Cruising to Saint John Canada; Carnival Triumph Photo Essay

The first time I went to Saint John, New Brunswick in Canada was in the early or mid-1990s on QE2. While QE2 always received a good reception when she called at a new port, the populace of Saint John was extremely eager to welcome the ship to their city. Indeed, the mayor stood by the gangway and shook hands with each passenger who got off the ship. There was a bag piper and other people in costume handing out tourist literature. That evening when the ship sailed, the entire town appeared to have come down to the harbor to watch. Police sirens screamed and the fire department shot streams of water into the sky. It was quite a send-off for a relatively small city.

The next time I was there was also on QE2 and was probably the ship’s second call in the port. The weather was not as nice as it had been the first time and deteriorated during the course of the day. In those days, passenger ships had to berth at the container port on the opposite side of the harbor from the city. There was no cruise terminal or shelter on the quay. Nonetheless, a welcome committee braved the elements out on the pier.

By evening a thick fog had rolled in and one could not see more than a few feet from the side of the ship. I remember thinking that there would be no send off this time. However, as the ship pulled away from the berth and sounded her horn. A loud cheer arose from the other side of the harbor. Flashing red lights reflected against the fog and sirens blared. They were out there again and not just one or two hardy souls but seemingly the whole town.

Saint John has come a long way since then. More than 200,000 cruise ship passengers visit there each year. Last year, the city opened an $11 million cruise terminal that is in the heart of town. And although the whole town no longer comes down to watch the ships sail, the locals still have a very nice welcoming attitude toward cruisers.

Saint John is not London or Paris. It is a small Canadian city. It is conveniently located for ships doing New England/Canada cruises out of New York or Boston not far from the U.S. border. However, there are reasons to stop here beyond satisfying the requirements of the Passenger Vessel Services Act. (The Act requires foreign flag vessels to stop in at least one foreign port).

Outside of town, the area is largely unspoiled and there are interesting natural wonders. However, the real charm is inside town. It is a mixture of the old and the new. But the overall feel is one of a small friendly community, something which is all too rapidly disappearing.

My photo tour of Saint John appears at http://www.beyondships.com/Ports-StJohn.html

When I was putting together the material on Saint John, I came across a series of photos of Carnival Triumph in Saint John Harbour. In the autumn, Saint John has days where the light is incredibly clear and crisp and these photos were taken on the evening of such a day as the setting sun placed Triumph in deep contrast. Even though Triumph is no longer doing the Saint John itinerary, I thought these photos showed her off rather nicely and so I thought I would share them in a brief photo essay. It is at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalTriumph-photo-essay1.html
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Carnival Triumph Photo Tour and Hotel Director Interview

Some ships just have a good feel about them. I immediately noticed such a feeling when I went aboard Carnival Triumph a couple of years ago to get the material to create a Carnival Triumph section for the website. I am happy to say that that feeling was still there this year when I went back to Triumph this summer.

Triumph was one of the first Destiny class ships. It has been a very successful design and has been used for a flock of ships for both Carnival Cruise Lines and Costa Cruises since then. Of course, the design has developed in the ten years since Triumph went into service. However, Triumph has been upgraded over the years so that she has most but not all of the features of the most recent Destiny class ships.

What gives Triumph a good feeling is not so much the amenities but rather the crew. I spoke with Hotel Director Stewart Howard who is a Triumph veteran and he immediately attributed Triumph’s continued success to the team that has developed over the years on the ship. Friendliness and competence is what I found.

As a result of my recent cruise on Triumph, I was able to completely redo the photo tour of Triumph on the site. It has many new photos and a page showing some of the areas that have changed on the ship. It begins at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalTriumph-Tour-1a.html In addition, I have added my interview with Mr. Howard to the site. http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalTriumph-art-HD.html
Finally, there are copies of new Carnival Capers and new menus as well as other information about the ship on the Triumph Profile Page. http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalTriumph-profile.html

The Captain of Carnival Triumph and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Speak

Carnival Triumph has been around for nearly a decade. She was one of the first mega-cruise ships of over 100,000 gross tons. The ship has been tremendously popular with passengers as hundreds of thousands of guests have sailed on her.

But how is she as a ship? I decided to go straight to the top for the answer to that question and ask Captain Francesco La Fauci. One of Carnival Cruise Lines longest serving captains, he has commanded Triumph for several years. From a seagoing family, Captain La Fauci not only had his formal education at a maritime academy, he has more than 30 years experience at sea.

As one would expect, Captain La Fauci gave his candid assessment of Triumph, comparing her to other ships in the Carnival fleet. In addition, he discussed how Carnival keeps the ship up-to-date. My conversation with Captain La Facui is posted at http://beyondships.com/CarnivalTriumph-art-captain.html

On the military side of the site, I’ve posted an article reporting Admiral Mike Muillen’s recent remarks at the Cornell Club of New York. Admiral Mullen is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - - essentially, the number one uniformed person in the American military.

Admiral Mullen spoke about areas of concern to the United States. It was a wide-ranging discussion covering the state of the American military to the United States’ role in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as US relations with China, Russia and North Korea. The article is posted at: http://beyondships.com/ssp1-Mullen-09.html

Talking with the Cruise Director of Carnival Triumph

One of the best things about cruising is the interesting people that you meet. Jorge Salano is the cruise director on Carnival Triumph. He is popular with the guests and is an excellent onstage performer. However, what makes Salano particularly interesting is that he is a man who is following his dream.

After years of hard work, Salano had achieved what most people would consider a successful management-level position in the fast food industry. It was good money but it did not make him happy. Then, he experienced a life-threatening illness.

While he was ill, he realized that what he wanted to be was a stand-up comedian. So, when he recovered, he left the fast food industry and started over at the bottom as a comedian. This took him across the country playing comedy clubs and eventually onto cruise ships as a visiting entertainer.

He found that he particularly enjoyed playing the Carnival cruise ships and so when an opening appeared for a cruise director, he applied and was given the job. Now, he combines his love of comedy with a life at sea.

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk with Mr. Salano about his career, how he is able to use his comedic skills in his work as a cruise director and about the role of a cruise director on Carnival Triumph. My conversation with Mr. Salano appears at: http://beyondships.com/CarnivalTriumph-art-Salano.html.