I am going to start today’s blog with one of those comments that make you want to laugh……..and then realize that no matter what you do as a cruise director that there are some people who are just born to complain.
Guest: Mrs. ————-Ref: 846006480A
Cabin: ____ Booking#: _______ Added-Changed: 02/22/10 – 02/22/10C cabin ____UNHAPPY WITH LINE TO GET ONBOARD
Mrs._____ came to the GSD to say how angry she was that it had taken so long to get back on the ship in Cozumel. Guest stated that she was waiting on the pier in Cozumel for over 20 minutes to get back onboard and that there was no air conditioning. GSA said that we cannot provide air conditioning on the pier but guest said that it was not acceptable. Mrs___also said that she had cruised this time of year because the Carnival agent had promised that it would not be so hot. Guest then handed a letter to GSA addressed to John Cruise Director.
Scanned to CDNote: Guest was shouting so loudly that GSA had to take gst away from desk as it was disturbing more guests.
Shame on us and shame on the Mexican authorities for not providing air conditioning on the pier. I realize that there are times, such as in Cozumel, when many of the 4,000 guests all return at the same time. There is a peak period in Cozumel between 4 pm and 5 pm and despite having 3 gangways it is going to take some time to get guests through the ID check and X-ray machines, etc. I would never say that this guest is not telling the truth but …………having checked with the chief security officer and my staff who were at the gangways it seems 20 minutes is a little bit of a stretch.
However, this guest has made this comment which means I have to act upon it and that’s time I could spend being on stage, writing a blog, doing the paper work or rubbing cream into my hemorrhoids. I sometimes wonder if this industry has created a monster that we will never, ever be able to conquer. We (the cruise industry) have allowed ourselves to pay homage to the most ridiculous of complaints made by people who know that if they do complain they will receive fruit baskets, discounts of future cruises, complimentary Latvian women in their cabins and other untold riches. Does this happen in the hotel industry? I don’t know the answer to that one……I am asking you.
I know that a complaint is a gift as people with beards have written about and yes we need constructive criticism ……….but sometimes……..you just feel like taking of all your clothes, turning off the lights and sitting in a darkened corner …….dribbling on yourself. I am sure she meant that it was hot outside and didn’t really expect the pier to be air conditioned though……..did she? Regardless, she gave me a great idea and so I am going to take a cruise on RCI and have my list of carefully worded complaints ready to give at the guest services desk………..here they are:
1. I was trying to sleep in this morning but there was a crew member working outside my cabin. He’s got this huge tool that vibrates the whole cabin and I just can’t take it anymore.
2. My cabin is right underneath the basketball court. I can’t get any rest because men are bouncing their balls on the deck.
3. Someone has stolen the toilet seat in my cabin. I have spoken to your security officer who tells me they have nothing to go on.
4. I don’t mind the cruise line allowing service dogs onboard but it’s the dog poo I find hard to swallow
5. I don’t like the food on Lido. It’s not as good as Carnival’s food. Your food has 50% less variety, is 50% more tasteless and 50% is served cold
6. I want to complain about the Lido deck being slippery. My wife slipped and fell on it yesterday, and now she is pregnant.
7. I went into my cabin and noticed a bad smell coming from my drawers.
8. The toilet is blocked and I cannot bathe Kye until it is cleared.
9. Our cabin mattress is not comfortable. I have one child and would like a second, so please send someone to do something about it.
10. My wife is very dissatisfied with the problems with the cabin. Please send a man with the right tool to finish the job and satisfy Heidi.
On that note it’s time for today’s questions…………..away we go.
Troy I. Asked:
Hi John, respond if you want to.Just off my beautiful Carnival Splendor and wanted to share some thoughts. Gab (maiter’d) is the bomb, very good! He told me that you are going to start dancing on the table like him, I can’t wait to see that! George is a hidden gem, he needs to be a cd, soon, I can’t put a finger on what it is, but he has IT. We also did the behind the fun tour, very interesting. It would be nice if Carnival could figure out how to get all the pictures taken onto your in room TV, I think you would sell more pictures this way, even though I’m sure organizing it would be very difficult. I can’t believe how much better your shows are than celebrity, your shows are second to none, period. I feel sorry for the performers on celeb. I would say the same thing about the food, way more variety on Carnival. My only suggestion would to start breakfast earlier than 7:30 on Monday and Saturday, the whole ship shows up when it opens, which makes big lines, lines make people cranky. Overall, I would say your claim to the best value in vacations is right on track, keep up the good work! Now if you could help me get my land legs back that would be awesome!
John Says:
Hello Troy IThanks for the great report. I was worried when I saw that you referred to the Maître D as “the bomb” but I guess that is actually a compliment although I am not sure how an explosive device translates into a positive comment about someone. Anyway, it was a great review and please stand by for exciting news about the way we sell photos on our ships very soon. We are very, very proud about our shows and it is always great when people take the time to compliment them. I will make sure the ship and those in the Miami head office get to read your words of praise.
Thanks again for taking the time to write.
Best wishes
JohnBob and Donna (CA) Asked:
John (please reply),Donna and I will be leaving on the Carnival Splendor on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. This is to celebrate our 31st anniversary. We celebrated our 30th on the Carnival Legend last February. We had a blast with Jenn.
I am writing to let you know that we tried Carnival because of your Blog and are hooked. Last summer we visited with old friends from high school and began talking about cruising. They are veterans of many RCI cruises but had also just returned from their first Carnival Cruise. The had the exact same reaction that we did — FUN! We booked this trip on the Splendor with them back in the fall and it is finally here. There is one other thing you should know. They are from Gilroy, California the “Garlic Capital of the World” but I can assure you they are not French. And – it seems they told a friend who told a friend and I think half of the city of Gilroy is booked on the Splendor for this cruise. I think they are all tied to my reservation so I’m not sure how all of the dinner seating will work out…but I’m sure it will.
We are so looking forward to this cruise and want to thank you again for the Blog that brightens each day and for enticing us to try Carnival.
All the best,
Bob and Donna (CA)John Says:
Hello Bob and DonnaI am so disappointed that I just read this posting as by now you are back home and I would so liked to have sent you a gift for your anniversary cruise. Words cannot explain how I feel when I read how you have decided to try Carnival because of this blog thingy. I am truly humbled by this and thanks you much and hope that we get to sail together soon so I can shake your hand and thank you in person.
Can you let me know how your friends and RCI fans enjoyed their time on the Carnival Splendor? Please forgive me for reading and replying to this comment after the fact and I hope all had a brilliant cruise.
Best wishes to you both and Mr. and Mrs. Garlic
JohnJohn Asked:
Hi John, (Please reply)I believe you had mentioned that you were going to ask Captain Cutugno to write a blog while the Glory is in dry dock.
What’s the status of this?
Thanks.John Says:
Hello JohnI did indeed and hope you saw his contributions on Funville. You can look forward to more guest blogs from our captains really soon. If you have any questions regarding the ship and or the job of the captain please let me know here on the blog thingy and I will forward them to one of our captains.
Best wishes
JohnTom K Asked:
John (Please respond!!!),Great Blog! Just a quick question. In December 11th’s and December 17th’s Blog you stated you would be the Cruise Director on the 3/20/2010 Dream Western Caribbean cruise. The cruise director schedule shows Todd coming back on the 20th. Could you please clarify whether or not you will be Cruise Director? I really hope you are!
Thanks!
ThomasJohn Says:
Hello ThomasWell spotted. Yes indeed Todd will return to be the CD and I leave my Carnival Dream for the Carnival Conquest.
I apologize for any confusion and am here should you need anything at all.
Best wishes
JohnSandra Marks Asked:
Hi John, I need your help.An e-mail response will be fine. This is my first time writing you and I hope it gets to the right place. We have a cruise booked for May 1 on the Dream. My 17th with Carnival. This is going to be kinda like a reunion for some of us. A lot of us sailing on this cruise met on the Glory last year and another couple we met on the Legend in ‘08. I need your help with this one. There are 16 of us linked for dinner, late seating and I would love for us to get two round tables close together so we can all enjoy each other. Since I don’t know how to set this up I’m hoping you can get this arranged for us. I will be more than happy to send you my information if you will tell me where to send it.
Thanks John, I love your blog.
SandraJohn Says:
Hello SandraThanks for the kind words about the blog. Please send me your booking and or cabin numbers and I will do my very best to assist you with your dining requests.
You will have a wonderful time here on your Carnival Dream and hope to hear from you soon.
Best wishes
JohnNew York Sam Asked:
John – please replyI doubt you will publish this as you only seem to post the comments saying how good you and your cruise line are. Me and my wife cruised on the Dream out of my home city and it was the worst experience we ever had. It was cold, the ship rocked so much me and my wife and every passenger we spoke to had been sea sick. The worst part was the food. I am a from the food capital of the world and I know a good meal when I eat one and the food you served on the Dream was the worst I have ever eaten. Care to comment or reply?
New York Sam.John Says:
Hello New York SamThank you for your comments and I do remember that during the ship’s New York’s cruises that the weather leaving the Big Apple was indeed cold and wet although one could say that in November that this was to be expected. As for the food, well I am sorry that you did not find the food to your taste although I have to respectfully disagree as many thousands of very satisfied Carnival guests would agree with me when I say that the food we serve is excellent and for the price we charge for the cruise……quite astonishing. And if you really want to taste the worst food you have ever have come over to my house and try my home made chili…..it is positively revolting and once eaten you will need to keep your Nike’s on in order to get to the bathroom quicker.
I hope that you will consider cruising with us again and thanks for taking the time to write. Hopefully this shows also that I will post both positive and negative comments alike.
Best Wishes
JohnMEL GRANT Asked:
John please reply.Hi John, as usual I love the blog and continue to read on a daily basis!
I am hoping to possibly ask for you help again. I was on the second sailing of the Dream out of Rome and was in the “aft” wrap cabin that was not a wrap. You had kindly said that my complaint would be forwarded to the correct person and well I have still heard nothing. This after sending my own email one month later and a snail mail letter. I shall copy here your original response and would so appreciate if it could be directed to someone other than your overworked self. I have even called and was told to wait for a response! We are getting ready to look for another sailing in May but I would really like some closure to the problems with the last one…( Again CRUISE itself was awesome, but if I had know my cabin had no wrap I would have just taken a reg balcony cabin)
Thanks so much
MelHere is the original info.
Mel Asked:
John or Stephanie please reply,
Hello John and I must say I missed your blog for the past three weeks, but I was in Italy and onboard the Gorgeous Carnival Dream Oct 3rd sailing. What a ship and what a voyage. The ports of call were amazing and I have to say it ranks as my number 1 trip thus far! Please tell all the bigwigs to put a ship back in Europe! Also it was my first encounter with Ken in the dining room, this man is AMAZING and I will certainly be looking to find another voyage that he is on!I am actually looking for some assistance or direction to follow. We were disappointed with our cabin 8466 and I have returned to see it was definitely a ship building error. I called the pursers desk whilst onboard and they all came for a tour of our cabin. They followed procedure and contacted Miami who gave us a 200 pp obc stating this was the cost difference between our 9a and the extended balconies (when we booked the ext aft balconies were Cat 8b and not 8G as they are now).I disagree but I know the pursers desks hands were tied. We were booked on the Freedom and then the Liberty which were cancelled and then to the Dream. I know for a fact our cost difference was approx 1000 for both of us as we had a discussion as to whether we wanted to spend the addition money and I worked extra to spring for it! Our friends on the 6th and 7th decks had the aft balconies and I know for sure the cost diff was 800.oo. I had said we would be happy with a future cruise credit for the difference. We paid 5000 for the cruise and though I do understand sometimes mistakes happen I would expect my credit to on par with the cost difference for when I booked. I would have changed my choice of cabin at time of booking if I had known I was not getting an aft wrap. (btw friends had a cove balcony and they are LOVELY).
Who should I address this with or is there someone you could get this too? Also the cabin does not have a sofa in it as I was told when changing from the cancelled Liberty sailing.
Thanks John and I do want to emphasize that we still think this was our best Carnival cruise yet!John Says:
Hello Mel
I want you to know that I just forwarded your comments to our Senior Vice President Roberta Jacoby and the shipboard staff. I know having done 11 new deliveries I that bringing out a new ship is never easy. No matter how much you prepare and plan there are always going to be times when you say “bugger, I didn’t think of that.” So, your positive words will mean so much to the captain and crew.It has been well documented here on the blog thingy that we did indeed make a mistake when building cabin 8466. I know by now you will have read that the partitions have been removed. However, obviously this was not done in time for your voyage. Please let me apologize for this and I will make sure that your comments are sent to one of our vice presidents for her immediate attention. Please leave this with me and I promise someone will be in touch shortly.
If you need anything else I remain at your service.
Best wishes
John
November 4th blogJohn Says:
Hello MelI am so very disappointed that you have not been contacted and I have no idea why. Maybe my e mail got lost in the shuffle because I know that our CARE team responds as soon as they can to situations like yours. With that in mind I have sent your concerns to the Vice President of the team and have asked her to take a personal interest in this matter.
Please let me know if you need anything else and my sincere apologies.
Best wishes
JohnJinna White Asked:
PLEASE REPLYHey John, doubt you remember me but my family and I cruised with you on Carnival Freedom last summer in July and I corresponded with you several times on your blog after we returned! You made it a vacation to remember and because of you and the GREAT fun we had we have booked the Carnival Dream to Virgin Islands on July 17th. My daughter is graduating in May from college with an Early Education degree and we will be celebrating her graduation!! I’m not sure who the Cruise Director will be (but we have our fingers crossed that its YOU!) but I was trying to figure out some way we could recognize her and thought you might have an idea? Please let me know what I need to do and if you could tell me who cruise director will be I would really appreciate it!!! Thanks again for making our Freedom Cruise one to remember and can’t wait for the Carnival dream!
John Says:
Hello Jinna WhiteI wish I could be here in July but I am going to be spending June and July at home with the family Todd will be your CD and if you can remind me a month before you sail and include your daughter’s name and cabin number I am sure between us Todd and I can sort something out for you.
I am glad you have such great memories of your Carnival Freedom cruise and I know that you will have a brilliant time here on your Carnival Dream.
Best wishes to all
JohnKathy M. Asked:
Hi John, Please reply.I was amazed when I looked your room number up to find that they only gave you a small inside room, I hope that is not the room you will have the whole time you are assigned to that ship. In that room (the inside) you really don’t even have enough room to sit and do your blog (in your underpants) or anything else for that matter. I really do hope that when Heidi and Kye join you that you will get a larger (I will pray for a suite since you have earned it) cabin for the 3 of you.
Give my love to Heidi and Kye.
From your #1 Bloggy Thingy Fan,
Kathy M.John Says:
Hello Kathy MYep, it was an inside room but there is only one of me so it wasn’t a big deal. I am though hoping that on the Carnival Magic I can have a bigger cabin so that the family can sail with me more often. I wonder if the captain would swap with me.
Best wishes
JohnCatherine Asked:
Dear Mr. Heald, Please reply.I have been reading your blog for about 7 months now and I enjoy looking forward to reading it every afternoon as soon as it is posted.
I just got off the Carnival Splendor and I would like to send a letter to Corporate about one room steward that went above and beyond when it came to her job. The young lady’s name is Atthaya, I did not get her last name, but she did tell me she was from the Philippines. On the first day when I met her she asked me if I was traveling alone and I said “yes”, well no one had ever asked me that in the 12 previous cruises, so I just thought that maybe this was her way of figuring how long it would take her to do my room. That was not the reason at all, so let me explain. On the 1st full sea day, I was fine, the 2nd full sea day, I was feeling like I was coming down with something so I stayed in my room, just in case I was I would not be giving anything to other passengers. So I put the “Snoozin” sign on the door and locked it. Well around 8:30pm my phone rang, but the person had the wrong room, well this happened two or three more times, so after that I did not even bother to answer the phone. Then at 9:45pm there is a knock at my door and it is some Officer asking me if I was all right and I said “Yes”, and that is when he explained to me that my room steward was very concerned because I had not left my room all day and she did not see me. He told me that he had tried calling me on the phone but there no answer and that is why he was now at my door checking up on me. The next morning I thanked Atthaya for being concerned about me and that I really appreciated it. John, it made me feel really secure in knowing that if something did happen to me, I would not be in that room for 6 days before someone realized something was wrong. Well it happened again on Saturday, with the ship rocking n rolling, and since I had already fallen twice, I decided to stay in my room on Saturday instead of trying to walk to the back of the ship to eat. Well on Saturday evening around 10:30pm my phone rang and I answered it, it was someone asking if I was ok and letting me know that someone would be coming to my room to check on me. 20 minutes later, two Officers’ (a man and a woman) came to check to make sure I was ok and asked if I needed anything. I explained that with the ships movement I could not walk to the back of the ship without falling so I just stayed in my room.
I have cruised on Carnival 12 times and this was the first time that a room steward showed this kind of concern and I just want her to know how much I appreciated it.
There is another place where the crew goes above and beyond and that is in the buffet area. The minute that any of them would see me come in, one of them was right there to assist me with my plate or getting me anything that I wanted. They would carry the tray to any place that I wanted to go, even if it was back out by the pool, and one thing that amazed me was they remembered my name, out of the thousands that at in the buffet, these waiters would remember me.
If you could send me the address of where I could send this letter to, I would greatly appreciate it. This young lady needs to be recognized for her extra concerns she has for single handicapped passengers and the person who runs the buffet area should also be told of the wonderful way handicapped people are treated by his staff.
BTW, this is just a suggestion, could you please pass it on to the ship designers not to put the handicapped rooms at the front of the ship. Those of us with mobility issues makes it a challenge to have to walk the length of the ship to get to the buffet area to eat. It would take me almost 30 minutes to go from my room to the buffet area. I would walk so far and then have to sit down for awhile, then walk another distance and I had to keep doing this until I got to the buffet area…
John, I have to say that this crew on the Splendor made me feel so special, that I have already booked another cruise on the Carnival Splendor, but this time my room in going to be in the middle part of the ship near an elevator.
Best Wishes,
CatherineJohn Says:
Hello CatherineYou know, a few weeks ago I answered a complaint from a guest whose stateroom steward had woken them up by knocking on the door at 10:30am even though there was no “snoozin” sign on the door. That was a very angry comment indeed so it is therefore a joy to read your wonderful words of praise about Atthaya which I have forwarded to her onboard and shore side supervisors. I never apologize for repeating myself here on the blog thingy when I say over and over again that it is our crew that remain our greatest asset and although all the bells and whistles are marvelous it is the crew who can truly make a great cruise a fantastic one.
I have also taken note about the handicapped rooms which I have also passed along as it makes total sense.
Thanks again Catherine for your very kind words and I know by taking the time to write you will make Atthaya’s day when she reads this.
Best wishes
John
That’s all for today and those questions were posted on January 30 so as you can see I am 22 days behind now ………bugger. I see we are getting lots of nice comments about the blogs new format and that they are mostly positive. Thanks again to the 343 Stephanies and in particular Stephanie H for putting it together.
**Be sure and check back tomorrow morning on something you may find of interest.
Now as you know from my blog on Saturday that your Carnival Dream scored a 100% in their U.S. Public Health inspection. Here is Vance then with the official news release.
New Carnival Dream Earns Perfect 100 Score on First Full U.S.P.H. Inspection
The guests here on the ship have no idea that this happened although I will be telling them at the debarkation talk this Friday. I am sure that the guests will be thrilled as are all the top Carnival executives.
So, I made a big mistake on Sunday night and I spent yesterday apologizing to 20 or so annoyed Canadians. You see, I had been asked ahead of time and here on the blog thingy to show the hockey match between Canada and the USA on the Seaside Theatre Big Screen. I had looked at the TV schedule with the AV Manager and we saw that indeed NBC were covering the Olympics and would be showing the game. I therefore advertised this accordingly. Unfortunately what I had not seen was that the main NBC channel would be showing the gold medal event in speed skating and that they had relegated the hockey match to MSNBC……….a station we do not carry.
And so it was that at 7:40pm EST that 20 or so Canadians plus around another 30 guests were gathered under the big screen to see the game. And of course they were disappointed and some were very angry that we were not showing the game. And so I went out there and told the collective audience that I was sorry but the game had been moved to MSNBC, a channel we could not receive. Most understood and some didn’t and let me have both barrels. Interestingly the ones who were most upset were all Canadian guests.
I say this only because I guess it shows that hockey is as loved in Canada as basketball is in America, soccer is in England, rugby is in Australia, water polo is in Italy and running ………away is in France. I have apologized to them all and hope that they will forgive me. Even though I cannot be held responsible for NBC’s re-scheduling but ………. I should have double checked and I didn’t…….and that’s not good enough.
I have never quite understood hockey and I admit to never actually sitting through an entire match. Let me see if I have this right. It appears to be a game between two teams attempting to score goals by driving a tin of tuna, into the opposition’s goal with the use of curved sticks, shoes with knives on them and protective padding. Then why is it the games I have seen involve a bunch of huge men called Wayne and Pierre punching the crap out of each other while the crowd wait for a hockey match to break out.
Seriously…….can someone, preferably a Canadian………explain to me why the fight is allowed to continue? Are the referees scared? Is betting done in the stadium to see whose nose will get broken first? Or is it just a Canadian pastime like lumber-jacking and eating Tim Horton’s doughnuts? Please explain.
Yesterday the weather was gorgeous in Cozumel and although the early morning was a little cloudy by 11 am the sun shone and the guests enjoyed the excursions and of course shopping. Kye is now officially the ship’s mascot. Everywhere she goes she is greeted with coos of joy and delight from both guests and crew. It is such deep joy to have them here and both the girls are having a wonderful time. Today we share the Mahogany Bay facility in Isla Roatan with the Crown Princess and again the sun is shining down and as I look out of my cabin window on this beautiful vista I once again realize how lucky I am to have this job and….that I had better close the bloody curtains so people don’t get a view of me and my underpants.
Last night’s show featured a hypnotist………mmmm…………do I believe these people actually allow themselves to be put under……………..I am not sure. He did have a few who walked of stage as they were as awake as a beaver on speed but then there were others who did everything he told them to so. I won’t spoil the show by telling you everything but I can tell you that he had one chap believing he was the Captain and considering the man was from Tennessee……….his noon time announcement was perfect as was his Italian accent ………….. but I am still not sure.
I sort of look at hypnosis in the same way I look at alien abductions who visit Earth and through some kind of Martian hypnosis are said to have the power to make the people who have been abducted forget that they have been. Their victims are rendered powerless, taken from their homes, most commonly from their beds, and subjected to traumatic surgical procedures, usually involving their genitals. When they are returned to their normal lives, they are left with no exact memories of these events. Anyway, personally I am not a fan of hypnosis shows. Maybe it can be used to cure phobias or help people quit smoking but in an entertainment form…….it’s not for me. I maybe in a minority here so I am interested to know what you think?
I am sure that nobody will disagree when I respectfully say that the most anticipated new ship of 2010 is of course the Queen Elizabeth. Cunard’s new vessel that carries that most famous of names will be joining Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria in October. Now, to be chosen to be a senior officer of any new ship is a huge privilege but to be chosen as a senior officer on a ship with the name Queen Elizabeth and that carries so much history with her is a massive responsibility and boy does it look good on your resume.
Here is the rather grand announcement of who will have the privilege of being the Senior Officer start up team on the Queen Elizabeth.
E W S
Cunard Line Appoints Queen Elizabeth Senior Officers23 February 2010 – Following the appointment of Captain Christopher Wells as Master of its new Queen Elizabeth, Cunard Line has appointed three more Senior Officers who will be onboard when the ship enters service in October 2010.
Robert Howie, Hotel Manager
Scottish-born Robert Howie brings almost 25 years of experience – on land and at sea – to his new post as Hotel Manager aboard Queen Elizabeth. He held the position of Food and Beverage Manager aboard Queen Mary 2 in the ocean liner’s inaugural year and was later promoted to the prestigious position of Hotel Manager on Cunard’s flagship in 2005. Howie was also the first Hotel Manager onboard Queen Victoria when she entered service in December 2007.As Hotel Manager, Howie is in charge of all onboard operations: housekeeping, food and beverage, entertainment and human resources. Prior to joining Cunard, he served in senior managerial food and beverage positions for Princess Cruises – both shoreside and onboard – since 1990.
Alastair Greener, Entertainment Director
Alastair Greener from Marlborough, England has a love of both the sea and stage, characteristics that will serve him well as he prepares to join Queen Elizabeth as Entertainment Director. Alastair has also served as Entertainment Director on both Queen Mary 2 and QE2 and was the first Entertainment Director onboard Queen Victoria.Currently, Greener is the face of the company’s very popular blog, WeAreCunard.com, which he frequently updates with all the latest news about the fleet. Alastair is a member of the British Actors’ Union and has appeared in a wide range of film, theatre and television productions, including the BBC’s “House of Cards” and Warner Brothers’ “Black Beauty.” He was also asked to represent CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) as a media tour spokesperson.
Prior to Cunard, Greener joined Princess Cruises in 1997 and served on eight ships within the fleet.
Hamish Sunter, Staff Captain
Halifax-born Captain Hamish Sunter joined Cunard in 1990 as an officer on Cunard Princess, where he remained for three years. He also obtained his Master’s Certificate at this time. In 1993 he was transferred to QE2 as Junior First Officer and left that ship as Chief Officer in 1998. After two years Sunter was keen to go back to sea, which he did in 2000 with P&O Cruises, sailing as First Officer on several of their ships. He returned to Cunard as Chief Officer on Queen Mary 2 in October 2005. He rejoined QE2 as Staff Captain in December 2006 and has also served in that capacity onboard Queen Victoria.Colin Black, Chief Engineer
Colin Black hales from East Lothian near Edinburgh, Scotland and joined P&O / Princess Cruises in 1990 as a CPO Mechanic onboard Royal Princess. He subsequently moved up the ranks to First Engineer prior to being given the responsibility for the newbuild of Princess Cruises’ Dawn Princess, followed by Ocean Princess. In 2001 he was based in the Southampton Office working within the newbuild department. In 2002 he moved across to P&O Cruises serving onboard Oriana, Aurora and then the new Arcadia. Black’s first appointment as Chief Engineer was onboard Tahitian Princess in 2006 and her sister ship Pacific Princess.In 2007 he was assigned as Technical Fleet Services Project Manager for Queen Victoria, thereafter taking over as Chief Engineer.
“Loyal Cunarders will be delighted to find so many familiar faces aboard our newest ship,” said Peter Shanks, president of Cunard Line. “One of our distinguishing characteristics is the number and frequency of our repeat guests, and they will truly appreciate sailing with these revered and long time Cunard staff members.”
Queen Elizabeth will feature many unique Cunard traditions linking her with her sisters Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria and their predecessors, together with all the modern day luxuries Cunard’s guests have come to expect.
From the outside, her distinctive black and red livery will hint at an experience that differentiates a Cunard liner from a modern-day cruise ship. This will be most evident in the ship’s adherence to liner traditions, with elegant double and triple height public rooms on a grand scale, luxuriously endowed with rich wood paneling, intricate mosaics, hand-woven carpets, gleaming chandeliers, and cool marbles. Art Deco features will pay homage to the original Queen Elizabeth, and will allow the new ship to reflect a more civilized era of travel.
For more information about Cunard and to book a voyage aboard Queen Elizabeth, consult your Travel Professional, call toll-free 1-800-7-CUNARD or go to www.cunard.com.
Congratulations to all those mentioned, especially Alistair Greening who has been chosen as Entertainment Director. I hope to visit the ship in October and report on the ship to all of you here on the blog.
Now, when Carnival chooses her senior officers for a new ship it is done with little fanfare or none at all. I have delivered 10 new ships and mostly get told I am doing so very casually indeed. In fact I was told I would be the CD of the Carnival Splendor when I was CD on the Carnival Freedom. How? Well I found a post it note stuck on my cabin door from the Chairman Micky Arison.
Along with my signed photo from Dame Judi Dench Godmother of the Carnival Legend and my photo album containing 197 photos of Megan Fox’s bottom……….it is one of my most prized possessions.
Goodnight
Your friends
John, Heidi and Kye
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, (reply if you would like)
I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know how much my husband, myself, and my kids (daughter 7 and son 3) enjoyed our Carnival Dream cruise last week (2-13-10/2-20-10) hopefully this won’t be too long
Embarkation: very easy from bus to ship about 1/2 hour.
Weather: Could have been improved on a little, but not much you can do about that.
Ship: We enjoyed our Carnival Dream very much! The good: our room steward Kennrick made sure everything was perfect and we always had 2 towel animals (one for each kid so there were no fights). Even the night my husband was under the weather, Kennrick and his assistant came in and quickly cleaned the bathroom and made the towel animals.
Dana in Camp Carnival was absolutly outstanding with my 3yo – she was his “girlfriend” for the week and he never wanted to leave. Ida (? hope I got that right)and Jean Paul in the dining room took care of everything we could ever need at dinners (Scarlett Dining room Lower table 435 late seating)
John, a big thanks to you also, my daughter is the one you arranged the backstage tour for with Claire the dance captain. Let me tell you my daughter was speechless when we took her down to meet Clair Mon afternoon. Also Clair invited us to a full rehersal they were having on Fri, which is normally closed to guests. My daughter was thrilled. I wish we could have stayed for the full rehersal but we just didn’t have enough time. Also thanks to you for the Champagne, photo and medal that you sent to our cabin. I did want to let you know however that we never received anything “gold on a stick” for my son. I never said anything to him so it wasn’t a problem, but I wanted you to know it never came.
Our overall opinion of the ship was good, however we felt that the public areas were not really expanded to accomodate the additional guests for this ship, so even though everything moved along well, we felt somewhat crowded. Of our 3 Carnival Cruises, (Carnival Dream, Miracle & Valor) our favorite has been the Valor so I think our next cruise will be back on one of the Conquest class ships
Thank you again for all you do and I continue to look forward to your blogs everyday for my dose of humour (spelled correctly, I hope) and information regarding Carnival.
Melissa
Dear John,
It was a good thing that NBC moved the Hockey match to MSNBC and the Canadains were not allowed to watch the match, as the USA team won. You would have to stop the ship and dispatch the lifeboats on a rescue mission, as they would have all tried to jump overboard. You would of had a mess for sure Ehh!
Congrats to all the chief officers onboard the Cunard Queen Elizabeth. Collin, Alastair and Hammish are not common names here in the US, but I would expect to run into someone with those names on the QE.
Guest who complain over stupid stuff should indeed be made to wear a warning sign.
“BEWARE STUPID PERSON”!
It was too hot on the dock. I had to wait tewnty minutes. All of these qualify.
I would wait twenty minutes on my head in a hail storm in my underwear, to be allowed on the Carnival Dream (I used the correct and whole name, are you proud of me John?)
I also think Carnival needs to put in place a policy that says, if you abuse any of Carnival’s crew that you will be put off the ship at the next port of call and you will be responsible for your own transportation home. Enough is enough!
There is no reason that the fabulous crew’s onboard the FUNSHIPS should have to put up with these HARDSHIPS.
After reading some of the comments I think CCL should hire me to sail on the Carnival Dream and I will perform a church service for you every Sunday. After all it is the least I can do!
The Cruzin2some
James & Nancy Enslow
P.S. John I love the comments for your cruise on RCCL.
i believe hypnosis is entertaining to watch the same way a magic show is… you know its fake but its still entertaining to see what theyll do
Hello John, Heidi and Kye: first of all, let me apologize for the rude Canucks re: the hockey game (not a “match”
). They should have known better than that. We do love our hockey and I for one would have loved to play but when I was younger, girls were not allowed to play hockey. Bummer…..As for the fighting….well, let me just say that sometimes we go to a fight and hope that a hockey game breaks out !! LOL !! Glad to hear you are doing better now as well. I said a prayer for you re: your health. Cheers to all the crew and Heidi and Kye. Angela Guptill The Dream Feb.20th,2010.
Hi John, from a Canadian who lives close to Toronto, Ontario and can watch probably 10 games in a week, to those who can’t live without the sport for a week, GET A GRIP!!! YOU’RE ON VACATION!!! And I thought only the NFL and NASCAR boys were addicted. Keep up the good work on your blog, it’s great entertainment. Cheers, Ian
John, let me explain hockey to you. It is a brilliant sport. The speed, the precision, the non stop action. And to be quite honest, the padding doesn’t do much when you’re trying to stop a piece of frozen rubber flying at you at 100+ miles per hour, it’s still going to sting. As for the fighting, well, its not my favorite part of the sport, you see a lot less of it in European hockey, maybe because the Euro’s tend to be smaller and skate on a larger surface. But the fights do keep the crowd into the game. Go see a game live once, and you’re hooked. My dad used to have a client who would give him his company’s season tickets whenever they weren’t using them. So we would see about 15 games a year live, sitting 7th row behind the net at Madison Square Garden in NY to see my NY Rangers play. It’s amazing when you see it up close and personal.
As for the hypnosis, I do find it entertaining, and I think that some people really do go under. I don’t think I could ever allow myself to be hypnotized, but I always laugh at the shows.
John, (please reply if necessary)
The lady who demanded A/C on the dock in Cozumel get my nomination for “My PITA Award”. That is” Pain In The Arse” award.
What did she expect? I would have sent her a fan, you know the ones that you hold in your hand and wave in front of your face. All corporations are getting so afraid of a suit, they are starting to get jumpy at their shadows. Bollocks!!!
Love to the queen of the Carnival Dream Kye, Heidi and their funny and lovable Dad.
ERNIE
John, since I will be getting on the Carnival Dream this Saturday I will have my complaint list ready. Please keep the fruit baskets and just send the “complimentary Latvian women in their cabins and other untold riches. “. The riches will be for Pat to get a good lawyer because I’m sure she, after catching the Latvian woman in the cabin, will kill me. Then go looking for you for sending me that gift.
BIG Ed
John:
Seems to actually saved the Canadians from having their cruise ruined because (according to this article) the US won that hockey game…
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/articles/2010/02/21/20100221usa-men-hockey-canada-win.html
Now this wasn’t the finals for the medals or anything like that….. but Canada still lost….so actually YOU did them a favor by it not being shown!!
As for New York Sam and “Ms it is to hot to stand in line in Cozumel”…. some people just need to stay home!!!
Linda (Mom of your friend DJ)
Hi John (Reply if you want),
Loved your list of 10 guest complaints, all set for the GSD on the Arse of the Seas.
With regard to the New Yorker who posted on your blog complaining about the cold weather and rough seas during the Carnival Dream’s NOVEMBER sailing out of NYC…I think it is the least Carnival could have done would have been to contact both Mother Nature and King Neptune to ensure the North Atlantic was as flat as a mirror for Mr. New Yorker’s sailing.
O.k, removing tongue from cheek, I can speak from experience on the sea-keeping attributes of the beautiful Carnival Dream, as we were on the 3rd overall sailing of the vessel (Oct 15th, 2009) out of Chitta…er, Tittitavet, er..Rome, when the ship encountered near hurricane force winds (70 mph) and 40 ft seas (I read on your blog that Capt Querlo was quoted as saying that it was the worst weather/seas that he had ever encountered, throughout his career!).
The ship handled those seas and winds remarkedly well! Yes, there were some seasick passengers onboard for a bit, but with 70 mph winds & 40 ft seas, of course were!
As far as food on the ship, his complaint was pure bollocks. And NYC the food capital of the WORLD? Mmmm, that’s quite a claim. Well I live in America’s fattest city (Houston) and we too know food down here. The food on the Carnival Dream was excellent and I remembered thinking that Carnival did an OUTSTANDING job procuring food over in Italy, that appealed to mostly American passengers and that the logistics of stocking the ship must have been even more of a challenge of in the Med.
Anyway, I think Mr. NYC should stay in NYC and on dry land. If he wants to sail again, I’m sure there is room for him on that behemoth, Arse of the Seas…he’ll fit right in.
Marty
John, woops, forgot one more comment about the fights in hockey,
I’m originally from Detroit, one of the original 6 NHL franchises (Redwings), so even though you asked the Canadians, I think I know the answer to your question. The refs let the hockey players fight (initially), to “blow off some steam” and get the anger out of their systems. Also, it is easier to break up the players after they have become a little tired from the fight. If you watch, you’ll notice that the refs stay away in the beginning of the fight, and then will jump in to break it up after not too long a time. My 2 cents. Am I right Canadians?
Hi John! Excellent blogs and darling photos of ‘your girls’ have been coming our way…thanks! Finally getting used to the new format, and now I like it. As someone who has been hypnotized MANY times, let me tell you it is for real! I have done things I am normally too inhibited to do, but nothing ever outside my moral code. The feeling of supreme relaxation when it is over is something beyond compare, and if I can entertain my friends while I’m at it… why not?!
Oh john you have us laughing with your complaints. The best one still is the egg lady with pre boiled eggs and the guy fishing from balcony with the shrimp from his beverage cooler. Wow a wait to get on a cruise ship who would have thought. I bet this lady is fun at the airport during rush hour! See ya saturday!!!
Big Fans as Allways,
Frank and Bridie
John , we are finally going to cruise with you for 2 weeks and we will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary and my VIP Cruise all rolled into one. We have been on a carnival ship every anniversary since we got married and talking with my buddy Todd Wittmer he informend me that I would finally get to meet you we will be their on March 6th through the 20th on your Grandest ship ever we cant wait, I hope everything is going well with your family. well until the 6th have a wonderfull day. sincerly Todd and Vicky Myers Devoted Carnival Cruisers !!!
John,
As you know I love reading your blog when I can.
Just an FYI when you take your list to RCI (loved the list btw) we don’t have Lido decks. The food would be at the Windjammer.
John,
My husband and I will be taking our first cruise next month on the Pride. We’re celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary and his 52nd birthday. What advice would you offer two novices to get the most out of a much-needed vacation?
Well, it just shows that you can’t please everyone all the time. I, on the other hand, am looking forward in my next cruise with Carnival. The hubby & I will be celebrating our 5th anniversary & doing a back-to-back. We are already planning on our next cruise with Carnival! I say that the crew & staff work extremely hard week after week. So maybe some people just need to step back & chill.
John, I fell in love with cruising after only one cruise on the Miracle, now I am heading for my second..I am a single gal in my very early 60′s and will be travelling with my daughter this time, and I was wondering is romance still alive and well on cruise ships..is it really possible to meet other singles, and hopefully have a shipboard romance? You know what I mean..lol.. Or dare I say fall in love..the whole idea of cruising to me is romantic…Or will I have to be content with a Harlequin romance novel..
Question what is the best way to meet other singles on cruise..
Dear John,
**Please Respond**
I am in total agreement with you regarding the hypNOtist show. What a load of “bollocks” (I think that is the correct term!) We sat in the theatre for about 40 minutes waiting for the performer to do something entertaining. Aside from some people looking drowsey (me included) nothing happened. I was not the only one with this opinion as the theatre was emptying fast. They even scheduled him a second “late night adult show” that I only got about 20 minutes into before I gave up. For my two cents worth, invest in a broadway singer and use the ships orchestra as back up and have some entertainment not just a good snooze.
Since we are on the subject of entertainment, and since the Carnival Glory just came out of dry dock and since I will be sailing on her June 19, do you know what production shows will be performed during the cruise? Also, is the Behind the Fun tour given on a 5 day cruise? I am taking my sister on this cruise for her 50th Birthday and I know she would love that tour. (I took my 50th Birthday cruise in the QM2 Transatlantic)This will be only her second cruise, (her first was Princess Alaska) but I have been telling her about all the wonders of the Carnival ships. She is really looking forward to the water slides. This is my second cruise with Carnival, but I am an Elite Captians Circle member on Princess and a Diamond Member on Cunard, so I do like the Carnival Brands and I’m looking forward to many more cruises on the Fun Ships of Carnival.
I have taken this Canadian itinerary many times, so I am always looking for something new to do in either Halifax or St. Johns. Any ideas?? Also what would be the best night for reservations in the Steakhouse?
Thanks for all you do and please keep up the good work. I know that sometimes you must wonder why did you ever start this thing, but the joy and information it brings to everyone (even the cranky ones) I hope is worth it. I look forward to the day I can finally sail with you (the next bloggers cruise??) instead of running from an angry mob in Philly!
Hello to Heidi and Kye
Cheers!
Derek (sorry for being so long winded!)
Please Reply
Canada and Hockey
Hockey is a Canadian sport and we love it as much as love our maple syrup. Our Stanley Cup finals can be much, much, much more intense than any Superbowl game. I remember when my home city’s team was in the playoffs practically everyone (in a city of around a million) was watching the game, me included.
Fighting in hockey has been there forever and ever and will never go away. It is a very fast, energetic game and sometimes some players just **** well deserve to be beaten to a pulp……Usually it is the team enforcers job, or was his job.
I recall one NHL game where there was a bench clearing brawl and the whole arena (15000+) were cheering. I also remember a junior game Canada vs Russia where a total bench (coach included) brawl broke out (the coaches were trying to pull the players off others to help the referees….50+ players and only three officials, they needed help…I was a teenager and had a full size newspaper spread of that photo on my wall cuz it was one hell of a bench clearing brawl..
Football is much more violent as the whole idea of the game is to prevent the other player of scoring by viciously taking out the player in a hard, high-speed tackle. It also happens the whole length of the game. One or two fist fights in a hockey game arte nothing..most of the times they didn’t even land many good punches….
PS John–booked the Liberty for September with hopes my hot Lithuanian will be on the ship as maitre’d–you know which one…tall bald, and oh my….
Hi John! Please reply
I have been reading your blog thingey off & on for over a year now. Last year my sister & I gave our parents a cruise for their 50th anniversary.We sailed on the Conquest & fell in love with her..that is except for daddy. He had a sinus infection & was kinda a stick in the mud. So we were SHOCKED when he suggested we cruise again.(Woo Hoo!!) So we booked the Conquest again, even the same cabins we had last year. In choosing our cruise dates, we had to make sure it was before Mahaw season, as Daddy has 300 trees to tend to. So, long story (isnt it) short, we chose March 28, and if I read the cruise director list correctly, you will be our cruise director?( I am so excited!! )If so, I think I can twist Mamas arm into furnishing you with a half pint of (award winning) Mayhaw jelly, that is if you are interested.
See ya soon
Debbie Boudreaux
Hi John,
wanted to finally drop you a line! My aunt who works at Carnival’s Sales Office in Miami got me hooked to your blog…and now my fiance is as well. We both provide customer service as a living, and your comments reflect what we have thought silently to ourselves. Through you, we have found a voice!!!
On a bittersweet note, I was hoping you would be our CD as we cruise the Dream on May 1st, for our honeymoon, but alas you are not.
It will be a great time for us, as the week before, we are getting married aboard the Carnival Destiny, in Grand Cayman, April 27. 51 guests are coming along with us and we will party it up! Then a more relaxing time on the Dream just the 2 of us, on the cloud 9 Spa level. I just can’t wait.
You have talked the Dream up so much, we are so excited to live it ourselves. This will be cruise #3 and 4 and we are looking forward to many more in the future. Perhaps even a European tour. Keep it up
Sophie and Ryan almost newlywed from Montreal.
John (please reply),
Thanks for responding to my question today. It is a shame that you will not be the Cruise Director on the Dream, me and girlfriend we really looking forward to it. You said to let you know if there was anything you could do for me, and well there is two small things. First, We are currently wait-listed for Anytime Dining. We did the Anytime Dining on the Pride in October and LOVED it. If it is at all possible, could you please try and get us into Anytime Dining. Below is my information for my sailing. Second, on our Roll Call on Cruise Critic, the posters would like to do a little meet and greet to put faces to the people we chat with on the thread and we were wondering how this could be done. Any suggestions would be great. Once again it is a shame you will not be on the Dream, We wish we knew this before because we would have probably booked the Conquest just so we could have had you as a CD. Finally, I hope you are feeling better and watching your sugar better.
Tom K.
John,
I am not a fan of they hypnotist shows either. I would never attend one and would certainly never allow myself to be hypnotised.
Roxi
Hi John, (please reply)
To answer your question, yes people complaining in the hopes of getting free stuff happens frequently in the hotel industry. In past careers, I was a Rooms Manager for a major hotel chain as well as “for the mouse” and at both companies we had guests who would complain about anything (not liking the carpet, etc.) all in the hopes of either getting something for free.
My husband and I will be on our Carnival Dream on April 10th (cabin# 8340). I was wondering if you would be able to help us in getting a table for 2 for at dinner? Any assistance is much appreciated!
You tease us about news coming tomorrow morning. Looking forward to whatever it might be.
Clair
Hi John!! I have been a reader of your blog since the Carnival Freedom was still at the shipyard. It is the first thing I look at in the morning, and I want to thank you for posting as often as you can. It has been a joy to read the blog every day, thank you. In regards to your question about the guest making that absurd complaint, I can assure you that it happens at hotels ALL of the time. I’ve worked at hotel front desks in the past, and we got the same thing every day. I guess it’s just part of the hospitality industry.
John Please Reply
Bollocks…my email on the B2B Freedom cruise we went on this Jan/February, magically sent itself….my last sentence got cut off. I was saying our next Carnival cruise we are planning is on the Carnival Miracle to Aruba and Curaçao.
Thanks John…hopefully one of the Jaimies can edit my last sentence without posting this! Oh what the heck I screwed up!
Thanks Johns!
John Please Reply
Carnival Freedom – B2B January 31st (8 Day Eastern) and February 7th. (6 Day Western)
John please forgive my earlier two emails. The first sent itself minus my review of the Carnival Freedom. The second I sent quickly without realizing the first was sent minus the review…sheesh.
Carnival Freedom is a beautiful Conquest class ship. I have heard comment that her interior is a bit dark. I found her to be “Vegas Classy”. The Millenium atrium, Victorianna Main lounge, International lounge, and the Babylon Casino have great design features and I actually said “wow” when I saw these rooms.
Felipé Couto (a Portuguese speaking Ricky Ricardo) did an admirable job as CD! “Woo Hoo!” That was his iconic call to fun to which the crowd would respond with woo hoo! There are some that did not appreciate his woo hoos and felt to tell us so on our roll call and stated that they remarked such on the comment card. I think they forgot that we were on vacation! WOO HOO! Keep up the good work Felipé! Don’t change!
Jamie Frasier was our ACD and did a great job. He performed one night a collection of big band songs. He is a good looking young man that makes women swoon and young girls giggle. Jamie and Felipé look like they just stepped off a Hollywood set. John are these the Carnival metrosexuals? Encourage Jamie to experiment with 70s music. Demographics are starting to move away from the big band and swing era to my music. Sorry not to offend anyone older than 60 but we seem to be always falling towards marketing to your age group.
Best Show: Don’t miss “A Ticket to Ride” a tribute to the Beattles. Amazing considering the size of the stage. Great choreography, music and production values. Excellent music by the Carnival Freedom Orchestra. John tell Roger Blum that the decision to keep the orchestra’s on Carnival ships is the correct one. It keeps the shows real and they have soul which the audience feeds off of.
Highlights: Meeting Captain D’Aita on the Behind the Fun tour. I highly recommend this tour. Lots of goodies and lots of information. Carnival provides you with a picture of yourself with the Captain and group pictures on the bridge and at the ship’s bell.
Captain D’Aita is a smaller man but he carries himself that demands respect. He is the Master of the ship. The ten or so minutes we spent with him has made me a fan of him. He knows the sea, and loves his ship. I was overwhelmed with the technical knowledge that he and his crew have for navigation! Watching his crew interact with him you can see the respect and admiration they have him. I think he is amused by Felipé and I am sure the Captain certainly is even a good mentor for a CD too!
The Captain’s Mess you would think would be an ornate affair for the Executive officers of the ship but no. It is a no nonsense smallish room. The captain has his TV opposite of him at the head of the table. His olive oil sits in front of his plate. The Chief Engineer sits opposite at the other head of the table and he too has his own TV and remote!
Fernando our Maiter D’ was great! He was able to provide us a window table for our second cruise on the B2B in the same section as our Head Waiter, Herman. Fernando made every effort to meet all the diners in the Chic (pronounced Sheik) dining room.
Herman was our dashing Head Waiter. His pacing of our courses was impeccable. We were never rushed and each course came at an appropriate time. He never interrupted conversation. At diner one night, my sister-in law requested her steak rare. Later Herman came back chuckling because he said he had to explain in his Indonesian accented English to the Chinese cooks that rare meant RAW. He said that they didn’t quite understand him when he said medium rare and rare. We were all having steak at our table! The steaks came out perfect as was all food whether it came from the dining room or the buffet line. We didn’t get a chance to go to the Steakhouse which was unfortunate as we did last year on the Liberty.
Things that can be improved: Avoid using the 70′s Disco for the Shopping talk and for the Art Auction. The room has too many pillars and the lounging chairs don’t lend themselves to a comfortable experience.
If there was ever a chance for a small do-over in terms of design, I would suggest Joe Farcus look at replacing the Statue of Liberty sconces on the wall in in the Freedom Restaurant. I think it was a good idea but they just look a bit cheesy and eerie.
Nice touch: Hotel Director, Jose Pisa, gave my wife and I as well as the couple we were travelling with a bottles of Champagne and Fruit baskets. Thanks Jose!
There is sooo much more that I could write about. I would highly recommend the Carnival Freedom and would be more than happy to sail with Felipé or Jamie Frasier as CD’s.
Thanks John for the opportunity to share this review. Our next cruise we are contemplating the Carnival Miracle and an itinerary to two ports we are really wanting to see, Aruba and Curaçao!
JOHN
I am so glad to hear that you are enjoying your time with the girls. I think that the lady that wanted air conditioning on the pier rates right up there with the lady and preboiled eggs. I am still trying to understand that one too. Some People just have to find something to complain about or they are not happy. Go figure!
Marqueta from Oklahoma
Dear John,
After what happened in the hockey match between the US and Canada (the US beat them 5 to 3), maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that the game wasn’t shown. I think I would have hated to read about a mass jumping overboard of the Canadian hockey fans!! *shock*
Hi, John. I’m the one with the service dog on the 02/14/10 Carnival Glory sailing. Thank you for your help with the fridge; it worked out just fine and both guest services and the floor head housekeeper made sure of that.
I just saw your Blog where you asked how Carnival could be of more help to those with service dogs. There’s nothing I can really say to that beyond knowing most people and their service dogs don’t like the “Second Nature Dog Litter” that Carnival offers as a potty material (saying you must bring your own stuff if you want anything different). This is why I brought my own solution, which worked very well.
I put down disposable potty pads (the large-sized ones from PetEdge that have the absorbant crystals in them) and put fake grass (K9Grass) on top of them. The pads collected the urine and for the poop I just used pick-up bags as usual. I had the room steward leave me a trash bag to throw the used pads and bags in every day (when he remembered, which was pretty quickly on the days he left me bagless so I had to leave the used pads and bags in a pile, LOL).
While my balcony was a large one, and therefore I brought a large-sized potty area of six feet in length, even regular-sized balconies could use this solution in perhaps a smaller size. The K9Grass can be hosed down easily and it is also treated with anti-bacterial stuff. Carnival should look into something like this, as it sure would make travelling easier and cheaper.
No real complaints about it, but the Carnival higher-up staff mostly knew not to bother my dog while she was working, but some of the lower-level staff (such as room stewards or other shipkeeping staffers) didn’t know this – some didn’t even know what a service dog was. So, a reminder memo going out to all the ship’s employees before a service dog boards the ship would be a good idea.
I can’t think of anything else to let you know about Carnival and service dogs. Oh, except that the first couple of nights I couldn’t get warm water out of the bathroom faucet (or shower – I tried that, too, just to see) to make my dog’s dinner with (it needs to be rehydrated) – I don’t know if this was because it was very late at night so the water heaters are turned off at a certain time (all the other days I fed her earlier, right after my late-seating dinner was over, and got warm water from the tap) or because the ship was having water issues (I know at least one cabin in our group didn’t have hot water even for showers for the first couple of days and on the last night the Lido didn’t have any water). If it was due to the heater being turned off at a certain time, though, it would be nice to inform folks of this. Thankfully, I was able to get a pot of hot water from the room service folks for those first couple of days when I couldn’t get warm water from the tap late at night, so my dog was still able to eat.
One non-service dog-related request to Carnival would be that when somebody is sent a cake from the gift service (they or somebody they know ordered it before the cruise) to their cabin, a cover of some sort be placed on the cake to keep it from getting dusty throughout the week. I was sent a cake by family members and by the end of the week, on what was remaining I could see some dust as well as a tiny feather or two from my pirate hat (my group had a pirate costume activity) stuck to the top/sides of the cake. It was delicious when it was clean, though!
Thanks again for your help!
John,
You never fail to make me laugh. Your description of hockey is very accurate and the exact reason that I am a huge fan!! I never miss my beloved Red Wings!! As to the complainers…you know you cant make everyone happy. When people will complain about the tropical weather in the tropics, they need to stay home, or travel in a bubble, or go from their air conditioned home to their air conditioned car and then drive to their air conditioned ship and never leave their air conditioned room until it is time to reverse the process. Ahhh, what a vacation!
Re: Hockey fights.
Short answer: The fans love it.
Somewhat longer answer: fighting is allowed as a pressure release valve so that angry players don’t use the aforementioned curved sticks and boots with knife blades as weapons.
In leagues (mostly European) were fighting isn’t allowed, the nasty stick-work and kicking is atrocious.
And another thing, hooliganism is much better on the ice then in the stands (yes I’m looking at you English “Football” fan.
Hi John
I have a couple questions. First we are taking our daughter on the Carnival Spirit April 23-May 5, 2010 (Hawaii to Vancouver) to celebrate her graduation. Just wondering why Carnival does not sell graduation decorations or cakes and stuff through the bon Voyage department? I would have loved to order some stuff for her to make it special, but looks like I will have to pack stuff in my suitcase and fly it to the ship with me.
My second question is: A group of my friends and I will be on the Carnival Splendor for the Oct. 31- Nov. 7, 2010 sailing. When will Carnival announce if they are doing anything for Halloween? I was wondering if there will be a costume party and if so what night? Will it be one of our elegant nights? Would like to know this so we know what to pack? This cruise should turn out to be a great cruise as there are a few of us celebrating our birthdays on the cruise.
Thanks for any info you can give me.
Tracy
I have never laughed so hard at any shows as I have the hypnotist shows. I would not volunteer myself. I spoke to someone who did go up and he said he remembers doing what he was told, but he doesn’t know why. It was like sleepwalking with no inhibitions. The hypnotist was very careful to weed out those that were not easy subjects. Whether you believe them or not, they are entertaining shows.
DEAR JOHN,
IT WAS SNOWING THIS MORNING AND I HAD TO WAIT OUTSIDE OF MY OFFICE BECAUSE I LEFT MY KEY AT HOME.
COULD YOU SEND A NICE FRUIT BASKET TO:
GET A LIFE
ANYTOWN USA
John just got off the Spirit. Wow was wonderful. I don’t know how you folks do it but every cruise I take and I just completed my 9th was better than the last. When we were in Acapulco John it would of been nice if Carnival could have air conditioning on the pier LOL. One thing John the evening dining was wonderful but the entertainment from the waiters was great two of them got up on there serving tables and danced and ladies were putting money in there aprons that was funny. Thanks John for all that you do and all the people at Carnival .
gee, i don’t mindand in fact enjoy waiting to board in coz, gives me a chance to watch the staggering masses from senor frogs try to weave their way up the pier, lol
Hi John,
I’d like to chime in also about what a good deal Carnival is. Jeanne (my fiance) were just on the 12-day Grand Med cruise aboard the Carnival Dream last Oct. I proposed to my girlfriend in Venice in fronto of the Bridge of Sighs (thank you for the advice, as we did seal it with a kiss in front of the bridge). Long story short, our wedding is planned for Dec 23rd this year, as Jeanne has always wanted a Christmas wedding. With this current economy, and the fact that the wedding will be in Quebec, we need to save some money (obviously). Despite this, I was able to book a 5-day cruise on the Carnival Ecstasy out of Galveston to Mexico for Jeanne & my two sons. After the big cruise, I know I needed to go with a shorter, more affordable cruise. Carnival provided the answer with the Carnival Ecstasy! I paid for the entire ruise as a master’s program graduation present for Jeanne and my boys’ first cruise. Now, only one question rmains…after a 12-day Grand Med cruise to propose to my girlfriend, how do you top that for a honeymoon??!!
Marty
Hello
I was just wonder if u have any in put on the carnival sensation? Anything fun that i could do that popular like shore stuff? Wat should i look forward too?
Hi John,
Please Reply,
John, you really did not mean that if a person complains about any little thing, Carnival rewards them for this. It would seem that Carnival should be rewarding the passengers who leaves complements instead of rewarding the complainers. I bet that if you stopped rewarding the complainer’s (unless they have a legitimate complaint) you would see many of these stupid ones coming to a stop. Do you realize that Carnival has to add on to our fares to give these baskets or whatever other rewards they give them, onto our fares. I realize that the fruit basket does not cost that much per basket, but when you add them up fleet wide, it is a huge expense that has to come from somewhere and that is from the rest of the passengers fares. I say stop rewarding them unless it is a legitimate complaint. Just my opinion.
Give my love to Heidi and Kye
From your #1 Bloggy Thinggy fan,
Kathy M.
Hi John – we’re back from our funtastic Dream cruise on Feb 20. So much fun sailing with you!
I’m just writing to say how incensed I was at hearing some Cdn Hockey watchers (obviously not true Cdn Fans) who took it out on you that NBC switched its feed. There’s no excuse for poor behaviour like that especially when you made such a great effort to see that we would see the Game on the Seaside Theatre screen. Many of us had already left the Lido to go find other ways to have fun that night and we missed you coming out to talk to the crowd. That was very brave and those yahoos didn’t deserve your great customer service. So please accept an apology, John on behalf of the many Canadians on board who got into the Olympic Spirit and who appreciated your efforts.
I wonder just what will happen this afternoon when the Gold Medal game is played and the “fate of our two nations” will be decided? I hope that a few Numpties from our cruise will not spoil the opportunity for the guests today to enjoy the last day of these Golden Vancouver Olympics (if NBC cooperates).
Blessings to you John, and thanks for a wonderful, memorable cruise on Our Carnival Dream!
Barb
Dear John and/or one of the Stepanies:
Would you p-u-l-e-e-z-e explain to me how your blog appears each day and the comments are already posted.following your blog. I just can’t fathom how you write about no air conditioning at the pier and this is followed immediately by responses. If I go to the end of the blog to leave a reply it MAY be posted (at the soonest) tomorrow or in a few days’ time according to how busy you are. I just don’t understand.. I’ve asked this question several times in the past and haven’t received a logical response.
Also, knowing the extent of your followers to your blog, how is it decided which questions or replies you will use as it probably would take forever to get through everybodies posts. Although I have not made a big deal about my questions or posts not appearing, I do often see double/triple posts from certain people appear quite frequently which is another reason I ask about how comments are chosen and as I admit to being computer-lliterate, I wonder is it because I am doing something wrong???.
I do love reading your blog and enjoy it immensely – especially your humor (spelled correctly). I hope someday that you’ll be able to bring your bloggings to book form.
I realize that people are always going to complain. That is why I wanted to post this question to you. I’ve read many poor reviews on how Carnival deals with food allergies–lots of people say they have gotten sick. I’m trying to plan a cruise for my 10 year anniversary, but am getting the run-around from Carnival’s Guest Services for special needs about my food allegies. It seems that they want me to wait and ask questions about the food after I’m stuck on a ship at sea. I’m not that stupid.
If I can get some answers, I’ll be on Glory in October. Who can I contact to get some answers about food BEFORE I’m on a ship at sea with nothing safe to eat?