cruise.
Thanks for everything as always, and please enjoy every second of the blogger’s cruise.
-Mike
Sorry… just to add to my post, there are several threads relating to this topic on some other cruise message boards, so there are many people who have concerns about this topic. Some people have stated they have written to Carnival to start some sort of program or activities, and everyone is hoping something will be done.
Hi John, Great pics and I’m especially glad that Jaime is back–I enjoy her letters!!. And of course drinkers should be cut off. Both their own safety and the ability of other guest to enjoy themselves depends on it. Even though they are not driving, they should still not be allowed to get overly drunk. (in my experience this is too often followed by obnoxious, loud or disgusting behaviour!). Gloria
Hi John,
Happy Groundhog Day. Go Steelers. That was one of the best superbowl games ever – not as good as last year though. But the half-time show was WOW! I made my world-famous chili for our party – with my secret ingredients (here’s a clue – Jack Daniels). Great party.
I’ll catch up on your blog thingy later. I realized I never answered your question about BINGO. I play, mostly at night, but never win. Except for the time a while ago when I won the free cruise. Haven’t won since then. But I agree with others – it’s getting too expensive. Playing more games at one time with the same card would help. And different game configurations, particularly the cover-all for big prizes.
Nice to see the Fantasy. I never sailed on her, but your story about seeing her is similar to mine. Except my girlfriend and I were on vacation in the Bahamas in June of ‘91. As we came into town from Cable Beach we saw her docked, and our word was also “WOW”. We decided right then that we would book a cruise on the Ecstasy for the next year. We did, and that was the cruise where you were our CD.
Catch up with you later,
Carol
Hi John,
Lovin’ the tour of the Carnival Fantasy, I love Fantasy Class, I was on the Inspiration last Sept., and my first cruise was on the Imagination. Wish I was joining you on her for the bloggers cruise, but have had Legend booked for 14 months for the family cruise. I know y’all are going to have a blast.
In my opinion, if someone is unable to know when they have had enough to drink, they should be thankful the great servers and bartenders are brave enough to look out for them, it’s not easy to tell someone you will not serve them anymore. And as far as threatening a crew member (or anyone), I vote for zero tolerance, they should be removed from the ship, banned for life, flogged, keel hauled, hung from the yardarms and sent to France.
When I was stationed in Scotland, we would play FOOTBALL on weekends on one of the local SOCCER fields, without pads (young and foolish). One weekend a few rugby players wanted to join in. They learned why you wear pads when playing American football. They told us afterwards they were used to more grappling and most tackles were from behind and more or less dragged down, not the bone jarring hits of football. BTW, they never played again either.
Thank you Jaime, great to hear your reports, looking forward to hearing more of your adventures.
All the best to Heidi and the thingy!
Cheers
Ron(20 days till Legend cruise)RN
John, I’ve got to say, the Fantasy looks BRILLIANT!! I’ve loved the pictures of the ship. PLUS I’m so happy that Carnival has not abandoned these older ships that created so many wonderful memories for so many of us. Bigger is not always better and many, many of our Cruise Critic folks love the Fantasy class above all others.
What a thrill to hear from Jaime again! She’s wonderful and an absolute credit to Carnival. Just one more of the thousands of amazing folks who make Carnival what it is… the world’s most popular cruise line.
Our beloved Conquest came home to Galveston Saturday afternoon and from all reports she looks STUNNING!! Those of us who are ‘Committed Conquest Crazies’ have been suffering from withdrawal with her in dry dock! She’s back at sea and all is right with the world!!!
How is our dear Heidi? We haven’t heard a great deal in the past few days and you know we’re all interested and constantly concerned about her and the Thingy.
The folks preparing for the Blogger’s have been amazing! So helpful and so patient… more of Carnival’s excellence personified!!!
Time is getting short and sooner than later I need to pack! I’ll be driving to NOLA on Thursday morning and should arrive early that evening. I am so looking forward to seeing many of my friends again and many of my friends that I have yet to meet.
See y’all soon in the Crescent City!!!
Ciao!!
Host Mach
John,Regarding the intoxicated person :I agree with refusing more to drink and if he threatened a cruise member he should certainly not be allowed on a Carnival ship again. I surely do not want to cruise with anyone that obnoxious.
Jamie, thanks for the great update. Keep us informed about the cruise.
John Please Reply
Carnival Sensation is in dry-dock for her EOF enhancements. Is this also the time when her new balcony cabins get augmented? …and are there any conceptual renderings of the new and improved Carnival Sensation? Will all Fantasy Class ships get this particular modification or is the Carnival Sensation sort of a test?
The Flying Dutchman
John and all the Bloggers
I will be starting my drive down to New Orleans tomorrow. Leaving all the white $#!T behind I hope.
See you all in NO at the pool or on the ship on the Lido. Everyone have a safe trip.
BIG ED
Dear John, PLEASE REPLY
I hope that you will please answer this.
My daughter Erin is going on the Carnival Glory (For the third time) for her 30th birthday. I was wondering if you could tell me something that could be done on the ship that will help her to celebrate her 30th in style. She loves the Glory and the cruise director “Butch” and it would really be fun for her to have something special done while she is onboard. I am her mom and I have been on the Glory with her two of the 3 times. Thanks for such a great Blog and I look forward to your suggestions.
Hi John:
Your bar staff is trained I am sure to recognize guests that are past the point of needing more alcohol. In my dozen or so cruises, I have seem some folks that were fairly tipsy, but since they didn’t bother anyone, no harm no foul. Your example that the person lost enough sobriety to threaten someone over another drink, is thats they were too drunk to be served. You know better than I, there are happy drunks and angry drunks. We are responsible for our behavior at all times.
I enjoyed the letter about more port nights, etc. What makes Carnival great is the choices for everyone, lots of sea days, lots of ports, lots of both, just keep the choices so we can pick what we prefer. The idea of staying in port overnight is a new idea, needs some thought. At what port would this be a good idea?
I hear Heidi had some snow overnight, do you have a snow shovel or do you do like we do here in Arkansas, the Lord brought it, he will take it away!
Hi John,
Is Heidi snowed in?
Carol
Hi John,
Please Reply.
Thank you so much for your help!! I received the Winter issue of Currents (they sent me 3-all basically with the same articles-do you know why there are 3 different ones)? I still didn’t get the Fall 2008 issue, is it possible for you to request that again for me?
Also, I’d really appreciate if you could get the real phone # of the subscription department so I can check and see why we didn’t receive the Fall 2008 and Winter 2009 issues.
In case you don’t remember my original question, posted on 1/12, (I know you see a lot of questions), here it is below.
I know this is not your area of expertise, but… I need help. We haven’t received our Currents magazine since Summer 2008, so we’re missing Fall and from the comments I’ve read on the blog recently it seems like there may be a Winter out also. I know that our subscription has not run out (we cruised 3 times in 2008-had a great time on the Carnival Splendor transatlantic and really enjoyed Jamie)!
I’ve called the customer service number listed and pressed 2 for brochures/DVD’s/subscriptions, but it just went to a reservations specialist. I’ve spoken to many people at phone numbers they believed would get me to Currents subscriptions, but none did. I really look forward to reading Currents and would like to get the Fall and Winter issues. Can you please find out the number for me to call? Numbers that don’t get me to subscriptions are: 1-888-225-4837, 1-800-929-6400, 1-800-227-6482, 1-800-327-7276, and 1-800-627-1912 (Current advertising-they couldn’t even get me in touch with subscriptions).
I appreciate any help you can give.
Also, do you know why Carnival isn’t doing the Cruise to Nowhere from Norfolk this June (we love them)?
We’ve never been to any art auctions (have done 13 Carnival cruises, with 3 more booked).
Thanks,
Lynn
John,
Please reply, no rush. My wife and I sailed on the Carnival Glory over Christmas and the CD Butch (who is amazing BTW) mentioned that they were neck-and-neck in the running for a company wide service award. (I believe it was the Crystal Eagle, or Falcon, or some other type of bird, I know it was Crystal) anyway, has that award been given out, I was wondering the outcome.
My wife and I found the service on the Glory perfect. We’ve been rooting for them, and were just wondering how it came out.
John,
It seems like in the last year I have heard on the news several times about guest disapearing without a trace. I have also heard that in every instance that the subjects were last seen onboard intoxicated. Sometimes it better to error on the side of caution and cut a passenger off who is obviously drunk than have a passenger disapear at sea due to them doing something stupid. Carnival has every right to do so and if the drunk is so out of control that they threaten someone who is only there to serve them and make sure that they have a good time then that bartender obviously made the right call to 86 that person. No person should have to deal with that!
James
Hi again,
Finally finished catching up. The Fantasy does look great – I think even better than the Imagination after her upgrade. I’ve been on 6 Fantasy-class cruises, but, truthfully, I prefer Conquest-class (soon-to-be Dream Class), and Spirit-class, even though walking the whole length of those ships can really bother my sciatica. I like their layouts.
I totally agree with what the bartender did. I do remember the old days on the Holiday & Jubilee and the results in the Costume parades and Male Nightgown contests. No wonder you didn’t like them. But I can’t wait to hear about (and see?) the show on BC2.
Jaime, keep your “Dear John” letters coming. They’re teriffic. Like I said, probably the only way I’ll ever get to South America.
Regards,
Carol
John, Do you know if Jaime will be with us on the Splendor in Long Beach in April? Robert and Suzanne, Myself and Mary and Ellen and Lou will all be traveling again after the upcoming bloggers cruise out of New Orleans. We are anxious to see you next weekend.
Jim
John
Loved the interview with Jamie keep them coming. i love hearing about life on board. For the few min I am reading the blog I feel like I am on board. Also I totally agree that drunk guy can bugger off. The bartender should be given an extra day off.
Carnival Lifer
Dear John, PLEASE REPLY
I hope that you will please answer this.
My daughter Erin is going on the Carnival Glory (For the third time) for her 30th birthday. I was wondering if you could tell me something that could be done on the ship that will help her to celebrate her 30th in style. She loves the Glory and the cruise director “Butch” as well as the crew, and it would really be fun for her to have something special done while she is onboard. I am her mom and I have been on the Glory with her 2 of the 3 times. Thanks for such a great Blog and I look forward to your suggestions.
Needed to report because I can’t spell check very well
John… While you’re in New Orleans you must try the Café Du Monde !! They are known for their ‘beignets’. The Travel Channel here in the US has rated their donuts #1 and would love to hear if they are as good as said. According to the web-site, there are 7 different locations in New Orleans but if you go to the original downtown, the best thing is ‘blowing the powdered sugar’ in each other’s faces!!! What a hoot! Anyway, just wanted to pass on this tidbit too.
John,
We (hubby and me) will be cruising on the Carnival Fantasy this Saturday. I didn’t know when we booked the cruise that it was a “Blogger’s” Cruise. What is different about a blogger’s cruise?????
We cruised on the Fantasy last february and loved it. We are excited to check out the differences since the big “make over”. What is planned for the blogger’s on this cruise???? I checked with my Carnival agent but he didn’t know what kind of special events were going to be happening. If you can tell me, I’d appreciate it. Then we can make plans to catch some of the happenings. (I registered us on the Carnival website as blog members after finding out that this was a blogger’s cruise.
Come on Cuz… I know its late to be trying to find out this info, but it would help a lot.
Thanks,
Sharon Y.