While buying a gift for Heidi’s birthday was difficult……..buying one for my one year old daughter impossible. And if I can’t figure out what to get her when she is 1 year old……how the heck will I manage when she is 5………………..or 15?
Children these days have massive grand designs. They want a life-size robot dinosaur that has an Eye Pod connection in it’s arse. They want a Heckler and Koch 9mm with a built in camera because that makes it easier to put their shootings straight onto MyYouFaceTube.
A friend of mine has a daughter who is hooked on something called “American Girl” dolls and the amount of money her Dad has spent on this stuff is ridiculous……..he could have spent less and got himself a real life Latvian Doll………..and her sister.
During my last flight from Houston to Mobile I stole the in-flight magazine…you know….the one that offers Sky Mall shopping. This is from where I ordered Heidi’s Levana BABYVIEW20 Interference Free Digital Wireless Video Monitor with Night Light Lullaby Camera by Levana that never arrived and that eventually after days of telephone calls and a lot of bollocks I was told that it had never been delivered because it was “out of stock.”
I am now waiting for the money to be refunded. The Sky Mall catalogue is fascinating and I thought I might be able to find something “unique” for Kye in there. Open one at random and you’ll find an eye bursting display of helicopters that can fly indoors and bedside alarm clock cubes that change colour and make cappuccino. Turn over the page and there’s a credit card flashlight that’s as thin as Victoria Beckham.
As Heidi and Kye’s big day approached, I found myself wanting to buy solar powered garden lights disguised as a rock. For some reason, I suddenly need a sonic nose hair remover and a foldaway ramp that will help my dog get into the back of a car…………….and we don’t even have a dog.
It seems though that I am not the only one that has concerns about children. Have a read of this.
Guest: Mrs ——-Ref:
Cabin: ——- Booking#: Added-Changed: 05/13/10 – 05/13/10Cabin……………UNHAPPY WITH SNORKEL EXCURSION
Guest came to GSD and said that she had taken the Shore Snorkel excursion in Cozumel. Guest said that her 12 year old son had seen a large fish and had been scared and gotten out of the sea. Guest said that she should get a refund for her and her son as she got out of the sea with him and did not complete the excursion.
Tasked to SX Mngr.
A large fish………..in the sea? And while I feel sorry for the kid, I feel amazed that his mother would have the nerve to ask for a refund because they saw a fish……….on a snorkel tour. It wasn’t a shark………..nothing tried to eat him…….it was just a fish.
It’s like saying “I want a refund……….I went on the Mayan Ruins of Tulum tour and you will never guess what………..the place was ruined!”
Time for today’s questions……….off we go.
Mr Derek Asked:
Dear John, **Please Reply**A while back you said that the CD on the Carnival Glory in June would be Jorge but then in a different column you said something about him leaving for personal or medical reasons. Has he returned?? Is he okay?? Has he been replaced on the June 19th cruise? Any updates?
Thank you for providing us with humor (spelled correctly) and laughter, tears and as always, an inside glimpse into the daily world of Cruise Ship operations. I hope one day I can sail with you. Until then, I will live vicariously through the daily musings.
All the best to You, Heidi, Kye and do try to stay well.
Cheers!
DerekJohn Says:
Hello DerekGeorge Solano did indeed have to leave for personal reasons, he needed to steal more of my jokes. Seriously, you will be happy to know George is back on board the Carnival Glory as Cruise Director and will be there when you sail in June. You can expect to hear more of my jokes said in a Spanish accent when you cruise.
Thanks for your kind words and have a brilliant time.
Best wishes,
JohnClair Asked:
Hi John, (please reply when you can)My husband and I were on the Carnival Dream’s 4/10 sailing. Just wanted to send you a post that we had a fabulous time! Some of the highlights included:
**The ship itself – The Carnival Dream is a wonderful ship. I wish I could have spent another week on board.
**Our wait staff in the dining room – We had early seating, table #531, (thank you again for helping to arrange for our table). Lin was our head waiter and Luis was his assistant. Both were wonderful. After the first night they called us by name.
**Our room steward was fabulous at his job & funny! I’m sorry, but I never did remember how to say his name, but we were in cabin #8340.
**Dancin in the Streets – This was our favorite show of the entire cruise. Not only were the singers and dancers 4 stars, but Fun Force was superb.
**Last but not least, Todd – I thought Todd did a great job as CD. On the first sea day, a passenger was missing (she was found). At about 7am, Todd came through the cabin loud speakers stating this person was being looked for and for her to call Guest Services. His tone was calm, apologizing for the early morning wake up, yet straight forward in letting us know that if she didn’t call what the next step would be (cabin search). In my opinion, he handled the situation wonderfully.
Thank you for all of the information you provided to us here on the blog thingy on our Carnival Dream. We are now looking forward to our August cruise on the Carnival Spirit.
Clair
John Says:
Hello ClairThank you so much for the great review of your Carnival Dream voyage. I truly appreciate the fact that you took the time to write this and that you wrote those great words of praise. I have passed this on to all concerned on board and I know they will be thrilled.
I was especially pleased that you appreciated Todd’s work. Making an important announcement so early in the morning is more difficult than it sounds and I am glad that particular story had a happy ending.
I hope it will not be too long before we see you again on board one of our fun for all ships.
Best wishes to all,
Johncruisingeagle Asked:
Please Reply John 4/19/2010Hi John,
Thank you again so much for doing the blog. It definitely keeps me going until my next cruise. My next cruise is on the Carnival Triumph on June 5, 2010. I am so ready for this cruise. This will be cruise number 9 with Carnival and overall. I am also looking forward to my Platinum cruise on the Carnival Elation on July 17, 2010.
In reading the blog today, I noticed where you said Josh Waitzman is now the CD on the Carnival Triumph and will be for the next 3 months. Does this mean he will still be the CD for the June 5 cruise?
I do have a favor to ask. On the June 5 Carnival Triumph cruise, my husband and I will be sailing with our son and daughter-in-law. We are both confirmed for late dining and we would love a table for 4. They do not live in the same city we do, so we are looking forward to spending some quality time with them. They will be celebrating their 2 wedding anniversary on June 7 and I will be celebrating a birthday on June 7. Yes, they got married on my birthday. I also celebrated my birthday 5 years ago on the Carnival Holiday. May I have a solid gold ship on a stick for my birthday? I am sure they would like one also. I will include the information you need at the bottom for requesting the table for 4. Thank you for all you do.
Cindy
John Says:
Hello CruisingeagleYou are getting closer and closer to that shiny Platinum card and I am sure you are very excited about that and your upcoming cruise on the Carnival Triumph. Yes, indeed, Josh aka Big Sexy (rather like myself) will be the Cruise Director when you sail. He is fantastic and I know you will enjoy him very much.
I have sent your information to the Maitre D on the Carnival Triumph and I know he will do his best to assist you with your table request. I will send you both a trophy and my best wishes to you for a very Happy Birthday and a brilliant cruise for you all.
John
Jeanette Asked:
Please reply, I have an Interesting question to askFirst of all, you CAN have that Aston Martin DBS and it can be really cheap too. You may have to look carefully for it, but I am sure you could get a Hot Wheels version of the DBS….*BG*….
OK, to my question…..I watched you tube video of pier runners and naturally, they didn’t make it to the ship on time as the ship was already late and left the three people behind in Progresso (Why is it always Mexican ports in the Caribbean that have passengers left behind most often? Anyhow, what happens to them after they get the wonder shot of the ship sailing without them? Does the port agent help them get to the homeport or the next port? If it is the homeport, how do they get their belongings when they finally meet back up with the ship as it debarks?
Only 150 days until I sail back on the Liberty and hopefully get to see that hot stud muffin maitre’d! You know who *BG*…..I’m sure he does well in tips….
John Says:
Hello JeanetteI have a hot wheels of the DBS which a blogger got for me and sits on my desk at home. Funny you should write this, though, as earlier this morning I was dribbling over a website http://www.dreamcarhire.com/cars/aston_db9_volanteTG.html
This is a company that hires Aston Martins and I wanted to see if I could afford one for a week while I was home so Kye , Heidi and I can have some fun. Kye would really like it for her birthday I think.
Unfortunately…….I can’t afford it and I have more chance of wearing Megan Fox’s bottom as a hat than having this dream car.
Anyway, back to your question. I have not seen these videos on Mytube but of course people do miss the ship. That’s one of the reasons we have an agency in every port (their telephone numbers are always written on the front page of the Capers ..bugger…..Funtimes) and in a case of a guest missing the ship they will contact us, and arrange accommodation and transportation to the next port of call. Obviously, for the most part, this is at the guest’s expense and although we will do our best to get the best possible prices on airline tickets and hotels, it can be an expensive extra 30 minutes at Senor Frogs!
In the case of a guest missing the last port and not returning to the home port but straight home, their luggage and belongings will be collected and packed under the watch of our security team and then sent off the ship. I would presume, although I am not 100% sure, that they would be responsible for the costs of shipping their luggage home.
The advice is, therefore,……don’t miss the ship. If you do, please take a photo as you stand on the pier and we sail into the sunset ………and post a copy here on the blog thingy please.
Best wishes,
JohnJinna White Asked:
Hello John (PLEASE REPLY)I am very disappointed that you will not be our C.D. on our Carnival Dream cruise July 17th to Virgin Islands but I do understand that you do need a break!! I know that this has absolutely nothing to do with you and I am truly venting and hoping that you will pass this along to the appropriate person because I do think there should be exceptions to the policies regarding travel agents! I have had nothing but problems but nothing can be done about it according to Carnival reps because of their “policies.” I just think it’s sad that Carnival depends on these agents to book their cruises and when you get an agent who may not be honest with the customer, then Carnival stands behind the agent instead of the customer if the customer booked through the agent! This is our 2nd Carnival cruise and I have had so many problems with this agent and there’s nothing I can do about it! I just hope when I actually get on the cruise, that I will actually have the balcony cabin I reserved! My 2nd question that I am relying on your expertise and experience to help me with is regarding the day we spend in Bahamas on our cruise. We are planning to go to Atlantis and wanted to know whether we can do it on our own at our own pace or is it better to do the excursion? Let me know what you think and if there is anything else on our itinerary that we should not miss! My family and my mom will be travelling with us and we are celebrating my daughter Lindsay’s graduation from college this May which I will remind you of closer to sailing date so that we can make it special! As I have said before, you are Carnival’s BEST cruise director and we will miss you in July!!! Thanks for all you do!!!
John Says:
Hello Jinna WhiteI am so sorry I cannot be with you in July on your Carnival Dream voyage but I will indeed be at home with the girls. I am not sure exactly what your concerns are with your Travel Agent but they sound like they are troubling you and, therefore, I have asked a member of our Care Team to contact you to confirm your cabin number, etc. and make sure you are happy.
Atlantis is a must see in my opinion and it is important to remember that the only place you will be allowed to see free of charge is………shockingly…….the casino. The aqua park, aquarium and beach are only for those who are guests of the hotel or booked on a cruise ship excursion. Now, there are times when these counts are low and they will let extra guests in but as I say live on stage when I am talking about this, I will say here on the blog. If you absolutely want to see Atlantis…….book an excursion. The aquarium is extraordinary.
Please post a comment after the Care Team have called with your confirmed state room number and I will be honoured (spelt correctly) to send your daughter a graduation gift.
Best wishes to all,
JohnJason Asked:
(reply if you can)We just returned from our Honeymoon/Wedding cruise on the Carnival Legend April 11-18. You were kind enough to ask the Maitre’D to seat us at a table for two, which he did. It was on the second deck of the MDR, right by the railing. Thank you so much for that. It was also very close to Learoy’s (our waiter) station, so he was always ready to attend to whatever we needed. A few of the waiters even sang “Happy Honeymoon To You” on the 1st elegant night and gave us a dessert which was extra special.
A quick review:
We took the “Behind the Fun” tour, it was amazing…worth the price, and definitely not to be missed. It was so informative…and getting to tour the bridge, what a treat!
We ate at the steakhouse, which was more than delicious food. The service was outstanding. This was more than just a special dinner, it was an experience. The only drawback was the rough seas that night towards the end of our meal, it made it difficult to enjoy the dinner, but, the waitress had our dessert delivered to our cabin which was very nice.
We saw the stingrays in Grand Cayman and did the Cave Tubing in Belize. Both came highly recommended, and rightfully so.
Finally, I’m convinced that Carnival has the friendliest and most attentive staff of any company on Earth. I wish I could line up everyone we came in contact this past week and personally tell them “Thank You.” From the Captain and his officers to the crew on decks A,B and C…everyone greeted us with a smile and friendly hello (even when we were obviously interrupting their busy day during our tour). We considered many other destinations when planning this vacation, and after choosing Carnival, we came home with so many happy memories…and no regrets.
John Says:
Hello JasonI was so happy to read that your table request was taken care of and thank you for telling me. I organize many tables for readers and I don’t always get to know if things worked out so I am glad to hear that it did.
Sorry to hear about the rough seas. It’s still the one thing that you can’t control and as a CD it is always frustrating to know that your best laid plans of entertainment and fun can be thwarted by the wind and the sea. I am, though, most happy to read your thoughts on the service our staff and crew provide. I shall make sure that everyone with a beard and those on board get to read them. Thank you again and I hope we see you soon aboard another fun for all cruise.
I wish you a wonderful life together.
Johnstefani Asked:
Please Reply….I think this is your best blog yet… I love your description of Iceland… made me laugh all the way through.
I am getting into planning mode… only 5 more months until I finally get to see the new Carnival Dream. We are sailing on the September 18th sailing… not sure if you have mentioned it somewhere, but is Ken (the singing Maitre D) still on it then? I got to be in his section on the Carnival Splendor and just loved him.
Keep blogging… I read it every day.
Stefani (spelled correctly LOL)John Says:
Hello StefaniAhhhh……the Iceland blog, it seems like ages ago that I wrote that and I am glad you enjoyed it so much. Ken is now on the Carnival Legend and your Maitre D will be Klaudio or Mr. Ante. Both are fabulous and please let me know if you need any assistance with a table request.
Best wishes to all,
JohnJeremy Snawder Asked:
John please reply,My wife and I are going to be on the Freedom 5/30/10 celebrating our one year anniversary (6/1/10)! We are very excited– it’s her first cruise so I decided to spoil her with a suite. I’ve got a couple’s massage and dinner at the Steakhouse planned for our anniversary day.
I loved reading about your time on the Freedom on the blog thing, she sounds like a great ship and I’m sure you have fond memories of her. I’ve been on the Glory before her renovations and I can’t wait to see how the Freedom is different.
I do have a request and a comment.
Can you pass a note to the Freedom Maître d’ for a table for two? (Late Dining) I think it will be a bit more romantic with it just being two of us.
In picking out our room, I found it very frustrating trying to find room photos and room layout details on Carnival’s website. I know with today’s technology it cannot be hard to take multiple medium/high resolutions photos for the all of the cabin types. Not every room, just a representative for each cabin class. I think you are missing a great opportunity to connect with the customer.
All the best to you, Heidi, and Kye!,
JeremyJohn Says:
Hello JeremyI will be happy to help with your dining request and how super that you have booked a massage and an evening at the Steakhouse. It sounds like you will have a very special anniversary cruise.
I have sent a note to the Maitre D and he will do his best to assist with your table request. I will pass on your thoughts about the rooms to the beards in marketing that run our website. I thought we had photos of the state rooms but maybe we need to do a better job with that. Can you help me a bit with this? What do you think was wrong? Was it the navigation or the content? Please let me know.
I wish you both a very happy anniversary cruise and thanks so much for the kind words for my family.
Best wishes,
JohnNorman Langton Asked:
John to reply.Listen, I know I will not win the popular vote here but I don’t care. I agree 100% with other Cruise Critic readers who have posted their comments on this blog. The people who write dozens of words that kiss your butt only to then ask for something for free or a table for 2 etc are pathetic. That’s my opinion.
Norman
John Says:
Hello NormanOh bugger. And I was having such a nice time this morning, sitting here in my underpants answering today’s questions. Thanks for sharing your opinion with me which is what you are entitled to do. It is an opinion though to which I disagree because I am always trying to………………you know what………….bugger this…………I am tired of answering questions like this…………you know what Norman…………thanks for your posting and instead of me answering it ………I just want to say this:
Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse
When you’re chewing on life’s gristle
Don’t grumble, give a whistle
And this’ll help things turn out for the best…And always look on the bright side of life…
Always look on the light side of life…If life seems jolly rotten
There’s something you’ve forgotten
And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing
When you’re feeling in the dumps
Don’t be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle – that’s the thingAnd always look on the bright side of life…
Always look on the light side of life…For life is quite absurd
And death’s the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow
Forget about your sin – give the audience a grin
Enjoy it – it’s your last chance anyhowSo always look on the bright side of death
Just before you draw your terminal breathLife’s a piece of sh*t
When you look at it
Life’s a laugh and death’s a joke, it’s true
You’ll see it’s all a show
Keep ‘em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on youAnd always look on the bright side of life…
Always look on the right side of life…
(Come on guys, cheer up!)
Always look on the bright side of life…
Always look on the bright side of life…
(Worse things happen at sea, you know.)
Always look on the bright side of life…
(I mean – what have you got to lose?)
(You know, you come from nothing – you’re going back to nothing.
What have you lost? Nothing!)
Always look on the right side of life…Best wishes,
John
That’s all for today. Now, in past weeks the 344 Stephanies have not been posting comments over the weekend because they………well……..have families and husbands and beards, etc. but they have help now with 21 ladies called Melissa and some of the Melissa’s will be helping to post comments so if you want to stop by over the weekend you may find that they have been updated. My thanks to them and to you for everything you write.
Time for a break.
On Wednesday there were 3 Carnival ships anchored off Grand (hurry up and build that pier ) Cayman. There was the Carnival Liberty, the Carnival Elation and, of course, the Carnival Fantasy. That means that Carnival sent approx 7,500 guests to the shops, on excursions and supported the already rather well off economy of Cayman. They should have had a huge ” Thank you Carnival, we love you very much” banner hung across the tender pier………..but, of course, they didn’t.
Anyway, it must have been quite a sight to see the three famous Carnival smokestacks and, in fact, it is a sight that you can enjoy now thanks once again to the absolutely brilliant photo magic of Mr. Radu Ursu.
So, it is a very busy sea day and here I sit at 8:45am in my underpants writing this bit of the blog thingy. It’s been a beautiful cruise, weather wise, although it has been a bit choppy these last 24 hours.
Unfortunately, there were quite a few folks who were sea sick last night and stayed in their state rooms. I know this because the Ticket to Ride Beatles show was poorly attended and the dining rooms 50% full at best. By 10:00pm the rocking had subsided but the ship remained quiet for the rest of the evening.
I had a walk around, saw Linda, Mom of DJ, sing a karaoke song and not just sing but energize the rest of the guests to get up and have a go as well………not me of course……….I would rather tap dance naked on Gerry Cahill’s desk than sing karaoke. But people like Linda love it and I am sure she and many of you are going to truly enjoy the Rock Star live activity.
It was great to have all my blogger friends with me and I want to say hello to a new friend of mine…..Michael…….I promised him I would put his photo on the blog so here it is.
And so to the subject of prohibited items and I can now present the final list. We have listened to what you have had to say and made a few changes here and there …….anyway, here is the final list.
I have received some very passionate comments about the power strip issue including one that I won’t be posting. It says that RCI allows power strips and that the poster will be cruising only with them from now on. I won’t be publishing that because not only was it rude, I truly believe it was written by an RCI chumpion. And if someone is going to ignore the value for money fun experience that we offer…………over a power strip…………well, that to me is just ridiculous. If you have any genuine concerns, though, please contact me and I will address them on your behalf.
I really enjoyed my first and only week as Cruise Director on a ship out of Alabama. The people were great and very similar to the people from Texas in their passion and enjoyment of life and obviously Alabama is a very important market for us and I know they will love the Carnival Elation who will be making Mobile her home from tomorrow.
Talking of tomorrow, we will arrive earlier than usual at around 6:30am. As soon as we have disembarked our guests we will move away and allow the Carnival Elation to come in and disembark the guests from their Panama Canal cruise. It will certainly be a very busy day at the port tomorrow.
Then the Carnival Fantasy will head to Charleston. This will be 3-day voyage without guests and a chance for the crew to relax a little.
I, though, will be as bored as Tiger Woods in a monastery.
So, that’s all about the cruise news I have for you today. But there is one more thing I want to say………..and let’s start by going back one year ago tomorrow………this is what I wrote trying to describe the most wonderful yet terrifying nights of my life.
In the UK the whole birthing process is handled by a midwife and her assistant. There is no doctor unless you have complications. The midwives are mostly middle aged or older ladies and are a cross between Mrs. Doubtfire and Mary Poppins. I was a bit taken aback by this. I wanted machines that go ping and doctors cloaked and masked and ready to get my baby here now……what I got was a lady called Christine who wore a uniform from the 50’s. She was around 55 years old and bloody marvelous.
So in we went and by the time we were led into one of the delivery suites Heidi was having pains every two minutes.
Her pain was so great that she made loud grunting noises like Serena Williams does when she hits a tennis ball. Then as the contractions grew, her moans became howls. Was my wife turning into a werewolf? Christine then did one of those ummmm…….inspections of Heidi’s lady garden and said that she had found Jimmy Hoffa, and that Heidi was already 6 cm dilated. It was a good thing she said that we had come in even though her water still had not broken.
The time was now 11:15 pm and the start of one of the worst and best nights of my life.
Every time a contraction would hit Heidi, I rubbed her lower back because she said the pain there was excruciating. She was given “gas and air” which helped a little but did nothing to stop her feeling pain like she had never felt before……….and there was worse to come. I had a little gulp of the gas and air myself and boy that stuff’s good…….at one point I saw God……….and “she” told me not to have any more.
At 3 am Heidi was 8cm dilated and the contractions were coming every minute or so.
At 4 am she was 9cm dilated and the pain was so bad that I begged Heidi to have an epidoodle but she refused.
At 5 am she went into labour and I stood by her side and watch my brave Heidi push with all her might and scream in total agony. I held her hand, I tried to make a joke, I told her I loved her and never………..never………I have I felt such a useless bastard in my life as I did then. For three hours plus she tried with all her might and all the time the midwife Christine told her how brave she was and talked her through everything that was happening ……….I know I am repeating myself but she was amazing.
Kye was in a strange position. Her head was facing up instead of down or down instead of up……I can’t remember which. I had my back firmly to the show and as much as I wanted to help Heidi through the pain, I was going to be no bloody good having a quick look downstairs and immediately fainting.
Heidi screamed and she shook and I mopped her sweaty brow with a washcloth. At 8:05 am she said “I can’t do this.” I said, “Yes you can, it’s your Dad’s birthday and this is his gift.” So my brave lady continued pushing through the pain.
The midwife told her to “push down like you are having a good poo.” Now, I could have made a joke or two there but as any attempts at humor by me had so far been met with angry looks or me being told to have rumpy pumpy with myself in both Dutch and English………… I decided not say nothing.
I really was trying to help. I said “Breathe ………. in ……… out ……….in………out.” And my normally non-swearing placid partner replied……..”I know how to fu**ing breathe.”
And she screamed some more and then………suddenly Christine simply said ……… “Three more pushes”………and three pushes later at 8:50am Kye entered the world weighing a touch under 7 pounds. Heidi cried, Christine our midwife asked me if I wanted to cut the cord. I told her to bugger off and a few moments later wrapped in a towel and sitting on my wife’s chest was our daughter…….something we thought we would never have ………….and she is the most beautiful, gorgeous, little thingy …………… in the world.
Then as they weighed her and did what they do to newborn babies, I thought it was all over, so for the first time in hours I turned around ……….just in time to see Heidi deliver a placenta…………and although some of you may think I am adding this for entertainment values, I promise I am not. Because at the sight of this blob of blood and ooze being plopped out into what looked like a dish we use for the side orders in our supper clubs…….I knew I was going to be sick………and I just made it to the toilet in time to prove myself right. I don’t think it was just the placenta though…….I am sure it was being on my feet for eight hours and a low sugar level and the whole emotion of the night.
After cluster-bombing the toilet, I returned to see Heidi who was having ladies things done to her that I won’t mention here. Then, just as my Mum told me she was when she had me, we were both offered a cup of tea and some toast and jam………I asked for a Spotted Dick and when the midwife said that there was probably one in the male surgical wards.
Heidi laughed a little for the first time that night. Again, the National Health System has it’s faults but for a free service I can’t fault it……..and I thank Christine and all the staff so very much and when I went to collect my family today I brought huge boxes of chocolates for them all.
Heidi and Kye spent last night in the hospital and they conducted hearing and mobility and joint tests which she passed with flying colors and they arrived home yesterday. I did the journey to the hospital in 12 minutes. Strange then that with Kye in her car seat the journey back took 30 minutes as the Range Rover never went over 30 mph……the polar bears should be happy, as well.
So, here she is. And for all the people who said my life would change………..you were totally right. I never put the TV on…….I looked at my raspberry less……….I didn’t care what was happening in the world……all I did was stare at something that this ugly grey haired overweight sod had helped create……and the whole experience has so far been jaw droppingly astonishing.
She slept three hours then woke for a feeding…..then slept two more hours and was hungry again…………then she got another two hours sleep before wanting to suck on Heidi’s breasts. This means I got some sleep as well although at 4 am I woke up also wanting to suck on one of Heidi’s breasts…….she’s gone from Kate Moss to Pamela Andersen in just a few weeks and I can’t enjoy them…….double D bugger.
I have, though, a new found understanding of what women have to go through giving birth. I don’t think anyone can understand what it is like to see the one you love in so much pain and be able to absolutely nothing about it.
Ladies…….you are amazing and none more so than Heidi……..whom I love with all my heart.
This is her then
And here she is now
I love my job. I relish every moment I have been given to entertain the guests and I know how lucky I am that a fat, ugly sod like me is to have been given the chance to be in the position I am in. But today, I would give anything……….anything at all to be with Kye so I could wish her a very Happy Birthday, hug her and tell her how much ” DaDa” loves her and to sing her special bouncy bouncy song at bedtime.
Time to go………I appear to have something in my eyes that is causing water to come out of them.
Goodnight,
Your friend
John
Look, friends — there are a few things you should remember before you comment. The space below is for you to post your comments about the post I've just written above. If it is something that's unrelated, please use the Ask John tab above. Now, while I may not be able to reply to your comment below, I do sit in my underpants almost every morning and read everything that is here. So feel free to comment on the comments and then if someone wants to comment on the comment to the comment then go ahead as well. Please be courteous unless the poster is French...........then you can say whatever you want.
BIRTHDAY CARD FOR KYE
I have posted a birthday card for Kye’s first birthday on my blog. I ask all the bloggers to post a comment wishing Kye a Happy Birthday.
http://ekonefe.wordpress.com/2010/05/13/happy-birthday-kye/
BIG Ed
Thank you Big Ed for being so thoughtful by posting a B’day card for all of us to post a comment wishing Kye a very happy first B’day. We appreciate it very much.
The Santanas of Miami Beach
Your very welcome.
BIG Ed
Thank You to everyone that went and posted birthday wishes to Kye. I’m sure John will be making a copy of them to show Kye when see is older.
BIG Ed
ATTENTION BLOGGERS GOING ON BC4
On my blog I have a easy to follow “Roll Call” for those going on BC4. Just add your full name and cabin number to a comment and I will add you to the roll call.
http://ekonefe.wordpress.com/bc4-roll-call/
If you need help making that decision to join us on BC4 here are some photos of the first 3 bloggers cruises.
http://ekonefe.wordpress.com/photos/
BIG Ed
Evil Crew
Dear Carnival; please remove all the large fish from the sea while I and my son are snorkeling.
-Sincerely;
Mrs Clueless….
John, please pass along my thanks to everyone at Miami that put together THE LIST. The vast majority of folks at Cruise Critic are thrilled with what we have now. I think that the beards took some time and looked at the situation realistically and did the right thing.
I certainly can understand sub standard power strips being a hazard and subject to confiscation.
I think this was a win-win for all of us.
Once again, thanks to all involved.
By the way… I showed Stitch the picture of Kye and she said ‘Awwwwwwwwwwww…’
Ciao!!!
Host Mach
WARNING
YOU WILL SEE BIG FISH
ON THIS SHORE EXCURSION.
IF YOU DON”T SEE FISH
WE WILL REFUND YOUR MONEY.
Oh go and cry John. You’re allowed because you are a loving dad. Happy Birthday Kye. I hope that you received our birthday card?
Paul F. Pietrangelo
Such a sweet and adorable little girl your Kye is, John, both then and now, and for many, many years to come. Happy birthday Littlest Sweetheart!
John,
Reading about Kye’s birth took me back to the day my daughter was born. My ex-wife also took several hours to make it through the entire labor process. A word of advice to future fathers…do NOT hold your beloved’s hand during this time. After one particularly interesting contraction, this petite woman actually levitated off the bed and proceeded to crush every last bone in my hand. It took me months to learn how to write left handed…
When my daughter finally did come into this world, I fell hopelessly in love with her and still love her madly now, 33 years later. She has given me a grandson and granddaughter that I also cherish beyond words.
Savor every minute because they grow up SOOO FAST. It seemed like only days from when I rocked her to sleep to when I walked her down the aisle (on the Carnival Fantasy) and shared her with my brilliant son-in-law.
John,
A very happy birthday to your beautiful daughter! What a treasure!!
Your description of how your reacted to the placenta kind of reminded me of the first time I saw a picture of the Norweigan Epic.
Thanks for sharing and have a RELAXING repositiong from Mobile to Charleston…
Sincerely,
Marty & Jeanne
Oh great – now I’ve also got something in my eyes causing water to fall out of them. John thank you so much for sharing your story on the birth of Kye and the love that you have for your family.
What a loving tribute to your little girl and wife. You are all so blessed to have one another and though I have no doubt that it is terribly hard to be away from them, I have a very strong notion that your love for them carries itself over land and sea directly into their hearts and theirs to yours.
Blessings to all of you.
-Beth
Happy Birthday Kye!! What a beautiful little girl.
Thanks for the picture today John. Kye’s best birthday present will be when you are together again. Please know we all appreciate all that you do.
Hugs,
Bobbi
What a beautiful story, about your wonderful gift, Kye. It made me look back to the birth of my girls (22 and soon to be 21). We will be celebrating her 21st birthday on the Carnival Pride in June. The best gift I have ever received, have been my children. Enjoy her, because they grow fast. I’m looking forward sailing with you in November.
Thanks again for everything you do. Birthday wishes to Kye
PS. Restricted-items-safety-security policy …… No Handcuffs!!!!!
Hey there John,
WE said ont he Freedon 2 years ago and you were the CD and also had the Bells Palzey (sp) anyway we and another couple ,their first cruise had a blast and esp loved the bed time story, one night you actually got attacked from one of the players and your pants fell down when you both hit the floor. We are taking our 5th cruise on the Carnival Miracle on Jan 14th 2011 and cant wait I was hoping you could tell me who ( And hopefully it will be you) will be the Cd on this cruise ? We have only sailed on Carnival and have always had a blast and love the crew . Sorry you missed Kyes first BD that would be hard. May God Bless you and your family. Thanks again for the memories
Janet, Malcolm Burn most likely will still be on then. John will be on Vacation then.
BIG ED
any thing you have to watch of this man before hand we did have wee jimmy one yr tooo
Happy Birthday to Kye! Good luck with the birthday gift selection. I’d gladly trade with you, My 2 daughters are 16 and 14 and when they get to be that age, the presents they want are exponentially more expensive!!
I know you would like to be there with her, but you hopefully you will at least be able to phone home and wish here a happy birthday. I know she will never remember it, but YOU will remember doing it and that is worth te trouble.
John-
I’m a first-time poster, but wanted to say thank you so much for your wonderful blog thingy, which gives me a laugh and a big smile no matter how crappy my day might have been. You are truly a gem!
Happy Birthday to Kye, who is just about the cutest girl I have ever seen!
Warm regards,
Elizabeth
Lucky lucky man, Kye looks like her mother, see you on the glory
AKA Prince Charlie
John,
Big hugs. I can’t imagine how tough it is for you. Start counting down the days til the girls join you again. My son and I have a paper chain to count down to our next Carnival cruise…one link for every week til we sail. It seems silly but is a tangible way to pass the time.
Happy birthday to your little lady,
Stacey
John Please Reply- (ok… you don’t have to reply but I need you to read this.)
John I have written to you a couple of times recently about you going to the Carnival Splendor and that we will be on the ship. It will be our 20th wedding anniversary cruise (August the 4th) etc etc..
I told you before I don’t expect you to give us a gift and despite that you said it would be no problem for you to do something. I was reading your blog tonight and realized there is something you could give us that would me a lot to us. We took our first and honeymoon cruise on the Carnival Fantasy. We were looking forward to being able to cruise on the Fantasy again since she was ported in Mobile which was close enough that we could easily get there for a cruise. But now they moved her to Charleston. Which for us would be very difficult to get to. We have been collecting the “genuine 24 Karat gold…. plastic trophies” on every cruise since but we did not get one from the Fantasy. (When you are on your honeymoon you don’t spend a lot of time at the trivia contests.) I know it would be one more thing to lug around with you (and let’s hope the airlines don’t consider them as dangerous as a finger nail clipper) but since you are on the Fantasy now, is there any chance you could bring us one when you come to the Splendor? I would truly understand if you can’t but it would be a small token that would mean a lot to us.
I know you normally say to write again a month before sail date but I think you will be on holiday (hopefully with your girls) in between the Fantasy and the Splendor and the it would be too late to ask you.
Jim C
John, please reply,
Wondering if there is anywhere to get the Carnival horn sound, available at the web site as a ring tone? Looking forward to cruising with you on the Splendor this fall, and the Magic next fall. The short visit on the Dream TA was not enough.
shane
Hi John,
Happy birthday to Kye!
Clair
John,
Happy Birthday to Kye.
I am sorry thay you could not be there in person. But you will always be there in her heart.
John,
Your blog was sooo good until u mentioned the placeta bit and now after 38 yrs of giving birth to our only child, Mitch, I have shifted in this recliner with PAINNN (spelled correctly) imao. I just hope it disappears before Tue, 18th when we sail from Charleston. Best wishes and birthday love sent to Kye and to her Mom and Dad for giving this child of God all the love she can ever imagine. OOh, and every parent knows she has to have a Pink Barbee Battery Charged Convertible Car on her first birthday.What in the world? It’s a must for parents to marvel over! (LOL) Best Wishes, Viv Sellers SEE U ON TUESDAY!
Happy Birthday, Kye
She looks like both of you!
A happy birthday to your lovely daughter. My best wishes for all of you.
Happy Birthday sweet Kye! I remember how all of us bloggers waited a year ago to hear of her arrival. Looking at those pictures, it is hard to believe the difference a year makes isn’t it? She is such a cutie and missing her Dad as much as you miss her. Please be sure and tell her there are big fish in the ocean so that she will know early in life that these thingys are there.
Hi John,
Here is a huge (((((hug))))) I know your girls will miss you and you them on this special celebration. Just think how lucky they are that they can celebrate again when you get home!!!
I was on the Carnival Pride when Kye was born. I heard the news from Kirk and Jaimie…how quickly time flies!!
Happy Birthday to your beautiful daughter – Deborah (Debs)
Happy First Birthday, Kye!
Heidi and John, you have been blessed. Enjoy this time, they grow so fast. My daughters just turned 22 and 20 this last week. Seems like they were Kye’s age just yesterday.
God Bless you all!
LiNan
Hi John, Even though you could not be with Kye for her 1st Birthday, Kye knows in her heart her ” VERY SPECIAL” Daddy is with her always! What a Cutie! John, please find comfort in knowing you will have alot of Special Birthdays you will share with her, and make many, many precious & happy memories, with your little Angel! “HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY KYE!!! you are very much loved!!! God Bless!!!!!! Michele & Mom (Eleanor)
John,
Love that beautiful picture of Kye!
Thank you for your efforts to clarify the allowed vs banned items on board. In this electronic age it actually is important to be able to power more than one device at a time. Some of the items I need to power are camera battery chargers and they simply will not fit in the one plugin in our room. Granted I could buy batteries, but….uh, nevermind. It’s a moot point all the way around now. I’ll just leave it at Thank you and be done.
Thank you as well for maintaining this blog; I check it each day for updates and have done so since you began.
Regards,
Paul
Happy Birthday Kye.
Hopefully they are going to scrub or repaint the funnel on the Fantasy before she get to Charleston. It is getting a bit faded.
I know the crew is going to enjoy the empty ship.
Dave
I must say John, for “a fat, ugly sod” you made an absolutely beautiful baby girl. She’s a very lucky girl to have a daddy that loves her so much that he gets something in his eyes that makes them water every time he writes about her.
Happy Birthday Kye! And congratulations to you and Heidi for surviving the first year.
- Joanna
Ps. Thank you to the Melissas for the weekend comment posting.
John, you should look at getting Skype. (google it).
It’d be a good way to see Kye and Heidi when you finally have a moment. Its not as good as being there in person, but this way, you can tell her how much ” DaDa” loves her and then sing her special bouncy bouncy song at bedtime to her. And the cool thing is she can see you, and you can see her!
Dear John,
First off I would like to say
*************Happy 1st Birthday Kye!*************
Thank you for sharing the beautiful story of her birth.
My daughter will be 3 years old on May 31st and I never got to experience contractions or labor. My little Mia entered the world via emergency c-section and it was the scariest moment of my life. Every year on her birthday I cry because I can’t believe how much shes grown so you have every right to shed a few tears.
My daughter is in that stage where her behavior isn’t the best but every night as I watch her sleep I remember just how much I love her and how blessed I am to have my beautiful baby girl. I am a single mom and even though it’s tough I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world.
Kye is a beautiful little girl and thank you so much for what I consider to be your best blog to date.
Best wishes to you, Heidi and Kye,
Shenika
John H,
(Please reply)
It is great that there is a comprehensive list of prohibited items and it is already on the FAQ’s on Carnival’s website. Thanks for responding to the CC posters.
Now to Carnival’s website – there seem to be some outdated items lurking on the website – as when I entered “prohibited” in the search Carnival.com box the result led me to a list from 2006, which should be deleted or updated.
In addition, below is the FAQ regarding the availability of sushi (which I know is just wrong):
——————————————-
Can I get sushi while onboard?
The sushi bar is open nightly prior to the dinner hours. Saki is available at a nominal cost.
Applicable ships: Fascination, Inspiration, Ecstasy, Elation, Paradise, Fantasy, Conquest, Glory, Imagination, Valor
Sushi is served for lunch at the Asian counter in the Lido Restaurant, but not nightly prior to the dinner hours. Applicable ships: Destiny, Triumph, Victory, Spirit, Pride, Legend, Miracle
——————————————-
I am not sure if the FAQ is completely wrong, but I do know that the Victory has a sushi bar and it is available prior to dinner and should not be included in the “available only at lunch” phrase.
I thought that Carnival added stand alone sushi bars to all of the ships that didn’t have it a few years ago, but my memory is not what it used to be, so I’ll leave it to you to see what’s what.
I like the recent changes to the website and although it took a while for them to work out the bugs with the new cruise search – it now works well.
The expansion and usability of the FAQ’s is so much better now.
Cheers and keep blogging!
Regards,
John R
Happy Birthday to the sweetest little girl, lucky you to have such wonderful parents! Love You, Auntie Linda & Uncle Mike
Happy 1st Birthday Kye!!!!
“But today, I would give anything……….anything at all to be with Kye so I could wish her a very Happy Birthday, hug her and tell her how much ” DaDa” loves her and to sing her special bouncy bouncy song at bedtime”
Ok I think I can write a bit more now that the flood waters from my eyes have eased a bit. Your story (especially the end quote) touched me so deeply John. Recently, the 34th anniv. of my husband’s death happened. Every year it still brings along the memories, some warm, others cold and hurting. But , your story conjured up memories that I had to create many years ago that seemed to come alive for me through your story. You see, my husband was a police officer that was killed in the line of duty. That in itself was beyond anything I thought I could live through, however the fact that I was 5 months pregnant with our fist child caused the deepest feeling of pain and loss. Four months after my husband’s funeral, I delivered our little girl, alone, without his encouragement to breathe, without his hand to hold, and yes to hear the same kinds of jokes you were so tempted to tell and…chances are he would have been “praying to the porcelain god” also that night!
Throughout the years I imagined what it would have been like to have him there and your story was so similiar to what I have pictured, that it brought a warm glow to my heart.
Thank you so very much for sharing your very personal story of the birth of your beautiful daughter.
Our daughter has grown to be an amazing woman whose smile and eyes are her dad’s and every time she smiles, her dad is smiling at me also.
With a warm heart,
Beth
Nothing can compare to the birth of your child except the birth of your grandchild. None of the pain, all of the joy!
Soon my GD will graduate from high school. And we will be off on an adventure together in the Mediterranean.
Happy first birthday Kye, Heidi, & John!
Hello John:
Happy Birthday Kye.
Maybe Heidi can put together a birthday party for Kye when you get home? Kye will have a great time, and so will Daddy.
Regards,
Your Friend
Bill Heck
Happy Birthday Kye!!
Just out of curiousity, why would anyone bring most of those items anyway?!
I think the list is very reasonable and I think that it’s silly that anyone would choose not to sail Carnival due to reasonable rules.
John Please Reply,
First of all we have always had a great time sailing with Carnival and we are anxiously awaiting our next cruise which will be on 6/6/10. This will be our first time sailing on our Carnival Victory and we cannot wait. The only thing that is keeping us going is your blog thingy and we want to thank you for all that you do.
While onboard, my husband and I will be celebrating our 6th anniversary. We always enjoy taking a Carnival cruise for our anniversary. I would love to make this a special cruise for him since he is such a great husband.
We will be traveling with my parents and another couple. My parents (Susan & Mike) have cruised with Carnival many times and love it, but the other couple (Clif & Cathy) are loyal to the Of The Seas brand. We want to make sure that the other couple have a great experience and show them how great the Carnival brand is. Do you have any reccommendations on what we can do to show them a good time? We are confirmed for late seating and would love to have a good table so that they can see all of the excitement in the dinning room.
Once again we love the blog thingy and read it daily, don’t change a thing!
All Our Best to You, Heidi, & Kye
Jacquelyne & Family
Our Information Follows:
Carnival Victory 6/6/10
Jacquelyne & Chris Barger Room 6422
Michael & Susan Stewart Room 6410
Clifton & Cathy Pernell Room Balcony Guarantee
Happy birthday Kye!!
John, she is absolutely beautiful!!! Treasure every moment because they grow up so very fast.
Hi John,
Thanks for sharing the story of Kye’s birth. I was never blessed with children, but I could feel the pain Heidi was going thru. As hard as it is to be away on her 1st birthday, being that she is so young, she won’t remember that you weren’t there. When you get home in a couple weeks, have another celebration so you won’t miss out on it. She’s not going to know it’s not the real date of her b’day, she will be happy to have her dad there and another party and more cake
So, don’t be too hard on yourself, John. You are a great dad and Kye and Heidi know how much you love them. Now smile and enjoy your day! Take care and smooth sailing.
Carolyn B.
Happy Birthday Kye!! love you! Hope to meet you someday
Happy Birthday Kye!
John thank you so much for your blog thingy; most days you have me laughing out loud, today you’ve made water come out of my eyes.
I hope you get to see your girls soon!
happy birthday kye. wow beautiful kye.
Happy Birthday Kye,
You are blessed to be the daughter of 2 of the most amazing people in the world!
Migz
John,
Thank you for the wonderful story that led up to your daughters birth. I finally got to see a photo of Kye and she is absolutely beautiful!!
JOHN! 1 yr olds aren’t into dolls yet. Get her anything that has parts. A farm with aminals or a ship with aminals. a bike that she can push with her feet.
A Fisher Price telephone that she can pull along.(eyes move and she can dial on it) A pull along dog.
These are the things most littleones play with!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYE!!!!!
Happy Birthday Kye!! She is such a beautiful little girl.
John, Thanks for all you do for us, and having to spend time away from your girls to be there for us Carnival addicts!
All the best to you, Heidi and your birthday girl,
Bethany
For our granddaughter it was here own TV remote. She was always changing the TV channels so we got her her own remote without batteries. All we heard from then on was ‘My mot” “My mot”. We did have to put her name on it so we knew which was the real remote.
BIG Ed
Happy Birthday Kye!
Get her something soft and cuddly. I’m sure there will be plenty of gifts.
KathyG
Your daughter is beautiful. I loved reading the story of her birth.
Happy Birthday sweetheart! What a beautiful little angel! I am so glad we had the pleasure and honor of meeting her!
All the best to you John, Heidi and Kye!
Frank and Bridie
***HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY KYE******
Hope you have a very special 1st birthday, and know you are loved by us and many many other people.
Wow John your baby is one that is so special. You will be with her in your heart and see her on your Skype thingy. At that age she won’t know time so when you get home you can just celebrate her 1st again. She is a beautiful little angel love seeing how much she has grown on this blog thingy. Thanks. Much love to Heidi, Kye and you.
Alice H.
Happy Birthday to Kye! What a beautiful little girl!! I know you must miss her terribly. Carnival is lucky to have you on their staff.
Have a good weekend! Leaving on the Spirit Monday!!!
Take care!
BREAKING NEWS
John breaks his toe during the Bedtime Story. Mary wins again. Looking forward to reading about this on John’s Monday blog.
BIG Ed
PS, No John I wont kiss your boo boo and make it better, LOL.
A VERY HAPPY BRITHDAY KYE.
one year old, how the time goes by so quickly, heidi and john enjoy your beautiful daughter and cherish each moment.
love michelle and gand xxx
1st Happy Birthday,Kye! You certainly have a beautiful daughter, John. Hang in there, you’ll be home soon.
2nd Please Reply
Regarding the allowed items: My daughter and I sailed on the Carnival Freedom on May 2nd. It was her first platinum cruise and my 26th (first without husband who stayed home to care for animals) Anyway, we each took one bottle of sealed wine to enjoy in the evening on our balcony. We each put the bottle in a wooden wine box for safety and then in our luggage. It was taken away and returned on our last night. A very nice? letter explained that it had been taken, etc. We did not want any problems as the point of this cruise was to relax,get away from bank business and a flooded house so we said nothing. Of course, we got the wine back. My question is – were we supposed to carry it on – not put it in the luggage? My husband and I will be sailing on the Carnival Miracle on November 19, 2010 and would like to know how to safely bring a bottle of wine. Thanks. Jeri
Happy Birthday Kye, you are a beautiful little girl and a joy to your parents.
I am sorry that you were not with your girls on Key’s birthday but you will be with them again soon to celebrate her birthday, belated but not forgotten.
We are not going on our next cruise until September 25th on the Magic in 2011 but I am hoping that by then changes will have been made using the power strips or have more outlets in the rooms. I would never stop sailing Carnival because of a power strip but I would stop sailing with Carnival, if I saw a fish on a snorkeling trip
Keep smiling John; you truly are one of the good guys.
My best to Heidi and the birthday girl.
Happy Birthday, Kye! Reading your blog makes us realize what a sacrifice you (and all the workers on the ship) make in order for us to have a wonderful vacation! Thanks, John! I hope you are able to celebrate with your family real soon!
We just returned from Fantasy’s final voyage from Mobile, we will miss her!!! This was our first cruise with you as the CD…I now understand why you have such a ‘following’. We enjoyed every moment!
Mz Jan & DrT
Auburn, AL
Sorry, you can’t be with Kye. But remember all the times you were with her. You know some parents are with their children 24/7 and never pay one bit of attention to them. I’m sure when you are with her and when you are not with her she know how much she means to you. My son-in-law is in the Navy he has three children and has never been home for their first birthdays or their first steps. But those kids know how much daddy loves them. My prayers are with you and your family today. Happy Birthday Kye. Love the Bugbee’s next week we will be on the Dream.
hello John, Alan says just buy her a pony. Can’t wait to see you. x
Alison,
Tell Alan to buy one. Then John can just bring Kye over to ride it. How is Alan doing?
BIG ED
John Please reply: First of all, a HUGE HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kye!!! What a mile-stone in her life!! Congrats to you and Heidi for the great production you created!!
but I thot that you would like to know so you could send this message off the the guys( or gals) with beards to see what they have to say. Thanks again for all the wonderful memories that you and the crew create for us every year 
Angela Guptill Nova Scotia 
Re: the plug issue, I have a CPAP machine (used for people with sleep apnea) and it is a bit of a hassle as I have to plug in in across the room from the bed (on any of the ships we’ve been on so far.) That’s not too much of an inconvience but my husband usually makes a few trips to the bathroom during the night and I’m afraid of him forgetting that the electrical cord is there and trip over it. There are no plug-ins on either side of the beds so it does make it difficult when someone has a medical device that must be plugged in. I”m not complaining as we’re going on our 5th cruise with Carnival next year so we won’t be changing cruise lines any time soon or later
Hi John,
Happy 1st Birthday to Kye.
A good idea would be to print out a copy of todays blog and include it in her baby book. 30 years from now she will be able to look back on this day and know what an awesome father she has.
Take Care,
Theresa from NJ
Hi we just returned from the final voyage of the Carnival Fantasy out of Mobile ith John as CD. Needless to say John was great, His marriage show, welcome aboard show and Bedtime story were some of his best, We watched a fellow that was sitting in front of us during the Bedtime Story and he did all but roll in the aisle he laughed so hard. I wouldn’t have been surprised if his seat was wet when he left the Lounge……
I know exactly when John broke his toe during the Bedtime story, because he winched, I would have screamed and hobbled around in pain. But did it stop John.? No way !! he went on being the showman his is and never missed a beat.
All of this controversy about power strips, coffe pots and blenders, etc. I mean how ridiculous can you get. What do you need a coffee pot for? Coffee is available 24 hours a day. Too lazy to go to Lido to get it? Call room service. You can’t take alcoholic beverages on board so what do you need a blender for? We don’t take a fan, but if we did WalMart has battery operated fans.
IWe have been on 17 cruises and I always take a hair dryer and a curling iron in my carry on. No problem. We went to Walmart and bought a cheap battery operated clock and it still has the original batteries in it and it’s been on many cruises. I have to charge the battery to my scooter and I do that over night about every other day. My ebook and everything else takes it turn with the outlet.
Get real … the rules are made and they are for my safety as well as everyone else on the ship. If you need all of these things……stay home!
Sorry John I had to vent my thoughts
Carolyn
John Please reply
Just got back from the Dream. What a wonderful time we had. My first with carnival my fiancees 2nd. Let me start off by saying that i was a little dubious about trying Carnival. Heard you people catered to 40 and under and i’m 63 fiancee is 76. Loved Norwegian but wanted to try Carnival. WELLLLLLLLL you proved me wrong. Carnival is great for ALL AGES.
Embarkation was a breeze. Fastest i’ve ever seen. Only thing i missed when sailing was a live band. But that was fine.
Our waiter Eudardo was terrific. Todd and James were a hoot together and alone. Poor James was sick one day but still hung in there.
The Food was great. Steakhouse is a must.
Wednesday night on deck party was fun and great time. Everything was great. Only smelled the fowl odor on the lidl Deck a few times. And the morning we pulled into St Thomas the ship did shake. But overall was a great great time. ALready planning on going on the Glory next April 10th. Will be my birthday cruise which is the 14Th. Okay went on enough but am so happy i went. Hugs to all Judy and John
Aw! Happy birthday, Kye! Sorry to be late in my wishes. I was enjoying the House of Mouse with my own sweet little girl and had no access to the blog.
John, You’re a great dad! I can only imagine how heartbroken you are not being able to celebrate Kye’s first birthday in person. Now it’s your time to be brave, though, and know that it’s not the date the candle is blown out, or the time of the party that matters. It’s the love you give to your precious one all year long that they will remember and cherish the most.
Laura
Happy Birthday Kye!! Enjoy singing to her every day even if it is just on Skype. My beautiful 10 year old boy will still let me cuddle him (when friends arent around) but baby songs are WAY gone…a thing of the past and I miss them.
John, I just started reading your blog last June, so I missed the story of Kye’s birth. Thanks for posting it again. It brought tears to my eyes.
Thanks also for getting the rules revised about power strips. I’m so happy that I’ll still be able to pack mine! Between blow dryers, curling irons, flat irons, clocks, batteries that need recharging, and our fan – yes, we do pack a small fan – we definitely need a power strip. Ours is new and in excellent condition, so we should have no problems.
Thanks for this blog and for all you do!
John, please reply. We are leaving on the dream on the 29th of May. I am very particular about what my children drink, i.e. 100% juices, etc. Are the juices that are provided on lido 100%. What is the policy for bringing drinks onboard with us. I don’t mind if they drink sodas and the juices provided on the ship some, but prefer that they don’t drink sugary stuff for the entire 7 days. Thanks!
TO THE “21 LADIES CALLED MELISSA”
Thank you very much for a job well done this weekend with updating the comments.
BIG Ed
John,
We just returned from a fabulous cruise on My Carnival Miracle. This was our second time on this ship. I feel we need to tell you of the outstanding service and fabulous staff on this vessel. Malcolm the cruise director is great,(not as great as you of course) but was so funny and ever so present on the decks all the time. As was his assistants , Sparkles, Jennifer, and Buttercup.
We ate in the Nick and Nora’s steakhouse twice and each time we were very pleased with the food and service and as you tell it, you can’t beat the price. On the last sea day we were celebrating our 7 year wedding anniversary, so I had them send a cake to our table at the steakhouse, the Hostess Ela, was so helpful in making our night a success. I feel I needed to single her out, and praise her for her work.
Another person who stands out is the shopping coordinator Jennifer. By far the best person to talk to about the ports. The people in the ports had nothing but great things to say as do we.
I could go on and on about how everything just went so smooth. We waited maybe 45 minutes from the time we got to the terminal to actually stepping aboard. Rooms were ready by 1:30pm, luggage was delivered an hour later. The ship is spotless, the children were well supervised, the staff was very friendly, the front desk was very helpful, both the past guest and farewell parties had free drinks. I don’t drink , but they were able to get us soda and alcohol free beer. You told me that the Buckler beer was not to good, I think you compared it to Camel urine. But when that’s all you have, well, it wasn’t that bad.
We didn’t eat in the dining room, so I can’t comment on it .
Just thought you should know, we are hooked on Carnival. This was our 3rd cruise on Carnival. As soon as they post the itinerary for NY in 2011 we will be booking again.
Thanks for all you do.
Tim
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KYE!!!
John,
Happy lae bday to your little girl. My son, husband and I were just on your cruise last week. My Son LOVED every min. of it. TIme goes by fast when it comes to little ones ENJOY EVERYTHING!!!!!!!
John,
I can’t believe that it has already been a year since Kye was born. Happy belated birthday Kye. My how time flies!
Congrats and let’s hope this year is even more successful than last year.
Take care!
David
Happy 1st Birthday to Kye!!
Good Afternoon John and Please Reply ..
I have a couple of co-workers who have also been frequent Carnival cruisers and can you believe it, they didn’t know about your site (that was of course until I told them!!!)… So you will soon have 6 million 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 more bloggers!!!
Anyways, they will be on the Carnival Victory cruise June 20 and I know they would all love a table together where “all the action with the waitors” takes place!! (they are confirmed for late seating)
They are Rosa Martin, cabin 6214, Teresita, cabin 2216 abd Ana Collazo, cabin 6370 . Ana is taking her grandson Brandon with her for his High School graduation …. (Great present, don’t you think???)…
I told them what a great person you are and also told them that if you could (through I did make it perfectly clear that its not a definite) that you would try to get them that table for 6 “where all the action is”…
Thanks John for anything you can do for them…..
Luv U….
Happy Birthday Kye . Hope to meet daddy some day on cruise.
John – Ronnie James Dio died. Can you believe it??? I am beyond sad….Just thought you would be interested.
Happy Birthday, Kye!!!
Sorry to hear that you couldn’t be with her for her first birthday, John! You’ll be reunited before you know it! Time sure flies doesn’t it? A beautiful daughter from two very proud parents. God bless you all!!
Regards,
Alex G.
I know that Michael Little and his parents Dick and Anita had a great time on your cruise. Wish we could have been there but we were on our own trip sailing on the Dream 5/22. It was a great time! We wish we could have had John as a CD – still trying to figure out a sailing before you retire.
Dear John,
I was hoping you could help me with what should be rather simple. My wife and I just arrived home a day or two from the Carnival Glory…other than the fact that I lost my checkbook during my trip…the trip was great.
The ship was excellent, the crew was great, and the food as always…was elegant. My wife and I were blown away with the performance of Livin’ in America and Let’s Rock…both led by singers Jessica and Jacob.
We wanted to show our friends more about these singers and their show…but we do not know Jessica or Jacob’s last name. We were hoping they had a fan page or website. Anyway, hoping you can help with some last names and perhaps a link.
Thank you,
Bob
i love to receive birthday cards specially if they are custom built birthday cards “*`
Thank you for your nice article,i bookmarked One Year Ago John Heald's Blog on digg and i will link back to your post