Good morning everyone. This is going to be a quick blog today because the 344 Stephanies and the 44 people whose name start with an E and the one and only Vance will be travelling to meet their families for Thanksgiving. I also have been instructed to hurry up and write because I have been told I am taking Kye to a place called Marsh Farm today which is a place where Kye can feed baby animals and tread in cow poo. So, my apologies in advance for this being a quick blog thingy devoid of any questions being answered although I promise to answer a double load on Friday.
As you may know on Sunday I will be flying to Miami on Virgin Atlantic. I love Virgin ……….. my only concern is will they go all the way……….OK……….stupid joke. I have been told that I will be warmly welcomed by our shore side people all of whom were reading our blog about the Carnival Splendor incident and for some bizarre reason they seem to think that I did something special. This means that many of the people in the office will not just want to shake my hand but kiss me as well. Now whenever I go to the States and meet ladies I always get worried …………..about the kiss.
The “colleague kiss” is all very strange to me and is a show of affection which despite the fact that I see these people maybe once or twice a year and most of whom I have no bloody clue who they are……..feel its mandatory to kiss me. I have never quite mastered the social greeting and I am also someone who believes that you should kiss only a) your children and b) the person you are having rumpy pumpy with c) any photo of Megan Fox’s bottom. Honestly……why can’t we just say hello or just shake hands? The clashing heads, should I or shouldn’t I go for the other cheek too, the mutual whiff of halitosis caused by tofu and garlic sandwiches.
Then there’s the men. American men hug. British men don’t. That’s just a fact. Now when another man hugs me I have no idea how to respond. Am I supposed to put my arm around him and should I slap him on the back three times which seems to be the tradition? Carnival’s marketing men hug. Our operations men hug. In fact, the only men who don’t hug me when they see me are the ones from public relations and the only reason they don’t is because they don’t want to spill their glass of red wine.
Worst still is when I meet some of the Italian captains who now work in the Miami office. They hug as well but also sometimes…….not always………they will kiss you as well. The hazard with this is that if they go for the kiss, while I other opt for the hug my gets slobbered on. Yep…….. the man hug is a minefield. Pat or not to pat on the back? If the chap hugging you is considerably taller will I end up nuzzled into his chest and risk suffocation? Where do I place my arms – around his neck? Too childish. Around his waist? Too romantic. On his arse………only if he’s French. Hug for more than a couple of seconds that’s not a man hug ………..that’s a man hunt
OK, as I said this is going to be a quick blog because we also have other things to do today as well because Heidi has deemed this a family day…………..so I had better crack on.
Yesterday on my Facebook thingy I asked the question about if or not guests who had cruised recently had received their online review card and a total of 348 people replied. Having read the answers, I guess it’s 50/50 which means half of those who cruised recently didn’t get a review card. And while one or two didn’t really care if they did or not most of those who didn’t get one wish that they had. So with these facts in hand I spoke yesterday to one of the directors, Mark, who is in charge of this procedure and asked him what the parameters were. Here is what Mark told me:
The goal is to provide one survey invitation per cabin per voyage. This is intended to provide a fair representation of the voyage and be a voice for those in that cabin and a fair representation of the overall voyage performance. Second, to receive a survey invitation, we must have the guest’s email address, they must not have opted out of receiving email communication from Carnival, and the guest must be designated in our database. I’m working now with our Data Warehouse team to make certain that every cabin receives a survey invitation.
Thanks Mark. We all realise that this is a work in progress and of course I think the most important fact that we have learned there is that the guest must have said yes to receiving further internet information. It will be interesting to see how many people who said they did not receive a review card had in fact declined to that option. Anyway, we realise that it is a work in progress and we thank you for taking the time Mark to answer this important question. If any of you have a follow up question for Mark please let me know here on the blog thingy.
Let’s continue now with our series of introductions to our piano bar entertainers by popping on over to the Carnival Valor to meet Billy J Clay.
Name: William Barclay “Billy J Clay
Hometown: Vancouver, Canada
Short Personal Bio: How long with company, style of entertaining and general info 5 years with the company. Style is considered eclectic, standard oriented, that generally pleases most audiences.
Most Requested Song: Piano Man
What’s the best part of being a Carnival Piano Bar entertainer? Interaction with the audience
So as mentioned we are having a family day today. The sun is shining and it’s so cold I saw a lawyer with his hands in his own pockets. Sorry………. stupid joke. Tomorrow we are expecting snow which means for the first time this winter I get to say…….and regular blog readers will know what’s coming………yep………..Global Warming My Arse. Honestly it’s so cold already in the UK. It was so cold that when I woke up in the morning I found a tiny ice cube in my bed. I threw it in the fire and it went “FART”…….sorry………………stupid joke.
Anyway, as I was saying. This morning after going to some kids farm to catch foot and mouth and mad cow disease we will then head to town to start the Christmas shopping. Oh joy. Obviously though I mustn’t moan or grumble because this after all is my daughter’s first proper Christmas. At the age of 19 months, she has a vague grasp of it being a special time and hopefully when we get the Christmas tree she will enjoy the pretty lights and putting the star on top rather than last year when all she did was try to eat the pine needles.
Then of course she will have presents. Just how many presents, is the question. Thanks to the kindness of my family and friends and many of my family of blog readers she has been spoiled completely since being born. This has resulted in her accumulating a total of four My Little Ponies, each one a different shade of sickly pink, including one which smells, revoltingly, of coconut. She has dolls and toys and things that are still entombed in the packaging. So the dilemma is this. Do we buy her one present or lots?
Well in the end was my wife who made the decision and she told me that we will be buying her one big present (apparently some kind of assault course for kids called Tumble Tots) and a contribution in Kye’s name to St. Jude Children’s hospital. They will receive the My Little Ponies as well.
OK, I know a lot of you are heading home or travelling to be with family and I wish you all safe journeys. Tomorrow the ships will be serving a special Thanksgiving Day dinner and I thought you might like to see the feast the chefs will be preparing………….what would you have?
We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK but I have so much to be thankful for. My family and of course all of you who keep reading my daily musings. I am also thankful to the guests who sailed with me the week of November 7 on the Carnival Splendor most of whom were truly brilliant. The word thank you is one of the most commonly used words in the English language and it is important therefore that we realise that it remains one of the most important words in the world. I know some of you have seen this video already but in case you haven’t I invite you to have a look at it now, not just because it shows how positive its makers were during difficult times but mostly for the simple message at the videos end that means so much to me and all of us at Carnival.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families.
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.
Thank you for your nice THanksgiving wishes. Enjoy the time with your family, and thank you for your great blog, as always!
Oh, and I will have the Thanksgiving salad, the tom turkey AND the spare ribs. It is a cruise after all! LOL….
(Of course the daughter must have the melting cake!!!)
We were on the Sensation one year ago, for Thanksgiving…..good times!!!
Can I still ask for you to be on the Dream 2/19? =)
I would be so thankful for that!
We American’s are indeed a kiss and hug kind of group. I promise if I get to meet you I’ll not do either.
That video was spectacular. What a great tribute to all those that worked so very hard to make sure all the passengers and crew were safe and cared for. What an inspiration. Well done.
The Thanksgiving dinner sounds divine. Can’t wait until we sail on the Glory in February.
Have fun with your family.
Zane & Sandee Clark
BC4
Good day John–
Safe travels– looking forward to hearing about the next Blogger cruise—-
Thank you to for posting the video— and thank you too- to the couple sharing their vacation highlights with us—–selfishly thinking how much I would have missed having hot coffee——-maybe I’m saying that since it cold here in my part of CA–and no not the Starbuck stuff– just plain old black coffee—–
abd to let you know how Thankful I am for all my special Cruise friends and for your blog— it gives me something to look forward to–and it always puts a smile on my face -
Cheers
April
The tugs remind me of the childrens story of The Little Engine That could only The Little Tug that could thinking I hope I can I hope I can I hope I can!
I was thinking the same exact thing!!
Thanks for adding that video to the blog, John. As of this moment it has been viewed nearly 4600 times. Maybe they can reach 10,000 having been linked on the Blog Thingy. I’m hoping that someone will forward this to the twits in the media who have slammed Carnival for the way this situation was handled. The passengers know the real truth.
Please forgive me but Mark of the email survey sounds like a tofu eater… It can’t be all that difficult to harvest those email address.
Anyway, please have a comfortable trip on Virgin and we’ll be looking forward to hearing from you when you arrive in Miami.
Ciao!
Host Mach
Mach,
If John is flying we will definitely be hearing about it. I can just hear his TSA stories now, LOL.
BIG Ed
Some how, I can’t see John (or any Brit, really) saying ‘You touch my junk and I’ll have you arrested…’ It would be fun to witness, though!!!
John is flying from the UK, they dont have the TSA in London, and there are no TSA inspections when you enter the US, shane lots of blog material lost!
Hi, I like Big Ed’s idea from yesterday where there would be a link on the carnival page to a form. Then everyone would be able to fill it out while all is still fresh in their minds.
There is a big difference between unwanted sales emails from the marketing peps, I dont want. And an email comment card for being on cruise and wish to say Meryzell Belen from the Carnival Miracle has my vote for empolyee of the month.
Wow….one survey per cabin…yet another way of saying to us that single cruisers don’t count…
I am single and share cabins to keep down costs…my experience may be different…..
but Carnival only caters to the Noah’s Ark 2×2 couples
I want my own survey please
I have also posted some REAL complaints here regarding Destiny and have heard nothing from you John…why not???
Sharecruisers, John was running about 3 weeks behind in his answers before the Splendor incident and now it is probably more like 4 or 5. Also, if you wanted a response from him, did you remember to start your post with “Dear John, Please Reply?”
John,
Once again I’ve gone from laughing so hard I was crying, to crying because of something beautiful, that video. To see a little of what it was like that week for the passengers who took the video – and how grateful they were just to be taken care of during that time – warms my heart.
I was laughing so hard at your “tiny cube” joke. You hit the nail on the head with that one with me. lol
Have a great rest of the week, and even though you won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving there, I wish you a happy one, anyway!
Hugs,
Shannan
John
In your comments video identifing the Ronal Reagan as a US AIRFORCE carrier.
It’s a wonder the Navy didn’t sink you
Hopefully, he meant AIRCRAFT carrier.
Pat and I would like to wish John, Heidi, Kye, those in Miami, The Evil Crew and all the bloggers a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.
BIG Ed
Happy Thanksgiving John, Heidi and Kye and to all the bloggers and Carnival crew and employees everywhere.
John.
I have just signed on for the blogger cruise, but my PVP wasn’t sure if the right code was used. I entered our information on the blog link above, but was wondering if there is a way to confirm we are part of your group.
Thanks
You do not have to use the Blogger code anymore, just make sure you are on the list of bloggers. If you go to: ekonefe.wordpress.com you will see the lists to add your name and cabin # to etc. Big Ed can explain it better so when you get on his blog site you can email him from there and he will tell you what to do, ok? If you use the bloggers code you will be paying MORE money for the cruise.
Joe -
Put PLEASE REPLY in the header of your comment and give John your booking number and, rest assured, he will have someone check that you are included in the BC activities.
MTSFP
Dear Joe….. make sure your PVP just books you with the best rate possible for the cruise. John has said here on the blog that when it gets nearer the time of the Bloggers Cruise that he will be taking a roll call here on the blog to make sure that all who are wanting to be included in the bloggers group will be accounted for.
John,
We all have so much to be thankful for. Certainly you are up there on my list as one person I am thankful was on that ship. This is the first time I have seen that video.
Joyce
John
Put us in the category of those who have not received their online review card. Yesterday we received the “Funville Times” so I hope we are on the list for online review cards as that process gets straightened out. As Milestone level cruisers we love to recognize those wonderful crew members who make our cruises so special. Our last cruise was the 31 Oct 2010 of the C. Splendor. Best of luck in sorting this out for us.
Regards
Roger T
OUTSTANDING !!!!
Hope you enjoying your time with your girls – see you soon.
Happy Thanksgiving to all the bloggers
MTSFP
John:
I completely understand where you are coming from with the PDA.
Being raised in the South and Southern Baptist….hugging is a requirement …LOL
But I understand that not everyone is comfortable with that.
I usually try to “gage” the individual before just asserting my upbringing on them. LOL
We leave for Miami in the morning….
we will be back from the Liberty and Destiny on December 10th….
Until then…safe travels….
Linda (Mom of your friend DJ)
John Heald Logic:
1 snowy day = Global Warming My Arse.
Same type of logic:
Carnival Splendor’s last cruise = Nobody can count on a comfortable and fun vacation from Carnival.
So John, do you think it’s “bollocks” for me to make that statement about your employer? Well, that’s how I feel about your comments on global climate change.
Are you British or a Nicklepicker? Global warming & cooling has been a natural phenomen for centuries & if you watch National Geographical programmes you should be aware that this is the true story of evolution.
Whilst none of us would deny that human interference has made some contribution to global warming, I do not believe you appreciate that it is not a tiny island like the UK that has polluted the atmosphere with excessive carbon emissions.
John Head’s posts are intended to be a personal & humorous account of his experiences & beliefs of an ever increasing “politically correct” army of radicals like you who have been whitewashed into thinking that you can save the world.
All I can do is repeat your final comment “bollocks” but direct it at you as an insular individual who has self interest at heart.
Give John break. His statement was no doubt meant in comedic jest. I give you my condolences on the death of your humor.
I meant to write, “Give John a break.”
Ok John about the hug thingy. I am Canadian and we hug. Yup even the men, but this is followed by the three pats on the back that stand for “I’M NOT GAY” ….NOT that there is anything wrong with it but most NON gay men just want to be clear.
This is what my husband tells me.
John, when we see you again, I will definitely hug you, but don’t expect a hug from Don…… I’m the hugger in the family…lol
To the Heald Family and all of our blogger family
Don and I wish you a Happy Thanksgivng
Carolyn
I enjoyed the video especially the ending tribute to Carnival from the guests. That really brought forth the entire ending of how the people felt. Thank you Carnival, thank you Captain & crew and thank you John.
Paul
What an awesome video! Thank you to those on board who did video it, too!
Please ask the beards to reconsider the one-survey-per-cabin idea. That was one of the things I liked about Carnival, as opposed to Princess – the fact that each person got his/her own survey. It’s possible that people traveling together can have different opinions about things. That wouldn’t be reflected in the one-survey-per cabin idea. And how do you decide which person gets the survey?
John (no need to reply),
From my family to yours, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving over on “this side of the pond”, we wish you alll the best and enjoy the precious days with Heidi & Kye.
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite (spelled correctly) holidays, as the day is filled with the real football, where you can touch the ball with your hands
.
A man hug to you from across the pond, and I promise not to put my hands on your arse, as I am not French.
Happy start to the holiday season Heald family!!
Marty & Jeanne Paul
John please reply….
Hi again John! About the subject on greeting with a kiss….
1. You probably know that here in the US we greet each other – men & women – with one kiss on one of the cheeks…. but in Spain, for instance, it is double. One kiss on both cheeks. That’s what they expect from you. Juan & I were born in Cuba. Our parents, like the majority of parents of Cubans you meet & see in Miami, were born in Spain. Cuban men embrace each other when they meet, they don’t kiss other men. They only kiss women.
2. About men greeting each other with a kiss…. We have family in Argentina & it’s o.k. for men to greet each other with a kiss. This habit/custom was inherited from the Italians (most people in Argentina have very strong Italian roots.. After the Ialians, Spaniards are the 2nd. largest group). We have relatives on both sides. When we first visited Buenos Aires many yrs. ago, we were also very surprised to see men greeting each other with a kiss. My young & old male relatives do it. If you had the opportunity of watching the Argentinean Selection play during the last World Cup in South Africa, you probably witnessed the players kissing each other after making a goal and Maradona, their technical director, congratulating the player or players with kisses.
So, don’t feel ackward or embarrased, go ahead and hug/embrace/kiss accordingly…depending on where you are and the people you are with. We hope we didn’t confuse you even more! We just wanted to help you understand the greet & kiss custom.
Warmest regards…
The Santanas of Miami Beach
HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone.
Love the video John..sorry I would both Goffle you(hug) and kiss,both cheeks as Im French Canadian
:)……..-Sandra
NB Canada
Hug and kiss in America??
Well in the past 20 years or so that has sort of become a fact. But it is just a symptom of things that have happened in our country. It certainly was not that way in the ’40s and ’50s.
Someone or something caused us to change and I don’t think it is for the better.
I agree with you John. I still just hand shake (unless I get attacked unexpectedly).
Thanks for adding the video. I also posted some video to my Facebook page that showed people having fun playing trivia games, dancing and listening to some wonderful music. Your welcome to Miami will be well deserved. As I looked around the ship I noticed that the crisis/adventure brought out people’s true colors (colours). I am happy to report that every crew member and almost every passenger remained calm and helped anyone and everyone that needed it. This incident restored our faith in the human race. Well done and many thanks to Carnival and crew of the Splendor. We shall never forget our first cruise.
Hi John!
This is not a strange for us latins. We expect the kiss and the hug. We always do, even when we don’t know each other. Yes I know sometimes you just don’t want too and don;t know what to do. I can understand that they want to hug you. Friend just face it you are huggable and not only that you are great with hugs. So just enjoy and receive all the joy, love and admiration that the people give you. rmember go with the flow..flow..jajaja! Love you John you are just receiving what you are giving away. Take it!
I just can’t wait to get another hug from you!
Neither Eugenio, Vivi and even Cristian. Did good and we are all very proud of you that’s all.
We continue to be thankful for your warmth, humour joy of living, and enjoyable stories, John! Reading your blog thingy reminds me of how much we enjoyed you as our CD several years ago – and now, years later, you continue to make us smile and laugh! May God Bless you, Heidi & Kye, and may you live long and enjoy the love of all of your friends and fans whose lives you continue to enrich!
Your friends,
Dr. Jim & Karen
John,
Thanks for posting the video! Truly amazing. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
Cheers,
Alex G.
On the email surveys, even though I didn’t receive a survey invitation. I did submit my feedback via a feedback form on the Carnival website. And I received a response within a week or so from Carnival. Hopefully kudos in my comments were passed along just as if it were a comment card or survey.
As for the email opt in, I booked the cabin and received every other email from Carnival reminding me to book shore excursions, etc. Yet I received no comment/survey email.
I’m stating the obvious, but I really think this is a design flaw and not 50 percent of past guests failing to opt for the emails. A suggestion I have would be to tie the booking number or past guest number to the comment/survey. The email could still be sent, but also give people the option of signing into the Carnival site, and accessing the survey via the booking number, or past guest number. If the past guest number were used, it would give every cruiser the option to leave feedback, for instance two singles who were just sharing a cabin. If you wanted to limit it to just one review for cabin, a validation check could be in place by using the booking number.
John, about the present delemia. At Kye’s age it doesn’t matter. As she grows older and understands the meaning of Christmas, providing you are Christian, just 3 gifts will reinforce the reason on gift giving. JMHO
Carolyn
Wow….That video was awesome…..and shows that the experience was definatly an adventure…..and there is some people in this world that realize that it wasnt all that bad…..KUDOS to Carnival once again…..
John Please Reply if you have time.
My son is 10 years old and he is several cruises away from 10 cruises which is a Platnum Member we are wondering what is the age limit to be a Platnum Member.
John,
Would you possibly have a 2011 Cruise Director Schedule?
Thanks john for a great blog.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who is celebrating today.
John enjoy the xmas shopping!!!!
michelle and gang
Well I am on the other side of things now I grew up in a hugging and kissing culture so is very hard for me not to kiss people when I meet them
when I was on the ships was easier cause all crew are well adapted to the whole kissing thing but now in land is quite hard when I am out and about here in NZ and meet my paisanos (brazilians friends) there is lots of hugs and kisses and all my Kiwi friends are just looking at us like what’s going on there?
so the best option for us is just hug them too very tight so they can’t escape lol
Happy Thanksgiving
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One of my favorite quotes from the movie What a Girl Wants is from an English grandmother – “No hugs dear, I’m British. We only show affection to dogs and horses.”
I have a question I’m hoping you can answer for me. My family and I had a cruise scheduled at the begining of January. However, my father was diagnosed with a brain tumor on Halloween and must have surgery in December. So, we need to try and change our sailing date. This would have been our 13th cruise so we know several of the cruise directors. We are hoping to cruise between the last week of January and the first week of March. We realize that the cruise director can make or break a cruise so I was hoping you could tell me who the cruise director would be on the Liberty and Magic between those dates. I would really appreciate it.
Thanks
Julie
There is no better way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year than with the video you posted. It says it all. I somehow wish I had been on that cruise to experience the true meaning of friendship and caring. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Hello, John! In reference to the surveys that the guests are supposed to receiveor will be receiving after returning from their Carnival cruise, please be advised that after completion of the Canada & New England States Cruises, Juan and I never received/
The Santanas of Miami Beach
Hi John.
Unfortunately the reason I started to read your blog was because of the Carnival Splendor incident. However, that being said I am truly amazed by your generosity and your candid blogs. I truly enjoy reading them.
I had to tell you about an experience my husband’s co-worker had regarding his cancelled cruise on the Splendor. He was due to cruise the 9th of January. It was nice to hear that he will get a discounted cruise whenever he wants to take another one, but when he wanted to rebook this same ship for February, they wouldn’t recognize his early saver prices and wanted him to pay the current prices. I didn’t think this was fair as he booked early saver, waited for his time to come and now loses out. In the end, his wife actually spoke to a beard (assistant president) and still got nowhere, so they’ve booked the Carnival Dream for their original cruise date at an added cost of $150 per room. He had 4 rooms booked.
So while I love cruising with Carnival and am really thrilled with how they handled the incident, I do feel bad for anyone who wanted to rebook in order to enjoy the cruise they originally wanted to take.
Marie
Let me first start by saying I am a Carnival Cruiser and feel that Carnival gives me great value for my money. Now onto my complaint:
After the excellent way Carnival handled the Splendor incident I receive this information in an email by the outside vendor I booked a tour with.
++ As of November 25, 2010, the Carnival Corporation (owner/manager of Mahogany Bay Cruise Center) requires all guests to walk the route shown above to meet independent guides. There are no pick-ups at the pier gate. No Exceptions will be made for wheelchairs, the elderly, children in strollers, mobility impaired guests, etc. Any guest not on a Carnival ship excursion will be required to walk outside the port property to meet thier Independent Guides.
Why would Carnival want to make it physically impossible(in some cases), very inconvienent for others to take a tour that is not ship sponsored? Why would Carnival want to make it harder on the people of this island to make a living?
We spe
nd our money on the ship on drinks, casino, shops, pictures,some carnival tours. Is it really necessary to hold physically handicapped passengers hostage at Mahogany Bay. I hope you all will reconcider this decision.
Diane
John,
I seriously think that if everyone in the world would read your blog everyday, we’d have a lot less problems. I read it and laugh every day and thank God that you have this forum to share with us all. You seriously should write a book, I know I’d read it (well, as long as it was available for my Kindle)!
John,
Just wanted to let you know that I was on you tube today and I came across an interview with Steve Read interviewing Ken Rush from RCI. I wanted to let you know that Mr. Rush praised you for the great job that you did during your incident at sea. Just something that I thought that you might want to know. I am going to try to post a like to it.
Hi John,
Anyway I just wanted to take the opportunity to let you know what a fabulous time my family and I had. It was such a pleasure to have you as the cruise director. We really enjoyed your shows and your humor. 
I am sorry about all the tragic events that have happened in the month and a half since we left. I think you and your staff are just phenominal and know what a wonderful job you all do everyday. I have now been on four cruises (all Carnival, of course) and have loved each and every one. Now I wanted to tell you that my family and I had such a wonderful time on the Splendor and actually booked another cruise on the Splendor in January. It is actually on the first cruise going back out, on January 16th! I read in your blog that you said you will be coming back for that one week and we are absolutely thrilled to be seeing you again! Keep up the good work, I hope you have a great time off with your family, and we will be looking forward to seeing you and your wonderful crew again in January!
I had the pleasure of cruising with you in October on the Splendor. I was actually there the week of Mr. Cloonpit and the last week your beautiful wife and lovely daughter were there. I don’t know if you remember meeting me, but I had my picture with you after the questions and answers show on the last day. I am from Minnesota, home of the “food on a stick.”
Samantha
John,
If you’re the “aggressor” in the man hug, and don’t really want to do it: get to the side, put your arm around their shoulders and give it two quick, firm pats. It says, “I like you but don’t want to do this whole hugging business.”
Side hugs are also effective with the ladies. It says, “I like you, but I don’t want you to have to press your female parts against my belly or chest.” Most appreciate that.
Or, get over it and do what they do. It passes quickly.
Hey John. My husband and I were on the Splendor just over 2 months ago. (He was the one that sang “Music of the Night” for the talent show. If you happen to remember) Anyway, that was our first cruise and we were surprised how close we became with the crew. I was just curious to hear about what is happening with the crew of the Splendor now that she is out of commission for a couple months?
John,
We never received the survey and we receive Carnival updates whenever they come out. And yes I would love to fill one out.
Thank you for the video. My husband and I relived those days out on the Splendor and are so very thankful to everyone crew and passengers alike who kept cool heads and worked together to make it an adventure and a safe one….John….I really really do miss your intercom voice and the great joking and keeping us all calm and entertained. You are more than deserving of whatever praise and reward comes your way. Hope to sail again with you as our cruise director……thanks again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello John,
I hope you all had a nice holiday, and you personally had a safe and uneventful flight.
I’d like to add my two cents about the comment cards. Most of our little group of loyal Carnival cruisers are senior citizens who don’t have a computer. They are not about to get a computer just to have email so they can fill out a comment card. We just came back from a lovely cruise on the Carnival Pride on Nov. 7th. I am one of the only ones in my group with a computer and email. (As the travel agent, I filled out everyone’s “Fun Pass” info, and printed out the boarding passes.) I have not received MY comment card yet. Probably because I said I didn’t want emails from Carnival. Well, duh. I am a travel agent! I get tons of emails from Carnival about specials, news, etc, sent to my business email address. I didn’t want a bunch of identical emails sent to my personal email, which I almost never have time to read, anyway. Also, I agree with the others who feel that “one per cabin” is unfair. What if you and your spouse/roommate have different opinions? One person might have a really good suggestion, but he didn’t get to fill out the comment card? For example, what if you and Heidi had never worked for a cruise line, and you took a cruise with Kye, and they only gave you one comment card? Wouldn’t one of you be under-represented?
Thanks for asking, and for listening. I know you always do.
Your Friend,
Cheryl D.
Hi John, I sailed on the Carnival Valor departing Oct. 17, and I have not received an online survey invitation via email (and Carnival can and does email me).
Not a huge deal, but I thought I would let you and “the beards” know.
I mostly only have positive things to say about my first experience on Carnival anyway.
John,
Thank you for including the video from the Splendor guests. It made me cry reliving the experience. I was on that ship and it really was that peaceful. I know I thanked you once already, but after watching this video I really miss the ship and the feeling of comfort and safety you and all of the crew brought to me.
It is an experience I will never forget – I even got a tattoo of an anchor!