Comments on: iBlogs And Other Gadgets

By: Bill Bartmann

Bill Bartmann — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:58:18 +0000

I’m so glad I found this site…Keep up the good work I read a lot of blogs on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say GREAT blog. Thanks,

A definite great read…:)

-Bill-Bartmann

By: Fruit Basket Review Guy

Fruit Basket Review Guy — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:43:22 +0000

That’s the great thing about fruit baskets is that they are never expected but always appreciated.

By: Steve Roehrer

Steve Roehrer — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:36:25 +0000

John, Just a quick note on the wonderful time we had aboard your Carnival Pride sailing out of Baltimore to the Bahamas. This was our first family cruise, Wife Sandi and my three boys ages 10,14 &16. I cant wait to book the next one. Hats off to your ships crew, Especially Matt, he was a blast.

Regards,

Steve R.

By: robert

robert — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:59:16 +0000

Nice TV John!

Bobbyfk

By: Joko Joan

Joko Joan — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 04:03:13 +0000

Dear John: (Please reply ASAP):

Finally – in 7 more days our group of 50 will be boarding Carnival’s Glory. This has been a tough year having had to cancel our 50-day South American trip on Carnival’s Splendor back in January. There are a few things I need to ask you:

(1) As the Group Leader, where does the Maitre’ de usually hold court to verify seating arrangements? I don’t know as if I can deal with my fellow cruisers as well as you do and hope things go smoothly.

I don’t feel that checking on seating arrangements is the job of a Sr. Cruise Director and I would never dream of asking you to do the Maitre’ de’s (sp.)job, and since this is my first time as GL, I would like to see that everything goes well for them and for me, if they are happy then my hubby & I will be happy and then can enjoy our vacation also.

We will be celebrating 50 years of wedded bliss on this cruise and my dear husband, who had been a NY Firefighter for 22 years, had always treated me so outstandingly throughout the years. He has given me 5 wonderful children and has helped me care for 35 foster babies, that I want this year’s cruise to be as stress-free as possible. He even has us booked also on Thanksgiving AND Christmas cruises, bringing us up, incidentally to having sailed on 50 cruises by the end of December. (What a guy!) He’s always made sure that I had a wonderful cruise and he has given me more than I can ever repay, and I want very much to show him how much he is loved and appreciated. (If you have any suggestions of how I might accomplish this – it would be greatly appreciated.

(2) Also, I think I’m supposed to get in touch with the Group Tour Representative so as to make sure that we can arrange to get the same colored debarking tags so that we can all leave the ship around the same time to catch our bus back home. Could you direct me as to how to get in touch with him/her?

We have a balcony cabin right under the Lido deck. I have visions of gaining 20 extra lbs. just by sitting on the balcony and smelling all the delicious smells wafting from upstairs. I’m always fearful that someday we will board as passengers and leave as cargo!!!

Thank you for all you help and I send you, Heidi and precious Kye all our thanks for what you do for all of us. You have made us into a wonderful Carnival family.

By: cindy56

cindy56 — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:12:36 +0000

Hi Fred!

I whole heartedly agree with Big Ed & cruiz2some. I have been on 5 Carnival cruises and although I have been tempted to try another one (maybe Princess which is part of the carnival line) my motto is, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Hope this helps! Oh, by the way, I’m also in my 50’s.

Cindy

By: rusli zainal sang visioner

rusli zainal sang visioner — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 09:24:17 +0000

funny story, keep share ya…

By: LadyJag

LadyJag — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:12:48 +0000

Dear John,
Thanks for the iLaugh! You crack me up. I love the pictures!

Laura

By: Bill Russell

Bill Russell — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:42:22 +0000

John, Please Reply (but on this topic I know you will not.)

So sorry to say we cancelled our Dec. 3 cruise on the Dream. Part timing, part financial, and mostly fear of the Swine Flu. We had to do it by Sept 19 to get our deposit back. Would have waited longer but $850 is a lot of money today. Hope to cruise next year, but, it will not be the same cruise. I wish Carnival would do that same trip again and often.

Hope to see you again.

Bill and Joan Russell

By: John O

John O — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:58:16 +0000

Dear John – PLEASE REPLY
Just off of the wonderful Carnival Glory and I wanted to drop you a line to tell you how it went and to sing you and Carnival’s praises. Some of your readers may think this is a paid endorsement for Carnival…it isn’t. Carnival is just that good.
Where do I begin? Our party consisted of my wife Robin, my daughter Lauren, her friend Hanna, our friend Carmen and her daughter Jessica. Oh, they let me go as well.
Embarkation was smooth and we were on the ship in record time. I went straight to the Guest Services desk to drop of my gifts to the various staff members. I was just happy to not have to carry them anymore! I had each gift in a separate gift bag and my wife had labeled them as to who they were supposed to go to, chocolates for the Guest Services Staff, Peanuts for Hotel Director, Wine for the Captain and Staff Captain. With that task completed it was time to partake of a Funship Special. I think I have a picture of me having one of those on every cruise we have been on – tradition is important you know. I even have one of the original Carnival drink glasses…you know…one made from real glass!
I stopped by our cabin before meeting up again with my family and met Humberto (Bert to his friends), our cabin steward. He was very nice and we chatted for a bit. It turns out that he has been with Carnival for 21 years. That says a lot for Carnival and how they treat their employees when you see someone in the service industry work for one company that long. I was happy to see that the decorations I had ordered for my wife’s birthday were up already. Very festive! My mother had ordered the Coronas and Carnival Cooler gift pack for my wife so I asked Bert if he would fill the cooler with ice to chill the beer. Another unexpected surprise was a bottle of champagne and a fruit basket in each cabin. The labels said they were from the Hotel Director but I have a feeling that you had a hand in that…thanks John!
I met up with Robin and Carmen and we grabbed a burger on the Lido deck and had another Funship Special. I had not mentioned to Robin that I had stopped by the room as I didn’t want her to go there until everything was set for the big surprise. I slipped away again and checked on the room to see if Bert had the beer on ice and to see if our luggage had arrived. Not only was the beer on ice, it was on ice in a big cooler that Bert brought to the room. You know, the kind of cooler that you can’t bring on board the ship. He had also iced down some Mountain Dews I brought, the champagne you gave us and the wine we brought for dinner. Bert was the MAN! For the rest of the cruise that cooler always had ice in it.
After finding my wife and daughter again I took them to the room and showed her the surprises. She was blown away and loved everything!
That night we went to the Golden Restaurant for dinner. As we sat down, the Maitre’ D came by and said “you must be the Oglesby’s, you guys are famous”. To this day I’m still not sure what he meant by that but I can definitely say we were treated like VIP’s the entire cruise. Our server was Rosanna and her assistant was Victorino. Rosanna was the first time we have ever had a lady as Head Waiter/Waitress on a cruise and she was top notch to say the least. Absolutely the best service we have ever experienced. She was adorable with a funny, vivacious personality. She became part of the family and we would have packed her in our luggage and took her home if we hadn’t bought so many souvenirs.
I want to take a moment and talk about the food and about meeting the Head Chef. The food on the Carnival Glory was OUTSTANDING! Not good. Not great. It was OUTSTANDING. The only competition the Main Dining room has is the Emerald Room Steakhouse and I swear the Main Dining Room can hold its own. Absolutely the best food we have experienced in recent memory. We never had a dish we didn’t love. Did I mention the food was OUTSTANDING? One night Chef D’Souza came to the table and introduced himself and said that John Heald asked that he be look out for us. He asked what we types of food we liked and proceeded to prepare a pasta dish that we are all still dreaming about to this day. It had shrimp, mussels and scallops in a light tomato sauce. Unbelievable! All of the tables around us were eying the plates with envy. Speaking of the Emerald Room, we had dinner there one night and it was superb. For those who have eaten there in the past I only have two words for you…Lobster Bisque. Did you smile?
The night of the Captain’s Gala dinner I stood in line and introduced myself to Captain Nogara. He was very appreciative of the wine and we talked at length. He is a very patient man as we kept getting interrupted by people demanding that they get his picture now, no matter what he was doing. It certainly seems as if wine was the international language! He said his wife was from California (I thought you were kidding about that) and that she was trying to turn him on to California wines. He was thrilled to see a Barberra wine as that is a traditional Italian wine. He told me a funny story about you. He mentioned something about the passengers congratulating him on being promoted from Gondolier to ship’s captain. Too funny! Later in the cruise Captain Nogara sent us a wonderful Italian Chianti to try. The Staff Captain sent a fabulous Pinot Grigio and the Hotel Director sent a bottle of our choice. Please express my appreciation to all for their hospitality. I wrote each officer a note before I left the ship, but they can’t here it enough from me….they are top notch.
Speaking of the Hotel Director, I met Anuj at the Captain’s Party. He is a very nice gentleman and seemed to really appreciate the peanuts. Seems my fears were for naught as both the Hotel Director and his girlfriend who helped him eat them survived. Thanks for your help there John.
Finally I would like to that James Charlton, or as my daughter has decided to rename him – Lord Charlton. One of the best Cruise Directors out there (present company excluded). We met him for the first time at the Captain’s Gala and he never forgot our names. Since he is the Energizer Bunny, we saw him 24/7 and everywhere but our bathroom. He is a very personable young man who will be handed the big chair soon. Oh, big props to his amazing Glory Ninja’s, you know who you are!
Did I mention the food was fantastic?
It was a fabulous vacation and I really felt the warmth from the entire crew. When you travel on a Carnival ship it really does feel like traveling with family, only better since we are not sharing a bathroom.
I can’t thank you enough John. Whatever you said to the staff must have been a doozy since I can’t imagine being treated any better. THANKS!