Let’s talk about tips.
Guest: Mr. ———–Ref: 802012819A
Cabin: ——- Booking#: ______Added-Changed: 05/27/10 – 05/27/10C - – GUEST REMOVED ALL GRATUITIES
Mr.____ came to the GSD to request that the gratuities for he and wife be taken from his S & S card. GSA asked if there had been a problem with the service and guest said that he did not feel that it had been good. GSA asked for more information on this but guest said he did have time and to take off the gratuities immediately.
OK, so this intrigued me so I called the Maitre D and asked him if the guest had made a complaint during the cruise about the service or food. He had not, in fact Sam told me that two nights previous he had visited the table and they had laughed and joked with him. The guests are at a table of 6 and no other guests had removed their gratuities. I then asked the same question of the housekeeping manager and received the same answer ……. nope………no complaints. In fact I know the stateroom steward in that section. He was with me on the start up of the Carnival Freedom and has been with us for some years and is a great employee.
So, why did these guests remove their gratuities? Well, first of all let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the service they received from the dining room staff and stateroom steward was bad and that they truly feel that these crew do not deserve any gratuities. If that’s the case though I wish they could have told us what was wrong. Complaints can highlight the deficiencies at Carnival, show where we are lagging and help us to improve. We offer so many ways to do this including the guest services desk onboard as well as numerous ways once home including via this blog thingy.
Many organizations and companies seem to be making it more difficult these days to make a complaint. Take my bank which these days seem to always give my hemorrhoids reasons to flare and itch. I have to call a number and end up spiraling through Dante’s nine circles of hell, being transferred endlessly from one department to another or, worse still, being left on hold as an irritatingly chirpy voice repeatedly reassures you of the value of being a customer………customer my arse.
We want to know what we did wrong and if the service has been less than expected that yes ………remove the tips ……….tell us and we will act accordingly. But……..and this is just my opinion………..you can’t help but wonder whether these folks removed their gratuities just……….well………..you can fill in this blank ______________.
I wonder if this happens on land. I have never removed the gratuity that is included in many restaurants these days and trust me………..that includes the worst service location in the world……….Venice. Seriously, why don’t more people do runners from Venetian restaurants? Heidi and I often though about doing this. We imagined taking a walk outside to have a serious conversation on our cell phone and then run away and never return. The problem for me though with this option is the word “run!”
So, there is nothing I can do about these guests removing their gratuities and if they did receive dreadful service, I sincerely apologize. That’s the Cruise Director and Brand Ambassador in me talking………the John Heald normal non-Carnival employee person thinks though that they are actually “Crabs Pad Heats.”
Time for today’s questions………..off we go.
Mary Fairbanks Asked:
Dear John; Please ReplyWhen are we going to hear about Carnival Magic Trans-Atlantic? We were on the Carnival Dream T-A and loved it. We had a brief conversation in the comedy club and you showed me Kye’s photos on your eye-phone thingy. She is just a beauty.
We really want to book back-to-back in 2011 on the last Med and T-A. Our Carnival cruise planner said it will be announced soon….I’m getting antsy… I want to book. I want to cruise with you again. Will you announce it?
Oh by the way I have been on two Princess cruises and they were wonderful. Don’t get me wrong, I love Carnival. Since Princess is a Carnival brand I’m not being disloyal. We did a 10 day Tahiti cruise on the Tahitian Princess, in 2003 for my retirement present. We had a wonderful time and have returned to Bora-bora 5 times since we just fell in love with the islands of Tahiti.
We also did a 10 day Deep South Caribbean which Carnival was not offering at the time, again, many great times and ports. It is looking like we may do another, around 2013 or 2014 on the new ships, wow.
What a wonderful man you are to do such a great thing for Chad and Stacey. We were on a cruise once and all my & my hubby’s formal wear was trying to catch up to us the whole cruise. Our bag missed us in every port by a few hours. When we got our bag 3 months later, yes, 3 months, it had so many inspection cards in it was funny. It traveled more than we did!
They did give me a dress to wear and all the things that want with it, as a loan. Hubby got a rental tux. Not being in your own clothes was different. In fact, I got out nice slacks and pretty blouse the next formal night and hubby wore black jeans and a floral shirt. We had a blast. It was the last time I packed a long formal dress! Talk about enlightening! I always dress a little fancier on formal night, but not as formal as I used to. A nice black cocktail dress goes a long way as well.
I love the blog, and hello to all the Stephanie’s
I am anxiously waiting for info
MaryJohn Says:
Hello Mary FairbanksJust before I answer your question I want to make it very clear that I do not have an Eye Phone and I showed you my photos on my Raspberry. I don’t have a beard, I don’t eat tofu and I don’t like the Lady sodding Gar Gar thus………..I don’t have an Eye Phone.
Right, now that’s cleared up let me say a big thank you for writing and I remember our conversation well. I never thought I would be that kind of Dad who shows photos of his kids to anyone and everyone whether they want to see them or not. Now, there is absolutely no need to justify you taking a cruise on the super Tahitian Princess. I have been on a Princess cruise and make no apologies when I say that I had the most brilliant time and I can imagine who gorgeous a cruise to Bora Bora must have been.
I know that you and everyone else are waiting with baited breath to hear news on the Carnival Magic‘s trans-Atlantic voyage and where her home port in the USA will be. I was hoping that this was the week when PA 007 could break that news to me but unfortunately it seems we will have to wait a little while longer yet.
I want to thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to say “ooh” and “ahh” when I shoved photos of Kye in your face.
I hope we see each other again soon
Best wishes
JohnBill (Zydecocruiser) from ZydecoCruiser.com Asked:
John, Please replyElizabeth and I are booked on the first two Carnival Magic sailings. According to Carnival.com, our sailing is 360 days away. On the Carnival Magic page, it says the first sailing is in 391 days. They both can’t be right. Which one is it?
http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/ships/carnival_magic/default.aspx?shipCode=MC
Also, on the itineraries page, it indicates Carnival Magic arrives in Venice at 2am on the May 10th sailing. The previous port is Dubrovnik. I know it isn’t a long way from Dubrovnik and 2am might be possible. 2pm doesn’t seem right, either. Surely it doesn’t take that long to get from Dubrovnik to Venice. Sooooo. What time is Carnival Magic really scheduled to arrive in Venice on the May 10th cruise?
http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/ships/carnival_magic/itineraries.aspx
Thanks,
billJohn Says:
Hello Bill ZydecocruiserOops and bugger seem to be the right thing to say here. Thanks for pointing this out Bill. I will check on the number of days thingy with the 344 Stephanies and ask them to make the change. I can tell you that following our departure from Dubrovnik the ship will reach the entrance of Venice at noon. The landmark here is the huge underwater dam they are building to stop the dangers of flooding. It is called Project Moses and from there we have about an hour or so transit through Venice and pass St. Marks Square to our docking facility at the Maritima Port. Once the gangways are open it will be around 1:30pm – 2 pm. This means that the website is wrong and again well spotted Bill and I will ask them to make the changes.
It will be an honour to share Europe with you both
Best wishes
JohnJimC Asked:
John Please Reply-I just read your response to my comment to you about maybe actually getting to sail with you on the Carnival Splendor. At this point we already know that we will so I am not writing about that. The Carnival Splendor cruise is the second cruise of the summer, our first will be the June 12th sailing of our Carnival Dream! We are very excited about being able to sail on the new ship. It will be our first Platinum cruise. And we have been forced to wait until summer vacation season to be able to get onto the Dream. My wife is a school teacher so we typically can’t get to cruise during the school year. The school break weeks are normally very expensive so we tend to have to wait until the summer months to cruise.
Sorry for the rambling, so on to my point. I’m not writing this to ask you for anything. BUT I do have a couple of questions- My first is related to the information I just provided. Why do the new ships always seem to start sailing in the fall? Most families are then forced to wait until the following summer to take a new ship cruise. I know you don’t have any control over the build schedule of a new ship, but I wonder if they plan deliveries for the fall.
Second question- Our first cruise was on the Fantasy in August of 1990. It made us feel really old to hear that she is now the oldest ship in the fleet. You mentioned you had memories of being on the Fantasy… when was that? Would you have been a CD or assistant CD at that point? We were trying to remember who the cruise director was but it has been too long and to be honest we really were not paying that much attention to the rest of the ship….
John Says:
Hello Jim CYou will love your Carnival Dream and it is the perfect ship to celebrate your Platinum benefits on……..congratulations. Your question on deliveries is a good one and I know your Carnival Dream was launched in the fall but then the Carnival Splendor had a spring arrival. Obviously the main aim is to get the ship built and with so many being built by the same yards it is not always possible to get the launch date that maybe the company wants. Carnival Magic will also be a spring delivery. The memories since I have been back on the Carnival Fantasy have been crystal clear despite the fact that I was last a CD here 18 years ago. However, the ship looks great and her upgrades have meant that she has been born again. There are still memories of the old days though including a booger I left here under the desk in 1993.
When you were here in 1990 the CD would have been the one and only Gary Hunter. Ask any long time Carnival employee who the best Cruise Director Carnival has ever had and they will all tell you “Gary Hunter.” His ability to be funny, sincere and simply the guy next door was incomparable. He was a ventriloquist and his act had you laughing one minute and crying the next. I am sure he would have been your CD in 1990 and some skinny young chap called John would have been one of the Social Hosts.
I hope this answers your questions and I look forward to seeing you in a few months on the Carnival Splendor.
Best wishes
JohnLittle Nan Asked:
**John – Please Reply**John,
Thank you so much for the wonderful gifts you sent. Not only did I finally get to meet you Elegant Night, you took the time to speak with my Dad and Mother-in-law (both recently widowed). Then you read my husband’s letter on your Morning Show. You even called us in our cabin! Now you have posted his letter on the Blog. I can’t thank you enough for helping make this cruise the best one so far.
I would also like to mention our cabin steward, Javier and his assistant (sorry, I can’t remember his name). They were so great, and the towel animals were especially cute this time. I sure miss them picking up after us. Can we bring them home?
Also, our Wait Team in the Monet Dining Room were the most entertaining we have ever had. Iggy and Putra were so much fun. Dinner was more than just great food this time. Maybe we could just park the ship in our back yard?
Anyway, now you see why we love the Conquest and we see why you are Senior CD. We didn’t want to go to bed for fear of missing something. We need a vacation to recover from our vacation! Haha.
Hope we get to cruise with you again. Until then, I will continue reading your blog, waking my husband with my laughter.
Thanks again,
Love to Kye, Heidi and you!John Says:
Hello Little NanThank you for those gracious words and yes, I see why you and so many people love the Carnival Conquest and why so many people love sailing out of Galveston. It was an honour (spelt correctly) to meet you and the family and I will send on your words of praise to Javier, Iggy and Putu.
Please send my kind regards to all the family and I hope that you continue to enjoy my little blog thingy.
Best wishes
JohnJustwannacruise Mason Asked:
DINNER TIME RESERVATION ASSISTANCEJohn
I will be on the Destiny in September and want a table for 4 confirmed by the window on the late dinner timing. There is a chapter on Cruise Critic that suggests I get this from you. How do I do this?
John Says:
Hello Justwannacruise MasonI will be happy to ask the Maitre D of the Carnival Destiny to help you so please write another posting here with your full name, sailing date, ship and cabin number and I will do my best to help you.
Best wishes
Johnslickabrina Asked:
Hi John ~ Please replyOut of curiosity, on average, what percentage of guests on the ships are past guests? Platinum?
Call this my random thought for the day. LOL
Hope the Carnival Fantasy is treating you well!
ColleenJohn Says:
Hello Slickabrina (Colleen)That’s a good question. I have sent it to the Stephanies to answer on a fleetwide basis as I don’t have that information. I can tell you that this cruise here on the Carnival Fantasy there are 23 Platinum and one Milestone card holders and the average age is 51.
I wonder what the fleet average will be. I will let you know.
Best wishes
JohnDavid Asked:
Hi John Please replyHope all is well with you and the family.
I am excited to be booked on the Carnival Magic for the May 1st, sailing from Venice to Barcelona. Please tell me you are going to be the CD on this cruise. You have been avoiding us and we have just missed you on the Carnival Dream (1day), Carnival Freedom (1week), Carnival Dream (1week), and Carnival Splendor (2weeks). Was it something I said?
Anyway here is my real question….On the Carnival website it shows the Carnival Magic sailing in 392 days. I may not be a math wizard but my calculation is we are sailing in 361 days. Why are they listing the June 3 sailing as the first cruise and not the May 1st date? I hope they are not behind schedule.
As always we appreciate your help and we love your thingy…..Did that sound weird?
John Says:
Hello DavidCongratulations on booking the Carnival Magic and I will be honoured to share this great European adventure with you as Cruise Director. I have purposely been avoiding you as I owe a man called David $20……….is it you?
You and Bill Z should come and work for us as you are correct, the sailing day clock is buggered up and I have already sent a note to all 344 of the Stephanies to change it. In fact, by the time you read this it should have been done.
I will see you next year and I think it is quite normal for everyone to talk about my thingy
Best wishes
JohnScott Nickle Asked:
John please reply,Thanks so much for your reply. Well, I can certainly stand a bit of hot weather for a chance to meet Heidi again and Kye for the 1st time! Just make sure there’s lots of cold Samuel Adams beer on the ship, OK?
You invited me to give details of why I have a dim view of the customer service staff in Miami. I actually wrote you all the details at that time but it never got a reply. I guess it got lost somewhere in the “intertubes”.
Here’s what happened – I usually cruise solo, but I had a friend who was very interested in cruising, and since it’s basically the same cost for 1 or 2 people in a cabin, I invited her to come AS MY GUEST. So, I booked the two of us onto the Carnival Splendor in May of last year USING MY CREDIT CARD ONLY. Then the H1N1 happened and I wasn’t interested in a cruise to Canada, so I received a credit to be used on a future cruise. I was quite satisfied at this point. (I realize that, legally speaking, Carnival was not obligated to issue me a credit, but I had contracted for a Mexican cruise and I do feel that Carnival was MORALLY obligated to provide me a Mexican cruise. So, while I feel that Carnival had met their obligations at this point, I don’t feel they had exceeded their obligations.)
So a couple months later, I booked a replacement cruise. My friend couldn’t come so it was just my name on this new booking. To my surprise (and my travel agent’s as well) Carnival wouldn’t release my credit unless I provided a notarized statement that my friend had no claim to the credit! My TA tried to talk them out of this, but they wouldn’t budge for her, so I tried to talk with them. I spoke with Jennifer Herrera, Dolores Long, and Josephine Bermudez. Unfortunately, I don’t remember who I spoke to first, so I can’t pinpoint which one said what, but these are the issues that made me so upset with Carnival Miami:
-I knew this problem would require some kind of higher-level handling, so I asked the 1st woman I spoke to transfer me to her supervisor. She asked what the issue was, and when I told her, she didn’t transfer me as requested. Instead she basically told me to just shut up and send in the form. I had to be very forceful to get her to transfer me as I wanted.
-I never got a straight answer to WHY this form was needed. I was just told that Carnival could be sued if my friend were to claim that she had paid me for half of the cruise. Let’s just think about that – if my friend and I have a private agreement to go halvsies on a cruise, CARNIVAL risks being sued? If that is truly the case, Carnival should fire all their lawyers for incompetence!
-Let’s stipulate that Carnival can be held liable somehow. In that case, why wasn’t I asked to provide this form when I booked the original cruise? My friend and I have different last names and we aren’t related in any way, so shouldn’t Carnival have established who could claim what at that time?
-EVERY booking involves a legally binding contract, and I have always been asked to verbally confirm this, which is recorded and held by Carnival in case of legal entanglements (or so I have been told, every time I’ve booked). So why couldn’t I assert my claim to my credit over the phone as well? Why was I forced to find a Notary, make a special trip, pay a $10 Notary Fee, and fax the form to Carnival?
-And finally, since I was being forced to jump through all these hoops just to cover Carnival’s corporate ass, I thought Carnival should at least pay the $10 Notary Fee. In other words, I would make the special trip and fax them their damned piece of paper and I would be satisfied if they would just cover my $10 out-of-pocket expense. John, they actually laughed at this!
-At this point, I was quite angry (but never obscene, loud, or abusive) and I said if they forced me to do this, I would stop cruising with Carnival. And whichever woman I was speaking to at that time said, “I don’t care!”
So, that is why I am so down on Carnival. But, I do love the way the shipboard staff has always treated me (during my six cruises – and I have ONLY cruised with Carnival up til now), and I really want to see you and your family again, so I will book a cruise on the Splendor. I just wish there was a way I could do it without any of my dollars going to those **** in Miami!
John Says:
Hello ScottThis is the first time I have seen the details of your frustration and obviously it is very disappointing to read your comments. At the start of today’s blog I wrote how important feedback is to this company and comments like this are indeed invaluable. Obviously I am not in a position to comment on the specifics but the fact that you are so upset means that I will act as the go between and pass this up to the VP of our Care Team. Please let me know what happens and please remind me before you sail with me on the Carnival Splendor
Best wishes
JohnSean Asked:
John – Please ReplyOur Roll Call group for the Carnival Victory Dec. 19/10 Christmas cruise is growing in numbers and we might need a room for a Meet and Greet on the first day. Could you help us arrange this when the time comes- I can remind you one month ahead of the cruise. Also, I saw on the recently posted CD schedule that the Carnival Victory is in dry dock in Nov. /10- do you know what is being done during this dry dock? Thanks for all you do. It is always greatly appreciated.
John Says:
Hello SeanIt would be a pleasure to help you with your cruise Critic meet and greet. May I please ask that you send me another posting on November 19th with the number in the group and your cabin number for contact details and I will make it so?
Carnival Victory will indeed be in dry dock and will have new carpeting, furniture and other interior changes completed as well as the usual dry dock work on her technical areas. I will find out if there are any other major changes and let you know.
Best wishes to you and all on Cruise Critic
JohnGary H Asked:
John – reply pleaseHello John
I have been reading your blog for the last few months and boy are you a funny man. What surprises me is that Carnival lets you write what you do. My question is then how much of what you write is checked and is there anyone else in the cruise business who writes a blog? I will be sailing on the Spirit to Alaska in August and I wish you were going to be the Cruise Director. Can you tell me something about Stuart who I understand will be the Cruise Director?
Thanks
John Says:
Hello Gary HThanks for discovering the blog thingy and I am glad you like it. Let’s start of with saying congratulations on booking your Alaska cruise on the Carnival Spirit. I know you will be amazed at the last frontier and that the crew will make sure you have a brilliant time onboard. Stuart Dunn is from Australia………..here he is.
Stu has the most diverse background of all the CD’s including being a miner working hundreds of feet down under looking for gold. He is a fitness fanatic (rather like me) and he has more energy than most CD’s put together. He is therefore the perfect bloke to lead you around Alaska.
As for my blog, well I do send it in to Vance in our public relations office in Miami. He checks my spelling and anything that I might have said that needs grammatically changing. As some of the press reads this blog it is also good that a second pair of eyes looks over it. However, the content is mine and what I write about is always my choice and as I hope I have shown it includes the good, the bad and the ugly of what happens onboard and ashore in my mostly ordinary life.
There are indeed many other blog writers in the cruise industry and all the best ones can be found at www.bestblogsatsea.com
Hope this answers your question.
Have a brilliant cruise and thanks for the kind words
Best wishes
John
That’s all for today and I will return with more on Monday. The blog has had 6,505,000 slaps as of yesterday so as always a huge thank you to you all for your continuing support.
By the way, please join me in congratulating the Captain and crew of the Carnival Freedom who were yet another Carnival ship to earn the perfect 100 score during last week’s examination by United States Public Health…..This is the third consecutive time that the Carnival Freedom has achieved its perfect 100 score………brilliant.
As you know we had a lot of pomp and circumstance when the Carnival Fantasy first arrived into Charleston but we also had a lot of fun to. Here’s an item from our employee newsletter with some great photos of the special event.
Thanks Vance and thanks again to everyone who helped mark the beginning of what I am positive will be a long and successful relationship between Carnival and the beautiful city of Charleston.
Let’s take a break and while I go to the loo and blow my nose on the shower curtain (I have run out of tissue and toilet paper) you have a look at some photos of the contestants in our sand castle building contest at Half Moon Cay.
Here I am……..and the winner was……….The Mermaid…………..for two HUGE reasons ………..no, not those……..because she spent an hour buried in the hot sand waiting to be judged and that she was on her honeymoon.
So, good morning. Here I am in my underpants writing today’s blog. It’s 7:15 am and I think my cold fever broke last night because I woke up feeling a little better. My headache has gone but I am still sneezing a swallowing bowling balls. I never used to get colds…….I mean never………but then I started eating an entire cow with fries every night washed down with lashings of potato chips and gallons of BLT’s and my reward ……… type 2 diabetes. This means my immune system has gone from being the British Army, defending off colds with honour, it has become the French Navy which means one sneeze and it runs away……..very quickly.
This morning I had a difficult decision to make. You see, next week is my last cruise here on the Carnival Fantasy and when I leave the Cruise Director for 6 weeks will be the current ACD Hennie Vane Heerden from South Africa.
Here he is:
This will be his first time as a Cruise Director and the office have asked me if I will let him be the CD next week so that I can watch him and help him. Now, there were some factors for me to consider here. Firstly, when I am on the ship and not CD I do tend to get bored as you know. But then I had to look at it from his perspective as well.
Currently there is no system in place where a new CD will take over a ship and someone experienced is there to watch and help them through that first cruise. And the Carnival Fantasy is not an easy ship, especially with the complications of the embarkation and debarkation systems here.
Honestly……..I really wanted to say “no, I want to be CD” but Hennie really wants me to help him. He is at the start of his career and I…….well I am an old fart and if I can help him become a better CD then I guess as the Senior CD thingy ………..that is my role.
And so for the next 5 days I will be watching and helping Hennie and probably giving him a few bollockings along the way. I am sure there will be times when I will be bored but there will be many more times when I know I am doing a good thing by teaching him how to become the best CD he can be.
So, I will be blogging of course each and every day next week. I really was hoping that PA 007 would be able to break the news to y’all about the Carnival Magic’s home port and trans-Atlantic voyage this week. But it looks like we will have to wait a little while longer as our super spy keeps his/her ears wide open.
Well, this seven day cruise has been a huge success and the comments from guests have been brilliant. It is nice to see a Fantasy class ship do a seven day cruise again and I think we have found a nice mixture of 5, 6 and 7 day cruises for the people of Charleston and the surrounding area to enjoy. Yep, if you live within driving distance of Charleston or a short flight away I highly recommend this fantastic ship and this very special seven day cruise…….Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk are simply stunning ports of call.
Despite feeling like crap last night because of the Eboli cold thingy I have, I managed to host the Bedtime Story which was very funny because of the 3 characters who were hilarious. The adrenalin got me through it and as I said, this morning I felt a little better …………right up to the moment when I got this e mail.
From: FANTASY GUEST SERVICES
Sent: Friday, May 28, 2010 10:59 AM
To: FANTASY CRUISE DIRECTOR
Cc: FANTASY GUEST SERVICES MANAGER; FANTASY GUEST SERVICES; FANTASY GUEST SERVICES SUPERVISORSubject: Would like to speak with CD
Good morning John,
Please be advised that Mr. ______ in cabin ___ would like to have a personal chat with you, as per gst he said he has some advice for you but he doesn’t want to let me know what it concern about. Could you please call?
Thank you,
Jenny
GSA
I have seen this kind of request many times before and honestly, when I called the guest I was expecting him to tell me that I needed to lose weight and that he could help me. It’s funny but this has happened so many times before that I now have a sixth sense for this.
And that is exactly what he wanted……yep……he was a Herbalife chap and he was so kind to tell me that for just $55 I could have the starter pack that he just happened to have with him. He told me his magic herbal tea was the answer to my problem — and I quote him exactly here…..he said it would help my “Days of sadness and obesity to come to an end.”
Sadness…………my arse.
I mean, there was no polite pretense to this conversation. As soon as we started talking he pretty much told me I was a fat bastard and that I needed to get my wallet out. As many times as this has happened I still cannot believe the audacity it takes for a stranger to talk like this.
I also know from experience that these teas would make me lose weight only because drinking the sodding stuff would make me sh*t 20 times a day and thus drop the pounds.
I politely refused…….. and politely……. I didn’t go round to his cabin and insert a toilet brush up his bottom either.
This weekend is of course Memorial Day weekend and that means all of the 344 Stephanies will be out of the office and that’s means there will be no blog thingy.
Memorial Day is of course the day we honour or honor those who have given so much so that you and I can blog, cruise and live a life of freedom.
I often read reports in newspapers and I often see programs on television that say today’s generation are a bit soft. Certainly most of us don’t understand what bravery means any more. I know for a fact that if I was to be attacked by what Wolf Blister and his network news mates always call “massively superior forces,” I’d run like hell. Or play dead. Or hide. And ruin a good pair of underwear.
I have interviewed many WWII veterans on the ships at marriage shows and at various events and shows. One thing that most of these men have in common is that they will not, under any circumstances, talk about what they did or what happened. They say they proudly serve…but that’s it. The end.
Next month is the soccer World Cup and the team that wins will be called heroes. They always are. But when you see what it took for those young men of WWII and Korea and Vietnam and what it still takes for those men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq……………… “heroes” is completely the wrong word.
So for all those blog readers who have served and are serving and especially for Tim Kriebel MCPO USN retired who is in hospital as I write facing another battle, I say thank you.
And to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice these words are as true as they were when they were written
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
I will see you all here on Tuesday
Goodnight
Your friend
John
Look, friends — there are a few things you should remember before you comment. The space below is for you to post your comments about the post I've just written above. If it is something that's unrelated, please use the Ask John tab above. Now, while I may not be able to reply to your comment below, I do sit in my underpants almost every morning and read everything that is here. So feel free to comment on the comments and then if someone wants to comment on the comment to the comment then go ahead as well. Please be courteous unless the poster is French...........then you can say whatever you want.
John,
It never amazes me anymore how rude people are. I would never call someone up and tell them there fat! Amazing, How rude. On the other hand I do think from the photos you have posted that you are looking alot better!! I think you are doing a great job on your own with out opening up your wallet! Thank for everything again john we Board the Carnival Dream in the morning!
Big Fans as Allways,
Frank and Bridie
John,
I would be in favor of making GRATUITIES non-refundable in total and that those taken be considered the minium. So you don’t have a person saying I will tip in person. They can still give EXTRA in person. A guest must fill out a written form to get anything back. They must list a reason for each staff they want it returned from. They must state what % of that persons tips they want removed for each reason listed. No one reason gets more then 25% of that staff members tips removed without a review by a GSM. It would take 4 reasons to get all your cabin stewards tipe removed without GSM approval.
So what I’m saying don’t make it easy. Nodody just saying I want them removed from everyone.
BIG Ed
I like your ideas Big Ed. Carnival does make it TOO easy to remove the tips. We all know the reason MOST people remove them….they’re just CHEAP!
Big Ed:
You are correct. Currently it is far to easy to shaft the crew.
I understand why all cruise lines do not want to put it in the price of the cruise. Advertising low prices is a long standing cruise policy.
However, IF they were listed as “service surcharges” (like the fuel surcharges are ~ that can not be removed) cruise lines could still advertise the low price BUT would have a notation about the service surcharge in their advertising….and these would not be able to be removed.
Low prices for advertising purposes…..crew protected from bus riders.
Linda (Mom of DJ)
I totally agree…They should be non refundable. I don’t even care if the service was not the BEST in the world. These people work really hard!! I have never encountered bad service on a cruise. I think some people are just too hard to please and also CHEAP! We always tip extra during the cruise and at the end. If you can’t budget that into the cost of the cruise, maybe you shouldn’t cruise.
Great Idea. Big Ed, we saw on our bill, we had 2 credits of like 5.89 and have no idea what they were for. It said onboard credit, can u give us insight of what this could have been? Husband’s fourth cruise, my third. Just can’t imagine. Woo Hoo Thanks, The Sellers NC
John has not announced the ones for BC4 yet. But they are usually near the price of normal excursions but we stay together as a group. Have our own group area on a beach if that’s what the excursion involves, usually. Once John picks them out then they can be viewed and booked online and onboard. When it’s a just for bloggers excursion it will state that too.
I hope that helped somewhat.
BIG Ed
I’ve no idea but any credit is good.
I agree.. Make Gratuties non-refundable and mandatory… We have NEVER EVER removed tips (even when we thought a better job could have been provided) but do give more when we felt it was deserved… And as much as I lose in the casino, I have never even thought to remove the tips so that I haven’t “lost so much”….
Quite honestly, where can you possibly get the service that Carnival gives up for $10 a day….NOWHERES ELSE…
Let’s talk about tips.
Tipping every person you encountered on your vacation has become the norm. I think that it’s rather unfortunate because it’s really lowered the bar for hospitality staff.
I worked as a concierge in the hotel industry for years. I made a great deal of money from tips, because I was exceptional at my job and I really worked to make people feel like their experience was important to me. I just don’t understand the expectation that something had to have gone terrible wrong for someone not to want to tip. Maybe they weren’t impressed or simply don’t like to tip.
I think that your post is aimed at discouraging future Carnival travelers from lowering or removing the gratuities that carnival clearly states are allowed to be lowered or removed. Tipping is a very personal decision and I found your post offensive. If Carnival doesn’t want guests to lower or remove their tips, then they should include it in the cost of the ticket and cut out the middle man.
This was my first time reading your blog and it won’t be one I visit again.
Dana
Dana, I think you missed John’s point. He would like to have known if this cheapskate that took his tips off of his S&S card had a reason other than he was just El Cheapo. More than likely he spent more money in the casino, or drinking, or who knows what and had run up his S&S card higher than he meant to. Or his charge card couldn’t stand the charges he had made. Whatever his reason, you can bet it wasn’t because he got bad service. We have been on 17 cruises with 3 more booked. We have NEVER gottten bad service. We feel like each and everyone that shares our tips have earned every cent. We not only give our $10 PP we always tip our Waiter, room steward and Maitre’D extra.
So my suggestion is for you to team up with Wannacruise and leave, don’t let the door hit you as you go out.
Carolyn……….
You are RIGHT Carolyn……..I like the way you think!
Please note that I am “Dana T” and not “Dana” the nitwit above. John was very PC about the removal of the tip. He explained that Carnival wanted to understand what the problem was, but…how weird…the non-tippers had never complained. Now, I’m not a great investigator, but the evidence here leads me to believe the non-tippers were just being cheap. As to finding a post offensive…hmmmm…I’m thinking Dana’s post was the offensive post. But really, I don’t know why I’m writing this, because I’m sure most folks figured that out without my saying it! I’m with Carolyn & Don: Don’t let the door hit you as you go out.” Sheesh.
JUSTWANNACRUISE!
You could have at least said THANK YOU.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRR
I get pi$$ed sometimes . sorry John
Carolyn
Justwannacruise Mason:
hey dude….while John is assisting you with those reservations…..do you think you could find someone to teach you some MANNERS?
We are Carnival prefer polite individuals….snobs and jerks are free to stay with RCCL.
Linda
John,
I know that all the Veteran’s and their family that read your blog appreciates everything that you just said regarding Memorial Day and what it stands for. I also know that we truly appreciate the Veteran discounts that we have received over the years. Just one of the many reasons we keep returning to Carnival.
As far as the couple that took the tips off..shame on them..Why they do it….first they are just cheap…second…Carnival allows them to do it. I really wish that Carnival would make these mandatory, and just put them in the price of the cruise…or call it some other fee rather than gratuity so that they could not be taken off. The crew works so hard on all these ships, and although some of our waiters, stewards, etc. have been better than others….the service has never been bad, and I have never seen or had any that deserved to have their tips lowered or removed.
John:
Sadly the increase in the number of “Bus Riders” has become evident on Cruise Critic and the other forums I post on. Yes, there are threads posted about how to “remove the tips” (for the sole purpose of spending the money on themselves).
Now they make lots of EXCUSES…but the bottom line is that they don’t want to spend the money.
You asked about “on land” and we have a perfect example here in Memphis.
For over 100 years (I am not exaggerating) COGIC (a religious group) has held their “annual convocation” here in Memphis.
This means tens of thousands of “religious individuals” descend on Memphis for one week.
They treated the staff at hotels and restaurants so badly that it caused the wait staff to plan vacations for that week to avoid them.
These people were demanding, rude and then on top of all that…NEVER left a tip. They would sit at a restaurant table for HOURS drinking only coffee (barking orders for refills) …leave no tip and then complain about the coffee and the service… to get the coffee for free.
Thankfully, they are going to St Louis this year (for the first time in over 100 years)….because the hotels and restaurants did not give them the FREE rooms and meals they wanted.
I wish I was making this up….but it is true.
Sadly, now it seems that COGIC has discovered cruising……
As long as cruise lines depend on tips to make up the bulk of the crews’ wages, then it is only fair to the crew that people can not remove them.
If tips were permanent, then anyone with a true issue could fill out a complaint form. And Carnival would then know if there was a real problem that they needed to address.
Until this change is made, folks like COGIC (Church of God In Christ) will abuse the crew on the seas as they do here on land.
The OTHER part of this that irks me a little are the people who remove the tips because they want to hand the crew the money in person. This irks me because:
A) these passengers don’t see EVERYONE that assists them on these cruises…so someone is going to get left out.
B) Tips are to thank someone for giving good service, not to promote the attitude of “look at what I am giving you”. Some passengers act like they are doing the crew some kind of favor. We, as cruisers, need to remember that when we tip … we are not giving the crew anything.
THEY EARNED IT!!!
We always tip above and beyond the amount charged to our Sail and Sign account for all 3 or 4 members of our family. We would never dream of shorting the wait staff or housekeeping.
Linda (Mom of your friend DJ)
John (reply if you so desire)
Thank you so much for recognizing all of us Veterans Of all Countries on Memorial day.
I and was proud and still am to have served for 23 years in the USAF to help protect my country as well as others. (Yes Sir, I did my time in Vietnam,) But in all Honestly Sir, the ones that should be recognized are our families, Wives and kids (especially), Mothers, Fathers, Brothers, and Sisters. They were the ones that had a hard time, never knowing if we would come back alive or not, Thank God I did. Without them, we would have never survived.
Carnival does so much for us Vets.. Hope they keep it up
Mike
John,
Though we’ve been on 8 cruises, the 3 we have had on the Carnival Cruise Lines have been the best. Why did we even bother with the other two cruise lines?? Actually our last cruise on Carnival Dream on January 30th was by far the greatest. We are planning a European cruise and we know for sure it will be on the Carnival Magic. We just have to decide on the date….can’t decide on spring or fall. Which season is the best to travel? Of course, we want to travel when you are the CD. In your bloggy thing, you are always mentioning the different classes of Carnival ships. Could you please explain? We loved you as a CD on two of our cruises and the author of this blog thingy. We even remember Heidi working as your assistant (I believe) one one of our cruisesl. We just think you are the greatest.
Aww =(. I’m on the cruise in two days, and really sad that you won’t be the Cruise Director. I’ve had a rough week, and now this… *tears up*.
But hopefully we will still get to meet as you will be training Hennie, and he’ll get a great experience as a cruise director learning from you.
Dear John (the guy with the BIG “man cold”),
Good to hear you might be doing a little better. Those darn things drag on too long.
On the couple removing the tips…..and not having any complaints in the dining room or the cabin…..we ALL know exactly why they removed them….fill in the word CHEAPSKATES!!!
Hennie is one lucky guy to have had you to watch for a few weeks onboard FANTASY…..now even luckier to have you mentor him next week. He’ll do just fine (with those unusual wiggly eyebrows of his) and I hope that you won’t be too bored……you won’t be because you’re thinking of getting home to Southend-on-Sea and your girls. Not long now John
I just can’t believe the nerve of people trying to “help” you with your weight and for only $65. You are working on it and doing quite well, thank you very much Mr. Herbalife salesman!
We owe a BIG debt of gratitude to all of our veterans and our soldiers serving now……what an unbelievable bunch. Thank you for ALWAYS thanking them during your shows.
Your OLD buddy,
Steve O
Thank you for your remembrance of those who served and those who gave their utmost.
I would have used the toilet brush on him. I hope your cold gets better before you have to fly next week.
It is annoying to know people are so cheap and will remove the gratuities. I find the service always goes way above expectations and I generously leave extra for dining room staff and stateroom service. I know they appreciate the little extra and if I come back flat broke with only enough money to get me a meal, magazine, and drink at the airport (usually $25) to fly home then I know that the staff know they are appreciated for their long, hard work they do!
“”Justwannacruise Mason Asked:
DINNER TIME RESERVATION ASSISTANCE
John
I will be on the Destiny in September and want a table for 4 confirmed by the window on the late dinner timing. There is a chapter on Cruise Critic that suggests I get this from you. How do I do this?”"
Mr. Mason, You need to take your arrogant, obnoxious, entitlement mentality somewhere else. As well who raised you with those manners? Who do you think you are ordering people around? Secondly Cruise Critic is not the official Carnival website. There is some good information on Cruise Critic, but you also have some people with a blow hole that have no idea what they are talking about. Obviously you have never cruised or you would know to see the maitre D’ the first day of the cruise for special request. Everybody can’t have a table by the window, especially rude, arrogant, unappreciate, entitlement mentality type. This means you. Have a wonderful Memorial Day! David
Dear John;
I stand corrected about the eye-phone thingy, of course you have a Raspberry. They all look alike to me. I have a sillySamsungphone. We are going to book Europe & TA b2b as soon as the Trans Atlantic is announced. We are looking forward to sailing with you again & who knows I may show up on the Carnival Splendor this fall. It is just up the road a way…and I hope you enjoy your Cunard Cruise this summer with your girls.
John,
Comment about GRATUITIES. Please respond
As long time cruisers and travel agents we are of the old fasioned thought that GRATUITIES are earned not expected. When the cruise lines went to gratuities added to ship board account we took the attitude that we remove gratuities when we get on board and hand them out personally at the end of the cruise for services given. I know the gratuities are split so that the lido deck staff also receives there share. We tip more than what is recommonded. So my point is maybe the cruise lines should pay their staff more money and let the customer decide what to tip.
I know this will not sit well with you. But everyone has any opnion.
Hello John- We had the pleasure of taking our first cruise on the Fantasy in October 2009 out of New Orleans. Fantastic ship, fantastic city. Our CD was the incomparable Kevin Noonan and his awesome ACD Hennie. It comes as no surprise to me that Hennie is to become a CD. Congratulations to him and wishing him all the best in his future years of entertaining people abourd the fantastic Fantasy (and of course other ships!).
John..I’m always so sad about the way people treat you and your fellow crew members. I have never found a reason to remove the tips and always give extra $ and sometimes a gift, always a several hugs during the cruise to let them know how much I appreciate what they do. And those people trying to sell you their product………..this is a cruise not a trade show…Gosh, I hope you don’t have night mares about what you have to put up with. They should walk in your shoes for one day…There are many, many people who really,really appreciate all that you do. Thanks from the bottom of my pea pickin heart. Wasn’t that a quote from someone many years ago….Happy thoughts to you and your girls…A&W
Tennessee Earnie Ford. Ah the memories.
Hi John,
A big congratulations the crew of the Carnival Freedom on their 100% score, and even bigger round of applause for their 3rd 100% in a row!
Hope you continue to feel better.
Clair
John (reply if you want, or just take the time and fix the issues)
By the sound of your attitude about someone removing gratuities you seem to show an attitude of entitlement.
I think that gratuities are exacltly that. Earned gratitude expressed as a gift of currency. If gratuities were a requirement then they should be stated as crew wages and added up front to the ticket price.
Gratuities should not be added on as an additional charge under the disguise of payment for some service that should be provided as part of the original fare. They should be gifted by the guest willingly as an expression of satisfaction when a level of pleasure or contentment has been obtained. The level of gratuity should be in accordance with the level of the individual guests contentment. Again though it is a gratuity and subject to guest satifaction.
Lately I have noticed that there is a squeeze being put on guests. Push an extra drink here or there. Sell an extra photo. It appears that Carnival is losing touch with the fact that the customer is a guest and not just a meal ticket.
Just take a look at your Carnival Capers and it tells the whole story. Hurry Hurry step right up to this activity that will encourage you to buy this or that. Hurry Hurry get this or buy that. Hurry Hurry buy here buy there.
Where is the fun in a carnival that is all carnie and no real fun games? Why go to a carnival when they are always showing the same old tattooed lady, Pushing and peddling their overpriced made in hong kong wares?
Remember there should be a difference in a CCL employee and a Carnival employee.
However the lines between the two is rapidly fading where they are both fitting into a box which reveals the CCL employee has become a Carny or Carnie which is a slang term for a carnival (funfair) employee,[1] as well as the language they employ.[2] A carny is anyone who runs a “joint” (booth), “grab joint” (food stand), game, or ride at a carnival. [1]
Although I still chose to cruise on CCL it is not for the service that I recieve. Too often your employees are disgrunted and are sometimes openly so and voice such discontent. Your management approach on many ships that I have been on shows through in your crews attitude.
Lucky for me I learn to ignore their frowns and find my own peice of serenity and paradise with my family and through enjoyment of the company of freinds that we cruise with.
Do not get me wrong in this. I do tip but will not hesitate to remove gratuities if I want to. I would never remove all gratuities as I feel it would not be fair to those behind the curtain working hard to make the stay comfortable. I always fill out the comment card and express satisfactions and disappointments when they occur.
You clearly show the original ticke on this issue where your GSA asked if there had been a problem with the service and guest said that he did not feel that it had been good. GSA asked for more information on this but guest said he did have time and to take off the gratuities immediately.
My first instinct in this is not that your GSA is looking to improve service. It appears that your GSA is putting a guests integrity on the spot. Whether the guest is right or wrong in what he is doing.
I do not agree that your guest should have removed all gratuities, again this is something that I see as wrong and would not do; however trust me in this: if a GSA were to ever question me directly about why I reduced some of the gratuities then my immediate response would be to remove even more.
My opinion is that your GSA should have let the guest know that CCL is striving for guest satisfaction and handed him a comment card requesting that the guest help CCL improve on customer service.
Now look at that John. If the customer is a cheapskate then it wont matter anyway nothing that CCL does will change it. If the customer is really dissatisfied then it is a definate learning opportunity for CCL and shows the guest that CCL is working toward being the best possible.
The fact that you called the Maitre D to see if the guest had any complaint is at the least unsettling. Are you spying on your guests? Get a clue John, and I mean that in a positive way. A guest should not have to file a complaint with the Maitre D. Either on the spot or at a later time.
Again they are a guest not your spybot. As a guest I would hope that my waiter will automatically ask if I would like crushed black pepper or grated cheese or whatever is appropriate at that time. As a guest if I am not getting the service I will always ask politely for the service. I will even let the waiter know how that service encourages a positive environment, not just for me but even for future guests. I don’t have to do that John. That is what I do to try to improve the overall for all. I again am the guest not your inhouse KGB agent.
On the majority of sailings I have had good service. On a few I have had great to spectacular service. I have seen some amazing employees and in the same token seen those that are disgruntled, overworked, tired or just absent of the understanding that the guest is there for a reason. To relax, have fun, and to leave the cares of land behind.
If CCL wants a spybot then they should have their executives book some rooms as first time guests, in all room catagories and completely undercover. Have them take their families and see the ship from the guests perspective. That would be a good way to start.
“Crabs Pad Heats”
Dear John, Vance Or one of the 343 Stephanies -PLEASE REPLY
“Crabs Pad Heats” ???…… We’ve only cruised on Carnival 3 times, so maybe this is a phrase known to veteran cruisers? We also have a few British friends who’ve never heard this one and we searched the web for the meaning of this phrase…Sorry if we’re being obtuse….PLEASE ENLIGHTEN US
Ally & Jim Quinn
Dear John(please reply)
As you know, you are on the Carnival Fantasy which we sailed 3 times in 3 months. We love Hennie. He is a great ACD. I’m sooooo glad he will get a chance to be CD and that you’re there to help. I still have pictures of him on my camera that he took of himself, that we didn’t know about until we got home. You once gave me a place to send them and I lost it. Could you give me that e-mail again so you and the rest of the kids can see what a truly funny person Hennie is.
Thanks for making everyday great with your blog.
See you in September,
Lynda
Reply to lets talk about tips! I was on this cruise,one of the best and I cruise alot. Can’t understand some people.All the crew was at it’s best,Best welcome aboard night in a long time,Just remember some people can’t be pleased.And I know for a fact,Carnival goes out of there way to please everyone on board,If I was going to complain I would atleast have the guts to say why.Already looking again ,so i’ll see you soon.
Norma Todd
Very busy w/e, but I have comment on the people that removed the tips, cheap is the one word that comes to mind. They had excellent service and I am sure they just wanted to by pass the tips, go to the casino instead. Well, I hope one day the same thing happens to them, they are ignored by something they have done and get no reconnection for it, just desserts.
Keep smiling John; you truly are one of the good guys.
My best to Heidi and Kye.
Peg Dunbar
Dear John,
Please Reply
I’ve spent a great deal of my life working in the customer service industry….pretty much everything from restaurants to hotels to casinos as well as having several friends that work for Carnival. I simply do not understand the cheap bastards that remove tips! Where else are you gonna get such excellent service for a mere $10 a day????
Yes, I’m sure there are times when someone has a bad day and their service isn’t what it usually is but removing all tips is just stingy and cheap.
I was on the Carnival Legend last summer and went through some very hard times financially right before the cruise. Since it was already booked, we went anyway with almost no spending money and had a fabulous time. Even with those financial problems (with 4 days left and a couple of ports to go, Laura and I were officially broke) we NEVER considered removing the tips! The employees that receive them deserve them and work very hard for them!
C’mon folks it’s not really that much, all things considered.
My request,
I know that who gets what from the automatic tips is private information but can you at least remind your readers how many of the crew share in one guests tips? I’m thinking it has to be at least 4, maybe more. If thats the case, then on say a 7 day cruise, that’s only about $17.50 per employee for being at your beck and call all week!
Passengers should NEVER remove the tips unless there is a serious reason to. The crew are people with lives, family and expenses the same as the rest of us. The are not slaves!
Sincerely,
Maribeth Kring
BELC
Sincerely
Since Carnival went to the policy of adding tips on the S&S card, it has become much easier for most of us. Scrambling around for envelopes & currency on the last day was always a hassle. Now all we have to stress out over is how to get EVERYTHING stuffed back into those suitcases! If Carnival would offer a repacking service at the end of the cruise, I would be the first to sign up. And I’d generously tip my personal packer!!
Hi John,
At first I thought maybe the non-tippers wanted to personally hand their servers a gratuity, but after reading Linda’s comment, I agree – this was probably not the idea. Big Ed has exactly the right idea, if you want to remove something, you must say why and what percentage…Given that this is not the norm, would it really be too much trouble? My Momma always taught me that if you can’t afford the tip, you can’t afford the event.
Love to Heidi and Kye
Steph
Pingback: Top Posts — WordPress.com
Hey John, No response needed..just want you to know that despite a BAD COLD and hearing the complaints of a FEW STUPID DUMB HEADS, you are the BEST…I’ve been on nearly 15…all different lines..and Carnival is the best..so many fun things to do and ALWAYS a smiling, helpful staff….I have avoided “the shows”, but since cruising with my Brother, Steve O…have stayed out of the casino more and enjoyed each show I’ve seen…Thank you for recognizing the military..My husband, Richard, died nearly 3 yrs ago and was a fighter pilot all his career..WW 2, Korea, VietNam.. He also was the organizer and first leader of the USAF Thunderbirds..quite a guy and I miss him everyday. Have a wonderful time with your girls..just having Daddy home will make it a great vacation for y’all! Be well and thank you for making Carnival the BEST..(especially if YOU’RE the CD) Linda
Linda:
I always like to add our THANK YOU to the families of these brave men and women. The families are the lifeblood support system that allow our military to do their job so well.
LOVED sailing with you and Steve.
Linda (Mom of DJ)
Dearest John, Thanks for the blog and allowing us to share experiences with you. I cannot imagine not tipping our wonderful staff. I was taught to not toot my horn, but have made a decision tonight to do just that. We truly appreciate all services that have been so graciously provided by us on the Carnival and by all means, we are Huge tippers. We were raised that way, even when funds were tight. We tipped on arrival and each day and always generious, and on the last day, our room steward,his assistant were so gracious to accept the hugh sum we were able to give them. Our room service was tipped each time generously, and we never hestitated to do this for them. The way we have always looked at tipping, we always say that could have been our Child. We, as true Southerners are just that way, always have been.
Now, yesterday’s Blog was exceptional due to the mention of WW 2′s mention of never ever speaking of their employment. I lost my father a WW 2 veteran last year. He never spoke of these times, and I never understood this. Now I do! He was 88, a real Southern Gentlemen, who was stationed in Hawaii. He would say he had not lost a d—n thing in the Ocean (lol). Just that, end of story. Thanks for reminding me of his honour as proudly serving in that time and why he never spoke of it. I thought it was just Him and his Way. He always talked of those whom he did serve with. Have a Great Week and remember there are those who are really unknowing of how to ask for a favor and might not know the correct way of how to ask, but we all do have our moments. You are always nice to people, even if they have not cruised 20 times, but these are our future familes of Sea and their young children of the Future. Have a great time this week and safe trip home. God Bless, The Sellers NC
Whoo Hoo! Thanks to all the counter is back!
I was reading your blog, so sad that someone would remove tips. We always LOVE our staff!!! or should I say family!
Wow. Quite the topic. I have sailed my first crusie aboard the beautiful Conquest and was lucky enough to have John as the CD. It was a fabulous cruise. It being my first cruise, it was my first time dealing with the automatic tips. I had not planned on ALL the tips that were added to my s&s card. I had no problem with it, as my cuise was great and almost everyone I encountered went above and beyond.
I have worked in the hospitality field for many, many years. I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Stats will tell you, that the majority of people will not complain. For every ten people that encounter the same problem 2-3 will openly complain, the rest will simply not use your product again.
The person that removed the tips may, indeed, just be a cheapskate… But it seems the fine people reading this blog have forgotten why we love CCL…. It is not because the people aboard judge everyone and say hateful and hurtful things. This person may have been one of the 7 out of ten people who did not want to deal with the situation and just wanted to have it go away.
Again, I had a wonderful cruise, my best vacation to date, and I left all tips as they were and added some on top of what was taken out. I did have an encounter with a VERY rude night clerk on my last night. She was quite rude and I almost let her ruin the whole memory of my trip. I took the measures to make sure CCL knew the situation and told them that they cant let a few bad apples ruin the bunch. I let the proper people know what is happening because I know that this helps the compay as a whole. Not everyone has the nerves or ability to speak up.
If you call it a ‘tip’ and announce to people that they can adjust the tips (as I found out aboard ship, as I have never heard of cruisecritic.com or whatever that is) it will be adjusted by some, for whatever reason they have, and with it being a ‘tip’, that is their right.
I am not sure what the turm ‘bus rider’ means in relation to a cruise, as I have said, I am a beginer in the cruise world…. But to the people calling names, “cheapskate, bus rider’ and generally saying that people that have not been on 20+ cruises are ‘less worthy’ than someone who knows what a cruise critic is… Judge not lest ye be judged…..
John, I am a big fan and read this blog thingy everyday. I love CCL and all they have to offer, and look forward to years of travel with CCL. I just had to speak up as a ‘newbie’… Since I, too, was surpised at the auto tips. Again, to clarify, I have no problem with it, and made no changes to them on my trip, but actually added to it, but, for someone who is not aware of the practice, it would come as a surprise and would add extra expense to an already planned out vacation budget.
Dear John,
I just wanted to say thank you soooo much for bringing the Carnival Dream to New York!! I am 12 years old, and my family and I got to enjoy a one-in-a-lifetime vacation. On this ship, I got to enjoy cuisine food, scream down the waterslides, stay up all night, see my first laser show, meet SO many new friends (that I am still keeping in touch with today), play mini golf, and just spend plain ol’ time with the family!
We set sail out of New York, November 23rd. We then got back on December 1st. We ventured to Port Canaveral, Florida, Nassau, Bahamas, and Freeport, Bahamas. I had a wonderful time exploring the shops on the islands, buying different souviners. Although it was fun, my sisters and I all wanted to get back on the ship because we wanted to try to get everywhere around the ship before we had to get off. Well, the ship was too big, so that didn’t happen!
Another reason why we got to go on this ship was because this was the only ship to hold 5 people!! It is my mom, dad, my older sister (13) , my younger sister (8) , and I. We all were able to fit in one cabin!!
My sisters and I also loved sitting in our cabin at night, while are parents went out to the casino, or to see a show. My parents let us order one movie, and then we got to order room service, which we LOVED!!
Well, thanks again SOO much!! If i had to rate this ship, it would be rated a FIVE star!!!!!!!
-Rebecca Hutt
(NJ)
John,
I have been following your blogy thingy for several months, I am a long time cruiser with Carnival and decided to check out the blogger cruise. Thet have changed the web site and I can’t find a place to enter PBL for the promotion code. Help
SOS JOHN! OR ANYBODY!!!!
I am a big fan of your blog first off and secondly I need help! I am going on the Legend this coming Sunday 6/6/2010 for my Honeymoon. I want to do somehting special and unique for my bride and I am at a stalemate with ideas. We are already booked for the steakhouse and my mind stops there. Please if anyone out there has any idea please send them to me! Thanks! Brad
Brad, have the formalities shop deliver her some flowers AT the Steakhouse. We saw a gentleman recently do this for his bride, on their anniversary,and she was blown away. They were beautiful.. A second thought, at the Carnival site you can have the room decorated with streamers and such prior to her arrival in the room. This is also quite nice. We had it done for my Father and his wife, on their first Carnival Cruise. They have different romance packages too. Good luck. Shane
Thanks for making Charleston the homeport for the Fantasy. and welcome to the Lowcountry of SC.
John,, It was great to have a cruise ship 20 minutes from our home. Alot of people I talk to on the first 7 day cruise from Charleston where probably within a 4-5 hour drive from Charelston. It sures beats the heck of driving to Florida to catch a ship.
Hopefully all of the improvements to the SPA cruise terminal here will be done soon,. Currently the Grand Turks have a better terminal than we do.:(
Speaking of the Grand Turks, is there any other shopping on the island besides the port and some other little fleamarket place pass the museum?
The Fantasy was alot of fun and the crew was great!
I always had more fun on the older smaller ships of the fleet ie Jubilee and Celebration, than the newer mega-ships.
A suggestion, make water and ice more available at Half Moon Cay. Instead of pushing alcohol so much make sure people drink enough water so there are no heat casualites. Alot of people don’t realize how hot it gets. As a veteran of 2 wars in the desert ,heat will do a person in quickly.
On a lighter note, I hope you recovered from your injuries from the guest talent show. But as a true English gentleman, you kept a stiff upper lip, and made it through the show.
Once again welcome the Fantasy and her crew to Charleston,
Mike and Debbie
Dear John….Please reply
Do any of the Carnival ships have single cabins with the rate being half of what would be charged for two in a regular cabin? I ask because I love to cruise but can’t always find somebody to go with…such as this July when my grandson Mackenzie (the Wave) has to work but I have a week’s vacation, but don’t want to have to pay double for the cabin when there would only be me in it.
Thanks….Irene.
PS. Mackenzie never did hear back from anyone in the Miami office about employment with the Entertainment staff
Hi John, long time no hear. Very important question of you. Our very close friends, Sutana & his wife, head waiters in both dining rooms on the Sensation, left on vacation 1/10/2010 for home, returning 3/27/2010. Through our e-mails up to that date, no reference on going to another ship. E-mails this past week have not been answered by him or his family. My pvp tried to get info for me, can`t do, said to contact you to see.I just want to know if he is back with Carnival and which ship to get in contact and cruise with. And if not, oh well.
We chatted on the Sensation in May 1995 before you and Heidi were married, and what a time we had..
. We will be on the Sensation for our anniversary cruise 11/4/2010. Dream in Sept. Please reply ASAP
John,
I really enjoyed the cruise that I got off of TODAY!!! It was our first cruise and we were over welmed at first by the cruising experience. But am so totally committed to doing this again! Sadly, at times I was lonely, my kids were so busy with new friends and scavenger hunts and my husband was golfing and playing black jack…. what was I thinking? Lonely? Am I crazy? It was awesome. Anyway, so sorry you are leaving the cruise but I have to say, I love the staff. They really seem to make an effort to remember faces. What a great group of multi-tasking, amazing, conversational and interesting people! But the best of the best? Hennie! I am thrilled that he is filling your shoes! He is slightly crazy and I think perfect for the job! HUGE Hennie Fan!!!! Also love Luke, I could just eat him with a spoon! Relax, Luke! I am married and not hungry. Just a little southern love! Thanks for a great cruise, already looking for one for next year!
John “Please Reply”
Is there a way that we can personally send a thank you msg. to Stu Dunn on the Spirit? We would really like for him to know how much he meant to us as CD. While on the cruise we lost our birth certificates and was so worried that we would not be allowed back into the U.S. My wife was crying when we asked Stu if he had a minute for us. He took the time out of his busy schedule right then to help us and reassure us everything would be ok and we would be allowed back home. What a great and kind man he is not to mention a wonderful and funny CD. We would cruise with him again anytime. We just wanted to thank him again personally if that is possible. If not, could you please pass along the thanks for us? The entire staff of the Spirit are wonderful catering to our every need. Alaska is awsome! Anyone who watches the tv show “The Deadliest Catch” must take the “Deadliest Catch Crab Boat Fishermans tour” in Ketchikan. It is amazing! It was the best thing we did all week. The guys who run it are very professional and funny. It’s not dangerous at all. They take you into the calm waters and show you what they do. The captain of the Spirit is awsome and very informative as well as the naturalist who works on the ship. We saw many whales, water falls and snow capped mountains as well as the most beautiful glacier in Endicot Arms Fjord. Still don’t know how they turned the ship around in that small space though! Thank you John. You’re the best!
Mike & Lori
Here recently about a month ago I returned from my second 5-day Carnival cruise out of New Orleans, LA in 6 months. My first cruise was in September 2009 on the Carnival Fantasy out of New Orleans and the second was late March into early April 2010 on the Carnival Triumph also out of New Orleans. By the way my third cruise will be late November into early December also on the Carnival Triumph out of New Orleans. It has come to my attention that the main competition Royal Caribbean has decided to return to New Orleans in November 2011 with the Voyager of the Seas which is much larger than the Triumph. No hard feelings towards Norwegian which already shares New Orleans with you, but they can’t compete. What will Carnival’s approach to such competition in New Orleans be? Continue on with the Triumph alone and see what happens, bring in a second Carnival ship such as one from the Fantasy class, or pull the Triumph out and bring in a bigger ship such as the Carnival Splendor, Carnival Dream, or the Carnival Magic?
I think the people are just cheap. When we are on a cruise I tip our bar waiter or waitress that we first meet on our cruise and from there on we are treated as family at all the parties and everytime we are out and about. On the last day of our cruise I tip the staff that fix my eggs for breakfast on the Lido also the hamburger and fries. Of course the Maitre De and the wait staff and room stewards. I then find everyone that made my week better than it would have been without them. I feel that if someone does sometrhing that they would not have to is above expections, also We have made some lasting friendships that we keep renewing on different cruises. We are always meeting people from past cruises that remember me as I remember them.
Hi John, PLEASE REPLY
I agree with Big Ed. I have NEVER had any problem with carnival staff and always found everyone to be
hardworking, personable and efficient. These gratuities should be non refundable .
Now, I have a question for you, I purchased a FCC on my recent Miracle cruise. I cruise solo and pay the 200% for my stateroom. I feel if I am paying the price for two people then I should also receive a $100 OBC not just the $50. Do you think you could get one of the bearded ones to look into this? Just curious as to their rationale. BTW, the Miracle cruise was wonderful and
Malcolm was very entertaining. I will be booking again for next spring.
John, ( reply please )
I have just started reading your blog thingy and I have to tell you that it brings a smile and laughter so THANK YOU !! I normally do nor part take in the conversation – I guess I’m a “lurker”. But, I felt compelled to respond to this one regarding the tips and other things
It is very frustrating on land for me when we are “forced” to tip because it seems in this day and age it is expected rather then earned. We are booked on our second cruise, yes still newbies, but our service was impeccable on the first (Carnival Triumph). We provided envelopes with extra to those that earned it in addition to the standard tips.
It would be most unfortunate if Carnival decided to “mandate” the tips because I think there truly is incentive for all staff to make it the best they can. What frustrates me even more then “forced” tips….those that run the staff ragged, have no class when making requests, and then complain because they weren’t first to receive a requested item, then to top all else, they belittle the staff… to those of you — The staff are not your personal servants and no human being deserves to be treated that way. This was our experience with a table mate on our first cruise.
Now – about the herbal life guy — I think that the folks that call and won’t provide a subject should be advised that you won’t be calling the back. You are far too busy.
I don’t know if I have to give you all of this just to post for a response – but we are on the Fantasy in a GS leaving July 17th. My husband and I will be celebrating our 20th anniversary and we are taking my sister who just lost her husband of 22 years to Cancer in March of this year. We’re hoping that the CD is as full of life as you are. Can you tell me who that will be and what to expect? Is there anything special on the Fantasy cruise that you can recommend that we don’t miss out on that would be appropriate? I’m getting her more and more excited by the day, but still she is struggling with, her words – being the 3rd wheel – she took care of him without regard for herself for the last 8 years and she deserves every bit of this pampered vacation. Any recommendations would be so helpful. I do have a request that I don’t know whether it is possible since this time we opted for Anytime dining because that is what my sister wanted. What room is the anytime dining in? Does it change? We were so pleased with our seating – main floor right in the middle – on our first cruise and fear that because of the anytime dining choice, we will be up the stairs in the back, etc… Do we need to change this choice in order to get better seating?
Thank you John – I hope your cold is much better – there’s probably not much worse in warm weather – best wishes to you and your family!
Dear John,
Janet and I just returned from the Carnival Destiny, our 7th Carnival cruise. We wanted to write and let you know we had an absolutely wonderful time. The two comedians we had were the best we’ ve seen to date. Some have good general shows, but poor “R” rated shows, and some vice versa, but these two were hilarious at both. Diane Ford, and Will Marfori. Also we would like to commend our Head Waiter, Ben from Tunisia. I am sorry I dont know his last name, our table was early seating #110. Please let the Hotel manager know what a marvelous job he does. We kept trying to remember where we knew him from, when he came and asked us if we had sailed with him before. It was a little over a year before, when we sailed with him on the Carnival Fascination out of Jacksonville. An amazing memory, and top notch service. We know (we asked him) that he will be on the MIracle this next January when we cruise and we will be asking to sit with him again! thank you, Shane and Janet Middleton
John, Please Reply
Hi John,
I read on CruiseMates (originally from somewhere else) that Carnival has discontinued the air deviation and the pre- and post-cruise hotel programs. The Fly Aweigh program will continue, but without the above options.
1) Is this true?
2) Will the Fly Aweigh department bring the options back for the Carnival Magic and Europe? Some pre- or post- tours might be nice for some of the cruise.
Thanks,
bill
John, Please Reply
Hi John,
Another Carnival Magic question. Should Carnival Magic arrive in Barcelona in time to make a 10am flight on May 22 (the May 10th cruise)? I know sometimes ship happens.
If not, what is the earliest flight time we should consider?
Thanks,
bill
John, Please Reply
Hello,
My wife and I were on the carnival fantasy cruise that just completed in Charleston yesterday, and it was fantastic. Thank you for all that you do. You made the trip wonderful.
Seriously, you were better than the standup comedians (who were pretty good). For anyone reading this who has not seen Mr. Heald on stage it is a treat. The Bedtime Story needs its own HBO special. Glad you got new suspenders!
Hi John,
I am one of your bloggers that removes the tips right at the start of the cruise. Here’s why…My wife and I personally like to go up to each person (room steward, waiter/asst. waiter, etc.) and thank them for a wonderful week and hand them their gratuity. I also let the person at guest services know that I like to hand the people cash.
In less than 2 weeks my wife, daughter and I sail on the Dream. Can’t wait!!!
Matt
Harrisburg, PA
Matt
That sounds good BUT do you tell them that this is not over and above what is automatic or do you try to make them believe this is something EXTRA. You see what I’m saying. When I hand them something EXTRA I let them know it’s EXTRA for their service.
BIG Ed
DEARjOHN,
THEGUY WHO TOOK ALL OF THE GRATUITIES OFF DID SO AFTER HE ATE ALL THE MEALS AND WAS SPOILED ROTTEN BY THE MARVELOUS WAIT STAFF AND DI SO BECAUSE HE IS A CHEAP BASTARD. NO EXCUSE FOR IT!
HERBALIFE SALES PEOPLE MEAN WELL BUT TEND TO BE RUDE. THEIR VITAMINS ARE REALLY GOOD BUT THE PRODUCT TASTE TERRIBLE.
THE CRUZIN2SOME
Hi John;
Just a small note to say THANK YOU for your help, with a table for 2. We just got home from our cruise on the Carnival Valor and had a great time. Now time to start planning my next one.
John, (Pleaaaaasse Reply)
I have been reading your blog for a long time, but this is the first time I have posted.
I am taking my dear mother on a cruise on the Glory out of Norfolk VA in October. I have booked a balcony room By the way, I cruised with you on the Destiny in 2000 out of Newport News, VA. This will be my second cruise on the Glory and I hope mom has a great time.
I wanted to confirm if something I heard was true. Do you have to pay for drinks at the captain’s welcome aboard party now? I hope not.
I hope to sail with you again. Fair thee well!
Shawn
Dear John-
My husband and I are going on our FIRST CRUISE in 4 weeks!! I don’t care which dining room I’m in, I don’t care how big the table is, I don’t care who we sit with, I don’t want to ask you for anything — I just wanted to say thanks for the blog, and I can’t wait to sail the CARNIVAL DREAM!
Kathy
(John, please reply)
Mr. Heald,
Thanks much for providing this blog: you do us (Carnival fans) a wonderful service by providing behind-the-scenes information, and it’s clear you expend much time and effort in doing so. Thanks.
My wife and I have cruised with Carnival five or six times now, and it’s by far the best vacation we’ve ever had and a heck of a value at that. We’ve never had a bad experience on our cruises, and we’re looking forward to our seventh and eighth Carnival cruises this year.
The one area you and I might disagree is the usefulness of the surveys at the end of each cruise. Without fail, past CDs have informed us that, of the three “grades” allowed (exceeded our expectations, met our expectations, or opportunity to improve [or words to that effect]), anything but the first will result in calamity, staff will be upset, the world will stop spinning, etc. etc. I exaggerate only slightly.
If the goal of those surveys is to provide Carnival with useful feedback, they’re missing the mark. If the only allowable choices amount to “A+” “F+” and “F-”, Carnival’s CDs are really asking for just a blanket “everything was wonderful,” when (for instance) a scale of 1-10 (or even letter grades of “A B C D and F”) would be far more likely to elicit truly helpful feedback. Think about it: let’s say my room steward is surly throughout a cruise (it’s never happened). I can either gloss over his poor performance with an “exceeded” or I can rate his performance as “met,” which, again, I’m told by the CDs that this is REALLY BAD. On the other hand, if I was asked, “on a scale of one to ten, how was his performance?” then an 8 or 9 could mean that overall his performance was good but not absolutely great. As it is, there’s no room for anything other than what amounts to fabulous or crappy. Personally, I find those limited choices way too restrictive, and I provide comments only, no scores.
Anyway, perhaps (if you see some merit in my suggestion) you might pass it along to “the beards.” As I mentioned, we’ve had truly fine times on Carnival, and this one little nit doesn’t affect our enjoyment a bit. It just seems that this really is an opportunity for improvement (in the literal sense).
Thanks much for “listening,”
Jim
John, stay the way you are. I enjoy reading your blog every day.
John,
I enjoy reading your blog. You seem to have some good real advice instead of the boiler plate information passed along. I have a question about embarkation in Miami on the Liberty. I read that you can take your own checked bags to your room when you get on the ship. Is this true and how is this working? I haven’t sailed with Carnival for 20 years. What has changed with this brand since then?
Art
John please reply
We were on the May 16 sailing of the Glory and had an outstanding time with our grown kids.
We are platinum and lately sail 3x per year with Carnival.
We just loved the new comedy club and have two suggestions and would like to point out one person for special notice.
If you have late seating it is pretty much impossible to attend all of the comedy shows.
Also the lounge is not big enough to handle all of the people for the late shows at the same time the main lounge sits empty for the late shows. Could they not be moved there?
My son loved the comedy club and was moved to sign up for the open mike night by Andre your manager. He is kind of shy and it was amazing to see him up there in front of 250 people and gaining confidence as his routine continued. Andre was full of encouragement and did a great job as MC. I thanked him several times and wanted to put in a plug to him with his bosses.
Comedy club made this one of our best cruises ever!
Also we did the Behind the Fun tour on the last sea day . Was outstanding. Do not remember the name of the guy running it but he is the training manager on the Glory. He did a great job running it and coordinating with all the people we got to see. His first name might be Gary but do remember he is from Canada.
It felt funny behing home with no booked cruise so two days after we got home we booked one on the Liberty for October.
My kids took me to the steakhouse for my birthday and a great meal was had by all.
DR did it usual excellent job.
It was our first time in Roatan and Mahogany beach was outstanding.
Now for my question. We understand the comedy club is being rolled out to the fleet. Our pvp was not able to get the info but will the Liberty have it by the very beginning of October?
Regards,
Stu
I’ve been reading this blog for a few weeks now and it really puts a bright spot in my day.
as for removing the tips its not only beyond rude but selfish. I have yet to crusie but my mother did raise me with manners. I do have some questions though on the best way to buget for the little extras. I realize that each person is different .But I was hopping to find the cost of unlimited sodas and drinks on the web site to make it easier to budget . So I do not become the subject of the next blob
Hi John,
Just wondering about handicapped boarding at Charleston. We are on the Fantasy 7/17/2010 with a family group of 10. I’m in a motorized scooter and while I don’t need assistance getting on and off the ship, my MEDICAL EQUIPMENT ( Oxygen compressor and C-pap machine) have to come along with me because it can’t be tossed into cargo.
On other cruises we were able to get a rolling luggage cart at the pier and my dear hubby pushed along with out crew help.
I can’t get a straight answer from Special needs or guest relations. Any help will be appreciated.
John: Just wanted to drop you a line and let you know about our first cruise on the Carnival Valor the first week of may 2010. Our cruise director Gary was very friendly and made the trip very enjoyable and always kept us informed on what was going on. Some interesting points for you though….
On our 2nd port Island Roatan we had a couple tell us that we needed to go to customer service and tell us to remove the tips from our S&S account because Carnival takes some of the money and pays the people who work for carnival next to nothing.
We spoke directly to our room hostess and asked her directly and she informed us this was not the case.
She said the servers that do the room service were the lowest paid and that they deserve special attention but she said they were treated very nicely.
We had a wonderful cruise and EVERYONE we met from CARNIVAL could not have been nicer. The staff was AWESOME. We were on our first cruise our 25th anniversary. I really think there could not have been anything done better….
I do have a question, We made a point of doing all our excursions with Carnival and were not disappointed in any way. Our TA told us that we could book with other places but said carnival excursions came with the guarantee that they would wait for us if something happened.
It seemed like each port after our first that the ship was late leaving, We did hear them paging people by name and wondered what was going on ? ? Another Cruise Expert (self made) told us that someone had taken an excursion with an cab and was taken out into the country and robbed and left them in the center of Belize….
We attributed this to a bunch of nothing but were curious about any information you could provide .
We sailed out of Miami May 2-9 on the CARNIVAL VALOR . What a wonderful ship and wonderful staff….
Dale Fahrney