Comments on: Drink? http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/07/10/drink/ The official blog of Carnival Cruise Line's Sr. cruise director, John Heald Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:12:12 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Shaun Powell http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/07/10/drink/#comment-61515 Shaun Powell Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:18:26 +0000 http://johnhealdsblog.com/?p=9806#comment-61515 Hey John nice post. So which brand of Cohiba do you like? I like Fonseca No. 1 a lot.A tripple cap and a wrapper with very thin veins make the cigar really attractive.Out of a box few cigars have tight draw. The burn is rather straight.The second third of the cigar is particularly delicious. Its smooth and creamy.If the cigar is at least one year old then you will get a strong flavor of cinnamon and black pepper.The price is according to its taste. This is an interesting option. Hey John nice post. So which brand of Cohiba do you like? I like Fonseca No. 1 a lot.A tripple cap and a wrapper with very thin veins make the cigar really attractive.Out of a box few cigars have tight draw. The burn is rather straight.The second third of the cigar is particularly delicious. Its smooth and creamy.If the cigar is at least one year old then you will get a strong flavor of cinnamon and black pepper.The price is according to its taste. This is an interesting option.

]]> By: gosmoky http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/07/10/drink/#comment-60436 gosmoky Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:47:00 +0000 http://johnhealdsblog.com/?p=9806#comment-60436 LOL. The "white flag waving" comment had me rolling, LOL... LOL. The “white flag waving” comment had me rolling, LOL…

]]> By: Tammy http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/07/10/drink/#comment-60303 Tammy Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:06:46 +0000 http://johnhealdsblog.com/?p=9806#comment-60303 Hello, can you please clarify the info regarding the two parties on the ship. First the Captains then the Farewell.... Do they still offer complimentary drinks for 1 hr then they added 2 hrs of dicounted drinks? And this is basically done twice on the ship? Is there a difference between the two parties? Is this something in effect right now?(sept we sail on the Splendor) Our board is a little confused, I'm hoping you can clear this up for us. Thanks, Tammy Oakley, CA Hello, can you please clarify the info regarding the two parties on the ship. First the Captains then the Farewell….
Do they still offer complimentary drinks for 1 hr then they added 2 hrs of dicounted drinks?
And this is basically done twice on the ship? Is there a difference between the two parties?
Is this something in effect right now?(sept we sail on the Splendor)
Our board is a little confused, I’m hoping you can clear this up for us.
Thanks,
Tammy
Oakley, CA

]]> By: The Bears - Princess Barb & Carl http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/07/10/drink/#comment-60297 The Bears - Princess Barb & Carl Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:13:33 +0000 http://johnhealdsblog.com/?p=9806#comment-60297 Hi John, Your little ray of sunshine "Kye" gets more beautiful with each picture you share with us!!! Hi John,
Your little ray of sunshine “Kye” gets more beautiful with each picture you share with us!!!

]]> By: Matt A http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/07/10/drink/#comment-60279 Matt A Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:35:20 +0000 http://johnhealdsblog.com/?p=9806#comment-60279 John, We just returned this evening from a wonderful vacation aboard the Freedom. My wife, daughter and I are still laughing at Dick Little, and the talent show "story time." Yes, even the drunk girls on the first night added a few good laughs. (You handled the situation perfectly--Got a few good laughs out of the situation and got them off stage before it got ugly.) We are going through detox right now since we got used to eating every 3 to 4 hours. Got home from the airport, opened the fridge and it was empty. You mentioned in an earlier blog about drinking...My daughter participated in the Circle C program. Unfortunately, some of the other children suffer from poor parenting--Kids ages 13 thru 16 were getting a hold of liquor. My wife and I notified the Camp Carnival staff, Guest Services and security. Some of the kids drank in excess and got sick on the Promenade Deck. Thankfully, our daughter confided in us and told us what was going on. This is NOT Carnival's fault, but I do think that some stiff penalties should be handed out to the children and/or parents. Again, we had a wonderful time. Thank you to you and the staff aboard the Freedom. We have been on several Carnival cruises, and look forward to our next voyage soon! Best Regards, Matt Harrisburg, PA John,

We just returned this evening from a wonderful vacation aboard the Freedom. My wife, daughter and I are still laughing at Dick Little, and the talent show “story time.” Yes, even the drunk girls on the first night added a few good laughs. (You handled the situation perfectly–Got a few good laughs out of the situation and got them off stage before it got ugly.)

We are going through detox right now since we got used to eating every 3 to 4 hours. Got home from the airport, opened the fridge and it was empty.

You mentioned in an earlier blog about drinking…My daughter participated in the Circle C program. Unfortunately, some of the other children suffer from poor parenting–Kids ages 13 thru 16 were getting a hold of liquor. My wife and I notified the Camp Carnival staff, Guest Services and security. Some of the kids drank in excess and got sick on the Promenade Deck. Thankfully, our daughter confided in us and told us what was going on. This is NOT Carnival’s fault, but I do think that some stiff penalties should be handed out to the children and/or parents.

Again, we had a wonderful time. Thank you to you and the staff aboard the Freedom. We have been on several Carnival cruises, and look forward to our next voyage soon!

Best Regards,
Matt
Harrisburg, PA

]]> By: Kathy http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/07/10/drink/#comment-60272 Kathy Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:02:22 +0000 http://johnhealdsblog.com/?p=9806#comment-60272 Hi John, Please respond, I am so excited to hear that you are going to be on the Splendor next year. Do you know when your schedules will be coming out, because I have a cruise booked for Jan 10, 2010, but I am willing to change it to when you will be on board. That is how much it would mean to me to sail with the best CD in the history of cruising. I am already excited just to cruise on the Splendor itself, but to have you as the CD will make it even more special, so as soon as you find out when you will be assigned to that beautiful ship, please post is ASAP, so I can change my booking. I tried the link to the Carnival Dream page but it kept asking for a user name and password, so I could not get in. I tried my user name and password for the Carnival website, but it would not accept that, so you may want to check into the problem. It won't let me look at anything that has to do with the Carnival Dream. Thank you for posting picture of Kye, she is getting cuter and cuter everyday. Please also thank Heidi for sending these beautiful pictures so we get to see how she is blossoming from a Rosebud into a beautiful Rose. From your bloggy thingy fan, Kathy Hi John,

Please respond,

I am so excited to hear that you are going to be on the Splendor next year. Do you know when your schedules will be coming out, because I have a cruise booked for Jan 10, 2010, but I am willing to change it to when you will be on board. That is how much it would mean to me to sail with the best CD in the history of cruising. I am already excited just to cruise on the Splendor itself, but to have you as the CD will make it even more special, so as soon as you find out when you will be assigned to that beautiful ship, please post is ASAP, so I can change my booking.

I tried the link to the Carnival Dream page but it kept asking for a user name and password, so I could not get in. I tried my user name and password for the Carnival website, but it would not accept that, so you may want to check into the problem. It won’t let me look at anything that has to do with the Carnival Dream.

Thank you for posting picture of Kye, she is getting cuter and cuter everyday. Please also thank Heidi for sending these beautiful pictures so we get to see how she is blossoming from a Rosebud into a beautiful Rose.

From your bloggy thingy fan,
Kathy

]]> By: Erin W. http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/07/10/drink/#comment-60259 Erin W. Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:30:45 +0000 http://johnhealdsblog.com/?p=9806#comment-60259 Dear John – Please Reply!! Erin W here with a few questions for you! I hope that you are enjoying the time as CD on the Freedom (sorry the Carnival Freedom!!) but I know you are missing little Kye . I have 3 questions for you and I hope you have 3 answers!! But first I must tell you that it’s a coincidence we are set to meet on the Dream in NYC (oh Buggar, the Carnival Dream!) since you said that said you have not sailed out of NYC since you took out the Carnival Destiny – well that was the first ship I ever sailed on in 1997! It was a HS graduation present and at the time was the largest ship – My nephew likes to say this was his first carnival cruise as my sister was 6months pregnant with him at the time! After a climb up Dunns River Falls in Jamaica (the stairs not the rocks!) she went into premature labor on the vessel – She almost had to be flown to Cuba as the ship was unable to handle a preemie - But the wonderful medical staff onboard got things sorted out and we were able to stay on the vessel for the remainder of the sailing! Now Dominic (who is now 11) is about all things Carnival and will be taking his first official cruise with me on my next sailing (which he still insists is his second!)– Could you send him a little surprise form the Brand Ambassador – it would make his year! – Now here we go with my questions! 1. It seems that since the early saver discount came out that Carnival has not really had any sales (there used to always be a one day sale or a sale for this or that) and are getting rid of fare discounts such as the Welcome home credit. While I think the early saver is sometimes a good savings (I have seen it be only $20 difference from the Fun Select) it come with a lot of risk (for lack of a better word) and is also not beneficial for the travelers who can’t or don’t book way out in advance – Is Carnival planning to stop having sales altogether and only offer the early saver? For those of us who a frequent sailors and like to book one soon after returning or just last minute – what is the benefit to us?? 2. Why is it that if I book through my PVP that I cannot pay online? This bothers me because I hate having to call in to make payments when My PVP is at work and reading my CC number over and over to them (Especially when i have multiple cruises booked). I was told that the pay online feature is only available to those who book online – however most times I can’t get my past guest discount (if available) online – it doesn’t show up in a lot of sailings online – I guess this is question 2b – why doesn’t the past guest discount show up when available if I am signed in as a past guest and have the box checked to search for it? You can see your reservation in your profile and it has a link to pay however once you fill out your CC number it says you are not able to pay online. 3. And lastly are you going to be posting more interviews with the Dream take out team? I ask because while on the Glory I met one of the best social hosts – the very energetic, the very fun, the very tall Amy B!! She told us that she was going to be on the inaugural Dream team and I hadn’t seen an interview with her – unless I missed it?? That’s all from me – sorry this turned out so long but I figured to get it all out at one time instead of multiple postings! Thanks a bunch - Erin Dear John – Please Reply!!
Erin W here with a few questions for you! I hope that you are enjoying the time as CD on the Freedom (sorry the Carnival Freedom!!) but I know you are missing little Kye . I have 3 questions for you and I hope you have 3 answers!! But first I must tell you that it’s a coincidence we are set to meet on the Dream in NYC (oh Buggar, the Carnival Dream!) since you said that said you have not sailed out of NYC since you took out the Carnival Destiny – well that was the first ship I ever sailed on in 1997! It was a HS graduation present and at the time was the largest ship – My nephew likes to say this was his first carnival cruise as my sister was 6months pregnant with him at the time! After a climb up Dunns River Falls in Jamaica (the stairs not the rocks!) she went into premature labor on the vessel – She almost had to be flown to Cuba as the ship was unable to handle a preemie – But the wonderful medical staff onboard got things sorted out and we were able to stay on the vessel for the remainder of the sailing! Now Dominic (who is now 11) is about all things Carnival and will be taking his first official cruise with me on my next sailing (which he still insists is his second!)– Could you send him a little surprise form the Brand Ambassador – it would make his year! – Now here we go with my questions!
1. It seems that since the early saver discount came out that Carnival has not really had any sales (there used to always be a one day sale or a sale for this or that) and are getting rid of fare discounts such as the Welcome home credit. While I think the early saver is sometimes a good savings (I have seen it be only $20 difference from the Fun Select) it come with a lot of risk (for lack of a better word) and is also not beneficial for the travelers who can’t or don’t book way out in advance – Is Carnival planning to stop having sales altogether and only offer the early saver? For those of us who a frequent sailors and like to book one soon after returning or just last minute – what is the benefit to us??
2. Why is it that if I book through my PVP that I cannot pay online? This bothers me because I hate having to call in to make payments when My PVP is at work and reading my CC number over and over to them (Especially when i have multiple cruises booked). I was told that the pay online feature is only available to those who book online – however most times I can’t get my past guest discount (if available) online – it doesn’t show up in a lot of sailings online – I guess this is question 2b – why doesn’t the past guest discount show up when available if I am signed in as a past guest and have the box checked to search for it? You can see your reservation in your profile and it has a link to pay however once you fill out your CC number it says you are not able to pay online.
3. And lastly are you going to be posting more interviews with the Dream take out team? I ask because while on the Glory I met one of the best social hosts – the very energetic, the very fun, the very tall Amy B!! She told us that she was going to be on the inaugural Dream team and I hadn’t seen an interview with her – unless I missed it??

That’s all from me – sorry this turned out so long but I figured to get it all out at one time instead of multiple postings! Thanks a bunch – Erin

]]> By: Michael Dankberg http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/07/10/drink/#comment-60253 Michael Dankberg Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:54:41 +0000 http://johnhealdsblog.com/?p=9806#comment-60253 John, Fantastic July 4th cruise aboard the Freedom. You are fantastic and added so much to the cruise, same goes for your staff. Well done John,

Fantastic July 4th cruise aboard the Freedom. You are fantastic and added so much to the cruise, same goes for your staff.

Well done

]]> By: Julie Anne http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/07/10/drink/#comment-60243 Julie Anne Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:08:34 +0000 http://johnhealdsblog.com/?p=9806#comment-60243 Dear John, (Please reply) I've been reading your blog for several months, and it certainly made me want to cruise again. In fact I'm booked for the 10/24 sailing of the Carnival Freedom. I'm a bit bummed out that I'm going to miss you, not once, but twice. You see, I live in Tampa, and last year went on the Carnival Legend (1st Carnival Cruise, third cruise over all) and enjoyed it so much I wanted to do it again. Last year I took my Mom with me, because it cost only the taxes to add her (as the single rate was double the double rate). However she is pretty much confined to her scooter, so we have to have a handicapped cabin. This year I decided to take Dad too, and so needed a handicapped cabin for 3, which doesn't seem to exist on the Carnival Legend. So I booked us on the Carnival Freedom, which does have a few 3 person handicaps available. Unfortunately, you are leaving the Carnival Freedom before we cruise and going to the Carnival Legend :( I do have a few questions for you though, since you know the Carnival Freedom so well: 1. Cabin 1001 is sometimes shown as an inside, and sometimes shown as an obstructed ocean view. Can you tell me which it is? 2. What is the best way to get assigned a table in the dining room close to an entrance? Last year we were at the very back of the boat (with a wonderful window, wonderful waiters, and wonderful companions). Because of her very limited mobility, Mom would drive her scooter back to within 10 feet of the table, and then the waiter had to drive her scooter away to get it out of the path. It was cumbersome for all involved, though we enjoyed the dinners themselves very much. 3. My mother & I are past guests now, but I seem to have two past guest numbers and she doesn't have one at all. When my TA booked us, the Carnival rep (in the Special Requirements department) apparently looked up my past guest number, and that's on my paperwork, but they didn't look up hers. The past guest number they put down, does not match the past guest number shown by my name when I visit the Carnival website. In fact they are two different lengths, which seems weird to me. Mom will probably never make platinum (she'll be 78 when we cruise this year) but if I read correctly, as a past guest our sail & sign cards should look different from my father's, and if it doesn't she'll wonder why. I tried contacting the past guest department, but I never got a response. Can you help? Finally, a couple of comments. I was surprised by the person who wanted a sharps container in their cabin 'from the booking'. My surprise was because our cabin had just that. We had to fill out the Special Requirements paperwork for her scooter and for my CPAP, and it asks about injectable medication. I guess they picked it up from that form. I hope Carnival stays around a long time. Otherwise I will have to consider myself a jinx. Both of the other two cruise lines I've been on (Premier & Delta Queen) have folded after I went on them. Julie Anne Dear John, (Please reply)

I’ve been reading your blog for several months, and it certainly made me want to cruise again. In fact I’m booked for the 10/24 sailing of the Carnival Freedom. I’m a bit bummed out that I’m going to miss you, not once, but twice.

You see, I live in Tampa, and last year went on the Carnival Legend (1st Carnival Cruise, third cruise over all) and enjoyed it so much I wanted to do it again. Last year I took my Mom with me, because it cost only the taxes to add her (as the single rate was double the double rate). However she is pretty much confined to her scooter, so we have to have a handicapped cabin. This year I decided to take Dad too, and so needed a handicapped cabin for 3, which doesn’t seem to exist on the Carnival Legend. So I booked us on the Carnival Freedom, which does have a few 3 person handicaps available. Unfortunately, you are leaving the Carnival Freedom before we cruise and going to the Carnival Legend :(

I do have a few questions for you though, since you know the Carnival Freedom so well:

1. Cabin 1001 is sometimes shown as an inside, and sometimes shown as an obstructed ocean view. Can you tell me which it is?

2. What is the best way to get assigned a table in the dining room close to an entrance? Last year we were at the very back of the boat (with a wonderful window, wonderful waiters, and wonderful companions). Because of her very limited mobility, Mom would drive her scooter back to within 10 feet of the table, and then the waiter had to drive her scooter away to get it out of the path. It was cumbersome for all involved, though we enjoyed the dinners themselves very much.

3. My mother & I are past guests now, but I seem to have two past guest numbers and she doesn’t have one at all. When my TA booked us, the Carnival rep (in the Special Requirements department) apparently looked up my past guest number, and that’s on my paperwork, but they didn’t look up hers. The past guest number they put down, does not match the past guest number shown by my name when I visit the Carnival website. In fact they are two different lengths, which seems weird to me. Mom will probably never make platinum (she’ll be 78 when we cruise this year) but if I read correctly, as a past guest our sail & sign cards should look different from my father’s, and if it doesn’t she’ll wonder why. I tried contacting the past guest department, but I never got a response. Can you help?

Finally, a couple of comments. I was surprised by the person who wanted a sharps container in their cabin ‘from the booking’. My surprise was because our cabin had just that. We had to fill out the Special Requirements paperwork for her scooter and for my CPAP, and it asks about injectable medication. I guess they picked it up from that form.

I hope Carnival stays around a long time. Otherwise I will have to consider myself a jinx. Both of the other two cruise lines I’ve been on (Premier & Delta Queen) have folded after I went on them.

Julie Anne

]]> By: MelanieG http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/07/10/drink/#comment-60240 MelanieG Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:24:20 +0000 http://johnhealdsblog.com/?p=9806#comment-60240 John please reply, It seems that I have another question with regards to our Oct 3rd Med sailing of the Dream. Is it true that we will sail past Stomboli in the evening to see that Lava? I would be super excited if this were true....I also wanted to mention that the pics you post of the Indian Food had my mouth watering!! Thanks Mel John please reply,

It seems that I have another question with regards to our Oct 3rd Med sailing of the Dream. Is it true that we will sail past Stomboli in the evening to see that Lava? I would be super excited if this were true….I also wanted to mention that the pics you post of the Indian Food had my mouth watering!!

Thanks

Mel

]]>