Current Concierges continued

This may have already been mentioned, but I haven't been able to read the whole thread...I have to mention my and my family's total dislike for JD on the Radiance this past month. He was rude and never friendly......I could go into further detail of his opening night speech and never ending voice mails....but I'm sure it's been covered here before....Future cruisers be warned...use the Purell in the CL if JD is the concierge :p On the flip side, JJ in the Diamond Lounge was AWESOME!!!! I hope she can take JD's job SOON.

 

Happy cruising to all!! :)

While we haven't sailed on Radiance since last year, Juan Diego has always been very warm and welcoming to us on the many times we have sailed with him since 2009, so it is somewhat surprising to hear this criticism. I suppose to each his own, perhaps his personal style was not to your liking.

This may have already been mentioned, but I haven't been able to read the whole thread...I have to mention my and my family's total dislike for JD on the Radiance this past month. He was rude and never friendly......I could go into further detail of his opening night speech and never ending voice mails....but I'm sure it's been covered here before....Future cruisers be warned...use the Purell in the CL if JD is the concierge :p On the flip side, JJ in the Diamond Lounge was AWESOME!!!! I hope she can take JD's job SOON.

 

Happy cruising to all!! :)

We were non-suite guests on a B2B (7/25 & 8/1) with Juan Diego and he was wonderful. We truly appreciated his morning phone messages and his personality. Each of his suggestions, especially restaurants, were a perfect fit for us. One of the things the things that we enjoyed most was our morning chats when we would stop by to say "hello". He was delightful from our first day all the way through the morning of disembarkation. Our only regret is that we do not have any other cruises booked with him but are looking forward to the next time we sail together.

While we haven't sailed on Radiance since last year, Juan Diego has always been very warm and welcoming to us on the many times we have sailed with him since 2009, so it is somewhat surprising to hear this criticism. I suppose to each his own, perhaps his personal style was not to your liking.

I agree, Karen. I think he is among the best. We were not in a suite during our last cruise on Radiance.

This may have already been mentioned, but I haven't been able to read the whole thread...I have to mention my and my family's total dislike for JD on the Radiance this past month. He was rude and never friendly......I could go into further detail of his opening night speech and never ending voice mails....but I'm sure it's been covered here before....Future cruisers be warned...use the Purell in the CL if JD is the concierge :p On the flip side, JJ in the Diamond Lounge was AWESOME!!!! I hope she can take JD's job SOON.

 

Happy cruising to all!! :)

Our experience has been that if you are not one of JD's "favorites" you are not given the red carpet treatment in the lounge.

JD, though he does his job according to the book, doesn't even come close in personality to Reyno, Amit or Fernando Cataldo. Now these gentlemen know how to treat their guests and they treat everyone equally.

Everyone is entitled to have their favorites, unfortunately JD is not one of ours.

Our experience has been that if you are not one of JD's "favorites" you are not given the red carpet treatment in the lounge.

 

JD, though he does his job according to the book, doesn't even come close in personality to Reyno, Amit or Fernando Cataldo. Now these gentlemen know how to treat their guests and they treat everyone equally.

 

Everyone is entitled to have their favorites, unfortunately JD is not one of ours.

From our experience with JD I'd estimate @ 95% of the passengers in the CL must be his favorites. JD in our opinion is the very best. On occasions we have observed a few passengers making absolutely absurd and totally unreasonable requests. JD always handles these situations professionally and fairly yet we often hear these same passengers complaining about how "unfairly" they were treated. JD (and all the Concierges) have one of the most difficult jobs on the ship. He is outstanding and we always look forward to our time with him.

From our experience with JD I'd estimate @ 95% of the passengers in the CL must be his favorites.

Thankfully your experience has been much different than ours.

One thing that I do have to say about JD as compared to most other Concierges is that he is very strict about certain things. Many others seem to have a "go along, get along" attitude. He is also kind of a health nut and this maybe turns off some people. As Patti has said, he's not for everyone. I can think of an LA that I absolutely could never stand that everyone here seemed to love. Guess we are all different. One thing many don't realize about JD is that he keeps the same bar staff from cruise to cruise. For some reason others always have rotating staff. When doing B2B's it's really nice to always have the same staff.

One thing that I do have to say about JD as compared to most other Concierges is that he is very strict about certain things. Many others seem to have a "go along, get along" attitude. He is also kind of a health nut and this maybe turns off some people. As Patti has said, he's not for everyone. I can think of an LA that I absolutely could never stand that everyone here seemed to love. Guess we are all different. One thing many don't realize about JD is that he keeps the same bar staff from cruise to cruise. For some reason others always have rotating staff. When doing B2B's it's really nice to always have the same staff.

Me, too, about the LA. I won't even get into that one.

It's so easy for anyone to ask JD (or any other concierge who leaves messages and there ARE others) to be taken off the message list. He can and will easily delete specific room numbers upon request.

As for using hand sanitizer, it is expected, but not required. That's why it's there. I've seen him very nicely request that guests use the tongs and not their hands when getting food. I'm glad he has the guts to stop people from putting their hands on the food. That's exactly why people claimed to not want kids in the lounge. I personally don't like adults touching the food either. Or licking their fingers and then touching the tongs.

JD's first night speech is fun and good natured. If anyone takes it the wrong way, then they are misinterpreting it. My friend told me she was afraid of him after the speech - even though she knows him and likes him. I explained to her the spirit in which that speech is intended.

Not all people click. And many times it's because of the way the concierge interpretes the behavior of the guest. But JD is always polite to those who have an attitude towards him. Like others, I've personally seen and heard the demands of guests...and then they decide they don't like JD (or other concierges) because the rules weren't broken for them. JD's rules are a direct response to his boss's requests and expectations. All ships have different rules as we all know and this is because of the management on board.

Part of JD's charm IS his interest in health, right or wrong, it's fun to hear. I'll set him straight about some of these things from time to time. ;)

The vast majority of the guests LOVE Juan Diego and I'd not hesitate to say it's well over 95% of them. He is one of the most loved concierges in the fleet and for good reason.

Gina

From our experience with JD I'd estimate @ 95% of the passengers in the CL must be his favorites. JD in our opinion is the very best. On occasions we have observed a few passengers making absolutely absurd and totally unreasonable requests. JD always handles these situations professionally and fairly yet we often hear these same passengers complaining about how "unfairly" they were treated. JD (and all the Concierges) have one of the most difficult jobs on the ship. He is outstanding and we always look forward to our time with him.

You are SOOO close. I'd estimate more like 99%. ;)

Gina

Not all people click. And many times it's because of the way the concierge interpretes the behavior of the guest.

 

Gina

You can also turn the tables and say that about the way a guest interprets the behavior of the Concierge. He does not like to admit he has done something wrong, and apologizing is definitely not in his vocabulary.

I'm not going into a lot detail because this incident happened back in May of 2011 but he did something that caused both Jim and me a lot of grief by sending us an email and then copying many staff and officers fleet wide about a situation that we were not even involved with. I sent him an email telling him that he had the wrong party, but I never heard back from him. I was the one that had to contact all recipients of that email and clear things up.

When I approached him on our b2b2b cruises in September/October/Nov 2011 his response was very non-nonchalant with "Mistakes Happen, but it wasn't my fault"!!:eek: I lost all respect for him then.

Had the unfortunate experience of having JD as my conc twice. My wife and I are apparently not part of his “in group”. In 54 cruises, he is the only conc who I could not connect with. I never asked for anything, so it was not due to poor performance on his part. I just did not appreciate his "holier than thou" attitude. On one PC cruise, he bragged to my wife and me how he took his special favorite passengers on a private tour of Panama City; since we were not included, I was not sure why he felt he had to mention this.

For those that think he is the greatest, so be it; I must respectfully disagree.

Is Erik Lafitte no longer with RC?

JD just put off a real off-putting attitude with his opening night "speech". It set a real bad tone in the CL from then on after. He warmed up some through the cruise, but his lack of socializing with current guests (yes, I know he's busy with current and future cruiser requests) and the several evenings of him pushing spa appts all the while with several spa workers in the CL reminiscing over Radiance employee party photos just did it in for my family.

The daily phone messages did have some good nuggets of information, but it seemed he was promoting a local restaurant more than anything else. And his recommendation for passengers to shower and women to wear their "bling bling" on formal night was a bit offensive.

Just off Grandeur yesterday. Francis Calimag now is staying in CL into November - changed his time off to be home for Christmas. Inna (I cannot remember her last name) is in DL. She was unsure of her schedule. May or may not be there for October 2 cruise (which we are on).

David

Francis is my favorite. We are sailing Dec 9th. Will he still be there ?

Me, too, about the LA. I won't even get into that one.

 

It's so easy for anyone to ask JD (or any other concierge who leaves messages and there ARE others) to be taken off the message list. He can and will easily delete specific room numbers upon request.

 

As for using hand sanitizer, it is expected, but not required. That's why it's there. I've seen him very nicely request that guests use the tongs and not their hands when getting food. I'm glad he has the guts to stop people from putting their hands on the food. That's exactly why people claimed to not want kids in the lounge. I personally don't like adults touching the food either. Or licking their fingers and then touching the tongs.

 

JD's first night speech is fun and good natured. If anyone takes it the wrong way, then they are misinterpreting it. My friend told me she was afraid of him after the speech - even though she knows him and likes him. I explained to her the spirit in which that speech is intended.

 

Not all people click. And many times it's because of the way the concierge interpretes the behavior of the guest. But JD is always polite to those who have an attitude towards him. Like others, I've personally seen and heard the demands of guests...and then they decide they don't like JD (or other concierges) because the rules weren't broken for them. JD's rules are a direct response to his boss's requests and expectations. All ships have different rules as we all know and this is because of the management on board.

 

Part of JD's charm IS his interest in health, right or wrong, it's fun to hear. I'll set him straight about some of these things from time to time. ;)

 

The vast majority of the guests LOVE Juan Diego and I'd not hesitate to say it's well over 95% of them. He is one of the most loved concierges in the fleet and for good reason.

 

Gina

We are in absolute agreement with Gina!! We have sailed several times with Juan Diego and have always found him very professional and have an opportunity many times to watch his interaction with all guests both suite and D+. He truly goes out of his way to greet every guest by their names and help in any way possible. Recently we were on B2B in June,2014 and found him still charming. We were in family Cabins , not suites. Our traveling companions loved his phone chats and felt they were a highlight of their cruise. We find them very entertaining and informative for each port. When tendering is in place he escorts guests to the first tender and waits until they are safely boarded. The same goes for debarkation. What more can one do for the guests.

Management has dictated that the spa and other revenue areas are to make themselves available to the concierge lounge guests. This is not a JD idea.

Place us in the JD fan club and we plan to sail Alaska again next year but only if JD is on Radiance. He makes our experience truly a WOW time!!

An additional point concerns the cleanliness of the food area. He is very firm that all practice manners and healthy habits when serving themselves. We appreciated this as there was a noro outbreak on the ship and he had to be firm with those that attempted to use unsanitary practices.

You can please most of the people most of the time and you can please some of the people some of the time but can never please all of the people all of the time.

We both think JD is the best Concierge in the fleet and always look forward to sailing with him and Beresford - they have never disappointed us.

Can someone please tell me the correct email address to get in contact with a certain loyalty ambassador/future cruise person on certain ships. I know you use 2 letters representing a ship and then _, but not sure of title to use. Thanks

Can someone please tell me the correct email address to get in contact with a certain loyalty ambassador/future cruise person on certain ships. I know you use 2 letters representing a ship and then _, but not sure of title to use. Thanks

I have seen this suffix used: _Loyalty&CruiseSalesManager@rccl.com.

I have seen this suffix used: _Loyalty&CruiseSalesManager@rccl.com.

Thank you for responding.

Francis is my favorite. We are sailing Dec 9th. Will he still be there ?

I did not get exact dates - not sure if Francis knew exact dates - I believe he thought he would be there into November. From what he said, I would guess that he will not be there for December 9 cruise.

Bummer. I will drop him a note

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On Oasis now and just to confirm concierges are Alan Fajardo and Israel Sanchez and diamond concierge is Ed Calub Jorda. He's new to the job from guest services and a lovely young man.

Good morning Everyone. Could someone tell me how I e-mail the Diamond Concierge on the Enchantment. We are sailing September 19th (CAN'T WAIT). Diamond Members, currently in 2 adjoining JS's for 4 of us. There are less than 10 suites sold on this sailing so hoping to be able to snag a Cabana in Coco Key! Thanks for all your help!

Good morning Everyone. Could someone tell me how I e-mail the Diamond Concierge on the Enchantment. We are sailing September 19th (CAN'T WAIT). Diamond Members, currently in 2 adjoining JS's for 4 of us. There are less than 10 suites sold on this sailing so hoping to be able to snag a Cabana in Coco Key! Thanks for all your help!

EN_DaimondConcierge@rccl.com There is an underscore "_" between EN and Diamond