Hey Jude

As many of you know I am a huge fan of Jamaica. I love the people and the beauty of the island and unlike some other islands in the region, they still treat the cruise ship guest as someone special. Some islands have money oozing from their every pore whereas Jamaica realises how important the tourist dollars are. Yes, I know Jamaica gets some bad press but it is one of the most spectacularly beautiful nations in the world and in reality is its issues are very similar to other vacation destinations.  Obviously taking a shore excursion from the ship is the best way you see the right places with the right people and I promise you won’t find more passionate people than the tour guides we use in Jamaica.

Anyway, with that in mind and under the orders and instructions of she who must be obeyed …… my wife Heidi…………yesterday I took a stroll down the pier to the shopping center. It has been a long time since I have been to Montego Bay and I am much more familiar with Ocho Rios. One thing that I did notice straight away was that like Ocho the somewhat free for all that allowed the taxi drivers to hassle you for your business has been stopped. In the old days this was for some a disconcerting experience but that has been stopped and now it is very much a regulated process which is a vast improvement. Remember though that all taxis in Jamaica must have a red license plate (tag) and if he or she has a blue plate that’s not a taxi but a man with a car “mon.”

So onto the pier I went and saw that they have a restaurant their offering local specialties, such as shrimps, red beans and rice, and salt fish with ackee, a pear-shaped fruit. Many of the guests will ignore this and eat at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. I know that this is a fun place but the fare of burgers, fries, chicken, etc is the same as ………well………….anywhere. And that’s a shame. Now it takes a little bit of courage to try some of the local dishes I admit. Remember the first time you ate an oyster? I mean, that looks like a shell full of camel snot but people eat it……especially the French. I wondered therefore when I walked past the restaurant on the pier, by the beautifully blue water why the only people eating there were the locals and some crew?

It took me some time and many visits to Ocho Rios during my years on the Carnival Triumph to try one of the local specialties…………goat curry. Unfortunately as tasty as it was Heidi never allowed me to have it again when our friend and regular taxi driver Troy told us that this involves slashing up the dead beast, bones and all, with a pair of machetes until it can be slopped into a pot. It also meant that every mouthful is just a sliver of bone with a bit of meat attached.

Anyway, I walked past the waterside restaurant and headed across the road to the world famous Jerk Shack for the real, proper Jamaican experience. There are lots of these places, all looking pretty similar: a wooden front painted red or yellow, somebody’s name painted on it, a hole for a door, smoke coming out of the roof, chickens running around out the back and an old Rasta muttering to himself and nodding a lot between mouthfuls of rum.

It was brilliant. The fire was wide and red-hot, covered with a metal grille. Pork and chicken sizzled on it. A fat woman sprinkled seasoning from a hessian bag. Lips were licked. I sucked on a Diet Coke while everyone else including some Carnival Conquest passengers sucked down bottles of Red Stripe. A paper plate was laid before me, belly pork, chicken wings, some pepper sauce in a bottle. This, at last, was the real thing. I took a bit………..and it was fabulous. The jerk sauce blazed a pathway from my mouth to my stomach and at around 6 am this morning to my bottom. I ate the whole plate. Normally I hate eating alone, it’s a sad affair but here I didn’t care and 20 minutes later I paid my $8 for a huge plate of meat which I had been unable to finish, two Diet Cokes and left $2 as a tip for which the big lady smiled and said “irie”……which meant she was a happy lassie.

On my way back to the ship I approached the pier side security check point operated by the local Jamaican authorities. A sign painted which had been painted by a local school kid informed me that the Port of Montego Bay was at “Level One Security.” You would have therefore expected armed guards in crisp but cool Jamaican uniforms armed with Heckler and Koch machine guns …………..ummm………….nope. I encountered an elderly Jamaican man who was sitting on a stool bizarrely wearing a high visibility yellow jacket just in case we couldn’t see him. As a guest walked by they flashed their Sail & Sign card and judging by the fact that he hardly moved a muscle to look at them he was either asleep, dead or had just smoked a palm tree.

I could just picture the bad guys now:  “Oh, no. Clarence is sitting on his stool and he is wearing a high-visibility jacket …………the operation is cancelled………bugger.”  Oh come on……….I mean Clarence…………I knew that was his name because it was written in marker pen on his high visibility jacket……..would, in a fight……………. struggle to beat Kye.

Lets crack on with some Q and A…………here we go.

Brandon Asked:
John – PLEASE REPLY,

I booked a cruise on the Carnival Liberty for 9/11/210 and now I am unable to go, I called guest relations and after speaking to 2 different supervisors they will not refund my deposit. Apparently the booking agent booked me as an early saver and did not inform me it was not refundable. I have sailed 7 previous times on Carnival and my 8th will be on the Carnival Dream in April and have never had this issue. I even offered to use the deposit as an on board credit and they still refused to help me. Can you please help me with this issue?.

This has left a bad taste in my mouth about Carnival d I would have for my Carnival Dream cruise to be my last with your great company over a $250 deposit.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

John Says:
Hello Brandon

Thanks for letting me know about your plight. I have sent this on to our CARE Team. Each case is different and I will ask them to examine yours to see if anything can be done. Someone will be in touch soon and please let me know if you need anything else.

Best wishes
John

mydestiny? Asked:

I got a great deal on cruise in august on the destiny. It will be the first cruise for my family, who I convinced to go with me, and my 2nd. I was really excited! But then I started looking up reviews of the destiny (I know, I probably should have done that first!) and saw that it experienced a lot of problems lately. Is that why I got such a good price?! Now I’m scared!! Will everything be okay by august??

John Says:
Hello mydestiny

There were indeed some bad reviews about the Carnival Destiny due to the technical problems we were having a few weeks back which resulted in canceled ports of call and changes to itinerary. I am sure though that you will have read that the ship recently returned from dry dock where those technical concerns were addressed and repaired. This means that the ship is back to her brilliant self again and I am sure also that you will have read the more recent reviews which have confirmed that. This will be a fun time for all I promise and if you remind me a month or so before you sail I will be honoured to send you a welcome aboard gift.

Stay excited ……….it’s going to be brilliant.

Best wishes to all
John

Katie K. Asked:
Hi John!

First of all, your blog has been a tremendous help in getting us through the rough winter season in good ole’ West Virginia. We will be joining you on the Carnival Dream on the July 17th sailing this summer. It will be

My 3rd and my parents 4th cruise, and we are just as excited about this one as we were on the very first. In fact, my parents’ first cruise was on the Mardi Gras! We were on the Freedom last June, which was our first encounter with you and Todd. We had an amazing time and knew as soon as we realized that you both would be on the Dream, we just had to join you. I wanted to let you know that my dad, a Vietnam veteran who spent a good bit of time on an aircraft carrier, the USS Ticonderoga (the 4th), is probably CCL’s biggest fan and just can’t stop talking about the fantastic time we have after each of our cruises. I am hoping to make our voyage on the Dream this summer extra special for him, so I’m wondering if you might be able to help with that, either with a special note or something to let him know that you know he’s there and having a great time. Thank you for always keeping us updated on your latest adventures and giving us a great way to get through the winter! Hope to see you again this summer and thank you in advance!

Best wishes to you, Heidi, and Kye!

John Says:
Hello Katie K

I hope by now the snow has melted and winter is finally over. Your parents will have seen a lot of changes since their first cruise with Carnival on the Mardi Gras and nothing shows off those changes better than your Carnival Dream. The sad news for me is that I will not be there with you in June. I am so sorry if I have disappointed you but the good news is that Todd will be back along with his hilarious sidekick James Dunn. However, I would be honoured (spelt correctly) to make your Dad feel special after all he has done for you and your family and his country. Please can you send me a posting here on the blog thingy no later than June 15 with his name and cabin number. This way I won’t forget. Thanks for taking the time to write and hope you continue to enjoy the blog thingy.

Best wishes to you all
John

Reverendjeff Asked:
John, (Please Respond)

My wife and I will be celebrating our 25 year anniversary on our Carnival Dream, July 19th 2010! This will also be our Platinum cruise with CCL.

We have always enjoyed each sailing with Carnival and have celebrated many happy occasions at sea. Any ideas for how I could make this occasion a memorable one? We have enjoyed the supper clubs/steak house before. I am just trying to think outside the box.

I wish you were still going to be on board in July. I read the blog thingy each day and really enjoy it!

Thanks for any ideas you may be able to help us with.
Jeff

John Says:
Hello Jeff

Congratulations on spending your 25th anniversary on your Carnival Dream. The ship has so many ways you can make this special. Along with an evening at the steakhouse maybe I can suggest something really………a couple’s massage at the Cloud Nine Spa. This includes a private luxury room and a side by side massage that will rejuvenate you both. After that spend some time in the private saunas or whirlpools and nibble on a chocolate covered strawberry and sip on some cold champagne. This package can be booked online and if you do this and take her to the Steakhouse I think you will be assured of being congratulated on thinking outside of the box you mentioned. You can also remind me a month before you sail and I will send you a gift as well.

Hope this helps

Best wishes to you both
John

Angela Guptill Asked:
John please reply (or one of the Stephanie’s)

We want to book our next cruise for Alaska but the Carnival site doesn’t take us to the August 2011 date. I know that’s quite a distance away but we want to book before the prices go up after the March date. Thanks for the wonderful time we had on The Dream last week (Feb.13th-20th). Best cruise ever!!  Angela

John Says:
Hello Angela

I am so sorry that you were not able to book that Alaska cruise for 2011 before the price increase in March. There are many reasons for this including as you mentioned it is a bit far in the future. I will let you know when the fares are posted. Thanks for the kind words and I remain here at your service.

Best wishes
John

Steph aka Hockey Addict Asked:
Hi John & Steph!

Could either one of you reply if possible?

I don’t know if it’s been asked recently but how far away are we from seeing the CD schedule for the rest of the year?

We are booked on the Carnival Legend in November but I think we are going to change our cruise due to this stupid credit crunch. I was so looking forward to our first 7 day & first balcony cruise! I won’t bore you with the details but I will be happy to be on one of Carnival’s awesome ships out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by the deep beautiful blue water!

Thanks for letting me know!
Steph

John Says:
Hello Steph aka Hockey Addict

We should be ready to post this any day now. There are still one or two last places to fill and as soon as that is done I will post it here on the blog thingy. I hope things work out for you as cruising in a balcony cabin is something you deserve. Please let me know if I can help you if you do decide to change your cruise date etc.

The schedule will be with us soon.

Best wishes
John

Larry Meador Asked:
John, Pease reply:

About a month ago I posed a question regarding the Cruise Director for the Carnival Miracle for our April 5, 2010 sailing. I have not been able to find out much about Josh Waitzman. Any info? In addition, I always like to schedule my cruises almost a year in advance. With the price increases coming, I would like to schedule a cruise for Alaska in June of 2011. However, these are not listed on the Carnival website. Why? I just can’t bring myself to schedule a cruise on another cruise line (even one owned by Carnival).

In a previous reply to a question, you told me to let you know about a month in advance so that you could have “something” for my son Patrick’s 7th Carnival Cruise on the April 5, 2010 sailing. You made his 10th birthday a true hit back in August on the Spirit. He’s the one that I had posted asking a friend of our “Are you going on a Carnival cruise, or just a regular one.)

Our cabin number is 8156. If you have time, I would also appreciate it if you could forward a request for a window seat at formal dining. Since there are 3 of us, we don’t mind sitting with other people (actually, it’s a great opportunity to meet others…)

Thanks again for all you do and please know that you (and Carnival) have many fans out here. I hope you are having time to enjoy Heidi’s and Kye’s company. I know it will pass far too soon.

Calms seas and following winds……

John Says:
Hello Larry Meador

That always makes me smile how two people from two different places in the world can, on the same day, write to this small blog thingy about exactly the same thing and as one of the 343 Stephanies just told me just a few hours apart. Yep, as I was telling Angela just now the 2011 Alaskan season prices have not been posted but we will advise as soon as they are.

Thanks for letting me know about Patrick and I will indeed ask Big Sexy Josh to send him a note etc for a happy birthday. I hope you saw my previous reply a few blogs ago telling you how much you will enjoy the big sexy man as your CD.

Thanks for all the kind words and have a brilliant time.

Best wishes to all
John

Jackie Asked:
John please reply.

Congrats on the good news for Carnival, glad that it is doing well in these trying economic times. I am a stockholder too, so even though I hope prices stay reasonable I am glad business is good.

I am hoping Carnival might be made aware (if it is not already) of the challenges people are having with the Carnival fun points MasterCard. I opened the account to try to build up some onboard credit. I have enough points, but due to “glitches in the system” cannot redeem for anything, and have been told by a supervisor with Barclays that they are trying to resolve this problem but have no idea when it will be fixed. They are unable to help me redeem my fun points either. From what the supervisor told me, this situation is affecting many other cardholders. I have tried to get a message to upper management Carnival, but don’t know if it got through since I have received no response. Will you please look into this situation? I know Carnival itself does not run the credit card, but it is associated with it, and I think it does not reflect well on Carnival that the Barclays is not honoring their end of the contract.

John Says:
Hello Jackie

This is the first I am hearing about the problems with the card. I know that a blogger wrote to me a few weeks ago saying that he had applied and had no answer but I was not aware of the problems that you and maybe others were having with redeeming points. I will send this to one of our Vice Presidents as I am not sure who to address this to but she will. Please let me know if you continue to have problems and thanks for your loyalty to Carnival.

Hope to sail with you one day

Best wishes
John

missingthesmokefreeparadise Asked:
JOHN – PLEASE REPLY

I Don’t Want To Work
I Just Want To Bang On The Drum All Day
I Don’t Want To Play
I Just Want To Bang On The Drum All Day

I seem to be suffering from a malignant condition – this tune just keeps running through my mind.

Any suggestions as to how I can get this tune out of my head?

ALL FOR FUN AND FUN FOR ALL

JustJon

John Says:
Hello Missingthesmokefreeparadise

Try meditation, aspirin or staring at a photo of Megan Fox’s bottom…………works for me.

Best wishes to you and Mrs. Missingthesmokefreeparadise
John

GARY V Asked:
Hello John

There is a thread on Cruise Critic that states a new commercial by Carnival promises that if you cruise 10 times or more you will have free drinks for life. Is this true?

Thanks
Gary

John Says:
Hello Gary

While the Platinum benefits are excellent I am sorry to say that free drinks are not one of them. I would be grateful if you would help dispel this rumor by posting this on the thread thingy.

Best wishes
John

That’s all for today, more of course tomorrow. I wanted to post a reply in the body of the blog to a blogger called Gary from the UK. The reply is from our UK Director the fabulous Lynn Narraway who took a personal interest in Gary’s concerns about Carnival UK’s website. Here is her reply

Hi John
Just wanted to say hi to Gary and thank him for his comments about the carnivalcruise.co.uk website.

I do appreciate the comments and we do in fact have an ongoing project to eventually achieve a UK site that mirrors the .com site. There are a few challenges still re exchange rates but in the meantime if Gary needs any help please ask him to ring us on +44 845 3510556 and one of the Carnival team will be so pleased to help him.
Great to hear we have such loyal followers here in the UK.

Gary are you coming to the Cruise Show at Olympia this weekend? it would be good to meet you

Best Regards
Lynn

Thanks Lynn. And if there are any UK readers of the blog who need help call that number. Lynn and her staff are truly brilliant.

Now I also received an e-mail from someone called Trina who somehow got my direct e-mail address although I guess it doesn’t take Sherlock sodding Holmes to work it out. In fact the other day I received a complaint e-mail from a guest who addressed a very rude and abusive letter via e-mail to Micky Arison, Gerry Cahill….and me. That’s like a new band featuring Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and Vanilla Ice.

Anyway, this e mail from Trina was again in reference to a thread thingy on Cruise Critic. I wish I had time to read this stuff but I don’t but I can answer Trina’s question which was about how the crew are paid………..not how much ……..which I get asked a lot ………..but how. Well, there are different ways. Everyone gets paid every two weeks and some have the money directly deposited into a bank account. One of the major American banks has a plan which allows our crew to open an account even if the crew member is a non-US citizen. The crew will then transfer the money into their own bank accounts in their home country. This includes the waiters and stateroom stewards whose tips are paid automatically from the amounts you so graciously leave on your Sail & Sign cards into those accounts. The bank in question has branches all over the US and in most of the homeports.

The other way the crew is paid is the option to have it placed on what we call a Crew Card. This is an ATM card which crew can draw cash from free of charge from the machines onboard or from major banks around the world. Now, the good thing about this is that a member of their family can have a duplicate crew card and once the salary has been paid they can use that card and go to an ATM in their own country and withdraw money. The days of being paid in cash and having to hide it in a pair of underpants has long since gone.

It’s time to check in with Carnival’s 344th best comedian………oops bugger…….I just remembered we hired a nun who does a mime act…….so it’s time to check in with Carnival’s 345th best comedian Mr. Al Ernst. Last week Al posted the first of his “Alivers Travels” which looks at the life of a Carnival fly on entertainer. Here is the next installment which I know you will enjoy. First though here is a photo of Al and I on stage.

And now ladies and gentlemen unless you have something better to do like watch the Mongolian version of the Home Shopping Network to see if you can get a good deal on a yak……..here’s Al.

Alivers Travels-

With the advent of the Carnival Comedy Clubs, we now find ourselves doing “back to fronts.” That is we get on during the second half of one cruise and ride through the first half of the next.

What this also means is that instead of leaving on the home port day, I have a full day in Port Canaveral as the Dream loads a new group of guests…and I now have some down time – no rushing to the airport.

What do you do on the Port Canaveral day? I quizzed many of my fellow crew members…The universal answer “Take the bus to the Wal-Mart”…Yes, the symbol of American life…the Wal-Mart.

So, I wanted to be “real” as they say,.in my quest to do what a “real” crew member does…It begins with making sure you have an actual ship’s “ID” that would “ding” the pass machine, and not “buzz” like you had just lost a new car with the wrong guess on the “Price is Right”…so after I “buzzed” I was then sent back to the Crew Service Office to get me in “dinging” order…OK…I am dinging…good to go…

A great service for the crew members is a series of shuttles that come and go from the Port to the Wal Mart all day… so on my way to the corner of the terminal, as I stood 15 minutes wondering if I were the only one NOT at the Wal Mart …it saw a group on the OTHER end of the Terminal getting on the bus…“Exact Change” in large letters on the door of the bus, but I only had a 20 dollar bill for my Wal Mart treasures…wait…oh, look a “portable post office” was set about 20 feet away…I can get change..

I came to this hot dog stand converted into a post office the kindly Postman (he really was nice.) informed me that only change was given with a purchase…so…even though I had no mail to send…I said “one stamp, please.” I put my $20 on the counter…“We don’t sell single stamps,” he replied, “OK, what can I buy?” “You can have this Priority Mail Box for $4.20 and ship anything up to 70lbs inside of it anywhere in the United States…” So with that, my temptation to put a concrete block in a box and send it to Alaska…“The bus is leaving – ” take it”…can I have the change in ones?”

So, now looking like I am getting ready to go to a strip club, I am armed with my personal bag, a postal box with the postage already on it…and my exact change…as the bus pulls out of its space…“Wait, wait…come on…let me on” I plead…Looking at me like I am going to school the first time, the driver opens the door, and just like that…my adventure continues…OK, its 10:30 now, still lots of Wall Mart to be done.

As we make the turn onto the main road, I see I am the only American on the bus of what looks like a tour of foreign tourists. Most are on their cell phones talking, and the rest are speaking in their native language…So I begin talking to my blackberry even no one is on the other end.

Finally, the bus pulls into the Wal Mart parking lot, and we pull to the front…”Last shuttle back to ship at 2:30pm” yells our driver, and the pile heads for the door…walking by the tip jar for the driver, I drop another 2 bucks, and told to hang on to my red ticket.

I started with $20 and I am now down to $7…and even though I had nothing to buy at the Wal Mart, I start to look for an ATM…why? Because we are at Wally’s! – it is now 11:15, and I have three hours to explore, enjoy, and engage with Wal Mart…and a funny thing happens. Besides the local shoppers, this place is PACKED with crew, not only from our ship, but the two other ships that are in on this day.

All of these people who do know each other, and have common experience…they just turn into Americans…they act like they do not know each other in Wally’s…Just grab a basket…and it is off to consumer world.

This is a Super Wal Mart, which means it has food and groceries…I spot a group of crew in the freezer section starting at the beef and chicken…I am wondering…Why? We get good food on the ship…maybe they have a freezer in their cabin…just in case the ship supply is low and we need an extra rib-eyes to feed the masses.  Other folks in the automotive supplies section… I would think “turtle-waxing” give it a beautiful shine to our cabin commodes,…although they would be dangerous to slip off of…then still other folks in hardware…are we building an addition to the ship? Well better buy that bag of nails…maybe some Thompson’s Water Seal…So after a stop at the snack bar (a man has got to eat…) I just enjoy this time watching the show…and before you know it, its 2pm….

I feel my day is not complete without buying something (totally un-American). So I buy travel size toothpaste and a comb, both of which I already have in my cabin.  Still change for the drivers tip jar for the ride back.

For less than $20, I have had a full day of entertainment…

The loading the bus with our treasures…and back to the ship we go…I wonder if that cabin steward will get his bag of nails through security… He does, but of course, my comb gets flagged as a possible sharp object… Gosh, I hope I  “ding” at the Pass Machine…oh, well off to tell jokes.

Thanks Al and remember you can post a comment for Al and see where you can his mediocre comedy live by looking at his website www.alernst.com Thanks mate and we will look forward to next Thursday’s Alivers Travels.

As I mentioned we are in Grand Cayman today and as I sit here in the library in my underpants the tendering operation has begun. I will need to make some changes to this for next week as I think it can be done better. The weather is gorgeous again and I am starting to prepare for next week. I found out we will have 400 clog dancers from Sweden next cruise………Swedish clog dancers………mixing with 3,000 Texans and Arkansians……should be interesting. This along with 1,300 kids will make it a challenging cruise but I don’t care. I just want to crack on and get back on stage again. I feel very detached from what is happening on the ship. I don’t get to read the incident report nor can I stick my nose in too much yet so Sunday can’t come quick enough.

Now that was very surreal. I am sitting in the library today as there is nowhere else for me to work as the cabbage players……….sorry cribbage players are ignoring a day in Grand Cayman and are playing cabbages in the conference room. So, I am here in the library. Well just now a lady came in and suddenly she started to laugh out loud. I looked up and realized what she was reading……………my blog.

I snapped a photo of her with my raspberry…………..here she and the blog are.

“What are you reading?” I asked.

“Some guy’s blog,” she replied.

“Is it funny?” I asked.

“Oh it is,” she said.

“Who is it by?” I asked.

She looked at the front of the binder and said “the Senior Cruise Director John Heald.”

I went and stood next to her and looked at the photo and said, “He looks a bit like me.”

She looked at me and said…….”Oh you’re much younger.”

And she carried on reading and is in fact still reading and still laughing as I write ………… brilliant.

Now I want to talk to you about charity and the art of giving. Telling someone that you enjoy giving to others is not easy because you sound like you are boosting or trying I a big shouty way to say “look at me, I give to charity, aren’t I special.”

But I know that I can talk to you, my blogging friends about this because honestly……..giving money to charity is one of Heidi and my favourite things. I can see why people like Bono (that’s the rock start not the CEO of Fincanteri) for them watching a huge amount disappear from your account, and into that of someone less fortunate must be thrilling. I know it is for Heidi and I. “Wow,” you think. “That money’s now has large dollops of goodness and care on it. In my account, it would just get wasted on things like Latvian Women’s Bottoms Weekly and cigars.”

Heidi and I give each month to an organization that sponsors children in Africa. For the last three years we have been supporting a refugee from the horrors of Darfur. Her name is Mgenge but Heidi and I call her Nelly. Her mother and father and older brother were killed in tribal violence that most of the world seems to have pretended didn’t happen and the small amount we give every month keeps her safe and healthy and the regular updates that UNICEF send us on Nelly are ones we treasure.

Giving makes us feel good and I know many of you out there in blog land gave so much during our On The Deck For The Cure walks to support the fight to find a cure for breast cancer. Well now it’s time to show your support again. Here’s Vance to show us the official press release about what Carnival through your support will be doing.

Carnival Cruise Lines Launches Fleetwide Fundraising Initiative Benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®

And the magic includes bears and bear outfits to benefit St. Jude. Here are a few photos for you.

Recently some of our Carnival executives visited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and reported how amazing this facility is and how it provides inspirational and world class care to hundreds of very sick children every day. The magic the doctors and nurses do each and every day needs state of the art equipment, but specialist medical equipment is very expensive, especially those suitable for children and young babies.

Carnival has committed to help raise over $3 million over the next three years and for that we need your help. So the next time you cruise, in between the fun and the excitement I hope you can find some time and find a $10 bill to buy your St. Jude T-shirt and wrist band or buy your St. Jude cuddly bear outfit.

Here is a link thingy to the page with more information:

http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/stjude/default.aspx?cid=So_John Heald Blog_2783

Together we can keep the St. Jude magic alive.

Goodnight
Your friend
John