| By Paul Motter
Carnival's annual "John Heald's Bloggers Cruise" is becoming as regular as the Superbowl. I expect the line to soon start marking them with Roman numerals, making the next Heald-fest "Bloggers Cruise V."
For those not familiar with John Heald, the very popular Carnival cruise director became a hero as the voice who "held it together" upon Carnival Splendor as it was literally struck "dead in the water" for over three days off the west coast of Mexico last summer.
Making regular hourly updates from 9:00 am to 11:00 pm, John kept everyone cool, calm and collected throughout the entire crisis, even though he was secretly overwhelmed with the weight of his personal responsibility. If you have not yet read our interview with John Heald we highly recommend it. Read what he was really thinking while holding his "stiff upper lip" throughout the chaos.
John Heald Blogger's Cruise Five will be held aboard the brand new Carnival Magic next March 4-11, 2012, sailing from Galveston, Texas. You can find out more about it at the Blog web site: (www.johnhealdsblog.com). The seven-day western Caribbean voyage will sail round-trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico.
There will be "signature" Blogger's activities such as "Tea Time with John," lively Q&A sessions and unforgettable game shows. An exclusive bloggers-only shore excursion and a number of keepsake items will be provided to all participants.
Speaking of Carnival Magic - the ship is about to launch on May 1st with a special 10-day inaugural cruise from Venice to Barcelona. CruiseMates' own popular forum hostess Linda Pearl will be aboard Carnival Magic for the entire ten days - reporting to us with daily updates.
This will be Linda's first time in Europe; making all of us are very excited to share her first impressions of the continent. From Venice to Dubrovnik, Sicily, Naples, Florence, Monte Carlo and Barcelona, we are expecting amazing tales of discovery and adventure. We hope you will join us to learn about the ship and to experience the feeling of seeing Europe for the first time - the dream of a lifetime for Linda.
Carnival Magic will stay in Europe for the balance of the summer cruising season, making her the only Carnival cruise ship in Europe this year. In fact, there are still quite a few exceptional European cruise bargains on Magic this year. If you ready to sail as soon a June 12 you can get a 12-day cruise from Barcelona to Monaco, Livorno, Rome, Naples, Sicily, Mallorca and Marseilles for $929. If you wait until October you can sail from Barcelona to Marseilles, Savona, Rome, Naples, Dubrovnik, Venice and Sicily for as little as $999 per person.
Share your thoughts with us about Linda's trip to Europe and Carnival magic in our Forum: Linda's Magical Trip to Europe.
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