Cruise director on Carnival Splendor: Passengers 'magnificent' in difficult situation

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

The cruise director of the fire-damaged Carnival ship that has been stuck at sea this week without power is praising the passengers on the vessel for keeping their cool.

"The guests have been magnificent and have risen to the obvious challenges and difficult conditions on board," says John Heald in a post on his personal blog, which is widely followed by cruise fans.

Apologizing for not posting earlier, the famously irreverent Heald, known for his candid, funny and sometimes outrageously inappropriate daily missives about life at sea, notes that like passengers on the Splendor he's been without not just Internet access since a fire broke out in the ship's engine room early Monday but other services.

"I don't smell of roses at the best of times but as the laundry is not working and I only have two pairs of underpants I smell like Paris on a hot summer's day. That's Paris the city, not Paris the person," he jokes.

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"Obviously it has been a challenge, but let me tell you the most important facts ... are that the ship is safe, the guests are safe and that nobody was injured in what was a very difficult situation."

Heald also praises the Splendor's crew. "I am so very proud of each and every one of them," he writes.

Using a bit of his trademark humor, Heald urges the public to take passenger reports of a nightmare at sea with a grain of salt.

"There will be those who will say this has been the cruise from hell," he writes. "However, when you see the local news reporter with the huge hair talking to Mr. Angry remember that there are many, many, many, many more who will tell you what they have been telling me and the crew, and that is that Carnival as a company (has) done everything (it) can ... to help them through this difficult situation."

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Posted Nov 11 2010 7:45AM