John Heald Blog and Carnival Facebook

[Ted Kell]

Hi

 

My girlfreind and I are heading over to the States for an extended holiday and as part of that trip we wish to do a Carribean Cruise. We are from Australia and never cruised before,

 

Firstly let me say thanks to the contributors to this board who take effort to write reviews and provide tons of information. Originally I was leaning towards RCCL but the more I read I think Carnival masy be a better fit for us.

 

Through CC i found the John Heald Blog and I find him amusing and a bit of fun. We Australians understand English humour very well so my girl and I get a bit of a laugh.

 

As a natural extension we found the Carnival Facebook page which is also good but has made us a bit nervous about our possible Carnival experience. I know things can go wrong on holidays and that is just part of the joys of travelling, no worries to us unless we sink. We as a rule are not complainers I just can;t be bothered and just move on to the next experience.

 

After all that blabber my question is this, are all of the people that respond on the Carnival Facebook pages employees or just travellers, some people do seem to have a legitimate complaint and that is to be expected in an operation the size of Carnival, but some of the replies are are just horrendous.

 

As for John Healds blog I am shocked at some of the rude and nasty comments he has to field

 

We are excited about cruising and moreso because of the huge amonut of passion and real joy a lot of you express about your cruises.

 

I don't know if I can be delicate about saying this but are there a lot of Grumpy Buggers on Carnival or is it more like the people I see here.

 

Does this make sense? Maybe we have overloaded with to much information and have confused ourselves. Any comments would be appreciated

[Rena921]

I don't know if I can be delicate about saying this but are there a lot of Grumpy Buggers on Carnival or is it more like the people I see here.

 

More like the people you see here. We make the Grumpy Buggers sail on the other cruiselines ;)

 

I have seen some complainers, mostly around the guest services desk, but nothing really bad.

 

If you haven't already, make sure to sign up on your ships roll call thread to meet fellow cruiseers before you sail!

 

Have a great first cruise! :)

[Ted Kell]

I thought that would be the case but my GF is kinda of cooling on the idea. Not so much for the compainers that is part of life but some are quite nasty and spiteful.

 

Hey KiwiSteve thanks mate can I bother you with another quick question?

 

I say this in a respectful way the ships look like big floating RSL Clubs. I reckon it would be a great 7 Days, is the RSL Club analogy close to the mark.

[Sevencruiser]

Ted, I read Facebook, blogs, forums...all of them. My advice is to not let the negativity on some of them reflect what your cruise experience will be like. I tend to use them to gain information, and meet kind and fun cruisers who I have enjoyed sailing with. There is a subculture on Facebook and some of the forums of people who are only posting to complain and offer no positive input whatsoever. I hope you enjoy your visit to the US and your cruise.

[JRock59]

Hi

 

My girlfreind and I are heading over to the States for an extended holiday and as part of that trip we wish to do a Carribean Cruise. We are from Australia and never cruised before,

 

Firstly let me say thanks to the contributors to this board who take effort to write reviews and provide tons of information. Originally I was leaning towards RCCL but the more I read I think Carnival masy be a better fit for us.

 

Through CC i found the John Heald Blog and I find him amusing and a bit of fun. We Australians understand English humour very well so my girl and I get a bit of a laugh.

 

As a natural extension we found the Carnival Facebook page which is also good but has made us a bit nervous about our possible Carnival experience. I know things can go wrong on holidays and that is just part of the joys of travelling, no worries to us unless we sink. We as a rule are not complainers I just can;t be bothered and just move on to the next experience.

 

After all that blabber my question is this, are all of the people that respond on the Carnival Facebook pages employees or just travellers, some people do seem to have a legitimate complaint and that is to be expected in an operation the size of Carnival, but some of the replies are are just horrendous.

 

As for John Healds blog I am shocked at some of the rude and nasty comments he has to field

 

We are excited about cruising and moreso because of the huge amonut of passion and real joy a lot of you express about your cruises.

 

I don't know if I can be delicate about saying this but are there a lot of Grumpy Buggers on Carnival or is it more like the people I see here.

 

Does this make sense? Maybe we have overloaded with to much information and have confused ourselves. Any comments would be appreciated

 

Please don't worry there may be a few "Grumpy Buggers" but we've found that most people who cruise on Carnival as normal everyday folks who are on vacation to have fun. Most take a cruise and never complain about anything.

And most of us agree with you there are some truly rude nasty people out there, If I were John I'd not even bother to reply to them.

[jsfromsc]

I visit and comment on lots of forums and message boards on various subjects, and Facebook tends to draw a less articulate, less classy crowd of posters. I'd stick to Cruise Critic and Carnival's own forum for information and reviews from serious cruisers. I hope you have a fantastic time on your cruise. Please avoid cruising the Caribbean during the hurricane season June-October.

[LWiening]

I visit and comment on lots of forums and message boards on various subjects, and Facebook tends to draw a less articulate, less classy crowd of posters. I'd stick to Cruise Critic and Carnival's own forum for information and reviews from serious cruisers. I hope you have a fantastic time on your cruise. Please avoid cruising the Caribbean during the hurricane season June-October.

 

 

Every forum and blog has some petty people on them. But to stated that Facebook draws a less classy crowd I would wonder what crowd you have on there as friends. Being a Business owner , friend and Mother I tend to find my group is very well educated.

 

Enjoy your cruise on Carnival we went on a cruise on Norwegian and everyone was asleep by 8...

[SkyMaster]

Keep in mind, that out of the thousands, and thousands of folks who sail on Carnival Ships every week, there are only a dozen or so "Grumpy Buggers" who post on Johns Facebook thingy. The other 99.9% of us are regular people, who LOVE cruising, and can't wait to meet an Aussie who is ready to have some FUN! Come on along, and don't worry about your cruise. You and your lady friend are gonna have a super good time, aboard your Carnival Cruise. :cool:

 

"SKY"

[LHP]

The best thing to do with compaints is to use a little Traveler's Gauge to evaulate what they said.

 

If they say ( or imply ) ALL the food is horrible or ALL the staff were rude...ignore them. Those who exaggerate in this manner lose their credibility.

 

Those with legitimate complaints will give details....and then you can decide if this complaint is something that would affect your cruise. For example, if someone complains about the lobster....that is no big deal to me, because I do not eat lobster.

 

There are some risks that come with cruising. And if you want the privilege of cruising, then you are accepting these risks.

 

You can miss ports. Folks need to understand that a cruise ship is not a form of transportation...it is the vacation destination that makes stops at ports as part of its package. Unfortunately, people just book online without any idea of what they are doing. They have not educated themselves about things like missing ports or cabin selection.

 

You can have rough seas. Even without it being hurricane season, thunder storms can cause rough seas.

 

A lot of complaints were about Hurricane Sandy. But what these folks refused to acknowledge is that ALL the cruise lines sailed during that time, not just Carnival.

 

It was comical to read poster on all the cruise lines pages. All the pages had people threatening to sail with other lines. Eventually, they will not cruise because they will run out of cruise lines.

 

Every week there are complaints by people who did not purchase travel insurance and now have to cancel for some reason. Then they are mad when Carnival will not cover their irresponsible financial decision.

 

So IF you can not afford to lose it, insure it !

 

These ships are mechanical beasts, so yes, things can break. We were on the Dream when it was a brand new ship and the Spa elevator caused the circuit breakers to trip. We were without power for about 2 hours. No big deal.

But some people make mountains out off molehills.

 

Is Carnival perfect? Absolutely not....but it does deliver a great value for your vacation dollar.

 

The bottom line is that most ( not all ) of the complaints are by people who refuse to take personal responsibility for the decisions they made.

 

Those that are legitimate complaints are usually handled in a reasonable manner by Carnival.

[EastTex]

Hi

 

I don't know if I can be delicate about saying this but are there a lot of Grumpy Buggers on Carnival or is it more like the people I see here.

 

 

Ted,

 

It's been my experience in life that complainers and folks that want something for nothing are the loudest in any group. Folks that are satisfied or pleased seem to keep their feelings to themselves or only share them with their friends so you don't hear much from them.

 

RCCL has an older crowd than Carnival so that might weigh in your decision of who to sail with but for myself...I just like people so I can have a great time on any cruise. I will tell you this though...go ahead and try cruisin. The odds are in your favor that you'll love having done that.

 

And welcome to the US, the northern hemisphere and the land of the counter-clockwise flushing toilet.

[gfy012]

Ted,

 

It's been my experience in life that complainers and folks that want something for nothing are the loudest in any group. Folks that are satisfied or pleased seem to keep their feelings to themselves or only share them with their friends so you don't hear much from them.

 

RCCL has an older crowd than Carnival so that might weigh in your decision of who to sail with but for myself...I just like people so I can have a great time on any cruise. I will tell you this though...go ahead and try cruisin. The odds are in your favor that you'll love having done that.

 

And welcome to the US, the northern hemisphere and the land of the counter-clockwise flushing toilet.

 

RCCL has an older crowd? LOL! that is news to me.

[golfadj]

The vast majority of Carnival cruisers are nice people and good to be around.

 

For some reason JH delights in publishing letters from grumpy miserable people.

 

Not to worry think you will have a great time.

[Ted Kell]

Outstanding thank you all very much. I am going to show this to her and I'm sure she will be back on board.

 

I guess Women can change their minds hundreds of times and maybe the whole Hurricane thing spooked her.

 

Hopefully we can agree tonight and make a booking.

 

Thank you all

[loxley]

The best thing to do with compaints is to use a little Traveler's Gauge to evaulate what they said.

 

If they say ( or imply ) ALL the food is horrible or ALL the staff were rude...ignore them. Those who exaggerate in this manner lose their credibility.

 

Those with legitimate complaints will give details....and then you can decide if this complaint is something that would affect your cruise. For example, if someone complains about the lobster....that is no big deal to me, because I do not eat lobster.

 

There are some risks that come with cruising. And if you want the privilege of cruising, then you are accepting these risks.

 

You can miss ports. Folks need to understand that a cruise ship is not a form of transportation...it is the vacation destination that makes stops at ports as part of its package. Unfortunately, people just book online without any idea of what they are doing. They have not educated themselves about things like missing ports or cabin selection.

 

You can have rough seas. Even without it being hurricane season, thunder storms can cause rough seas.

 

A lot of complaints were about Hurricane Sandy. But what these folks refused to acknowledge is that ALL the cruise lines sailed during that time, not just Carnival.

 

It was comical to read poster on all the cruise lines pages. All the pages had people threatening to sail with other lines. Eventually, they will not cruise because they will run out of cruise lines.

 

Every week there are complaints by people who did not purchase travel insurance and now have to cancel for some reason. Then they are mad when Carnival will not cover their irresponsible financial decision.

 

So IF you can not afford to lose it, insure it !

 

These ships are mechanical beasts, so yes, things can break. We were on the Dream when it was a brand new ship and the Spa elevator caused the circuit breakers to trip. We were without power for about 2 hours. No big deal.

But some people make mountains out off molehills.

 

Is Carnival perfect? Absolutely not....but it does deliver a great value for your vacation dollar.

 

The bottom line is that most ( not all ) of the complaints are by people who refuse to take personal responsibility for the decisions they made.

 

Those that are legitimate complaints are usually handled in a reasonable manner by Carnival.

 

Yes, and I would like to add if they say everybody they talked to agreed with whatever, just skip it.

 

The last review I read acouple of years ago was about a cruise I had just taken. The reviewer was just a couple of rooms from me. Their room steward was rude, everybody on the ship was in a foul mood and rude, nothing they requested happened and everybody they talked to agreed it was the cruise from hell. Worst trip they had ever been on. Being only a couple of rooms from me meant they either had the same steward I had who remains the best I have ever had or the lady we met in the hall every morning on our way to breakfast. A tiny woman with the biggest smile I have ever seen. She had a few words for us every time we passed her. My son gave her a tip even though she was not our steward because he said she started his day off so nice every morning. But for the reviewer, every person they had contact with was rude and mean?

 

We had a group of 5. Never waited more than 5 min for dinner no matter what time we went even when we requested certain servers. The reviewer had wait times nightly of up to an hour and then ultra poor service. I honestly wondered if they were really on the same cruise I was.

 

That cruise we did have 2 ports cancelled because of a hurricaine a week earilier, but nobodys fault. Because of the extra sea days we hit ever place to eat on the ship (NCL Sun). Every server we encountered seemed really happy we were in their section. If we had something we wanted to do we just said so and they made sure we got out fast. Who could ask for more?

 

So the best cruise I have ever been on was the reviewers worst. Even after all these years I still wonder what could have been their problem. And like I said, that was the last review I read because I just decided I did not care what others thought anymore. I have 12 cruises, 7 on Carnival with one coming up, and I have never had a bad cruise. Seas have been rough, we have missed ports, one CD sucked rocks, but we have still had a good time every trip.

[EastTex]

Yes, and I would like to add if they say everybody they talked to agreed with whatever, just skip it.

 

The last review I read acouple of years ago was about a cruise I had just taken. The reviewer was just a couple of rooms from me. Their room steward was rude, everybody on the ship was in a foul mood and rude, nothing they requested happened and everybody they talked to agreed it was the cruise from hell. Worst trip they had ever been on. Being only a couple of rooms from me meant they either had the same steward I had who remains the best I have ever had or the lady we met in the hall every morning on our way to breakfast. A tiny woman with the biggest smile I have ever seen. She had a few words for us every time we passed her. My son gave her a tip even though she was not our steward because he said she started his day off so nice every morning. But for the reviewer, every person they had contact with was rude and mean?

 

We had a group of 5. Never waited more than 5 min for dinner no matter what time we went even when we requested certain servers. The reviewer had wait times nightly of up to an hour and then ultra poor service. I honestly wondered if they were really on the same cruise I was.

 

That cruise we did have 2 ports cancelled because of a hurricaine a week earilier, but nobodys fault. Because of the extra sea days we hit ever place to eat on the ship (NCL Sun). Every server we encountered seemed really happy we were in their section. If we had something we wanted to do we just said so and they made sure we got out fast. Who could ask for more?

 

So the best cruise I have ever been on was the reviewers worst. Even after all these years I still wonder what could have been their problem. And like I said, that was the last review I read because I just decided I did not care what others thought anymore. I have 12 cruises, 7 on Carnival with one coming up, and I have never had a bad cruise. Seas have been rough, we have missed ports, one CD sucked rocks, but we have still had a good time every trip.

 

Awesome attitude Loxley!

[Chris41]

I hope you and your friend decide to go ahead and cruise beacuse I believe you will have a great time. I have been on quite a few and have always had a wonderful cruise.

 

Will every meal be perfect to your taste....probably not

Will every person you meet match your personality....probably not however most cruisers are outgoing and friendly people.

 

Everywhere you go there are people complaining about something however most of us don't see it because we just shut them out or ignore them as background noise.

 

You will overall meet some very nice people and visit some very beautiful places.

 

Now....Go forth and sail.....Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[joeyancho]

No worries mate, you're gonna love it. Some people just live to complain.

[Mulege]

You should really look at the other cruise lines also. Carnival is a low budget line. Look at Royal Carribean or Princess for a better product.

[Ted Kell]

You should really look at the other cruise lines also. Carnival is a low budget line. Look at Royal Carribean or Princess for a better product.

 

G'day

 

Originally when we started planning this trip to the USA and we thought we would add on a cruise I initially was llike wow check out the size of those Royal Carribean Ships and we looked and thought yeah they look great. I also joined Cruise Critic and the first review we read was from a very nice bloke named joneeo and his family on Oasis. I was pretty sold On RCL.

 

We are coming over for three months and price of the Cruise does play a part in our decision. The comparison in price between RCL and Carnival is significant and in reading a lot of Cruise Critic there does not seem to be a huge difference between the two in terms of complaints and compliments. We could get a nicer cabin on Carnival, a bit more bang for our buck if you know what I mean.

 

The next bit is a bit hard to write and I don't mean to insult anybody but there seems to be a bit of weird vibe between some Carnival Cruisers and RCL Cruisers. Definetely not the majority but you see some people making snide comments about those who choose Carnival and vice versa. Such as referring to Carnival as Walmart of the Seas

 

I did not know what a Walmart was and had to google it, still not sure how it applies to a Cruise Liner but assume it is a form of put down of which I'm still not sure is aimed at the traveller or the ship itself. It would seem strange that people that shop at Walmart are any different to anyone else. And although RCL ships have that wow factor it seems from my research that apart from that there is not that much difference.

 

However I kept looking through Cruise Critic and reading reviews of RCL and Carnival cruises from all over the place. (Sidenote: the people that take the time to write reviews are awesome thank you.) and all things considered we thought we would choose a Carnival Trip. Yay I was stoked because arranging a three month holiday is tough lots of little disagreements over silly things lol;)

 

Anyway we are finally moving ahead and getting things organised and my lovely Girlfriend starts reading the blog and facebook by John Heald (which we both find funny) and has been a fairly major contributor in our decision to go with Carnival . My lovely GF starts freaking out about some of the complaints over there. Truly some of those people are so rude they just sound like deadset bloody bastards. Personally I think some of the complaints Mr Heald writes about might be made up to sort of add some spice to the blog. No worries to me I think it is funny. However what we are both wondering about is are some of the posters on that Blog Carnival Employees as well. Some of the I guess defenders (for want of a better word) of JH and Carnival are a touch obsessive and pretty full on. All power to them if they are real and I'm glad that they are so happy with John and Carnival, but if they are fake it is a sort of tacky marketing ploy it puts us both off a little bit. Would appreciate any of your comments regards this

 

I guess after all that we sound like a couple of weird Australians:o, we are not (at least I hope we are not) but neither of us have ever been on a Cruise before nor do we know anyone that has. I am really taken by the infectious and excited way most of you describe your cruises and I'm saying lets go for a 14 day cruise they look that much fun. The GF says no lets do 7 days and see if we like it. Partypooper.

 

I hope I haven't been a pain or sound to stupid but I really want to lock down this Cruise, my mind is made up, I thought the GF had her mind made up so any extra insight you could provide re this stupid bloody blog and I reckon we can book the bloody boat and get on with it.

 

Thank you again to all the posters who responded offering advice and to all of those who share their experiences, some of those reviews are like novels but has really turned me into an excited cruiser.

 

Cheers

 

Ted

[golfadj]

We have sailed both Carnival and RCCL and both offer good cruises.

 

Never did understand why boosters of each have to put the othe rdown. Foolish IMHO.

 

Have been on cruises where we had a great time and read a review of someone we had just met and it was the cruise from hell. All I can do is shake my head.

 

They complained that over and over room service didnt bring enough cups for coffee. OK how hard is it to bring down say 4 cups from lido and stash them in your cabin just in case? And silly stuff like this over and over where they refused to help themselves.

 

As a result dont bother reading reviews that say it was the cruise from hell when they complain about everything.

[kmc500]

Ted,

 

It's been my experience in life that complainers and folks that want something for nothing are the loudest in any group. Folks that are satisfied or pleased seem to keep their feelings to themselves or only share them with their friends so you don't hear much from them.

 

Well said! In addition, those posting anywhere, whether cheer leading or complaining, are an infinitesimal minority of the the 3000 or so passengers that are on each sailing.

 

Kevin C

[Carolin]

Regardless of which line you choose, I wish you both smooth sailing and a fantastic cruise. I hope you love it as much as we do. :)

[kmc500]

G'day

My lovely GF starts freaking out about some of the complaints over there. Truly some of those people are so rude they just sound like deadset bloody bastards. Personally I think some of the complaints Mr Heald writes about might be made up to sort of add some spice to the blog. No worries to me I think it is funny. Would appreciate any of your comments regards this

 

Thank you again to all the posters who responded offering advice and to all of those who share their experiences, some of those reviews are like novels but has really turned me into an excited cruiser.

 

Ted,

 

First, although I do not know for certain, I would bet that the complaints that Mr. Heald mentions in his blog are real. Any time you put 3000 mostly American tourists in one place, you will always have a small percentage of narcissists who are only about them and whatever their 'problem' is.

 

Believe me, you won't see them and they will not affect your enjoyment of cruising.

 

Whatever cruise line you choose, cruising itself is one of the best vacations you will ever have. Definitely take the time to try this experience!

 

Kevin C

[MtnBikerFallDown]

Ted,

First, I love reading your post... my brother has lived in Sydney for about 20 years, so reading your post, I hear it in his voice (he sounds almost Australian now, but a bit of East Tennesee creeps in every now and then. Nothing in the universe as funny as an Australian accent saying "y'all"! LOL!

 

Second, we have cruised Royal Caribbean many times in the past and this coming Tuesday, we leave for a Carnival cruise! It's my first time with Carnival since my very first cruise in 1995! We're on their oldest ship, on a short itinerary. So, by most cruise review standards, this should be a cruise with less seasoned cruisers and more things going wrong.

 

When we get back (which will be the 18th), I'll reply to this thread and give you my views. I'm a very laid back traveler, but would be mortified to be on a ship full of whiny, rude people. So, I will give you the straight-up truth and compare it to the RCL cruises I've been on!

 

Then, maybe you can show that your girlfriend and say, "OK... here's what someone who knows both has to say." Hope that helps! :)

[sailor44]

Hi

 

After all that blabber my question is this, are all of the people that respond on the Carnival Facebook pages employees or just travellers, some people do seem to have a legitimate complaint and that is to be expected in an operation the size of Carnival, but some of the replies are are just horrendous.

 

 

I'm not sure anyone has really answered your question but the only responses on Carnival's FB page that are from employees are the ones from Carnival Cruise Lines.

 

All of the other comments are from Carnival fanatics who seem to say whatever and IMO are rude and out of place. They need to learn manners.