Carnival Cruise Line director issues ‘do not do this’ warning to millions of passengers

A senior cruise director working for the world's largest cruise line has issued a warning to millions of passengers not to do one particular thing when it comes to your holidays with the company.

John Heald is Carnival Cruise Line's Brand Ambassador and senior cruise director, making him one of the most integral people in a business than takes more than 2.5 million people on holiday every single year.

A subsidiary company of Carnival Corporation & plc, it is the largest cruise line in the world.

As with any cruise line, there are rules, regulations, and guidelines you have to follow when travelling on the open seas.

And in this particular case it concerns restaurant protocol and behaviour.

Restaurant complaint

One customer of Carnival emailed Heald complaining about the lack of response he had had when he emailed his cruise ship's maitre d'.

For those unaware, the matire d is usually the the head waiter of a restaurant or the one that welcomes you to the restaurant, with a responsibility to keep things running smoothly. Think Fred Sirieix on First Dates.

"I have been told that guests can still email the maitre d' on each ship," one customer emailed Heald saying.

John Heald shared his response (Desiree Navarro/Getty Images))

"I used 'SR' after the ship's two letter identifier in the email addresses. This was confirmed to me by everyone on [website] Cruise Critic. I have had no response.

"We have booked our second cruise for January. We do not want to be put with people we have zero in common with.

"What do we need to do? Why is there nowhere to find the correct email addresses?"

There are rules to follow (CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Restaurant rules set out

Responding, Heald set out the rules when it came to directly contacting the maitre d' of your cruise ship.

And the message from the man himself is simple: don't do it.

He explained in his reply, which he shared to Facebook: "Thank you and despite what the wise oracle of Cruise Critic members may be saying, we ask you not to email the maitre d’s or Restaurant Operations Managers as they are known.

"They have a truly complicated reservation system and can you imagine if hundreds of guests were emailing them too? This is why we kindly ask people not to email them."

Don't email them unless absolutely necessary (Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Heald also explained why the customer will not have received a reply, and it was not because the staff member was being rude.

"When they do not reply then there they are accused of being rude," he explained.

"I should also mention that there is an email protective system that we use that may send unrecognisable email to the spam folder.

"If you really need my help please send me a request a minimum of four days before the cruise and I while I cannot promise I will do all I can."