11:15am – Saturday, May 9th
Nothing has happened. I woke up about ten times during the night to feel on Heidi’s side of the bed in case the tide had come in………but the only thing that has broken so far is my nights sleep and the kettle which decided to blow up when I was making my morning cup of monkey tea.
Heidi seems to be patient and not worried and is as we speak sorting out her old clothes and putting the ones she doesn’t want in the charity bag. If I find one pair of my underpants has been put in the bag there will be hell to pay.
Me……….well I am a nervous wreck and for any father to be I want to say this:
Life as a pregnant father is bloody scary. On one hand, what’s going on seems totally out of your control. On the other hand, there is such joy in knowing that you helped make a baby and that your Thingy doesn’t just work when you are thinking about a naked Catherine Zeta Jones! And, as a man, people expect you to be strong and macho, but there’s so much to worry about and so many feelings that you’d like to share. There’s just so many emotions to go through – not too stereotypically manly, I guess.
In the middle of Heidi’s pregnancy I was worried about things like, “Is it okay to have rumpy pumpy with Heidi, or is it going to hurt the Thingy? If I wasn’t careful, would the Thingy be born with a dent in the top of its head and……..thinking of myself a bit……does he or she have teeth yet?” Sounds mad……. but it went through my head it truly did.
I should have spent more time visiting pregnancy sites on the internet but every time I sat down to do so I ended up on www.amazon.com ordering Entourage season 5 or The Shield and then when I really forced myself to visit the help sites for expectant fathers my computer started malfunctioning and brought up www.latvianwomeninstockings.com. I feel guilty that I was on the ship and missed most of the classes Heidi attended which means that during the birth I have as much chance of helping Heidi through it as Judge Judy has of winning a beauty contest.
I don’t know about other men, but I spent entirely too much time worrying about everything. I became obsessed with Heidi’s diet and she did not appreciate my input, one thing to avoid if you can. It is a fine line between trying to remind her that she really should be eating raw yak and being told to mind your own business and you’re not the one who’s pregnant.
In the final months of my Heidi’s pregnancy, people would corner me on the ship and with happy gleeful looks say things like, “So, are you enjoying your last few days?” as if I was on death row.
I realized that there are lot of people who fear parenthood as the end to their ambitions. Sure enough privately, I started compiling a mental list of activities that I’d never done and now would never get round to doing. Walk to the North Pole, shark fishing, taking an RCI cruise and telling the maitre d to bugger off when he charges me for a steak or going to a lap dancing club in Latvia! I quickly realized that all these things actually sounded crap, if I had wanted to do them I would have and there are no rules about what you can and can‘t do when you are a Dad…………are there?
Lets take a pregnancy break and welcome back the one and only Jaime……..has she found a man yet?……….let’s find out.
May 8, 2009
Dear John,
We began with our new Baltimore itinerary about a week and a half ago and our first cruise ran nearly seamlessly, which rarely happens… itinerary changes and perfect cruises, rarely go hand in hand, so the entire crew was waiting for some sort of imperfection to ruin this excellent combination of awesome weather, lack of technical issues and very few guest complaints.
Working with cruise director Kirk Benning has been nothing short of wonderful. He trusts his team, empowers us, and is a great leader. He has been with the company for almost as many years as I have been alive. He took a short ten-year hiatus and now is back in action and possibly better than before… although I can’t be sure since I was barely living last time he was sharing his cruise directoring talents with the world .. on the Mardi Gras. Plus, now it’s a different world, they didn’t have the technological advances that we have now like shipboard e-mail, cell phones and electricity.
After cruise number one went so smoothly, we were absolutely right to expect some sort of technical issue to break our good luck streak. A few days ago for the Welcome Aboard Show, our in-house sound system decided to pop within the first 3 minutes of the dancers introduction. Many of the dancers were not even aware of the lack of sound in the house, since the stage monitors were still on full blast. Once Kirk came out to do his introduction, he had to think fast and he decided that rather than canceling the Welcome Aboard Show, he decided to do the entire thing…. Without a microphone (although, looking back, he was probably used to that because the last time he was cruise director was sooo long ago.) He truly did a great job and surprisingly, no one left. Even the people in the back of the house which I imagine heard no more than a slight whisper, still were entertained enough.. or possibly sympathetic enough to stick it out through Kirk’s entire 25 or so minute schpiel. By the time the show was over Kirk was very appreciative to the technicians for trying to get the issue fixed as soon as possible. At the same time he was moderately frustrated, but fortunately, none of us could tell because he had no voice. The rest of the team praised him for his ability to work under such pressure and stick to the theatrical motto “the show must go on.” Personally, I would have used a bullhorn.
The next morning, about an hour before the Travel and Adventure Talk, Kirk called me and informed me that I would be doing the Shore Excursion discussion that morning. At this point, I am used to getting thrown into things, but of all the cruise director responsibilities, I believe that the travel talk is by far the most challenging… for this talk the person not only has to share important information, but also be personable and funny enough to captivate the audience’s attention for a good 30 minutes. I did this by sharing my some special skills, bringing a kid to the stage which always helps, and of course giving away a couple free shore excursions and discount coupons – thanks to our wonderful South African Shore Excursion Manager- Dirk. Who prefers to be referred to as All Star Crime Fighting Champion of the Pride, Dirkie.
For these few cruises, I am thankful that our ship is not scheduled to go to Mexico. As much as I do miss the Mexican ports like Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen, having to do all of these new capers, and then having to change them just may cause my ulcer to burst, regardless of how many doses of AcipHex I take at 2 am.
While docked in Nassau this past week, I had the incredible pleasure of meeting the cruise director from the Fascination – Trevor Block. His assistant at the present time was my very first friend on Carnival Cruise Lines, all the way from Australia – Dan Govier. Years ago, Dan worked in the spa, then he was a host for many years. I was fortunate enough to work with him over a year and a half ago during my first contract on the Imagination. Since then we have both been promoted to assistant cruise director. And unlike me, he has fallen in love with a lovely English Dancer who he follows around like a lost hungry puppy in search of a steak. Sick.
Speaking of illness, on board we have been taking every precaution necessary on board with regard to swine flu. There are still no reported cases on any Carnival ships. But our karaoke host Donna requested some TheraFlu Cold Medicine the other day because she started getting a little sniffly, and she ended up getting signed off of work. Meaning she was quarantined to her cabin for 24 hours, only allowed to eat room service and someone else got to host karaoke, just in case of the possibility she may possibly have some miniscule germ that could resemble any sort of hazardous health issue. Needless to say, no problems on board the Pride and we are going to keep it that way. Better to be safe than sorry.
It has been great to see so many guests who sailed in the inaugural season of the Splendor here on board the Pride. They are always sporting their Splendor wardrobe so I can be sure to identify them and talk to them about how much they enjoyed their cruise.
In closing, I want to wish everyone, including my mom and HEIDI a Happy Mother’s Day. Thanks for bringing us into this world, and all of the challenges of raising us kids, who may have the possibility of being brats at times, not me of course, but OTHER people’s children. Of course mothers can never be frustrating ever. Like my mother, who recently sailed with me on the Carnival Splendor would never scream out in her extremely loud Brooklyn accent, in front of the entire buffet line, while I was wearing my blues “Jaime, you really should get that rash taken care of before your leave the ship.” She would never even consider doing that; of course if she had she would be referring to the little red mark on my wrist where my hair tie rubs against it. But she definitely would never embarrass her only daughter, and that is why I love her and I would like nothing more than to wish her the happiest of mother’s days.
More from me soon!
Miss you all!
The Carnival Pride docked with the Carnival Fascination in Nassau.. The Imagination was there too but it is a secret!
Kirk and Jaime in from of their new ship!!!
Cruise Director Reunion – Trevor Block and Kirk Benning… Trevor used to be Kirk’s host years ago!!
The Pride docked in Freeport.Jaime Deitsch
Assistant Cruise Director
Carnival Pride
Great Dear John letter……and its so terrific that you and Kirk are getting on so well……..really well in fact….actually thinking about it…..Jaime Benning ….sounds good.
Thanks Jaime and congratulations on the great job you continue to do and please write when you can.
Here’s some great news
I just wanted to say a quick hello and thank you for the shoutout on the blog and thank all the bloggers for their well wishes and kind messages.
It was a terrible accident that fortunately did not turn tragic. My boyfriend, Scott, escaped with only aches and pains, a testament to front passenger airbags and seat belts and my brother’s driving. My brother Chris and I were both broken, but I’m happy to say we are both on the mend. Chris left the hospital today for a rehab center and I will head to one tomorrow.
I’m blessed to have a large group of family here locally working to help me heal. That I knew. What stunned me was the sheer number of emails notes and well wishes from my blogging family, cruising family and yes, piano bar family. And how quickly they arrived. So thank you all again, I’m truly blessed.
Laura
We all wish you a continuing recovery and hope to hear from you soon
So ………..we wait. Mock-tightenings of Heidi’s bump, laughed off as Braxton Hicks a few weeks ago, have taken an altogether more sinister turn in the last few days. “Oooh, that feels strange….” prompts a flurry of activity from yours truly, sprinting up the stairs to grab the hospital bag, her “birthing book” and the digital camera before I realize she’s simply rubbing the hard skin on the bottom of her feet with a pumice stone. A similar panic arose while we were driving to the shops yesterday as she mumbled that she’d had a big movement. “Don’t worry, darling,” I said reassuringly. “There is a McDonald’s just round the corner and we can pull over and clean you up.” The look of confusion on her face underlined which end of the stick I’d grabbed. “Not me, you stupid idiot,” she bellowed. “I said the baby’s just had a big movement”……….and that was me in the doghouse for the next hour. I breathed a sigh of relief. Not only do I hate McMeals, but the seats in my Range Rover are a devil to keep clean. My wife doesn’t panic.
She’s Dutch, which should explain everything. The Dutch are notoriously laid back about most things and Heidi has been so brilliant and organized and healthy and………well thank God for her is all I can say.
Bizarrely, Heidi is actually looking forward to the ‘birth’ part; the physical push, the getting to meet our new Thingy of joy/noise for the first time. But that’s probably because her pregnancy has been almost entirely trouble-free: no early morning sickness, no heartburn, no lack of sleep, no stretch marks. Indeed, although she was Frodo-footed for a couple of days when her ankles swelled, they soon returned from Middle Earth to take their rightful place in Middle England. Perhaps there will be some payback during labour, in which the misery of a million mothers dogged with all manner of ailments during their pregnancy come to haunt her, but I doubt it – she’s the type who will probably sneeze it out with not so much as a huff or a puff. Heidi has some very close friends ….Nadia, Alison and Mrs. Bentley. She also has a bunch of new mates that she met at her pregnancy classes and they have become very close. It got me thinking: do women really want a “new man” around when a baby arrives? Maybe the maternal bond is so strong, having carried the baby for nine months, that while they want their man to be a dab hand in the kitchen, a stallion in the bedroom and a demon with a mop and bucket, the last thing women want is their partner to muscle in on the baby and their friends.
Over the last eight months I’ve seen my wife change wonderfully, both physically and mentally, as she prepares for the arrival of her first child. I’ve enjoyed massaging her feet, plumping up her cushions, making her peanut butter and banana sandwiches……and paying the cleaner. But at 35 she’s waited long enough for this moment and I just hope and pray everything will be OK.
Finally……..and after much heated discussion we have decided on two names. I can’t tell you what they are but I have been seriously thinking about getting my Thingy’s name tattooed on me. It’s all the fashion. I have never had a tattoo but if I am going to have one it makes sense to have my Thingy’s name on my arm rather than naked Latvian women doing naughty things with a snake.
So, I have come up with a few options.
Option 1 – The Angelina Jolie – she has the longitude and latitude of where each of her four children was born. Thing is, it’s quite glamorous if it’s Cambodia, but I’m not sure if I want the precise geographical co-ordinates of an Essex hospital permanently etched on me …
Option 2 – The foot/ hand print – Have you seen this one? You take a foot/ hand print of your newborn baby and have that done with the date of birth. A bit soppy for my liking.
Option 3 – The classic name on a ribbon wrapped around a heart – perhaps if I was in prison.
In the end I have decided to go with option 4……..Do it the other way around and tattoo MY name on the Thingy
I will write as soon as there is any news
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.
John, this surely don’t look like a quickie raspberry post. I thought you said you were going to be nice to Heidi today and tomorrow and not do a post. I was waiting to tell anyone that posted a question today to go to “Frequently Asked Questions” at http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/FAQLanding.aspx to find all there answers without your help.
BIG ED
John – PLEASE REPLY
>>Over the last eight months I’ve seen my wife change wonderfully, both physically and mentally, as she prepares for the arrival of her first child.
Does this comment imply that there are other Healdy Thingies running around this fair earth that you are not acknowledging?
Seriously, I know that you will be a great help to Heidi during the birthing process – just remember to get your hand x-rayed after the birth to determine how many bones she will break when she squeezes your hand.
Best of luck and our thoughts are with the three of you at this time. We wait for the announcement of the birth of Thingy Heald.
Blessings be on Heidi, you, Thingy, your doctor or midwife, all the employees of the hospital and whomever else will be involved in this blessed even.
Missingthebirthofthingy
hi john heidi happy mothersday. i know it would be perfect if the baby came but dout it will first babys never come on time sorry to say. lol. and why cant u tell us the names u got picked out?
Hi John,
Souunds like you are ready for the Thingy to be born. For me, all 3 times, I felt unusually good the 24 hours before it happened. And was sure it was not going to happen that day…. and it did!!! And when it happens for you and Heidi, relax, she will tell you what she needs you to do. And you will be wonderful despite what you think and what she says! LOL
It sure is great to hear from Princess Laura. She is such a remarkable woman. Our prayers will continue for her, Chris and Scott, that they may all recover completely and as fast as possible under the circumstances. None of it will be easy, but Carl and I as well as the rest of Big Ed’s Evil Krewe wish them all the best and Godspeed.
Happy Mother’s Day, Heidi and to all the Mother’s out there!
It was so nice to see a blog from you today. You had said you were going to take the w/e off and just put a tiny one up. What a joy to see one and a Dear John from our Jaimie.
You and Heidi are going to be great parents, you are both ready for this. A healthy baby, that is probably the most any new parent can hope for. Please take pictures of all of you and bring them here as soon as you can.
Jaimie, I loved you Dear John. I wanted to congratulate you on your new position of Asst. CD. Do you remember when you told Mike and I that is what you wanted to do; and that was just this last September. I am so happy for you, you are so deserving of this. I loved your pictures too. You always take the best pictures.
We are all looking forward to your news of the baby. Get some rest.
You truly are one of the good guys John. My best to Heidi and the baby.
JAIME:
WELCOME HOME!! Good to be reading about your antics (or should I say your Mom’s antics!!)
I know the Pride is in good hands!
LAURA:
The Piano Bar group on Cruise Critic have been sending many many best wishes on the board. So glad to hear of the progress. May you and Chris heal as quickly and completely as possible.
John:
The greatest gift I have ever given David was making him a Dad. Your Wee Little One will change you from the every day male person walking on this earth….into…. a DAD!!! (complete with all the DAD superpowers!)
Happy Mother’s Day to all our “Mom’s” out there.
Linda (Mom of your friend DJ)
Hi John!
Any time now. Quite exciting.
Great letter from Jaime and Laura.
I love the side by side ship pics.
Have a good day and good luck.
Take care!
David
John, go scrub the kitchen floor, wash and wax the car, clean the bathroom, anything to stay busy. How about taking Heidi out for supper and to a movie, her last night out before the baby is born (you hope).
As Heidi has said , “he or she will come when good and ready.Just enjoying having the baby still all to myself for now.”
The little one will start out having it’s own way from day one………… It will be born when ready
Hang in there Daddy John, you’ll make it.
Countess Carolyn
Congratulations on waiting patiently for the arrival of “Thingy”. I remember when my son was born-now he’s 14 and taller than me! Enjoy the moment!
We are anxiuosly awaiting the birth of the Dream. We will be on her June 19, 2010 in cabin 9475. This is a wrap balcony under the Lido deck. Should we Be worried about noises? Thanks for all you do!
And you thought being the CD on a ship was exciting!!! You haven’t seen anything yet. You are acting like a typical, excited daddy- to- be acts. Besides finally holding your baby and calling it by its REAL name after all these months, this is a very crazy time…nervous, exciting, frustrating, anxious etc.
Congrats on picking out the thingy/thingys name and just wait for that moment that you can hold your baby and call it by its given name. That is truly an exciting moment.
And YES Heidi does and will need you around even more after the baby is born. Friends/relatives are important but DADDIES are VERY SPECIAL people…
I still think thingy/thingi will not make its debut until Friday May 15th somewheres between 12am and 12 midnite so you will be able to watch your soccer game without interruption!!!
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL….
Hi John, (please reply)
How nice to read your inner most thoughts of being a dad. You will be great at it. It’s OK to let your sappy side show through. I believe it takes a real man to let that side show. And as far as not having done things that you thought you would, you will now have new dreams and exciting adventures to do your family. I remember my hubby being so nervous. He used to drive me crazy. I made him do the deep breathing techniques. So my advice to you is sit on the floor, do a few hee hees, ha has and who who’s and you’ll feel a lot better. However, don’t do them so fast that you hyperventilate because that would not be fun for Heidi!!
Best wishes and looking forward to seeing the pictures of the cute little Thingy!
Happy Mother’s Day to Heidi!
Nancy
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY Heidi, I hope you will be a mom by the end of the day.
Jennifer
Hang in there John, it will happen soon. I still hold to my prediction of May 10,2009. Girl, weighing in at 7 pounds 8 oz and 19.5 inches long.
I have been known to right and wrong…but I do predict a healthy mom and baby. I have thought all along that May 10th would be the day. I hope I’m right for Heidi’s sake. I know pregancy gets the best of us tired of being pregnant!
Julie
oh and the tattoo thing…My son’s girlfriend has her daughter’s foot prints on her calf. Kinda neat looking, but not sure I would go through all that pain to have it done.
John waiting for Thingy to be born has to be hard on you. You will be full of joy when it happens. Hang in there.
Sounds like things are getting near… I am sure Heidi will sail through labour like nothing is happening at all and we all know it won’t be long now.
Best wishes to both
hello from podunk! tell heidi happy mother’s day john please. and it was wonderful to hear from the lovely princess laura!!!
smiles, bonnie and prince charlie
Just sending the three of you all our love and wishes for a smooth, healthy and blissful delivery.
It feels as if a family member is going into labor (labour?) and we are anxious as he*l.
So we are all pacing, counting the minutes (days) and knowing all will be perfect for the perfect Healds.
Love, love, love.
Michael and Kelly
John: I want to thank you for the fruit basket and
bottle of bubbly for my 60th birthday on the Splendor that sailed 26 April 09. It appears you passed the word on to Ken, mait’re de in the dining room who said I need to announce your birthday per John’s orders (boy do you have clout). Everyone was impressed as he said I can’t say how old Tom is but I watch a show called Gone in 60 seconds. The cruise was great except we never stopped in the Mexican ports (the bug swine flu messed things up) and only visted San Francisco, which is where I worked for 8 years and just visited two weeks ago as we live in Sacramento. The food was excellent and I got to read 3 books after being at sea for 6 days. Again, appreciate the thoughtful gift and hope to see you on the high seas again someday.
Tom
Special hello to John and Heidi. Soon you both will hear sounds of joy, sounds of crying, sounds of life and the enjoyment of you both being mother and father.
John , your worries are natural. When my wife was having our first child I didn’t even want to have rumpy pumpy with her with the thought I might injure the baby. So my friend that is natural being a new father worrying about your wife and child. The real worrying will become after your bundle of joy enters this dangerous world but even forget that because you will have no way to help there. Just assist your new child and wife as much as you can and give them tremendous love. I can’t wait.
Paul F. Pietrangelo
I keep checking my email for word of The Thingy’s arrival and so far… nada…
It was SO good to hear from Divetrash! I’m thrilled she’s on the mend and will soon be out of the hospital. God bless her and all those who’s care she has been in. I hope to cruise with her again soon.
JAIME!!! Great to hear from you!! Congrats on an apparently brilliant first sailing from your new homeport of Baltimore!! I hope we’ll see more updates from you soon. Wonderful job!
John… I’ve never been blessed with a child so I’m living this vicariously through you and Heidi. Promise me you’ll take good care of both of them and don”t forget… you owe me a picture of you and The Thingy with you wearing that Cruise Critic t-shirt!!!
Ciao, my friend!!!
Host Mach
First …HAPPY MOTHER’S DAYto all the Mom’s out there!!I hope my kids remember to say “happy Mom’s day”to me…at least. A hello to Heidi and my cousin Mellissa, who is also expecting her baby soon! Love to you both and to princess Laura, who is making us all proud with her continued recovery and bravery…Yeah Laura!!
I didn’t know that Jaime was a Brooklyn girl…Yeah Jaime!
I say thingy will be born on Friday ( I’m with Elaine on this) or Saturday …sometime between…oh lets say midnight and 3:30 am. Is there and official pool at all? It will be a girl, around 6 1/2 lbs. Exciting..
.
Love to you all, but especially to you John and Heidi, and baby thingy,
Suefromnarrowsburg
This last minute baby watching reminds me how we did not know what the right baby signal would be, announcing the birth of our one and only.
I was so excited when the wife told me that her water had broken, and rushing to the hospital, only to eventually find out out that she, in fact, wet the bed.
Heidi, Happy Mother’s Day and hopefully you will be a mother very soon. Enjoy your day.
Hi John & Heidi,
You both look wonderful and we are wishing you both all the best. Heidi, you look wonderful. And John, keep up that great diet as you look so good. We are both so proud of you and can’t wait to hear about the Thingy. We have 5 Thingies and 11 grand Thinghies we are proud to say. (Most are carnival cruisers like us). Anyway, your blog is so much fun and so are you both.
Keep us posted as we all wait on baited breath for news of your Thingy.
2nd time posters,
Geri & Jack
p.s. see you on the B2B and bloggers Dream cruise this November. Did not know it was a bloggers cruise when we booked but hope to see you there somehow, somewhere. Cheers!
I know Trever from the Fascination
Dear John:
Just thought I’d send along a last-minute reminder of what not to forget: 1. Heidi’s fu-fu stuff
2. Robe
3. Slippers
4. Talcum Powder
5. Tissues (for John)
6. Cell-Phone
7. Camera
8. Film
9. Batteries (just in case)
10. Suitcase
11. Rev up the Car
12. *** DON’T LEAVE W/O HEIDI!!!
Wishing Heidi a Wonderful First Mother’s Day . ..
any one sail on the Legend sailing 5/03/09
out of Tampa ???
care to comment !!
our freinds sailed and they said,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
IT WAS THE CRUISE FROM H E L L,
for 7 days ,,and only did two ports,,5 days at sea,,,,,they missed two out of four port-o calls,,,,no on board credit,,,,,,they refunded
the port fee that they already paid,,,,
GREAT P. R . CARNIVAL
many onborad said they would never sail carnival again,,,,,
Happy Mothers Day Heidi!
John didn’t anyone ever tell you the old saying a watched pot doesn’t boil. It will happen when it is time and not a minute sooner. Relax your going to give yourself an ulcer.
Jamie (or John please reply) what time does the shore excursion desk open on the Pride???? We have to have a plan of action in place when we embark and there is a roll call group meeting at the bar on the Lido deck at 3 but we need to book our excursions too.
Karen
JOHN PLEASE REPLY!
This was posted to the Carnival Website on Sunday morning. It is about the issue I Roatan I asked about yesterday.
Re: Stuck at Sea
By SouthernBelle in Carnival Legend
google US Embassy in Honduras
“Citizen Services”
“Information for Travelers”
“2009 Public Announcements”
May 6, 2009 Disturbances in Roatan notice
I tried to copy and paste the link but I was blocked by the Carnival Web site police.
The notice explains the situation.
Will Carnival reschedule this port to go somewhere else or just wait until they get close to Roatan to make a decision and make it another day at sea?
Thanks for you help!
Roxi
John……….please reply
The missus, son and granddaughter and I had a wonderful time aboard Valor sailing 4/26. Even tho we did not get to Cozumel, we had not been to Key West, so all was not lost. It had been 3 years since we sailed with you on Liberty.
Couple of questions, thoughts or whatever:
Why can’t the “Golf Channel” be seen, especially on Thur & Fri when they carry golf in lieu of the major networks??
The room TV’s are in dire need of an upgrade – small flatpanels wood (I can’t help myself, I’m a woodworker) be nice!!
The embarkment was sooooooo much better than the last one from Ft Lauderdale – we got there early and pounced on the comfy sofas. However, it wood be nice to have some sort of reading material, TV’s or something to wile away the time.
Lastly, I took a couple of pics of our Bronx Bar bartender “Pat” that I wood like to send to her. Can this be accomplished??
Thanx, Ike – The Woodbutcher
hi john please respond. i know we got 6 months till our cruise on the splendor but i have a few ?s to ask.we asked for the dinning room in the back but sence chris will be 4 wed like to know if we could get the balcony booth please by the glass. we sat in a booth when we went on the destiny. and if its ok if i ask for grilled cheese again. and say u said it was ok? ty tracy
JOHN PLEASE REPLY: I now better understand about the CD schedule and thanks for explaining it to me. I spent my birthday on the Glory with Butch last year and wanted to do the same again this year and after reading some more of the blog comments it seems that he is moving to the Liberty? I want to take the sept 5th voyage on the Liberty and was wondering if Butch will be there then.
John, please reply….
John, a few blogs ago you asked us that you wanted to know more about the wonderful picnic at Half Moon Cay. Pls. keep in mind that we needed tenders to get off/on…Well, the ever hard-working crew (this includes cooks, servers, etc.) were up early a.m. to bring ashore all the food/drinks for the thousands of us! There is a pavillion (roofed, but open all around) where there are grills where they cook & serve the hamburgers/cheeseburgers/chicken/hotdogs. There are tables with salads, vegetables, & desserts. There is a smaller place where they have the self-service machines for ice tea, lemonade, etc. There are enough eating areas with picnic tables/benches, all covered, so the guests don’t have to be eating under the sun/rain, etc. They started serving lunch early, maybe even before 12 noon. Everything was delicious!
There are clean bathrooms/changing rooms for the guests…. that’s very important.
There are cabins that you can rent to spend the day, and there is a big above ground wooden terrace type bar facing the ocean with lounge chairs… Everybody wants to be in that place! It even has a name: “I wish I can stay here forever!” By the way, the famous Men’s Hairy Chest Competition took place in front of this terrace type bar… the competitors came down the steps one by one and mingling with the female judges that were waiting to touch them & check the merchandise! You can get a copy of the video taken by the Carnival photographers so you can see how much fun everybody had.
There were several tours, water sports and several other things that you could do all day long, but believe us, the very best was swimming in that magnificent beach… clean turquoise water and white sand!
Ah, if anybody felt like praying/thanking God for that paradise… there was a snall wooden chapel surrounded by flowers…facing the beach!
Well, I hope this wets your appetite as well as Heidi’s, so you can beg your bosses to send you on a CD mission to that paradise called Half Moon Cay! (Don’t forget to take Baby Heald too!)
The Santanas of Miami Beach
Dear Heidi, John needs something to do to keep him out of your hair. That’s why the old fashioned docs had the husbands go to the kitchen and boil water. My husband was delivered at home 60 years ago by an old country doctor who had his dad go boil water. “Go boil water” was a euphamism for “Go —- yourself.” Afterwards, they had a nice cup of tea. Larry’s dad said “What do I owe you Doc?” They settled the doctor bill for a 2 year old goat, which the doc’s children hitched to a painted cart. And Larry has been butt-headed ever since. Every time John gets on your nerves, have him paint a room, re-arrange the furniture, go out for more ice cream, or just go —- himself. Baby will arrive when baby is darned good and ready.
Morning/Afternoon John…
Any update? How’s Heidi doing?
I saw this article in the LA Times and thought you might want to know about it…FYI
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus10-2009may10,0,3829774.column
Take care.
David
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to John and Heidi!!!
I’m just off the CARNIVAL CONQUEST and was she WONDERFUL!!! John you were the talk of the many conversations… Well, rather THINGY was!!! “Any News?” was the greeting whenever we’d meet another Blogger!!!
I wore the Blogger’s Shirt and the Lanyard, so I was easy to spot… But at dining tables for Breakfast, lunch, and dinner — folks would ask… “Do we know yet?? Is Thingy born?”
I have compliments galore for the cruise and the ship!!! The CARNIVAL CONQUEST crew is AMAZING!!! Yes, we lost Cozumel as a port… but WOW!!! Did we have a BLAST!!!
God Bless you both — all THREE of you!!!
Love you!
Lambie
Dear John,
On our Miracle cruise back in ’07, the karoke host was a young woman named MARINA. Her personality and energy was amazing and some of us decided to book our next crusie on the ship that she is currently on. Could you please let me know if she is still with Carnival and which ship? She charmed so many of us and we would be so sad if we learned she has left the fleet! Thank you for your time and best of luck once again to you and Heidi and your little one! (hopefully she will be in delivery as I write this!) God bless…
I don’t know what to say about pregnancy “problems”. Me and my wife have spoken about such things several times, but we actually still don’t feel ready to take the “final” step. We sometimes take our nieces and spend time with them but it is just for a day or two. It is nothing compared to waking in the night to feed the child and change diapers… And a lot more.
Dear John,
I am hoping that you will be able to forward a message to Jaime and Kirk. We sailed on the Pride with them last week and my 8 yr old became really attached to them both. She would like to get in touch with them. Please forward my email address to them both. Thanks
Jenn Kennedy