And so it begins…
Guest: Mrs. ______ Ref: 846006032A
Cabin: ___ Booking#: ______ Added-Changed: 03/07/10 – 03/07/10GUESTS WANTS THE OSCARS ON THE GIANT SCREEN
Mrs._____ said that she had read the Capers but had not seen the Oscars being shown tonight. Guest said that she had been promised by her travel agent that this would be shown. Guest was quite upset so GSA called CD but he was at his TV morning show.
Well apart from the fact that I need to remind the guest services associates that the Capers have ceased to be and are now called Fun Times (although I said Capers many times last week) how would this lady’s travel agent be able to promise what I am going show on the big screen. I guess that’s a subject for another day.
I haven’t had much luck with the Seaside Theatre Big Screen. I have advertised a hockey game that was canceled and moved to MSNBC to make way for some men in Lycra mincing around on some ice and now this. I had forgotten about the Oscars and had advertised our normal Sunday line up of movies — Ice Age 3 for the kids and Angels and Demons for people who like Tom Hanks and nuns.
So, I had to make the decision to either postpone the movies for another day and play the Oscars ……..or tell this guest that her travel agent had told her we would show the Oscars in the same way Tiger Woods told his wife he was just popping out for a round of golf with his mates. But after careful consideration, planning and thought……..or “tossing a coin” as it’s known………I decided to play the Oscars.
So with an apology announcement to the guests over the PA system for the change I later went up to deck 10 to see if it had been the right decision. There were about 150 guests outside watching, though some were wrapped in blankets and others keeping warm by cuddling up to Johnny Walker, Jack Daniels or Bud Wiser………..it was only 68 degrees ………… GWMA!
Oh by the way, we gave all the guests watching this sheet here to fill in and then the guest that gets most right will win their own plastic Oscar
I watched for 5 minutes …….but honestly……it’s not my thing……..I would rather watch the Miami Heat beat the Los Angeles Quakers.
However, the one part of these award ceremonies I do like is that brilliant moment when the nominations have been read out and 4 famous actors or actresses are sitting there waiting to find out whether they have won or lost. I wonder if they think about what face they are going to pull when the envelope has been opened and the winner has been revealed and it’s not them……….but Meryl Streep……….again. I would think it would be easy for those nominated at the Oscar’s though, because grinning is what they do for a living. And because they’ve been nominated for the biggest grinning prize of them all, we can assume they’re very good at it.
Then there are the winners. They’ve got to look proud, a little bit startled, a little shocked and happy, but not air punching delirious as though they just got back to their hotel suite to find 4 naked Latvian women waiting for them. That’s a hard one to pull off, even if you’re George Clooney or Denzel Washington, which, presumably, is why they usually stand there sobbing like great big girls.
It’s easier to get your face right if you lose, but there are still pitfalls. Who can forget the time when Colin Welland, who wrote Chariots of Fire, was halfway out of his seat to collect a best film award only to find he hadn’t won it? He didn’t look like he’d lost. He looked like he’d been kicked in the bollocks by a horse wearing stiletto heels.
Surely then given the choices, losing is better than winning, and not only because it’s easier to pull the right face. If you win, you’ll have to make a speech, which, and this is a promise, no bugger wants to hear. They can see on the plinth that there are 207 more awards still to be handed out and that if everyone rambles on like a cruise director on speed…….. They’re never going to get to Elton John’s after Oscar’s party to drink Dom Perignon from Angelina Jolie’s belly button.
One thing that does make me laugh is how each “mega star” has to show up in the most impressive car. Stretch Limos, Rolls Royces, Bentleys and other exotic vehicles. I think Leonardo De Crapio arrived in a Polar bear saving Toyota Prius but like most Toyota’s the breaks didn’t work and he missed the Oscars completely and is reportedly somewhere in Utah…………….. Still going.
Yep, the stars all wanted to outdo each other and if I was rich and famous and attending the Oscars I would arrive………in Megan Fox.
Time for today’s questions…………away we go.
Elizabeth Asked:
Please respond–John, do you still speak with a Proper English accent or has the contact with Americans spoilt it? I hope you still have it.
John Says:
Hello ElizabethWell that is a good question. I have to admit that my Brit friends do say that I have a “twang” and although I certainly don’t sound like a character from the Dukes of Hazzard I have, over the past 22 years, picked up a few Americanisms. However, once home in Essex for a few days my English accent returns. Obviously I still (much to the disgust of my father who definitely speaks the Queen’s English) find myself saying certain words in the classic American style. I say “garbage” instead of “rubbish” and only a few days ago I asked Heidi where my “Vi tar mins” were instead of “Vit a mins.” You see we have the same language but with major differences. My friend and Carnival’s Vice President of Public Relations Tim Gallagher tells the story of how he was in London a few years ago and got on one of those red double decker London buses.
There were no seats except for one which was taken up by this English lady’s little lap dog. Tim asked if she might move her dog so he could sit down and the English lady said, “No, I will not move my dog because my dog is better than you Americans.”
Well, Tim who is usually the most passive chap you will ever meet, opened the bus window …….picked up the dog……..threw the dog out of the bus window and sat down.
An Englishman sitting across the aisle looked over at Tim and said, “You Americans, you do everything the wrong way round. You drive on the wrong side of the road……you eat with the fork in the wrong hand…….and just now you threw the wrong bitch out of the window.
Thanks for the spiffing question.
Best wishes
JohnIrma Moore Asked:
Please respondDear John, we love your blog! Please tell the wonderful wait staff on all Carnival ships that we also love being treated to fantastic service that is not hurried (If you want to hurry go to Mickey D’s). We are so fortunate to be going on our third Carnival cruise within the last 6 months and we got the upsell call so it will be our first suite. We will be traveling on the Sensation, March 7th with my niece and her husband to celebrate her 49th and my 63rd birthday. We would love for you, Heidi and Kye to jump ship and join us but we know that you are required elsewhere. If possible, would you send a note to say Happy Birthday to my niece? Her name is Kimberly N. Sanders.
Here’s hoping you are having a wonderful day and that Heidi and Kye have a wonderful flight.
Irma MooreJohn Says:
Hello Irma MooreThanks so much for the kind words for the blog and the service from our staff in the dining rooms. I hope you have a great time and I will be honoured to send Kimberley a note for her birthday. I hope you and the family have a great time
Best wishes to all
JohnRonald & Sharon Asked:
John,I hate to ask for favors, I know you have so many requests. We are sailing on the Elation on Oct. 4, 2010. Ronnie’s Birthday is on Oct. 4, and our granddaughter’s is Oct 16th. This is her first Cruise.
We are taking her for her 13th Birthday. We have a party of 5. If it is possible could we get a table for 5 on the lower level first seating in the middle?
We love your Blogs. We know you will be so excited to see you’re Two Girls.
Love to You, Hedi & KyeJohn Says:
Hello Ronald and SharonPlease don’t feel bad about asking me for things as that is part of what this blog is about. Please can I ask that you send me this again on September 1 with your cabin numbers and I will be sure to ask the Maitre D to assist you?
Thanks for the kind words
Best wishes to all
JohnD.J. Patrick Asked:
Dear John,First. I wanted to take the time to tell you how much I have been enjoying your blogs. My husband and I are going to be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary onboard the Carnival Legend the week of October 17th. It will be our first cruise. It is going to be a very long year. I also wanted to tell you what a great vacation planner you have in Diane Coto. She has been a great help. She has got me so excited about the cruise I have been driving family and relatives crazy. However through this I know have 4 more people coming along to celebrate with us. Sorry to ramble. Can you please let me know who I can contact to make sure Diane gets the recognition she deserves for her work and dedication in making my first cruise a memorable one? Thank You in advance for your help. Looking forward to your blogs.
D.J.
John Says:
Hello D.J.It is always such a pleasure to read nice comments about our shoreside staff who, unlike the shipboard teams, don’t often get the recognition they deserve. I will be sure that Diane and her managers get to read this posting.
Thanks to you and the excitement you have shown for your October cruise I see that 4 more people have caught Carnival fever and are coming with you. That is absolutely brilliant. If there is anything else I can do for you before you sail please let me know.
Best wishes
JohnJohn Jordan Asked:
Hi John,Well…finally after 10 years we have booked our second cruise and will be sailing on the Carnival Splendor on March 14th. I am not sure that 10 years ago we even knew anyone who had ever taken a cruise…and we really didn’t know what we were doing. It ended up not being the best experience. It all started when we missed the boat due to flight delays in Saint Louis…so instead of a 5 day cruise on the Imagination out of Miami to Jamaica and Grand Cayman….we ended up on a 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise out of Puerto Rico on the Inspiration. I had everything planned perfectly (ahem)….except when none of it happened. Did I mention we were traveling with a 7 year old…and a 2 year old? You can imagine all of the trouble we had…including trying to find diapers in Guadalupe (which we didn’t). We had less than an ideal…really no fault of Carnival, but just trying to deal with all the crap…well…you know what I mean.
It has taken quite a while to take the plunge again and schedule a cruise. I want it to go smoothly, well actually perfectly…and I am incredibly apprehensive. I am reading everything I can get my hands on from cruise tips and secrets…to a blog by this really quirky cruise director who apparently does all of his writing in his underpants. Can you believe it?
Anything you can do to help make our second adventure on Carnival great would be appreciated. I want my wife and sons (Now 16 and 11 (turning 12 on the cruise) to have the best time ever. Just some advice would be great…the options are overwhelming…and from the looks of it everyone else who writes to you is on their 32nd cruise!!!
Thanks!!!
John Says:
Hello John JordanJust 9 months ago I would not have truly understood your diaper dilemma but no Kye has entered my life I know exactly what you mean and feel your pain. I hope that this coming cruise on the Carnival Splendor will go much more smoothly than your first time. I can’t believe there is some idiot writing a blog in his underpants……what is the blogging world coming to? Please don’t worry about planning too much and don’t stress. A lot has changed since you sailed last and I know the crew on the Carnival Splendor will make sure this is a cruise that will rejuvenate your faith in family vacations and give you all so much fun. Try and find one night where your kids can enjoy Club O2 and Circle C leaving you and the Mrs. to enjoy a romantic meal for two at the Steakhouse. You can expect a little something from me as well.
Please send me a review if you have time and I wish you all a brilliant time.
Best wishes
JohnSoBelle129 Asked:
Dear John: Please reply.I have two questions for you and one favor to also ask. 1. I’ve always wondered why ships are registered either in the Bahamas, Liberia or Panama. Is it due to taxes? 2. Do you know where I can obtain a Carnival Festivale ship pin? I sailed on that ship years ago and need that pin to complete my pin collection. I’m a Platinum Carnival Cruise Line member. 3. I wrote to you some time back that I have a client who is going to be on the Carnival Dream with you on the April 17th sailing. He is 28 years old and is an orphan at his young age. His Dad passed away two months ago from cancer and his Mom died when he was ten years old. The client was also under the impression that the Dream would be stopping in Nassau and was surprised that the itinerary changed from the time he booked and paid for the cruise. Would you be able to get him and his girlfriend a dinner for two in the steakhouse during his cruise? I would really appreciate that very much if you could do this for them. I’m also their travel agent who booked this cruise for them. I would appreciate your reply to my two questions and my favor that I asked of you. I know that you are looking forward to having Heidi and Kye sailing with you on February 12th.
Best regards,
LeslieJohn Says:
Hello So Belle 129 – LeslieLet’s start with your first question. Yes, most cruise ships operating in the U.S. fly a foreign flag to comply with government regulations that states U.S. flagged ships must either be built in the U.S. or have an American staff. And since most cruise ships are built in Europe and have international crews, most cruise ships fly a foreign flag.
As for the pins, well I am working hard to get the onboard shops to make them for the ships that have left us….Mardi Gras, Carnivale, Festivale, Tropicale, Holiday, Jubilee and Celebration. I will hopefully have news on this soon. I won’t be able to give your clients a dinner for two at the Steakhouse. I hope you understand but once I open this door its one that will never close and as much as sad as I feel for his loss, I can’t do this. I will though make sure I send them something to their cabin so please provide me with their last name or cabin number and I will do just that.
I look forward to hearing from you and my best to you and all your clients
JohnThomas Asked:
John – reply to this postI was just on the Conquest and had a good time except there were no tables for 2 left at dinner. I suspect this is because you have given them all away on your blog. This is unfair and while you help those that pretend to be your friend and then ask you for things the rest of us who do it the proper way get nothing. What do you have to say?
John Says:
Hello Thomas NThe good news from your posting is that you had a great cruise and that is good to hear. I am so sorry that you did not get the table of your choice though as that has clearly upset you. I doubt that the reason there were no tables of 2 was due to the blog though but demand. Were you on Your Time Dining or assigned seating? Please let me know.
I won’t comment on your last statement because obviously you are upset, but let me say that I am here should you or anyone else ask me for help Once again I am glad you had a great time.
Best wishes
JohnPaula Asked:
Dear John, Please respond.We were on the Jan. 23rd Carnival Dream cruise. We had a terrific time, thanks to Todd, and our wonderful wait staff, table 641, Scarlett Dining Room, early seating–Guillermo and Norman. We missed seeing James and Captain Queirolo. Is Captain Q okay? Our last cruise on the Freedom was the best we had ever been on due to Todd, James and the Captain.
Your ride on the slides with G. Cahill motivated my husband and me to try them. We loved the Twister.
I was so excited to see you outside the Encore Lounge that I barged in on your conversation with another guest. You were showing pix of your gorgeous Kye. I am sorry if I seemed rude.
I wanted to ask you why, as Platinum cruisers we did not receive our Carnival Dream pins? This was our first VIP cruise and we were looking forward to them. Our cabin steward was not the most efficient and had to be reminded about the special logo frames two times before we got them. I am hoping he just forgot to leave the pins in our stateroom. Weren’t we supposed to get them? I was wondering if you could let someone know that we didn’t receive them and perhaps have them send them to us. Also, we have cruised with Carnival 3 time in the last 16 months and haven’t gotten our Currents magazine in over 2 years. Help, please.
I wish we could have seen your bedtime story. Perhaps next time. When will you have your ship assignment schedule?
Keep on doing what you do. I love your sense of humor(spelled correctly).
Sincerely,
PaulaJohn Says:
Hello PaulaWhat a great review and one that I will make sure that everyone you mentioned gets to read. I have seen now for myself just how wonderful the crew of your Carnival Dream is and it has been an honour to work alongside them all. I am glad my poor attempt at the water slides gave you both the inspiration to try them and I should point out while action man Gerry “Iron Man” Cahill was loving the experience…..I ruined a good pair of underwear.
Please don’t apologize for interrupting the conversation I was having. You certainly were not rude by doing so and I am just happy we got a chance to meet. OK, Carnival Currents has ceased and has been replaced by an online site called “Funville” which is much more current. Here is the link thingy – http://www.carnival.com/funville
As Platinum guests you are indeed supposed to get the pins and I have no idea why you did not. I will make sure that this is taken care of and apologize that you were over looked.
Thanks so much for all your kind words and for your loyalty to us here at Carnival and I will get you those pins
Best wishes
JohnTracy Asked:
Please replycan u also tell me who’s the cd on the liberty Nov 27th. ty
John Says:
Hello TracyWe have not yet completed the schedule for the rest of 2010. It is a work in progress and I should have this ready to post by the end of March.
Best wishes
JohnMarty Paul Asked:
Hi John (please reply, if you have time),Well, I must have “Carnival cruise fever” after sailing on the Carnival Dream (10/15/09) in the Med, because I just booked another Carnival cruise.
My fiance, Jeanne & I will be getting married later this year, so I wanted to keep “in- check “(both time & money), the vacation with my 2 boys (Ryan-12 & Colin-9) this summer.
Perfect answer was the Carnival Ecstasy out of Galveston. We are booked for the 5-day West Carib on July 10th.
My question is, I would love to show my sons the behind the scenes of a large commercial ship in operation (I have a maritime background). I am sure they are not getting any exposure or encouragement in the maritime field from my ex-wife out in San Diego. Does the Carnival Ecstasy do the “Behind the Fun” tour?
We have booked one of the new balcony cabins and I am really looking forward to seeing how the ship looks after her Evolutions of Fun upgrades. Heck, I was impressed with the ship a few years back when I took Jeanne on her first cruise, the 4-day “weekender” out of Galveston to Cozumel. The condition of the ship was excellent in view of her age and I noted that the crew was constantly cleaning, making repairs, maintaining, etc throughout the cruise. By the way, I had sailed on her maiden West Carib voyage out of Miami in 1991, so I’m very familiar with the Ecstasy. She has followed me to SE Texas (I live in Houston)…
Thanks for your wonderful blog AND you’re sense of humor (spelled correctly)! You are a perfect fit for Carnival because fun & humor go hand-in-hand!! Keep up the great job and I hope we can sail with you someday. I am also a cigar enthusiast, so maybe we’ll enjoy a cigar together someday. Take care and best wishes to you & your family (especially with their long flight across The Pond”).
Marty (& Jeanne)
John Says:
Hello Marty Paul and JeanneYou sound very excited to be sailing on the new Carnival Ecstasy complete with all her brilliant Evolutions of Fun upgrades. I am also sure that with your sea going past you will be thrilled to show your family what goes on behind the scenes which you will be able to do on the ship during the “Behind the Fun” tour. I just spoke to a friend of mine Host Mach and I posted his review of the ship and he was flabbergasted by the way the ship looked the facilities and her crew so I am sure that you will be just as thrilled.
Thanks for the kind words and hopefully we will get to smoke that cigar one day. Please send me your son’s names and cabin one month before you sail so I can send them a welcome aboard gift.
Best wishes to you all
John
That’s all for today. Thanks to all of you who voted on the poll on the side of the blog thingy. If you haven’t had a chance to do so yet please do so if you have time. I am getting a little confused as to where this blog should go next or if it should remain as is and your thoughts on this would be most welcome. Thanks again for all the great comments.
Heidi and Kye made it home OK and I have asked Heidi to write a little blog thingy about her flying experiences so look out for that later this week. Later this week there will be a great interview with our Chief Marketing Officer Jim Berra which you will all want to read and tomorrow our man in London Mr. Peter Shanks has a very different kind of blog to share………..and you will love it.
Talking of Mr. Peter Shanks who is of course not only our man in London but also is of course President of Cunard. And talking of Cunard here is a stunning photo of the incomparable Queen Mary 2 arriving majestically into Sydney, Australia.
There are many ships sailing the world, some bigger and some with more gizmos and gadgets. But is there anything that at sea that can start the heart beating faster than the sight of the Queen Mary 2? Let me answer that question myself. …………..No!
That photo is worthy of being a screen saver. Here are today’s random photos taken be me which are worthy of bugger all.
So here I sit……….in my underpants……..heading to Cozumel and while I am in the Western Caribbean my friends James Cusick, the Executive Chief Purser of P&O’s beautiful Arcadia and fellow blogger, is down under in Australia.
Thanks to his blog we can all experience what life is like for his passengers and his fellow crew members. So, while make myself a cup of tea why not pop on over to www.bestblogsatsea.com where you will find James’s blog and much more including photos of the stunning new uber luxury Seabourn Sojourn.
Just before I write about this cruise so far I wanted to recap last week. You might remember that I had a strange feeling that some of the guests were maybe not as happy as I would like. It was a feeling based on the fact that unusually, when I would say hello or good morning etc, some would not reply or even acknowledge me. Well the only way to truly know if this feeling was a correct one or not was going to be in the guest comment card results. And those showed that 98% had a great time and would return for another Carnival cruise. However the individual department ratings dropped an average of three points. I wonder why?
Anyway, I thought you might like to see a few letters from last week’s Morning Shows including some sketches by my blogger friend Mrs. Funk who captured some of the cruises highlights through her brilliant sketches. These included a couple whose jeep got stuck in the sand and oh yes…..me and Mary from the bedtime story. Anyway, here they are and one or two other stories.
Now you may have noticed the letter from the lady who had received a “Dear Jane” text. Her boyfriend of three years dumped her on Friday and when I called her live on the Morning Show she not only told the rest of the ship his name…..but also his phone number and begged the guests to call him and tell him he was “a heartless sh*t.” My Morning Show had suddenly and without warning turned into the Jerry Springer Show.
I wonder if anyone called him……apart from me.
OK, now we can move on to this cruise……voyage DR7030610
TOTAL GUESTS 4,038
NON US CITIZENS AND CANADIANS 317 – 81 from UK, 76 from Germany.
PAST GUESTS 2401
PLATINUM AND MILESTONE 163
MOST CCL CRUISES Mrs. Marcia Good – 43.
| AGE GROUP | TOTALS |
| Under 2 Years | 11 |
| 2-5 Years | 67 |
| 6-8 Years | 64 |
| 9-11 Years | 80 |
| 12-14 Years | 77 |
| 15-17 Years | 79 |
| 18-20 Years | 140 |
And while we have no specific large groups it is the beginning of spring break and while the vast majority are great kids we, like all cruise lines and land resorts will no doubt have one or two who will do what spring breakers do. Have too much to drink and then wake up the next morning realizing they have just spent all their money and it’s only the second day of the cruise. We had some obnoxious 20 something’s at Karaoke last night who felt it would be really “cool” to swear on the microphone. The microphone was immediately muted and the culprits told to leave. Now, this was just a small group of 7 guys and two girls and all have since been warned that their behavior will be monitored and any further problems could result in their Sail& Sign cards being canceled and further action if necessary. Since their bollocking by our Chief Security and Hotel Director …..there have been no further problems. I wonder though how they will be after Cozumel today …….and $5 Margaritas the size of gold fish tanks!
The rest of the 4,000 guests have been just brilliant so far and at the Welcome Aboard Show I chose a guest to come on stage with me who will be forever memorable to everyone onboard this week.
His name is Willard Hammond who is 78 and has been married for 59 years.
The conversation went like this:
ME WHATS YOUR NAME
GUEST SONNY, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO SPEAK UP BECAUSE I AIN’T GOT MY AID IN
ME YOU HAVEN’T WHAT?
GUEST WHAT?
ME (LOUDER) YOU DON’T HAVE WHAT IN
GUEST MY AID ……….points to his ear.
ME OH, I WILL SPEAK LOUDER THEN
GUEST I’M A LITTLE DRUNK AS WELL
ME DRUNK
GUEST WHAT
ME (REALLY LOUD) YOU’RE DRUNK?
GUEST YES I AM…….BEEN AT THEM RUM DRINKS
ME WHAT’S YOUR NAME
GUEST WILLARD HAMMOND
ME WHERE ARE YOU FROM
WILLARD WHAT?
ME (REALLY LOUD) WHERE YOU FROM
GUEST STINKING CREEK, KENTUCKY
ME WHAT?
WILLARD DID YOU FORGET YOUR AID TO?
ME MAYBE, I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WERE FROM A PLACE CALLED STINKING CREEK
WILLARD THAT’S WHAT I SAID. IT USED TO BE CALLED CLEAR CREEK BUT THEN IN 1949 OUR PREACHER STARTED BAPTIZING FOLKS IN THERE SO NOW WE CALL IT STINKING CREEK
ME IS IT A NICE PLACE
WILLARD SMELLS THE SAME AS MY DRAWERS
ME (10 MINUTES LATER AFTER LAUGHING HARD)
WHO ARE YOU HERE WITH
WILLARD MY WIFE DELORES, BEEN HITCHED TOGETHER FOR 59 YEARS
ME THAT’S FANTASTIC
WILLARD YOU AIN’T TRIED HER COOKING
ME IS SHE A GOOD COOK
WILLARD WHAT
ME (LOUDER) IS SHE A GOOD COOK
WILLARD IF YOU LIKE YOUR GRITS BURNT AND YOUR MEATLOAF TASTING LIKE THE ASS END OF ARMADILLO
As you will see from the photos now……….I just sat down and let him talk.
Willard was a truly funny guy. It wasn’t an act, he was just naturally funny. He really is just a naturally funny guy. We learnt later that this is the first vacation he has ever been on outside of fishing trips. Ever since the show every guest I speak to all ask me “where’s Stinking Creek?” and there is no doubt that he has become an idol here this week.
The audience laughed and laughed and there was one person at the show who needed that laughter more than anyone………me. There are no words to describe the loneliness of an empty cabin. It had been full of laughter and giggles and pooey diapers and love. And now there is just me. As show time on Saturday approached I felt sad, empty and truly did not feel able to go out and be funny for an hour. And admittedly for the first ten minutes I was on total auto pilot. But then……….I met “Stinking Creek” and I realized once again what a wonderful job I have and how important it is for me to forget my troubles, count my blessings and be the best Cruise Director I can be. It’s not always easy ……………and I do miss the girls more than words could possibly describe. But laughter as I have always said is a great medicine and thanks to “Stinking Creek” I got some of that medicine for myself…………………….and I feel so much better for it………..I was rejuvenated and reborn thanks to a Stinking Creek.
As you can see the 343 Stephanie’s have added a few balloons to the header as it’s our anniversary. I still can’t believe that you all wake up each day and read this blog thingy………………..six million times. Thank you all for your friendship and as long as you want me to and as long as I have a pair of underpants………….I will keep on blogging.
Goodnight
Your friend
John
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,
Hope your heart is on the mend soon. I know when I’m bummed out (normally after leaving my Carnival cruise), the thing that gets me through is planning the next one and starting the next countdown. Have Heidi book and plan her next trip to visit to give you something to look forward to and make the days pass quicker.
As for the poll on the left, I didn’t see my “vote” on there. My vote would be somewhere between “keep the blog the way it is” and “hire some more people to help you get to the requests and questions in a more timely manner”.
Keep up the good work!
Stacey
Happy Birthday!! I have been with you and Big Ed, Pat, DJ’s mom and all the others from the beginning. I don’t post much but I like the blog as it is and all the happy posters. Keep the stories coming.
Don’t worry John, when you run out of underpants you can just do your blog in your birthday suit. AND you can even take a self portrait with your NEW digital camera! HA! HA! It was so great to see you and meet Heidi and Kye, you make a terrific family! So, did BIG Ed profess his love to Pat, and win her all the gifts of jewels etc.? Can’t wait to see Heidi’s blog this week. I hope you got the copies of all the photos I sent you! Linda & Mike (your friends from Florida).
I really would like to know what happened to the couple with the Jeep that got stuck in the sand. You said there would at least be a cartoon of that in this column, but it must have ended up on the cutting room floor. The reason I would like to know is that I was ON that cruise – Feb 20-27 and we are all wondering: did they fly to the next port of call? We are hoping they are not still stuck in the sand!!!!!!!!
I want to repeat again how IMPRESSED I was with the Anytime Dining and the service and courtesy rendered by Zsuzsa and her wait team.
Thanks, John!!!!!!!!
Thanks John for posting my cartoons. Our family had a wonderful time on Carnival Dream and we can’t wait to go cruising again. You made our trip fun and thanks for giving me my first ship on a stick. (I did win two others at trivia.)
Sincerely,
Marjorie Funk
You are so talented Marjorie. I enjoyed your pictures immensely. Thank you so sharing!!!
Funkyface you are so talented! I am so happy your first Carnival experience was so much fun for you! You did make sure you got involved in as many actoivities as possible- so the more you did the more fun you had! it was great spending time with you around the ship!
Especially love the one of Mary and CD John.
Hey John,
Congrats on the Anniversary!!!
Well ……..we were suffering so much cruise withdrawl that I had to contact the BEST PVP at Carnival this past weekend………….she is Joanna Piazza and book Donna and myself on the MIRACLE for next Feb. 7th.
Yes…………..Mr. Canada will hit the seas again next year and we are very excited about the southern itinerary.
We’re glad to hear that you had a great three weeks with Heidi and Kye.
I must admit……………….I will soon be mapquesting to see where the hell Stinking Creek is located. I’ll be I’m not the only blogger that will be curious.
Be well my friend and keep smiling. You DO have a great job and from what we witnessed in early Feb. you still enjoy every minute of it .
All the best from very Sunny Canada.
B&D
Hey John,
Sorry you are felling the Blues for missing the girls. We never get use to it, do we?
“Stinking Creek” Willard sounds like just what you needed though. What a riot!! He reminds me of my Daddy.
Wow!! 3 YEARS!!!!…….6 MILLION “Hits”. I’m pretty bad at math, but I figure that out to be an average of 2 Million Hits a Year!!! Many a Blogger would sleep with Judge Judy to have that type of volume.
I guess it proves you have a Great “Product” here. Forget about changing the format.
We, your Friends, and Fans, want to know how you are doing, both professionally, and personally.
If, according to your current poll, the 2% of the readership don’t care for that….. well there are a lot of dry, boring, and humourless(spelled Correctly), blog offerings I could refer them to.
You are a Good Man. You Write a Great Blog.
Peace My Friend,
Jay
GOD BLESS YOU JOHN
YOU MIGHT HAVE THAT EMPTY CABIN FOR A FEW SHORT MOMENTS BUT AS LONG AS YOU KEEP BLOGGING YOU WILL NEVER BE ALONE
WE ARE PROUD TO BE YOUR FRIEND AND WILL ALWAYS BE HERE, AND HAVE BEEN HERE SINCE DAY ONE. GLAD TO HEAR THAT THE GIRLS MADE IT HOME OK.
TAKE CARE
{{{{{ H U G S }}}}}}
THE TUCKERS IN FLORIDA
ELIZABETH & ARNOLD
John you need to hire Willard…… he sounds like he might make a good comedian for the ship;
We enjoyed our cruise with you on the Dream so much we booked a cruise for March 28th on the Conquest. This will be our first cruise on the Carnival Conquest and first time out of Galveston.
I’m sure we will miss our aftenoon visit with Heidi and Kye. I was so busy playing with Kye that I failed to visit with Heidi ery much. I need to apologize to her for not talking to her more. Since it will be your first week as CD on the conquest ooooooppppppps Carnival Conquest I know you will be super busy, but hope we get to see you once or twice.
Carolyn and Don
Hugs to Heidi and Kye
PS have you gotten a better suggestion for a name that ends in tion for a new ship that beats constipation as the man suggested? RALMHO
hi john! happy anniversary to you and heidi! sorry they had to go back so soon.
did i tell you charlie is finished his treatments now? i don’t think i did anyway. we are going on the carnival glory this sunday to celebrate. we have never been on the glory. i’m sure we’ll love it though.
smiles, bonnie and prince charlie
Bee- I thought John and Heidi’s anniversary was 12/6? That’s what Paul told me anyhow. You will LOVE the Glory, we have been on it 3x, for the inaugural and 2 others, we had John as cruise director twice on it, Inaugural and one more. On the Inaugural they made a video which is shown every so often on the Travel channel and I am in it, walking into a gift shop with a long turquoise blue dress on, you only see me for a split second! If you blinked you’d miss me! HA! Have fun on the Glory! WOO HOO about Charlie!
John:
Six Million readers can’t be wrong. Keep up the great entertainment. Loved you opening the Blog with a note from Guest Services.
So glad to hear that Heidi and Kye returned home safely. I can not imagine how much you miss them. David is only gone during the week (and some weekends) and that is hard enough on DJ.
DJ and David are headed to the Nascar race at Bristol soon. Just the two of them. They are going to have a guy’s weekend. That helps make up for the times when David is gone.
May the next few months pass quicker than a Frenchman runs away from soap!
Linda (Mom of your friend DJ)
Hi John,
Congratulations on the blog’s anniversary and it’s impressive success! Glad to hear your girls made it safely back “across the pond”. Keep your chin up and keep in mind, soon you will be sailing on the brand-spanking-new Carnival Magic out of Europe, so being with your girls will be a lot easier.
The way things seem to be going in the industry, I wouldn’t be surprised if Carnival doesn’t permanently keep a ship in Europe (e.g. the Dream class Carnival “Thingy”?).
Thank you for posting my blog response and especially for the welcome aboard gift for my 2 sons, when we sail on the Carnival Ecstasy, July 10th.
Again, congrats on the blog! Treat yourself to a new pair of underpants.
Marty (& Jeanne)
Marty,
Just a heads up on the Behind the Fun tour…..I believe I had read somewhere that there is an age requirement for that tour…..I think you have to be 13 or over…..While I am not 100% sure about this I thought I would mention it so you would not find out on the ship and be disappointed.
Mike
Mike – thanks for the heads up!
John – can you confirm the minimum age of 13 for the Behind the Fun Tour? Looks like my boys may be too young…
Marty
Marty,
I went back and found the BLOG where John mentions the age requirement. It was from a BLOG posted on Jan 25. The below is the question along with John’s answer. Unless the rules have changed, John does mention an age requirement…..
Mike
Bearded Bill from Boulder Asked:
John – (The favor of a reply is requested)
Thanks very much for your response to my inquiry about the kiddie splash park. No worries, I’m sure we won’t think twice about it once onboard. After reviewing the photos you posted on today’s blog (30 Dec), I can scarcely contain my excitement – how blessed we are to be sailing on the Dream!
My sons, Ryker (8) and Truce (6), are equally thrilled. They both confessed they looked right past Christmas with anticipation of our cruise. Now that’s saying something! Here’s the part I’m requesting a reply to: I’ve read about the “behind the fun tour” a few times here on your thingy (your blog thingy, that is). My boys would very much like to take that tour. In addition to close-toed shoes I thought I saw a reference to an age requirement. Could you please clarify that for me? Any guidance you can provide to help me secure the tour for my family of 5 would be greatly appreciated. My beautiful wife and our little princess, Glelia (21 months in March when we sail), would also like to attend the tour… but it’s the boys whose hearts are set on it.
Thank you for the laughter and insights you offer so freely in this forum. I’m not the least bit surprised it is the smash hit that it is!
A new and obsessively committed reader of your blog,
Bearded Bill
John Says:
Hello Bearded Bill
I am sure by now you and all the family are so excited to your cruise here on your Carnival Dream. I will be writing more about the ship later in today’s blog thingy. Now, the Behind The Fun tour does indeed have an age restriction of 13. This is of course for various safety reasons …. also remembering that it is a four-hour excursion around the ship and involves accessing stairs etc. I am sorry they won’t be able to join you but I am sure they will love seeing all the photos Dad takes while he visits the bridge, engine control room and much, much more.
I am so glad you are enjoying the blog and I look forward to seeing you all soon.
Best wishes
John
John,
Please Reply.
I read with interest about the now 9 day cruise of the Carnival Dream over Christmas and including New Year’s Eve. Will this be a special one time only cruise (encompassing 2 holidays), or will it become a yearly event? Will this be billed as a Holiday Cruise? I haven’t seen it billed this way as of yet. Either way, this cruise looks to be very appealing and so is the price!
I must also comment on So Belle 129 – Leslie. She should buy her client the steak dinner at the Steakhouse. She is the travel agent and (I read both posts) it seems to me she was the one that slipped up, not Carnival and you, John, certainly can not be expected to provide compensation.
Gary
John
Just back from another great cruise on The Carnival Miracle.
Everyone on the ship from Captain Volpi, Big Sexy ( I see a little of you in him) and all the staff just made for another great Carnival cruise.
Thank you keep up the good work.
Papanh
Hi John! (Please reply)
I just got back from the Freedom and wanted to let you know I had a fantastic time (despite the motion on the ocean)! I really appreciate what you did for me and my group of friends. The first night, we were taken to the back of the Posh dining room where we sat right in front of the aft window, just like I asked. Thank you!
Not only was it a great seat, but our waiters were FANTASTIC! Our head waiter, Monchilo, was so nice, and the bar waiter, Bojan, was a hoot! Both of them are Serbian, and they really worked well together. Their enthusiasm was contagious! And the other waiter, Malvin, was great with my friend Kim. She was in the U.S. Army and knows Tagalog, the Philippine language. Since Malvin was from the Philippines, they would chat every night with each other. It was awesome! And the bar waiter at the wine bar, Bronco, was great, not only serving us great beverages (awesome cosmo!), but also showed us some great magic tricks.
I have been on three Carnival cruises, and I can say, without a doubt, that I had the cruise of my life. The Freedom has set the bar way too high!
And all of the first-timers that went with us were blown away by the experience, and I know that they will cruise Carnival again.
So again, John, thank you not only for requesting that table, but also thank you for introducing us to four new friends.
Sara
Congrats on the numbers on the blog John. We are Glad that Heidi and Kye made it home safely. That photo of your cabin with kye on the computer screen is so SWEET!! How is Mrs Megan and her pillowcase doing?
BIG Fans as Allways,
Frank And Bridie
Hi John. I know it must be difficult without your girls but you still have us.Ha,ha,ha. Big deal Ah. I see my friend Canuck Cruiser took my advice and took the 8 day cruise on the Carnival Miracle. Today I booked the same cruise on the Carnival Miracle January 22 – 30. We Canadians think the same. Aren’t we smart.
” Stinking Creek ” is that right next to Puke’s Corner? Have a great week John. I still miss Isla Roatan, Mahogony Bay. It was the warmest place even though it rained a little that day.
Paul F. Pietrangelo
retirementman
Sorry you are feeling lonely John. I can only imagine how hard it must be for you and your fellow crew members to be so far away from your loved ones.
I hope the wi-fi on the ship gives enough bandwidth to allow you to effectively use skype to keep in touch. If it doesn’t you and the 343 Stephanies, on behalf of all crew & their loved ones, need to convince Carnival’s head office to make that happen.
Regarding the statistics you post. Is it possible to break out the Americans/Canadians instead of grouping us together? I’d bet the typical number of Canadians puts up a very strong showing when you consider how much smaller our population is than that of the USA. A testament to our commitment is how expensive it is for us to fly to the ports of departure. I was just checking and it may cost my family of four as much as $5000 for airfare to Orlando! (No wonder Canadians like to have fun when on vacation).
All the best to you and your family. Hope the time ’till you see them again passes quickly.
Regards, Ross
I sent you a note wondering how to override the “age” restrictions for certain excurtions. I have only seen your response on the blog, which did not give an answer, only it will be reserched and a response to be received.
We will be on our Carnival Triumph, (which I’m not sure I will enjoy as I like the Carnival Fantasy class better. did not totally like my Carnival Conquest ship, loved the employees, not the ship), April 10 sailing out of NOLA..
Sorry you put the Oscars on the Big screen. I found Martin and Baldwin boring. Their lines were good, but the interaction was not there. I miss Billy Crystal. He could put on a show.
Last, why does Jen Baxter get a bad rap?
John,
Just saw this on Cruise Critic. Very funny, check it out;
These moms looks like pros!
Marty
Reply or not, it is up to you!
John, you are fortunate to have not just a family of blood realatives, but a family of bloggers who love you!!!!
Now, if you could do me a favour, switch your CD duties from the Pride to the Liberty in September! I really want to meet you!!!
I wish I had more money to cruise, but since I did my taxed on the weekend I am seeing the March cruise I want to do on the Splendor vanish quickly……
John,
Stinking Creek is just over the hill from where I live. It not far from Corbin, KY where Colonel Sanders got started. I was laughing so hard that I just about started crying, yes Willard is just like most of the folks around here. I live on a road called Turkey Creek and yes we have alot of turkeys, and a creek does run in front of my house. There are alot of weird names for the places around here, like booger mountain, possum holler and so on. I hope this helps you some.
Have a nice week. Remember it will not be long before you see yours girls again, time seems to fly by these days.
John, I am one of your many thousands of bloggers who have been here since day one. I too don’t post very often, but look forward to reading it every day.
I’m glad to hear that Heidi & Kye got home OK and look forward to reading Heidi’s blog later this week.
You will be reunited with Heidi & Kye at home in England before you know it. Keep a stiff upper lip…lol
Cindy
Hi John, I am Kyle’s girlfriend’s mother, you know, the stalker. What a surprise to see Kyle’s letter on your blog. As if hearing you read it on your “afternoon show” wasn’t enough, now it’s in print too. If you recall, I spoke to you on the phone when you called our cabin. We are the family who lost our daughter/sister in a car accident in 2003. We chose to regroup as a family on a Carnival cruise in 2004 and having been sailing ever since. Last week’s cruise was our second time with you as CD….what a pleasure it was. I had the opportunity to see and speak to Heidi on Saturday morning at breakfast. I saw Kye (she is beautiful) and what a happy child. She smiled and gurgled at me. I know how lonely you must be now. I look forward to reading Heidi’s blog this week. We are already planning next year’s cruise and with any luck it will be with you (and the girls). Thank you for a great vacation. Keep the blog going, it’s my lifeline. Margie
Hi John,
Happy Anniversary to the blog thingy! Although I didn’t make my first post on the blog until the blog thingy had been several months old, I’ve been with you from the very start. I enjoy the glimpse into the life of a Cruise Director you give to us.
Glad to hear that Heidi and Kye made it home safe and sound.
Clair
Hi John,
I can’t believe it has been three years since I met you and your blog thingy… I started Reading the blog when we booked our Freedom cruise and followed the blog thingy from the first sailing until it was time for us to explore the Grand Med and I haven’t stopped reading, laughing and crying with you and the bloggers.
I read your blog thingy every night before I go to sleep. I sit in bed in my PJs and enjoy your humor (spelled correctly) as you tell us “Tails from the Ship”…and other personal stuff
You have made so many people cruise fans and you are such a great ambassador for Carnival.
Congratulations on 3 wonderful years. I would not change a thing with the blog!!
All my best,
Deborah (Debs)
Hi John,
Please Reply,
John, I just got a big surprise, my younger brother who is a fan of Royal Caribbean has finally booked a cruise with Carnival. I have been telling him what a fantastic cruise line this is and he keeps saying, “But all they do on their ships is PARTY, PARTY AND PARTY, and you know I don’t like that kind of vacations.” So I told him well at least try one cruise and then let me know what you think. So for his wife’s birthday he booked a cruise on the Carnival Paradise for May 10th, but to my surprise he has asked me to go on the cruise with them and it is also going to be a birthday present to me. I am so excited John for two reasons, one I have been finally been able to convince him to try Carnival and the 2nd reason is that since I have not seen my brother and SIL (sister-in-law) for nearly 12 years, that they would invite me as well.
I do need to ask you a couple of favors, could you possibly ask the Maitre D for a table for four, on the bottom floor ( I have a hard time going up stairs using a walker) since I have not seen my brother in over 12 years I would really like this to be just for us. Here is my cabin number E-259, my brothers cabin number is E-245 and he is also taking his MIL (mother-in-law) as a gift to her for Mother’s Day. My other favor is, could you please have someone leave me a picture of you, they must have a picture of you somewhere on all of these ships. Now I understand if this can’t be done, but I just thought I would ask.
I am so glad to hear that Heidi and Kye got home safely, and BTW, I love the picture you have of her on your computer, that is just darling.
Give my love to Heidi and Kye,
From your #1 Bloggy Thinggy Fan
Kathy M.
Hi John,
Personally, I don’t care about the Oscars. All things considered, I’d rather be watching paint dry.
However, I do like food. And we did have an excellent desert last Oscar year on the Carnival Splendor South America cruise.
Here is a picture of that work of art:
http://www.zydecocruiser.com/splendor09/s2/sea2/IMG_8702.JPG
Sorry I didn’t save you a bite, but I did offer it to John BobbleHeald. He said nothing. Perhaps he needs an aid?
Best Regards,
bill
The numbers do not lie. The Blog is perfect the way it is!!! There will always be that ’2%’ that arent happy no matter what you do. Just keep being you! We Love You!
ty john i will be looking for the schedrlue at the end of march lol. glad u had a nice time with heidi and kye. we want to cruise again this yr just not sure when yet or shipe or where. chris my 4 yr old everytime he sees a carnival comercial he says yah lets go on the ship. u ask him what his fav trip was or is he says carnival ship lol. he will be 5 in july and this will be his 4 my 6th.
John,
You know that us travel agents promise anything to get the client on a cruise weather its going to happen or not. Ie Oscars on the big screen. We hope that passenger had a good time despite having to sail with the number one CD on the high seas.
Keep up the good work.
Tim and Diane
Hi John – Dave here. Please reply if you can.
My family having cruised RCCL 4x are recent Carnival converts. We’re taking our second and third Carnival cruises this year. The big one for us though is 4/11/10 on Splendor. The kicker is that our three great kids and I are SURPRISING my wife of 20 years (Laura) with a vow renewal at sea. We’re celebrating our 20th and her 40th birthday simultaneously. Despite the fact that she does everything for us, we’ve planned out sharp clothes, a night on the Queen Mary prior to sail to watch the Splendor dock, a “new” marriage proposal and a vow renewal booked on Splendor.
She does enjoy you and your humor (we do too
) and she never asks for anything (we just ask her for everything). Any chance you can sort through all of your important “to do’s” and leave a happy birthday/happy anniversary note for her? We love her to death and we figure, at least once every 20 years, we need to really show it!
Laura and I are going to be in #6448 – the kids across the hall in 6446. Wishing you could join us on Splendor but we’re sure to have a blast.
Thanks as always,
Dave
John we were on the Legend back in October and loved the cruise. After hearing you go on and on about the dream we have booked the April 3 cruise. Couldn’t figure out the schedule you have posted but looks like you might be leaving the ship on that cruise. Stick around for one more we enjoyed having you around on that one. Looking forward to racing my daughter down the slides just hope not to loose my shorts like you. If you do have to move on to another ship have a good time!
Congratulations on the anniversary of the blog. I,too, have been reading from the beginning and check it out almost every day. (Missing mainly when we’re on a cruise.) I hope you will be with your girls again soon and until then can keep happy making the cruise everyones best ever experience.
Happy Anniversary, so enjoy the blog. Have not posted that much, but have followed almost daily for more than 2 years. We just booked our Carnival Dream for Thanksgiving week , going to try a cove cabin. Can’t wait. Glad to hear the girls mame it home OK, will watch for Heidi’s account of their flight etc.
Regards,
Marlene & Steve
{{{{hugs}}} John. I am glad to hear the Heidi and Kye made it home safely. I can’t wait to read Heidi’s travel.
Is there always someone getting left behind? There was a couple that got stuck on a beach in St. Thomas on our February 13 cruise also and had to fly to St. Maarten to meet the ship.
Congratulations on the anniversary of your blog. I do hope that you keep the same format. I enjoy reading all the things that happen on the cruises.
Our best to you, Heidi and Kye.
The Wagner Family.
Happy Anniversary John!
Can’t believe that your blog has been going this long.
I am happy to hear that your family made it home safely even though you are on your own now for an extended period of time.
Good luck and enjoy the small things in life.
Great hearing from you.
Take care!
David
John;
Jan; I and a group of 16 others will be enjoying the Carnival Miracle sailing Oct. 18 to the southern Carribean. First, thanks to your blog for the tip of the itineary change for this ship. as I was looking for a cruise for the group and when I saw this the decision was made. Second, do you know the formal nights for this cruise; as I suppose there will be two, as there are some in the group that don’t like to go formal all that much. I am trying to schedule our dining in the reservation dinning room for one of these nights so it is not too hard on them( I don’t know what their problem is as I do enjoy these nights). Lastly they wanted to request a table in the dinning room for 10 adjacent to a window at the back of the dinning room. This might be early to request but what would be the appropriate time to do this.
Thank you and will keep reading your blog as I do get a good chuckle from it.
Jan & Larry
Hi John,
I have been home for a week now and going through withdrawls!!!!( Feb20th-27th dream sailing)
I have a couple of questions,
1)when we docked in Costa Maya and got off the ship we noticed a banner on the back of the ship that said “SECURITY WARNING KEEP BACK 500M” what was that for?
2)Also whe we left port the man a couple doors down from us had to be take off the ship in Miami, just wondering how he is doing!
3) We were told when we booked that there would be a desk available starting Feb9th that we could buy future cruise certificates, we wanted to book a back to back cruise next year for our 10th anniversary. There was nothing set up is there anyway we can do this through the office, we were part of the Cruise critic Group cruise, the Dreamers.
The Dream is a fantastic ship and the staff is awesome!
You are the best CD we have ever had!!
Just wanted to say thanks for the mention on your AM show, we were told the Olympic Hockey would be on the big screen( canada vs us) and it was not but you did make an apoligy to my Dad (BOB). We did ask a few people and they did thier best.
We are going to book Feb 2011, do you have any idea where you will be??
Thanks for another fantastic Memory on board Carnival
Mellissa Woods
Niagara Falls
Canada
Dear John, I have just recently started reading your blogs and they are wonderful! I sailed Carnival 5 times before I decided to work at Carnival’s Guest Logistics Long Beach. Now my husband and I will take our 10th Carnival cruise on the DREAM on August 21, 2010. This will be his 50th birthday cruise and we can’t wait. I truly hope you will be sailing on the Dream that week? I just wanted to thank all of the families that sail together on special occasions, none of our family wants to go with us
and I am glad that Carnival is now my family and we plan on having a GREAT time, as always! Thanks for all your great words of wisdom and hope to meet you on the Dream! Susan & Ben
(Please Reply)
Hi John!
Only three more months ’til my 2nd cruise (the first was over 12 years ago), both being on Carnival- a girl’s weekend celebrating 25 years of friendship with my best friend! The first cruise, I was on a specialty cruise and spent so much time on those activities, I never got the chance to really get the “cruise experience”. I’m so excited to take it all in this time- hence all the reading of your blog thingy (and every other piece of info I can get my hands on!).
I especially enjoyed going through the archives and reading your interview with Jeff Bronson (I may have left out some ‘ooo’s in the last name there), as he will be the CD on the Paradise when I sail (6/4!). I found it amusing that the Debarkation talk was among his favorite activities- I hope we won’t have to wait that long to meet him!
My question is this- when you’re packing all those Carnival Fun Times into only 3 days, instead of the 5-7 days I read so much about on this blog, do you think you can still get the full “cruise experience” and what are the “don’t miss” activities that make it a true Carnival vacation?
Thanks for the fun reading (and don’t change a thing- how much more dull my day would have been if I hadn’t had the chance to read about Willard Hammond!) and all the best to your family!
Emily
Hi John,
I had the pleasure of sailing with you again last week to the Eastern Caribbean on my Carnival Dream. I had first sailed with you in 2007 on the Freedom in Europe and as impressive a cruise on the Mediterranean was, my most memorable part of the cruise was you (-:
When I found out you would be the guest C.D. on the Dream, I immediately made a booking, and, (unlike some sequels), you did not disappoint!
So here is my dilemma…The only regret I had from the first cruise is that I did not purchase the Bedtime Story DVD, which was a mistake I was going to correct last week. Unfortunately, I left the ship on Saturday without it and even came back to the terminal that afternoon to see if there was any way to get the DVD while the Dream was still in port. In fact, one of the embarkation agents named John (great name, don’t you think?) said he had been outside chatting with you after you took Heidi and Kye to the airport right before I got there )-:
I was unsuccessful in my attempt to get the DVD,so is there any chance that you have one and could send a copy to me?? I could even come back to the terminal to pick it up when you’re back in port. (I do believe in miracles!)
I’ll keep my fingers crossed….
Thanks so much!
Marilyn
John – as a blogger who’s been with you from the start, I can’t imagine not having your blog to read most days. It is a true bright spot in my day (except when we read something sad…). I know you are missing Kye and Heidi and I also know there is nothing any of us can say to make that easier for you. I hope you really understand what many posters here are trying to say…. we really appreciate what you do for each and everyone you can and the sacrifices you are making not being with your girls all the time. We do understand how hard that must be for you.
Hello John,
Been hearing rumors you may be the CD on the Spirit sometime in Sept. 2010. We’ll be sailing out of Honolulu to Ensenada on Sept. 26th. 2010 for the 12 day voyage. We will be celebrating our 25th.Milestone cruise on Carnival with this one. Would just about make it perfect if we were to find out that you are indeed scheduled to be the CD. Can you verify this for us? Thanks, and hoping to see and meet you in September.
Mike
Hello again John;
I have researched the carnival website and have not found an answer to my wife’s question.
We were on the Dream, Dec 3 of last year and thourghly enjoyed the “Spoil Me” space in the Cloud 9 spa onboard. ( John if you have not spent an hour or two in this area – you owe it to yourself to experience it & with Hedi for you would even be better). My wife’s question is this – are there any of the “Spoil Me” components on the Miracle as she would like to prebook Spoil Me facilities if they are. We do know that only the Dream & Splender have the Cloud 9 Spa whick includes”Spoil Me”. The mineral wave pool, auroma steam rooms and lounge with the heated seats would be lovely to experience once again.
Thank you
Jan & Larry
John – even the the 6 million dollar man can shed a lonely tear – so you – our six million blog thingy man should go right ahead and do it too! We soldiers say goodbye a lot and even the tough ones cry too, but reunions are that much sweeter for all the absences. Hang in there!
Hi John,
Congratulations on the anniversary of the blog. Wish I was one of those that have been reading it from the start. Unfortunately, I just came upon it in the last year. I love it and am hooked!!! Don’t change a thing with it, except that picture of you at the top. We need to see you smiling, not pouting, especially on your anniversary. Keep up the great work that you do. Glad to hear Heidi and Kye got home safe. I hope your days go fast until you are with them again. Take care and wishing you calm seas.
Carolyn
Happy Anniversary, John and Stephanies!
Keep up the great work!
Laura
OK, John… Carnival needs to book Willard for our Crazies Cruise on the Carnival Conquest in September. Willard is, indeed, a Crazie. God love him! What a wit!!!
The pictures are absolutely brilliant. Thanks so much for those.
I’m sure it was very difficult to have Heidi and Kye leave. I’ve had to leave my loved ones behind many times in the past and I can tell you it never gets easy.
It’s great to see a link to your blog back on the home page at Carnival.com. It’s about time!
Nice balloons, Stephanie…
Ciao!
Host Mach
Hi John,
I love your blog. I have a question. We are cruising for the first time on the Fascination on April 17th. We have 2 connecting rooms, (R194 & R196). Will we automatically be seated at the same table for our dinner seating or will I have to check with someone when I board? We don’t care if we sit with others, just as long as we’re together (2 adults, 3 kids (8, 10, &12)). What do you think? Stay Well…
Tania
Hi John,
We just got off the Coral Princess and being Canadian (over 500 of us on board) we were quite disappointed in ZERO Olympic coverage. We were told that the rights to show the games would be cost prohibitive, but couldn’t the CD have done what you did? Even just for the gold medal hockey game?
I would think the beer sales alone would have covered the cost of this.
My friends and I were on the Dream ship during the gold medal hockey game and they televised it for us on the huge screen. We had an absolutely wonderful time watching and winning !!!
John,
You have a great job and really know how to get the best out of people and we were truly blessed with some great guests this week. I was on this cruise and feel sad that it has eneded.
I was there with my lovely wife and 2 daughters and it was our first cruise ever on any cruise line. We really had a great time and the service was excellent, from the room steward to the dinning room staff, all tops in my books.
Great time, even if the winds caused us some disapointment, but cannot control mother nature.
Long Live Stinking Creek, IOWA and Dick and Aninta Little
Never Laughed so hard in my life.
Please keep up the blog….
John,
You and Willard made our cruise. You are by far the best cruise director we have ever had. Thanks for all of the laughs.
Stinking Creek was truly the highlight of the week and the sweetest little old man I’d ever met. The idea of offering him a job with Carnival is fantastic and should be looked into. I am so sorry you have to be apart from your family and can understand how you feel. My husband is military and we actually met on a Friday and then on Monday his ship left for Iraq and the entire beginning of our relationship was via e-mail and monthly phone calls. We have been together for a little over 6 years and there have been times it has been difficult when he has been gone. Hopefully they will be able to book a flight soon and you will get to see that adorable little face in the near future. The pic of her on your computer in your cabin was just too cute! Thanks for the fun and you have set the bar so high I don’t know if we could ever cruise with any other CD from now on!
Mrs. Usis-Zahn
Hi John!
We just want you to know how very much we enjoyed the cruise last week! You are truly the most talented, funny CD we have ever had the pleasure to be entertained by and we have been on several different Carnival ships! We looked forward to every show/event that you took part in. Stinking Creek, Iowa, Dick and Anita Little, Mary and the Bed Time Story – truly amazingly funny! We laughed so much and still laugh every time we think of it! Thanks for being such a big part of making our cruise so enjoyable! Hopefully we will see you again on a future cruise!
John-
just wanted to write you a short note telling you how incredable you are! my family cruised with you last week on the dream–willard was hilarious, not to mention dick little. lol. but really all honestly you need to know how much you made my family and i laugh.. now i doubt you remember this (you meet so many people every trip) but last week you had my brother come on stage after one of the contestents on the talent show–because he was a single male.. now you had him get off the stage with nothing…. sad, jkjk but just wanted to let you know he is still sinlge if you know anyone that would be interested. only kidding, i like to embaress him–othersise what are little sisters for– but in conclusion i am very happy i got to enjoy my spring break sailing with you! the staff and are waiters were the best.. even tho i have to admit im blonde and i didn’t understand half the things on the menu =) suggestion–get an easier menu for blondes like me by the way i loved the blonde joke you told about that girl who went into the libary asking for a cheeseburger and fries. and i cant forget the one about tigger looking in the toilet for pooh. you are awesome! and i hope one day i will be fortunate to cruise with you again–
Stephanie Fink
Brainerd, MN ( not as cool as stinking creek) byes!
I don’t see a ballot but still would like to comment.
Please keep the blog like it is. I think it’s great!
elizabeth