**Help! Why Can't CCL Tell the Truth?**

[DEBnGAB]

Yes they did and they called me Jeff! Clearly a cut and paste response:confused:

 

 

LMAO! I was lost there for a sec on the Jeff part of their email....well dont forget the reservations for the "Stake" house! :o

[Cthulu Fhtagn]

The Elder God would like to state that if I got on board and found out I couldn't attend the Chef's Table because it had been all sold-out to Mr. Heald's "faithful", I might feel exceedingly disappointed that preferential treatment is being extended to the few who can tolerate or enjoy Mr. Heald and those who find his blog not to their liking or are entirely ignorant. Seems to the Elder God that CCL needs to get everyone, including Mr. Heald on the same page with this procedure.

[lovesublime]

Did CCL really use "Stake House" in their email back to you?? :confused:

 

 

 

And dining at the 'chief's table'. LOL!

[Fancy_Goods]

And dining at the 'chief's table'. LOL!

 

And being excited to "sale"....did Carnival have a big sale last week?

[sharecruises]

If the response came from Carnival in Miami....

 

yeah....English might NOT be their "first language" LOL

[Vanessa L]

The Elder God would like to state that if I got on board and found out I couldn't attend the Chef's Table because it had been all sold-out to Mr. Heald's "faithful", I might feel exceedingly disappointed that preferential treatment is being extended to the few who can tolerate or enjoy Mr. Heald and those who find his blog not to their liking or are entirely ignorant. Seems to the Elder God that CCL needs to get everyone, including Mr. Heald on the same page with this procedure.

 

Snooze, you lose ;) I happen to like John's blog, but in this case, one need not read it or even like it. One simply needed to follow Mach's directions of a week or so ago, fill out the information on John's blog as requested, and voila, a Chef's Table reservation appeared. One need not have read one post from John (except the original CT request blog) and need not read another one. The confirmation comes from the ship, not John.

 

I see this as being similar to the perks I get for being a member of my grocery store's frequent flyer club. I get discounts and specials that non-members never see. So, to me, it is a small price to pay to log onto John's blog, if even just once, to get the perk of the CT reservation. Again, if you snooze, you lose.

[Fairhope]

Snooze, you lose ;) I happen to like John's blog, but in this case, one need not read it or even like it. One simply needed to follow Mach's directions of a week or so ago, fill out the information on John's blog as requested, and voila, a Chef's Table reservation appeared. One need not have read one post from John (except the original CT request blog) and need not read another one. The confirmation comes from the ship, not John.

 

I see this as being similar to the perks I get for being a member of my grocery store's frequent flyer club. I get discounts and specials that non-members never see. So, to me, it is a small price to pay to log onto John's blog, if even just once, to get the perk of the CT reservation. Again, if you snooze, you lose.

 

John doesn't own the grocery store.

[mali06]

OK, what's a Nick and Nora reservation?

[Cthulu Fhtagn]

Snooze, you lose ;) I happen to like John's blog, but in this case, one need not read it or even like it. One simply needed to follow Mach's directions of a week or so ago, fill out the information on John's blog as requested, and voila, a Chef's Table reservation appeared. One need not have read one post from John (except the original CT request blog) and need not read another one. The confirmation comes from the ship, not John.

 

Then why can't the confirmation be sent to the ship and not to John? This sort of procedural mismanagement will inevitably lead to miscommunication and disappointment. Poor procedural planning leads to poor performance. What if one does not read this forum or John's blog? Should they be deprived the opportunity? What do you really think the combined readership of these two websites is? And why would CCL want to limit the knowledge to this limited number?

 

I see this as being similar to the perks I get for being a member of my grocery store's frequent flyer club. I get discounts and specials that non-members never see. So, to me, it is a small price to pay to log onto John's blog, if even just once, to get the perk of the CT reservation. Again, if you snooze, you lose.

 

How is it a perk if the vast majority of his people doesn't partake of it of their own choosing? It's not. And why would CCL *want* to limit it to that particular sector of their clientele. They should be attempting to market it to actual foodies, not just foodies who happen to post here or be one of John's cheerleaders. It's a bad way to handle this sort of thing and if it's not handled properly -- including appealing to foodies and not return cruisers and JH Groupies -- it will die on the vine.

[WeBeCruisin']

and "SALE"

 

LOL

 

and "dinning". :)

[Vanessa L]

Then why can't the confirmation be sent to the ship and not to John? This sort of procedural mismanagement will inevitably lead to miscommunication and disappointment. Poor procedural planning leads to poor performance. What if one does not read this forum or John's blog? Should they be deprived the opportunity? What do you really think the combined readership of these two websites is? And why would CCL want to limit the knowledge to this limited number?

 

 

 

How is it a perk if the vast majority of his people doesn't partake of it of their own choosing? It's not. And why would CCL *want* to limit it to that particular sector of their clientele. They should be attempting to market it to actual foodies, not just foodies who happen to post here or be one of John's cheerleaders. It's a bad way to handle this sort of thing and if it's not handled properly -- including appealing to foodies and not return cruisers and JH Groupies -- it will die on the vine.

 

Since my last name is not Cahill and I don't have any letters behind my name that start with C, E or O, you'd want to take that up with him. I don't make the rules nor necessarily even like them. But in this case, I followed them and it worked out great :) I'm ok with that.

[Cthulu Fhtagn]

Since my last name is not Cahill and I don't have any letters behind my name that start with C, E or O, you'd want to take that up with him. I don't make the rules nor necessarily even like them. But in this case, I followed them and it worked out great :) I'm ok with that.

 

I'm glad it did, but if the shoe was on the other tentacle, would you be so understanding?

[Vanessa L]

I'm glad it did, but if the shoe was on the other tentacle, would you be so understanding?

 

Hell no. I'd be on here whining about how life, Carnival, Jerry Cahill, John Heald, Host Mach, the New Orleans Saints, Cruise Critic, Sears, Ford, Wal-Mart, the weinie down the street who never mows his grass, and the public library have screwed me over.

 

I'm glad I am wearing the shoe this time :D

[gargoyle999]

It seemed to me that John was doing it as a nice service for those who read his blog. Sort of like being part of some group or website or whatever and getting the password for a concert ticket presale. It's not meant to be used by everyone only those "in the know". :cool:

[ksat]

I just wish it was available on our September 26th sailing on the Splendor. We would book it immediately. Can't wait to try it on a future sailing.

[Vanessa L]

It seemed to me that John was doing it as a nice service for those who read his blog. Sort of like being part of some group or website or whatever and getting the password for a concert ticket presale. It's not meant to be used by everyone only those "in the know". :cool:

 

Some of us get and understand that gargoyle, and some do not. C'est la vie. :)

[gargoyle999]

Some of us get and understand that gargoyle, and some do not. C'est la vie. :)

 

I'm going to do a little toast with my wife to John Heald while we enjoy the Chef's Table on the Imagination in Nov which I have a confirmed reservation for! :D

[kerrytens]

Then why can't the confirmation be sent to the ship and not to John? This sort of procedural mismanagement will inevitably lead to miscommunication and disappointment. Poor procedural planning leads to poor performance. What if one does not read this forum or John's blog? Should they be deprived the opportunity? What do you really think the combined readership of these two websites is? And why would CCL want to limit the knowledge to this limited number?

 

 

 

How is it a perk if the vast majority of his people doesn't partake of it of their own choosing? It's not. And why would CCL *want* to limit it to that particular sector of their clientele. They should be attempting to market it to actual foodies, not just foodies who happen to post here or be one of John's cheerleaders. It's a bad way to handle this sort of thing and if it's not handled properly -- including appealing to foodies and not return cruisers and JH Groupies -- it will die on the vine.

The elder god is smart - ccl should pay attention here.

[*Mach*]

Then why can't the confirmation be sent to the ship and not to John? This sort of procedural mismanagement will inevitably lead to miscommunication and disappointment. Poor procedural planning leads to poor performance. What if one does not read this forum or John's blog? Should they be deprived the opportunity? What do you really think the combined readership of these two websites is? And why would CCL want to limit the knowledge to this limited number?

 

 

 

How is it a perk if the vast majority of his people doesn't partake of it of their own choosing? It's not. And why would CCL *want* to limit it to that particular sector of their clientele. They should be attempting to market it to actual foodies, not just foodies who happen to post here or be one of John's cheerleaders. It's a bad way to handle this sort of thing and if it's not handled properly -- including appealing to foodies and not return cruisers and JH Groupies -- it will die on the vine.

 

 

It seems that you don't understand or have not been exposed to the Chef's Table. It's heavily promoted on the ships prior to the event and passengers who wish to are free to reserve it.

It's not something specific to John's blog or this forum. It's available to anyone on the vessels that provide the event if there is space available.

There's really little functional difference between booking the Chef's Table in advance and booking an excursion in advance... first come first served.

:)

[*Mach*]

The elder god is smart - ccl should pay attention here.

 

 

Just my $.02 but I'm pretty sure CCL got it right...

;)

[kerrytens]

It seems that you don't understand or have not been exposed to the Chef's Table. It's heavily promoted on the ships prior to the event and passengers who wish to are free to reserve it.

 

It's not something specific to John's blog or this forum. It's available to anyone on the vessels that provide the event if there is space available.

 

There's really little functional difference between booking the Chef's Table in advance and booking an excursion in advance... first come first served.

 

:)

You're saying it isn't specific to JH's blog or this forum but the OP can't prebook through CCL. That does sound specific to me. Just my 2 cents:confused:

[Julia Goolia]

Thanks for everyone's replies about what I should do. I went back and reviewed all of my regular and spam emails to make sure that I didn't miss anything. Two Mondays and two Fridays have passed since I sent my initial request so if it was received correctly, I'm guessing it would have already been forwarded. Therefore, I'm not sure if it was a case of my request being misposted or that the crew on the Freedom haven't caught up with all of this yet. I'll go ahead and resubmit my request just in case.

 

Thanks again,

[BigRed93]

I guess if you spend enough time on CC, you will have an advantage over others.;)

 

Otherwise, I would have not known about any of the activities where you need to rush right on the ship and reserve - the cabanas at HMC, the Behind the Fun tour - not that I have done any of them, but if I had wanted to, by the time I found out about them they would have been sold out.

 

It always being pointed out that only a miniscule percent of the cruising public reads these boards. Do you really think that amounts to enough people to not leave ANY room for anyone else? Unless one group happens to have 12 people, but then, that could happen even if you were the 2nd to board.

[LemurCat]

It seems that you don't understand or have not been exposed to the Chef's Table. It's heavily promoted on the ships prior to the event and passengers who wish to are free to reserve it.

No, it seems the Elder God simply doesn't agree with you. And I think the Elder God is correct here. As I haven't been ON A SHIP, how can I be exposed to it except through here or John's Blog?

It's not something specific to John's blog or this forum. It's available to anyone on the vessels that provide the event if there is space available.

Provided John's little cirlce of friends or your little circle of friends haven't booked it all up, correct? I mean, you said it yourself, "if there is space available". Wouldn't it be nice if there was actually something on the CCL site so that people beyond the Precious Few could book it? I guess that's asking too much.

There's really little functional difference between booking the Chef's Table in advance and booking an excursion in advance... first come first served

Except that excursions are promoted and booked THROUGH THE ACTUAL CARNIVAL WEBSITE and not some blog that has no proper forms, might or might not have proper notification, and is administered by a person who is known for doing favors and has disclaimered his blog as being seperate from CCL. Sorry, Mach, NOT BUYING IT. It's a crappy way to administer what has the potential to be a great program. I have no problem with it being first-come-first-serve, I have major problems with reservations for it being handled through John Heald's blog and no other way.

[*Mach*]

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No, it seems the Elder God simply doesn't agree with you. And I think the Elder God is correct here. As I haven't been ON A SHIP, how can I be exposed to it except through here or John's Blog?

 

 

 

 

 

Provided John's little cirlce of friends or your little circle of friends haven't booked it all up, correct? I mean, you said it yourself, "if there is space available".

 

 

 

Except that excursions are booked THROUGH THE ACTUAL CARNIVAL WEBSITE and not some blog that has no proper forms, might or might not have proper notification, and is administered by a person who is known for doing favors and has disclaimered his blog as being seperate from CCL. Sorry, Mach, NOT BUYING IT. It's a crappy way to administer what has the potential to be a great program. I have no problem with it being first-come-first-serve, I have major problems with reservations for it being handled through John Heald's blog and no other way.

 

 

Glad you added your two cents. Everyone is entitled to an opinion.

However, I see not a thing wrong with folks who read John's blog having a bit of extra information. Guests were booking the supper club via John's blog for over a year before it was available on the Carnival web site so the fact that the Chef's Table booking tool isn't on the Carnival web site makes little difference.

Also, consider the fact that folks who post on Cruise Critic, without doubt, talk about their cruise experience to others... both experienced folks and non cruisers. I see it as an excellent source of free advertising.

:)