We start today’s blog with a question and my rather detailed and ummmm………sarcastic answer.
Anton Mircea asked:
I am a lover of fine wines Mr. Heald and while I think your wine list on the Carnival Dream was acceptable and had some decent choices the knowledge of the servers in both your restaurant and the steak restaurant was pitiful. The boy from India who served me was inept to the tenth degree and his knowledge was less than basic and never once did he try and recommend a wine to go with the food. This may be because most of your “clients” were drinking beer or soda with dinner. I expected more though when my partner Colin and I dined in the steakhouse. We asked his thoughts on the Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon. I asked the sommelier to describe the wine and he said and, I quote, Mr. Heald, “It’s very good.” Any decent sommelier, anyone who knows anything about wine would have said “It has round supple tannins wrapped around layers of blackberry, espresso and black truffle.” I may sound like a wine snob here Mr. Heald but even if that were true I would think that Carnival Cruise Lines would want to have the ability to showcase its wine selection and not have it served by people from third world countries whose wine knowledge is miniscule. I would also like to mention to you that while we did enjoy the cruise overall the Friends Of Dorothy meetings were held whilst my partner and I were at the late session of anytime dining which shows very bad and inconsiderate scheduling.
John says:
Hello Anton Mircea.Please allow me to start with the final part of your question about the scheduling of the Friends of Dorothy meeting. I spoke to Gary the cruise director and he explained that the meeting was held every night at 10 pm in the piano bar and indeed had no finishing time. This maybe where the problem comes from as maybe we didn’t explain this properly and you may have thought that by the time dinner was over that so was the Friends of Dorothy function. My apologies for the confusion there.
And so onto the wine. I am glad you thought the wine selection was good and yet I was very surprised to read about your thoughts on the wine sommelier in the steakhouse. I will admit that the waiters in the main dining room are by no means wine stewards and perhaps it might be beneficial to expand their wine knowledge with some additional training. I was though very surprised about your comment regarding the wine server in the steakhouse as they do have extensive training given to them and have what I thought was excellent knowledge of wine. Anton, you probably don’t know this but I started in the bar department and then moved to wine steward and I can tell you that back then I had no training at all. I know this isn’t normally how I answer questions here on the blog, Anton, but tell you what, pour yourself a glass of Chateau De Bollock 1989 and let me tell you my story.
I had bluffed my way through the first interview as a bar waiter in 1986 with consummate ease. The only difficult moment was when Barbara Wang, the Carnival beard who was interviewing me, asked if I knew what a Sex on the Beach was. I was about to say that since I was an ugly bastard and ignored by the entire female population of my home town and therefore I hadn’t a clue about sex on a beach, outside a fish and chip shop, on the back seat of a car, in fact anywhere when I realised that it was some sort of drink……..so I said “Of course,” smiled and she gave me the job.
If that interview was easy then the one that the Bar Manager Colin Campus gave me to become a wine steward on the M/S Holiday was even easier.
BAR MANAGER: DO YOU KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT WINE?
JOHN: YES
BAR MANAGER: THAT’S YOU PROMOTED TO WINE STEWARD THENI of course knew nothing and I wasn’t even from a “third world country” as you described. Back then I did actually drink the odd glass but most of the wine I did drink came with a screw top and had a picture of a Blue Nun on it or if I was really living the lifestyle of the rich and tanned I would treat myself to something with a cork in it. My life as a wine steward was short lived probably because I didn’t know anything……….and I mean anything…….about wine. The only thing that got me through it was a bit of banter and a few jokes plus the fact that as little as I knew as a few of the Carnival guests during the late eighties knew even less than I did.
Thank goodness the majority of enjoyed the wine and I cannot remember too many occasions if any at all when the guest having tried the wine vomited into the wine bucket and said it was no good……………….and that always had me thinking.
When you’re out for dinner, why does the sommelier invite you to taste the wine? Why doesn’t he do it himself? You are obviously a wine expert Mr. Mircea but I think I would struggle to tell the difference between a Chateau Laffite Rothschild which costs $150 say and a lesser bottle that costs say $30. I still know nothing about viniculture and even if I did drink you could put anything in a glass and if it were chilled enough I’d be happy. I don’t drink at all anymore but when I do buy wine for occasions like Christmas when friends come over I have two very simple rules. I never spend more than $20 on a bottle, and I don’t buy anything with the words La or Chateau on it meaning of course it’s French…….I am sure they make great wine but that little man of a French president is not getting any of my money. You may not know this Anton, but me and the French don’t get along very well. I know they pride themselves on their culture, though it is not easy to see why. All their music sounds the same and they have never made a movie that you would want to watch for anything but the nude scenes and let’s face it, no matter how much garlic you put on it, a snail is just a slug with a shell on its back….anyway, I digress.
When I was a wine steward we had wines from France, some from California and a few from Italy the most popular of which was Lumbrusco. I still remember this for two reasons, it was $9 a bottle and we called it Italian Coca Cola………it was our best seller. Nowadays, our restaurant and steakhouse wine menus are diverse and offer something very special to suit all tastes and budgets. I was going to apologise to you for the way that the wine steward in the steakhouse described the wine you asked about but I don’t think I can. You see if you had asked that question and he had replied, “It’s earthy, plummy and deluxe with a hint of baboon scrotum,” any non-wine expert guest would have expected maybe a more simpler answer like, “It’s an excellent wine, I highly recommend it.” Anyway, I am very glad you had a good cruise and I shall pass on your comments to our new vice president of beverage operations.
Best wishes,
John
Oh by the way. My favorite part of being a wine steward was the hours and the fun we had. We worked maybe five hours a day, we cooked in the wine cellar using little stoves and — please don’t tell anyone about this — but we would accidentally drop a bottle of good red wine every night. The wine would be reported on the “Breakage Sheet” which was sent to the F&B manager …………….we never lied or misled the boss………..we really did drop it……….but only after it was empty……….ssshhhhh.
Let’s do some more Q & A………..here we go.
Barret Roby asked:
John,I went on my first cruise the last week of October aboard Carnival Fascination. I loved it! My wife and I are already looking at booking on a “bigger” ship next year. While on board, one of our fellow cruisers told me about your blog. I love it! Anyway, I just wanted to let you know about our wonderful cabin steward Mark. We were in cabin U108. He was outstanding in every way. Extremely helpful, diligent, and courteous. If you can, I’d like you to pass along to the folks that run the Carnival Fascination, and let them know what a great employee they have in Mark.
Thanks,
Barrett Roby
John says:
Hello Barret RobyMy thanks to those guests who told you about the blog thingy and I am thrilled that you enjoy it so very much. I will make sure that the ship sees your words of praise and of course Mark who sounds like he made a brilliant impression on you. Thanks so much for telling me about him and I hope we will indeed see you on another cruise very soon and I am here to help if you need me to.
Best wishes.
John
Marius asked:
Hi John,Here is the answer on why you were getting so many negative comments from CC members on your blog. Now I know you were right about the negative comments on your blog not being posted by the regular CC members but by other consumer web sites and message boards trying to fight back and maintain their members. I guess once your blog became popular “Goliath” felt the need to fight back against your blog and FB.
John says:
Hello MariusI thought long and hard in trying to decide if I should post this or not but after getting a second opinion I decided I would. First of all thanks for writing and I would hope that in this huge and ever expanding cruise industry that there would be more than enough room for people to submit opinion and reviews on all the various cruise web sites and boards. If people are trying to post comments here as you suggested then it’s a good thing that I don’t print them then if as you allege many are fake. Thanks for letting me know and I hope you and your family are well, and I hope we see each other again very soon.
Best wishes.
John
Claire Masonfield asked:
Hi John,We are from the UK and sailed with P&O and Royal Caribbean this year and next year we will have our first Carnival experience when we join you on the Carnival Breeze. I have two questions. Will there be any British television as my husband is a huge news hound and hates not knowing what’s going on in the world. Can you also tell me how formal the formal night is? Will gentlemen be in dinner jackets and ladies in ball gowns? I hope not but don’t want to be under dressed or indeed over dressed. Thank you John for your help.
John says:
Hello Claire MasonfieldIt will be a real pleasure to see you Claire on the Carnival Breeze. I say that because you posted your comment on December 10 so I am guessing that you will be with us this year in Europe. Please tell your husband that we have Sky News and BBC World so he will not be out of touch at all. As for elegant night it’s mostly business suits for the men and nice elegant dresses for the ladies but from my many seasons in Europe I have to say that dinner jackets (tuxedos) for the men and ball gowns for the ladies are few and far between. I hope this helps and of course we are very excited to show you the Carnival product and our brand new ship. See you soon.
Best wishes.
John
Lorna Gregson asked:
Poor service on my cruise has me really angry. I booked a shore excursion through Carnival. The only reason I took the cruise was to scuba dive in Cozumel so imagine how angry I was when my tour was cancelled the night before the dive because there were not enough people who signed up on the trip, totally screwing my shore excursion plans. To add further insult to injury, not a single person on the boat, at guest services, or shore excursions was willing to recommend a reputable local dive operator that I could deal directly with in lieu of the Carnival trip being cancelled. I felt they outright lied to me in claiming they had no knowledge of any alternative way to dive. As a result, I had to spend a ton of time (and money using their ridiculously expensive satellite internet) trying to research local dive operators. I will return to all inclusive land vacations I think.
John says:
Hello Lorna GregsonI am sorry we had to cancel your diving excursion which as you said didn’t have enough people interested to run it. The reason the staff didn’t recommend another dive operator was that we only work with tour operators who have been fully vetted by our company and we don’t really have extensive knowledge on the other operators in port. Imagine if a guest services operator had recommended “El Sinco” dive operators and you had a bad experience or heaven forbid experience a safety issue and we were the ones who recommended the tour? I am sorry it was canceled and I hope that when you think past this you will realise you had a brilliant time and that we will see you again soon.
Best wishes.
John
Andrew Dubin asked:
Hi John,Love the blog. Been reading it for about two years now and never thought I would have reason to write you. My wife, my son and myself went on the Kiss Kruise, our eighth with Carnival and already have our ninth. Our next puts us in the VIP realm. On the Kiss Kruise my wife went to the computer area with our son and purchased some time. She was never able to get online. There was no one available to speak with at that time and she never made it back as it was only a four-day cruise. When I went to guest services the next day to pay my bill in cash I told the man what happened, he called someone and then told me the charge would be taken off the bill. I paid the whole bill less those computer charges. Long story short, the charge was never taken off my bill and was charged to my credit card. I called Carnival twice and told my story but the refund was denied. John, it is not about the $30 it is about someone not recognizing that here is a good customer and we need to do the right thing. I will continue on Carnival but I just wanted to let you know what happened. By the way I have already started thinking about my next cruise. Customer Service may not have done the right thing but I still have a great time on the cruises.
John says:
Hello Andrew DubinI heard the Kiss Kruise was fantastic and I would love to be on the next one with you. I am very sorry to read about your internet problem and I am going to be sending this to a colleague now for their review. Thanks for letting me know and someone will be in touch soon. Thanks for the kind words about the blog and my best wishes to you all.
John
Dianne asked:
I have a quick question regarding the platinum gifts. My friend and I are traveling together next month for our girl’s getaway. She and I are both platinum, but not related. Will we receive one platinum gift to share or will we each get one? After seeing the new gift on Facebook today, I sure hope I get to it before she does if we only get one!
(We are sailing the Carnival Imagination, booking number ******) Thanks for all you do, John. You are such a wonderful asset to Carnival!
John says:
Hello DianneMany thanks to you both for your loyalty and of course you will both receive Platinum gifts which should in fact be the new beach bag. I hope you enjoy them and please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you. Thanks so very much for the kind words that was so lovely of you.
Best wishes.
John
Drew Manzi asked:
John,My cruise on the Carnival Magic was awesome. Thank you so much for the ship on a stick and thank you John for helping me with the photo of Captain Cutugno which is on my bedroom wall. I can’t wait to July and we are going on the Carnival Valor and can you help me with my captain’s photo collection please please please.
John says:
Hello Drew ManziI am so glad you had fun and of course I will be honoured to help you again with a photo of the captain. Please make sure you remind me here or on Facebook and I hope we meet one day soon.
Best wishes.
John
Andrea Gillett asked:
Hi John,Will you be the CD on the 2/5/12 sailing of the Carnival Magic? We hope so! We sailed with you on the Carnival Dream in Feb 2010 and had a blast…do you remember “I love you more than corn?” That was the cruise we were on!!! I won the cruise trophy for the trivia game. Looking forward to sailing with Carnival again!
John says:
Hello Andrea GillettI remember that quote very well and indeed I will be with you on the Carnival Magic and I will do all I can to make this the most brilliant of cruises for you. See you soon.
Best wishes to all.
John
Jerry asked:
Hey there John I have been a cruiser on Carnival for over six years. I have seen some really good changes on the ships I have gone on. I have asked you this same question before but have never seen it addressed. I was wondering if you could see if Carnival is going to change their age limits on their Club O2 where after the kids turn 18 to 20 can’t get into the Club O2 anymore because of their age being to old? have talked to some of them at that age and they are lost on what to do since they can’t get into the clubs anymore cause of their ages and can’t drink at all which I understand that part. Would also like to know what did they really do as an upgrade to the Carnival Elation this time because I have friends that just got on there and say nothing has changed at all. They don’t see any upgrades at all. Please address all I have asked you on Facebook and your blog. will be resailing on Carnival Elation in Feb. thanks john
John says:
Hello JerryI think we have spoken recently on Facebook, have we not? There are no plans at the moment to change the age range of Club O2 as it’s very popular and successful in its current form. But we do realise that we need to work harder on the 18 – 20-year-old group. Now we tried having meet and greet sessions and scheduled activities for this age group but honestly Jerry, nobody ever came and it seemed that the vast majority were happy to go to the nightclub and other lounges and meet new friends and have fun without our structured assistance. However there is no doubt that there are some of this age who maybe shy and do need a bit of help to get the friendships going. What would help is a specific lounge or area of the ship where 18-20-year olds can simply meet, no events or staff, just a place to sit and chat. This is what we are looking at doing at the moment and I will let you know what’s happening in this regard and please Jerry, if you have any suggestions please let me know.
Best wishes and have fun on the Carnival Elation
John
And that’s all for today
On Facebook yesterday, I posted something that I wanted to put here as well as I am aware that not everyone reads that page. Here it is:
In 2011 was there one Carnival crew member or shoreside employee who you think deserves the title of ” employee of the year?” if so and in 100 words or less please tell the beards and I who deserves this title and why and the winner will be judged by what you say. It may have been an act of fun or kindness or something special so please tell me who, if anyone, should win the title. Voting will close at 6pm EST on Monday the 16th. Please don’t vote for Gerry Cahill or me as we are judging this. Thanks everyone. If there is someone you would like to nominate please let me know here if you haven’t already done so on Facebook and my thanks for doing so. I will announce the winner soon.
I have been asked a lot on Facebook this past week about if or not we will be showing the football games on the ships and of course we will be. And on the ships that have the Seaside Theatre big screens some of the games will be shown there as well as in the sports bars. Now, I enjoy a bit of American football but never having played I do not have the first bloody clue what’s going on. I have no idea why it’s called football when only one man uses his feet and I have no idea how the heck any player understands the enigma of codes that the quarterback shouts out to the rest of the players. Just when I think I understand what’s happened and what’s going to happen next the game stops to allow for seven hours of advertising for Budweiser, Depends and antacid pills which may stop your stomach feeling like you have eaten a bowl of chilies coated in chili sauce with chilies on the top but side effects may include uncontrollable diarrhea, headaches and bed wetting. Anyway, given that I’m not a football fan I don’t understand is why a few of these posters make it sound like a total disaster if there game isn’t shown on their cruise.
Last week I asked the Facebookers if they had to choose between watching the Super Bowl or having dinner in the dining room and seeing a show what they would do. I was I must say gobsmacked at the number of people who said they would watch the football on Lido while munching on a hot dog. Anyway the games will be shown and here is the schedule on all the ships for this coming cruise.
So I am leaving my family one week earlier than I thought because on January 22 I will be flying from London to Philadelphia for a week before then flying on the 28th to Houston ready to join the Carnival Magic. The reason I am going to Philadelphia is to spend a week with some of the Carnival beards and CD’s Butch Begovitch and Ryan Fitzgerald. Joining us there will be the folks from Hasbro who as you know we have joined in a brilliant partnership to bring their game show fun to the ships.
The first ship to get this will be Carnival Breeze so I have to learn it and in case I drop dead from Ebola or if I have been whacked by environmentalists, Butch and I think one other CD to be named has to learn it as well. Now I am not sure why I have to spend a week learning this but apparently it’s not just a question of me going out on stage and telling stupid jokes while the Smith family from Michigan try and win a $1 ship on a stick. Nope, the sets are apparently huge and the prizes amazing and of course I have to understand the technical aspects of the show which means that it’s going to be a disaster as I am to technology what according to Anton is to wine. So it’s going to be fun and I will be of course telling you and showing you all about the game show which regardless of whether my fat arse understands it all going to be absolutely brilliant.
So I am flying on January 22 which is my birthday which when I told Heidi was met with some tears as she had apparently planned something special for me which as I sit here in my underpants she is desperately trying to re-arrange and I feel a total bastard again for buggering off. I will see them in March when they come for the bloggers cruise but after being home for two months it’s time for me to get back to work. Flying on my birthday doesn’t really bother me but what does is the ticket I was sent yesterday. Let me explain. My ticket says I am flying with one airline but I am actually flying with another airline. I asked the lovely lady Maureen who is in charge of our immense crew travel program and she explained it was called “code sharing” and it happens all the time she explained. Well what a load of bollocks. You see I am booked to fly with British Airways, fully expecting when I read the email ticket Maureen sent me that my flaccid arse would be wedged into an economy seat on a British Airways plane. What a plonker I am though. How naive. Because despite Carnival having booked a flight with British Airways, I will in fact be travelling on a flight with American Airlines. Why? Because they were “code sharing.”
Now at this point I can hear various anti-Johns sitting in their mother’s basement shouting at their computer screens telling me to shut up. It’s a plane, sit there and stop moaning you fat bastard. Well, I would do if maybe I was in first class and being pampered with caviar, have a choice of 3,098 movies and to be able to sleep on a luxurious seat that folds all the way down and where a sexy flight attendant called April will tuck me in and massage my feet. But I am not. I am in economy and the one thing that I really, really like about BA is that they have screens at the back of the seats. On American they don’t. They have overhead monitors showing bits of NBC shows and which if you were to watch for eight hours your neck would be locked into position.
I don’t get it. If I’d wanted to fly American Airlines, I’d have asked Carnival to book me on American Airlines. It’s simple isn’t it. Can you imagine if Carnival did this? You book a Carnival cruise only to discover we are code sharing with AIDA and you spend your vacation on a great cruise but surrounded by naked Germans. Code sharing my arse!
So I have one week left before the adventure begins and while I will spend the week away from writing a blog until Monday January 24 I will be on Facebook each and every day posting the news, the Carnival Spirit dry dock news and answering all your questions. Thanks for your continuing friendship and company and I am off to drink a glass of Mad Dog 20/20.
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.
Anton Mircea
There is no “late session of anytime dinning”. The key word there is “anytime”. That means you can go ANYTIME. So you could have went when the Friend weren’t meeting.
Yes you are a “wine snob” and that was NOT a “BOY” serving you. Maybe you will see this server again on a CUNARD ship and he will know his wines then.
John – with regard to the first post regarding the wine selection, etc., – I’m sad to say that such an elitist snob is part of the human race that he would trash fellow human beings as basically third world trash – it is a shame that any one person has such an ego, but what can I say!! Myself and friends will be on the Conquest on 01/20/12, my booking number is 83WD09, and our t/a put in a request for a circle table at the early dinner sitting – could you pass this on to whomever for consideration. Thanks – Ed; P.S. this is our 15th overall cruise with the last 11 being with Carnival, so you see where our loyalties lie!.. Thanks for any assistance and see – I didn’t even ask for anything (humor)!!
Classic post from someone who should think before he types, and I quote “The boy from India who served me was inept to the tenth degree and his knowledge was less than basic and never once did he try and recommend a wine to go with the food.” If you knew he knew nothing, why would you expect him to recommend something? If he had, since you seem to be more of an expert, you would have been writing about how bad he was in his choice. You can’t have it both ways.
Hellllooooo…..Anton has no clue. Anytime Dining is ANYTIME….so you go to dinner when you want to and when it doesn’t conflict with other scheduled activities. If you want to attend the Friends of Dorothy meetings, then go to dinner earlier. Problem solved!
Oh … “tuck me” … I need new glasses.
We will be on the Splendor the end of January. I have been reading and posting on the roll call of the do not mention site. I was happy to see that Ron Pass, who is going to play in the piano bar, stopped by and introduced himself. What a great way to start our cruise.
Re: Whino – how do you spell SNOB….
I have 2 questions about the above …
1. what is Friends of Dorothy?
and
1. what is the kiss kruise?
thanks in advance for a reply
Elaine Friends of Dorthy is for anyone with an alternative life style. GLBT, Gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans sexual.
The group KISS were on the cruise. If you happen to follow Gene Simmons Family Jewels TV show, the group appeared on the ship before he married Shannon Tweed.
Hi John,
It was like a breath of fresh air reading your blog today and your hilarious reply to Anton. More of this please. This is the way your blogs used to be.
I am booked on the Carnival Breeze TA next November and hope that we will have the pleasure of you being our CD. Also Calvin as your asst. I was on the Carnival Magic B2B in October and loved Calvin’s humour. Especially his cooking demonstration in the steakhouse. Please tell him Mary from Mission says hi. Incidently James was an excellent CD in you absence.
Can I make a suggestion. To avoid the congestion in the Lido on sea days, have a designated area on the ship where people can play cards so that they don’t use all the Lido Tables. On my recent TA they had signs on the tables saying no card games and set up one of the dining rooms for cards. It worked really well.
I would like to nominate Martina in the dining room for employee of the year. I was on the Freedom TA in 2007 and she danced on the tables even having injured her arm and I loved having her as our waitress on the Magic.
I don’t do facebook.Call me a dinosaur. I do check the FB updates on your blog.I love hearing about the Spirit as I will be sailing to Hawaii on her in April. Will love the Serenity deck.
Happy Birthday John. Kye is beautiful and growing up so fast.
Oh John I am disgusted at you not going to have a drink os Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvigon as you know it taste like round bum french arse.Mr Anton needs to get a life and taste his own bloody wine. Does it matter if the wine waiter knows what it taste like or not. Some people like to put on the dog he probably has never tasted the bloody french crap either.
To Lorna Gregson.
Perhaps she could have been a bit adventurous given the cancellation of the excursion. Most ports I have been on have a local tourism office right at the pier or nearby. She could have gone there immediately after arrival and ask for recommendations. Another good source of information are the souvenir shops. It’s a shame that she missed the diving excursion she could have tried finding some place right after arriving to port. The information provided by the locals is often more valuable than what you can find online. Risky? Yes, but perhaps worth it.
John, why doesn’t Carnival book you in business class for international travel? Doesn’t the word “Senior” in your title mean enough to entitle you to this kind of perk? Where I work domestic flights must be booked in economy class but international travel longer than X number of hours can be booked in business class. I once traveled to Europe on a business trip and it was awesome having a seat that almost converts to a bed for that long 8 hour flight.
John, I remember when Carnival had the wine stewards…and in those days, no one really cared if they knew anything about wine – they just added to the total experience. I miss the “party” times in the 80s – the food was not great, the entertainment sometimes pretty hokey, but they really defined Fun. Alas, Carnival has had to change with the times and the larger ships, and I’m still sailing on them, but now I take my grandkids!
John: I do feel sorry for you having to fly American. They really do stink. You have every right to complain. Happy Birthday to you in advance.
Marie
Their really old planes (namely the 30-year old 757s) are at times smelly… so yes they do stink.
I’m amazed John that by now that you should be given on the largest airplane and given a large seat for Carnival’s Ambassador. What give? If you were just starting off at Carnival, I could understand but after 20 years or so you should be given better seating arrangements. I’m disappointed with Carnival.
Paul F. Pietrangelo
John,
The new platinum gift is a beach bag or a back pack?
How is Kye’s baby quilt holding up? Boarding Carnival Spirit April 8.
Thank you.
It’s a beach bag that you carry over your shoulder.
Dear John, Oh my goodness! I ought to have known: Happy Birthday! It is amazing that so many people share birthdays around the same time as my DH and me. His is the 21st and mine the 19th. It is also amazing that many sucessful people in thier fields share birthdays around this time, Paula Deen, Thomas Kincaid, Muhammed(sp?) Ali, just quite a few. Even the King of Rock N’ Roll was a January baby. I am very sorry that Heidi had to rearrange your birthday plans, I’m sure she pays great attention to the details, but I am even more sorry that you have to fly that day. Please tell the flight attendant that you have over 12 million readers who will take her to task if she doesn’t treat you well! Hope your trip is sucessful and your birthday has some fun involved!
Your friend, Jodi:)
PS: Thank you for the most appropriate response to Mr Wino Snobovich. Lighten up dude! It’s a glass of old grape juice!
BAHAHAHHAA! That’s the funniest thing I read ll morning!
John,
Life is too short to spend it complaining about wine stewards. If Anton is so knowledgeable about wines, let him pick for himself. My grandfather was a Frenchman, who made his own wine. There was nothing snobbish about him! And his homemade wine could knock your socks off!
JoyceG
John, I made a request that you have the CD check on our 3/2/12 Cruise on the Spirit, booking #77X5R2; cabin 4237 on my order for 10 red roses for our 50th. anniversary (1 for every 5 years instead of just 1 every five years). I explained that I did not want him or anyone else running aeround looking for 2 additional roses. You asked me to remind you approximately 6 weeks before sailing….(Incidentally the verse that always accompanies the rose is from Lord Tennyson and goes: Take thou this Rose of Roses, For Love’s own flr’ tis,And know by this Rose of Roses, Thy lover captive is!)
Thank you so much for this kindness…really,really enjoy your blog and FB page.
Anton Mircea may know wines, but he absolutely has no knowledge of courtesy or character.
He is however fluent in arrogance, condescension and moral stupidity.
He needs a lot more help than someone assisting him in the selection a wine.
Linda
Funny how, as I read this, I’m sitting here drinking a lovely glass of Llano Blush…a lovely Texas $5.99 bottle of wine. And…it may be described as….simply yummy!
I see you havent posted anything yet reagarding the incident with the Costa Concordia and I know they are still investigating what happened. We cruise in May on the Pride and while we know the chances of an incident is rare, we still have concerns. Its not so much for my husband and I, but for my 3 year old grandaughter, as I am sure that you can understand. I have to wonder what kind of training and evaluations your Captains go through when one would abandon ship and leave passengers to fend for themselves? I have been a nurse for 25 years and always follow the standards of care which it sounds like your Captain did not. Do you think that training will be increased in the next few months for your staff and Captains? Will the other Captains be reassesed for their ability to follow standards of the industry? And finally, if we decide to not risk this cruise with our grandaughter will Carnival let passengers cancel with no penalties and receive full refunds based on this most recent incident, as they should? Thank you
The muster drill will be conducted on your cruise BEFORE you set sail. You can rest assured that all staff are very well versed in safety procedures. As for taking children, my two youngest grandchildren ages 7 and 8 months sailed with their parents (and grandparents) in August on the Freedom. The 7 yr old very much enjoyed Camp Carnival and we never worried about her safety. You have a much better chance of experiencing an accident on your way to the cruise terminal than you do on a cruise ship!!!!
We recently cruised on the Magic with our 3 year old son and had a fantastic time. The safety briefing is held on departure. A child size life jacket was provided by the room steward. Our son had a great time at Camp Carnival and at all times we felt he was cared for and very well looked after by a wonderful team of people. We always felt safe. Have a great cruise.
I was reading another cruisers comments about the 18-20 year olds not having things to do. I think it would be great to have a non-smoking/drinking club for all and that in turn would allow the young and the old to mingle together. I know that Carnival recently re-did their smoking policy, but I have to say that I think it’s a shame that there are no dance clubs that are smoke free. I love to go out dancing, but don’t simply because of the smoke. Instead I only go to Lido deck parties and dance there which isn’t much. If there was a no smoking/drinking dance club and then 18 and up this would allow more of a group to have a place to go and not worry about underage drinking.
Debra
Dear John,
I just read that you will be spending the week with Butch and I can’t tell you how disappointed we are since that obviously means that Butch won’t be CD on the Liberty January 21 – 28. While planning this cruise to celebrate a very special birthday we originally thought we would go on the Dream again – the whole point was to be on a cruise where Butch was CD. We then heard he would be on the Magic but had trouble trying to find out when (I wrote to you to try to find out several times). I then found out through your blog that he would be on the Liberty but still couldn’t get dates (I also called Miami but couldn’t find anyone who knew for sure but I was told that he would be there “for a few months” so we booked for my friend’s birthday – February 4.
On our deadline day for cancellation in November, I again phoned Miami and reached a lady named Thelma who said he would be signing off the Liberty on January 28 and that he would still be CD the week of Jan 21-28 – we changed our dates so that we could sail with Butch. We thought we had finally solved our dilemma until I read your blog about your meetings with Butch in Philadelphia.
I realize stuff happens and I guess I just have to express my disappointment since I spent so much time trying to be sure that we could sail with Butch. I know that you and Heidi are also disappointed because you had birthday plans (or at least she did) so I’ll commiserate with her and wish you a happy birthday.
I would appreciate it if you would give Butch regards from Marge and Karen (the mountain lions from the tv show). We are both platinum so we’ve experienced many CD’s but we think Butch is the best (no we haven’t sailed with you yet). We sailed with Butch on the Dream on 1/1/1111.
Thanks for listening and for all of your hard work on the blog.
Marge
Wow! I didn’t realize Carnival was in operation in 1111! How old does that make you? lol
tell me what do u think about ur parent company wanting to cut cut cut cost and now one of ur cruise liners Costa tips over and people are killed
You must be the stupidest person in the world… Seriously!
Do you even understand what “parent company” means?
All I can say is REALLY.
Gee. Please explain? Your comment makes no sense and doesn’t reflect any experience I have had cruising with Carnival.
Kind of strange that the front page of the Carnival website doesn’t have a single mention of the disaster in Italy involving one of its ships. Thousands of people were on board. Their friends and relatives are very concerned, and members of the public want an explanation.
Perhaps if you had checked the Costa website you could have found the information you were looking for. I see on the Costa website a 1-800 number for people to call and an update on the incident. Carnival is the parent company but Costa, Princess, and the others also have their own executives. John said on FB that there would be more info after an investigation was done. If you have relatives on the Concordia the 800 number would get you more information than a post on this blog.
Perhaps because the booking site for Carnival Cruise Line cruises does not have anything to do with Costa Cruise Line. If you were to look at the Carnival Corporation website under press releases you would find what you are looking for. If one of my friends or relatives were among the passengers, this would be the LAST place I would look for information. Troll.
In my opinion, this incident reveals a culture of complacency at Carnival Cruises and its subsidiaries. People were able to get on the ship without any safety drills, and the crew clearly failed to inform passengers what was happening and get people off the boat in a safe and organized manner.
Don’t take my word for it. As two American passengers on honeymoon told ABC, “We have never had any drills … We were asked to go for a safety meeting, and it was nothing but a sales pitch for excursions.” The same person said, “The main thing is no one knew how to help because they were never trained.”
Ian, I work on ships and have had enough for one to hear all this garbage from so called “experts” on tv. To get 4000 off a listing ship in 2 hours is quite an accomplishment, especially if you take the listing for one, darkness and the simple fact that there was only one side of the ship wich was barely operational. It’s very sad for all the dead, and there is no excuse for the apparent actions of the Captain, I will give you that. But by the way, the SOLAS regulations are that the safety drill be done within 24hrs of embarking on a ship. Not sure what happened and I may agree that this rule needs to be changed but I find it difficult that hard working waiters, dancers and bar staff amongst others should be blamed for this. We do have drills on a weekly/monthly basis and I can promise that if things aren’t up to par they are repeated until adequate. Every week I see passengers refusing to go to drill, are talking loudly amongst themselves, or simply ignoring us. Do you think they care about listening to the drill? No, and if we tell them to listen or else they’ll have to repeat then we get insults thrown at us, even had one of my friends punched in the stomach last year… I don’t want to speculate, but I bet the first ones off the ship (other than the Captain…) were listening to the safety procedures.
@Jim – What a stupid comment. There is extensive information available. Here’s the link to the Costa Cruise website in case you couldn’t spell it: http://www.costacruise.com
I meant to have a crack at Ian who looks to be trolling. Apologies to Jim.
Jim, you are so right. My husband and I have cruised 60 plus times (48 on Carnival) and no matter which CL we’ve been on, the guests are rude and just not interested in what the crew has to say. I remember when they took roll call and if the guests weren’t quiet they would stop until they had everyone’s attention. Maybe (although it was a pain and took forever) we should go back to the “old” ways so people will take the safety drills seriously.
With respect to all of the negative comments about the Costa crew not being trained, despite their lack of training, at least they attempted to assist the guests – how about a little appreciation for that – their lives were in danger, too.
The Carnival (Cruise Line) web site had a link at the very top about the Costa Concordia accident the day after. But you must keep in mind that Costa Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line are two separate entities which are owned by Carnival Corp. Strictly speaking it was not a Carnival ship (no Carnival red, blue and white funnel).
Why would you expect Carnival to have anything about Costa Cruiselines. Yes the companies are all part of the same family but if you want to know something about Costa you go to Costa, and if you want to know something about Carnival you go to Carnival. Quit trying to bash Carnival you troll and go back to RCCL.
The Cruzin2some
Anton,
We cruised this past December on the Dream and also ate in the steakhouse. I asked the wine steward to bring me a glass of cabernet sauvignon. When he asked which one, I replied “the cheap one”… There were probably 40 different choices. He knew which I meant, and I knew, by virtue of the fact that it was on the wine menu in the steakhouse, that I couldn’t go wrong.
Might I recommend the prune juice? It might help you feel less… ummmm… cranky?
Regards -
Dear John,
I heard about the unfortunate incident over the weekend about the Costa ship and want to send our condolances to all the members of that beautiful ship that certainly lost friends as well as a job. God be with you all.
The Cruzin2some
My wife has been bugging me for a year about going to a cruise. I think this incident really scared her as she could not believe the unprofessional behavior of the crew.
We all know that accidents can happen but the way the crew handled is scary to anyone considering a cruise. It is even more frightening because Costa belongs to Carnival and is not some local 2 bit company.
The onus is on Carnival to prove that they have learned from this and have improved their procedures.
Harry, When Oldsmobile cars failed did you blame Pontiac? They are both owned by GM. When Lexus cars fail do you blame Scion? They are both owned by Toyota. Arden owns Red Lobster and Olive Garden, but one is not responsible for the other.
This is the same situation. Carnival Corporation owns several companies including Carnival Cruise Lines, P&O, Cunard, Costa, Princess, Holland America, etc. Costa’s mistake is not CCL’s fault nor is it HAL’s or Cunard’s fault. Don’t you and every other unthinking person get that?
Hi John,
I was not sure if I should ask you about this here or on Facebook. I decided here would probably be best. I am hosting a small group cruise on the Miracle that leaves this coming Valentines Day. We decided to call our group “VD at Sea…The Miracle Cure”. Many in the group are actually Saint & Sinners…blue haired Allen and Shelly & Jimmy from “Team Shelly” to name a few. Anyhow, we have two cocktail parties scheduled and I was wondering if I would be able to get a couple of small “door prizes” to give out at these parties. I have a few things I am bringing from home but a “ship on a stick” or something like that would be awesome. If you can help that would be great but if you can’t I totally understand. If you need my cabin number it is 6277. Thanks again for your propmt responses to all of my Facebook questions. I really appreciate it. Cheers!
JOHN THIS IS JAMES I WAS ON 4 OF YOUR SHIP HAD A GREAT TIME ON ALL THE SHIP. MY SISTER AND MY MOM WENT ON ONE JULY LAST YOUR THE THING I WON’T TO TELL YOU IS THEY DID NOT HAVE A LIFE BOAT DRILL AT ANY TIME THEY WAS JUST TOLD WERE THE LIVE JACKES ARE . THAT NOT GOOD I JUST THOUGHT I WOULD LET YOU KNOW. THANKS
John. Since I booked my latest cruise on the Miracle (Jan 29) I found your blog and find that I enjoy it very much.
I know nothing of fine wine (could be vintage vinegar and It’s all be the same to me), and I did not enjoy Anton’s presentation of the problem. BUT, let’s separate the presentation from the problem.
Your comments about your tour as a wine steward point to a problem bigger.
If someone is a wine steward, responsible form advising paying customers and actually selling /upselling them wine and making a profit for Carnival, then they should be trained annd compensated properly for doing so. If they are good, they will easily improve the customer experience, make the company money and more than pay for themselves.
If they are simply wine “clerks” than it is PERFECTLY ok to say “I really don’t know sir (madam). You are probably better suited to make a choice than I, but I would be happy to fulfill it for you.”.
Personally, I LOVE it when people have the courage to say “I don’t know”. I wish politicians knew those words.
Anything between, i.e. upselling wine they know nothing about, is simply scamming the customer.
Cheers,
Tom
Really. I have been on more than 50 cruises all in the Carribean and have always had a lifeboat drill. Maybe they need to go back to the way they use to do them, when they actually took roll call to make sure everyone was there. If you were not there they made you go to a make up drill. I know a lot of people hide out now.
Are you sure it was with Carnival? You know… with the red funnel, great crew,excellent Cruise Director, the compulsory safety drill. I think you might be confused.
John,
We were on the November 27 sailing of the Magic from Galveston and to be honest we felt the ship did not live up to all the hype.
We were excited to learn Carnival was going to have her sailing from a port less than 90 minutes from our house. We were so excited that we booked a grand suite the day after it was announced she was coming to Galveston.
As we pulled into the terminal we were so excited. Two members of our group had left behind their boarding documents, but the people working the VIP check in were fantastic. The looked them up on the manifest and walked us through security and took us to the check-in office. The personel taking our ID pictures were extremely fast and in no time we were walking up the gangway to the atrium lounge.
As we walked into the lounge area, our excitement faded. It was clean and new, but it was also somewhat boring. For a ship to be called the Magic, it wasn’t very magical. The Atrium Lounge on the Elation puts Magic’s to shame. We went to the Red Frog and I have to admit it was great!It exceeded our expectations.
When we arrived to our suite, the disappointment continued. The room seemed smaller than our grand suite on the Conquest. It was new and clean, however it seemed small. It felt more like a Jr. Suite on the Conquest.
The stewards for our stateroom were fantastic, although we only had towel animals in our room 2 nights. No big deal.
The Prime Steakhouse was incredible. We dined there 3 times. We had brough our own wine for two if the seatings. The sommelier recognized them as bottles Carnival keeps and we had a wonderful discussion about them. On the third time we asked here for a recommendation and she suggested this great red from Para Duxx vineyard. It was perfect.The food was excellent each time with the exception of the third. My partners filet was brought out over-cooked and by the time a properly prepared on was brought to the table,20 minutes later, everyone else was finished. We also participated in the Chef’s Table experience and had a blast. We only dined in the Northern Lights twice.
The arrival into the port at Montego Bay was delayed by more than 90 minutes and we only stayed in port an extra hour. Everyone was trying to make the most at this stop and the line through security were unbelievable. As we were about to go through security two of Carnival’s crew walked up and tried to get in front of us and several hundred other people who were in line. We found that to be exceptionally rude.
Due to high winds the next morning we were not able to stop at Grand Cayman ( although we talked with people from other cruise lines in Cozumel the next day that they stopped there). I went directly to the Serenity Deck when it was announced we were not stopping. (By the way – Serenity Deck – GREAT IDEA! I was there on all the sea days.) It was nearly 10 by the time someone came up to run the bar and this was after several people went down to the spa to ask when someone was going to be there. Once she arrived, she was exceptionally rude.
I did use the Serenity Deck hot tub twice durning the cruis. Actually it is more like a luke-warm tub. It is good that I did not use it more since I developed a rash afterwards. I don’t have sensitve skin in the slightest, but something caused me to breakout. Fortunately I carry a well-stocked first aid kit whenever I travel and was able to take care of the itching until I was able to get to my doctor to get a prescription ( I was told it was contact dermatitis).
One would think that since the ship didn’t stop at Grand Cayman, we would get into Cozumel extra early. Well one would be wrong. We arrived one hour early and by the time the doors were opened and the ramps were extended it was nearly 10 ( the time we were originally scheduled to arrive. There was only one way off the ship, so debarking took quite a while. The ship was not planning to stay later than the scheduled time, however someone decided to have us all get back onboard through one door. Needless to say when the time we were to sail had passed, it was finally decided to open a second entry.
Being that I only take a vacation every two years due to my work load, I have high expectations for whatever I choose for that time off. In the past Carnival has exceeded these expectations. Except this time. Although I encountered several great crew members ( however James the CD was not one of them – I found him to be somewhat inept when things did not proceed as planned), this vacation was very disappointing. So much so that if we have decided to cancel sailing on the Breeze and if we do cruise it may be on one of the older ships ( the Elation is our favorite) or on a line other than Carnival.
I hope in the future the Funships live up to all the hype.
Sincerely,
Shawn Skinner
I think the person who is suggesting someone who went on a Carnival cruise recently did not have a drill is stirring the pot. I have never not had a lifeboat drill. Even in Europe. Since it is common for people to now show up at their stations without a lifevest. They may not of known what they were for.
Hey John!
We have decided to give Carnival another try for a girls trip! We have scheduled a 4 day getaway out of New Orleans on the Elation March 15th! It won’t be as fun as the Bloggers cruise where you joined us, but I am bringing my “I love John’s Thingy” backpack that you gave us on the bloggers cruise! If something nice arrives in my cabin, I know I will have you to thank! Wish you could join us!!!! You are the best!
PS…I tried to get a discount with my PVP by saying we had met and traveled together….it didn’t get me very far and it is quite possible they added a few bucks to my fare!
Dear Anton Mircea,
Get over yourself. You act like you are sophisticated about wines. Yet, you call a Crew member Boy. NO CLASS! If you want to make it to the FOD meeting then schedule the “Your Time Dining” accordingly. My Converse shoes have a supple canvas siding, earthy toned soles, and a not so refreshing aroma.
Hi John,
Please tell me you will be on the Spirit November 16th 2012! Between you and Stu, it would be an absolutely rollicking trip! Surely, you can swing it?!!
From first time cruisers, thanks for the many minutes of entertainment, it really is appreciated
John-
just found your blog recently and i must say that I am enjoying it greatly. My wife and I sailed on the Ecstasy last summer for our first cruise and had such a good time that we now can not understand why anyone would do any other kind of a vacation. We were so taken with the whole experience that as soon as we found out that the Magic was coming to Galveston, we immediately booked our second cruise. This time, however we are bringing our daughter, our son and our daughter in law with us.
Going back to the Ecstacy though and speaking of people who might be “employee of the year material”, I have to say that our waiter was AWESOME. His name was Rudy and his name tag said he was from Peru. Our very first night, he managd to learn our names and paid attention to what we liked. From then on our preferred drinks arrived at the table shortly after we did and so did our favorite appetizers as well as a couple that he thought we ought to try. If we had trouble making decision between two different items, he would simply smile, take our menus and assure us that it would be in our best interests to try them both. He would then delver both items. He also quickly learned that our friend who was travleing with us had developed a serious love affair with the chocolate melting cake and he delivered her dessert first every night without fail. He and his team where also just plain great fun. They enthusiastically took part in all the dining room entertainments and made it a great experience. I must say, Rudy’s got some “moves”.
All in all it was just a terrific experience and we can’t wait to see what happens on the great, big, new and shiny Magic. See you on 2/5/12!
Hi John Heald.Sorry to see you are having a few sleepless nights I know how you feel. The reason is attributed directly to Carnival Cruises.To explain I booked a cruise to depart Port Canaveral on the 07th of April ,namely the Carnival DREAM for a period of seven days,having previously travelled on the Carnival INSPIRATION last year with my husband and two small children. We all could not wait to travel on what we considered to be the flagship liner of the fleet after previously enjoying our last trip so much.Bearing in mind that we live thousands of miles away in sunny Liverpool,this is a once in a lifetime experience.This was going to be an early 40th birthday present for my husband (his birthday is July).Unknown to me at time of booking I was pregnant with my third child.This was fantastic news for us all and we are really excited.We looked in to the cruise guidelines and found that Carnival will not carry pregnant ladies after 23 weeks and 6 days.As a family we were all heartbroken not to be able to board the cruise ship,but obviously the baby is more important,so would have to cancel.Here lies the problem,the refund due to us would be in the form of a future cruise credit,which would have to be used within two years.This is completely unacceptable as the cost of getting to America from the UK alone is very high.The problem is also that although you wont allow me to cruise,the airlines will allow me to fly.As you are withholding my refund in respect of a future credit,I am now having to find extra money for accomodation,car rental and dining costs whilst vacationing.When travelling last year at least 95 percent of the cruise travellers were American.I would hazard a guess that 50 percent of those American people were Florida residents.I could possibly understand the policy for people within driving distance,but even then I think the policy is restrictive (no offence to our AMERICAN FRIENDS).I want to go on the cruise and so does the rest of the family,you are not letting me go.Why then penalise me with the future credit,when it would be highly unlikely I would be able to travel within two years and not really practical with a baby under two.The cruise indusrty has already suffered a heavy blow with the Costa Concordia disaster,it may well be reflected in history as the equivalent of the Concord Paris disaster.You have a great product with great staff,dont force people to retain their business with you in this way (future credit).This is a genuine area of complaint rather than a gripe about loo paper or the like.I am a wroking class mother who saves every penny to afford the trip.God bless all the victims of the Concordia disaster.I hope you take time to reply as I follow your blog and believe you care passionately about your customers,thank you Amanda.
John,
I have been hearing a rumor that Carnival is now going to raise there prices since the Costa Cruise line accident. I know that this is an over seas company and carnival is owner or partial owner, but i really hope this doesn’t affect prices for US customers.
Thanks
-Craig-
Craig, stop reading CruiseCritic… That website will lead you nowhere…
Hi John,
Looking good! Haven’t seen you for years.
Blogs great!!
Pili (Dancer from 1993)
Hello John, first let me say that we continue to pray for those lost & their families..it is our most fervent prayers that those that are missing will be located.
We are sailing 26feb on the Magic, and are wondering who’ll be the CD? We really like “Tex” he was on the triumph last year New Orleans… and had mentioned I believe that he was moving back to a ship in.Galveston, is it by chance this one? I enjoy your bloc thingummy quite a lot-) be safe in your travels
I have to say that the snobby wino needs to go to some vineyard in Calif and have his “Chateau Nuque de pop,” stick his little pinky out, and have all of the wino lingo there. Mercy dude!! Give it a rest! And as for the Friends of Dorothy issue– you had anytime dining, and you knew the meeting you wanted to do was scheduled for 10 (well in advance of you dining time option), so eat a little sooner and make your meeting. If you choose to eat late/late on the anytime, then that is your choice. The whole dang ship does not revolve around you… deal with it!!!
I feel better now!!
As for the excursions being cancelled– those things happen unfortunately. I went to St. Thomas this past year and wanted to really do the BOSS underwater adventure, but they had some mechanical difficulties with their equipment, so it was cancelled. Was I disappointed? Sure. Did I groan and whine about it and expect Carnival to compensate me or coddle me in any way? No!! Does it mean that I have something to look forward to on my next cruise? You bet!! And I have scheduled that same excursion when I go again in a couple of months or so.
ur~e funny but sometimes rude……d biger things begun from small thinks,dont porgety that!!!!!!
Wow really glad you took the time to write that well thought out and highly articulate comment.
Great job John, love the blog and all your sarcastic humor.
happy birthday, john from your friends-tom and diane loyal carnival fans
Wife and I cruised on the Carnival Dream last New Years Eve. Had a wonderful time. Nothing to complain about. This was our 2nd New Years Eve cruise with Carnival. I must mention the small Rendezvous Bar. We ended our evening their every night for last call. What made this experience so great was the Bartender, Tanya Nikolova. Most friendly Carnival employee we ever met. She alone kept us returning each night. Carnival needs more employees like Tanya. Please pass this on to her. Thanks in advance.
Hi John,
Just joined your blog, but I’ve been reading it and enjoying it. Hubby and I are getting ready to take our 18th Carnival cruise in April. The Spirit out of San Diego, to Hawaii, on April 13th. We will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary on board, and the Captain is going to renew our vows. I am so excited, and looking forward to this cruise. Wish you were sailing with us. As on all our cruiseing with Carnival, we have never caught up with you. Keep up your good work.
Hi John, my name is Stephen from NC. On March 4th,2012 I will be taking my 7th Carnival cruise and 12th cruise over all on the Carnival Glory Western Caribbean. My buddies and I started cruising on Spring Break in college and have met SO many awesome people that we go back the same week each year, invite those we met back, and all use it as a type of reunion. From just 4 of us in 2007 on the Triumph all the way up to 88 of us in 2011! What I am writing to you about is the fact that it seems that since we are in the “younger” demographic, we always get sat for dinner in some terrible spots (i.e. one year in 2010 we were put in a spare room in the corner, I kid you not) Well I have seen you work some magic on some comment boards where you have hooked people up with dining options! We have the right time booked (8:15)…hint we always take the last dinner so we can have as much sun, fun, and hot tub time on the lido deck as possible. We would hope to get a lot of 8 top seats together as to be able to all talk, be together, etc….lately we have been in a WHOLE lot of separate 4 tops. Our travel agent talks to the dining coordinator but I feel as if you could talk to her for us? All we ask is for once not to be stuck in a corner on the top floor and maybe all in the middle near the captain ( or heck where we can see when the waiters sing to us!!!) I can give you my booking # etc, but I feel as if I bug you enough before March you can help out! Again we are on the Carnival Glory March 4th, 2012 and we CANNOT wait. We have people coming from 10 different states to meet up. Check out our event on facebook as well.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/189336627769764/
Hope all is well.
Sincerely, Stephen Gore.
going to be sailing on the Paradise on 3/5/12. Cannont find info about the ship.
How do I request for dinner not to be seating in a booth. There will be 4 of us
Thanks SO much
LINDA Terrell
not sure if this will help you but from poast experience I had to wait till on the ship and speak with the maitre’d (did I spell that right) to make special arrangements. so if all else fails give that a try
hope John can help more
as for info on the ship, what type of info? if you need basic info just go to carnival.com and look under ships and click the link. it will show the whole ship deck by deck
have a great cruise…. wish I were going too
oops make that PAST experience…