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.
The Trigueros from New Paltz, NY
- A "Fun Ship" Reborn 412 comment(s)
- Happy Birthday, John 382 comment(s)
- Your Carnival Dream 341 comment(s)
- Miles of Imagination 234 comment(s)
- Smoke On the Water – Part 3 231 comment(s)
- Smoke On the Water – Part 1 221 comment(s)
- COSTA CONCORDIA……MY THOUGHTS 210 comment(s)
- A Very Sad Day 207 comment(s)
- The Splendor of San Francisco 187 comment(s)
- HARRY POTTER AND THE TOTALLY BONKERS BAG LADY 177 comment(s)
MARY: If you book the Nov 24 cruise on the Breeze, there is a strong possibility he will be the CD as that is the...
Beverley: John, thankyou for the menus, really looking forward to trying everything on the Breeze in July. It will be...
Don: Yet another whiny Cruise Critic group. Look people, just because you went onto a forum and chatted up...
Carter Northcutt: I don’t know if you have gotten to my other posts here or not. I aven’t seen anything...
I started this blog when a lady called Stephanie said "Oh John, please write a blog, it will only be for a week and won't take up much of your time."
That was back in 1492 and here I am still writing in the same pair of underpants.
Bless you John
I’m proud of Carnival for partnering with St. Jude’s. Carnival is all about families and St. Jude’s is saving them with their great research and caring treatment center. Bravo.
hi john , it’s me again, sorry to be a pest, but his thingy on the web site is really getting to me. so today i go to see on the dream april 2,2011 if room 1457 is showing as available, it is….so now i’m saying why did i have to upgrade for $50.00 to main when this room constaantly shws up as available, yet when you go to book it’s not. hummmmmmmmm strange don’t you think?acould you check on this for me and let me know what’s up. thanks kathy
WHY do you guys always use YOU TUBE for videos?????? They are sooooo crappy! they start and stop start and stop-hard to watch them!
We would like to watch at least 1 all the way thru!!!!
PLEASE find another way!
Judy: So sorry you are having trouble with the You Tube videos. It might be your computer as I have no trouble at all, it plays all the way through and is very clear. Keep up the good works John!
Mary Lou,
Homestead, FL
It’s not utube it’s your provider speed or your computer speed. If you let it all download then replay it it should then go right through.
BIG Ed
Judy – Yes it’s your computer that make them s/s. Recommend a more memory or having the Browser options reset to default. These should help make it play the video’s all the way.
Hi John
I started reading your Blog during the Splendor incident. I have read many of your older Blogs and have really enjoyed your writing and sense of humor.
Your writing reminds me of Mark Twain (Sam Clemens).
If you ever write a fictional novel , you might consider a story about being a Cruise Director on a Mississippi river boat captained by Mark Twain in the 1850’s. You could build in all of the characters that you have run into during your career as a Carnival CD.
Just a thought,
Mike
John,
In addition to the “Groove for St. Jude” How about a Bloggers’ deck walk during the Bloggers’s cruise to benefit St. Jude? Perhaps a $10 donation to join the walk with you leading the pack? John’s Jaunt for St. Jude!
Hi John,
I wanted to wish you a Happy Belated Birthday-I hope you celebrated to the hilt.
My husband and I will be sailing April 23rd on the Carnival Dream. We are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary and the retirement of my husband after 33 years of teaching.We will be traveling with another couple The Lindenbergs, Dale will also be celebrating his retirement from teaching. We will be in cabins 10278 and 10276. If you could please send both Jim and Dale a little something for the many years of being great teachers, it would be truly appreciated!
Thanks so much- cruising is always a hoot when you are the cd!
warmest regards,
Sue K.
Where to start? We just got home from the docks. We spent 5 wonderful days going to Cabo San Lucas on the Carnival Spirit! This was our third time on that grand Lady and we both felt that this was the best experience we have ever had on her. I’ve read a lot of comments lately that seemed negative to me, so let me start out addressing the crew.
Stu was our CD. This morning I stopped laughing long enough to look at my wife and say “That guy is a nut!” and go back to laughing! Stu has a bit of an offbeat sense of humor (or humour, just for John) which I found very refreshing and kept me laughing!
Desi was out Maitre’D and she (yes, a female!) was great! Watch it though, she’s a hugger! She runs her staff with great care and while other Maitre Ds we have experienced only show up with a hand out when the envelopes come around, she was there on the first night spending time at each table to make sure everyone was being well cared for and to let everyone know she was always available if there was a problem! John, I won’t repeat the stories she had to tell about you! But they were all repeated with love and admiration!
The cabin Stewards were great! Joseph was our Steward and his assistant’s name was something like Muffala? He was so soft spoken and quiet it took me almost the entire trip to get him to talk, then I couldn’t shut him up! I think I created a monster! LOL! They were both such a pleasure!
Room service. Well we thought everyone from Room Service was great! Every morning we order coffee and ice and diet coke to wake up enough to get off on the right floor for the breakfast buffet and all of them were great! I only have one complaint, and John, I would like you to look into this. There is a young lady working in room service. I believe this is her first contract. Her name is Piyahulanan Sunanta (spelling may not be spot on!) and she is such a wonderful young lady with such great customer service skills I think she is totally wasted in room service! Someone should spend some time with her as I really believe she would be a wonderful asset working more closely with people. And my wife and I both felt this way, she was just THE outstanding person from this cruise for us!
The entire staff was just so nice and acommodating I wish I could sail with them all again soon! Any negative experiences we had came from some rude pax and definately not from the crew! They are a lovely bunch!
Chef’s table. John, you were spot on with this! Best experience ever! We were a bit put off by the price, but I had a bit of luck in the casino the first morning and decided to do this based on John’s reccommendation. John, I owe you a cigar for this! We will now be making this a regular part of every cruise provided it is available! Is it worth the $75.00? No. It is truly worth more. This is not your typical meal. Chef comes up with a special menu and it is all awesome. So much food it was just crazy! Every bit of it was wonderful! Right off the bat I saw there was shrimp on the menu and I can’t eat shrimp so I called Chef over and told him, as I did not want to insult him by not eating a dish he had set out and he ran to the back and made the exact same thing sans shrimp. I could go on forever, but trust me, it is an experience you should not miss!
The ship herself was in great shape. No major blemishes or issues. She really is a beautiful vessel. I heard from some of the crew that she will be going into dry-dock before shipping off to Australia to find her new home. We will miss her terribly, but to all the lads and ladies down under, you are getting a great lady! Enjoy her well!
Well this post is already way too long, but let me just say that this was an A+ trip in my book!
Mike
My husband and I sailed on the Spirit this time last year and are sailing again next Sunday (Feb. 6). I agree with you. The Spirit and her crew are top of the line and we really look forward to sailing with them again in a few days.
Count us in John!
We are trying to figure out HOW to make reservations at the Chef’s Table on Tuesday, February 15th, on the Carnival Pride. Please help!!!!!!
That’s an easy one…
On the blog John needs :
E-MAIL ADDRESS ( IT WON’T BE PUBLISHED)
SAILING DATE AND SHIP
NAME
CABIN
…NUMBER OF SPACES
You will then get a confirmation e mail from the ship.
John:
We look forward to see how we can help promote Groove for St Jude.
I am proud to say that I “hawk” the event like an 80 year old carnie at the local fair… on every one of our cruises.
Linda (Mom of your friend DJ)
I was told to comment on here to request a place at the chefs table?
If so, I would love for my wife and I to reserve a spot on the Elation, Feb 7-12 trip…
What do I need to give you in order to make this happen or where can I reserve a spot?
I do thank you and wish you the best birthday and a great time just down the road from me in Memphis!
Hope to meet you on the Freedom 2-6-11. I’ll be the one with a smile on my face.
o.k., so now i know you’ll really think i am a crazy person. i want to tell you about a service rep. in miami, she works in guest services, and i spoke to her today reguarding stock holders benefits, while on the phone with her i mentioned the dreaded room 1457 on the dream’s 4/2 cruise.this is one fantastic lady her name is MARIA, and not only did she help me with benefits, but she got me an onboard credit of $50.00, to compensate for the mess with the web site/. this is one terrific lady john, she is a single mother works split shifts, and has three kids in the military. how can you top that, and to boot of the 5 mind you 5 people i spoke to she was the only one to really understand the problem. so she surely deserves an “atta girl” don’t you think thanks kathy
Hi John
love ur blog!! Am preparing to go 24 feb sensation to Bahamas with my better half-this is his virgin cruise along with celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary!! I’ve made arrangements for a cake and cabin (U2) decorations but can u help with a romantic table for two especially for the night of 24 feb? It would mean a lot!
My first carnival cruise was with you as CD on the Triumph 1999/2000-I had a blast and you were awesome-we are both booked on Dream in nov 2011!! Thanks again !!
I responded to the Carnival email and realized that I had some of the names wrong. I should’ve waited until I had my notes in front of me to respond! During the Chef’s Table there were two people that really stood out for providing exceptional service! Everyone was wonderful, but like I said these two really made an incredible experience even better. Rexie was an asst Chef, if I understood how it all worked? His smile just made you feel his excitement and upped our excitement with it! He was helpful and caring that our experience was everything it could be. Veronika was the other person who helped make this a memorable time. She was just an incredible help to the time we spent with them! We were in the the first group on the Chef’s Table, on the Liberty sailing of January 15th 2011.
Please see that they know how much their service meant to us! I meant for the beards to see my email comments but was in too big of a hurry of review my notes 1st!
We never did know the name of our cabin steward, which for us is fine! They were incredibly efficient so we never ran into each other.
We enjoyed our cruise very very much!
Dear John,
Ilda and I have been checking the blog faithfully each day, waiting for the next posting.Welcome back! Hope your vacation was a brilliant one! Having viewed this video, it reminds me of why we exclusively cruise with Carnival. You have no doubt, become the most celebrated cruise director and spokeperson in the cruise industry. I am still in awe of the fact that Carnival allows you to be who you are and say what you will, warts and all. I dare say that NCL, or the whatever-of-the-seas cruise line would ever allow any of their employees to do the same. Your insight, humour, emotion, frustration, intelligence, opinion and personal guest involvement is what makes you so very good at what you do. For all of the critiques on the many mindless weblogs dedicated to cruising, particularly, the often annoying and always idiotic “Cruise Critic” site (who the hell came up with THAT name?), when it comes right down to it, any competitive cruise lines CEO would give their first born to have a spokeperson that cares about their guests as much as you do. Of course, they would NEVER admit that! You are frequently inundated with people, many of whom are just plain rude, asking you for everything under the sun. When you can’t always oblige them, they take a fit and berate you as a person and Carnival as a company, vowing to never return, usaully posting a nasty response on Cruise Critic. I say, good riddance. I ask these people, send an email or an online request to Royal Caribbean, or Norwegian Cruise Lines with the same outrageous demands. What kind of response do you think you will receive? I’ll tell you. None. John, Cruise Critic and all of its online bretheren are a complete wasteland of misinformation and idiotic ramblings of people who want something for nothing. Carnival corporation should be commended for continuing to allow you to not only tell it like it is, in your own inimitable style, but to also not bend to the linatic fringe that populate the online cruise blog sites. John, please continue, for as long as you can, to turn it loose and keep the faithful, such as us, entertained and informed. We, as Carnival cruisers, know the difference between what’s real and what’s not. You John, keep it real. Those of us who know the difference appreciate that. Keep up the fantastic work and keep on giving ‘em hell! Your friends, Lance & Ilda.
Lance, well said as usual. You will be missed on BC4.
BIG Ed
So wonderful to hear of all the work you and Carnival are doing with St. Jude, John! My town of Navarre, FL is in mourning tonight having just lost a fine young man to cancer today. He was a senior in high school and a classmate of my daughter’s. We need to do all we can in the fight against these diseases. It’s so unfair to lose kids. Our community lost a true hero today, such an inspiration.
Rock on, John, and Carnival and St. Judes! best regards – Doc (Incog)
Hi John. Happy Birthday to You! That was a very funny Wanted Dead or Alive story. I feel your pain. I met up with an officer of the law who charged me with “criminal speeding” for going 78 in a 55 mph wide open stretch of highway in a southern state this past summer and had to retain an attorney in that state to go to court for me.. for only $320 later. Live to learn!
md
But also, John, I know people ask you for favors, may I too, please?
We will be on the Fantasy 5/9/11 cruise out of Charleston to celebrate my daughter’ (Michelle’s) graduation from the College of Charleston. She has worked very hard and we have just learned that she has been accepted into a 5 year PhD program at a prestigious State school. We will be a party of 6 for late dining and it would be quite the surprise for her if some champage showed up for a toast!
But mostly, just would like to say hello and that I really enjoy reading your bloggy thingy..
Take care, Linda
A southern drawl with a UK accent..and I thought we New Englanders had it tough!!
Looking forward to doing our part for St. Jude!!
PS. John, you definitely have the ‘baby stop crying’ Daddy swagger goin on..or maybe you’ve developed a permanent rock from all your time on board!!
Best wishes!!
Hi John!
Hope all is well with you- had a great time with you as our Cruise Director last February on the Dream. We are booked for two more Carnival Cruises one in February 21st on the Triumph and the upcoming July 24th 2011 Magic. Waiting patiently to see if you will be our Cruise Director. Any idea about your schedule for July? Also if we are coming in two days before the Magic Cruise can we still take Carnival excursions from our hotel?
Hope to see you soon-Be well!
Ingrid
Hi JOHN,
Let me start off by saying reading your blog makes me laugh at times– I loved the story about getting pulled over in Florida years ago as well as how thoughtful and compassionate you were with the “Carla” blog–brought tears to my eyes.
anyways – my fiance and I will be getting married March 11, 2011 and will be sailing on the Carnival Legend on March 13,2011 along with his family. We would like to know if you happen to know anything about the early saver rates.. We booked 3 rooms for this particluar sailing and my future brother in law booked and paid for his for him and his then girlfriend. Well guess what?? That’s right the girlfriend is no longer the girlfriend and will not be traveling with us. We tried talking to Carnival but maybe we misunderstood what they told us. Since he has paid for 2 people is he able to get the portion of the cruise minus the deposit refunded to him and still have the same room that he booked?? Or if he requests the refund for the second person does he forfeit his ticket too?? I figured you are the guru of knowledge so maybe you would be able to guide us in trying to figure this out. We want him on the cruise with us but really would like to see if he can recoupe some of his funds?
He will be staying in room 4143 on the 3/13/11 sailing and we will be in room 4147 for our honeymoon. I am hoping that you will be able to give us some good news on this situation and if not that is OK!
Would you also know if Carnival does anything special for people traveling on their honeymoon??? Is there a way to sit at the captains table for dinner one night ??? I really appreciate any assistance from you and let me say thank you in advance. We are so excited to be going on this cruise as it will be both mine and my fiance’s first time cruising.
Looking forward to making some happy memories aboard the Carnival Legend. Keep up the good work and keep BLOGGING– love it!
Thanks,
Tina
Hello John,
I don’t see any bars or bubbas
I am anxious to here what plans Carnival have for helping St. Judes.
A very worthy cause. Lets help those children have happy lives.
Lets se what magic we can all do as a group………
You know if everyone that sailed on Carnival for the next year gave 1 dollar at the start of the cruise that would be 23 ships times 52 weeks times 2000 guests per cruise = $2,392,000.
I was counting the ships in the fleet when I saw the names and put them in this Prayer for Cruisers to Help St Judes.
Thank goodness the Holiday and Mardi Gras are not in the fleet that would have been hard
So let all of us as we cruise to Paradise remember with Pride the children that use all their Valor to Triumph over their illnesses.
Let each of us help their Destiny be one of Glory and let them all be an Inspiration to show us the Magic we can attain as we have the Freedom to help them fulfill each and every Dream.
Let our Victory not just be a Fantasy but let us all make this initiative be a Legend in the cruise industry and be a Sensation that shows the Imagination, Spirit and Splendor of the Carnival family.
Wen we succeed our hearts will be filled with Elation and Ecstasy as others have a Fascination at our Conquest.
Let this not be done by a Miracle but instead by allowing us the Liberty of asking each member of the Carnival family to help these children.
See you on the Magic in May
All the best
Steve G
Hi John, I am new to your FB page and your blog. Looking for some insite into a cruise I am doing 3.26.2011. We are celebrating our 40 Anniversary on the Freedom. Recommendations to make it extraordinarily memorable. We are a group of 6 friends + a teen traveling together. My maid of honor from my wedding her hubby and son, and my husband best friend and his wife. We are not fancy people just a group of friends who want to celebrate a few milestones in life. My Maid of Honor has lived in England for the last 30 years and we have been best friends for 45 years. My husbands best friend’s wife is celebrating retirement. So this cruise is our way of celebrating our lives.
Hi John,
I enjoy reading our blogs. My best friend and I are going on the Conquest March 20, 2011 and are in cabin 8449. This will be my third cruise and my best friends first. She moved away from Oregon to Texas last August and this will be the first time we have been together since she moved. Last year was extremely difficult for both of us health wise and my husband is the one that is sending on a cruise. It would be so neat if we could have something special waiting for us in our cabin. We are also celebrating our birthdays late or I guess early depending on how you look at it.
My sister and I visited a school last year in Roatan while on a cruise on the Valor and brought school supplies for the kids. My best friend and I are looking into doing something similar in Jamaica. Any advice or tips for us?
We both feel that we are so fortunate to be able to be healthy and go on this cruise, that we want to pay it forward to kids in need.
Happy and safe sailings,
Toni
Hi John,
We will be joining you on the Freedom on 2-12 for our 15th cruise. It will be nice to have you as the CD, as we really enjoyed you back on the Triumph in 2003.
We sailed the Glory on 12-5-10, and never received a comment card or e-mail
about comments. Does Carnival only send random comment cards, or should everyone receive one?
Steve & Jeanette Brinkman
Hi John! Hope everything is ok with you and you found your luggage with pantsos!
Hi John, I just wanted to say thank you so much for passing on my reservation request for the Chef’s Table on the Freedom sailing 2/12/11. I received my acknowledgement that they have me set up. I am very excited about it. I am looking forward to sailing with you as the CD. You constantly impress me with your service to us cruisers and I love your sense of humor. See you soon!
We have been donating for a long time to St. Jude’s although not always regularly. They do great work.
I have a slight problem.. According to Carnivals records I have been on 8 recorded cruises. The problem is that I had been on 3 cruises prior to their record keeping and have no proof. We did the Ecstasy to the Bahamas in the early 90′s and sails on the Carnivale in the 70′s, also to the Bahamas. We enjoyed all those trips, but our photos do not verify the ships. We are sailing on the Bloggers cruise which according to Carnival is our 8th cruise, but in reality it is our 11th cruise. Can anything be done for us to verify this? Thanks for all you do and we can’t wait to see you next month!
Hi John…..Hope you are feeling better after your bout with the flu. I have organized a CruiseCritic M&G for the Freedom 2/6/11 cruise. 73 people have signed up to attend. When I get on board, I will ask Freedom’s Quest Services to provide a bartender, coffee/tea set up and a glass bowl for St. Jude donations. Hope you are able to join us. If you see an older gentleman wander around the ship looking like he is lost and wearing a UConn Husky shirt, that will probably be me. Please stop and say hello and point me in the right direction.
All the Best Gerry from Conn.
PS:…As you well know, not all cool cruises (CC) are bad people. LOL
John–Just off the Paradise and now home, trying to rid myself of my “sea legs”. Wanted to tell you I had a “BRILLIANT” cruise(again!!), the weather was SPECTACULAR, and I came home and booked another cruise with Carnival!!
And, just for you, I am now the proud owner of a “Groove for St. Jude” t-shirt and wristband, which I wore proudly during the deck dancing, and for most of the day yesterday.
Looking forward to catching up on any Facespace thingys, and more from you on the blog in the next few days..
Will send you a review of the cruise and all the things that went right, and the few that went wrong(NOTHING that ruined my trip), later.
Hi John!
I’m doing my second cruise and I’m heading up a group of Cruise Critic folks on our rollcall. We’re up to 80 adults now and I was wondering if you had any ideas on what to do for a meet and greet? My first cruise it was pretty informal meeting at one of the bars on the ship but I wondered if you had suggestions.
We’re sailing on the Carnival Legend on 3/20/11. So excited!
Thanks for any help you can provide!
Dear John
Who is Bill W and Jimmy K we see this on every cruise we go on?
I had the same question the first time I cruised. Bill Wilson or Bill W is the cofounder of alcoholics anonymous. Friends of bill I believe is AA meetings onboard the ship. Jimmy K was the Co/founder of Narcotics Anonymous.
Also was reading online today – sounds like somewhere on the main floor of a dining room is the place to be – that if you are upstairs you sort of miss out on the “action”.
Not trying to be difficult… but you can’t totally delete the part about the birthday cake before posting – I am just going to order the cake offered from Bon Voyage. The link I posted is not working and I can’t find the picture on Carnival’s FB page anymore! ☻
NO NEED TO RESPOND OR POST ANYTHING ON YOUR BLOG – Regarding my original post – I will resubmit my dining and birthday question on John’s FB page! THANKS SO MUCH!!