Hi everyone. John sent in a video blog today from the Carnival Dream. Enjoy.
Steph 
Filed under: Tales from the Ship, Travel, Video | Tagged: Carnival Dream
Goodmorning From John
Posted on November 13, 2009 by John Heald
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To: Stephanie #343
Hi, Stephanie! We know you & John have been super busy lately and since we are sailing from Pt. Everglades Nov. 21 on the Freedom (6 days from today!) we are wondering if you could find out something for us…please… John mentioned wks. ago that there was a possibility that he would be onboard the Freedom or the Sensation on Nov. 21. He wasn’t sure at that time…. Could you find out if he indeed will be on the Freedom? It will be great to see him personally again! Thank you for your attention and cooperation.
Juan & Maria Santana from Miami Beach
JOHN – Please reply
Hey John, (sorry this is long)
We just got back from our Carnival Liberty sailing. Our schedule was reversed because of the hurricane, however the first night we had winds of 70 knots, which I believe is around 80 mph??? Holy hell—our ship was a rockin’!!!!
Just wanted to pass the word along that we took the behind the fun tour and it was great. I can’t remember the Captain’s name, but he is Carnival’s senior Captain (at least for two more months, then he retires) and very entertaining. He said that he can not control the weather, but he can influence it! The tour was worth the money; however I recommend more of an advance warning that there are several stair climbings to be expected. My mother had wanted to go, but decided not to, which was a good thing afterwards due to the all of the climbing. My wife wants to know if the towel folding machine could be found on ebay?!?
The “safety drill” was exactly as it has been in the past, except with no life jacket–which was good; however seated in a lounge like you did on the Carnival Leg-End would have been more nicer!
Butch, the cruise director, was one of the better cruise directors we have had (12th cruise); however he needs to watch out for his assistant – (Chris, I think?) he is hilarious!! He has an annoying laugh, but fun to watch dance, he sits with the guests at different game shows and heckles the social hosts–a riot!!!
I did want to point out, and hopefully you will pass word along—our dining room waiter (Silver restaurant, deck 4 Starboard side) Leonardo A(forgot the rest) was outstanding, along with his assistant waiter. He was very knowledgeable with the Carnival product and promoted “carnival.com” if we had any more questions about different ships, etc. He has 16 years with Carnival and had nothing negative to say. He continued his excellent service from the dining room to the Lido deck service for lunch, as he would go out of his way to see if we needed anything special, or to simply ask how our day was going.
I only have one complaint, and of course its the same complaint that I have with all of the Conquest-class ships….PLEASE MOVE THE INTERNET CAFE AWAY FROM THE CIGAR BAR!!!!!! I noticed a door that leads to outdoor deck on deck 4. Perhaps an alternative entrance could be utilized?? Also, we were not able to get to your blog site without being charged minutes. We could get to Carnival.com, but not the “johnhealdsblog.com”.
Anyway, I can’t complain much, as my wife won the free-cruise raffle!! And something else that I normally gripe about, which has nothing to do with Carnival, but something that gripes you too…..Customs/Immigration/Border Patrol…..picture this: We have a late flight, so we stay on the ship as late as we can. We hear the final all-call, get off the ship call. We have out luggage in hand, make our way to the “cattle lines” of people waiting to go through customs. The officer asks for the customs form, asks how many people were traveling with me, I said 3, she looked for the three people, then told me to enjoy my afternoon. She didn’t ask for ID, birth certificates, passport, nothing. I went from deck 3 on the ship to the streets outside of the terminal in less than 5 minutes. So now I wonder, was she tired of being there all day, or are we slowly getting back to the pre 9/11 days and easing up on security?
Anyway, just wanted to make sure you saw the note of praise for our dining room waiter and assistant waiter, and that the ACD has a lot of potential—actually, shouldn’t all of the cruise director’s be a little worried this week, that all of the ships are being entertained by ACD’s—life goes on without the CD’s? Haha, thanks for your great blog thingy.
Austin
Hickory, NC
Response to Mike’s question:
This is what John previously posted regarding the Elegant Nights on the 12/3 sailing.
THU PORT CANAVERAL (ORLANDO), FL 4:00 PM
FRI FUN DAY AT SEA – elegant night
SAT FUN DAY AT SEA -
SUN ANTIGUA 09:00 AM 06:00 PM – possible steak house
MON TORTOLA, BVI 07:00 AM 06:00 PM – possible steak house
TUE ST. THOMAS, USVI 07:00 AM 06:00 PM
WED SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO 07:00 AM 03:00 PM – elegant night 2
THU GRAND TURK 11:00 AM 07:00 PM
Hi John,
Don’t apologize for not having time to write a blog.
We know you’re really busy right now. Enjoy the cruise director conference and say Hi to Butch for us. From different comments on Cruise Critic it seems there is no policy on the past guest pins for Platinum guests. Some guests get them and others don’t and the Guest Services desk doesn’t have any idea about this.
Did you get my e-mail? Do you have an answer for us yet?
Thanks!
Linda & George
DREAM IS AWSOME
John The old ones are the best, if we get a chance to talk on the Dream 3rd Dec. cruse ask me about the two Nuns with a strang hobby.
And they say Vaudeville is dead !!!! Budda boom !
Kathy and Paul
Hi John. Please reply when you get the chance.
My husband and I just returned from our Miracle cruise 11/4 – 11/12/09. We had a great time. Everything was perfect from the food to the shows to the ports to the wonderful and friendly service of every member of the crew we encountered. I just love Miracle and was so happy to get back to her. She did not disappoint and I cannot wait until I book my next Carnival cruise.
You were right when you said we would love Malcolm as the CD. He was very funny and very informative and we really enjoyed him. He has a wonderful sense of humor. He really made me laugh over and over again. He also did a tribute to our American Hero’s on 11/11 which was Veterans Day and the night of our farewell party. He asked all the vets in the audience to stand up then invited them to come on the stage with him. There he had each one introduce him/herself, tell their rank and their type of service and how long each of them served. They all got a standing ovation and it was a wonderful way to remember our Hero’s on their special day.
Malcolm also organized the “On Deck for the Cure Walk” for breast cancer like you said he would. I was very glad to see that this was going to happen and thank you again for sending word along to Malcolm to see it done. Unfortunately, even though I did make my donation to the cause, I missed the walk.
Going through the capers while sitting on deck that day I noticed that the walk was taking place and the meet time was 11:45am outside the Bacchus dining room. You know I wanted to do this walk because someone close to me had just been diagnosed and had her surgery just before I left for the trip. So I went to the meeting point where I saw several people already waiting there with their walk T-shirts and wrist bands. “How did you get those already?” I asked. They told me that an announcement had been made over the PA system the night before saying to go to the Formalities shop to sign up for the walk. I never heard that announcement so I ran up to the Formalities shop. I was only gone about 5 minutes but by the time I got back the group was gone. I assumed that for a walk they would be going around either deck 10 or the walking track on deck 11 so I ran up there to catch up. I was wrong; they were nowhere to be seen. I never did find them and completely missed the walk. I later found out they were walking around deck 3. I felt bad that I had missed the walk but at least I got to make my donation to the cause. But I was really annoyed that I never heard the announcement.
That brings me to the only thing I have a beef with the entire week. Two times during our stay the alarms went off in the middle of the night in our cabins, each time at around 2am because someone was ill or hurt. It was very jarring and quite frightening and each time I had a very difficult time getting back to sleep. Now, do not get me wrong. When a person is ill or injured or in trouble the crew, the medical staff, the officers, absolutely everyone who can help NEEDS to know about it immediately. However, I do not see the point of waking up every passenger on board at 2am as if there was anything we could do to help. They were also the only announcements that were made over the PA system directly into the cabins. Regular, routine announcements, the ones we really wanted to hear like the announcements Malcolm made about activities or changes in schedules and/or the announcements from the Captain about weather updates etc. are broadcast on the PA system on the open decks and in the hall ways only. I missed basically every announcement they made when I was in my cabin with the TV on or if I was in the bathroom. The only way to guarantee that you hear the announcements while in your cabin is to keep the door propped open. A little awkward if you’re trying to dress. I missed the On Deck for the Cure walk because I never heard the announcement. But I on deck 7 knew at 2am that the ship’s doctor was needed on deck 5!
I just don’t get it! It was really annoying and the only negative thing about the entire week. It would be very nice if they could figure out a way to re-route the announcements so that the announcements that come into the cabin are the one’s passengers really need to hear like the CD and Captain announcements and true emergencies, like if there is a fire or if there is a true ships emergency every passenger needs to know about. The other announcements should be in the crew and medical quarters where the people who are trained to help can hear them but not disturb every passenger on the ship.
But all in all it was a wonderful, fabulous and unforgettable cruise. Well worth the 11 months wait to get there. I can’t wait to go back!
Hey John,
Great videos and I love Me Shell too! Hope to see on the Dream tommorrow!
Mike & Loretta Brown
What days are the Formal Nights on the Dec 3 Drea cruise. I want to book the Steakhouse on a night that is not formal dress
I just want to let you know how great Guest Services were on the Valor. We(me, 3 daughters and my sister) were on the 11/08/09 sailing. We received word late evening on 11/10 that my mother-in-law had passed away. Not only were we notified that she passed away but that my sister-in-law who has power of attorney had already made arrangements and refused to make any changes. The wake would be the 12th and the funeral the 13th. My one daughter was very close to her grandmother and would have been devastated if she could not have been at her grandmother’s funeral. At 10:30pm we were at Guest Services asking for help to get home as soon as possible. They went to work on it immediately and offered us the use of the phone at Guest Services for any and all calls we needed to make back home. Within a short time we knew we could not leave out of Roatan on the 11th. but we could leave out of Belize on the 12th. Guest Services arranged for us to be cleared thru customs on the ship, our luggage brought from our cabins to the tender area and for us to be on an early tender to port and for the Carnival Rep at the dock in Belize to meet us and have our ride waiting to get us to the airport in Belize.
We arrived in St. Louis at around 8:00 pm on the 12th and were able to make it the funeral home to see grandma for about an hour and of course we were able to attend the funeral on the 13th. Guest Services on the Valor need to be commended for the service they provided us. It seems people are always ready to complain when they think things aren’t right but people need to let Carnival know when things are right. Me and my family greatly appreciate the people who helped us make it home in time.
Diane
That’s Me Shell……
LOL
That’s Our John
Love the Video Blogs
no matter how short
esp the ankle shot!
whoo hoo
See You Soon
The Tuckers
Terri: John WILL be on the Dream on Jan 23rd!
Tom & Jane: I agree- we all want the cruise directors schedules for 2010, especially John’s!
John: Me Shell huh? Good one. Can’t wait till you have to tell us about what new and exciting things we have to look forward to with Carnival. Mike and I are going to Sail-A-Bration this week at Port Canaveral, can’t wait to see our NEW DREAM! Ciao, Linda & Mike
Is it my understanding that you will not be on the Carnival Dream in January, 2010? If that is the case, it will be a disapointment. We really wanted to see you again.
John: Can you please let me know for sure that you WILL be on the Carnival Dream, January 23rd. My husband has never met you, I usually sail with my friends, Leslie (Butlin girl) from Skegness and David from Yorkshire, I’m the Aussie (don’t hold that against me) They said to say hi and will see you soon a a cruse.
I have talked my husband into going on the Carnival Dream and cannot wait for him to meet you. I’m sure I read someplace that you were on it thru March, but can you verify.
Thanks John for all you do to make everyone laugh. There’s been many days I’ve needed a good laugh being in real estate these days, when I do I go to your blog and immediately feel uplifted.
Regards,
Terri
john:
Can you please send me your E-mail address. I’m just wanting to make sure you ARE on the Dream on January 23rd.
Terri
Oh, John! Me Shell? Ha Ha Ha Ha ha!!!!
Thanks for making us laugh. We do miss the blogs but understand how busy you are. We still love you. Hello to Heidi & Kye.
Mike & Lori
John,
Thanks for the laugh; nice way to start the day!
Marty & Jeanne
We had a wonderful time on the Dream! The crew was friendly, helpful and overall fantastic.
Also, the highlight of my day was meeting YOU!!
Thanks again for the blog and the laughs!
–
Nancy D’Andrea
Topsail Cruises
Hey John
how about a Cruise Directors Schedule ??
January 2010- – - – - – - – - – - ?
we are waiting,
still waiting,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
You see that joke coming, you just can’t get out of the way. Thanks for your devotion to this blog thingy, take your time, we’ll be here.
John:
Talking about the Godchild going down the slide in freezing weather reminded me of our Victory cruise to Canada. We did the last 7 day cruise the end of Sept. 2007.
We had a wonderful time….but it was a milestone for DJ. He had never gone down the slides before. This was the cruise that he decided he was ready to slide. Unfortunately, it was Canada …. in September. But that did not deter him. Every day he spent hours going down that slide….no matter the temp.
We had so many folks shivering just watching him. He had a blast!!
DJ is really looking forward to all the slides on the Dream.
Now get some rest and don’t forget to eat properly!!
Linda (Mom of your friend DJ)
Thats Michelle??? Oh geeze john, ha ha ha ha
Frank and Bridie
A video blog, but no underpants !!!
I trust that Jim Royale will have is day !!!
Too funny John! Looking forward to the blog tomorrorow.
Love you,
James and Bobbi