John Heald works many miracles. The Carnival brand ambassador answers thousands of questions each week, solves problems for passengers, and sometimes sends them small gifts on cruises that mark milestones or important occasions.
While doing this, Heald suffers a tremendous amount of unwarranted abuse. People rudely make fun of their appearance and say things that are simply not appropriate.
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Heald has often said he welcomes abuse, but pleads with passengers not to blame the crew or be rude to them. He explained that the crew members are simply doing their best to keep the passengers happy, and if he can save them from bad interactions with customers, he will gladly take the scorn.
However, recently, Heald has been abused by something he has no control over.
It appears that AARP had reduced the discount it offers on the Carnival gift cards it sells from 10% to 8%. That means a card worth $100 now costs $92 instead of $90.
Heald addressed the change in a recent post on his facebook page.
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Image source: Carnaval Corp.
Carnival addresses gift card pricing
Heald addressed the gift card controversy on Nov. 2 with the headline “American Express and AARP Gift Cards.”
“Good morning everyone. I received a lot of criticism this morning about a percentage change for something that has to do with gift cards. This has nothing to do with the cruise line. This is all decided now that all gift cards are for the people who distribute them,” he wrote. “If you have any questions about this, I would respectfully ask that you contact them.”
The angry posters, as is often the case, seemed to be okay with insulting the brand ambassador.
“Thank you very much, and a special thanks to the lovely gentleman who was so angry with me this morning that he said I looked like 'the Penguin from the new HBO series'. I haven't seen that show, but I suppose it's because I'm quite ugly and, Well, I don't know, I have a very fat pet penguin, I always mention it in conversations because it's a good icebreaker,” he added.
Many passengers showed their appreciation for Heald.
“I don't understand why people would think this is Carnival's fault. The gift cards are obtained through a third party vendor. But hey, it's still a great deal! Keep up the great work and humor, John, and I hope you have a great rest of your day,” wrote Dave N Brandy Whiting.
“We love penguins and we love Carnival! Most of all, we love your sense of humor, John. It's definitely much needed in this world,” Nicky Reenea added.
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Many people seemed surprised by people blaming Carnival (CCL) due to the price increase.”
“I'm always amazed at how many people somehow think Carnival can control or should tell them what a third-party discount card does,” Charles Lovelady posted.
Carnival explained how its gift cards can be used on its website.
“The Carnival Gift Card is easy to use: it can be requested online (at www.carnival.com) as payment for a cruise reservation, a pre-purchased shore excursion using the 16-digit card number or card gift can be redeemed onboard. As payment for an Onboard Sail and Sign account, gift cards are not accepted on ships sailing with a functional onboard currency other than USD,” Carnival shared.
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