Carnival’s brand ambassador, John Heald, usually spends his day answering questions from the cruise line’s customers. 

He’s playful, takes criticism well, and makes a lot of people happy with his lightly irreverent tone and an insider lingo that’s easy to pick up.

On special occasions, Heald visits Carnival ships, meets with crew members and passengers, and posts what he calls “walkies,” videos of himself walking around the ships. 

The England-based Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) employee recently made his way to Long Beach, Calif., to sail on his company’s newest ship, Carnival Firenze.

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Like its sister ship, Carnival Venezia, Firenze used to be a part of the company’s Costa brand. 

“The 5,000-guest Carnival Fun Italian Style ship is sailing year-round from the Port of Long Beach,” the company said in a news release. It builds “on the popularity of Carnival cruises by adding significant capacity and joining two Carnival ships currently sailing year-round — the 5,100-passenger Carnival Panorama and the nearly 4,000-passenger Carnival Radiance.” 

Firenze has added many traditional Carnival staples, like Guy Fieri’s Burger Bar, but it also has some unique features.

“Like sister Carnival Venezia, the ship features new concepts and experiences that put an Italian-style twist on Carnival staples for guests to enjoy,” the cruise line said. “Carnival Firenze, however, is the first ship in the fleet to usher in new technology and harnesses artificial intelligence that creates guides for optimal, energy-saving routes on each sailing.”

While he was on board, Heald spoke with Carnival President Christine Duffy, who disclosed some surprising, and uplifting, news.

Carnival has reached a milestone

Heald interviewed Duffy in the Heroes Bar on Carnival Firenze on the day of its naming ceremony. He noted at the beginning of the interview that the cruise line had reached a milestone as it once again has 27 ships.

“Well, we were at 27 ships and then covid happened. And as you know, a number of ships left the fleet,” she said. “It’s pretty incredible to think, here we are in 2024 back to 27 ships.”

The fleet now might be back to its former number of ships, but it’s actually larger because the ships it has added have more capacity than the ones it lost.

“We have many, many more cabins given that the ships that we have gotten since 2019 are much larger, including our three beautiful Excel-class ships and the ship that we’re on today, Carnival Firenze, as well as her sister Venezia in New York,” Duffy added. “So, we’ve been very, very busy.”

Carnival president shares a personal story

The informal interview took a more personal turn when Heald asked Duffy: “How are you doing and what is the continuing motivation you have when you wake up every morning?”

Duffy’s answer will likely warm your heart and bring a tear to your eye.

“Personally, I’m doing great, because, as you know, my husband Andrew, 43 years, which is hard to believe, received a double lung transplant at the end of September,” she said. “We’ve had a tough journey to get there, but he is just doing amazingly well.” 

The Carnival president also described how she got through this difficult time in her family life.

“To all of you that may be donors on your drivers license, remember it really does safe a life,” she said. “We’ve been incredibly blessed, and for me when people said, ‘how did you deal with all of that and do your job?’ For me, my job has been never boring. And as I said at an event last week, the thing that keeps me going every day is the teams on board our ships.”

Duffy delivered a heartfelt thank you to Carnival’s workers.

“The teams that work so hard, who are away from their families for months at a time, who really deliver the Carnival experience and make memorable vacations that our guests love, especially all of your fans who come back again and again,” she told Heald. “For me every day the decisions we make are all about how are we supporting our team.”    

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Heald said he loved seeing guests and crew interact as part of the Carnival “family.”

“I think it’s family and a very unique experience,” Duffy added.