Here

My first time in Rome I was robbed by Gypsy thieves! Rejuvenated and blessed?

However the ship is coming along nicley and looks quite pretty.

59 days till her Maiden Voyage!

[ 10-13-2007: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]

I have no doubt he is an excellent CD and entertainer, but he doesn't know a lot about ships. Sure he works on them and knows how they are run, but his familiarity with them is on a different level than most of the ship enthusiast here on CT. He sees them from the perspective of a high level Carnival employee.

In fact what he wrote is probably worse than most of the nauseating Cunard PR crap lately.

It seems like Cunard has hired someone from Hello Magazine to do their press releases.

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Originally posted by oslo dutch:
This is really sickening spin and completely undermines the integrity of this blog. I really wonder if he has written this himself or it has been edited by the Cunard spin doctors.

It seems like Cunard has hired someone from Hello Magazine to do their press releases.

Reint

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I agree completely Reint.

Is Cunard so desperate for sales they need to advertise on a blog ..... and that of a Carnival Cruise Lines CD no less? Pretty bad.

I mean the ship doesn't even have furniture yet and John Heald speaks of QV like she is the best thing since sliced bread. I have to wonder if this guy has even been onboard QM2 ..... or OTR for that matter!

I think this is a case of people taking his blog much to seriously... I mean, would you really take cruise advice from this guy, even before he posted this?

Obviously he is repeating Cunard's hype in his own very over the top style - but I think he does believe it. Maybe not to the extent that he professes, but I think those of us who are regular readers of his (I admit to reading his blog every day and I think it's hilarious) realize that he a person who exaggerates everything to a comical extent. If he likes something he really likes it and if he doesn't... Well, you get the idea! That's just his style - he's not "in the middle" about anything.

[ 10-13-2007: Message edited by: dougnewman ]

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Originally posted by dougnewman:
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I think this is a case of people taking his blog much to seriously... I mean, would you really take cruise advice from this guy, even before he posted this?

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I hardly take his blog seriously, which is why this latest dribble comes somewhat as a surprise. There is no way he came up with all that on his own. It sounds like it's right out of a Cunard press release. In fact he probably did have a Cunard press kit in front of him when he wrote it.

Frankly it's disappointing.

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Originally posted by linerguy:
I didn't read a word of it; all I care about is the photos,...
which aren't anything to write home about.

-Russ

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Russ,
You're not missing too much. It was much better in the early stages but I do like the interviews.

These days the blog has become a major marketing tool for Carnival. They even have full page ads in Travel Weekly advertising it. I feel it has lost it's edge, it's independence so to speak. Now it's more Carnival corporate.

I'm beginning to think the blog is nothing more than a marketing arm of Carnival's PR Department, and this latest entry regarding QV seems to confirm it.

I mean, according to John Heald, the Queen's Room on QV will be the most talked about public area on any ship (cruise ship or liner if he even knows the difference) in the world. It's almost laughable were it not so pathetic.

He writes:

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The last time I was onboard, one of the overriding memories was of what I still think will be the heartbeat of the ship and that is the Queen’s Room. Even two months ago with very little work completed I already knew that this would be the focal point of not just this ship but quite simply the most important and spoke about public room on any cruise ship or liner in the world.

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I also love the part about the mini-suites, which he describes as not being "mini" at all. In fact the mini-suites are the same design as the mini-suites on any Princess ship. There is nothing really special about them, and they are in fact "mini". I've stayed in one. Heald makes it out like they are so much better than the equivalent on any other cruise ship. The fact is they are not, and in some cases smaller than other cruise ships.

I have to admit I've lost some respect for the guy, although I know he is an excellent CD. I will get to experience him first hand next year when I sail on CARNIVAL SPLENDOR.

Ernie

[ 10-13-2007: Message edited by: eroller ]

Maybe he's easily impressed after years of living with Carnival decor! Alternatively, maybe the Queen Victoria interiors do actually look stunning.

[ 10-13-2007: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
I don’t suppose you would further your career and get awarded ‘Seagoing Employee of the Year’

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No, I don't expect him to criticize the ship, but I also don't expect to read what is basically a PR marketing piece either. It was totally over the top. Since this blog has basically become a Carnival PR machine, I wouldn't say objectivity is a strong point.

I do think QV interiors are going to nice and even impressive. But to say they will be the most talked about over every cruise ship and liner in the world is a bit much.

They are talked about to be sure, but maybe not in the way John Heald presents it!

I agree Malcolm, I guess anything looks elegant and impressive after being subjected to Joe Farcus decor for so many years!

Ernie

[ 10-13-2007: Message edited by: eroller ]

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Originally posted by eroller:

I have to wonder if this guy has even been onboard QM2 ..... or OTR for that matter!

Ernie

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OTR......naaah never!!! QV is nothing compared to OTR!!!
Mind you, I saw her in Oslo this summer, and she looks a bit scruffy and rusty on the edges nowadays. This would have never happened when she was not part of Carnival ;-))

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Originally posted by PamM:
I just looked at the length.. if he writes that blog himself he can't get much else done during the day.

Pam

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Pam,
I have wondered the same thing myself. When does he get the time??? The CD job is one of the most demanding onboard. On a Carnival mega-ship holding 3000 passengers, it means getting up at 6pm (sometimes earlier) and not stopping until midnight or later. Maybe there will be time for an hour nap during the day. I think he usually writes his blog late at night, after his day is over.

This man must get about 3 hours sleep a night! Maybe he just sends his comments (and interview questions) to his counterpart in Florida and he puts the whole thing together? I know he works with a guy (blog master) in Miami. I'm not sure if that person is employed by Carnival?

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Originally posted by dougnewman:
Forgive me if this is a stupid question but what's OTR?

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Originally posted by eroller:
I think he usually writes his blog late at night, after his day is over.

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I can't imagine how he does it, I mean, I spend a lot of time blogging and message-board-posting but I am just a student with no real work to do !

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Originally posted by eroller:
This man must get about 3 hours sleep a night!

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quote:

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Originally posted by eroller:
Maybe he just sends his comments (and interview questions) to his counterpart in Florida and he puts the whole thing together? I know he works with a guy (blog master) in Miami. I'm not sure if that person is employed by Carnival?

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(I know, I know, mentioning the PR department will sound like a smoking gun to a lot of people but it's just copy edited, not edited for content.)

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Originally posted by oslo dutch:
Shall we disclose the secret Ernie??

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But for those wondering how he finds time to put it all together, I suggest you read the blog from Wednesday which is an interview with the blog master, Roberto Castro, who sits at a desk at Carnival HQ in Miami, taking Heald's raw copy and cleaning it up for publication. Also receiving all the comments and putting them together.

If you have read many of John's daily blogs, you will notice that he often remarks about how he is writing his blog at 5.0 am, between the time he wakes up and the time he and his partner Heidi have to start assembling passengers for their shore excursions.

And he is often to be found adding to it later in the day, round about the time passengers are returning to the ship before sailaway. I have been amused on a number of occasions when he has made reference to passengers being left on the quayside because they have returned late from their shopping trips, or have dawdled too long in a bar.

Having become familiar with him via his blog, I look forward to an opportunity to meet him in the flesh. Maybe he will get an opportunity to move to the QV - he certainly seems to envy the position of the QV's cruise director.

At least he's English.

And England are in the Rugby World Cup final. Sorry, I couldn't resist that - and no apologies to any French or Australian members of the Cruise Talk community.

[ 10-13-2007: Message edited by: greybeard ]

[ 10-13-2007: Message edited by: Ernst ]

This being said, the bit on QV sounded so contrived. Very over the top, even for Heald.

The fact that he does not maintain the blog certainly explains how he has the time. He just sends an email of his daily thoughts to Carnival HDQS in Miami and they do the rest.

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Originally posted by oslo dutch:

Shall we disclose the secret Ernie??

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Maybe it's best to keep it "in house".