Life onboard cruise ships are vastly different to work on land……..or is it. I was thinking this today as I realised that I had just 20 minutes for some lunch between some paper work and hosting my marriage show. And so that was me, shoving a piece of ham and a lump of cheese between two slices of wheat bread all washed down with half a cup of tea. I was thinking of how nice it would be to have a job where regardless you had an hour for lunch…..or more. When I worked in London many years ago lunch was never hurried and often included a beer or three.
I then realized that those days have gone. All my Carnival friends eat at their desks or in their cubicles……… everyone gets their lunch from the Grab ’n’ Go cafe. They then return to their cubicles and offices to eat their Tofu on toast while continuing to check e-mails. However……….you won’t find this in other countries. Do they have Grab ’n’ Go shops in Italy? Mama Mia……..of course not. Over there, they’re still downing a couple of bottles of wine at lunchtime, and then sleeping it off until six. I have noticed during the few times I have been in the Carnival offices that if they do go out for lunch it’s only an excuse to get some more work done. And so is dinner, and so, increasingly, is breakfast. In fact, they seem to be running out of meals over which Gerry and the Carnival executives can have meetings. Soon, people will be buying and selling products over a midnight feast.
And who drinks at lunch time anymore? I was talking to a Carnival senior manager about this last week, I won’t mention his name but Tim was at a lunch meeting and ordered a glass of wine and he said a deathly hush descended as though he had just farted loudly.
It wasn’t so long ago that you finished work at 5.30 pm irrespective of what you happened to be doing at the time. Jim Berra our chief marketing officer, could have been on a very important call with Gerry Cahill: “You see Gerry, my plan for our next TV advertising campaign is to feature John Heald in his underpants hanging upside down from the funnel while a Latvian girl………oh sorry Gerry, it’s 5:30pm, time to go home, lets pick this up tomorrow.”
How times have changed. You always took your vacations and if you sneezed …………. you went to bed……. for a month. These days if you catch some dangerous tropical disease, you must get the deal done before your lungs liquefy and your thingy drops off. I expect to work seven days a week, every week while I am onboard and the Carnival shoreside people do, as well.
They go out at night with Borg-style cell phone headset attachments in case the office wants to get in touch and of course they all have their Blackberries. At least though most if not all turn theirs off when they go on vacation and when they do they leave an “out of office message ” Here is one I got today from a Carnival senior vice president:
“I will be out of the office until 2019. If you need assistance, please contact my assistant _______at ext _____ “
I find these very annoying. In the old days we wouldn’t need to do that. We would be on vacation and that was that. But I am not one to talk of course as my raspberry is always on, 24 hours a day every day. However, I have decided to turn it off next week and here is my new out of office e-mail that everyone who sends me a message will receive.
“I will be out of the office for the next two weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as ‘Lorreta’”
Time for today’s questions………..off we go
Faith Bazzell Asked:
Dear John,My husband and I were on the January 30, 2010 sailing to US Virgin Islands.
Carnival is lucky to have you, one of the most personable and funny gentleman we have ever had the pleasure of meeting!
However, since you are the cruise director, I will forward my disappointment to you!
I have given my input to the customer care folks and received several “SINCERE” apologies.
1. Our cabin 9342 was under the Lido deck, what I thought would be sooo convenient, turned into my greatest nightmare (oh no that can’t be right you have to sleep to have nightmares)! The constant scraping of deck furniture 24 hours a day meant no sleep at all for either of us.
2. Six of us were traveling together and were put in the “Crimson Lounge” with the senior citizen group. It was ridiculous!!!! The maitre D was unwilling to help in any way!
3. The cabin stewards need to be given instructions that they should introduce themselves to their patrons. If they wonder why there is no additional tip, it would be because we didn’t even know his or her name!!!
On a positive note your on board entertainment is beyond excellent!!! Just extraordinary!
Thanks for listening, we’ll be sailing with Royal Caribbean next year-we like being spoiled and getting what we paid dearly for, not to mention getting some rest after our busy days!
Sincerely,
Faith BazzellJohn Says:
Hello FaithIt is good timing that your question appears first in today’s Q and A because a chap called Stephen wrote me an e-mail stating that I never post anything but the positive comments on my blog.
Anyway, I was so disappointed to read this and I am aware that this is a problem that you faced this week. We have since taken steps to stop this and yet that of course will not help you now your cruise is over. I have sent this to our CARE team Vice President who I know will give it her full attention and contact you accordingly. I am sure that you had a great time on your Carnival Dream and wish you a great cruise with RCI later this year. I hope also that you will look at coming back to us and when you do let me know here on the blog so I can make sure that all is well. I did check our records and it seems that you did not bring it to our attention onboard and if you had done I promise we would have done whatever we could to make you happy. Anyway, it’s not too late and as I said I will send this to our CARE team immediately.
Thanks so much for the kind words and my sincere apologies for what happened.
Best wishes
JohnNaomi & Marty Asked:
Good Morning John, PLEASE RESPONDI just want to comment on a couple of things. The most important one being on what a beautiful family you have. Elaine (our daughter) showed me the pictures of Heidi and Kye yesterday and I must say, your girls are beautiful. Kye seems to enjoy cruising …wonder where she gets that from!!! What a beautiful happy little girl you have there…
While on your blog thingy I took the time to catch up on some past messages on had to comment…
Something has been bothering me. I understand that you love helping people, and I’m not going to tell you to stop. I know that when you do something that makes you happy, it doesn’t matter what anyone says or does, you are going to continue doing it, and for that, I commend you. What I want to know is how do you determine who gets what? It almost seems to me like anyone can come to your blog thingy, ask for something, and you pretty much “grant their wish or sometimes you “grant their DEMAND””. I just don’t understand rude, nasty people, especially to you.
Marty & I will be boarding our 23rd Carnival Cruise in March and have never asked for anything. Last year our daughter Elaine did write you and to this day, Marty is still talking about the present he received from you this past June when we cruised the entire family for “Poppy’s Surprise 80th Birthday”… Trust me, after 55 years of marriage, it’s not easy to impress Marty and you did it… And I will always be thankful and grateful to Carnival and their Staff for making a great memory for my entire family.
But, let’s just say you have a fairly new cruiser with 8 family members or friends who come here and ask you to put them together in early seating with a table on the window… Well, what if they all didn’t “get” early seating. Is that fair to other passengers who wait (the right thing to do) until they get on the ship, see the Maitre’d and then gets turned down because you arranged it for someone who seriously didn’t “deserve” early seating. I know that this coming March there will be only 6 of us and while we are guaranteed early seating, (5 of us are Platinum and the 6th one will be on his 9th Cruise) we also would love a table for just the 6 of us by the window. As a matter of fact, on our cruise last March, we were at a table in the back, behind a wall and had to stand up and walk around the wall to watch the Wait Staff perform. Marty & I have both had double knee replacement surgeries and not once did we complain. Please tell me that you do, at least, take into consideration that these passengers are confirmed for the seating they are asking for that “special” table for…
As far as the fruits, bottles of champagne, etc., I see no problem with that…To me, it’s a very nice gesture on your part, but simply not something that is necessary with all the food, drinks etc available on a Carnival ship… So, if that makes some passengers happy, I say “go for it John”!
Sorry this is so long. It is not easy for this young 75 year old to write all this but I felt I needed to. With that being said, this upcoming cruise is not only the grandkids Spring Break but so many other things to celebrate… Marty and I will have celebrated our 55th Wedding Anniversary on February 19th, my granddaughter Lauren is Sweet 16 on that same day!! And my son-in-law Doug turns 50 this year. Actually, this is our present to him… Don’t you just love giving a present that you get to love too???? It’s a win win for all of us!!!
So, please explain to us just how you decide who gets what and do you just pretty much do whatever anyone asks you for… If that is the case, I know Elaine wants an upgrade from an inside quad (Marty & I are quite happy with our handicap cabin/location), we want a table for just the 6 of us by the window, in the center of the dining room so we don’t have to get up, a bottle of champagne (haha, none of us are even drinkers), a couple of those Ships on a Stick, haha well you get the message. Seriously, we want/need nothing except to have a great time on a great ship with a great staff … and we know with Carnival we will get it…
Again, sorry this is so long; Marty wants to know if I’m writing a novel!!! Enjoy the girls, I know you are… Family is everything….
P.S. Elaine told me that Ryan Fitzgerald is going to be our Cruise Director. Can you tell us a little bit about him and what he might like in the way of a little gift? Another thing, if we bring a gift for you/Kye to the ship, is there a way that it can be forwarded to you? We have cruised with you 3 times so far, but not this time…
Naomi (& Marty)
John Says:
Hello Naomi and MartyThank you so much for taking the time to write such a passionate posting. I know that now and again I do get asked for help in the most matter of fact way and sometimes in a way that can only be described as “rude.” I take rudeness with a large pinch of salt and up until the other day when a lady wrote to me saying that I “must lose weight” I think I have handled most of the more unpleasant requests rather well. I can tell you that those rude ones go right to the bottom of my list of things to do. It always makes it easier to remember to help people when they have been nice when asking for assistance.
I think most are written with genuine thanks in advance and most are written by people I really want to help. If someone asks me to send them “a little something” I look at the posting and decide what it is we should send. Obviously if they are not sailing on the ship that I am the CD on then I rely on my colleagues to help. Most have been excellent with that assistance although one or two let me down recently including help arranging a Cruise Critic meeting for Kathy M.
Now I have read your posting twice but can’t see when you are sailing and my concern is that you are already onboard. I will check with Ryan now to see if you are. If not, and you are sailing next week please as soon as you read this send a posting straight back marked “Stephanie Please Read Now” and include your last name and the cabin numbers of those sailing.
You will love (or will have loved Ryan if you are already sailing) and thanks for thinking of him. No gift is needed although he does love sports….a local team baseball cap maybe?
I wish you all a wonderful cruise and many congratulations on your anniversary. I can only hope that Heidi and I will be so lucky to spend so many happy years together.
Best wishes to all
Johnjohn&patty Asked:
hi john, please replyWe sent you a request some time ago, and you were kind enough to give us the information you had available at the time; you posted back to us, (jan. 26 2010 5; 27 pm) we are booked on the spirit may 11, 2010 to Alaska, this will be our 19th cruise with carnival, and as usual we are looking forward to a great time! , the info. you have not sent is as follows, the carnival site will not allow us to book in advance, so we need some ideas as to what the best tours that can be given to us for consideration, we are interested in dog sledding , some type of railway scenic tour and anything that is available, we know you from sailing with you over the years , and we know you are working on this for us , and it is appreciated , we are very happy you are with your girls, stay well and we will be with you on the magic on the may 22, 2011 sailing ! Thanks for being the person you are. john& patty (say hello to big ed and his wife , we met them on the dream bloggers cruise)
John Says:
Hello John and PattyYou know, I have still never experienced Alaska and I really must someday soon. Congratulations on booking your 19th Carnival cruise and I have asked the Shore Excursion Manager for his assistance with his top picks featuring some of the excursion types you mentioned. Here is his reply:
The only railway tour offered is in Skagway. The White Pass Yukon Rail is a historic railroad built 100 years ago during the gold rush. The scenery is spectacular. We offer several train options including just a train ride up and back or several full day combo tours. My favorites are “the Best of Skagway” and the “Ultimate Yukon.”
In Ketchikan, the thing to see is Misty Fjords National Monument. Several ways to do this. We offer trips via round-trip boats, round-trip float planes or a combination (boat out, fly back or vice versa).
Whale watching is also fantastic. Juneau is the port to do this in, and all our whale watching tours guarantee sitings!
Regarding not being able to book in advance. You will be able to do so, once we receive all the allotments from the local operators and they are entered into the presales system. Keep checking back!
So, there you have it and if you need any further help please let me know.
Best wishes to you both
JohnLinda Harry Asked:
John (please reply),First, I wanted to let you know how much I truly enjoy your blog! I am constantly reading bits and pieces of it to my husband, and am usually amazed at some of the comments/complaints people have. We both have commented several times that it takes a special kind of personality to be a Cruise Director, because both of us would never have the patience to deal with some of the things that are brought to you from cruisers. So thank you!
I had sent you a message about 9 months ago about my daughter who was looking to buy a Funship Freddie key chain on the last cruise she was on. There was no keychain to be found with Freddie! Anyway, you had asked me to send you a message before our next cruise so that you could send her (my daughter) something for the good idea. Now, I normally wouldn’t follow-up with this, because I know you are busy, except that my daughter has not forgotten!! She keeps asking me if I have sent you a message to remind you of our upcoming cruise yet.
So – we will be sailing on the Dream on April 3 and will be in Cabin# 2215. Her name is Morgan.
That will be my 8th cruise, and I have yet to have you as our cruise director. I was totally bummed when I saw that we will be missing you on the Dream by just a few days! Oh well – hopefully one day we will have the honor of having you as our cruise director. I can’t wait until that day happens! Thanks again for all you do!
Linda
John Says:
Hello Linda HarryIt always makes me feel good to know that people appreciate the blog thingy. I am sitting here now at 7:20am in my underpants getting ready to start a busy sea day so it’s good to know that people like what I write. I will make sure that Morgan has a little surprise delivered on the first sea day of your Carnival Dream cruise and I wish I could be there to give it to her personally. Please send her my best and I hope she likes her little gift.
Have a brilliant time.
Best wishes to you all.
JohnStephen Smith Asked:
Please ReplyJohn, although I have not written in quite some time I have continued to follow the blog.
I have especially enjoyed reading about your exploits on the Carnival Dream and the changes you have made since taking over the reins from Todd. In my business we speak of those who are “problem identifiers” and those who are “problem solvers”. Problem identifiers are a dime a dozen, quite often whiners and offer nothing in regards to providing solutions to problems that present themselves. On the other hand, problem solvers take active roles in both discovering and implementing new ideas to correct what needs correcting. John you are definitely a problem solver and should be recognized far more than you are for what you bring to the table. No the compliment doesn’t come with any request for a favor, but is from the heart as an honest observation from one who knows the difference.
In the past you have solicited ideas from fellow bloggers on how Carnival might do things better or differently. I have a thought I would like to share with you and get your opinion. The concept is simple. Take one of the fleet’s smaller ships (maybe from the Spirit Class) and have it do specialty itineraries. Allow me to give you some examples. In the spring the ship could sail out of Long Beach on a northern route similar to what the Splendor did during the H1N1 scare. Maybe in the summer it could do a different Alaska itinerary than the Carnival Spirit or do the round trip to Hawaii from the West Coast. In the fall maybe a handful of Panama Canal cruises and then on to Canada for Fall Foliage. The idea is these cruises could never support themselves as a year round itinerary. For the most part they would be longer in duration and offer a Carnival experience that isn’t currently available. I realize both Princess and Holland America have ships that fill this niche. However, and with all due respect to your sister companies, they aren’t Carnival. I believe they do an excellent job for the demographics they cater to, but the experience, ambiance and general attitude of their vessels is completely different. I truly believe with the loyal and dedicated following Carnival Cruise Line has developed it could easily fill this one ship consistently and do so profitably. I realize identifying which ship to use, creating the itineraries, and producing the marketing materials takes a great deal of time and money. Yet providing new and exciting destinations keeps loyal customers loyal. Just an idea. I look forward to your feedback.
Stephen Smith
John Says:
Hello Stephen SmithI am so very humbled by your kind words. I am not sure that there is any response to that except to say a heartfelt “thank you.”
Your idea is a terrific one. A recent poll here on the blog showed that the longer Caribbean cruise is one that most would like to see and so using a Spirit-class ship for that purpose is logical as they are Panama Canal friendly and can produce a quicker speed than the other classes of ships. We already move the Carnival Spirit around from Mexico to Hawaii and on to Alaska so in a way we are already doing this.
Moving a ship to different home ports may be cause us some logistical concerns but as I know we are always looking for guest feedback and ideas I think your comments are well deserving of a mention to terry our Senior Vice President in charge of itineraries. Thank you again for the ideas which I promise has been forwarded and again thank you for the gracious words for my work here on your Carnival Dream.
Best wishes to you and the family.
JohnJoAnn Makowski Asked:
JOHN….PLEASE REPLY…I am very happy you and your family are together…knowing another cruise director, and an entertainer I know how hard the separations are….now…have tried to locate an email…blog for Jamie who is scheduled to be our CD on the Pride next week…and have messaged you before, have a good group sailing and request a cruise critic gathering…seen some very negative comments…re no responses….please say it isn’t so…right now I’m bringing the name tags for our sail away….if I can make it….now instead driving from DE we are going to be doing the impossible….driving to BWI and flying to Buffalo on Sat for our nephews viewing…he passed away this week..Then flying back to BWI on Sunday morning hoping and praying the weather is good!!! Stress…..been worried about snow with our crazy weather….do we get a hotel in Baltimore the night before so we’re sure we make the cruise…now worried about flights…AARRRGH…Please take one more worry off my head, and let me know this group which has a big percentage of newbies as well as several anniversaries will be given a great carnival welcome!! Our last Carnival cruise was the Spirit…but we’ve done Costa…Princess…and also RCL….annual event for us….Bringing four newbies with us this time!!! Please, Please respond…Thank You….decruiser…JoAnn
John Says:
Hello JoAnn MakowskiI guess this is again one of those postings that I am late in answering so let’s start with me apologizing for that. I do want to make it clear that I have been asked to arrange dozens and dozens of Cruise Critic get togethers across the fleet and only two did not happen. I sound a little upset and I don’t mean to but I will say that with only a few exceptions I never hear about the dozens and dozens that were arranged but only about the two where my colleagues dropped the ball.
I am sure that if you asked me to arrange one for you that Jaime will have done so as she is as good as it gets. Please let me know.
I was so sorry to read about the passing of your Nephew and I am sure that the cruise was one of mixed emotions for you. My sympathies to you and your family.
Please let me know how the cruise went and if your meeting was arranged.
Best wishes to you all
JohnLynn and Mike Sagara Asked:
John – PLEASE REPLY!!!We are so glad the girls are there. Please give them a kiss and a hug for us. We are not surprised that Kye did so well on the plane after all traveling is in her blood. Love the Chippendale picture but would prefer pictures of Kye and Heidi.
Now for the million dollar question. WHEN IS THE NEXT BLOGGER’S CRUISE??????? We need to budget for it and ask for time off from work. We don’t want to miss seeing everyone. Lynn and Mike Sagara
John Says:
Hello Lynn and Mike SagaraThe girls had a great time and I miss them more than words could possibly ever describe. I am working on the Bloggers Cruise for later this year. I have not forgotten and will promise news on this very soon.
I hope you can come and join us again.
Best wishes to you both.
Johndivetrash Asked:
Dear John, PLEASE REPLYSo, this past Saturday I managed to have a sort of Carnival Cruise experience without the Carnival ship. How did I manage that you may ask? Well, it started like this:
Saturday night I met up with Carnival Piano Entertainer Laurie Anne Gardner here in New York City. She was with her friend Roy who has 25 Carnival cruises under his belt. The three of us went to a piano bar here in NYC to see former Carnival Piano Entertainer Mark Weiser perform. While we were there enjoying the music and fun, a good friend of yours came into the bar. Carnival Cruise Director Ralph “Wee Jimmy” Valente. And I finished up my evening at another bar to see former Carnival Piano Man Jordan Addison. All that was missing was a chocolate melting cake!
I have to say Wee Jimmy is a very charming man, I can totally see why he is a cruise director. He suggested I should ask you about a couple things… apparently you talk to soft toys (stuffed animals and the like)…is this a fetish John? He also said to mention your mother’s cakes, and the last thing was, and I don’t know if I have this right because the music and the gin was making hard to hear… your “frenchen” or “frenshen” or something like that, Dutch for friend? Please explain these things sir for I am now intrigued.
I hope I get to sail with Ralph someday he seems like a lot of fun. I know he heads to the Legend next. At the very least I hope I run into him at Sweet Caroline’s again, if for no other reason than to get some dirt on you! LOL!
All the best to you, Heidi and Kye!
Laura (aka divetrash)John Says:
Hello Laura (aka divetrash)I know you are about to embark the Carnival Destiny so before I forget please have a great time. OK, Wee Jimmy is a Scottish git and payback will be forthcoming. I have no idea what he is talking about (that’s bollocks but no way am I discussing it here) but I will say that my Mum’s cream cakes and spotted dick are legendary. Wee Jimmy likes them because:
A) It’s food
B) He doesn’t have to pay for them.
I am glad you had some fun with your CCL friends and as always I thank you for being our number one supporter of the brilliant piano bar entertainers.
Best wishes and have fun
John
That’s all for today.
I forgot to wish all my Irish blogger friends a happy St Patrick’s Day. We had a bit of a party here on your Carnival Dream during our Lido Deck party. The bars had green, white and orange bunting draped on the counters while the staff served extra-cold Guinness ……..however most of the Irish Americans dressed in their green T-shirts seemed to prefer that other famous Irish beer………Bud Light. I am sure that if I had stayed up late I would have found the odd guest singing drunken versions of Danny Boy.
This week the 26th annual Cruise Shipping Miami Convention, the years largest cruise event got underway in Miami. This yearly event is where everyone who wants to attract business from the cruise lines pitches their wares and hopes someone will take them onboard. This ranges from people representing ports of call from all over the world to tour operators, food vendors and people who want to offer their services. The day starts when all the presidents and top executives sit at a table and pretend to like each other in the same sort of way you pretend to like your wife’s ex-boyfriend. You shake his hand and smile while secretly thinking what a bastard he is.
One of the stars of the convention so far is a stunning model of the much anticipated Queen Elizabeth. Here is a great photo of Peter Shanks and President Peter and Fincantieri CEO Giuseppe Bono and some exciting news for Cunard fans.
Now, talking of Cunard the Australian’s have gone Cunard crazy and the welcome that the Queen Mary 2 received throughout her voyages down under has been extra ordinary. So much so that next year the Queen Mary 2 will sail on a 23-day circumnavigation of Australia. This was announced yesterday and Peter Shanks our man in London tells me that they have had 2,500 register for this once in a lifetime experience already. Peter will be writing a blog for us next week including news on his meeting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. How our lives are different. Peter gets to meet Archbishop Tutu………and I wear a damn tutu every Friday night in the Legends show………..bugger.
Oh and one more thing. It seems that even arguably the most famous Australian of them all got Cunard fever as well. Pop on over to www.wearecunard.com and have a look at which Hollywood A list celebrity came on board.
Time for some random photos taken of Nassau from deck 5 this week and on Tuesday as I got off the ship in St. Thomas to eat the world’s most disgusting barbecue ribs.
Here are two letters I choose for yesterday’s Morning Show for you to read.
This is interesting:
Guest: Ms ———-Ref: 846081385A
Cabin: ____Booking#: _____Added-Changed: 03/17/10 – 03/17/10C – 8210 – REPORTED A GUEST READING PORNOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE ON LIDO
Ms_____ reported at GSD that while on lido this morning a man was reading a pornographic magazine in the chair opposite in full view of her and the children on deck, GSA asked security to check and they asked the male guest not to read the magazine in public.
And who can blame this guest for being upset at this. I checked with security and it wasn’t a pornographic magazine as in Big Jugs or Asian Babes or Latvia Lust Weekly (reminds me I have to renew my subscription to this) but it was something called FHM – For Him Magazine. As well as articles about sports and life there are many photos of bottoms and bosoms. I certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable reading this on a plane with an Ms or a Mrs. sitting next to me or surrounded by kids. Anyway, I took the FHM magazine from him and as I am done reading it I will give it back.
Well tomorrow is my last day on my Carnival Dream and actually it may be my last time on here for some time. Todd returns on Saturday and certainly there are no plans for me to return here this year and hopefully next year I will be on the Carnival Magic…..with you.
And so it’s time for me to recap this great ship. Even though I was not the cruise director from her start up I feel a very close bond to her. I visited her twice in the shipyard and of course I had so much fun at the naming ceremony and hosting Bloggers Cruise 3.
There was little for me to do here because Todd and his team had everything set up perfectly although I have made a few minuscule changes which I think have worked. The Lanai barbecue and the live music at the brunch, both well promoted, have reduced the lines on Lido Deck at lunchtime. If you read the recent reviews here on the blog and on Cruise Critic you will see that most of them admit that the problems we had at the start up have for the most part……..and here is my favourite word again…….. disapissatated (spelt correctly).
I changed some of the show orders around including adding the Comedy Club to the last night. This means guests now have 5 hilarious shows as well as the Carnival Legends show to enjoy and this has worked well. I have utilized the Ocean Plaza moving some more diverse entertainment there including some “Plaza Moments” with our production singers Heather and Lawrence who perform Beatles and country music while the bands take a break. I have included two new activities that I host myself. What’s My Line and the one I wrote about yesterday, Is The Cruise Director Smarter Than a Camp Carnival Kid?
The shows here are simply amazing and while the Comedy Club is a hit that we must …… we must…………add this to as many ships in the fleet as we can. And there is no doubt the most talked about show is Dancin In The Street. Now you can have Blue Men and Underarm Hair Spray musical and shows in swimming pools but I bet you a signed pair of my underpants that you will not find a better show than this on any ship anywhere. The end!
The Lanai was the big surprise for me. It is amazing how many people walk around it during the day and at night. I know this because most of the buggers walk past my cabin. It’s not just a great place to walk off that extra chocolate melting cake but also a very popular place to lay out in the sun as well. And the smoking section on the port side has been a huge plus for both the smokers and non smokers alike. And yes, once again I will say that smoking continues to be the most sensitive of subjects but in my humble opinion we have got the mix the most right here on your Carnival Dream. The casino being mostly smoke free, not having to walk through the cigar bar to get to the Internet Cafe are just two of the huge improvements we have made and the comments from the guests prove this to be the case.
One other area that is both smoke free and is one of the most popular areas onboard is the double decked Serenity. By 10 am on a sea day the double wide beds and chairs are all taken and it gives a total sense of peace and tranquility…….it’s for adults only…….. and it’s free……..and it is a little slice of heaven away from the music, the pool games and ……… well…………everything.
There is one thing that I did not get accomplished while I was here but are in the works and will be ready soon. The first involves the Serenity deck which by early evening is empty. My intention was to put live music up there at night along with some drink specials and nibbles……for a great sunset party. I had it all planned but unfortunately there is no 110 power up there which the band would need to plug in their amplifiers etc. So, we now have to wait two more weeks while the ship’s engineers run cables, etc. to the area. Once installed the duo Cool Breeze will play romantic ballads for dancing and we will serve Mohijos…….Moheatoes……Mojetos………the mint drinks with loads of green stuff in the glass, as well as chips, salsa, music and dancing. I want to call it “Serenity Moments” …….it will be ready to go by the end of the month.
The only thing left outstanding I think is the need to add a third performance of Dancin in the Street. We promote this so hard onboard and on the blog and everyone wants to see it. There are great seats and not so good seats due to the staging of the show being set to the back of the stage at times. I have suggested we add a third “encore” performance of the best show at sea to those at the top and we shall see what they have to say.
Tomorrow I have to pack (boo) and prepare my handover to Todd and host the usual round of Friday shows, events and meetings and put that damn Dolly Parton dress on again. This is of course a lead up to me asking for your permission to take Friday off so I can do all of that. I hope that’s OK. I have to fly to Houston at 11 am on Saturday morning (boo) and then head to Galveston a city I have never been to and on Sunday to the Carnival Conquest, a ship I have never set foot on. As always……I hope you will come along with me.
Honestly, I wish I could stay here. Yes the cruise director cabin is the worst in the fleet and goodness knows what Heidi and I are going to do on the Carnival Magic. But that’s it………I love this class, it’s as simple as that. Your Carnival Dream came out the same time as RCI’s new ship and is often compared to her and NCL’s soon to arrive big lass. Obviously people compare the three and each of them have their strengths and selling points and those who love to sail the bigger ships may be a little confused as to which to choose. So, let me say this……..and I do so with a smile and a wink. My advice is simple.
If you like shopping malls go on the Monster of the Seas or, if you are impervious to design abomination, choose the Norwegian Epic. But if you want to be have fun and have fun at affordable, brilliant value for money, then your Carnival Dream ticks all the boxes that matter.
See you in Texas
Goodnight
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.
OH no we are going to miss you here in central florida.
. I still think we need to focre you to stay aboard the dream.
Hey we like the idea of the new marketing / commercial … ” John Heald in his underpants hanging upside down from the funnel while a Latvian girl”
That would get some attention.
Big Fans as Allways,
Frank and Bridie
Hello John ~
)
Blogger’s cruise, blogger’s cruise, blogger’s cruise. We are all anxiously awaiting news. I see you had a question today and I also posted one a few weeks ago. Hopefully there will be news soon!
Enjoy the Carnival Conquest! Looking forward to hearing your experiences as a first timer.
Colleen
Dear John (please reply)
Welcome to Texas.
Hope you have fun and enjoy your time on the Conquest. Get it ready for us. I’ll look forward to seeing you in 5 weeks (april 25).
I am trying to find out if a certain employee is still on the ship when we get there. on our last trip, there was a fabulous hostess named Aysu in the Dining Room that my two daughters, Kaylin an Hannah, fell in love with. IF she is still there, they would like to send her a gift. (Strange request I know, but we do strange things for our kiddos).
Thanks
Christy Richardson
Hi John,
Leaving for my 1st cruise in 27 years on April 3rd on the Dream. Was so looking forward to having you on board but I am sure Todd will do an excellent job! My son and husband have never been on a cruise and I have been beggining and convincing my husband for 24 years since we met to take one! My dream has finally come true! I wish you the best for your future with Carnival and with your wonderful family! God Bless!
Should have said begging instead of beginning. Too much daydreaming about my cruise!
John, you’re exactly right about our Carnival Dream. She is wonderful, a treasure. Can’t wait to see the Carnival Magic!
All of the changes sound brilliant and I’m anxious to experience them first hand when I board the Dream again in November!
AND… I can’t wait to meet you in Galveston! It’ll be great to see you again. By the way, Stitch says hi and sends her best to Heidi and Kye!!!
Ciao!
Host Mach
What a FANTASTIC surprise!!! I am SO excited that you will be the CD for our cruise beginning Sunday out of Galveston!!!!!
I have no requests, no wants or needs that need to be fulfilled, just am SO excited that you will be on our ship!!!!!!
I love your blog!!!!
Michelle Smith
Conquest Passenger
3/21-28th
John, I will be down there on Saturday morning to STOP you from leaving the Dream! Frank & Bridie & Mike will help me, we will hold you hostage, so you will be there for our cruise in late May! BTW: We too were on the Vista deck and had the same experience of hearing chairs dragged across the floor on the LIDO deck, I hope as you said that the situation will be corrected. I have never been on the Conquest either, looking forward to seeing pictures with your NEW digital camera. Ciao, Linda P.S. I would like one of those signed copies of your Fruit of the Loom Undies! How big will the box be when I receive it???
I will be there with my megan fox on a fishing line. We can reel him in with that. And then we all wear latavian women costumes and will kidnap him and hold him until May 29th.
Dear John
“We Love You Man”
Just like Janet does in her “Ode to John”
We love the Carnival Dream as well..
You will be fine in Texas & on the Carnival Conquest.
Take care
from 2 of Ed;s Krewe
The Tuckers in Florida
Elizabeth & Arnold
Hi John, respond if you like,
First of all let me say welcome to Texas. I hope you enjoy your time here, as our state is certainly one of a kind.. The Conquest is one of my favorite ships, and I have sailed on her quite a few times now. It is so nice for both the schedule and the budget to be able to drive to the port. May I make a suggestion for future consideration? Do you think Carnival would consider rotating the production shows on the ships occasionally? Or if not that, maybe rotate the ships themselves? It sure would be nice for those of us who enjoy cruising regularly from the same port. Thanks for all you do for us, and may your time on the Conquest be the best yet..
John- have fun on the Carnival Conquest with all those crazy Texans! Texans are a fun breed and it’s appropriate that they prefer to sail with Carnival.
Sorry, we’ll miss you, as we could sit down and have a (legal) smoke togther!
Jeanne & I are looking forward to our July 10th cruise on the refurbished Carnival Ecstasy…
Marty & Jeanne
If I may add to John’s reply to Faith Bazzell….
Faith: Your complaints were almost believable until the true reason for your post became evident……. to “declare” how superior you think RCCL is.
All you did was make yourself look like an arrogant fool.
Here is another clue…look at a deck plan the next time you pick a cabin. It will prevent you from having the same experience on your precious RCCL.
Because as much as you hate to admit it….all the “complaints” you listed can happen on ANY cruise line….even your overpriced…oversized RCCL.
John:
Safe travels to your next ship. Should you come across a delightful Carnival Rep in Galveston by the name of Taco Bill (ok, his name tag will just say Bill)…
please tell him hello from a very appreciative lady and her family.
He was so kind to DJ when boarding was delayed thanks to Hurricane Gustav.
David and DJ head out to Nascar’s Bristol race tomorrow for a 4 day “guys weekend away”. They are staying with our older son Josh….who conveniently lives just 20 minutes from Bristol.
So I will be enjoying 4 days of peace and quiet.
Linda (Mom of your friend DJ)
How dare you take that magazine away from the customer. It’s a quite legal magazine which is not even on the top shelf of the newsagents. The customer who complained should be educated that it is a legimate magazine despite whatever she thinks of the cover. And if you are going overboard to protect people how about removing some womens magazines as well. They are as bad as GQ and FHM. It’s time for equality here. If you remove one magazine then you must remove all mens and womens magazines as well and inform the customers to read them from the comfort of their own cabin. However I think that the problem stems from the fact that the customer is a woman and doesn’t understand that as you have womens magazines so you have mens magazines as well. Unless a magazine has been proven to be pornographic it should never be removed from a customer and the complainant should be immediately informed of what the magazine is. Or is it just that she was a woman that the poor customer reading it was jumped upon. Would you do the same if the complainant was a man (and don’t try answering of course we would. I think the men on here know the correct answer.) There must be full equality. One rule for everyone, not one rule for men and another for women.
I think John was kidding when he said “Anyway, I took the FHM magazine from him and as I am done reading it I will give it back.”
You can’t take him literally. It’s just his sense of humor.
Get a grip, Love! Read John’s comments again.
He said that he took the magazine away “and now that he’s finished reading it, he willgive it back”. His tongue was firmly planted in his cheek.
Also, you need to remember that the man’s space is his and if you got there after he did, that you were the intruder, not his magazine.
It’s like buying a house next to the airport and then complaining about the noise.
Get a life…
George
Use less brain cells being angry and more brain cells reading the blog correctly.
Just a suggestion…
Linda
I was on the Carnival Dream March 6 2010. My husband was in the Welcome Aboard Show and was given a DVD of the show but to our disappointment when we got home the DVD had only half of the show the best part of the show was not there it just stopped part way throught. I was wondering if there was anyway we could get the intire show.My husband would leave the theater if he thought he would be called on and this time he actually got up on stage he was Dick Little and was really funny we would love f or the rest of the family to see the DVD if there is anything you could do to get the intire show it wojuld be greatly appreciated. Dick and anita Little Room8411
Please reply: Hi John. Can’t stop thinking and dreaming about our Dream Feb.13th. Already have the next cruise plotted out for next year. RE: the Serenity Decks, I absolutely love them but it was a tough go finding a spot. Only actually got to be there once on a cool/semi rainy day but the sun came out for me as I sat wrapped up in my Carnival robe reading my book. This is just one of those suggestions but could you pass it on to “the beards” that the Serenity decks might be a bit bigger or at least try and squeeze in a few more of the cabana style seating thingies. Thanks again for all the wonderful things you and the crew at Carnival do for us. Cheers, Angela
Guptill
Dear John,
My dear hubby (DH) is an Accountant (he does the assurance aka audit side) and let me tell you, during “Busy Season”, I can’t count the number of breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner meetings he has with clients. Our grocery budget tends to go down during this time because he just isn’t eating at home! Of course, none of these “meetings” come cocktails a la Mad Men; this type of behavior is generally frowned upon nowadays.
Anyway, glad to see that you are moving a little bit more West (of course I will probably jump up and down with joy once I read you are actually ON the West Coast). Haven’t sailed out of Galveston myself but from the reviews I have read, people really like the Carnival Conquest so here’s to hoping you enjoy sailing her!!
Laura
John,
Please, please tell us that the next Blogger’s Cruise will be sailing from the west coast!! We are hoping to join you in Mexico, but a blogger’s cruise from anywhere on the west coast would be a little slice of Heaven! Thanks for all you do!
Missing the Bedtime Story,
Sheryl
John,
Will the port side still be the smoking side on the Carnival Magic? We booked a starboard side cabin so hope this is the case.
Have a safe trip Saturday and if you need anything Saturday morning let us know.
Linda & George
Hi John,
Safe travels to Galveston.
Clair
Hi, John,
It was nice to run across your blog. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you/worked with you. I do sometimes miss being at sea. It’s still much different than land. It was certainly nice when my morning commute was between my cabin and the infirmary. A friend and I plan on cruising on the Miracle, and I’m hoping a few old friends are still hanging around. Most seem to have moved on to the office or other land jobs. Wishing you well.
Nancy Nurse
Enjoy your day off from the blog tomorrow to pack and get things ready for the next leg of your travels on different ships this year.
I hope you will be able to use next week to get some rest and relaxation before you have to take over as CD on the Carnival Conquest . We had considered taking the cruise on the Carnival Conquest next week so “MAYBE” you might have some free time to visit. But Don said there was no way he was going to be on a ship with you and miss seeing the Bedtime Story for the zillionth time. So we finally decided we would join you on the 28th the day you take over as CD of the Carnival Conquest.
Just like you, this is our first trip to Galveston and the first cruise on the Carnivl Conquest.
CYA soon and your supply of sugar free chocolate caramels in the green bag are already packed.
Carolyn and Don
OOh.. John! Have a brilliant time on Carnival Conquest, I know I did! Just had to comment on something from “Host Mach”‘s response… how about naming the new sister to Carnival Dream and Carnival Magic… the….. drum roll please…… Carnival Treasure!!!
I think that is the best idea for a name I have seen so far. LOVE IT!!!
Diane – mmmm, Carnvival Treasure, eh? Not bad…in fact, I think you have it!! John – pls forward to the men with beards in Miami.
As Diane’s idea confirms, I think Carnival should hold a naming contest, make a big festival of the whole thing (e.g. like the Dream’s naming ceremony in NYC, except hold this one in Miami…), with the winner getting to share a hot-tub equipped suite with Megan Fox (for the ladies–> George Clooney?).
Oh heck, give it to Diane..CARNIVAL TREASURE. Pls call Clooney’s agent and hook him & Diane up for the maiden voyage.
Marty Paul
Oh yummmmm! Thanks Marty! from your mouth to God’s ear!
PLEASE REPLY JOHN
I only have two questions to have you answer. Since you have a love for the larger ships, do you ever think that you would be a CD on a ship like the Carnival Miracle? ( I’ll be on the Carnival Miracle next January 22 ) and have they decided what port the Carnival Magic will start at ( ex: Miami, Ft. Lauderdale or Port Canaveral ) and what will be the itineraries for the Carnival Magic?
Just to mention something, the Carnival Dream is a very great ship for everyone. I would recommend to take any cruise on the Carnival Dream. My wife and I still discuss all the fantastic things that took place while on the carnival Dream. I’ve recommend it to all of my friend and I plan on going back to my Carnival Dream. Thank you everything John.
Paul F. Pietrangelo
John,
As the CD on our first cruise you contributed to our desire to continue cruising. Our fifth cruise (third on Carnival) will depart Monday, March 29, 2010 on the Ecstasy out of Galveston. We prefer longer cruises, but we are taking our 13 year old grandson Jakob and our 10 year old granddaughter Emelie along and cost dictated the shorter cruise.
When we booked this cruise I came across your blog and have enjoyed reading the many fun comments.
I have a request. Since it will be our grandchildren’s first cruise would it be possible for you to have a welcome note in our cabin from the CD or better yet the Captain to our grandchildren addressed to them by name? (Stateroom R180)
I know that this may be difficult for you because I read that you are moving this weekend to another ship and may not be able to blog for a few days and that you get so many requests that you can’t grant them all. But I thought I would ask anyway.
Thanks,
Jim
John,
In my recently sent comment I forgot to mention that after we booked our cruise with our grandchildren, our children (their parents) decided to go along. However, we haven’t told our grandchildren. Our children are flying on a different airplane so our grandchildren won’t know that their parents are joining us until they meet them on the cruise.
I thought you might find that interesting.
Jim
Hi John,
Of course you have done an Alaska cruise and I have pictures to prove it! Take a gander at these!
http://www.zydecocruiser.com/CarnivalSpirit/Alaska/jh.htm
We will be cruising on Carnival Spirit to Hawaii in a few weeks and I heard a rumor that you might be making an appearance there, as well.
bill
Bill,
I’m sure John will be there with you. Looking forward to the picture of John in a grass skirt or getting leied.
BIG Ed
I’m pretty sure he has a hula or two in him.
Need to make sure he stays away from the pu-pu platters, however.
Hi John,
Please Reply,
I feel so bad about telling you about missed cruise critic meeting, but I thought you should know. I do know that it has happened more the twice because when I posted it on Cruise Critic that I had written to you about setting the meeting up, I go quite a few emails that said, “Don’t count on the meeting being set up.” I will say that not one of them blamed you at all, they blamed the CD who was on the ship. I will say this though John, if the meeting had taken place, I think you know me by now that I would have sent you the biggest THANK YOU anyone would have seen.
About the noise coming from the Lido Deck I have read on Cruise Critic many times people have complained about the noise coming from the bands, dance floors or the bars, have heard many many complaints about the dragging of the chairs, so I put a question on Cruise Critic that asked about what locations to avoid when choosing my cabin and it surprised me that most said to stay away from decks that are under the public areas. It would seem to me that when they designed the ship they could put extra insulation between the the cabin and the floor above them. This is not a new problem that has come up with the new ships, all of Carnival ships are like that as well as other cruise lines.
Please give my love to Heidi and Kye.
Kathy M.
P.S. How is the mole problem? Please update
See you Monday!! Have a safe trip and RELAX!!!
John – have a safe journey to Galveston. I’m sure the folks in the Western part of the U.S. will enjoy sailing with you.
Galveston, western part of the U.S.?? More like central.
Hi John!
Safe travels to Galveston. I hope that your packing and flight work out ok.
I look forward to reading more about your adventures on the Carnival Conquest.
I can’t believe how quickly time has flown since you’ve been on the Carnival Dream.
Thanks for the great recap and take care!
David
John, I so have enjoyed having all the updates and information on our Carnival Dream. I can’t wait to set foot on her in July. I’m sad that you are leaving and we won’t get those great pics and goings on.
Enjoy the Carnival Conquest! Excited to learn more about her!
John (Please post),
I generally glance over the request/reply section of this blog, but pay particular attention to those comments regarding the Carnival Spirit as my husband and I are booked on the Aug. 31 sailing to Alaska. (We are also booked for the Steakhouse — can’t wait).
Anyway, regarding John and Patty’s note that they could not purchase shore excursions for their May sailing, please mention to them that I had a similar problem that was simply solved when I registered a credit card in my Fun Pass registration. Once that was done I was in shore excursion heaven! Simple solution to a simple problem!
Dear Patty & Rich,
The Carnival Spirit is a Beautiful Ship and the Steakhouse is where my wife Nancy & I celebrated our 25th Anniversary with the best dinner anywhere. You are going to love it, I promise. The theatre is so classy, the dining room is a two story with paintings on the ceiling like a cathedral. She is one classic ship and I know that you both will fall head over heels in love with her. I know we did.
The Cruzin2some
John (Please reply via blog or email)
We too are on the Spirit on May 11th with John & Patty and have booked our excursions already. It took awhile for the them to be available but we are all set.
We are traveling with another couple and they just celebrated their 25th anniversary. Now when the husband booked he booked a suite-boat is pretty full-but thought it would make the trip special. Last night he asked me how to have a nice champagne and chocolate covered strawberries in their room upon arrival and I know the Formalities shop handles it but was unsure what to do prior to the ship sailing. That is my question-how can I help him arrange?
Now my husband was standing there as we talked about this and let me tell you he is in REALLY, REALLY big trouble. Bryon(my son) was Sr. Entertainment Tech on the Conquest during my 25th anniversary. We cruised that week with another couple. Do you think my husband or my son thought to have us renew our vows or do anything to celebrate-NO! So he will be in deep poo for the next 25 years! Husbands-take note.
Enjoy the Conquest-we sailed twice on her and loved it.
Karen
Hi John!
We were on the Freedom for the eastern Caribbean on august 15 last year (I’m sure you remember this cruise. Your friend Dick Little was there). We didn’t meet you personally, but we attended to all of your shows. You’re absolutely hilarious! Check this picture we took in one of them http://tinypic.com/r/969fkz/5
We were so happy with our first cruising experience, that we’re doing it again this summer (June 27th). This time we will take the southern caribbean on the Victory and we came running to see who is our CD, and sadly is not you but Karl Bird. We hope he is at least half fun than you are!
We hope to sail with you again.
Our warmest regards,
Carlos and Crismar
Ring! Ring! Lorreta are you back? jajaja…
Welcome to Texas!!!!!!!!! (From a Native Texan/Houstonian)
My husband and I will be sailing on the Ecstacy on May 20th to celebrate 20 years together and our 14th wedding anniversary. (I started dating my husband at the young age of 15!). I truly enjoy your blog and have often wished you were going to be our CD but I understand we are in quite capable hands with Steve. Your blog has truly set the bar for him!
Safe travels!
JOHN!!! PLEASE RESPOND!!!!!!
What is the situation with virsus on the ships??? Holland had one and I heard cunard had one the other day. Took out most of the ships!(people)
We are sailing in sept and hope they have things cleaned up by then! Why are people sooo stupid to travel when sick??? Follow the clean habits people!!!
Hi John – Please reply
It sure has been great reading all about your time on OUR Dream!!! I am so looking forward to my B2B starting April 17th!! These will be my 5th and 6th cruise with Carnival – trying to work myself up to Platinum.
I do have to admit that I am a little disillusioned with Carnival right now. As you may remember, I have written a few times about how when I switched my april 24th cruise from my PVP to a travel agent (who was organizing a small group (5 cabins) of us who had cruised together before on the Liberty) we also switched it to an early saver fare. Unfortunately they did not give me the ES fare that was advertised, instead my fare was about $70 more. I didn’t and still don’t understand why the different fare. My booking is still considered ES. I know you have commented a few times that you have asked someone to contact me but, I have not been contacted. I wasn’t going to follow up on this as the booking changed somewhat – my sister is now joining me and she was also given the same “ES” fare as I. On Tuesday, March 16th, I noticed an internet site offering my category at about $60 lower than what I paid. I thot, great, now I can get the fare I was supposed to get – thinking that I would receive this difference as an OBC. My travel agent put in the request but it was denied because it was not a Carnival advertised price. Now, I know that is in the wording of the ES policy so I will live with that. It is just that I have been getting so many conflicting answers from people at Carnival it is just hard to know who and what to trust! My PVP has always told me that Carnival would never allow another site to advertise a lower price than what Carnival themselves are offering. I do know that on the Carnival website they often do not show all of the categories and cabins that are available. So, while this internet site had 1A’s (my category) at a certain price and also the 4A’s at that same price with an upgrade to a 4G – the Carnival site only showed the 4A’s with the same upgrade. I guess, since they did not show the 1A’s, that is why it was disallowed?? And if Carnival is offering cabins 7 categories higher for a lower price than what I paid, as an ES rate, you would think I could receive the OBC.
Anyway, as I said, I am a little disillusioned but will get over it
I still love Carnival but my wish is that the information given is the same all around and they stick with what they say!!
BTW, I had a great time on my Sensation cruise in January, even though it was COLD!!!!
I hope your transition to the Conquest goes well!! and I wish you and your family all the best!!
Sincerely,
Annette Kamps
John (please reply)
I submitted this once but never saw the thing about my posting being moderated so if duplicate, I am sorry.
We are on the Spirit with John & Patty on May 11th. We were able to book our excursions online with no problem a few weeks ago. We are all set to go (and freeze my bottom off!).
Our friends decided to go with us and ended up with a suite as the boat is pretty full. The husband thought it would be nice since they are celebrating their 25th He asked me yesterday about having a nice champagne and chocolate covered strawberries in the room upon their arrival. I know Formalities has that but am unsure of how to handle for him prior to sailing. That is my question to you-what should I do? Who do I call?
Now, my husband was standing there listening. I looked at him and sneared. Why? Because my son Bryon was Sr. Entertainment Tech on the Conquest when we sailed with friends for our 25th. Do you think my husband or son thought to plan anything on our anniversary? Nope, nada, nothing so he is in deep poo and will be for the next 25 years. Husbands, take note!
Karen
I just happened across your blog while signing onto the on-line cruise website that I check into periodically during the day (cruise-addicts.com). I can’t tell you how much I loved reading your blog and the e-mails you receive along with your responses. I will be going on the Conquest leaving Galveston on May 9, 2010, and that will be my 8th Carnival cruise. I can honestly say that I wish you were going to be aboard our ship. I must admit, in the 21 cruises I’ve taken, I’ve never met the cruise director on the ship. I don’t participate in the games on deck, and really don’t attend the shows, and I guess that’s pretty much the only time one would meet the C.D. I’m sure you are asking yourself by now……..exactly what I do on the ship since I don’t go to shows, etc. Well, on sea days…..I relax in a quiet part of the ship or on my balcony if I’m lucky enough that year to afford one. I’m 56, work hard 11.5 hours a day, 5 days a week. And every other weekend, I drive two hours to take care of my eldery parents. And no…….no sympathy here…….I consider it my responsibility and a pleasure to take care of my parents! Anyway….. when I’m onboard ship…….I honestly don’t want to do anything! LOL Of course on port days……I go shopping! Oh yes….I also spend time in the casino (too much time actually), as I find playing video poker to be very relaxing believe it or not. Even when I’m losing (which I usually am), I’m still relaxed and having fun. All that said, I think if you were the C.D. on my ship, I would make it a point to track you down to meet you as you sound like one fun-loving, happy, funny, dedicated (to job and your family) man, who would make anyone’s cruise more fun and memorable. Thanks for giving me a laugh today while reading your blog. One can never laugh too much! If I’m reading all your posts correctly (and there’s always the chance that I’m not!….LOL) you WILL be on the Conquest….is this correct?
Can’t wait for your reviews about the Conquest. We’re booked on her in July. We are always missing you. We got on the Carnival Dream the same day you were getting off. We had to book Conquest in July because of my grandson’s schedule and also Carnival’s schedule. My daughter wanted the week that they go to Key West and the Bahamas. I feel so sad to think that you’re a little over 2 hours away from us and we can’t get to see you while you’re in Galveston. Hope you get to see some of Galveston. There is still work being done since hurricane IKE hit the island with a vengence over a year ago. Hope you enjoy your stay on the Carnival Conquest and looking forward to hearing from you. My best to you and your wonderful family. Regards from Houston…A&W
John, as I am only 3 weeks away from boarding the Dream, I want to thank you for your humour, insights and attitude. It’s a shame I don’t get to enjoy you in person on the Dream but you’ve already made the cruise enjoyable, just reading your words.
Have a wonderful time on the Conquest bringing your sense of humour to many more Carnival fanatics!!!
Jim Cannon
Dear John,
The Carnival Conquest will become a new flavourite (Incorrect Spelling). The Conquest Class is already a hit with you and the reason is this flagship. I have found that most of the time the 1st in a series of ships is special. It seems that the best ideas go into that ship. There are improvements that come with some of the ships to follow but the first one is designed to be special. The Carnival Spirit is a great example. The Carnival Dream and Carnival Splendor and the Carnival Conquest are also in a long line of special flagships. If I am wrong I will send you a autographed pair of my chonies.
When people say that they will sail RCCL from now on I vote that they be blacklisted from the blog. I am tired of the Royal Pain in the Arse Champions using our blog to try and undermind what we all know to be a better product. Anybody else agree?
The Cruzin2some
James & Nancy Enslow
John: Love the blogs!!! Have wanted to be on a ship with you for some time and the CD schedule shows you on the Conquest the entire month of April. My husband and I are going to be on the 25 April cruise. We did see you on the Dream Transatlantic when you joined Todd and the other crew members. He is a great CD!!! We loved that cruise – our first long one. Look forward to seeing when your next Blogger Cruise will be as we haven’t made one yet. Also look forward to the Carnival Magic’s scheduled Transatlantic as we would love to schedule back to back Mediterranean/Transatlantic cruises. Hope I read the blog and CD schedule correctly and will see you 25 April on the Conquest. Best Regards Dixie & Brian Grass
John, I can only say thanks for being our cruise director on the Dream. It was certainly a pleasure to sail with you again. I do agree that the Dream class is by far the nicest I’ve experienced so far with Carnival. Good luck in Galveston and on the Conquest. I look forward to your future blogs from the ship and it’s destinations. Can’t wait for Monday’s blog.
Margie
John,
I do not disagree with you on too many things, except that the Bostgon Celtics are better than your Miami luke warms,,,,, but I have to stronly disagree with you about the ream class ships, and for that matter the Destiny and larger class ships. I hate them, way too many people for me. I preffer the Sport and Fantasy class ships. (yes I have sailed on the larger class (largest being he Conquest. I think the smaller ships offer a better service as the crew has a chance to get to know you and you them, the waiter and waiteress know what you like and don’t like, they kind of make you feel like you are at home not on some lagre stuff ship. just my feelings, Iwish Carnaval would build more smaller ships.
as for your comment about lunch and eating at you desk, well I have to do that every day at my desk also. however my desk is the pilot house of my boat.
next time you are in Boston please come for a ride with me and allow me to entertain you for a little while. it is the least I can for someone who has entertained me so mant times
enjoy your self while you can life is short
Captain Bill
Captain Bill,
I have to agree with you. I love the ambiance of a smaller ship. Since I used to work at sea, I’ve sailed on a lot of ships all the way from 250 passengers all the way up to the Destiny class. The smaller ships win hands down with me.
Nancy
Yes, this the very interesting Blog, and you the funny man, thank you for it.
Now I will look more your Blog !
Sincerely,
Marina Demchuck.
Rivne [Rovno] Ukraine.
John,
Please Reply!
You are going to love the Carnival Conquest and the passengers that sail her. Most of the passengers are repeat customers from Texas and Oklahoma and boy do those folks know how to party. From Karaoke to the lido deck it is all a lot of fun. We like the ships because we are able to drive to the port. We wish carnival had more ships in Galveston. You are going to have to get off the ship and take a tour of the island and get a meal at the Fisherman’s Wharf not far from the Carnival Ship’s. Galveston is a very nice seaside town. I know you will enjoy your time on the Carnival Conquest. My family always does, we are just a little tired of going to Jamaica, which leads me to another part of my response. What are the chances that you could station another ship there to do the longer Caribbean trips and possibly a Panama Canal trip. I assure you that it would be both a profitable venture as well as making the Texan and Oklahoman Cruisers very happy. What are your thoughts on this. Wishing I was going on the Carnivald Conquest tomorrow. Instead of staring out the window at another snow storm this weekend 3/20/10, so much for the beginnning of spring.
Safe travels,
Marqueta from Oklahoma
So sorry John………….I live in Houston and I know you’re arriving today to join the crew on the Carnival Conquest and over night we’re having winter weather on the first day of Spring. I feel so badly for you. This is not a great Texas welcome. I’m sure you are not impressed and can’t wait to hear your comments, but like they say..”Wait a few days and the weather will change” Weather report for Houston March 20th..rain,wind temp. low 40′s..that’s a triple whammy of a BUGGER..so sorry…..The Beast
hi john! we just returned from the carnival glory this morning. it was a wonderful cruise and the ship is in perfect shape!! i would sail on this ship again in a heartbeat. they also had the comedy club and it was wildly popular, we went three times ourselves!
just caught up on your posts while i was away. sorry about mother’s day. oops. i’m sure you’ll find a way to make it up to them and i am also sure they understand.
smiles, bonnie and prince charlie
John, I just want to say “welcome to Texas”. We are so glad to have you here. Hope you enjoy Conquest as much as we do!!
Just wanted to let you know that we are going on our 8th Carnival cruise April 18, 2010. We have been on many different lines before, but we will absolutely stay with Carnival. Any “problem” that we’ve ever had was immediately rectified. We cruised last year on NCL, as well as Carnival, and was really disappointed as Carnival had us spoiled as we have learned that when it comes to food, quality far outweighs quantity. We booked the Dream out of New York on her maiden U.S. voyage hoping to see you again, but were disappointed. We’ve never seen another like cruise line Director like you. We did a couple of Mediterranean cruises with you and you made them much more fun. Almost all other Directors are “robotic” and seem to be reading from a downloaded script with pre programmed facial expressions. The shows seem to get better with each voyage. The dancers/entertainers on the Dream were, by far, the best we’ve ever seen. Unbelievable! We will continue to sail once or twice a year with Carnival, exclusively. We hope that you guys don’t try to imitate the “free style” dining as most of us love to see the same waiter who quickly learns our “quirks”, such as my lactose intolerant problem, and build a relationship with our fellow table mates. The “free style” is, in my opinion, simply a gimic. Here’s hoping to see you again…..you sly devil, you………
Larry
I am guessing that you have returned home or in a zillion meetings and then return home to your girls. At any rate the guest on the Dream were very lucky to have you as their CD. I am sure the guests this week, hoping you would be the CD, are very dissapointed.
I loved reading your “English lunch” and what is always the norm, a beer or two or three. When we were in London the day before we boarded the Splendor, we went to lunch with our tour guide. We stopped at this lovely place and we all ordered. Much to our surprise our guide had a beer or whatever was in that glass. Not that I cared but he not only was our guide but our driver. He was so gracious, knowledgeable of London and funny. He left us off at Harrods to do some shopping. It was a perfect day to the start of our fabulous London vacation and cruise on the Splendor.
Keep smiling John; you truly are one of the good guys.
My best to Heidi and Kye.
Hi John !
I am very sad that you will not be our CD on the dream. The week we sail you are leaving! (04/16/10).
I work in the hospitality industry as well, and we have started to read your blog at our morning meetings. Its something we all feel that we can relate to and it gives us a good laugh. Anyway … we are cruzing to celebrate my partners 30th birthday.
I know at my hotel, if people call and request a upgrade we do our best to try and upgrade that customer. How does it work on with carnival? I have called many times and have been shot down! Help !
Thank you!
(post if you like, reply if you like)
John–
My family and I (10 in total) returned to Tampa yesterday after a MARVELOUS week on the Carnival Legend. A week that saw my daughter celebrate her 4th birthday (on St. Patty’s Day!) and my brother Patrick (of course) celebrate his 32nd the day before.
Weeeeeeeee Jimmy (his name gets an extra ‘e’ each day in the Cape– er, I mean Fun Times) was hilarious. He gets extra points for fawning over my daughter in the elevator lobby. “She’s just lovely, isn’t she? She’s like a li’l princess!”
She’s now asking why some men wear “skirts,” however.
The Camp Carnival staff were great with Sophie, especially a young lady from South Africa named Lindsey. On the first night, at Camp Carnival’s “welcome aboard” party in the dance club, Sophie was a little overwhelmed by all the “big kids” (most of the little ones were already in bed, I suppose). Lindsey took her by the hand and danced with her around the dance floor, and even swept her up when “Funship Freddy” got a little too close for Sophie’s comfort!!!
Our dining room staff (Pankaj and Dejan) in the MDR were great, we visited them for dinner all seven nights. Dejan had Sophie’s chocolate milk waiting for her within seconds of sitting down each night. Pankaj was great at explaining the dishes (we had several first-time cruisers with us) and allowing substitutions when requested. They were both pretty good dancers, too.
We had a great table for 10 within sight of the windows. Thank you so much for your help with that!
Our rooms were outstanding. We had three extended balcony cabins on the Verandah deck (7164, 66, and 68). We followed your suggestion and checked in with the purser’s desk on the first day, and got the partitions opened between all three balconies. This made for a great, triple-size extended balcony that we all used extensively.
We really enjoyed “Billie’s,” the piano bar on the Legend. The entertainer in there, Millburn, kept us entertained on several of the nights. On our final night, we took Sophie in for an hour or so, and he played “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” for her. He even sat down with us for a while on his break and explained what living on a cruise ship as a piano player is like. I thought that was fascinating!!!
Ah, the ports. We had gorgeous weather in 3 out of 4 — it was rainy in Cozumel. Still warmer than the cold rain we left behind (and came back to!) in Alabama, though.
In Grand Cayman, my brother and my father-in-law did the Carnival Reef and Shipwreck Snorkel tour, which was great, before meeting the rest of our party at Margaritaville!! Cozumel saw some of us visit the Discover Mexico museum; our planned excursion to Chankanaab was rained out.
In Belize, I stayed on the ship with Sophie and we enjoyed a pool and Camp Carnival day, while my wife and her parents visited the ruins at Altun Ha, which they thoroughly enjoyed.
And the stop at Roatan, and our visit to Mahogany Beach, was the highlight of the trip for many of us. Our only complaint? We wanted to stay longer!!! I know the vagaries of scheduling mean the Legend has to leave at 3PM to get back to Tampa a day and a half later. But it’s such a shame to have to leave that beautiful beach, with its comfy lounge chairs and local beers, at 2:00 PM!
Ah well. For our next Carnival cruise (and yes, I did buy a future cruise certificate!) we’ll try and find an itinerary that spends more time at Roatan!!!
Again, thanks so much for all your help in the months leading up to our cruise, and safe travels to the Conquest!!
Mr. Heald –
Just want to drop a line and say I love your Blog. Thank you! Great reading, in between work – or is that work, in between reading!?!?
My husband and I sailed on the Splendor this last January — our first Carnival cruise. (We’ve been major Disney fans and didn’t want to sail on those “other” ships. Sorry!). Anyway, my mom’s church planned a group trip on the Splendor and we decided to jump on board and join them. We were quite hesitant about sailing on Carnival – after all — Disney is…well…Disney. Happily, after our wonderful and blessed week on the Splendor — we’ve added Carnival to our list of great cruising. In fact, the group that went earlier this year is already scheduling a trip on the Splendor for January 2011 and we are booked to go! (Even with a cruise on the Disney Wonder planned for April 2011).
When I read so many of the reviews on Cruise Critic and other sites, it pains me to see the “pick pick pick” of so many people. Tiny little things that really don’t matter in the scheme of things. My husband and I have just felt so blessed that we could even take a cruise in this economy. Having said that, we had a wonderful time on the Splendor and I feel the only negative thing was getting off the ship and the shortage of baggage handlers in the terminal and the mass confusion. (Disney does take the award on their “end of the cruise procedures” – they had ample staff to point people the right direction and enough people to assist with baggage out of the terminal — so maybe that’s why the Carnival experience seemed so lacking). But, that was the only negative I can think of. Yes, the ship can be crowded at times, the Lido deck food is so-so, and Carnival may not always have the most sophisticated guests (alot more cussing and swearing than on the Disney ship)….but Carnival is definitely a joy to sail with. The food in the dining room was wonderful – this diabetic loved the chocolate melting cake and the ever so tasty fruity drinks – our room steward, Anna, was great, our servers at dinner (Mario and Edsel) were amazing, and the ship is so clean and beautiful. (Sorry all of you who bad-mouthed the design — I was so busy having fun, I never noticed the decor — or maybe I’d just had one too many “drinks of the day”!!)
I was so moved by the assistance provided to those in wheelchairs onboard the ship – including my mom who uses a walker. Our church is very involved in disabled ministries and we have seen and heard about how poorly so many disabled people are treated out there in the world. But, I have to say, I was so very impressed and pleased to see Carnival staff step forward and help people with disabilities reach the food or drink on the Lido deck or just help people maneuver around the ship. What a joy! And thank you to those staff who see a need and meet it. Good Bless you!
We can’t wait until January 2011!!!
My only question would be (if I’m allowed to ask one here)– are there any secrets to being able to sign up for the ship tour on the last day? We tried, but since we were new to Carnival, we were clueless on how to do it and then were too late once we figured it out. We’d love to take the tour on our January 2011 cruise. Any secrets you can share on getting on that list?
Thank you again for your blog and for a wonderful cruise experience.
Blessings to you, your family, and to all the hard-working staff aboard your Carnival ships. (And I’d most of them do work pretty darn hard!!).
Lori