The Incomparable John Heald

One of the things I often take for granted when cruising is the cruise director.  While I do both appreciate and enjoy all of the work they put into making sure us passengers have a good time, I rarely connect with them on a level that really resonates with me.  Although there have been times when I have commented on cruise directors who didn’t impress me, I am guilty of taking for granted those who do impress.  All of that stops right now.  It is not that I am a significantly different person than I was before this last cruise (although I do believe I evolved each time I step on board a ship), its that I had the pleasure of sailing with John Heald for the first time.

For those of you unfamiliar with this particular cruise director, let me just start by saying he is brilliant.  John Heald is the senior cruise director for Carnival Cruise Lines and is also a blogger.  You can find his blog here, take some time to check it out.  I was familiar with his blog before I went on the Carnival Freedom but had no idea just how funny he would be in person.

What I found most appealing about John was how well he was able to connect with all passengers.  Most cruise directors are pretty good at schmoozing, but usually are most adept at connecting with a certain niche.  On this particular sailing John’s humor and charisma seemed to shine down upon cruisers of every age, race and gender.  It was truly a sight to behold.  Additionally the entertainment staff seemed at least a notch better than most of the other Carnival cruises I have been on.  You could really tell they enjoyed the work environment and were genuinely having fun.  While this may simply be a testament to their abilities I am sure having a boss like John doesn’t hurt.

Related posts:

1. Magic Mystery Cruise
2. Enjoying One Happy Little Island Called Aruba: Tuesday March 17th

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