My preparation being a parent continues and Heidi has decided that to help me along I should read a glossy magazine called “Dad.” The article at the start of the magazine says a man should not be panicked by the sight of his heavily pregnant partner up a ladder painting the ceiling because this is a typical female response to the burst of energy that comes before childbirth.
It also suggests that men should persuade their partners to hand over the paintbrush and allow them to take over strenuous chores. It also advises men that, just after their child’s birth, they should expect to put in 10 hours of cuddling and helping to get 10 minutes of sex………………………no change there then.
However my favorite part of the magazine is this extremely difficult test that I will now painstakingly type out for you all to take.
Some questions from the Are You Ready to be a Father? quiz:
1 To get ready for fatherhood, you
a) get some beers in
b) read books on baby care
c) immerse yourself in work
d) talk to other fathers about it
2 At the birth, you hope to be able to
a) be there and cut the cord
b) slip out unnoticed
c) stay conscious
d) get pissed down the pub
3 What do you consider your most important role after the birth will be?
a) Looking after your partner
b) Learning how to care for baby
c) Making sure the bills are paid
d) Lighting the cigars
4 You’re shopping with your pregnant partner. Target number 1 is
a) one of those three-wheeler buggies
b) a Cuban cigar
c) a safe car seat
d) nappies, clothes and bedding
And no, dads do not have to be sad. Alongside the full-page advertisements for designer clothes, Dad has a fashion shoot of “six stylish fathers” and their children dressed in all the latest logo clothing. The fathers are all ordinary lads, of course: a music producer, a model, a film actor, a commercial director, a motor mechanic and a milkman. (Guess which two of those I made up.) There are plenty of plugs for helping your partner to breastfeed but no mention of what is the biggest help you can provide according to Heidi…………and that’s giving the Thingy a bottle in the middle of the night.
The “10 tips to keep your baby healthy” amounts to another patronizing lecture about giving up smoking, cutting down on drink and not dropping your baby in boiling water.
However, it was the letters page that really has me worried. One new father writes in Dad how the birth of his child has opened up “a world of emotion.”
“Now, ravaged by sleepless nights, I cry all the time, my bowels smell evil (postnatal stress), and I can’t lift my head off the pillow without help.”
It seems fatherhood has turned this particular man into a baby himself. Reading that should has given me pre-natal depression and made my hemorrhoids itch more than ever before.
So to try and get myself ready for the Thingy to arrive I have decided to go to the local gym. I hate gyms. In reception, you have to fill in a form: “Are you a man aged over 35?
Are you on prescription medication? Do you have erratic exercise habits?” The answer to all these questions is “Yes.”
As a teenager, I tried to row, but rowing isn’t a sport; it’s more a form of masochism. Now, my only exercise is being chased around the stage by Mary in the Bedtime Story and walking to outside to smoke the occasional cigar. I hate forms. If someone wants to run himself to death on the running machine, like a demented hamster making a final bid for glory, I say let him do it – especially if he is a banker who has just stolen all my money. I lie to every question, including the one that asks if I’m pregnant. I say I’m carrying twins.
I go and lift weights. A huge man bench-presses 300 kg three times. Then he sits grumpily staring at himself in the mirror……….the barrel-chested bastard. I notice a studio where people are playing music and stretching and doing all the things people do in their forties, now they’re too old to go to nightclubs or have rumpy pumpy. I decided to try the body-conditioning class, where you lift lightweights to music. It turns out I’m the only man there. Guys must lift proper weights, or everyone thinks you like George Michael.
At the end of the class, I’m not sure my body has been conditioned. I lie on the floor in a pool of sweat, like a big walrus that has flopped out of the swimming pool. But afterwards, I feel good. Okay, I can’t actually walk but Heidi says she is proud of me. The gym sends me a leaflet. You pay only £30 for the first month. But if you die in that time, you do have to pay for the whole year……….LA Fitness………. my arse.
Well as the uncertainty of the economy continues to make watching the news as unattractive as the inside of a skunk the Italian shipyards continue to bristle with work and endeavor. As we speak there is much work being done for it is going to be a very busy few months.
First we have the two new Costa ships the fabulously named Costa Luminosa and her sister ship the Costa Pacifica………………..the 13th and 14th vessels of the Costa fleet. These ships will be named on the same day…………..June 5th………….and I have been asked to attend and share this unique experience with you all. For a preview of these two stunning vessels I wanted to share these links with you.
http://www.luminosa.costacruises.co.uk/#/costaluminosa
http://www.pacifica.costacruises.co.uk/#/homepage
They are two ships celebrating light and music and I am excited to be able to see them for myself and for you.
Also in Fincantieri’s Sestri yard near Genoa, Italy, the hull of Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam was towed around the foot of Italy to their yard in Venice. Please have a look at Holland Americas brilliant blog which has some stunning photos of this new vessel beginning to take shape. Here is the link thingy.
A ship that many people are excited about is of course the world’s most luxurious cruise ship………the Seabourn Odyssey. She is being built at the T. Mariotti Shipyard in Genoa.
To find out more and to see the latest photos please click on this link
http://blog.seabourn.com/seabourn-odyssey-services/brand-new-seabourn-odyssey-photo
It also seems appropriate that we mention Queen Elizabeth…………we will be mentioning Her Majesty later in this blog thingy but now I am talking about her namesake………….the new Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth. To say that there is much excitement about her arrival is a massive understatement but even I had no idea just how excited the people who love Cunard were. One man probably did know because he has a total and complete understanding of all things Cunard and that is our Chief UK Reporter and Carnival UK’s Commercial Director Peter Shanks who last night sent me this breaking news.
John
Hope you are well – some news to knock your socks off – and being the 1st
April this is not an April Fool !Today saw the worldwide release of the first 6 Queen Elizabeth voyages from
October 2010 – we went on sale worldwide at 1300 British Standard Time for
our valued past guests. So we started the day here in Southampton not quite
knowing what to expect. Here we are with a fabulous new ship to put on sale
- with very keen interest from our valued past guests around the world ,
but in the middle of a tough recession. What was going to happen – we were
about to find out. We also had the memory of putting the Final QE2 Farewell
voyage on sale back in 2007 – which sold out in an astonishing 36 minutes.
Surely we could not do better than that.We ran a sweepstake around the office – with half the money going to
Cunard’s partner charity – The Prince’s Trust. We went out and bought
enough chocolate to keep the reservations team happy and awake for hours.
We woke our IT colleagues up early and gave them an extra big breakfast to
make sure they had all of our selling systems at the ready. Then – at 1300
worldwide – we took a deep breath and opened up for sale.After 9 minutes we had booked a thousand passengers. And after just 29
minutes and 14 seconds (exactly) – the maiden voyage was full. We had
bookings from around the world. After two hours we had filled over 50% of
the 6 voyage programme – as I write we are still busy.To sell the Queen Elizabeth maiden faster than the Final QE2 farewell is
just a wonderful moment. All of us at Cunard still cherish the memories of
the QE2. We are confident that Queen Elizabeth will be a worthy successor
to her in every way. To see the level and support from our Cunarders is
just terrific. Now of course – one of the disappointing facts is that we
were not able to satisfy everybody who wanted to book the maiden. However
it is very pleasing that they are booking the other maiden season voyages
and they too will be part of something very special.So amongst the doom and gloom and tough economic environment – all of us at
Cunard and many of our valued guests – enjoyed 29 minutes and 14 seconds of
sheer joy today. That makes us feel good – and blessed with having such a
wonderful brand and such valued guests.So – if any of your bloggers would still like to be part of history – then
there is still time to get onboard one of the remaining maiden season
voyages – don’t take too long to make your mind up.Attached is the press release we have put out worldwide this afternoon.
Some things in life are worth celebrating – and this is one of them.Best Regards from your rather over – excited but official Guest British
BloggerPeter Shanks
Chief Comercial Officer
Carnival UK
What an amazing story. To sell the first voyage out completely and that quick in today’s economy shows that the world of Cunard is one that continues to shine brightly and the new Queen Elizabeth it seems has already taken up the mantel left by her namesake. The only bad news is that this means there’s no cabins left for me……and that gets one big royal bugger.
Thanks Peter for taking the time to share your brilliant news with us all ……. congratulations.
And so we only have one new vessel to talk about……….and that of course is the Carnival Dream. I will be visiting her in early June. I was going to go this month but from what I have been told there will be much more for me to photograph and video if I wait until June. However, yesterday I received an e-mail from a colleague who is at the shipyard and on board the ship. His name is Piero Aminkya who is one of Carnival Corp.’s newbuilding inspectors. Here is word for word what he wrote to me yesterday. “John, the Carnival Dream is a dream. While only 20% of the finishing materials are visible I can tell she will be Carnival Cruise Lines’ most beautiful ship. I particularly love the design and finish of the atrium.”
Well that has certainly whetted my appetite and now I really want to go and see her. However, I will wait until June and take the video crew with me so I can share the experience with all of you.
Now, for those who missed yesterdays breaking news………….here it is again
CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES INTRODUCES NEW “YOUR CHOICE DINING” PROGRAM
Guests to be Offered Choice of Three Different Seating Options, Including “Your Time” Open Seating, FleetwideMIAMI (April 1, 2009) – Carnival Cruise Lines has launched “Your Choice Dining” which provides a selection of three different dinner seating options for guests aboard the line’s 22-ship fleet. In addition to Early or Late assigned seating, the cruise line is rolling out “Your Time” open seating to accommodate individual guest preferences. Also, under the new Your Choice Dining program, dining assignments will be confirmed at the time of booking.
“We have been experimenting with an open seating dinner option on a few ships since the latter part of 2008,” said Roberta Jacoby, Carnival’s senior vice president of hotel operations. “Exceptional guest feedback to the pilot program and an indication from the vast majority of those participating that they would choose that option again has prompted the decision to extend open seating fleetwide. At the same time, we felt it was important to also enhance the dining program overall by confirming dining assignments at the time of booking. We believe that our new Your Choice Dining Program will prove to be an extremely popular enhancement to the Carnival vacation experience,” Jacoby added.
Your Time open seating, currently available on five ships, will be implemented one vessel at a time over the next several months as modifications in dining room table configurations are completed on each ship.
“In making the decision to introduce Your Time dining, we felt it was imperative that we be able to offer guests the option to sit only with those individuals they prefer and that requires reconfiguring a section of the dining rooms on each ship to incorporate smaller table arrangements,” said Jacoby. “This is an important distinction as some lines still group people together under their open seating programs.”
An additional eight ships are scheduled to be converted by the end of year and the balance of the fleet by summer 2010. Confirmed dining assignments are now being offered fleetwide.
At the time of booking, guests will be asked to choose from among Early dining at 6 pm, Late dining at 8:15 pm or Your Time dining which allows guests to dine at any time between 5:45 pm and 9:30 pm (if applicable depending on ship and sailing date). Dining assignments will be accommodated on a first-come, first-serve basis according to when guests made their reservation…
If the preferred dining choice is not available, guests may confirm an alternate choice and be placed on a waitlist for their first preference. Waitlists will be cleared prior to sailing and guests will be notified via email of their confirmed seating assignment.
As Your Time dining is implemented on each ship, guests already booked will be contacted via email or through their travel agent and provided the opportunity to switch to Your Time dining or retain their original choice.
Your Time guests are able to request any table size or waiter and are typically seated immediately when arriving at the dining room. However, if a modest wait time is required, guests are given a pager so they are free to relax elsewhere on the ship until their table is ready.
Additional options available under Your Choice Dining include extensive poolside eateries offering a wide variety of cuisine choices in a casual environment and, on a number of ships, elegant, reservations-only restaurants serving fine quality dry-aged U.S.D.A. prime steaks and other dishes in an intimate, upscale atmosphere.
Below is a timetable for the introduction of Your Time open seating throughout the Carnival fleet:
• Already implemented: Carnival Legend, Carnival Liberty, Carnival Sensation, Carnival Paradise, Carnival Miracle
• End of April: Carnival Conquest, Carnival Elation, Carnival Pride
• Mid-June: Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Spirit
• Late September: Carnival Dream
• Mid-October: Carnival Ecstasy
• Mid-December: Carnival Glory
• February 2010: Carnival Fascination
• By summer 2010: Carnival Imagination, Carnival Inspiration, Carnival Destiny, Carnival Triumph, Carnival Valor, Carnival Splendor, Carnival Freedom and Carnival VictoryCarnival is the largest and most popular cruise line in the world, with 22 “Fun Ships” operating voyages ranging from three to 16 days in length to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Canada, New England, Europe and Bermuda. The line currently has two new ships scheduled for delivery between now and 2011. The first of those, the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream, is set to debut Sept. 21, 2009.
For additional information or reservations, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com.
So, there you have it and I am sure that some of you have already posted your comments and some will be doing so today. I am sure many will be praising this additional choice and there may be some who are not sure now which option to take………..so as always I am here for you should you wish to ask……………as always please mark your comments “John please reply. ”
Protocol demands that you must never ever touch Her Majesty The Queen ……. in case she melts. However this protocol obviously meant bugger all to Michelle Obama she put her arm around Lizzy last night at a reception at Buckingham Palace held in honor of the G20 leaders and their wives. So, instead of concentrating on the substance of these important meetings or commenting on the fact that thousands of sandal wearing unwashed hippies smashed up London, the newspapers here in the UK are concentrating on the fact that she dared to touch the Queen.
When the former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating put his arm around the Queen in 1992, he was branded the “Lizard of Oz”…..what a load of bollocks. POTUS gave the Queen an iPod containing a video of her visit to Virginian 2007 and Pee Diddlies Greatest Hits. In return, he received a signed photograph of the royal couple……..he must have been thrilled.
A few years ago Roger Blum and his beautiful wife Marie, Heidi and I took a tour inside Buckingham Place. If you are ever in London it is something you really must do. Over the years I have been to hundreds of people’s houses and have never once felt the need to steal a teacup or a photo frame… But as we toured the Palace I was overcome with a Herculean bout of kleptomania. I had my eye on the grand piano in the ballroom but anything would have done. A cup. A saucer even a Corgi.
Staff, I’m told, keep a watchful eye on visitors The same goes for the old ladies who pick flowers while at the garden parties. Even Prince Philip has been heard to yell: “Oy, Ethel! Leave that orchid alone you thieving old sod.”
The worst thing, though, about living in the palace is the decor. The Queen is the only person alive who watched that Michael Jackson shopping trip to Las Vegas and thought: “I’ve got one of those vases.”
The whole thing is a symphony of gloomy portraits of unsmiling ancestors with splashes of Michelangelo and Farcus. In the main corridor pink and gold Eltonesque sofas clash violently with the bright red carpets.
It’s Neverland meets the Carnival Splendor and I actually liked it. And I guess the Queen does as well although unlike anyone else, the Queen can’t watch an episode of This Old House and think: “Right. I’ll knock through here, go to IKEA and buy some new furniture and some Turkish scatter cushions” …………she’s stuck with it.
“Yes but she has all that money,” I hear you cry………… This may be true. But what can the poor dear spend it on? A world cruise on the Queen Mary 2? An Aston Martin? She’s not Ivana Trump.
Anyway back to POTUS. While I am not totally sure of his political views there is no doubt that the President of the United States possesses a certain rock star/cruise director quality. I also respect him because he has told the protocol of the old days to bugger off. For example this morning as the leaders gathered Mr Obama who as leader of the free world should have arrived at the conference last and under a blaze of glory. He didn’t ……….he arrived after the Prime Minister of India and just before the President of the Czech Republic………that’ s pretty cool. President Clinton always arrived late because he would be pumping one of his interns for information and of course….. he had to finish his cigar.
Guess who arrived last today though………………guess who had to make an entrance to show that even though he was the same exact height as Napoleon he was bigger and more important than everyone else………..playing right into the blog thingies hands ……… yep ………… you guessed it………………it was old short arse himself………………President Sarkozy of France.
Of course I do give him masses amount of credit though. Unlike anyone else in world politics, he got Le Top Job and responded immediately by telling his wife to bugger off and replaced her with the stunningly beautiful impossibly gorgeous Carla Bruni. Her mother is a concert pianist, her sister an actress and film director, and she’s an heiress to an Italian tire fortune. We’re talking good genes here. And bottom looks good in a pair too.
The Frenchies took her into their hearts…………….forgetting about poor Mrs. Sarkozy who now works as a tour guide at Le Eifel Tower. That’d never happen anywhere else. Imagine, if you will, Gordon Brown winning an election (hard, I know) and then ditching his wife Sarah for Kate Winslett. Imagine President Obama proudly unveiling Halle Berry as his new first lady or me telling the now 4 million readers (yes we passed 4 million by the way) that I had replaced Heidi with Heidi Klum the super model …………. All of our careers would be over quicker than Andrew Dice Clay’s.
As I said, he couldn’t help himself……..he was the President Of France………the most important man in the world and he would make that late le grand entrance ………….yet I should be careful because maybe there were a few valid reasons he was late to the most important economic conference in the world……….ever.
1. He could have been confused when at his hotel he was confronted by a strange door in his suite. Upon opening this door he discovered a whole new world of running water and a maybe he had to call one of his entourage to help him translate strange words into French……….words like “soap” and “shower.”
2. Maybe it wasn’t his fault that he was late. Maybe it was his chauffeurs who seeing the German delegation turned around and drove in the opposite direction.
Bon Noit
Your Friends
John, Heidi and the Thingy
Look, friends — there are a few things you should remember before you comment. The space below is for you to post your comments about the post I've just written above. If it is something that's unrelated, please use the Ask John tab above. Now, while I may not be able to reply to your comment below, I do sit in my underpants almost every morning and read everything that is here. So feel free to comment on the comments and then if someone wants to comment on the comment to the comment then go ahead as well. Please be courteous unless the poster is French...........then you can say whatever you want.
I am an unabashed fan of Carnival for many reasons but the first and foremost reason is Carnival Cares. We saw this in WestPark in NOLA, Carnival’s donations to charity and in it’s people every day.
With that in mind, I wanted to share something with our Blogging family. Some months ago a Cruise Critic member contacted me and had a very special request for help. I was THRILLED to be able to try to assist. He recently posted about his adventure on Cruise Critic and I’ll let his post speak for itself:
Words can’t begin to describe the awesome experience my new fiancée and I just had aboard the Carnival Conquest. Thanks to our very own Host Mach here at CC and many others, not the least of which is Conquest’s CD Chris Jefferson, my girlfriend accepted my proposal of marriage while at sea. You want a perfect scenario for proposing guys? Here’s one for you. Arrange for a private dinner for the two of you at the exclusive supper club “The Point”. Fabulous food, wine and exceptional service in a very romantic and quiet setting. Slip back to your stateroom where “Formalities” (shipboard store for all things romantic) has secretly set up a small table with fine linen and a chilled bottle of the finest champagne, chocolate covered strawberries and roses all beautifully arranged on your balcony. Then let the magic of the setting take over. What better place to ask someone to spend their life with you than under the stars in the middle of the ocean. She was totally blown away. And through her tears I got the “YES” I was praying for. It was truly a fairy-tale come true. The next day the CD Chris Jefferson invited us onto his televised Morning Show and introduced us to all of our other 3,500 shipmates. As if that wasn’t enough, he surprised BOTH of us by picking us out of the audience to participate in the “Love and Marriage Show” later that afternoon. We even got a copy of the DVD. My bride-to-be is still wearing this enormous smile a week and a half later proudly showing off her solitaire to all of our friends and family. It was an experience we’ll remember forever. Memories that could not have been possible without the help of Host Mach and Chris Jefferson. Two very incredible people who extended themselves so much and in so many ways for two people they had never even met. No matter what else they accomplish in their lives and careers, they should have the satisfaction of knowing that they contributed in no small way to creating one of the most perfect memories in two people’s lives possible. They will forever be in our debt and fondest memories. I wish nothing but the best for any guys who are currently in a similar position of looking for a memorable proposal. Between Cruise Critic and Carnival Cruise Lines, you’re in the best of hands.
Best wishes to all of you-
Chris Strobach
Hollister, Missouri
My congratulations to Chris Strobach and my thanks to Chris Jefferson on board the Conquest. Chris didn’t have to do a thing other than is normal job as Cruise Director but he went above and beyond to put plans in place that made memories that will last a life time for a wonderful couple.
Chris Strobach asked me if there was some way that Chris Jefferson could be properly recognized for his effort. John has forwarded Chris’s post to Roger Blum. Chris Jefferson deserves all the accolades that could possibly come to him.
Is there any doubt why people are abandoning other lines and flocking to Carnival? Besides providing the best experience at sea and the best value at sea Carnival has the best employees… Carnival Cares.
Ciao
Host Mach
WOW WOW WOW!! Love those Costa ships! You know that Costa is my favorite cruise right after Carnival. Sincerely I can tell you that of the ships I been on the Costa Atlantica is the most beautiful. I love Farcus work but I think that on Costa ships he outdones himself
John:
Talking about Dads….my oldest turned 21 today.
Josh (whom you have not had the pleasure of meeting, because he spends all his time at the University with people with beards instead of on cruise ships with us) was born on April 2nd. And oddly enough, so was our dear friend Stormin’ Norman. I talked with Norman today, as he headed back to Australia for 3 weeks, to wish him a Happy Birthday.
Michelle Obama did not mean any disrespect to the Queen, when she reciprocated the same little “back pat” that the Queen gave her. The Queen is gracious enough to overlook a small social oops.
I just rented a movie called Miss Potter and it was amazing. If you and Heidi have not seen it, it is about the life of Beatrix Potter and I highly recommend it. Is the 4,000 National Park that she donated still a Park?
While I am excited to see the Dream, I understand the need to postpone the “unveiling” until there is something really there for us to see. So until then, we will simply enjoy the Glory next month and dream about the Dream!!
Linda (Mom of your friend~currently watching the bad weather here~ DJ)
Joke overheard in Berlin last year: Why are Paris streets all tree lined boulevards? Because German soldiers like matching in the shade.
john, it’s quite an embarrassment here too. like the beverly hillbillies hit london. sorry. (really sorry)
smiles, bonnie and prince charlie
John, I think you must be dyslexic because every time anytime dinning comes up you get the results arse backwards. No matter how many more bloggers say no, never, don’t even think about it that’s there you seem to make it sound like the majority said they wanted it. I always saw it at about 80% saying no way. So I sure hope Carnival don’t go cutting us short in the amount of dinning room for us that want set seating.
BIG ED
John with anytime dining are you able to switch back and forth between anytime dining and a set dining time on a cruise?
Dear John Heidi & Thingy
Loved the Blog today
I took the Daddy test even though I am a “mom”
Loved the comments on the politcs of the day.
I am still one of the die hards for preferred dining assignment other than “your choice. Good idea to do it in random shipm by ship,
Take Care
Elizabeth Tucker
I was on the Sensation last month and noticed on our way in to the dining room, that there was a sign to the left of us, saying “anytime seating”. I don’t remember what that dining room was called but I don’t think very many people took advantage of it because our dining room was always busy every night.
I still like the “traditional” sitting where you get to know your wait staff for the duration of your cruise.
Dear John, please reply. We love Carnival. We’ve done 15 Carnival cruises since 05. We are looking into a Princess Cruise in Nov. Since Carnival doesn’t do Europe this year. I just thought it would be nice to transfer our Platinum level to your sister company. Just a thought. Good luck with the thingy. Love your blog, Lynda
Hi John,
Your blog post turned up in my google alerts for ‘sex after birth’
As you mentioned it above – may I suggest our wonderful eBook Reclaiming Sex After Birth as a preparation for life after birth! While yes – there is some stuff in there about sex, there is lots of information on how to support each other after the birth.
The magazine you mentioned sounds like it’s more targeting men on how to spend money as Dad’s than to give them sensible advice or share any wisdom on how to transition into their role as Dad.
Best of luck and joyous birthing
Jodi Cleghorn
co-author “Reclaiming Sex After Birth:the survival guide”
http://reclaimsexafterbirth.com
John, Great Blog today! I am really excited about CCLs implementation of the Your Choice Dining…Although I usually use the main dining room at assigned times, I recently had the opportunity to try this type of dining and really liked it! I think this will be a great plus for an already awesome cruising experience!
Dear John, Please reply……
It seems the ship we will be on next weekend has the ‘anytime seating’ option. Don’t you think this will cause problems with people who will rush to get the window seats? I haven’t been lucky enough to get that seating allocation yet on my previous cruises, but if I am given a window seat (I prefer the assigned seating option) will I find somebody has already beaten me to it by being first in the line-up for when the dining room opens their doors?
Your thoughts please
Best wishes ….Irene (Hooked on cruising)
Well, actually what they say here is that Queen touched Michelle first and she just returned the favor
) So no big deal.
)
Are you telling me that I have to wait another two months for Dream pics and updates? Oh my goodness, that will be hard. Oh – the price for flights to Rome finally went down from $1200 to $900 so we will be booking them tonight
Have a great weekend!
Good aquaintance,
Indeed, to be a father is a great gift. It is a powerful position. Ofcourse with great power comes great responsibility. A father has to perform mundane activities such as food,shelter,clothing,support,protection and Love. But the most important feature of paternity is spiritual culture. The father must spiritually equip his wife and children would spiritual strength to overcome all the hurdles of life. Since the father cannot possible protect the child all the time, he has to surrender to Krsna (God). Once he has done so, the Lord himself will protect the wife and child in the 3fold miseries of Life. These 3fold miseries are 1> Miseries of the body, 2> Miseries from other living entities, 3> Miseries from the environment. The actual father is Krsna (all attractive/ God). We are given this role to have a very mild idea of our actual father. Thank you.
As a travel agent I’m excited about the “anytime seating” as a consumer (and a die hard fan of Carnival) I’m not so wild about the “anytime seating”. Sometimes it’s hard trying something new but as I told one of co-workers…I’m willing to give it a shot. When I sail with Carnival I like getting to know my wait staff. My favorite story is when I sailed on the Pride in 2003…I told my waiter how I liked my steak which was rare…he kind of looked at me funny…and said ok…then I said I wanted it to “moo”…he laughed said ok again…and “mooed” right back at me..when he brought me my steak he was very anxious because he said he didn’t think it was going to “moo” sure enough it wasn’t cooked right. So he took it back brought me another one and said “this time it will moo”..and it did. After than each and everytime I ordered steak he would just look at me and say “moo”… we all had a great laugh about it and tipped him handsomely on the last night of our cruise. The only thing I’m curious about with this “anytime seating” is how the hardworking waitstaff will get their tips? These people work especially hard to make sure your meal times go off with out a hitch.
Hi John!
Great to hear from you and thanks for posting today.
I think its great that POTUS gave the Queen an IPOD with his speeches on it. I can just picture the Queen sitting there listening to it.
Very cool pictures of all the ships coming out soon. I can’t wait to see more from the Dream.
I like the Anytime option and I hope it is received warmly across the line.
Hope you have a nice weekend.
Take care!
David
Dear John,
Congrats on being home with Heidi for one of the most memorable times in your life together. I am sure heidi is so glad to have you home and all to herself, except of cours, for all of the time you are spending dealing with the Blog and other Carnival issues,. But, at least you are home now and not at sea. I wish you all the most happy and healthy baby. You have brought joy to so many and we wish you joy as well. You deserve it.
On March 11, you resoonded to a note I had sent you about my daughter’s diet needs as well as other needs we had regarding our cruise on the Conquest April 12. (I know less than 10 days to go, we are so excited) Anyways, you had asked me to remind you one week before we depart and that has just about come. thanks you for helping us out in this matter.
In regards to the letter you received about how the Carnival ships look the same, i couldn’t disagree more. yes, the have the same basic layout, but I have been on several ships, and shile i appreicate the similar layout (makes things easier to find) I also apprecioate the time that is taken to create a theme for each ship so that it has it’s own personality. I know from being on several crusing sites out there, that due to the changes in decor andother things, there are many who are not only brand lopyal but ship loyal as well. If they were all the same, people would just go to the ships based on where they were going, but they don’t. Each ship is an experience, and that guy has obviously never been on one.
My thanks to Carnival for taking the time to make each ship unique and creat a FUN time for those around.
Thanks and enjoy your time with Heidi. Iw ill definitely keep reading your blog. It brings a smile to my face each day.
Hi John,
Your country decided Mr Sarcozy`s friend Mr Napoleon ever to visit. He wanted to but he got a “free resort vacation” instead.
Very positive response:
Great action trough Carnival guest relations about waitlisted dining.
I got confirmation on all four bookings
Freedom 04/25, Triumph 01/02/10 and 06/02/10 and still having an option changing my requested seating on TA Dream until two weeks to departure date absolutly great.
Still want to see the same people both guests and waiters (him/her) every night. Open seating breakfast and lunch already in use.
Yours
Ralf
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The way I heard it, the Queen touched Michelle Obama, just like Ivana said. I think “people” need to start treating our new President and the First Lady with respect! They certainly have earned it! John, I too hosted a Carnival FUN party, but on the day of my party my camera was dropped by my grandson who insisted on taking a picture of Mike in the Fun for all T Shirt, and now I have NO pictures of my Carnival FUN party. Can’t believe none of my friends brought a camera with them! We had a blast, we barbq’d, had 16 people here including grandkids. We showed everyone our picture albums from all our cruises, and had a lot of people anxious to book cruises with Carnival now! Wow, wish you had come to our party! Linda & Mike P.S. Hope Heidi liked the baby gifts. Won’t be long now till you are a PAPA!
We were one of the first to try out the new Anytime Dining option on the Legend. It was wonderful. We had met several other people onboard and we all decided we wanted to eat together for the rest of the cruise. We simply walked up to the hostess and said we need a table for 10. We never waited for than 5 minutes. I don’t know if it was by coincidence or not but we had the same waitstaff every night and they were wonderfully accomodating.
John,
We just got back from our cruise on the Sensation. We chose to have early dining because we like having the same waiter every night and sitting with people whom you meet for the first time but become a sort of family by the end of your cruise. We like the idea of having a choice though and many people chose open seating and loved it! We believe these different choices offered to guests is what keeps people coming back to Carnival. Again, three cheers for our Matre’D Drago !