Carnival brand ambassador John Heald has a sometimes dark job. He often begs angry passengers to direct their vitriol at him instead of the crew on board.
If you read his facebook page, you will see that Heald suffers a lot of abuse. He is often accused of some pretty horrible things and never seems to get angry.
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Imagine coming to work and spending part of the day while strangers criticize your appearance. People cross lines with Heald all the time, but he seems to understand that their anger is often not directed at him.
Last week, Hurricane Milton affected several ports, forcing ships to skip calls, return home early, stay at sea longer, and in rare cases, cruises were cancelled. Heald often had to be the bearer of bad news and the recipient of passengers' anger.
Despite the challenges, Heald seemed to lose sleep. I would post early in the morning, New York time, and late at night. Since he lives in London, some of those posts came in the middle of the night.
While taking a much-needed day off, Heald shared a message that shares much of how he sees the world.
Image source: Matthew Frankel/Come ride with me
Carnival's Heald shares a hopeful message
When he takes a day off, something he mostly only does one day a week, Heald often shares a message that he will be out that day. It's often a bit of a joke. This week, the brand ambassador offered something more hopeful.
“Well, it's been a busy week. I've done my best to keep you all informed, listened to and responded to 2,700 questions and comments, many of which have tugged at my heartstrings,” he wrote. “There were some calls for compensation due to missed ports. One or two people said that the captain took them into the storm, which of course is not true, but I still feel bad if they get seasick, it's not a pleasant feeling.”
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After that, Heald shared something inspiring.
“However, from the 607,000 posts over these last 7 days, it has been evident that there was a lot of understanding for what was happening. And as with Hurricane Helene, so with Hurricane Milton many of you wrote with sadness and support, horror and yet hope for those in the path of the hurricane and the devastation and loss it caused. Thank you for all your support and kindness,” he added.
Carnival passengers say thank you
Many of Heald's followers shared their support for his message.
“My wish is that one day I meet you. To give you a hug and cry on your shoulder. You've been there for so many of us! Enjoy your family time, John,” Maria Hall posted.
“Thank you John for your insights and answers. Although some passengers just don't seem to understand, you really do provide wonderful service and are pretty good at it. Thank you very much,” wrote Larry and Linda Geisler.
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Catherine Black also had a kind message for Heald.
“Thank you, Sir John. Thank you for your kindness, thoughts and support. As a Florida native who lives 30 minutes from the port, it means a lot,” she posted.
Some passengers turned away people who were angry with their ship's captain.
“You have a choice when you sail. If the people who blamed the captain for entering the storm had paid a little attention, they would have understood that the storm was so big that there was no way to completely escape it. Don't sail during the storm. hurricane season if you don't want potential problems with storms,” shared Debbie Bourgeois Moran.
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Others appreciated the captain much more.
“FYI, the captain of the Elation was amazing! As was the entire staff for the extra two days we were stuck! I felt extremely safe and it would be a hurricane on a ship on land at any moment,” added Jodi Nyahay .
Regina Puckett Rose echoed those thoughts.
“We have been sailing in bad weather and the captain did everything he could to work around it and minimize the effects. Weather happens, it's nothing anyone can control, just make the most of it,” he wrote.
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