Do you care if you see the cruise director/captain?

We don't care either.........

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I would want to know who my captain is as much as wanting to know who my taxi driver is....just keep the ship deck side up and no "dinners" with the cute blonde staff if you know what I mean.....;)

I don't care whether I see a lot of the CD, although it would be a little difficult not to. Unless you never go to any of the entertainments offered and never turn on your cabin TV.:confused:

As for the Captain- I would much rather that he concentrate on what is going on on the bridge and with the smooth running of the ship than schmoozing with passenger looking for a photo op.

If I want to find out information about the Captain, its not that hard to do.

From past experience Captains are so aloof they hardly speak to you and CD's are so up themselves it's all about me me me and not the passengers. Perhaps I have just been unlucky.

From past experience Captains are so aloof they hardly speak to you and CD's are so up themselves it's all about me me me and not the passengers. Perhaps I have just been unlucky.

Yes, sadly you've been unlucky.

We've had the opportunity to get to know a number of Captains through the years and with very few exceptions we have found them to be extremely friendly, very intelligent, wonderful sense of humor and so interesting. Oh the places they have been, the things they have done, the people they have met. We are always appreciative for opportunities to spend time with these outstanding gentlemen...... not to mention they are all wonderful hosts.

I fully understand most cruisers have no interest in meeting or getting to know officers/crew and they is certainly their choice. We enjoy the interaction with these most interesting people.

I've never met the captain and I'm not concerned with ever meeting him. I always seem to meet the cruise director, but I've never gone out of my way to meet them. The CD definitely doesn't make or break my cruise.

Not bothered in the slightest to be honest, They are just two of about 1200 staff working in our floating hotel:D The main thing I remember about our Captain on Ventura was the amusing announcements from the bridge when departing port. I dont remember the cruise director at all.

From past experience Captains are so aloof they hardly speak to you and CD's are so up themselves it's all about me me me and not the passengers. Perhaps I have just been unlucky.

Don't feel bad. I'm a relatively newbie cruiser - just one so far and one booked. But their job is huge, and I am sure they have too much to concern themselves with than to schmooze with the passengers. And if they do, I'm sure it's just a part of the PR that is required of them during their infrequent breaks from running the ship.:)

Yes, sadly you've been unlucky.

 

We've had the opportunity to get to know a number of Captains through the years and with very few exceptions we have found them to be extremely friendly, very intelligent, wonderful sense of humor and so interesting. Oh the places they have been, the things they have done, the people they have met. We are always appreciative for opportunities to spend time with these outstanding gentlemen...... not to mention they are all wonderful hosts.

 

 

I fully understand most cruisers have no interest in meeting or getting to know officers/crew and they is certainly their choice. We enjoy the interaction with these most interesting people.

 

 

The worse Captain I ever came across was on my Carnival Breeze cruise in 2012. Even at the Captains reception/photo opportunity I have never seen anybody so miserable and disinterested in his guests. In fact I'd go so far as to say he was very disdainful and was walking around like he had a bad smell under his nose.

The worse Captain I ever came across was on my Carnival Breeze cruise in 2012. Even at the Captains reception/photo opportunity I have never seen anybody so miserable and disinterested in his guests. In fact I'd go so far as to say he was very disdainful and was walking around like he had a bad smell under his nose.

We felt that way about a Princess Captain. We had met one we thought was wonderful and great fun. For some reason, he got a kick of my DH's humor and sometimes dropped by a lounge he knew we had pre-dinner drinks and we'd chat/laugh for a few minutes.

Then we met this other Princess Captain who was so rude, I actually told him so. :eek: His ship was not 'happy' and his crew was distant and lackadaisical with guests. When we had a rude encounter with him, I said I now understood why his crew behaved in the manner they did. Didn't phase him in the least. :D

I don't care if I meet either the captain or the CD personally on any cruise.

However, the captain is in charge of all aspects of the ship, not just steering. If he/she can't be bothered to walk around now and then to keep an eagle eye on everything on the vessel, I don't call that being "in charge."

The CD is in charge of ensuring people's enjoyment of the activities and amenities on the ship. How would he/she know if people are actually enjoying, without walking around and looking?

All the outstanding cruises I've been on I've seen both officers. The so-so cruises, I've never seen either. That tells me something....

I don't care if I meet the Captain or not. He just needs to be good at his job!

I didn't think a CD made any difference until we got a bad one........twice in a row. I will not sail with him again.

We don't care if we ever personally see or meet either the Captain or CD. The Captain is busy doing his job, which is to operate the ship safely and efficiently, not to meet and greet the passengers. On one recent cruise, we had a MDR table at the rail just above the Captain's Table, and on the nights that it was occupied, most people (including the Captain) looked mostly uncomfortable and bored.

The CD's responsibility probably includes mingling with passengers, but as others have said, many are 'full of themselves' and aren't really all that fascinating one on one. We'd rather entertain ourselves and spend time with each other or a few friends most of the time. Some CD's are more entertaining on stage or TV than others, but for us, it's fine just having them in the background doing what they're supposed to do.

The captain can stay on the bridge for all we care.

The CD can make a good cruise into a great one... by being a great example to his team. We've been on trips where the entertainment staff stayed in cliques, had lots of inside jokes with one another, and basically fluffed their way through games, trivia, etc.

On others, each member of the team was visible every day. They stopped by to cheer during trivia games, remembered our names, recognized us from our pictures on our cabin door, etc. The CD was everywhere, we saw him several times each day, he led by example.

We are always puzzled about these threads about "who is the cruise director." These days, the CD is not even a very high position on most ships but is more like the person in charge of communicating with passengers. On some cruise lines they do have a lot to say about the entertainment, but on some other lines they actually have a separate Entertainment Director. So, we have no interest in CDs other then praying that they do not tell bad jokes and do not make more then 1 announcement per day.

As to the Captain, whether or not we happen to see the Captain is of little interest. But, DW and I have done a lot of cruising (more then 3 1/2 years on cruises) and have met (and dined with) several Captains. Several of them turned out to be very interesting folks and one (recently retired from HAL) became a friend (we also got to know his wife and daughter). It is fascinating to know some Captains and have them tell stories about their careers and how they rose to become a cruise ship Captain. So although we do not care whether we ever see the Captain, we do enjoy getting to actually Captain's and some other Senior Officers on a more social basis. And by the way....this is much more likely to happen on smaller ships then the huge mega-ships.

Hank

Same here. My name is not Hyacinth Bucket!;);)

LOL Right on!

The captain and the CD have their jobs and as long as they do them without a problem, thats all I ask. Thats what I paid for!

Same here. My name is not Hyacinth Bucket!;);)

For you, that is pronounced "Bouquet." :)

Hank

I prefer the captain to do his job, not to mingle with passengers.

I have no desire to meet the captain, but I do like a captain that mingles with passengers now and then. He is responsible for the health, safety and comfort of the passengers and mingling represents the attention he gives to the services of the ship.

Burt

At first I said "no, i dont care." but then when I thought about it, the best cruises were the ones where the captain and cruise director were constantly active (making announcements and out and about). I dont need to meet them, or even see them, but on the cruises where I havent seen them, or they were under-performing, people were just generally confused about whats going on. I mean sure, people found stuff to do, but they didnt know about a lot of the activities that were happening.

On our cruises on the Ruby Princess in December, the captain (Commodore Romano) was very visible, even attending our Cruise Critic meet-and-greet along with several of his senior staff officers. The cruise director was practically invisible. I only saw him once around the ship outside of his official capacity--and that was when he was having drinks with other staff members in a bar. He also ticked off me and many other passengers by promising something that was not true during his TV show. I was very happy to find out that the Commodore will be back on the Ruby for our cruise next week and that we'll have a different cruise director.

Is the Commodore's name Giuseppe Romano?

If so, we sailed with him as Captain many years ago on what was then either Regal or Crown Princess. He was fantastic!! All these years later, I still remember him out of the many captains with whom we have sailed. VERY personable ( and not so hard to look at. :) ).

No, but you get free drinks at the captain meet.

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I'd love to have the opportunity to meet the Captain and/or the Cruise Director, but I won't be crying in my beer if I don't.

The best CD's plan a nice, wide variety of activities so that most passengers will find something to enjoy. They will not be heard from on the PA to announce said activities, thus disturbing the peace and quiet some enjoy, as they realize that most passengers can read. If I see him or her walking about, fine, as long as the above has been accomplished. Additionally, the best CD's keep the hyperactivity to a minimum. We know you are beyond crazy-excited for bingo, but tone it down a notch.

Meeting the captain is nice, but it would be lower on my list of priorities than having him be an experienced, competent navigator who does not crash us into any objects that may be in our path.

The Captain i rather him worry about keeping us safe. That is like asking if you want to see the Pilot during a flight.

The cruise director is fun to see sometimes, if they are good at their job. But it wouldnt ruin my cruise not seeing them